The Thunder Strikes Again... For The First Time!

It's great being a Thor fan these days. What with the movie coming and tons of cool hardcovers, statues, action figures, video games, documentaries and bedsheets (?!?) devoted to the hammer-wielding Asgardian. Now, if you have followed this blog (and others that I write in), you'll know that Thor was my favourite character growing up. In fact, his was the only monthly comic that I collected religiously all the way until I was about 16 years old. (Actually, I still can't believe that we're really getting a real THOR movie! The closest we got as kids was that silly Thor and Hulk feature film...)

However, I found that I lost interest in the character since about 8 years ago. The last time I was really excited about Thor was when I picked up the Walt Simonson Visionaries TPB volume one in the early 2000s. I even bought several books on Norse mythology and then locked myself in the local YMCA for an entire weekend just reading about the Norse gods and frost giants and Ragnarok.

Recently, I picked up the "Acts of Vengeance" omnibus and reread the issues of Thor within that humongous collection. Those were the issues that I read as a kid. Tom DeFalco wrote them and Ron Frenz drew them. Thor (and the New Warriors) took on the Juggernaut. Thor shared a common existence with architect Eric Masterson, Hercules (weakened after the ordeals in the "Under Siege" storyline over in the Avengers title) stayed in Eric's house and befriended Eric's son, Kevin Masterson. Loki was masterminding the entire "Acts of Vengeance" on the Marvel-U and finally, Thor discovered the whole plan with the help of Dr. Strange. I found myself rekindling my love for those childhood tales...

Then came the JMS Thor Omnibus that I finally worked up the courage (and cash) to purchase yesterday morning. I have read many reviews praising the JMS run as the best since Simonson's legendary run in the 1980s. However, I have been hesitant in picking it up. I liked the art by Olivier Coipel in "Siege" where he drew Thor, the Warriors Three, Balder, Asgard, etc. But like I said, I just couldn't find it in me to read Thor again. Especially a Thor that I feared was nothing like the one that I grew up reading every month. Reading the first 8 issues collected in this massive volume (the 2 Fantastic Four issues that served as a prologue to the run and issues 1-6 of the new monthly series), I was pleasantly surprised to see how much I enjoyed the book so far. True enough, it does not really feel like the Thor that I used to know. The Thor I grew up with was more jolly and fun - while noble and classy because he spoke Shakespearean! JMS' Thor is more reflective of the times that we live in (as well as the backdrop of the Marvel-U of the past several years - namely, Civil War, Secret Invasion, Dark Reign, Disassembled, etc.) In fact, in one issue, JMS pushed the "relevance" card too far and had Thor visit the post-Katrina New Orleans. The issue really didn't work because whenever real-world events get pushed into comicbooks, the characters end up looking irrelevant, absurd and plainly out-of-place. Thankfully, JMS was smart enough to quickly move on to a really cool Thor vs. Iron Man scene that fans have been dying for since Iron Man and Mr. Fantastic did the dastardly deed of cloning Thor during "Civil War". It was hugely satisfying to see Tony at the receiving end of Thor's righteous wrath.

However, there is a deep sadness and loneliness in Thor throughout - like I said, the jolly giant thunderer I once knew really wasn't there anymore. JMS tried to inject in some humour using smalltown quirkiness - specifically the friendly but cranky citizens of Oklahoma (where Thor and the newborn Asgardians suddenly moved in as neighbours). This element worked at times when JMS was not going overboard but at times, it descended into self-referential humour that felt unneeded and distracting.

Another thing is that Dr. Don Blake is back but appears to have a separate existence from Thor - while sharing the same body. It's a bit confusing since we know that Don Blake really is Thor (like Sigurd Jarlsson during Simonson's run) and not like Eric Masterson or that bloke during Dan Jurgens' run. However, Don Blake has very little opportunities to shine at all. The irony is that, he displayed far more character and independent existence when he really was Thor but now that he has a separate existence, his personality is subsumed into Thor's! Or maybe what we really need is another love interest like Jane Foster to make Don Blake step out of Thor's shadow for a while. The most interesting thing to happen to Don Blake so far is that he's now a volunteer doctor with "Doctors Without Borders". Other than that, he's mostly a placeholder and we just wait for the moment every issue when he taps the walking stick and transforms into Thor.

All in all, the first part of JMS' run is worth a read. I've been told that things pick up from issue 7. Will write more once I've finished reading the whole book... :)

Highlights from Marvel Solicitations for May 2011

The new solicitations are up and these are the things that caught my eyes:

First on the list - the David Michelinie/Todd McFarlane Spidey Omnibus! This is a no-brainer. It was the comicbook that defined the late 1980s and early 1990s. Bonus - it even comes with a variant cover featuring the black costume! For you kids out there, this is the first appearance of VENOM!

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN BY DAVID MICHELINIE & TODD MCFARLANE OMNIBUS HC

Written by DAVID MICHELINIE
Penciled by TODD MCFARLANE, ALEX SAVIUK, ERIK LARSEN & COLLEEN DORAN
Covers by TODD MCFARLANE
Whether clad in blue and red or black, or possessing spider-powers or cosmic ones, Spider-Man stands ready to face any threat! And the threats have never been greater! From his own foes — Venom, Mysterio, the Scorpion and more — to newcomers to his friendly neighborhood like Sabretooth, the Taskmaster, Magneto and the Sentinels, Spidey sure has his hands full! Good thing he’s got Mary Jane, Captain America, the Black Cat and the Hulk around to lend a hand! Featuring the pulse-pounding prose of longtime IRON MAN scribe David Michelinie and the groundbreaking artistry of the legendary Todd McFarlane! Collecting AMAZING SPIDER-MAN (1963) #296-329 and material from SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN ANNUAL #10.
848 PGS./Rated A …$99.99
ISBN: 978-0-7851-5729-8
Trim size: oversized

Other things that caught my interest included the first Captain Britain HC featuring early tales by Chris Claremont and others. This, I believe, is the first part that was also reprinted in the Captain Britain omnibus a little while ago. Matt Fraction's first Thor storyarc also gets the HC treatment along with the classic "X-Tinction Agenda" crossover. However, I'm possibly most excited about the "Mighty Avengers: Dark Reign" hardcover that collects the entire Dan Slott run. This was my favourite monthly comic from the past 5 years. Slott and gang managed to capture all the fun and idiosyncracies of the Avengers that I grew up with - particularly Steve Englehart's "West Coast Avengers".

MIGHTY AVENGERS: DARK REIGN HC

Written by DAN SLOTT & CHRISTOS GAGE
Penciled by KHOI PHAM, RAFA SANDOVAL, STEPHEN SEGOVIA, SEAN CHEN & NEIL EDWARDS
Covers by KHOI PHAM
When darkness reigns, founding Avenger Hank Pym decides the world once again needs Earth’s Mightiest Heroes! Quicksilver, USAgent, Vision, Stature, Jocasta, Hercules and Amadeus Cho answer Pym’s call — but with an oddly sinister Scarlet Witch alerting the squad to new missions, and Pym’s fixation on his deceased ex-wife drawing concern from his new teammates, can this fledgling group of Avengers overcome threats such as the chaotic Chthon, Norman Osborn’s Cabal and the deposed Inhuman monarch known only as the Unspoken? Plus: The Mighty Avengers find themselves embroiled in a grudge match against the Fantastic Four and a savage showdown with the Dark Avengers, and Pym is named the universe’s Scientist Supreme! But when Loki’s schemes come to fruition, and the Mighty Avengers must contend with the Siege of Asgard, can the team survive without its leader — and can Pym survive a confrontation with his sinister cybernetic “son,” Ultron? Collecting MIGHTY AVENGERS #21-36 and material from SECRET INVASION: REQUIEM
424 PGS./Rated T+ …$44.99
ISBN: 978-0-7851-5669-7
Trim size: oversized

New Trailers for Thor and X-Men: First Class

This is the 2nd official trailer for the upcoming "Thor" feature film. It's starting to look really good and an old God of Thunder fan like me will definitely be standing in line to buy a ticket once this is released. :)



And here's the love story of two boys named Erik and Charles. Actually, it's the 1st trailer for "X-Men: First Class" and it looks rather promising. Except for the bits of gay-bromance between Erik and Charles!

Trailers for "Thor" and "Transformers 3"

And here's the first trailer for the upcoming "Thor" movie. People are screaming that they put in a black Heimdall. Actually, I don't have that much problems with that. I hate it that Thor doesn't have the winged helmet. I also hate Anthony Hopkins. No, I don't think that he'll be bad as Odin. I just hate Anthony Hopkins is all.

Here's the first trailer for "Transformers: Dark of the Moon". Is that f***-in' UNICRON??? If it is, then this film would really be worth a watch! :)

Favourite Comic Character of All Time: HERCULES

Now, anyone looking at this blog design would think that my favourite character is Thor, the Asgardian God of Thunder. Truth is, he was my favourite character when I was growing up as a kid. But then, my favourite Thor stories all featured Hercules, the Prince of Power - especially the Tom DeFalco-Ron Frenz run on the title. In fact, among my favourite comic covers of all time featured Herc pushing Thor out of his own comic:

Another cover showed Herc punching Thor so hard that the thunderer nearly flew out of his own comic cover (at the reader):

Then, of course, there's the time when Herc even became Thor for a while:

But I'm getting ahead of myself. The real reason why Herc is my favourite character is because of the "Incredible Hercules" series by writers Greg Pak and Fred Van Lente. Any self-respecting Marvel fan who grew up with the Kirby Thor must get this series. I read the TPBs previously and loved them. Yesterday, I went out and bought the two oversized hardcover collections from the stores:

The Incredible Hercules - Smash of the Titans

Collects Incredible Hulk (1999- 2nd Series) #106-112, Incredible Hercules (2008) #113-115 and Hulk vs. Hercules: When Titans Collide (2008). Written by GREG PAK and FRED VAN LENTE. Art by GARY FRANK, KHOI PHAM, ERIC NGUYEN, REILLY BROWN and BOB LAYTON. Cover by GARY FRANK. When the Hulk returns to Earth for the senses-shattering events of World War Hulk, we can all guess which puny humans will fight against him. But which of Earth's heroes will fight for the Hulk? Don't miss the shocking revelations as Amadeus Cho, the boy genius who took on Reed Richards on behalf of the Hulk in INCREDIBLE HULK #100, confronts She-Hulk and Doc Samson - and precipitates a gamma-powered smash-fest in the wilds of Jersey! Then, the dust has settled after WORLD WAR HULK and Hercules and Amadeus Cho find themselves outlaws, a situation further inflamed by Cho's grudge against the super-spy agency S.H.I.E.L.D. and Herc's feud with his estranged half-brother - Ares, god of war, who isn't above abusing his new federal clout for the sake of sibling rivalry. It's Marvel's mightiest manhunt, guest-starring Wonder Man and the Black Widow. Then, the Greek Goliath gathers the most powerful super-team ever assembled to counter-attack the Skrull gods! Face front, True Believers, and prepare for the pantheon-pounding premiere of...THE GOD SQUAD! All this plus an untold tale pitting Hercules against the Incredible Hulk! Hardcover, 7 1/2-in. x 11-in., 248 pages, full color.

The Incredible Hercules - Sacred Invasion
Collects Incredible Hercules (2008) #116-125. Written by GREG PAK and FRED VAN LENTE. Art by RAFA SANDOVAL, CLAYTON HENRY and SALVA ESPIN. Cover by JOHN ROMITA JR. The SECRET INVASION has begun, and Earth is overrun by Skrull shape-shifters on a holy crusade to remake the universe in their image. But the goddess Athena has a solution: if you want to destroy the Skrulls: kill their gods. To this end, Athena's brother, Hercules, leads a uniquely divine strike force - including Inuit demigoddess Snowbird, Eternal warrior-scholar Ajak, the monstrous god-eater Demogorge and evil Japanese trickster deity Amatsu Mikaboshi, plus Herc's boy-genius sidekick Amadeus Cho and his faithful coyote pup. Together, they embark on a celestial voyage to the realm of the Skrull gods, finding romance, camaraderie and treachery among their ranks along the way. Then, Amazons are unleashed as Hercules and sidekick Amadeus Cho find themselves unwittingly wound up in Artume's insidious plot, one that eventually draws in plenty of other Marvel heroes and gods from the pantheon! Hardcover, 7 1/2-in. x 11-in., 264 pages, full color.

These are books that remind me why I read comics in the first place. Fist-fights featuring muscular brutes! The irony is that most geeks (like me) get into comics as a sort of escapist fantasy - i.e. to get away from a world of jock-jerks. But then, we get into comics to read about jock-jerks like Herc and Thor! Perhaps we just like to see them beating the snot out of each other? Maybe that would help explain why these images by Jack "King" Kirby are still all time favourites:

Jack Kirby was always a master at making his characters look so mighty that the panels or covers could hardly contain them. Kirby was all about POWER and maybe that was why he always dealt with huge, epic concepts beyond mere superheroics - he needed gods and he searched all over for them: from Asgard to Olympus, from the Eternals to the Fourth World.

Stan Lee, on the other hand, is a master of the art of trash-talking. He'd fill up pages after pages of Kirby-action artwork with trash talk. And, of course, nobody talks trash like Thor and Hercules. Check out the videos below for examples of trash talking. They were based on the Lee-Kirby comics:

I think this "trash-talk" will not translate well to the big-screen in the upcoming Thor movie. Maybe that's why I'm not exactly that excited about that movie. Go check out the Thor appearance in the old Hulk movie to see the "trash-talking" Thor. Or even better, look up the old Lou Ferignno "Hercules" movies to get great trash-talk:

The videos above feature only the good parts from the Lou Ferrigno movie. I cannot count the number of times I've rewatched (and laughed my head off) the movie over the years. If only they'll release a Blu-Ray of HD DVD version of this classic film.

Finally, the number one reason why Hercules is my favourite character --> Nobody does the shit-eating grin better than the Prince of Power:

Hi, I'm a Marvel... and I'm a DC: The Musical

This is possibly my favourite video of all time on YouTube! Enjoy... :)

Thor In Midgard

Thor was spotted at a bus-stop yesterday. Apparently, he was protecting a young girl who was left alone in school. He promised the girl to wait with her at the bus-stop until the bus arrives. This is what Thor does on a boring day where no Skrulls are invading.

When approached, the Thunderer saith, "'Tis be a noble duty. To protect this fair mortal maiden until her carriage arriveth is no less noble compared to fighting off the Midgard Serpent."

The following clip shows Thor performing a noble duty as a babysitter:

When nobody is looking (and lonely school girls have all boarded their buses home), Thor likes to listen to music. Last time he was seen, the Asgardian was listening to a remix version of Wagner's "Ride of the Valkyries".

Here's another clip showing Thor's biggest fangirl defending the Mighty One from unjust allegations of homosexuality:

In this clip, the Asgardian Son of Odin enjoys the pleasures of showering and learns how to open a refridgerator. Also, Thor scares off the irritating Mr. McGee:

Highlights From The December 2010 Marvel Solicitations

These are some goodies that caught my eye in the latest Marvel Solicitations:

THOR BY WALTER SIMONSON OMNIBUS HC

Written by WALTER SIMONSON
Penciled by WALTER SIMONSON with SAL BUSCEMA
Covers by WALTER SIMONSON
Considered by many to be the greatest run on Thor ever, Walt Simonson’s classic tales of the God of Thunder are collected here—completely remastered from the original artwork and newly colored by Steve Oliff! And there are too many timeless tales to count: The Casket of Ancient Winters! The death of Odin! The origins of Asgard! The sacrifice of the Executioner! Thor as a frog! The Mutant Massacre! The curse of Hela! The debut of Thor’s body armor! Guest-starring Beta Ray Bill, Nick Fury and the Avengers! Featuring the threats of Fafnir the dragon, Loki, Lorelei, Malekith the Dark Elf, Surtur, Hela, the Titanium Man, Kurse, Zaniac, the Marauders, the Absorbing Man, Fin Fang Foom, the Destroyer and the Midgard Serpent! Collecting THOR #337-355, #357-369 & #371-382 and BALDER THE BRAVE #1-4.
1192 PGS./Rated A …$125.00
ISBN: 978-0-7851-4633-9
Trim size: oversized
THOR BY WALTER SIMONSON OMNIBUS HC CLASSIC COVER (DM ONLY)
1192 PGS./Rated A …$125.00
ISBN: 978-0-7851-4634-6

X-FORCE: UNDER THE GUN PREMIERE HC

Written by FABIAN NICIEZA & ROB LIEFELD
Penciled by ROB LIEFELD, MARK PACELLA, MIKE MIGNOLA, TERRY SHOEMAKER & GREG CAPULLO
Covers by ROB LIEFELD

X-Force has survived its first fights—but the stakes just keep getting higher, and the villains deadlier! A new Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, including Toad and Sauron, has formed and joined forces with the Morlocks, and their frightening attack on our heroes leaves one team member mortally wounded! Plus: the mysteries between Cable and Stryfe deepen, Deadpool goes after Domino and Cable, a government task force comes after X-Force, and one mutant is revealed to be an imposter! And just who are the X-Ternals? Collecting X-FORCE #5-15 and material from X-FORCE ANNUAL #1.
272 PGS./Rated A …$34.99
ISBN: 978-0-7851-4985-9
Trim size: standard
X-FORCE: UNDER THE GUN PREMIERE HC — VARIANT EDITION VOL. 61
272 PGS./Rated A …$34.99
ISBN: 978-0-7851-5075-6

The two big hardcovers are the only things that really caught my eye. I'm happy that Marvel is finally collecting the Liefeld "X-Force" in hardcovers. Even happier that Simonson's "Thor" is finally available together in one place as a huge omnibus edition. I may not be able to afford any of the above but I'm happy as a lark that they're going to be available in the stores. :)

Finally, my favourite cover from the solicitations has to be the one below (from Strange Tales II #3):

A Lesson In Humility

Odin: "Son, it is important that you learn a lesson in humility."

Thor: "Why do I need another lesson in humility? Remember the last time you taught me humility? I was in "Star Trek" for the first 4 minutes of the film and died a horrible death at the hands of Eric Bana!"

Highlights From The Latest Marvel Solicitations (Oct 2010)

It's the convention season again so Marvel has decided to delay the release of their latest solicitation previews until the big announcements in the convention. Anyway, the latest solicitations are finally up and you can check them out at CBR.

Some of the items that caught my eye are:

• Uncanny X-Force #1 by Rick Remender (Punisher) and Jerome Opena (Moon Knight). Wolverine is leading the X-Force to kill Apocalypse. This is a no-brainer and I'm definitely jumping on board!



• Ultimate Thor #1 by Jonathan Hickman and Carlos Pacheco. Hickman is fast becoming my favourite Marvel writer with his excellent stuff on Fantastic Four and S.H.I.E.L.D. Carlos Pacheco is among my favourite artists ever - check out "Avengers Forever" if you still need to be convinced. But it's Ultimate Thor. I don't know. Thor was my favourite character when I was a kid. Now? Not so much. Maybe the upcoming movie will reignite my love for the Asgardian? Hmmm....



• Chaos War #1 & 2 by Greg Pak and Fred Van Lente featuring the return of Hercules. I'm so there already! Thor guest-stars.



• Captain America Lives Omnibus - I'm glad I stayed off the "The Man With No Face", "Road To Reborn" and "Reborn" trades. Marvel is reprinting the whole thing in an omnibus edition. This is a must-have for anyone who had already purchased the first two omnibuses.



• Atlantis Attacks Omnibus - I'm glad to see this huge storyarc finally in an omnibus. It was one of the biggest stories when I was a kid. I read an issue here and an issue there. That's the tragedy of growing up in a town without a comic-retailer. I had to pick up my stuff off the newstand. Anyway, I don't remember much about the story - only that it featured Namor and the Atlanteans flooding the whole Marvel Universe.



• Doomwar Hardcover - The Black Panther/Doom crossover (more accurately Wakanda/Latveria crossover) gets the oversized hardcover treatment. I haven't been following Black Panther for some time so I'm not so sure about this.



• Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty Hardcover - I'll get this one over the Reborn hardcover above. I have a softspot for Mark Waid's Cap and it's good to see his WWII/Invaders stuff from the 1990s finally given the oversized hardcover treatment.



• X-Force: A Force To Be Reckoned With - I've always wondered why the Liefeld X-Force issues have never been reprinted in a hardcover collection. Love him or hate him, no one can deny the impact that Liefeld made in the early 1990s with X-Force. Pick this one up with the Cable hardcover and relive the era of shoulder-pads, ginormous guns and constipated facial expressions.



• Thor: Worldengine - This is the 4-issue arc from the mid-1990s by Warren Ellis and Mike Deodato. I read a review recently saying that Deodato sucked in the 1990s and that he's really good now. I don't know what the reviewer was smoking when he wrote that. Deodato was fantastic in the 1990s. Check out his work with William Messner-Loebs on "Wonder Woman" and "Thor". Time was, Deodato's art was clear and powerful. Time now, he hides behind large shades of inking. Pick this one up for the classic Deodato artwork.

Review: "HULK VS"

I reviewed "Hulk Vs Thor" previously on my "Bagged & Boarded" site. The site is now password-protected so I'm pasting the review here:

Finally saw "Hulk Vs. Thor" on DVD with my family on Saturday evening. Picked up the DVD on Friday afternoon but didn't get to watch it with the kids because I came home late at night on Friday after teaching another History/Geography class. Also taught another English class on Saturday afternoon. Anyway, it was a Saturday evening and my kids were at the end of their patience already waiting for me to pop the DVD into the player to watch the animated movie with them. Like the other Marvel animated films, this one is a Lion's Gate release as well (previous films include "Ultimate Avengers I & II", "Iron Man", "Doctor Strange" and "Next Avengers"). It's also written by the dynamic duo Craig Kyle and Chris Yost (who also did the "X-Men: Evolution" cartoon series and the "New X-Men" & "X-Force" comics).

Storywise, this animated movie had little to offer. We get a simplistic Loki brings Hulk to Asgard to spread carnage story. For comic readers, we've seen this plot a million times in old "Avengers" issues. In other words, the story merely provided the excuse for ol' Greenskin to go all out berserk and smashing everything in his path in the Golden Realms of Asgard! The fun is seeing everything in an animated movie. A lot of work has been put into the backdrops and character designs. We get appearances by all our favourite Asgardians - Volstagg, Hogun, Fandral, Balder, Sif, Amora, etc. My favourite was Hela, the mistress of death (little surprise since she was my favourite character during the Simonson run on "Thor" as well). My kids were rolling on the floor laughing after the 12th time Thor was plummeted into the ground by the Hulk (sans Bruce Banner). Thor, as usual, was more adept at shit-talking than actual fighting. In fact, there's hardly any other character who's more adept at shit-talking than the Mighty Thor, when you really think about it! "For Odin, For Asgard... For the Realm Eternal..." When I was a kid, all that sounded like a battle-cry. In the cynicism of my old age, that was simply shit-talking. Of course, Thor with his flowing red cape and feathered-helmet is probably the only shit-talking character who can still look noble (not to mention cool-as-hell) while muttering such gibberish! :)

In conclusion, it was 45 minutes of pure Hulk carnage. The ol' Greenskin tore down the walls of Asgard, threw soldiers about, defeated the Warriors Three + Balder the Brave, smashed the entire squadron of Valkyrie warriors, knocked down Frost Giants and slam-dunked the shit-talking Thunder God; before being reunited with the spirit of Bruce Banner and sent back to Earth! Straightforward, stupid fun but fun nevertheless. Enjoy. :)

Now, for some unknown reason, I didn't get the "Hulk Vs. Wolverine" film in my DVD pack. I am going back to the DVD shop to look up the bloke who sold me this pack, look him in the eye and declare, "I will have words with thee!" Thankfully, by a stroke of coincidence (of is it the weaving of the Norns), 8TV decided to show the old Bill Bixby "The Incredible Hulk" TV show on its 11:45pm slot on the same night!!! My kids were elated that I allowed them to stay up late for that. What was even better was that the PILOT EPISODE was on the same night! Now, I was a huge fan of the TV series as a kid (even more than the comics, I must say) but I had never seen the PILOT EPISODE showing how David Banner became the Hulk in the first place!

Watching the pilot episode was a strange experience. Most of the scenes in the pilot are repeated in the famous opening scenes for later episodes but watching the full pilot finally provided some context to those famous scenes. Aside from the scenes showing how Banner bathed himself with gamma-radiation on the rotating chair, we also get a look into the experiments that he was involved in prior to that. Bill Bixby was just simply this fantastic actor who can evoke sympathy with every exasperated line he uttered. We see the man struggling with guilt because of his failure to save his lover from a burning car. Then we see him take the desperate step to bathe himself with gamma-radiation in order to find the key to obtaining superhuman strength. For comic-purists, this origin differed greatly from the original Lee-Kirby story but in the 1970s, nobody complained! Lou Ferrigno's Hulk was the dumb brute rather than the articulate and murderous savage in the first issue. Put in another way, there was more of the "Frankenstein monster" in him than "Mr. Hyde". Finally, we also get the first appearance of Jack Colvin's "Mr. McGee" - the most annoying tabloid reporter in TV history. His single contribution to civilization was to get Banner to say, "Mr. McGee, don't make me angry - you won't like me when I'm angry!" :)

When I was 15 years old, nothing excited me more than a Hulk vs Wolverine comic. Well, except for maybe a Hulk vs Thor comic or the next installment of the "A Nightmare On Elm Street" movies. Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that I like a comic featuring a good brawl as much as any other person. With the "Hulk Vs Wolverine" DVD, I finally got to be like a 15 year old again. Like I mentioned above, my original DVD did not have this installment. I picked up another DVD and was pleased to find it included inside. Watched it again with my kids last night and we all had a great time. Some highlights:

• Sabretooth's facial expressions when he saw the Hulk rushing towards him.
• Hulk calling Lady Deathstrike an ugly girl - he should see this girl with a critter-like smile that I know!
• Hulk calling Deadpool the "talking man".
• In fact, every scene with Deadpool is gold - and I never even liked the comicbook version of the character!
• Flashbacks to the Weapon X experiment and Logan chopping off the Professor's arm.
• Hulk tearing Deathstrike apart - reminiscent of what ol'Greenskin did to Tigra in Peter David's "The Last Avengers Story".

In short, I actually enjoyed this one better than "Hulk Vs. Thor" above. Maybe that's because I'm somehow tired of Norse Mythology these days. In fact, I was just in Borders two days ago and flipped through the recoloured Kirby collection of "Tales of Asgard". Time was, I would've bought that book and licked every page out of love in the past. These days, I feel... well,... nothing. I mean, I still stand in awe at Kirby's artwork and character designs but somehow I just can't work up the feelings to buy the book. I don't even know why. I ended up buying two X-Factor hardcovers instead...

Chris Hemsworth as Thor

Seeing "Iron Man 2" in the theatres yesterday made me look forward to the "Thor" movie. Yes, there is a teaser at the end of the film after the credits. Yes, I did stay on until the end of the credits. Yes, the credits actually had a thank you note to Matt Fraction, John Byrne, Bob Layton, John Romita, etc. Anyway... the teaser showed SHIELD Agent Coulson driving into the New Mexico desert and then calling Nick Fury to say that they've found it - the "it" being MJOLNIR. 'nuff said!

Now, if you're hyped up with just the sight of Mjolnir on the big screen, how about the first teaser pic showing Chris Hemsworth as the Asgardian Son of Odin - all decked out in the armoured costume designed by Oliver Coipel? :)

Solicitations For July 2010 (Marvel)

I'm taking a day off from work and studies today. Down with the cold. Saw "Kick Ass" in the theatres in between classes yesterday. It was supposedly very funny but I couldn't laugh because of my cold and the skull-splittin' headache. Mark Millar fans would like this one a lot. Especially Hit Girl. In fact, Hit Girl is the only reason to watch this film.

Anyway, the Marvel Solicitations are up already. There are so many goodies this month that I do not even know where to start - cover images below at the end of this post. First up is Mick Anglo's "Marvelman" is finally getting reprinted after more than half a decade. Most folks (like me) have only heard about how groundbreaking this title was and how it launched the careers of Alan Moore and Neil Gaiman. Some have been fortunate enough to have read the Moore/Gaiman issues. Nearly everyone else do not even know that there was a pre-Moore/Gaiman "Marvelman" by Mick Anglo. Thanks to Marvel, the old B&W stuff from the 1950s are finally made available. Speaking of classic reprints, Marvel is finally, finally, finally releasing the full "Dark Phoenix Saga" in a huge hardcover collection. This is not just the best X-Men storyarc ever, it's possibly among the best comic story ever published in the entire history of the human race. If you have not read this one, this is your chance to own it in an oversized deluxe hardcover collection. Also, the entire Mark Gruenwald "Squadron Supreme" is finally available in an omnibus edition. If you've wowed to groundbreaking "realistic" portrayals of superheroes in Watchmen, Kingdom Come, etc. this is where is all began. I'm definitely placing my order for this one.

Reprints of more recent works include the JMS Thor Hardcover - I missed the entire run so this is a godsend. Other than that, the story that destroyed the Ultimate Universe, ULTIMATUM by Jeph Loeb is also given the oversized hardcover treatment and they are also kind enough to throw in Ultimates 3 for good measure just to show you how bad Jeph Loeb's writing can get. Other than that, Dan Abnett's and Andy Lanning's cosmic epics continue with the Realm of Kings hardcover. If you're not into spacey stuff, go pick up Ed Brubaker's and Steve Epting's The Marvels Project hardcover for the origin of the Golden Age Marvel characters.

On the monthlies, Joe Quesada is back on another project to piss off many more Spidey fans. It's the sequel to ONE MORE DAY revealing just what happened between Peter, MJ, Aunt May and Mephisto. And no, it's not one big orgy although it's probably just as ugly and obscene. What looks like an orgy, on the other hand, are the two new X-minis. The first is evidence that Chris Claremont is a porn-addict as he teams up with famed erotica-artist Milo Manara on the long-awaited X-Women. The second is the X-Force: Sex And Violence mini featuring Wolverine and Domino.Another long-awaited return is Allan Heinberg's return to the Young Avengers. He's again paired with Jim Cheung and they are releasing the bi-monthly Avengers: The Children's Crusade. It'll be a 9-issue mini and if it's anything like their first 12-issue run, I'm definitely on for the entire run.

That's it for this post. I don't have the time or energy to talk about DC stuff today. Getting back to bed now... *yawn*