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MARVEL COMICS
"Vampire Variants"
In anticipation of "Blood Hunt," the linewide, vampire-war crossover coming in May, Marvel is releasing a series of variant covers in April homaging older Marvel covers with bloodsuckers. (Yes, expect a lot of Tomb of Dracula homages.) Can you guess what the original covers are? Answers are at bottom. No peeking! (If the small image is blurry on your screen, click to show a larger, better one.)
Here are the answers, as promised:
- Avengers #12, by Pete Woods, is an homage to Tomb of Dracula #13.
- Captain America #8, by David Yardin, is an homage to Tomb of Dracula #5.
- Deadpool #1, by Javier Garron, is an homage to Tomb of Dracula #1.
- Immortal Thor #9, by Sergio Dávila, is an homage to Adventures into Fear #31.
- Sensational She-Hulk #7, by Betsy Cola, is an homage to Tomb of Dracula #48.
- Spider-Man: Shadow of the Green Goblin #1, by Dan Panosian, is an homage to Doctor Strange #14.
- Vengeance of the Moon Knight #4, by Elizabeth Torque, is an homage to Tomb of Dracula #43.
- Venom #32, by Stephen Mooney, is an homage to Tomb of Dracula #23.
- X-Men #33, by Lee Garbett, is an homage to X-Men Annual #6.
"Fall of X"
Marvel sent out a press release touting all the April books related to the ongoing "Fall of X" storyline. In addition to this month's Fall of the Powers of X #3 (April 18) and Rise of the Powers of X #4 (April 25), which they did not describe, they said this:
- A stacked team of powerhouse X-Men join forces against Orchis in X-MEN #33.
- The success of Storm’s divine mission to bring back Magneto is revealed in RESURRECTION OF MAGNETO #4.
- A group of fallen X-Men confront death again in DEAD X-MEN #4.
- A threat only mutantkind’s greatest soldiers can handle is unleashed in CABLE #3.
- The Phoenix Force burns away the remaining mysteries of the Krakoan age in X-MEN FOREVER #2.
- Tony Stark confronts his technology’s own role in Krakoa’s downfall in INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #17.
The big news, though, is that the Avengers are joining the fight against Orchis this week (and in Avengers #13 which arrives on April 24). Here's this week's "Fall of X" books:
AVENGERS #12
Now this is more like it. The Avengers have been sitting on their hands for too long as Orchis has had their way. (I mean, good grief, they sewed Cyclops' eyes shut!) Even though Iron Man is a founding member and is under attack.
Of course, after all these years I'm accustomed to major events happening in the two superhero universes that seem to be ignored by half the characters, because writer's fiat. But Marvel has actually explained the Avengers delay: Stark has asked them to hold back until his plans are in place. Which they now are, apparently. Game on!
X-MEN #33
So, the "stacked team of powerhouses" in X-Men #33 mentioned above are Magik, Cyclops, Wolverine, Emma Frost, Synch, Ms. Marvel, Forge and, uh ... OK, a hearty "attaboy" to the first person who can tell me who the other five people are on Cover A.
And Forge is a powerhouse? He's more like a "Guy in the Chair" to me, to quote cinematic Ned Leeds.
And I'm not nearly as sold on Synch as the writers seem to want me to be. He's just another Mimic, with the same limitations. Although I grant he's being used more imaginatively than Cal Rankin ever was. And Wolverine wasn't around in Mimic's heyday, so there were no healing factors to copy, which are darn useful.
DEADPOOL #1
Of course there's going to be a new Deadpool series ... he's got a movie coming up!
DEADPOOL: BADDER BLOOD TP and DEADPOOL: THE SAGA OF WADE WILSON TP are also being released this week, leading me to believe April was probably the month the movie was originally supposed to come out, before Marvel Studios started postponing everything.
In this series, the Merc with a Mouth will be challenged by a new guy with the name Death Grip, because for some reason '90s Image never used that one. Deadpool will also be reunited with his daughter Ellie, who (checks notes) first appearaed in Deadpool (Vol. 5) #19 (Nov 19). The things that happen when you stop reading at volume 4!
"Wade's been one of my favorite characters since I first got into superhero comics, so being asked to helm a Deadpool series was a dream come true," writer Cody Ziglar said. "I look forward to diving into and exploring Wade's family (found or otherwise), his unique approach to being a (mostly) unkillable mercenary, as well see what kinda of whackos they bring into his orbit."
For the record, Meriam-Webster prefers the spelling "wacko."
IMMORTAL THOR #9
It looks like Enchantress is going to help Dario Agger re-write Thor's history somehow, so that he's a figurehead for the Roxxon corporation. This issue will be followed in two weeks by Roxxon Presents: Thor #1.
Prepare to be sickened by the adventures of Thor, Son of Odin, God of Thunder, and Corporate Mascot of an evil multinational that strips the Earth (and Vanaheim) of its resources while poisoning the water, earth and air!
MARVEL SUPERHEROES SECRET WARS #4 FACSIMILE EDITION: Another early black costume appearance.
SPIDER-MAN: SHADOW OF THE GREEN GOBLIN #1
Writer J.M. DeMatteis (Kraven’s Last Hunt) will revisit Spider-Man -1 (pronounced "minus one," 1997), following up on Norman Osborn’s research assistant Nels van Adder, the first test subject for the “Goblin Formula." This takes place in the early days of Spider-Man's career, although Peter Parker became the wallcrawler in high school, and didn't meet Harry or Norman Osborn until after he went to college in Amazing Spider-Man #31 (1965). Not sure how they'll square that circle, or if they'll even try.
“I’ve always been fascinated with Peter Parker’s early days as Spider-Man, a time before he fully understood what it meant to be a superhero,” DeMatteis said. “Shadow of the Goblin allows us to take a deep dive into Young Peter’s mind and emotions as he makes his way through this exhilarating, and sometimes terrifying, new world. We take an equally deep dive into the dysfunctional dynamic of the Osborn family, seeing how that generational pain sowed the earliest seeds of Norman’s Green Goblin identity and left its traumatic imprint on Harry. If you think you know everything there is to know about Peter and the Osborns, think again!”
Sadly, a lot of the thrill of such an exploration has been sapped by the bajillion goblins, hobgoblins, jack o'lanterns and other Halloween rejects that have proliferated in the last 60 years. And since we haven't seen Nels in those selfsame 60 years, he's unlikely to survive this story. Still, DeMatteis might surprise me.
VENOM #32: "Flesh and Blood" Part 3.
DC COMICS
BIRDS OF PREY #8
Vixen joins the team, even though she has no connection to any of the other characters. Apparently if you're a chick at DC, you can join the club.
Not that I'm complaining. There are a lot of long-ignored female characters that could appear here, and I hope they do.
And whatever happened to Lady Blackhawk? She was a blast!
BLUE BEETLE #8
I'd like to think Michelangelo would appreciate this. But probably not. He'd probably hate comic books. He didn't even like painting. (He thought of himself as a sculptor, but painting paid the bills.)
This is also a pretty stylized version of "The Creation of Adam," which I think I've seen before. This cover might actually be an homage of some other cover, rather than the Sistine Chapel. I looked in the one place my brain suggested to me for a similar cover and didn't find it, so I gave up.
My motto: "If at first you don't succeed, forget about it and watch TV."
POISON IVY #21
Batman guest stars in "The Secret Origin of Pamela Isley" Part 3 (and last).
You know, they also just did a three-part secret origin of The Joker over in Batman. But didn't they already do secret origins of the entire rogues gallery with "One Bad Day?"
Maybe as The Joker says, if you have to have an origin, it might as well be multiple choice.
IMAGE COMICS
"Ghost Machine"
GEIGER #1
I know you've seen Geiger before for a few issues at Image, but that was before Geoff Johns and friends decided to launch their own label, Ghost Machine. So now he's re-launching.
You might also have seen him when he was at DC Comics under the name Atomic Knight. That character was part of a Renaissance of obscure characters Johns had planned before he upped and bolted for Image, after which DC scuttled the project. But he took his new interpretations of the old characters with him. Hence: Geiger.
There are three Ghost Machine titles launching this week, and Geiger (by Johns and Gary Frank) is one of them. In this iteration, Geiger and his two-headed wolf Barney decide to leave their radioactive hideout and go walkabout. It's part of a storyline called "The Unnamed" which seems to run across all the Ghost Machine titles.
REDCOAT #1
This is the second Ghost Machine title launching this week, by Johns and Bryan Hitch. The PR describes the character this way: "Immortal. Mercenary. Kind of a tool."
Simon Pure was a mercenary fighting for England in the Revolutionary War when he ran into some actual Founding Fathers and somehow gained immortality. I assume we'll see him shape some history before we get to his present adventures, and/or find out why he's immortal and who wants him that way.
Since I know that Johns took his DC portfolio of obscure-character revamps with him, I'm looking for parallels in these new characters. Could this be Immortal Man, if he was more of a tool? Or maybe Vandal Savage, if he was less of one?
ROOK: EXODUS #1
The third Ghost Machine series launching this week, by Johns and Jason Fabok.
In this series, It's hundreds of years in the future, Earth has failed and humanity is living on a planet called Exodus where everything is controlled by a group called Wardens. But now Exodus is failing, and Rook ... has to find a new planet? Fight Wardens for the old one? Go back to Earth? Unclear. Neat helmet, though.
I can't think of any obscure DC character this is swiping from. There used to be a Rook at Warren Publishing (who was a Rip Hunter swipe), but I don't see a connection.
HACK/SLASH: KILL YOUR IDOLS (ONE-SHOT)
Collects the "Kill Your Idols" serial from the Image! 30th Anniversary Anthology series, where Cassie and Vlad suspect cyborg super-soldier Superpatriot is a serial killer. It looks like a lot of '90s Image swipes from Marvel characters are going to show up, which does not thrill me.
Diamond has a PREVIEW.
VOID RIVALS #8
DARK HORSE
MINOR THREATS: FASTEST WAY DOWN #1 (OF 4)
I haven't been following this series of miniseries, written by actor Patton Oswalt and TV writer/producer Jordan Blum, but I did read the first issue of From the World of Minor Threats: The Alternates #1, and rather liked it. But it also served to remind me of how much I had missed. (By not reading Minor Threats Volume 1.) Maybe there will be an Omnibus.
The premise is that after Twilight City's A-list superhero and supervillain are dead, the C-list villains take over. But, I assume, they're not very good at it, and therein lies drama (and humor). The Black chick in the center of the two covers is Frankie Follis, aka costumed criminal Playtime, and she seems to be in charge of a place called Redport. (I'm thinking Playtime=Harley Quinn, Twilight City=New York City and Redport=Red Hook.)
Dark Horse has a PREVIEW.
"We're thrilled to get the chance to return to Twilight City and continue Frankie's story,” said Blum. “It's important to us that every chapter has its own unique crime-fiction flavor. If volume one was our ‘survive the night’ thriller, then volume two is our Godfather Part 2 sprawling epic. It's one thing to name yourself the Queenpin of super-crime, it's another to defend it. Playtime will learn that with great power ... comes rival Holiday-themed gangs, vengeful teen sidekicks, haunting superhero ghosts and unearthed secrets that will threaten everything she's built."
“The higher you climb in the world of crime, the harder people want to see you plummet,” said Oswalt. “Frankie learns this lesson in real time — but can she find a way to avoid the fall?"
USAGI YOJIMBO: THE CROW #1 (OF 5)
This is a "40th Anniversary celebration" miniseries that will feature bounty hunters Gen and Stray Dog. Not sure where a Crow enters into it, but I am not familiar with the extended cast of Usagi Yojimbo.
Dark Horse has a PREVIEW.
IDW PUBLISHING
DUNGEONS & DRAGONS: RAVENLOFT — CARAVAN OF CURSES #1 (ONE-SHOT)
I don't know anything about IDW's D&D series (or care), so I'll just quote the PR for this one-shot:
"Welcome to Ravenloft and the Domains of Dread, where horrors lurk around every corner and each day is a new nightmare waiting to unfurl. Join the Crone and her gang of misfits as they travel through these dark realms helping people break curses that have been placed on them ... for a price."
GODZILLA VS. MMPR II #1
Writer Cullen Bunn (The Sixth Gun) brings us Rita Repulsa, Astronema, the Alliance of Evil, SpaceGodzilla, Clawhammer and Tentacreep for this sequel.
“If I was going to pit Godzilla against the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers again, I knew I needed to do something huge,” said Bunn. “Mayhem alone was not enough! And, believe me, what we’re doing in this new series is something wild and unexpected and game-changing! If you’re a Rangers fan … if you’re a Godzilla fan … if you’re a fan of bonkers fun … buckle up! This series is going to knock you off your feet!"
Do I want to see something called Tentacreep? I don't know, sounds kinda Japanese porn-y.
DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT
CRUELLA DE VIL #3
Does Cover B look a little Emma Stone-ish to you?
RED SONJA: EMPIRE OF THE DAMNED #1
Sonja follows a treasure map to a dead city cursed by a warlock. What could go wrong?
Superhero Hype has a PREVIEW.
It's written by Steve Niles (30 Days of Night), and Dynamite offers this interview:
Steve, you've worked with us at Dynamite in the past, on some Army of Darkness tales and even a Vampirella story. But you've never actually taken on the She-Devil With a Sword to date. The character is celebrating 50 years running right now. What drew you to the character and why do you think she's resonated with readers so much through the eras?
Steve: She’s such a classic character, all the way back to her origins written by Robert E. Howard in the 1930’s. She was ahead of her time, an incredible warrior, pretty much unkillable and always ready to fight. In that way, she’s not unlike one of my most well-known characters, Cal McDonald, so writing a story for her was a blast.
What can you tell us about the title of the series here — "Empire of the Damned?" Where does that fit into the story you're telling?
Steve: This series begins with an ancient story, and the setup for how Red Sonja finds herself on a new quest. There is a rumor of a lost valley where a war occurred. Both sides died at the hands of a warlock who used everybody to gain riches. Now Red Sonja is looking for the lost valley but there are all sorts of obstacles in her way.
Your work in comics is extensive, tackling characters like Batman, Spawn, creations of yours including Criminal Macabre, and gems like Simon Dark. Many readers are very familiar with the iconic 30 Days of Night. Many of your stories focus on elements of horror, and classic monsters like vampires and zombies. You've also frequently collaborated with artists of a similar wavelength like Bernie Wrightson, Ben Templesmith, Kelley Jones, and others. What is it that so often draws you in those directions, and how may that be interwoven with the Red Sonja story you're telling now?
Steve: I grew up with classic monsters in movies, Frankenstein, the Wolfman all the way to Night of the Living Dead. Bernie Wrightson’s art was a huge influence on me, and all of that really steered me towards writing horror in comics. When I was approached about writing Red Sonja, I made sure it was okay to bring in some violence and great monsters for her to fight.
The Hyrkanian Heroine is set to be joined by a few companions on her latest quest. Can you tell fans about some of these supporting characters they'll be meeting? Without spoiling who might live or die by the end of course!
Steve: She meets a myriad of characters on her travels in this series, from a powerful young witch named Luna, to an incredibly large and helpful Barbarian, Morgo, as well as an old man she must chaperone as he searches for his childhood home in order to die in peace. We don’t ever know who is who all the time, which made it a blast to play around with.
There are a bunch of powerhouse creators working on this book alongside you too. How has the collaboration been with artist Alessandro Oliveri so far, and seeing his pages roll in?
Steve: His work is incredible so far, his pages are amazing. His battle scenes are epic, and he illustrates Red Sonja perfectly. He adds all kinds of little details that I love. Every scene just comes alive.
MORE COMICS
AKỌGUN: BRUTALIZER OF GODS #1 (of 3)
This promises to be a sort of Black Conan the Barbarian. It's man against gods in a forgotten, medieval time — you know, sword and sorcery. Only it's set in Africa.
It's rated Mature, which is promising. Comicbook.com has a PREVIEW.
ALLEY OOP VERSUS THE MOONMEN: Comic-strip collectors alert!
ARCHIE & FRIENDS: HOT ROD RACING #1 (ONE-SHOT)
This isn't as weird as it seems at first blush — Archie has dealt with hot rods before. (GCD lists 28 stories when you search "hot rods" with "Archie" as publisher, although I didn't look at all of them, so the "hot rods" could be metaphorical or incidental or non-Archie in some of them.)
This one introduces a new character, Daisy Thunder of the Southside Serpents. (Yes, the gang introduced in the Riverdale TV show has made the transition to comics.) She challenges Archie & Co. to a race for charity, which calls for Archie to resurrect his old, red jalopy (remember that?) and soup it up.
“Racing and cool cars are such a big part of childhood fantasies and part of Archie lore, and we wanted a new character who evoked that feeling with a little bit of danger," said Archie Comics Editor-in-Chief Mike Pellerito. "I had a rough idea of what we wanted with an invented history of the Southside Serpents going back to the ‘Little Archie’ days," Pellerito continued, "and a look that took inspiration from Evel Knievel, Pinky Tuscadero, and Penelope Pitstop, which Steven Butler perfectly brought to visual life. But I wanted a name before Craig Boldman put it all together. My right-hand man [Archie Comics Production Manager/Associate Editor] Stephen Oswald started listing off cool racing movies with a twist, and we had Daisy Thunder! Craig turned it into something great and Steven went above and beyond. Another amazing character added to the Archie sandbox, and I can’t wait for more.”
Writer Craig Boldman says, “Daisy Thunder is a childhood friend of the Riverdale gang — or should we say frenemy? — who moved away when they were very young. Now she’s back!" said Boldman, offering some insight into that fictional backdrop. "In the intervening years, she’s had an amazing life, owing to her father’s career as a globe-hopping professional racecar driver. He’s ready to settle down and enjoy a slower pace, but it turns out Daisy’s not wired that way.”
The quote above begins with “Racing and cool cars are such a big part of childhood fantasies ..." and, certainly, Hot Wheels was part of mine. I still want a '64 Mustang! But is it still true? These Kids Today (tm) seem less interested in IRL toys than in video games (where they can drive a race car if they want to) and social media. They don't ride their bikes as much, dreaming of the day when they could just drive to where they wanted to go. And are Hot Wheels and Matchbox cars still toys, or just collectibles?
I'm not saying the generational change is good or bad, I'm just questioning the interest today's kids have in "hot rods."
Smash Pages has a PREVIEW.
ART OF INVINCIBLE SEASON 1 HC
Here's a different PREVIEW from Diamond.
BRITANNIA: GREAT FIRE OF ROME ONE-SHOT
This was one of my favorite Valiant titles back in the day. Britannia stars Antonius Axia, a sort-of Roman Sherlock Holmes. IIRC, magic actually exists in his day, which I'd think would short-circuit the deductive-reasoning process. But it's still pretty cool.
This one-shot involves the Nero-fiddles-while-Rome-burns story. (Which is a myth, as Nero didn't fiddle while Rome burned. For one thing, the fiddle didn't exist yet — Nero played the lyre. For another, most historians agree he wasn't even in town when the fire started. It burned for six days, though, so he had time to get back before it was put out. Still didn't fiddle.)
Speaking of Valiant, LIVEWIRE & THE SECRET WEAPONS (ONE-SHOT) is also on sale this week.
But that's not the big news. According to Bleeding Cool, Valiant is going to spring a big linewide event on us in September called "Resurgence," wherein the line will, eh, resurge to full strength. Valiant has gone as far as re-writing previously released solicitations to reflect lead-ups to the event.
CAN I SCREAM #1
Jonathan Hedrick & Francesca Fantini (Rebel Grrrls) created this story, about a mother with an 11-year-old son with a deadly scream. On the run from the government and other parties who probably want to use him or dissect him, she adopts fake identities. This story begins when they are found out, of course, because pages and pages of not being found out would be boring. I like the cover, especially the use of color.
COMPLETE PEANUTS VOL 21 1991-1992 TP: Comic-strip collectors alert!
DARK SOULS: WILLOW KING #3 (OF 4)
EGG STORY SLG REVISTED ED
This is a re-release, the first of what Slave Labor promises is a series of re-releases.
It's about some eggs that break out of the refrigerator and try to live free. A dubious prospect, but one I understand, since I've seen those commercials where a group of talking vegetables are eager to go into a salad. All except the tomato, who seems to know what's in store and is quivering with fear. Disturbing.
FULL OF MYSELF GRAPHIC MEMOIR ABOUT BODY IMAGE SC
Siobhán Gallagher, a 30-year-old cartoonist, reviews her coming-of-age and "her journey to self-acceptance and self-love" in pictures.
Aptly named, I'd say.
Amazon has a SAMPLE.
GUMAA: THE BEGINNING OF HER #5 (OF 7)
The girl on the covers to this series, whom I'm assuming is Gumaa herself, are so specific and striking that I keep reminding myself I need to read this. And then I keep forgetting. How can I forget those ears?
JAPAN’S LONGEST DAY: THE END OF WWII GN
This isn't the story of the destruction of Nagasaki or Hiroshima as you might expect, as those were probably pretty long days for Japan, too. Instead it's the story of the failed Army coup that tried to prevent Emperor Hirohito from surrendering. After Hiroshima and Nagasaki. After Japan lost most of the Navy, Air Force and the "Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere." After the Soviet Union declared war on Japan.
You heard these guys were fanatics, right? Well, this is what fanatics do. That's who my father and my wife's father were fighting in WWII.
Amazon has a SAMPLE.
LACKADAISY VOL 1 GN
Lackadaisy is a speakeasy during Prohibition in 1927 St. Louis. For some reason, it's a story told with anthropomorphic animals. There's a Volume 2 scheduled as well.
This is a Webtoon, collected into a graphic novel. I assume you can read it online for free, or a minimal payment.
Booktopia has a PREVIEW, and YouTube has a TRAILER.
LIGHT IT SHOOT IT TP
An ex-con gets caught up in the cut-rate moviemaking scene in 1970s Los Angeles. Sounds like a cut-rate Boogie Nights, but I don't want to pre-judge.
Diamond has a PREVIEW.
PAGAN VALLEY GN
"Monty Hudson, a self proclaimed card shark, faces dire straits after a losing streak. Pressed by loan sharks, she resorts to robbing her strip-club workplace."
Wait, you're a professional gambler, but you don't make enough money gambling to quit your strip-club job? I'm thinking maybe you have too high an assessment of your gambling skills.
Here's the KICKSTARTER.
PRINCIPLES OF NECROMANCY #1
I don't know how to summarize this, so I'll just quote:
"While brave knights and dangerous monsters wage endless war, business is booming for Dr. Jakob Eyes, a traveling physician whose arcane remedies are the closest thing to magic the world knows. These gruesome miracles are only stepping stones for Dr. Eyes' ultimate ungodly goal: to overcome death itself. And now, a band of decimated barbarians, desperate to bargain for their lives, may just make the ideal next test subjects ..."
Seems to me that if you have monsters, you already have "the closest thing to magic the world knows." Nice covers, though.
Diamond has a PREVIEW.
ROBOTECH: RICK HUNTER #4 (OF 4)
VICTORY PARADE HC
Here's another I can't really summarize, and I don't want to anyway, because it sounds interesting:
"From the author of the Eisner-nominated graphic novel Unterzakhn. One of a group of women working as welders in the Brooklyn Navy Yard, Rose Arensberg has fallen in love with a disabled veteran while awaiting the return of her husband, Sam, a soldier in the American army serving in Europe. As we follow the bittersweet, heartbreaking stories of Rose and her fellow Rosie-the-Riveters, we're immersed in the day-to-day challenges of life on the home front as seen through the eyes of these resilient women, as well as through the eyes of Eleanor, Rose's impressionable young daughter, and Ruth, the German Jewish refugee Rose has taken into their home. And Sam's encounters with the horrors of a liberated concentration camp follow him home to Brooklyn in the form of terrifying flashbacks that will leave him scarred forever. Victory Parade paints a deeply affecting portrait of how individuals and civilizations process mass trauma."
Penguin Random House has a PREVIEW.
Replies
For the record, Meriam-Webster prefers the spelling "wacko."
Would Cody Ziglar spell the adjective form "whacky"?
The Enchantress makes good on She-Hulk's threat (Thor style).
This is also a pretty stylized version of "The Creation of Adam," which I think I've seen before. This cover might actually be an homage of some other cover, rather than the Sistine Chapel. I looked in the one place my brain suggested to me for a similar cover and didn't find it, so I gave up.
This one, perhaps?
I'm not saying the generational change is good or bad, I'm just questioning the interest today's kids have in "hot rods."
Maybe it's those SOBs that I hear drag racing on the Montauk Highway late at night.
You heard these guys were fanatics, right? Well, this is what fanatics do.
Those guys had hypnotized themselves into believing that if they just kept fighting they'd win a big victory that would bring the Americans to the negotiating table, like gambling addicts who blow all their money thinking that the next bet will be the one that wins them a jackpot.They were willing to fight to the last Japanese rather than admit that they'd failed utterly. A good example of the difference between physical courage (which those guys certainly had) and moral courage (which they did not).
Would Cody Ziglar spell the adjective form "whacky"?
If so, he is banned from ever watching Wacky Races.
This one, perhaps?
Probably. Unless this one is based on an even earlier one.
Maybe it's those SOBs that I hear drag racing on the Montauk Highway late at night.
We have the same problem. According to Memphis police, though, the surge in street racing is due to the Fast and Furious movies, not Hot Wheels. That does make sense. One of the most dangerous attempts to leave parking lot I ever made was directly after a showing of Mad Max. I happened to see it in northern Mississippi, and all the redneck yahoos in the theater with me decided to replicate the movie in their pick-em-up trucks in the parking lot right after. I barely escaped numerous collisions.
Those guys had hypnotized themselves into believing that if they just kept fighting they'd win a big victory that would bring the Americans to the negotiating table, like gambling addicts who blow all their money thinking that the next bet will be the one that wins them a jackpot.They were willing to fight to the last Japanese rather than admit that they'd failed utterly. A good example of the difference between physical courage (which those guys certainly had) and moral courage (which they did not).
Well said.
In addition the the Fast and Furious movies, I nominate the Dodge commercials.
About the cover of X-Men #33: the woman in blue and black with katanas is Kate Pryde, currently going by "Shadowkat". Other less known characters there are members of the Latverian mutants team, "The Seven Daggers of Latveria", hinted of in the second "X-Men vs FF" series (published in 2020) and only seen before in #28-29 of the current X-Men series.
The huge bearded strongman is Slag; the sparkling blue character is Volta Doom; the flower power character is Nerium; their teammates Dreamer and Ironcloak were introduced in the 2020 series and seem not to have made it to this cover.
Thank you, Luis! I'm seeing more of the Daggers in upcoming solicitations.
SPIDER-MAN: SHADOW OF THE GREEN GOBLIN #1
Writer J.M. DeMatteis (Kraven’s Last Hunt) will revisit Spider-Man -1 (pronounced "minus one," 1997), following up on Norman Osborn’s research assistant Nels van Adder, the first test subject for the “Goblin Formula." This takes place in the early days of Spider-Man's career, although Peter Parker became the wallcrawler in high school, and didn't meet Harry or Norman Osborn until after he went to college in Amazing Spider-Man #31 (1965). Not sure how they'll square that circle, or if they'll even try.
This story is narrated by the present day Pater Parker, which he pieced together from various sources. Peter did not meet Harry or Gwen until college, but Harry went to high school with Gwen and they are both characters (and yes, there is a scene in whicg Norman Osborn interacts with teenage Gwen, whom he will one day murder). Oh, and there's this: "I said before that I didn't meet Gwen or Harry till college. And that's true... for Peter Parker." I read "Spider-Man -1" back in 1990 but I have no recollection of this "proto-goblin." Shadow of the Green Goblin #1 is very well-written (and not at all "decompreessed"), but it is yet another "continuity implant" set during Spider-Man's earliest days, of which there are many. My biggest complaint is that the "proto-goblin" doesn't "fit" the time period. I used to listen to a lot of Doctor Who audios pre-COVID, and one thing I liked about Big Finish was that they never told a "First Doctor" story with a "Tenth Doctor" villain. If you're okay with a well-written continuity implant with a villain who doesn't quite fit, you should feel free to give it a try.