Countdown to Final Crisis

Countdown to Final Crisis was a weekly comic that was suppose to lead up to the event, Final Crisis. It was largely attempt to recreate the success of the critically acclaimed series 52. The comic started at issue 51, but counted down to issue 1. It was created on model where a single writer wrote every other issue in a rotating cycle. However, this caused the continuity between issues to alter. The main writers were Sean McKeever, Justin Gray, Tony Bedrad, Jimmy Palmiotti and Adam Beechen under Paul Dini, the head writer. However, editorial mandates on where the story would go took creative control out of the hands of writers. The story was panned for having tie-ins with important plot points (IE important plot points happening out of the comic), mischaracterization, pointless plot points and inconsistencies in art and story (most notably with the Trickester and Pied Piper's high tech handcuffs changing in each issues). Also since each issue touched on each of the story arches, so each only got a handful of panel. As such, the overall comic did not flow like a true narrative and excessively stretched out the story. So for example, Jimmy Olsen took 15 issues just to find out no knows why he has powers.

The story started with Darkseid playing with minifigures of various DC Comic heroes. Jason witnessed Duela Dent being killed by a rogue Monitor, named Solomon, who want to kill people in the "wrong" reality. Bob, another Monitor, went to the Source Wall, which tells him that a "Great Disaster" is coming and Ray Palmer (the former Atom) is needed to stop it. Jason and Donna Troy (former Wonder Girl) talked and Forerunner (an agent of the Monitors) tried (and fails) to kill them. Bob, Jason, Donna and the current Atom (who is leaves and is replaced by Kyle Rayner) looked for Ray Palmer, who in another reality. They hopped to reality to reality but basically get Ray Palmer is another reality. The Jokester, an good guy version of the Joker, joined, but died soon after. Solomon tried to kill them, but Monarch, who hates the Monitors, is gathering troops to fight the Monitors. Jason seemly shot Donna and turned evil. Mary Marvel was now powerless. Madame Xanadu tells her not to go to Gotham. Mary does so anyway and meets up with Black Adam, who gives her powers, which makes her evil. Mary meets a poop-eating demon (I'm not making this up) and defeats it. Mary meet various mystics to try to understand her powers. Eclipso was making Mary do random evil things. Trickster and Pied Piper tried to go undercover in the Rogues (enemies of the Flash) to take them down, but accidentally killed Bart Allen. The duo got tied together by high tech handcuffs and tried to avoid the capture by Suicide Squad. PP turned out to homosexual and the Trickester was homophobic. Jimmy, while investigating Dent's death, discovered he's gaining knowledge for no reason and the ability to gain super powers when in danger. Jimmy got sidetracked so he can investigate the death of the New Gods. Jimmy tried (and failed) to find out why he has his powers only to be kidnapped by Forager, a New God supporting character, so they can work together. Holly Robinson is invited to a woman shelter by Anthea (Granny Goodness in disguise) on the former Paradise Island. GG wants to make Earth women to Darkseid's army. Holly meets Harley Quinn. Karate Kid does random things in the present (he's from the future). He turns out to be infected by an unknown illness and cannot go back to the future. Triplicate Girl tries to aid him to find a cure for KK's illness. They meet Buddy Blank (the former OMAC), because he has a super computer called Brother Eye. They (including Blank and his son) end up in Bludhaven. Injected randomly in narrative are scenes with the Monitors debating if they should do something. This first half of the series was noted for major plot points happening outside of the comic like the death of the New Gods.

The second part is often seen as the better half of the series. This is mainly due to dropping the tie-ins and focused on the actual story. However, this part of the series was still critically panned. The Monitors (all 70 of them despite there suppose to be only 52 of them, including Bob) debated if they should do something. Karate Kid and his team meet Firestorm and they discovered there something under Bludhaven. Jimmy and Forager went to Apokolips (a planet ruled by Darkseid). Bob teleported his group away including Jason (who seemed to change sides). The Monitors decided to do something. Bob's group were teleported to wasteland. It turned out that Jason's killing Donna was fake out to distract the enemy long enough for them to flee. In a previous, "happy" reality, this reality's Lex Luthor and various other people were killed by adult, time and space-punching Superboy Prime (now called Superman Prime). He DESTROYS THE ENTIRE REALITY. He tortured Mr. Mxyzptlk (ignoring the latter's god-like reality warping). Bob's group went into the Batman Beyond universe and finally found Ray Palmer on Earth 51 (a paradise Earth). It turned out this universe's Ray Palmer was killed and the our reality's Ray Palmer replaced him. It turns out that Bob wanted (completely out of the nowhere) to KILL Ray Palmer. It turned out Solomon and Bob were working together and Bob was going to lead Solomon to Ray Palmer, who was the "key" to having the Monitors merge together (this creates a plethora of plot holes). It turned out killing Duela was just to start this plan. Monarch and his army came to Earth 51 and killed the passive heroes of this Earth and the reality itself. Ray Palmer revealed that it was the dead Ray Palmer who was suppose to stop the Great Disaster. This world's Batman made Jason into Red Robin (a reference to the much better than this Kingdom Come series). Superman Prime arrived on the Monitor's base and demanded to be taken to the "perfect" Earth. Its revealed that the Earth 51 Ray Palmer was immune all illness. This Earth's Justice League discovered a living germ called Morticoccus. This Ray Palmer, fearing there could be other Morticoccus(es), went to work in attempt to give every reality at least one person with his immunity. Superman Prime discovered the "perfect" Earth is the one being destroyed and flew off to it. When confronting Monarch, Superman Prime gave the most infamous line of this entire series: "I'll kill you! I'll kill you to DEATH!!!". Monarch and Superman Prime duked it out. The rest of Bob's group got a message to go "to Apokolips". A nameless Monitor took them there. Superman Prime accidentally broke open Monarch's armor unleashing energy destroying all of Earth 51, but Superman Prime survived. Karate Kid's health started to decline, but claimed he knew their was a bunker under Bludhaven. In said bunker, Professor Stein, a supporting character of Firestorm, was being tortured by Desaad. Desaad took over Firestorm's powers, but Karate Kid's gang managed to free his powers. Desaad fled to Apokolips. The gang accidentally activated Brother Eye (I have no idea how), which merged with Desaad's left over tech and send itself and our gang to Apokolips. Trickster and Pied Piper were stilled in the same situation as we last saw them. Trickster got shot and died. This causes the cuffs to active a 24 hour to exploding countdown. Piper used his flute to slow down the countdown. Piper (still cuffed to Trickster's dead body) went into the desert and hallucinated that the body was talking to him (complete with offensive gay jokes). Pied decided to cut off the arm of the Trickster so he wouldn't have to drag the body. Piper was teleported Apokolips (noticing a theme?). On Apokolips, Jimmy was still a slave. Eclipso handed Mary off to Darkseid, only for her to rebel and leave. Eclipso convinced her to give Darkseid's job a chance. But, the next issue had them fighting and Mary rejecting her offer. Jimmy used his powers to free Forger and himself. Forager's first reaction was to kill Jimmy for hitting on her, but she calmed down before she could so. Jimmy used his powers to escape (with Forager) to Earth, where they made out. Mary gave up her powers in regret for her misdeeds. Mary (who was in midair) fell into a sea outside where "Athena" is training the women. Holly and Harley discovered Hippolyta, former Queen of the Amazons. She teams up with the duo so they can defeat the false Athena. Forager revealed she think the soul of the New Gods are in Jimmy's body (hence his powers). Hippolyta's group gain Mary as a member. Jimmy discovered Forager left and left a message to go "to Apokolips". Its revealed Solomon and Darkseid manipulated the whole thing as part of a bet with the power of the "power of Multiverse" being the prize. Hippolyta exposed Athena as Granny Goodness. After GG used her powers to create a portal to Apokolips, Holly, Harley and Mary gave chase. Desaad revealed that Piper's mind-controlling music is actually a musical version of the Anti-Life Equation. Our female heroes freed the Greek gods, who Goodness imprisoned. The gods gave them powers and restored Mary's powers. Brother Eye started to merge with Apokolips. Morticoccus turned out to be Karate Kid's illness. Pied Piper somehow used his music to blow up Apokolips. While Darkseid and Solomon were gloating, Atom overheard their plot to unleash the Morticoccus virus so they can recreate the universe. The heroes had a debate over if they should kill Karate Kid. Solomon revealed Darkseid put the souls of the New Gods into Jimmy so he could have them for himself. Solomon accidentally teleported the heroes to the wrong reality when he got annoyed by their yelling. Despite the heroes' best effort, Morticoccus had mutated due being in Karate Kid's body thus making it impossible to cure. It started to spread and caused humans to become animal-like and vice versa; and caused full scale nuclear wall. This reality's Green Lantern accidentally spread the disease into space. So, the Great Disaster happened... and DC didn't have it guts to have it happen in the MAIN reality that the readers actually care about. This is basically an excuse for Planet of the Ape-style Kamandi, the Last Boy on Earth to not be in continuity. Buddy hid his son in the bunker as Triplicate Girl was killed by rats. The remaining heroes returned to their home world... and this is NOT the end. The heroes spilt up to prevent their world from being effected by the Great Disaster and to get on with their life. Darkseid corrupts Mary with "evil" power of Black Adam. Mary kidnapped Jimmy. Donna and Kyle tried to explain what is going on to the Justice League. Superman (not Superman Prime) arrived to save Jimmy. Ray Palmer shrank into Jimmy's body and altered it to allow him access to all the powers. Jimmy use this to turn into a giant, turtle boy. Orion, Darkseid's son, comes out of nowhere and gets killed, but kills Darkseid with him. In the epilogue (the last issue), Pied Piper somehow is alive; Donna, Kyle and Forager decided to "monitor the Monitors"; and Holly and Harley look at an oversized moon.

My sources was the Atop The Fourth Wall Episodes "Countdown Prologue", "Countdown Part 1" and "Countdown Part 2"; and Wikipedia "Countdown to Final Crisis".

Critic Corner: The New 52

I bought several of DC Comic's New 52 titles. So, here what I though.

For Justice League, see my previous review. Legion of Super Hero was good for Legion Fan, but it ignores the reboot. It gets 3 out of 5. Stormwatch was okay, but not anything special. It got 3 out of 5. Justice League Internation was fun. It gets 4 out of 5. Red Latern was one of the best of the bunch, but it focuses a bit too much on Atrocitus. It gets a 4 out of 5.

Scud: The Disposable Assassin

Scud is a "Heart Breaker Series 1373" disposable assassin, a type of robot assassin that one can get from vending machine. Scud was sent to kill Jeff, a mutant with "mousetraps for hands, an electrical plug for a head, and a squid of a belt". However, by reading a label on his back via a mirror, Scud discovered if he completed his mission he'll explode. Not wanting that, after mortally wounding Jeff, he takes her to hospital and become freelance mercenary to pay bills.

The creator, Rob Schrab, abandoned the book on issue 21, but returned to resolve the cliffhanger.

My source was Wikipedia.

Combo Man

Rick Wilder is a superhero with the powers of various Marvel superheroes and villains including Wolverine, Punisher, Iron Man, Hulk, Captain America, Spider-Man, Daredevil, Human Torch, Doctor Doom, Magneto and Cyclops. Any awesomeness of this character was ruined by the fact he also happens to be an advertisement for the Combo snack food.
After seeing a teacher being threaten by A.I.M. (a group of scientists that make weapons terrorists especially HYDRA) agents, Rick Wilder ate a combo that turned him into Combo Man. He easily beat the A.I.M. agent, but they send the Super-Adaptiod on him. Of course, Combo Man defeats him. Unsurprising, Combo Man's comic, Combo Man, had only one issue.
My sources were Comicvine page "Combo Man" and Deadknight's "Unbelievable" list page 2 on the same site.

8-Bit Theater

Red Mage, Thief, Black Mage and Fighter

8-Bit Theater is a comedy sprite comic (a comic that uses video game sprites in the art) that parodies Final Fantasy and role-playing stereotypes. The Light Warriors (a group of misfit adventurers) try to defeat four demons based on the four elements.

The Light Warriors are the protagonists. They are based on the character classes in Final Fantasy, but are presenting as dysfunctional, incompetent, and causing more harm than help. The members are:

• Black Mage- He is a wizard that is weak, but has incredibly destructive spells. He is comically evil to the point his conscience doesn't split his concepts of good and evil, but evil and atrociously evil. He hides his face, because it drive people who see it mad.
• Fighter- He is a ... guess what? ... a fighter. He is specialized with swords and is extremely resilient to damage, to the point of shaking off lethal attacks. He is also extremely child-like and naive (especially towards his friends' unheroic traits), but has a heart of gold.
• Thief- He is the Elven prince of Elfland. He is extremely skilled in stealing things, to the point of stealing intangible objects, and finding loop holes. He is extremely arrogant (especially to non-elves and his "friends", who he think of as his lackeys) and cowardly.
• Red Mage- He claims to the last of an order of Red Mages. He is very knowledgeable, but also delusional (he thinks the world runs according to table-top RPG rules). Due to powergaming, he can use white and black magic; and bends the rules. He is the team's strategist, but his plans are complex and bizarre, often with physics foiling them.

My sources were the Wikipedia pages "8-Bit Theater" and "List of 8-Bit Theater Characters".

Anti-Matter Man

Little is known about the Anti-Matter Man. What is known about him is he was a ten-foot cosmic being from the anti-matter Qward. He discovered the positive matter alternate realities of Earth 1 and 2. He wanted to come to explore the Earths. However, due to his antimatter nature and lack of empathy for positive matter beings, he was a danger to both of the realities. The Justice Society of America and the Justice League teamed up to exiled him back to the antimatter universe. However, he may come back any day.
Anti-Matter Man had "strange and unpredictable" powers. If he touches positive matter, he will explode. He is immune to magic that doesn't originated from his universe. He has matter manipulation (both organic or not) and can effect superhuman's power. He is vunerable to pyshical attacks.

My sources were Wikipedia and DC Database.

Hostess Advertisements

One of the well-known comic-related topic was the late 70s andThe Preacher and Radioactive Man.
early 80s Hostess ads. These ads usually involve superhero being attacked by some random villain. Of course, they manage to defeat them with Hostess products. For example, Batman actually defeated a mummy by pacifying him with Twinkes. These ads first appeared in Marvel and DC Comics. However, after they decided to stop these, Archie, Harvey, Whitman and Gold Key Comics started to show these ads. However, they stopped appearing. These have been parodied by
My main source was Wikipedia.

Marvelman

The creators of Captain Marvel was sued by DC Comics for "copying" Superman. So, in Britain, Mick Anglo created a rip-off called Marvelman. Marvelman was cut and paste Captain Marvel. Micky Morgan gained the power to become Marvelman (who had Captain Marvel-like powers) by saying "Kimota" ("Atomik" backwards) from an astrophysicist. He has two sidekicks: Dicky Dauntless aka Young Marvel and Jonny Bates aka Kid Marvelman (rip offs of Captain Marvel Jr. and Mary Marvel). They had bland adventures until they were canceled in February 1963.

Marvelman became a strip for Warrior. Alan Moore wrote Marvelman, which was the first superhero he wrote, with darker themes. An adult Micheal Morgan was a reporter who couldn't remember his adventures as Marvelman until he accidentally saw the word "atomic" backwards and spoke it aloud. Uttering the word (which is pronounced like "Kimota") turned him into Marvelman. He regained his memories but no one remembered Marvelman except as a comic books character. He battled against a power-mad Kid Marvel, resulting his in Kid's innocent alter ego going insane with guilt. Marvelman managed to muscle his way into a secret bunker, where he discovered the truth: he was part of "Project Zarathustra", where the government tested alien tech on human resulting in them gaining superpowers. Said humans were unconscious and had their mind fed comic book adventures as memories. On their "last " mission, the government tried to blow them with a nuclear weapon because the project was terminated. Marvelman turned to normal and lost his memories, but Young Marvelman was killed. Marvelman discovered his wife was going have a child who could become the first naturally born superhuman. Warrior stopped at issue 21. Due to pressure from Marvel Comics, the hero's name was changed to "Miracleman". He got his own series that lasted for 16 issues. Two alien races called the Warpsmiths and the Qys come to Earth. We discovered there are other native superhumans on Earth. The aliens, Miracleman, the brand new Miraclewoman and their allies have a gory battle with a now insane Kid Miracleman (Kid Marvelman). The battle kills 40,000 people and ends with Miracleman killing KM in his non-power form to prevent him from going on another ramage. In the last issue, the superhumans took over the world and were worshiped as gods. This series is characterized by extreme violent and gore that was to such a degree that was never seen before.

Neil Gaiman took over the series at issue 17. He plotted the series to have three books: "The Golden Age", "The Silver Age" and "The Dark Age". In "Golden Age", Miracleman and superhumans make the world a utopia via alien tech. Although, Miracleman questioned they are doing the right thing. This volume focuses the people affected by these event a la The Sandman. Neil Gaiman finished the first two issues of "The Silver Age", but didn't actually finish it. In the issues he did finish, Kid Miracleman was brought back...again.

Marvel Comic has gained the rights to the character. They plan to reprint various stories. They are trying to sort out some the copyright debates.

My main source was Wikipedia.

Superlópez

Superlopez is Spanish comic parody of Superman.

He was born Jo-Con-El (which means D*mn-The-Brat) on the planet of Chiton (which means Shut It). He accidentally activated a spaceship sending him to Earth, where he landed was adopted by Barcelonan parents. He took the secret identity of Jaun Lopez and got a job with a bad-temper Lois Lane parody Luisa Lanas, his not-so-pal Jaime Gonzalez Lidenbrcok (parody of Jimmy Olsen); and his demanding boss, who is an unnamed parody of Perry White.
Like any hero, Superlopez has enemies. These include Escariano Avieso (a evil professor), Lady Arana (which means Lady Spider), a parody of Al Capone called Al Trapone and Refuller D'Abastos (a mob boss).
Superlopez has allies too. His main allies are the member of El Supergrupo (which means The Supergroup). The members include a Doctor Strange parody El Mago (which means Wizard); a Captain America parody Capitan Hispania (which means Captain Spain); an Iron Man spoof Latas (which means Tin-Guy); a parody of the Fantastic Four's The Thing called Bruto (which means The Brute) and La Chica Increible (Incredible Girl), who is a generic parody of token female superheroes.

My main source was Wikipedia.

Lethargic Lad

Lethargic Lad is comic created by Greg Hyland. It started out as a normal comic. However, there is now a webcomic version of it (see http://www.lethargiclad.com/).

Lethargic Lad is the main character. He suppose to be the protector of Infantino City. He has the "power" of lethargy, which causes him to inactive and slow. He rarely talks, but instead utters "Umm..." His alter ego is Larry Ladhands, a parody of Bruce Wayne. He is rich and lives in mansion, under which is the Lad Cave (a parody of the Bat Cave), where he keeps his various tech.

The only other major character is Sailor Steve. Sailor Steve is a male otaku (a person with obsessive interests) friend of LL. He often dresses like Sailor Moon characters. He knowns a lot about Japanese pop culture (even more than some Japanese people).

My main source was Wikipedia.

Raruto

Series creator Jesús García Ferrer

Raruto is a Spainish webcomic that is a parody of the popular Naruto manga and anime series. It's made used by Jesús García Ferrer also known as Jesulink. He began it as a hobby, but started to feel like it was "responsibility" and tries to satisfy his readers.

The series has three main characters: Raratuo, Kuchilla Saske and Flora Margarina. Raratuo Zumomaki is the titular character. He is a parody of Naruto. He is the villiage idiot that has "a demon fox" trapped inside his body. Kuchilla Saske is a parody of Sasuke Uchiha. He hates "everything, white rice above all". Flora Margarina is a parody of Sakura Haruno. She is pointless for most of the series. She has spilt personaility and usually solve her problems violently.

The comic has been translated into Catalan, Chinese, French, English, Portuguese and Italian. A handful of strips have been translated into English. My main sources were the Wikipedia pages "Raruto" and "List of Raruto Characters"; and a Raruto Wiki (that I had to translate) page "Raruto" and "Flora Margarina".

Rat-Man

Rat-Man is an Italian comic about an inept superhero of the same name. The comic started out as a parody of Batman, but evolved into having complex continuity. It's also known for breaking the fourth wall, engaging storytelling and Monty Python-style nonsense humor.

Rat-Man's alter ego is Deboroh La Roccia. He lost his parents at the mall and was adopted by Janus Valker. He was originally Rat-Boy (a-la Superboy). He became a superhero to fulfill his fantasy of heroics. He joined the second Secret Squad (the first one was destroyed by a mole) formed by the scientific research centre that Janus works at: Elsewhere. In reality, an evil entity called Shadow tried to manipulate the team to take over 'No Name Country'. However, the Men in Tights, a team that embrace the dogma of the first Double S, clashed with the new team. No Country lost its faith in superheroes. After he quit and the Shadow attacked Janus, Rat-Boy fled to No Name City. He became MarvelMouse. He was forced to compete in gladiator battles. The American-style heroes were dying out and being replace by Manga-style characters. After defeating the "ultimate manga" Dragon, he decided to become a real superhero again. Now as Rat-Man, he became the protector of No Name City and one of the few superheroes left (aside the Double S controlled the Shadow). The Shadow (now controlling the body of Janus Valker) tried to destroy the the second Secret Squad to make a third one. This causes the team is disband thus making Rat-Man the last superhero. Rat-Man in 2003 entered a coma and woke up in 2005, where he has been replaced by a multitude of heroes. He retired and tried to make an animated series whose failure caused him to become a bum. The Shadow tried to make Deboroh his vessel only to be foiled by Rat-Man's friends. Janus manages to overcome the Shadow with the last bit of humanity he has left: the memory of being Deboroh's father. Rat-Man (struggling to become a hero again) goes to New York only find all the villains are gone and the heroes are addicted to their own power. Rat-Man convices them to retire and he returns to No Name City to become a hero again.

My main source was Wikipedia.

Nexus

Nexus lives 500 years from now. He is really Horatio Hellpop, the son of a Communist General. He gained "Fusionkasting" (see below) from Merk (an alien entity). He has to kill a certain amount of mass murders as payment for his powers per "cycle". He will have maddening dreams and strong headaches until he he kills the murder.

Now, you are probably asking "What the @#$% is 'Fusionkasting'?". In the Nexus universe, Fusionkasting is the power to psychically draw energy from star's core. This will give the user super powers. However, this doesn't work across dimensions. Most of Fusionkasters use flight, force field generation and energy beam projection. Other common powers are super strength; degrees of telepathy; and telekinesis. Nexus and Plexus (I can't find out who he is, but he mentioned once) have display energy absorption, matter creation / transmutation and teleportion, but no other Fusionkaster has display these powers.

The series was inspired by Space Ghost. It has a clear and distinctive style a la Alex Toth's cartoons and "commercial illustrators of the 1940s and 1950s". The series' artist ironically later drew a Space Ghost comic. Mike Baron (the writer) also included social satire such as media channels being overwhelmed by ads and an analogue to the Internet.

My main source was Wikipedia page "Nexus (comic)".

The New 52

The New 52 is the name given to the 2011 DC Comic relaunch. The name comes from the fact 52 titles was rebooted. In this new universe, superhero are victims of suspicion and hostility.

The "Justice League" titles are Justice League, Justice League International, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Captain Atom, Fury of Firestorm, Green Arrow, Savage Hawkman, Mr. Terrific and DC Universe Presents. The "Batman" titles are Batman, Detective Comics, Batwing, Batman: The Dark Knight, Batman and Robin, Batgirl, Batwoman, Nightwing, Catwoman, Birds of Prey and Red Hood and the Outlaws. The "Superman" titles are Action Comics, Superman, Superboy and Supergirl. The "Green Latern" titles are Green Lantern, Green Lantern Corp., Green Lanterns: New Guardians and Red Laterns. The "Young Justice" titles are Teen Titans, Static Shock, Hawk and Dove, Blue Beetle, Legion of Superheroes and Legion Lost. The "Edge" (don't ask) titles include Stromwatch, Grifter, Deathstroke, Suicide Squad, OMAC, Blackhawks, Men of War, Voodoo and All-Star Western. The "Dark" titles are Justice League Dark, Swamp Thing, Animal Man, Frankenstien, Agent of S.H.A.D.E., I, Vampire, Resurrection Man and Demon Knights.

My main source was Wikipedia.

New Men

The New Men were an Image Comic team created by Rob Liefield that extreme similarities to the X-Men. The New Men got their powers from the Nu-Gene (X-Gene rip off). The original team consisted of the leader Reign (Cyclops) who had telekinetic (that manifest like Cyclops' eye blasts) and telepathy abilities; Byrd (Angel) who had talons and wings; the teleporting Exit (who had the personality of Iceman); Kodiak (Beast), who could turn into a man-beast; and Dash, who was super fast. John Proctor (a rip off the Chief from the Doom Patrol) mentored them, who turned out he actually was working for the aliens that created the Nu-Gene (called the Keep) and wanted to "harvest" the people with it for the aliens. Later, two "old" members rejoined Narcisse (a vampire) and Dusk. Also, Pilot (Bishop knock-off), who from the future, joined them to stop the Keep, but didn't tell them about the Keep; and so did Bootleg (Jubilee and Mimic), who could copy people's "powers". In Extreme Destroyer, the New Men discover the turth of the Nu-Gene and Proctor. After defeating the Keep and getting a new member Sundance, they disbanded... only to come together later. My sources were Wikipedia pages "New Men (Image Comics)" and "Bootleg (comics.)"

Major Bummer

Lou being annoyed

Zinnak and Yoof were two alien college student on Earth heroes. To aid their study, they send out Extreme Enhancement Modules (or EEM for short) that when open give the receiver powers. They wanted to give one to a lawyer named Martian Lewis, but, not know that in phone book last names first are printed first, they give to a slacker Lou Martian. He gains super strength and intelligence, but can only use the latter when he concentrate. His powers prove to be a burden: Lauren Isley, her cat, Val Andrist, Gecko and Franic Dutton (all of whom (including the cat) got powers via EEMs) bug him and try to make him the leader of their team (which he doesn't want to do); and his EEM cause him to attract trouble like villains such as Tyrannosauruas Reich and Nunzio. Lou really just wants to sleep, eat and play video games, but finds himself unwilling caught in bizarre and impossible adventures. My sources were Comicvine and Wikipedia.

Twisted Toyfare Theatre

Twisted ToyFare Theatre is a humor strip in ToyFare magazine. The strip consists of pictures of Megos (a line of toys). Often, these Megos are used to parody pop culture.

Megos are based on other forms of media like Marvel Comics, Star Trek and Star Wars. Most of the Megos in this are based on Marvel superheroes. The characters are mostly caricatures of the original characters. For example, Iron Man is comedic drunk, the Gobots are Transformer wannabes and the Defenders are a pathetic superhero team and do menial tasks. The strip often has Robot Chicken-style humor (in fact ToyFare is written by people that worked on Robot Chicken).

My sources are the Wikipedia pages "Twisted Toyfare Theatre" and "ToyFare"

Zenith

Zenith is the first superhero Grant Morrison ever wrote.

Character Overview

Robert Neal Cassady McDowell is selfish and spoiled pop star. He is the son of two members of Cloud 9 (a British military superhero team turn into hippies). As such, he has super powers. However due to his biorhythm cycle, these powers only work sometimes. In order for him to do anything heroic, he has to be forced by Peter St. John (a former member of Cloud 9).

Powers

His main powers are super strength, flight and invulnerability. He also has limited telepathy and fire manipulation, but he lacks the discipline to use these two. As mentioned before, his powers sometime works, but sometimes not.

References:

My sources were Wikipedia and Comicvine.

Big Bang Comics

Big Bang Comics was comic that homage the Golden and Silver Age of Comic Books. The comic was originally published Caliber Comics. The series was cancelled and picked up by Image Comics. Now, the comic is independently published. The characters for the series are homages to various Golden Age and Silver Age superheroes. The Silver Age stories took place on Earth-A, but the Golden Age stories took place on Earth B. Some characters of note are Ultiman (Superman homage), Knight Watchman (Batman) and Dr. Weird (Mr. Justice). A notable feature of Big Bang Comics is its use of metaficiton. In the Big Bang universe, there are several imprints (that in reality never existed) that published the characters. This was used to give add more depth and development to the series' characters.

The Conglomerate

The team first appeared in Justice League Quarterly # 1. Claire Montgomery, ex-wife of Maxwell Lord, formed the corporate superhero team the Conglomerate to rival the Justice League International (see my "Justice League" post for more info). The first team consisted of the leader Booster Gold (who recently quit the JLI), Gypsy, Reverb, Vapor, Echo, Maxi-Man and Praxis. Despite initial hostile, they became friendly with JLI. However, the team drifted apart. However, the team was suppose to have a competition with the JLI. So, Claire used Norman the Doorman (who has dimension-related powers) to get members new members: Slipstream, Scarab, Elasti-Man, Frostbite, Fiero and Deadeye. They turned out to be villains from the antimatter world of Qward. The Justice League ended up having to stop them. The most recent version was led by Templar, a British superhero. This team consisted of Reverb (now using the alias of Hardline), Nuklon, Jesse Quick and Echo. Their current status is unknown. My source was Wikiepdia and the image is from Comicvine.

Critic Corner: Justice League # 1

Hi. I just bought and read Justice League # 1, which the first comic for new 2011 DC Comic Reboot or "The New 52". So, I decided to review it. This was written by Geoff Johns, pencilled by Jim Lee, inked by Scott Willaim, colored by Alex Sinclair and lettered by Patrik Brosseau.

The comic starts off with Batman chasing a guy with a mouth full of fire. He meets Green Lantern and they try to figure why aliens are bombing Gotham.

I bought this for $4.99. That is TOO MUCH. 90% of this comic is Batman and Green Lantern yelling at each other and neither of them are all that likable. Despite Aquaman, Wonder Woman, Superman, Green Lantern, Batman, Flash and Cyborg being on the cover, only Batman, Green Lantern, Superman and Cyborg at in and the latter two have cameos. Also, every 2 or 4 pages there is an ad for another comic coming out in"The New 52". Despite the fact Jim Lee is a talented artist, the art here is average at best. The only interesting was a kamikazee alien yelled "FOR DARKSEID!". I give this a 2 out of 5.

Critic Corner: Youngblood # 1

After watching the Nostalgia Critic and Linkara, I decided to revamp the Critic Corner. I am going to review Youngblood # 1. This was created, written, inked and penciled by Rob Liefeld; colored by Brain Murray; and lettered by Hank Kanalz.

The comic has two stories. The first story deal with home team of Youngblood. This consists of Badrock (who is very much like a teenage version of the Thing), Photon (who has flaming hair), Chapel (who has guns), Vogue (a "Russian defector"), Diehard (who we learn nothing about) and Shaft (has string less bow and arrow; and the de facto leader). Someone tries to kill Shaft, but Shaft stops them. Then, the team assembles which takes 5 hours. Then, Diehard beats up a villain called Strong Arm and the story ends with other heroes coming in.

The second story deals with the away team. This consists of Brahma (who super strong), Riptide (who generates and controls water), Psi-Fire (who has telepathy, telekinesis and fire manipulation), Sentinel (who is a copy of Iron Man), Cougar (a copy of Sabertooth and Wolverine) and Combat (an alien who in this has around 14-feet tall, but is human size in the next issue). They are trying to arrest Hassan Kussein, who is hiding in a compound.

This comic is horrible. It's unpleasant to look at. In one scene, Shaft's body looks like it was blown up like a balloon, but it's normal in all other scenes. The first story doesn't have a proper resolution and this isn't resloved in the following issues. In the second story, Psi-Fire graphically murder a person and the rest of the team are mildly annoyed and cover it up. Also, Combat's gin changes sizes from panel to panel. For a group that suppose to be "The Next Generation of Heroes" as the tagline says, they are not heroic in any fashion. I give his comic 2 out of 5.

Marshal Law

Marshal Law is comic that is published by various comic publishers. The comic satires superheroes. The series started as a six-issued miniseries and has have several one-shots. It's noted for its use of nudity, graphic violence and social satire.

In the near future, San Francisco is in ruins due to a massive Earthquake. Due to excessive genetic engineering, superheroes are commonplace in this ruined city. However, Marshal Law is a "super hero hunter" that deal with rogue superheroes with maximum force and pleasure. Despite being violent and uncharismatic personality, he has a strong moral compass. He is also aided the crippled Danny and Kiloton (who psychically imposing and polite).

In the original series, the main storyline was Marshal trying hunt down a serial killer and rapist called Sleepman. However, his enemies include Public Spirit (the most powerful superhero, who Marshal claim is corrupt), Private Eye, Persecutor and Suicida (an insane, murderous ex-soldier).

My sources was Wikipedia article "Marshal Law (Comics)".

Spiderman: One More Day

One More Day was event in the Spiderman comics. It proved to near-universally panned.

The basic plot is that Aunt May is shot (the bullet was meant for Spiderman). So, Spiderman seeks the help of the greatest scientists in the Marvel Universe, who can't help a bullet wound. Mephisto (the Marvel stand-in for the devil) offers Spiderman to save Aunt May exchange for his marriage with Mary Jane and agrees on the ground the Mephisto will erase the memories of Spiderman revealing his identity.

This event was praised for it's art, but criticized for it's writing. I haven't read it, but I have a few questions: 1. Why can't the greatest scienists in the Marvel Universe mend to a bullet wound? 2. Why does Mephisto want their marriage and not their souls? 3) How can Mephisto do this? He never shown any powers remotely like this before.

My source was Wikipedia.

Society of Modern American Science Heroes

The Society of Modern American Science Heroes (or SMASH for short) is a superhero team in the Tom Strong series. Each member is actually a Golden Age character that was owned by Nedor Comics, but fell into public domain. The team consisted of American Crusader, Black Terror, Cavalier, Fighting Yank I-II, Green Ghost, Liberator, Ms. Masque, Pyroman, the Scarab, Tom Strange, Tim Roland and The Woman in Red.

In this mythos, all of the original Nedor Comics story actually took place on an alternate Earth called "Terra Obsura". In the Silver Age, Tom meets the team for the first time. However, as soon as he leaves, Obsura gets attacked by a moon alien awakened by the moon landings. During the battle, Ghost, Black Terror and Tom Strong's sidkick, Mike Ellies, died and the rest of the team were put in stasis fields except for Tom Strange, who traveled 30 years into the future. 30 years later, in "Modern Age", Strange and Strong freed the team and they battle the alien (who was builting a base on Earth) with the aid of a computer Black Terror's sidekick, Tim Roland, made. Depsite defeating the alien, Fighting Yank died. During this time, Ghost turned into his name sake and re-named himself "Green Ghost". Unable to adapt to 21st century life, the team decided to disband. However, three years later a "technology plague" stated to turn tech useless and send Obsura back to the Dark Ages. The team re-united and discovered a person called Mystico and his plague so removes the powers of science-power heroes. So only the magic-powered Liberator and Scarab have their powers. After Ms. Masque de-active his powers, Tom Strange convinces Mystico to be a force for good. Years later, they meet Captain Future (another Nedor Comic hero) and have to battle the Terror 2004 (an evil version the before mentioned computer). However, a time-travelling version of Black Terror helped the team defeat it.

My source was wikipedia.

Doom's IV

The Doom's IV was a comic created by Image Comics that a tie-in to a movie based on the comic being made at the same time. They did a similar thing with Kick-Ass. The movie wasn't made due to Marvel complaining about Fantastic Four similarities (personally I think they are being nit-picky). I find it notable for have a 1/2 issue.

The series was about a group of renegade heroes called the "Doom's IV" battling the Doom's Corp. (which begs the question why the heroes have "Doom's" in their name) led by Syber Idol. The team consisted of Burn (who can generate flames from her hands), Slyder (able to phase through matter), Brick (who has sand-based abilities) and Grimm (who uses future weaponry).

My sources were http://www.atomicavenue.com/atomic/titleddetial.aspx?TitleID=3478, Atop The Fourth Wall episode "Doom's IV # 2" and "Doom's IV # 1/2".

1963

No. This is not talking about comics in 1963. I am talking about an Alan Moore series called 1963. He and Image Comics used it to spoof the Silver Age of Comics (roughly 1956 to 1970).
Each issue parodies  / homages a comic that Marvel (sometimes DC) made during the Silver Age. For example, issue 1 featured Mystery Incorporated (no connections to Scooby Doo), which parodied the Fantastic Four, while issue 2 featured the Fury (a parody of Spider-Man and Daredevil) and Sky Solo, Lady of L.A.S.E.R. (a female Nick Fury parody). The comic had in-jokes from Stan Lee-like pen names such as "Sturdy Steve", "Jaunty John" and "Affable Al" to make fun of business practices of the time. "Affable Al" is jerk that steals the credit for the creations of his employees and encourages people to buy his book How I Created Everything All By Myself and Why I Am Great (a parody of Stan Lee's Origins of Marvel Comics). The comic was intended to end with a "80-page giant", where the heroes of the comics go to the "future" of 1993 and discover how the Silver Age led to "grim and gritty"-style 90s comic, but this was never completed due to the creators going to other projects. My sources were Wikipedia.

Guardians of the Globe

 Mr. Martian (Top left), Darkwing, Red Rush,
Aquarus, War Woman,  Green Ghost
(Front Row) Immortal, Omni-Man

The first incarnation Guardians of the Globe appeared in Invincible # 7. This version was a parody / homage of the Justice League of America. The members were Darkwing (Batman parody), who is like Batman without the ears; Red Rush (Flash), a super fast Russian; the super strong War Woman (Wonder Woman), who may be a lesbian; Aquarus (Aquaman), who is more fish than man; Green Ghost (Green Lantern), who can phase and fly via a gem he appears to shallow; Martian Man (Maritan Manhunter), who can shapeshift and fly; and Black Samon and the Immortal (the only non-JLA parodies members). However, the dialogue suggests there was another Green Ghost who was a member. They were all sent to their based in Utah only to be killed by Omni-Man (a supporting character of the comic). Only Black Samon (who wasn't on duty at the time) and the Immortal (due to his powers) survived. Robert Kirkman (the writer) explained the reason for the JLA parodies was "I have 18 pages to introduce them and make readers care about them before I killed them. Using archetypes is the best way to that".

The team with their own book

The next team was formed by the US government after the murder of the first. It was supervised by government agent Donald. The team consists of Dupli-Kate, Robot, Rex Splode from Teen Team; Black Samon from the original team; and new characters Monster Girl and Shrinking Ray. The team did poorly, leading to changes: Bulletproof and Immortal joined. Shortly, the Immortal became leader. Most of the team's most powerful members had to stop a martian invasion, while the members on Earth had to stop the Lizard Legion from taking over nukes. Soon, Dulti-Kate and Shrinking Ray died.

A parody ad "advertised" fictionally a Guardians of the Globe mini-series. However, a real series came out. The team started out with Brit, Yeti, Bulletproof, Outrun and Kaboomerang. However, El Chupacabra, Pegasus, Kid Thor, Japandroid, Cast Iron, Le Brusier, Best Tiger and Knockout joined as the series went on.
My sources were Wikipedia's page on the subject and Invincible volume 2 "Eight is Enough".

Pyroman

History

Pyroman was created by Nedor Comics. Somehow working with high-voltage electricity, he allowed him to gain the ability to store and control electricity it. He discover this ability when he was sent to the electric chair for a crime he didn't commit. He used his powers to clear his name and become a superhero.

The character fell into public domain and as such any comic company could use him. AC Comics reprinted his Nedor Comics adventures and a made a few new one. In American's Best Comic's Tom Strong series, he is revealed to be a member of the Society of Modern American Science Heroes or SMASH (which consists of public domain Nedor Comics heroes). He (with the rest of the team) are put in suspend animation and are revived 30 years later by Tom Strong, only for them to disband (althought they come back together 3 years later). Dynamite Entertainment said Pyroman would be in their Project Superpowers series. Age of Adventure reprints several Golden Age Pyroman story.

References:

http://en.wikipedia.com/wiki/Pyroman

http://en.wikipedia.com/wiki/SMASH_(comics)

Review: Green Lantern

As you know, a Green Lantern movie has come out. So, I am here to review it.
The movie is about a hot-shot Hal Jordon (Ryan Reynolds) is given membership into the Green Lantern Corp. by Abin Sur (Temuera Morrison). But, the other lanterns don't have must faith in Hal, especially Sinestro (Mark Strong). However, a rogue Guardian of the Universe, exposed yellow fear energy, called Parallax (vocal effects done by Clancy Brown) breaks free and plans to eat Earth. Also, there is a sub-plot about Hector Hammond (Peter Sarsgaard) becoming infected by the fear-energy and get a bulgy head and telepathy / telekinetic powers at the lost of his sanity.
I thought this was a good movie. The visual were great. The plot was strong. The only thing I don't like about the film is how Hector's transformation scenes took forever.

Review: X-Men Shows

The X-Men have had several television series: X-Men (1992-1997), X-Men: Evolution (2000-2003) and Wolverine and the X-Men (2008-2009). I have seen episodes from all them and I am going to review them here with the exception of X-Men because I only saw like three or four episodes.
X-Men: Evolution was the next series created. Unlike the previous series, here most of the X-Men were teenagers (save Prof. X, Wolverine and Storm, who acted as their mentors). I thought this is series was awesome except for one thing: the episode "Sins of the Son" had a twist ending which made the rest episode make no sense.
Wolverine and the X-Men was the most recent. The series focused on the X-Men trying to prevent Days of Future Past-like future with the help of a future version of Prof. Xavier, who somehow can telepathicly "talk" to him from the future. This series focused way too much on Wolverine and I don't like him that much. So, this series wasn't very enjoyable except for the episodes focusing on Nightcrawler (my favorite X-Man).

Common Grounds

Common Grounds is a six issue mini-series about superheroes / supervillains (such as Acidic Jew, Mental Midget, Speeding Bullet, Flammabelle, American Pi and so on) and their lives "in and around" a coffee shop chain called Common Ground.

The comic focuses on 13 self-contained stories focused on a huge amount of superheroes and villains. The comic explores themes unusual for superheroes such as obesity, second chances, religious faith, suicide, guilt and regret. The writer does so by focusing the characters as humans rather than as almighty protectors of justice.

The series started as a 1990s series called Holey Crullers (a reference to Robin's campy catchphrase "Holy [horrible pun], Batman!"). In 2004, it was revamped as Common Ground (the name of the coffee store). The reason the store is named that is because it serves as a common ground for super heroes and supervillains.

References:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_Grounds

O.G.R.E.

Organization for General Revenge and Enslavement

The first O.G.R.E. was a small "mercenary terrorist group". They were led by a guy in a black hood called Supreme One, who led a group of foot soldiers with red helmets and brown uniforms. They were hired to steal some nukes. Aquaman and Mera interfered with this plan and convinced two agents Huntress and Typhoon (who were working for the group, because O.G.R.E. threaten to kill them) to turn on O.G.R.E., who they defeated. Months later, a guy named Krako re-organized the group. He threatened the UN, but was defeated by Aquaman. He tried (and failed) to bomb Atlantis, while Black Manta distracted Aquaman. However, the government located and destroyed their HQ.
Ocean Going Research Exchange
A second O.G.R.E. was formed, but it doesn't seem to have ties to the original one. It's also simply called the Exchange. Founded by Jordan Wylie (the CEO of Merrevale Oil), it tried to discredit the Sea Devils' environmental actives and had hostile encounters with Aquaman. Aquaman accused Jordan of ruining the environment, resulting in Jordan losing his job. O.G.R.E. decided to make Jordan "less visible".

References:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O.R.G.E._(comics)

Master Order and Lord Choas

History

Master Order and Lord Chaos are two "brother" entities that embodies their namesake and balance the other. They seem to be all-powerful and nearly all-knowing. The duo are rarely seen, but have several notable appearances. They manipulated Spider-Man into getting Warlock to battle the villain Thanos. They watched Odin and Dormammu play a "cosmic game of chess". The duo helped battle against the god-like Beyonder. Then, they imprisoned the In-Betweener (their servant turned evil). Later, they are seen at Eon's (another cosmic entity) funeral. In their most recent appearance, they (and other "abstract" cosmic entities) deemed Thanos unworthy of the Infinity Gauntlet and attacked him, but soon turn their attention on Nebula, when she got the gauntlet. They were seen witnessing Warlock's "cosmic trial" to see if he is worthy of the gaunlet.

References:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Master_ORder

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_Chaos_(MArvel_COmics)

Nextwave

Above: Captain, Tabitha, Monica, Aaron and Elsa
This is my 200th post!

Overview

This series focuses on a group of B-list heroes: Monica Rambeau (former Captain Marvel), Tabitha Smith (former X-Force member), Aaron Stack (Machine Man), Elsa Bloodstone (a monster hunter) and the Captain (a new character, who used to be "Captain [censored]", the word is so vuglar Captain America once put soap in his mouth and threw him in a dumpster). The group joined the Highest Anti-Terrorism Effort (or H.A.T.E.) to stop the Unusual Weapons of Mass Destruction (U.W.M.D.s). However, they discovered a terrorist group called the Beyond Corporation was actually funding H.A.T.E. So, they stole a vehicle called the Shockwave Rider (which is bigger on the inside than the outside akin to the TARDIS from Doctor Who) and battled U.W.M.D.s and H.A.T.E., while being hunted by the leader of H.A.T.E., Dirk Anger (an over-the-top parody of Nick Fury).

The series tends to have story arcs lasting a mere two issues. The comic has extreme comedy and violence and shows flashbacks of various heroes acting out of character for comedic effect. It also parodies the superhero genre in general. Warren Ellis (the guy who wrote the series) stated "I took The Authority and I stripped out all the plots, logic, characters and sanity".

Cannon or Not

A confusing issue is whether the Nextwave takes place in the Marvel Universe or not. Ellis state concern wasn't due to the "harm" it would due to the continuity. However, Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe and Civil War: Battle Damage Report claimed otherwise. The Battle Damage Report claimed that the Nextwave's members might have had their memories and personalities altered by H.A.T.E.

References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nextwave

Powers

Overview

Powers is a police procedural comic with a science fiction twist. In a world, where superpowers are common, but not completely everyday, Christian Walker and Deena Pilgrim are police officers that deal with homicides that involving "powers" (a slang term for superhumans).

Walker used to be a "power" himself and was a superhero called "Diamond". However, he lost his abilities and became a police officer. Despite the latter, he still has contacts in the superhero community.

Deena Pilgrim, his partner, has a dark secret: she managed to get superpowers to battle a super villain called Bug, but this led her to accidentally kill her abusive boyfriend in self-defense and she hid the evidence. However, she manged to redeem herself later in the series.

Similar Series

Gotham Central focused on the cops in titular city and their interactions to superhumans.

Alan Moore's Top 10 was also about superpowered cops solving cases involving superhumans, which worried the creators of Powers. However, Moore said the series were different as Top 10 is about "superpowered cops" where as Powers is about cops that deal with superhumans.

References:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Powers_(comics)

The Maxx

Overview

The titular character, Maxx, is a being who exist both in the "real" world and an alternate reality called the Outback. In the Outback, he is the the protector the Jungle Queen, but in the real world, he is a homeless man, who wears a purple superhero costume (see above). The Jungle Queen also has a "real world" counterpart named Julie Winters, who is a social worker that often bail Maxx out of prison. While Maxx is aware of both realities, Julie isn't.

Plot
In the first story arch, a serial killer Mr. Gone (who has a telepathic link to Julie) is constantly calling Julie, but she ignored him. The Maxx was protecting Julie, so Mr. Gone had to get help from the Isz, the main predators of the Outback. Mr. Gone reveal that he was once a friend of Julie's father; the Outback was actually controlled by her subconscious and other people have them; and Julie accidentally created a rip between the real world and the Outback causing the creation of Maxx. Julie started heal herself and her Outback. We meet a depressed teenager, Sarah, who doesn't want to be like her father, Mr. Gone.
In the second story arch, Julie and the former Maxx (whose name is revealed to be Dave) have disappeared, so this story arch focuses on Sarah. A giant yellow, slug monster called the Iago (who is from the Outback) came into the real world and has a list of people to kill... including Juile and Sarah. Sara (as she spells it now) was hounded by a homeless man named Norbert, who she realized is her "Maxx". Julie and Dave resurfaced to battled the Iago. Norbert, Sara, Dave, Mr. Gone and Mark (Julie's son) try to stop the Iago, who kidnapped Juile and went into Sara's Outback and save her. Mr. Gone reveal time is running out for the group. Then, they are reborn into a new reality. In this new reality, Mr. Gone is a professor and Dave is a janitor at the same school. It's implied despite living completely different lives, they still have connections to the Outback and each other.
References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Maxx

Trashman

Overview

In a near-future, America became a tyrannical, fascist state. Harry Barnes' wife was murdered and he was on the run from the police. He met Citizen X (the leader of an underground anarchist group), who trained him to be a master of the "para-sciences" giving him super powers. Using these powers and a variety of weapons, he became the defender of middle class people, oppressed by the fascist police forces and the greedy rich people.

Powers and Abilities

He has super strength, speed, stamina, reflexes, agility, durability and equilibrium. While not completely invulnerable, most weapons cannot harm him. He can alter his shape and molecular structure and turn back at will.

Notes

• Trashman was one of the few superheroes in the Underground Comix movement. The comix had profanity, sex and gory violence, which till then where alien to superheroes.

• Many times the characters break the fourth wall.

References:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trashman_(comics)

Tharg the Mighty

Overview

Thrag the Mighty or Mighty Thang is the fictional editor of the real British science fiction comic 2000 AD. However, he usually appears in his own strip and rarely appears in the actual stories. Thrag is an egoistic tyrant from the also fictional planet Quaxxann that orbits the real-life star Betelgeuse, but works in Britain. Unlike most stereotypical aliens, he refers to humans as "Earthlets" as oppose to "Earthlings". He abuses his droids (robot caricatures of the real-life staff) that work on the comic and destroys them when they displease him. His favorite "food" is polystyrene cups. Although he speaks perfect English, he peppers his speech with "Betelgusian" phrases. He often battles the parasitical "Thrill Suckers" (who try to steal the comic's thrill powers) and the Dictators of Zrag (who try to take over the comic to liven up their dull planet and are constantly used as scapegoats by Tharg).

Catchphrases

• "Borag Thungg, Earthlet" (which means something to the effect of "Greetings, human".


• "Zarjaz" (Excellent)


• "Grexnix" (Someone rude or ignorant)


• "Nonscrot" (Someone who doesn't read 2000 AD)


• "Quaequam Blag!" (expression of outrage or suprise)


• "Rigellian Hotshot" (a form of toture)


• "Scrotning" (exciting or good)


• "Squaxx dek Thargo" (Thrag's friends, usually used to refer to loyal readers)


• "Splundig Vur Thrigg" (Farewell, so long)

References

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tharg_the_Mighty

Magog

Fictional History

Kingdom Come

Magog first appeared as an antagonist in the series Kingdom Come. He killed the Joker causing the public to praise him as a hero. This caused Superman (who disliked Magog's methods) to withdraw from the world. During Superman's exile, superhumans become more violent like Magog. At an unknown time, Magog formed the Justice Battalion. They battled Parasite, which led to him literately tear Captain Atom apart, causing him to explode like a A-Bomb, with Alloy and Magog being the only survivors. This lead Superman to return from his exile and reform the Justice League. They found that Magog was sorry for what he has done and was traumatized. He was sent to a superhuman prison and spent most of his time in his cell. When the rogue superhumans were freed and battled the JLA, Magog avoid fighting and tried to save as many lives as he can. At the end of the series, he has decided to retire to Paradise Island. Note these events take place on Earth-22 and are non-cannon.

Justice Society of America

Introduced into the main continuity, this version of Magog was once Lance Corporal David Reid and fought in the War of Iraq. He touched a "stone fragment of the Old God Gog", which filled his body with plasma energy, but ruin his left arm. He would later gain a lance-shaped device that allowed him to control it. He was allowed to join the JSA, because he is the great-grandson of Frank D. Roosevelt. They helped a person known as Gog fight against a rogue military attack. Gog turned Magog's right eye and ruined armed to gold. It turns out that Gog was actually evil and the Society turns on him with Magog killing him. Magog left to join his family farm. He rejoined the team, but clashed with the other members due to his military personality.

JSA All-Stars

He quit the JSA again and joined a team called the All-Stars, which was composed of mostly younger heroes.

Solo Series

Magog got his own series. In the first story arch, he battled against the Flashpoint, a mysterious weapon making group run by D. P.Macklin. This series also fleshed out the character some more in various ways such as his origin and new rogue gallery. Macklin framed Magog and (even though he cleared his name) he got kicked out of the All-Stars. Magog discovered the Cult of Gog was manipulating him and he seemly died stopping them. But, it later seen alive.

Generation Lost

Magog tried (and failed) to capture Captain Atom, who was framed by a telepathic Maxwell Lord. Maxwell Lord met a being known as the Entity, who revealed that Magog could cause a war among Earth's superhumans (akin to Kingdom Come). After Magog tracked down Captain Atom, Atom manged to convince Magog that Lord was manipulating him. Lord (unhappy about this) killed Magog, but used his powers to make it seem like that Atom did it.

Powers

Magog's body is full of plasma energy that he controls via his staff. He has super strength and durability (he was seen surviving a nuke). He can fly. He was once seen being able to teleport people, but this power has not been seen after he killed Gog. He is able to use various forms of super-vision in his "blind" eye. According to Keith Griffen (who wrote his solo series), he actually has more power than he knows about.

References:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magog_(comics)

Floating Timeline

Archie (above) and the gang are still teens despite the fact in real time they would be on retirement funds.

Concept

A floating timeline is an excused in pieces of fiction such as comics to explain why they don't age as much as they should. In a FT, events are changed so they happen more recently. For example, in a FT, if a comics says "10 years ago", it actually means "10 prior to you reading this". So, this is how come characters in lets say the Peanuts for example stay young even through the strip ran for 50 years. However, despite the characters not changing, technology and tends may change.

Comic Book Examples

• In DC and Marvel Comics, while the characters do age, it's at a much slower rate. For example, in 20 years, Spider-Man only aged 4 or 5 years.


• A better example is Archie, where the characters never age and have been in high school since 1941.

References:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Floating_Timeline

Marvel Chronicle

Life in Hell

Blinky, Sheba and Bongo (Above)

Overview

The comic is about anthropomorphic rabbits and gay brothers Akbar & Jeff. It explores topics like death, work, love and sex. The comic often has serialized story lines.

History

Life in Hell was a self-published comic book created by Matt Groening. Matt gave copies of it to his friends and sold them at a record store he worked at. The strip later appeared in Wet magazine and the Los Angeles Reader. While he never fully gave up on the strip, he has trouble doing it due to his involvement with television.

Recurring Characters

• Blinky- He is main character and an everyman despite being a rabbit. He is often bitter and depressed. He usually has a dead end job and embodies alienation and dread. He often sees a therapist and has a bad apartment. Despite this, he usually is full of wise sayings.


• Sheba- Blinky's girlfriend. She and Blinky are often used a generic couple when the plot demands one.


• Bongo- He is Blinky's one eared illegitimate son. Matt has made several references to him in cartoons he works on.


• Akbar & Jeff- Two "brothers or lovers... and possibly both". Matt claims they are gay. They have Charlie Brown-like shirts and fezzes and own many businesses such as Akabr & Jeff's Bootleg "Akbar & Jeff" T-Shirt Hut. They some time appear in 16-panel grid strips that only they appear in. Unlike most of the characters, they are human.


• Matt Groening and his sons sometime appear as rabbits.


• Snarla- A cat that looks like Lisa Simpson. She is Bongo's love interest and classmate.


• Mr. Simpson- Blinky's dog boss. He predates The Simpson cartoon.


• Gooey, Screwy and Ratatouille- A parody of Huey, Dewey and Louie and are Akbar and Jeff's triplet nephews.

Recurring Situations and Gags

• Fake Magazines


• How to Guides


• Miniseries- Strips told in a mock textbook-style


• Akbar & Jeff Discussing About Their Relationship


• Binky Tries to Meditate


• Ads for Akbar & Jeff's Shady Businesses


• Bongo Trapped In Detention


• Bongo Being Unhappy With The Huge Amounts of Gifts He Gets For Christmas


• Shadow Rabbit- Blinky's shadow towering over Bongo, when did something wrong despite his claims he didn't (even though it's obvious he did)


• How to Draw Blinky

References:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_In_Hell

Liberty Legion

History

The Liberty Legion were a group of B-list Golden Age superheroes assembled by Bucky in 1942 to save the Invaders from the Red Skull. The heroes included: the Blue Diamond, Jack Frost, Red Raven, the Thin Man (no connection to the movie), the Whizzer, Miss America and the Patriot. After saving the Invaders, they became superhero team protect America from the Nazi, while the Invaders fought them overseas. Many of the LL's members that been re-introduce into the Marvel Comics continuity.

Liberteens

The Liberteens (pun on "libertine") were a morden day teenage version of the Liberty Legion, with each member being based on a LL member. During the Secret Invasion, it turned out that their leader Revolutionary (based on Patriot) was a Skrull sleeper agent. The skrulls tried to kill the Liberteens via pioson gas, but Whiz Kid (Whizzer) saved her team mates.

References:

http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberty_Legion

Flaming Carrot Comics

Titular Character

The titular character is a surrealist parody of superheroes. The Flaming Carrot was once a normal person, but became brain damaged after reading "5,000 comics in a single sitting" to win a bet. He decided to become a superhero (likely because of his mentally instability): the Flaming Carrot. He protects Palookaville (where he lives) and Iron City (which happens to be near by).

His dialogue tends to be disjointed and peppered with non-sequiturs and odd pop culture references. He is often a womanizing, hard-drinking and mentally unstable individual (likely a parody of the "grim and gritty" antiheroes), but somehow still is on the side of the Establishment and once acted like a "clean cut, all American" superhero. He also often reflects on pieces of philosophy, why someone would become a superhero and the side effects of having a speaker transplanted into one's chest (don't ask).

So far, FC has stopped a Communist take over of Iron City, 3 alien invasions, the Man in the Moon, an army of clones of Hilter's boots and Death itself. He also formed a group of blue-collar superheroes called the Mystery Men.

Powers and Abilities

His mask has live flames on the top of it (hence his name) and a secret compartment for odd gadgets (such as a nuclear-powered pogo stick). He has a utility belt full of seemingly useless stuff that still proves lethal in combat. He wears flippers on his feet in case he needs to swim. Unlike most superheroes, he is completely willing to use firearms and has been seen using a semi-automatic pistol.

References:

http://en.wik,ipedia.org/wiki/Flaming_Carrot_Comics

Limited Series

A limited series is a comic with a fixed amount of issues.

History

In 1979, Dave Sim was hospitalized, due to overdose of grass and LSD. During this time, he came up with the idea for Cerebus the Aardvark and to limit it to 300 issues. Cerebus was the very first limited series (although somehow Dave failed to realize the latter).

DC Comic, which was suffering from the damage of the DC Implosion, decided to experiment with this style of story telling, which proved successful. Later, Marvel Comics and Dark Horse Comics adopted the style of story telling.

Length

Although 4 to 6 issues is the norm, the number of issues can vary. Gen13 ran for 4 issues, while Squadron Supreme and Watchmen had 12 issues. Usually, an issue of a limited series will say on the cover what the limit of issues is.

References:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limited_series

Batman

Publication History

Creation

Batman was created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger. Bob's early design of Batman was a Superman-look-alike with a domino mask and stiff bat wings coming out of his back. Finger gave several suggestion to improve the character's look such as him having a cowl and cape. Batman was influenced by Zorro, the Phantom, the Shadow (who is often mistaken for Batman-knock off), Doc Savage and Sherlock Homes. Although many stories did not actually give credit to the creators in that time, later, the title panel would every now and then give Bob credit.

Early Years

First appearing in Detective Comics # 27, Batman started out as a hero who had little remorse for killing the villains. The character evolved over time. In issue 29, he got his trademark utility belt and in issue 31 he got the Bat-Plane and bat-shaped boomerangs. His origin wasn't revealed until issue 33. By issue 38, the character was be soften up by introducing the first Robin to act as his "Watson". Batman got his own comic, which not only introduced Joker and Catwoman in the first issue, but also his "no killing" rule.

1950s and 1960s

Due to the criticisms of Seduction of the Innocent, Batman became much softer and a less dark hero and had more female supporting characters. The comic started to become more sci-fi oriented and introduce characters like Bat-Mite and Ace the Bat-Hound, who would later be erased from the Batman mythos. He also became a founding member of the Justice League.

New Batman

Editor Julius Schwartz made major changes to Batman such as removing Bat-Mite and making the comic more detective-oriented again. Due to the popularity of the Batman television show featuring Adam West, the comics gained a campy touch. Writer Dennis O'Neil would later try and keep Batman away from the campy overtones. But, sales were bad.

Back to the Basic

Thanks to Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns, Batman regained popularity as well as returned to his dark roots. A notable event was when fans could vote on if Jason Todd (the second Robin) would live or DIE! Lets just say things did turn out too good for Jason. In "Batman R.I.P.", Batman was killed. In "Battle for the Cowl", Dick Grayson (the first Robin) became the new Batman.

Character Biography

Origin

Young Bruce Wayne was leaving a movie when his parents where mugged. The mugger (later revealed to be Joe Chill) killed his parents. On his parent's grave, he swore to fight crime. After spending years of training in fighting, he decided to become a vigilante. But, he wanted to inflict criminals with fear... but how? One night, a giant bat flew into his study. Taking his as an omen, he decided to become "a bat" and became Batman. By day, he was an irresponsible playboy.

Golden Age
After several years of brutally fighting crime, Batman witnessed the Flying Graysons killed. He took their son (Dick Grayson) under his wing and dubbed him "Robin". The duo would fight many enemies such as Catwoman, Joker and Riddler. Batman had a few adventures with the Justice Society of America. Later, Alfred Pennyworth became his butler (in this version this is the first time Batman met him) and discovered that Batman and Bruce Wayne were one and the same. Also, Vicki Vale (a Lois Lane knock off) became Batman's first girlfriend that didn't try to kill him.

Silver Age

The Golden Age Batman was rewritten so he existed in a reality known as Earth-Two, where he married Catwoman. The main reality Batman's origin was given a new twist: Joe Chill was hired to kill Batman's parents. It was revealed his dad (Thomas Wayne) stopped a mobster called Lew Moxon. Lew hired Joe to kill Thomas and his wife (which he did). This Batman became a founding member of the Justice League of America (the Silver Age counterpart to the JSA). Later, Robin decided to go solo. Batman's stories became darker such as his arch-enemy Joker became more sadistic and psychopathic. Later, Batman quit the JLA and joined the Outsiders, only to quit later too.

Modern Age
Batman was rebooted to be much darker. Also, Alfred was rewritten to be a father figure to Bruce. Batman got a new Robin: Jason Todd. Jason tried to find his genetic mom... only to get beaten half to death and blown up by the Joker. This caused Batman to become even more dark. However, he still had more Robins. A villain called Bane broke his back and Batman gave Azrael the mantle of the Bat, while he recovered, which he did. However, upon battling the god-like Darksied, his mind is sent to parallel worlds. However, it seems more like Darkseid actually killed him. Dick Grayson ends up becoming the new Batman. Through a complex series of events, Bruce gets back to normal and decides to open up Batman Inc.

Homosexual Interpretations

The before mentioned Seduction of the Innocent accused Batman and Robin of being a gay couple and them a "homosexual fantasy". However, creators disagree if Batman is gay or not. While Alan Grant says Batman isn't gay, Frank Miller views them as a "homophobic nightmare". Devin Grayson, a writer, said while he doesn't think Batman is gay "It depends who you ask".

References:

http://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batman

http://www.comicvine.com/Batman/29-1699/