Good 'Ol Steve

Happy Monday, True Believers--What's on your reading shelf this week?

My first Captain America comic was a "What if..." book that I read in the mid-80's.

I'm not sure that it gave me the proper tone of Captain America.  Here was a guy dressed up like an American flag, and wearing fish-scale armor and I guess all in all, I just wasn't blown away.  This wasn't a book about the Avengers battling evil, or Cap punching Hydra agents.  This was a book about American culture and politics.  I remember the cover really well, and I've been trying to find it amongst the back issues in my favorite Comic Book lairs, though I've been unsuccessful in my hunt.  

At the time (again, the mid-80's), I wrote off Cap as "too political" and not interesting enough to get excited about.  He couldn't fly, he had no lasers that shot out of his eyes, he wasn't magical.  All he had was a shield.  Not even a sword--just a shield.  Rarely even carried a gun.  

Some years later, I've been finding a new appreciation for him--for different reasons.  Ironically because he doesn't have crazy powers, because he doesn't fly.  I think my interest started to turn around shortly after the movie "Thor".  I wasn't getting excited about Cap--just curious.  I had some friends and co-workers who *loved* Cap, and were so excited, and I wanted to share in their excitement too.  But I wanted to have a personal attachment to the character, and not just a superficial peer-pressure attachment.

The movie got me excited about the character.  I had taken my dad to see "Thor" and while I enjoyed it, he thought it was "ok".  When I took him to see "Captain America", even he liked it.   (This might have been partially due to the presence of the amazing deadpan Tommy Lee Jones, but whatever the reason, I accepted it as a win.)

I began to pick up more "Avengers" books.  Not quite ready for Cap on his own, I wanted to see him as a Team Leader.  I played "Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2" on Playstation, and chose Cap's side.  I read "Marvel Ultimates" for the amazing Cap artwork.   I suppose what it was working up to was that I was beginning to appreciate Cap for being just a really good guy who stood up for the weak and truth and justice and all that good stuff.  (Heck, this was a guy you wanted to vote for!)

I'm eagerly awaiting the second movie (out later this year), and sating my eagerness with some new books.

Same costume that I saw in the 80's, same shield, same scaly armor.  But now I have a better grasp of the character.  I understand why he's important to the Marvelverse.  I know who he is out of the mask.      

I'm getting in touch with my inner Agent Coulson.

Got any good Cap favorites or recommendations?  Post 'em here.  Will have some book reviews for you soon.

Weekend Insanity

Some news bits from today:

Rebooting "Star Wars"

I guess my biggest problem is giving the "Expanded Universe" any consideration at all.  Perhaps it's a sweet fiction that fans allowed themselves to believe in the post-Episode VI ephemera, but from a purist standpoint I don't feel it's necessary.  To me, Star Wars has always been, at heart, a film-based entry primarily.  Everything else is just fan-fiction.

I would like to think that any further exploration of the Star Wars universe would not involve the Skywalker legacy directly, but instead splinter off into another part of the galaxy, because surely Obi-Wan and Yoda were not the only Jedi to escape Order 66...

 Some Jedi--somewhere--must have run, and kept running, and kept running until the Empire was just a whisper of a rumor somewhere far, far away.   There, a new Jedi order could be established, brining order to a lawless outworld way beyond the outer rim, and a new legacy would begin....

Call me a dreamer.

* * *

Man of Steel 2 a.k.a. Superman vs. Batman a.k.a. Warner vs. Marvel

SO surprised. 

So, in a direct assault to Marvel's Movie Machine, the situation would appear to be that D.C./Warner is going to do its damnedest to cobble together a massive Justice League movie, and to do so, they're going to need time.  

This whole idea of taking more time...I like the idea of it.  Rather than rush a movie out, how about you make a good movie?

I'm a Superman devotee, I really am.  Though I've really had a challenging time of dealing with "Man of Steel".  I want to like it as much as those who really like it did....but I can't, somehow.  If there's a better follow up, I can forgive it as an incomplete first chapter.  But if there's another slap-dash DC superhero movie trying to glean the lowest fanboy denominator, well...they can save it.  

Bring on Rocket Raccoon already.

Friday reading

Today's reading -

Captain America Vol.1 - Ed Brubaker & Steve McNiven

I'm looking forward to it.  I've been trying to find a good Captain America book for a while, now.   I have really been more and more interested in the character lately.

DOOMED! The Untold Story of Roger Corman's "The Fantastic Four"

A friend of mine dug up this long-lost relic the other day, and I thought I'd share it, since I have some kinda fond memories of this cheesy production...

That's Jay "The Boy Who Could Fly" Underwood as Johnny Storm (a.k.a. "The Human Torch").  Fun fact - Both he and Alex Hyde-White (Reed Richards) were involved in separate Indiana Jones related projects.  (Hyde-White played a younger Henry Jones Sr. in 1989's "Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade" while Underwood played cub reporter Ernest Hemingway in TV's "The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles.")

For being a 1994 production, the animatronics on Ben Grimm/The Thing are pretty similar to those used on the early live-action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie.  Not bad, but a little puppet-y.  Still, at the time who was ever sure we'd see a done-right big budget version of any superhero movie?

The ever-so-slightly-cheesy production remains findable if you go looking for it hard enough.  My favorite memory of the movie is the surprisingly "fantastic" (see what I did there?) score by the Wurst Bros.  A warm heroic family theme that sticks in your imagination long after the movie's over.  Give it a listen here.

For other Fantastic Four goodness, I recommend:

• Marvel Knight's Fantastic Four #1: A Wolf at the Door - by Roberto Aguirre-Saracasa and Steve McNiven. 
• Fantastic Four - The Ultimate Collection - by Mark Waid and Mike Wieringo

Check out your local store for these, they're excellent.

 

Comic Book Wednesday: Deadpool & Avengers

Happy Comic Book Wednesday folks!  What are you reading as of late?

Wednesday is always a great day to head down to your favorite shop and look at the new titles.  I'm giving a shout-out to Local Heroes in Ghent, back in Virginia from whence I originated.  They're on Facebook, and they're good about posting highlights and new titles.

The only true gripe I have about Comic Book shops is their hours.  Having a full time job means unless I have Wednesday off, sometimes I have to save another day for a Comic Book run.   Can't really fault them, though.

So this week, Tuesday was my comic book day.  Awesome.  I'm trying to keep comic-book buying under control, since Portland's own Wizard World convention is just another week away.  But after spending part of my weekend playing Lego Marvel Super Heroes (more about that in a future post), I am just too curious about Deadpool.  I never jumped on the Deadpool bandwagon back in the early aughts of 2000.  Perhaps it was the name that I had more associated with Clint Eastwood's last Dirty Harry movie ("The Dead Pool" - 1988, featuring Liam Neeson and an early Jim Carrey), but for one reason or another I never picked up on his character.  I wasn't a big fan of Marvel's "Punisher", whose primary attribute seems to be that he can hold two big guns at once.  Deadpool to me looked like The Punisher ramped up to 11. 

Still, there's something somewhat irrepressible about the character.  He's got his own video game now, with some prime voice talent (Nolan North, voice of Nathan Drake in "Uncharted", Hank Pym in "Ultimate Avengers", and many, many others) and he seems to be a character ready for screwball comedy.

A friend of mine recommended I start with "Cable & Deadpool".  Not on the shelf at the nearby TFAW, I opted for "Deadpool: Dead Presidents" instead, on the recommendation of staff.  Will be tackling that today.  

Also picked up...

"Avengers World #1" - Writers: Jonathan Hickman & Nick Spencer, Artist: Stefano Caselli & Frank Martin.

I knew I should have waited for the whole book!  Starting off fresh--again--it looks like the new team is taking on A.I.M.  Some good geek banter, and a particularly awesome full-page of Thor, Hyperion, and Captain Marvel coming to the rescue of a storm-bedraggled East Coast.  

First issues can be irritating because they always leave you wanting more.  Just as things are picking up....Nope, sorry, tune in next month!

The book comes with a download code for a digital copy of "Iron Man Annual #1", so I have something to keep rolling...

Hey, some non-print media news!

Scarlett Johansson on "Age of Ultron" Script

Joss Whedon finally gets to build the epic Trilogy that he's been destined to deliver since "Serenity".  Tragedy on the horizon?  A sure bet.

Stan Lee in "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D."

Inevitably, but still exciting.  Heck, I get still excited about his cameo in "Heroes", and that show's been off the air for years, now.

Johnny Depp = Stephen Strange?

I always wondered whether Ed Norton would return to the Marvel Universe to play the Sorcerer Supreme, but...This is interesting too.  My litmus test for Marvel casting seems to be "Would this guy look good standing in full costume next to Samuel L. Jackson?"

Thanks for stopping by!  More soon.

- Steve Townsley is leaving the Sanctum Sanctorum to run some errands.  Leave a message at the beep.

In the Beginning...

...there was...Howard the Duck?

Hi!  Welcome!  You're awesome, whether or not you're actually reading this, but moreso if you actually are!  Kicking it off with a completely obscure reference to a doomed George Lucas-produced 80's movie is just setting the bar high, I'll tell you what.

Steve TOWNsley firing up my new blog "Comic Book TOWN" (See what I did there?), in which I Geek.  Yes, Geek is a Verb, ladies and gentledroids.

This was inspired by a trip to a local Comic Bookerie, where I had the notion that I spend much time thinking about this stuff, but not a lot of actually sharing my thoughts or trying to formulate them in any cogent manner.  So as I picked up copy of "Avengers World #1" and "Deadpool: Dead Presidents", I thought it was high time I start writing down my thoughts, because, dammit, they're worth writing.

First off, I'm a cartoonist.  I appreciate all forms of art in some fashion, but I love cartoons, animations and comic books.  Any one kind?  Not really....

I like "All Ages" comic books, because they can be read by just about anyone with no comic background.
I like Superhero comics because, Super Heroes.
I like mature comics because they've got powerful stories, and art unlike you see in your everyday off-the-rack books.
 I prefer trades to single-issues, because I'm a little impatient with story lines, but yet I'm patient enough to usually wait until enough issues have accumulated to warrant a published book.
I don't subscribe, I prefer a more adventurous, exploratory approach to Comic Book stores...when I walk in, I usually open my mind and see what impresses me today.
I will most often buy at least ONE book whenever I set foot in a store.  I try to support small stores when available, and do most of my purchasing there.  And they're usually run by cool people.
Have I bought digital comics?  Sure I have, though I probably own more hard copies.

I just moved to Portland late last year, and it already feels like a very Comic Book Town.  (That was another inspiration right there, that was.)  I've found at least three very good stores that I like to visit, and a good bookstore that has some good deals on used books.  I'll probably end up writing a bit about my experiences there, too.  Sometimes they're too good not to put down.

I hope you'll join me in this new venture.  You can follow me here, on Facebook, and on Twitter (@ComicBookTown)   Thanks.  More soon...