NOTE: The individual opinions of each Roundtable contributor are their own, and is not representative of anybody but that contributor.
RUMOUR – A new SUPERBOY ongoing will be launched later this year… [Credit: All the Rage]
PAUL “ROCK THE TILDE” SEBERT: Hmmm, I enjoyed Superboy’s ongoing series, particularly under Kesel’s run, but I’d rather have a new KID FLASH/IMPULSE ongoing.
JOHN “NEARLY MINT” BABOS: I’m not sure if Superboy can star in his own viable ongoing series yet. With Jeph Loeb set to launch a new SUPERGIRL ongoing, I doubt that we’ll see a SUPERBOY ongoing before that.
However, based on the success of SUPERMAN/BATMAN, why not do a ROBIN/SUPERBOY series? If that’s viable a solo SUPERBOY series can spring from it.
BTW, [tangent alert!!] has DC decided which Krypton they are using now? Byrne’s MAN OF STEEL one or Waid’s BIRTHRIGHT one? I was confused after reading NIGHTWING #102 and seeing a very Byrne-inspired Krypton and Kryptonian Nightwing. Great NIGHTWING: YEAR ONE series so far.
Anyhow, tangent aside, there are big things in store for the Boy of Steel in TEEN TITANS. I’m assured at least one monthly dose of Kon-El adventuring.
IAIN “THE HOST” BURNSIDE: Because for all intents and purposes a ROBIN/SUPERBOY series would just be TEEN TITANS anyway…
Also, I’m not reading NIGHTWING so I’m not sure exactly how it depicted Krypton, but the company line at the moment seems to be “we’re not really sure, what d’ya reckon?” I’m sure that if BIRTHRIGHT had sold better than it did, or at least gotten better reviews, then it would have replaced the Byrne version. As it stands, nobody can really confirm or deny anything – more than likely because it will be changed after the mysterious Big Event of ’05 and the Superman movie anyway…
Brian Michael Bendis reveals Shang-Chi appears in ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN, plus he will write a SPIDER-WOMAN mini-series [Information: The Pulse]
PAUL SEBERT: More Shang-Chi in Ultimate-Spidey? Whoo-hoo! I’ve missed him since the last issue of ULTIMATE MARVEL TEAM-UP.
As for the SPIDER-WOMAN mini… call me crazy but I always liked Julia Carpenter better but well that’s just me. Maybe if this mini is a success and that ARANA book doesn’t work out they should put her in a BIRDS OF PREY style team book with Spider-Women I-III…
LOGAN: Not seen the Ultimate version of Shang-Chi yet; but the first comic I ever read was MASTER OF KUNG-FU, so I’m hoping this can bring back some nostalgic memories – even if it is an Ultimate rendition of the character.
JAMIE “RABBLEMANIAC” HATTON: Do yourself a favour and grab them, if only for the Andy Lee pages – they are incredibly beautiful.
RUMOUR: Mark Millar’s next ULTIMATE FANTASTIC FOUR story may see a cross-over of sorts with the regular Marvel Universe [More: Millarworld]
JAMIE HATTON: It was just a matter of time before that happened. This cannot end well, not in the least. I don’t even think EXILES should be allowed in the Ultimate Verse. I don’t mind Millar like certain people do, but this is just a bad, bad, bad, bad idea.
ANDY “PET THE MONKEY” CAMPBELL: According to Millar, the UFF sees a “mirror universe” of sorts beyond the Negative Zone that may be the regular Marvel Universe. In my opinion, the only way this can end well is for it to turn out to not be the regular Marvel Universe and be something else entirely. That said; it’s not bloody likely.
PAUL SEBERT: Call me crazy, but I’d be willing to bet a truckload of money that this is a setup for some kind swerve. Maybe have it look like they’ve met the mainline FF only to wind up on an alternate earth in which Reed Richards is some kind of evil mastermind!
Then again, the FF is adventurers first and superheroes second… so they probably would be the most appropriate characters for a crossover of this type.
MANOLIS “NOT WITHOUT MY SPANDEX!” VAMVOUNIS: Spider-Girl meeting 616 Spider-Man was great. Spider-Man versus Spider-Man 2099 was ok. Doom 2099 facing the mainstream Fantastic Four in their magazine was a bit unsettling. Halloween Jack 2099 popping up in X-FORCE was unexpected, and ultimately pointless. The mainstream Fantastic Four jumping over to 2099 was just franchise-whoring, as was the Exiles jumping over to 616 and Nocturne joining the X-Men.
And now this? If this happens, it will take a lot out of the ‘magic’ of the Ultimate Universe. One of the defining inherent benefits of the Ultimate line of comics is that it isn’t treated as an “alternate universe”, as that ironically just connects it to all the other WHAT IF? stories and the ‘616’/mainstream line and Marvel canon. Ultimate was always supposed to be non-canon, a fresh start. To inject it into the multiverse is to negate its point of existence.
Marvel gets some Superbowl spots [More: Yahoo News]
PAUL SEBERT: For shame that yon Mighty Viking God of Thunder is being reduced to shilling for Midgaurdian Money Lenders. This reaketh of foul trickers Loki’s Bidding! Shame on thee Loki! Shame!
Sorry, I can’t resist a good opportunity to talk like an Asgardian or a Bizarro. In all seriousness this looks like a good way for Marvel to keep the characters in the public’s eye, and Visa’s spots tend to be fairly clever.
NYX will finish in a double-sized issue in July… Honestly… [Credit: Newsarama]
PAUL SEBERT: In other news, Kevin Smith is hard at work on SPIDER-MAN/BLACK CAT, Liefeld plans on releasing the second issue of YOUNGBLOOD: BLOODSPORT, and CLAMP will finish up X. All is normal in the world.
WILL “SOMEWHAT LIKE STEPHEN FRY” COOLING: BWHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAH!!! This has been a farce and Joe Quesada should be ashamed and fired for it. What on earth is an editor in chief for if it’s not to make sure that books come out on time? Especially when he writes the bloody thing! Hopefully people will have the good sense to boycott this (and the Kevin Smith issues) out of protest… Of course you won’t will you? You’ll buy them to complete your precious set and Marvel will continue to treat you like the bitches you are.
IAIN BURNSIDE: No!!
Um, yeah…
Well, on NYX at least as I genuinely like the comic. SPIDER-MAN/BLACK CAT, DAREDEVIL/BULLSEYE: TARGET and DAREDEVIL: FATHER can all go to hell.
MANOLIS VAMVOUNIS: Don’t the stockholders see this pattern? Bullseye, Black Cat, DAREDEVIL: FATHER, NYX… Why would they green light any new projects by Quesada or Smith since they’re obviously taking the piss at the fans and don’t care about getting their books out – not just on time, but AT ALL!!
Warren Ellis to do an Apparat 2 line later in 2005 [Details: Here]
WILL COOLING: Missed the first set due to allowing my standing order to lapse… Anyone know if they will be traded? As for the second set, well we need to know whether it’s a second of issues for the first bunch of characters or a new set of characters. Either way should be interesting.
IAIN BURNSIDE: It’s entirely new characters. Ellis has said that we’re not going to see any of the guys from the first run again. That’s a real shame as there is plenty of scope for FRANK IRONWINE to be expanded upon.
By the way, if anybody out there has a copy of SIMON SPECTOR they could send my way then please let me know! It’s the only one that I couldn’t find anywhere around here.
Sean Murphy to do a SCARECROW: YEAR ONE mini-series [Credit: Newsarama]
PAUL SEBERT: Yeah, it’s a movie cash grab, but I’m probably going to snatch this one up just because Jonathan Crane’s one of the most under-rated Batman rogues. And he was a favorite of mine in both Batman TAS and Challenge of the Superfriends.
James Marsden unlikely to return as Cyclops for X-Men 3 [Credit: CBR]
WILL COOLING: Anyone get the feeling this is simply not going to happen? It seems to be lurching from crisis to crisis since Singer left… Actually it could be argued this malaise happened before Singer left (btw, does anyone think that Kurt Angle would make a great Lex Luthor?). As for James Marsden not doing it… Well that’d be a blow given the hints that we’re going to be getting Dark Phoenix but he was bland and generic anyway so meh.
MANOLIS VAMVOUNIS: James Marsden departing, I see as a good thing. He was too much of a whipping boy version of Cyclops. All the weaknesses, none of the strengths of the character. Good riddance.
IAIN BURNSIDE: No, Cyclops is bland and generic. James Marsden captured that quite chromulently in the limited screen time he was given. It’s a similar argument used against Tom Welling in SMALLVILLE but it doesn’t wash for me there either.
Also, Kurt Angle tried playing Lex Luthor on Smackdown last year during his stint as the General Manager. It was not successful. Then again, had he dressed up in a green and purple battle suit to screw Eddie Guerrero rather than as El Gran Luchadore, things could have been more interesting…
Finally, we’re guaranteed an X-Men 3. The first two made Fox and Marvel a whole lot of money, and that means a third one is guaranteed. Personally, I’d rather they just focused on the Wolverine and Magneto movies for now so that Marsden – and possibly even Singer – could return for it for a 2008 release once Superman wraps. From a business point of view, however, it’s understandable that they wouldn’t want to do this. It’s not a major hurdle, I guess. Just say that Cyclops took a sabbatical to get over Jean’s death and give the likes of Nightcrawler and Colossus more screen time. In fact, why not just use ASTONISHING X-MEN’s “Cure” storyline as a starting point? Something like that could help bring some closure to the trilogy and provide a convenient way to get Beast involved.
And now for something completely different.
Based on an idea from everybody’s favourite disgruntled Brit, Will Cooling, the Nexus staff cut loose and gives you a rundown on the trades they are planning to check out in February…
ANDY CAMPBELL: Due to the Best Limited Series feature we ran recently, I just picked up the trades for COMMON GROUNDS and WILDGUARD: CASTING CALL. Both were absolutely brilliant in their own ways. For those who don’t know, COMMON GROUNDS is a really cool, ASTRO CITY-esque introspective into several superheroes (and villains). WILDGUARD is a very funny and clever superhero reality show. In addition to these newer trades, I also picked up STARMAN: NIGHT AND DAY, in my continuing quest to read everything Starman (I haven’t gotten that far yet, as NIGHT AND DAY is only Volume 2).
I’ll tell ya… Trades put a serious dent in my paycheck, but this month especially, they were very well worth it. I recommend everybody check those out if you haven’t already.
IAIN BURNSIDE: Okay. This is why I never have enough money:
I just bought two trades this week, actually. First off was the TRANSFORMERS: DARK STAR HC, which leads me to believe that Titan Books schedule is completely thrown-off as they still haven’t released the HC of TRANSFORMERS: MAXIMUM FORCE despite me constantly pestering them for a release date…
Then there was the BILL & TED’S MOST EXCELLENT ADVENTURES collection, which is probably going to be a complete waste of time but I decided to give it a shot anyway. This was mainly due to the fact that it claims to be an ‘Eisner Award nominated’ book on the cover, but also because I just loved the movies.
I’m still waiting on my copy of HULK VISIONARIES: PETER DAVID VOL. 1 being delivered. Stupid online stores. 25% cheaper but it does mean a lot more thumb-twiddling, foot-tapping, arse-scratching impatience… I just hope that this is going to be as good as I have been led to believe. I also ordered the FOUR LETTER WORLDS anthology due to the fine talent involved (including the stunningly beautiful Amber Benson!) but I’m not sure if it’s even been released in the stores yet.
Also on the pull-list for February are a couple of Marvel trades I’ve been anxious to read for quite some time. The first is the RUNAWAYS VOL. 3 – THE GOOD DIE YOUNG digest, which wraps up the first volume of the series. Sadly, the identity of the traitor in the ranks has been inadvertently spoiled for me but then this is Vaughan so it’s probably going to be well-written enough to still grab me by the balls anyway. Kinda like Columbo. Did I just talk about a dirty old man in a mac grabbing my balls? I need to be more careful… Anyway, the second one is the ULTIMATE X-MEN VOL. 4 HC. Again, no doubt many of you have read these stories a while ago but I’m looking forward to seeing what the Bendis stint was actually like. Not as good as USM but better than UFF, no doubt. Works for me!
On the “will buy ’em at some stage if I have the cash” front, I have the SMALL GODS trade. Actually, I probably better buy that one before Daron starts slapping me around with a large trout.
Apparently there is a large hole down the side of my trousers. This sucks.
Apparently, my finger is also bleeding from a rather substantial paper cut. Dammit.
Anyway, another one I want to get is the X-MEN: AGE OF APOCALYPSE – BOOK ONE trade, but I’ll probably wait until the second book comes out so that I can actually start reading the story proper and not wade through the preliminary fluff then forget it all – as tends to happen on one of the many occasions I try and read some Tolkein.
All of these plus copies of PREACHER VOL. 9 and A CONTRACT WITH GOD means that I had better start selling some more blood…. Perhaps they could just take it out of my exceptionally painful finger!!
ANDY CAMPBELL: I think you’ll like BILL & TED, assuming it’s what I think it is. I collected a few issues of that series many years ago, and if this collection is that same series, it’s wacky, zany fun and good times for all.
Good luck with all the bleeding.
PAUL SEBERT: Well I plan on celebrating Black History Month by finally picking up a copy of THE TRUTH: RED, WHITE & BLACK because I love Kyle Baker (albeit in a mostly platonic way.) And I plan to pick up a copy of WILDGUARD: CASTING CALL, and the third RUNAWAYS digest.
Oh, and finally, just for a laugh I recently picked up a copy of Archie Comics/Red Circle’s THE MIGHT CRUSADERS: ORIGIN OF A SUPERTEAM reprinting some of the most flat-out bizarre Silver-Age comics ever made. Let’s just say there’s a good reason why none of Archie’s attempts at breaking into the superhero genre ever lasted.
WILL COOLING: Well, seeing as it was my (typically great) idea to do this “trade buys” section I better opine (as Bill O’Reilly would say). BTW, this is the first time I’ve ever used Amazon, everyone congratulate me on overcoming my technophobia.
Well naturally I’ve ordered two of the newest 2000AD/DC trades; firstly with classic ’80s comedy fun in Wagner/Grant and Gibson’s ROBO-HUNTER, which is a “zany” take on the private eye genre set in the future. Secondly, I’ve ordered SHIMURA, a trade that is about a Ronin Judge in a corrupt futuristic Japan. It not only features Robbie Morrison’s earliest work but some reputedly gorgeous black and white Frank Quitely artwork. I planned to get Peter Milligan’s BAD COMPANY but there are massive delays on Amazon so I thought better of it. So with that exception, I’ve got every one that’s been released so far… I urge you all to buy at least one of them! I’d probably recommend NIKOLAI DANTE VOL. 1, its set in an alternative Russia still ruled by the Tsars (although the Romanovs are no longer the ruling family) with gentlemen thief Nikolai Dante being drawn into the ongoing dynastic power struggle. It’s written by Robbie Morrison with gorgeous artwork by Simon Fraser and it’s written in a very Vertigo style with over-lapping and long running storylines. It’s very atypical of 2000AD but still brilliant. Failing that, JUDGE DREDD/BATMAN FILES will offer no surprises to anyone and does include the first Batman artwork by Simon Bisley and Jim Murray whilst SINISTER DEXTER: GUNSHARK VACATION is very, very Pulp Fiction.
BTW, to counter’s Iain’s comment last week – 2000AD is relatively weak at the moment thanks to the piss-poor SECOND CITY BLUES… its usually even better than it is at the moment.
So, moving away from 2000AD, I’ve ordered KINGDOM OF THE WICKED -haven’t got a clue what it’s about but Edginton and Disraeli either together or apart have never set me wrong so it’s well worth the investment. On the recommendation of Manolis I’ve ordered THE MIRROR OF LOVE, which is an Alan Moore poem on gay love set to what are said to be gorgeous pictures. Also on the recommendation of Manolis I’ve ordered the hardcover of HOW LOATHESOME (the paperback is heavily delayed) which is about a group of transvestites in America… sounds cool.
My final trade purchases of the month (unless the bank does me a
massive favour) are a complete set of Bryan Talbot’s THE ADVENTURES OF LUTHER ARKWRIGHT. Talbot is a fantastic writer/artist and is probably the most famous and influential “comix” creator Britain has ever produced, with his work on such countercultural titles as BRAINSTORM inspiring the likes of Grant Morrison, Alan Moore and Neil Gaiman. LUTHER ARKWRIGHT is his most famous series, its set in an alternative England where the Reformation never happened and Britain is a totalitarian, Catholic despotism… can’t wait to read… especially as its sitting right next to me!!!
Sh**… you know I’ve just realised that I’ve ordered nothing from Marvel/DC… not even from Vertigo, that’s weird. I really think I
gorged myself on American mainstream titles over the past 18 months and now with certain exceptions (i.e. those written by Brits) they leave me stone cold. Although if the bank is very nice to me then I may get some TRANSMET and INVISIBLES trades (I was going to get a CEREBUS trade but I thought it’d make more sense to complete those collections first).
BTW, Iain, PREACHER VOL. 9 is an awesome book… perhaps one of my
favourite of the main series and really ramps the story back up to its highest intensity and goodness(!?!) levels. Also, AOA and Peter David’s INCREDIBLE HULK do sound interesting, might get them if the feedback’s good.
On a different tack, I also ordered Newt Gingrich’s new book WINNING THE FUTURE where he sets out a new contact with America, which I’m really looking forward to. I’m really in a book reading mood at the moment having read William Hague’s biography of British Prime Minister Pitt the Younger and a brilliantly powerful and devastating polemic against the modern welfare state called THE WELFARE STATE WE’RE IN in the past two weeks (after taking a month to read PLAN OF ATTACK by Bob Woodard), and I plan to read Samuel Huntington’s THE CLASH OF CIVILISATIONS this week. Man I’m a sad bastard…
MANOLIS VAMVOUNIS: I got a lot of trades yesterday.
GUTSMAN COMICS vol. 1 from Top Shelf: A romance comic starring characters dressed in spandex and tiger-striped overalls, with all words in the word balloons replaced by pictures, drawn in a delightfully ’50s pulp style.
BILL AND TED’S EXCELLENT ADVENTURE and DORK VOL.1: it’s my Evan Dorkin fix for this month, I’m slowly working my way through his older work after falling in love with his THING mini-series a few years ago.
AWAKENINGS from ONI PRESS: well, I haven’t read it yet, stay seated for a review.
