Posted by Michael Pinto on Jan 30, 2010 in Comic Books
Shōjo manga fans may feel jilted but here’s a sad preview of Marvel Heartbreakers. The lack of quality in this book kills me because once upon a time there was an American tradition of romantic comic books which could appeal to the ladies which lasted until about the 60s, but as the industry retreated to the boys treehouse of comic book shops in the 80s the genre had all but faded. While I’ve been impressed with Marvel’s ability to do great work in the kids market, this book shows that Marvel doesn’t see the potential of the audience. And while the ladies are reading comics these days they’re more likely to be Japanese manga than anything that Marvel might put out as seen below: Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jan 26, 2010 in Comic Books
If you’re a manga fan looking for an American comic book to check out I’d highly recommend Kick Ass #8 which will be available this Wednesday. At first glance one might confuse the moe character designs in this book as a Marvel title aimed at kids — but there’s too much splatter going on which is one of the fun things that anime fans would instantly love: Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jan 25, 2010 in Comic Books
For me the joy of science fiction is that it’s somewhat believable — and once upon a time before the comic book code there were some amazing comics that had science fiction themes. However with the code and the dawn of the silver age of comics superheroes dominated the medium. Superhero comics may have some elements of science fiction, but they’re always used as window dressing using dull plot devices like superpowers being caused by genetic mutations. However from time to time you’ll see a book that tries to reintroduce the genre, and Guardians of the Galaxy tries hard but doesn’t quite succeed at this task: Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jan 23, 2010 in Comic Books
I was reviewing all of the Marvel titles that are set to be released next week and as usual the the one cover artist who always seems to be standing out is Skottie Young. Usually marvel takes itself so seriously so it’s nice to see Skottie injecting his humor and cartoony style into the stiff world of superheroes. At first I would say that Marvel is limiting him to comic books aimed at kids, but frankly these are turning into the best publications that Marvel is producing. Shown above is the cover for X-Babies #4, and below are the covers for The Marvelous Land of Oz #3 and Marvel Adventures Spider-Man #59: Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jan 10, 2010 in Comic Books
I usually make the mistake over overlooking mainstream Marvel titles because they can be so repetitive to me — but by missing the first issue of Spider-Man & The Secret Wars I clearly made a mistake! So with issue #2 (which is due out on January 13th) I won’t repeat that: From what I’m seeing with this book illustrator Patrick Scherberger is doing an A+ job of bringing Spidey to life. Read more…
Just knowing that you’ve got a film with Robert Downey, Jr. and Gwyneth Paltrow is cool. But add Mickey Rourke who’s an amazing actor as the heavy and you’ve the potential for a very entertaining film. In fact Rourke as the evil character Whiplash looks like he’s going to be the star of this film. Iron Man 2 is due out in May of 2010…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Dec 3, 2009 in Comic Books
Shunk! Blam! Whudd! Kroom! Fwump! Don’t tell me the story, show me the story is a truism that is given to film scriptwriters, but it also applies to comic books — and X-Force Annual #1 illustrates this concept with glee. Carlo Barberi and Jason Pearson have done a great job with the artwork in this book which keeps you turning from page-to-page with good old fashioned fisticuffs: Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Dec 3, 2009 in Comic Books
When I first came across X-Babies I have to admit I was drawn in by the ever so cute covers by Skottie Young, but with X-Babies #3 I’m realizing that the best part of the book is actually the interior art by Jacob Chabot. Chabot’s work reminds me a great deal of the chibi style that you see all the time with manga, yet he’s managed to make the style his own and it works very well with the Marvel characters — yet it’s never so cute that you get the Muppet Babies effect: Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Dec 3, 2009 in Comic Books
Somehow I overlooked the first issue of Who is Stephen Strange? but the second issue is due out this Thursday and is worth a look. As a manga fan I always dread how Marvel is still married to always having superheroes prance around in capes — well Strange is a refreshing departure from this cliché. For starters our protagonist is a young lady who’s not flying through the air in tights — instead she wears normal clothing and uses her superpowers with discretion. I’m very impressed with the story that Mark Waid has come up with, and Emma Rios has done an ace job bringing these characters to life in the interiors of the book: Read more…
A very old school approach to wallpaper was to take paste up newspapers, this Marvel Comic Book Chair Rail Prepasted Wall Mural gives a post-modern fanboy take on this time honored decoration technique. The instant wall mural is six feet high by ten feet wide and includes covers from Spider Man, X-Men, Daredevil, Silver Surfer, The Avengers, The Fantastic Four, Thor, and Captain America: Read more…
This film takes fandom and cosplay to the next level: Based upon the comic book by Mark Millar and John Romita Jr. it tells the story of a teen who decides to become a real life superhero sans super powers. Methinks that bit of realism might actually make this film a bit of fun. Here are some posters from the film: Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Oct 30, 2009 in Comic Books
After months of looking at preview art I’m happy to see that The Marvelous Land Of Oz #1 will be hitting comic book shops next Wednesday. It was an act of bravery for Marvel to not only tackle such a well known property — but to bring in illustrator Skottie Young to do it. What I also love is that Marvel isn’t doing the old bait-and-switch where Skottie does an amazing cover and the insides of the book are done by a lesser talent in a hurry. The inside of Oz is 100% Skottie and I like what I’m seeing here: Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Oct 24, 2009 in Comic Books
There are two things I love about this cover for Marvel Divas #4 by Jelena Kevic-Djurdjevic: First the coloring is wonderfully done, but more amazing yet our divas aren’t forced to be clad in bikinis when fighting those devilish looking creatures! Granted the Marvel Divas look slightly supermodel thin, but this feels like an improvement from other covers I tend to see. Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Oct 21, 2009 in Comic Books
Shown above is the cover for Marvel Adventures Spider-Man #59 by Skottie Young which is due out in January. I never get tired of looking at Skottie’s work, it always pops out from the pack every time I see the Marvel previews. I like the fact that by taking a cartoony approach with the classic Marvel characters that he’s able to give them some personality that you never see in the more serious action packed and over photoshoped covers you see elsewhere.
Posted by Michael Pinto on Oct 4, 2009 in Comic Books
X-Babies #1 just came out this week and the minute that I spotted the cover by Skottie Young I knew I was in for a treat! The interiors by Jacb Chabot are almost worthy of the golden age of Mad magazine. Marvel is claiming that this title is aimed at kids but I think slightly older fanboys (and fangurls) of all ages will get a kick out of it: Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Oct 3, 2009 in Comic Books
ForaTV has a great show out on Comic Book Heroines: Sex, Violence and Objectification which features Supergirls author Mike Madrid. What i find amazing about this segment is that he explores how during the 90s adult entertainment merged with mainstream media and then crept into comic books.
Posted by Michael Pinto on Oct 2, 2009 in Comic Books
Strange Tales #2 hits the streets next week and I’m surprised that I missed the first issue. Marvel is at their very best when they don’t takes themselves so seriously and this little gem is proof of this: You’ve got some very talented artists going to town with the Marvel characters and having a ball with them. The cover above by Peter Bagge made me smile, but the Iron man story below by Tony Millionaire had me laughing with joy: Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Sep 22, 2009 in Comic Books
Photoshop is an amazing tool, but in the wrong hands it can be a disaster! The first beginner mistake that most kids make with Photoshop is to use every damn filter that there is like gleams-and-glows and goofy texture maps of fire effects. This is not too dissimilar to the graphic design mistake of using too many typefaces when just one will do. I’ve got to say the quality of covers for Marvel Comics Entertainment is a pretty mixed bag: Sometimes the cover look great, but other times they cover illustrations look amateurish. And Ultimate Comics Armor Wars #4 is just screaming to me that Brandon Peterson needs to lay off the lens flare just a little bit: Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Sep 10, 2009 in Comic Books
It’s been unofficial for a while, but as of this week I’d say that as of this week the comic book biz is no longer about actually publishing comic books, but in fact about making films that star comic book characters. The take over of Marvel Entertainment by Disney and the reorganization of DC Comics into DC Entertainment is part of a larger picture which includes the death of print as a viable commercial medium. Although to be fair this story has been a long time in the making: In fact the first chapter in this story can be traced to Disney. Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Aug 20, 2009 in Comic Books
At the end of the silver age of comic books (which was sometime the early 70s) there was a well known cigarette ad campaign which would proudly proclaim to the ladies “You’ve come a long way, baby.” But sadly while the wider world of publishing started to open up to women, the comic book biz was — and still today largely a boys club. Now I can already hear the indignation from my fellow fanboys, but here’s the evidence: Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Aug 17, 2009 in Comic Books
I’m so happy to see Marvel taking chances for once! With the first issue of Punisher Noir #1 which hits comic book shops on Wednesday, August 19th we’ll see an entire Punisher series that is set in the 1920’s. The minute I came across the cover for this book (illustrated by Tim Bradstreet and Denis Calero) I liked the little touches like the Flatiron building in the background and the vintage firearms show as decorative graphics. Looking at the inside of the book I like what artist Paul Azaceta and writer Frank Tieri have done with this book: Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Aug 7, 2009 in Comic Books
Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #1 will be out next Wednesday, August 12th and I don’t think I’ve been this excited about a Spider-Man comic book since my childhood! David Lafuente is a comic book illustrator from Spain and I really love what I’m seeing in this book. First we start with the cover which looks good and is pretty strongly designed (the layout has a nice dramatic effect) but usually at this point I groan about the bait-and-switch where the interior art just doesn’t measure up — well in this case it actually looks better! Not only that but each frame of the comic book feels like your looking at a well composed action film. Lafuente really understands how to make the page look dramaic in a way that reminds me of a Japanese manga. Read more…
I really like what Madhouse is doing with Iron Man and Wolverine! As you can see with that extra touch of anime love Iron Man features some nice mecha and Wolverine wades more into a goth look: Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jul 21, 2009 in Comic Books
I really love the work that Skottie Young is doing for Marvel these days: In this case his cover illustration for Marvel Adventures Spider-man #53 does a wonderful job of reinventing Peter Parker. Usually Peter is seen as the archetype of the geek who was playing with his science lab routine too much — here he’s reinvented as a punky juvenile delinquent, yet Young has kept true to the larger theme of superheroes with a secret identity. Read more…
It’s been unofficial for a while, but as of this week I’d say that as of this week the comic book biz is no longer about actually publishing comic books, but in fact about making films that star comic book characters. The take over of Marvel Entertainment by Disney and the reorganization of DC Comics into DC Entertainment is part of a larger picture which includes the death of print as a viable commercial medium. Although to be fair this story has been a long time in the making: In fact the first chapter in this story can be traced to Disney. 
