Inside the Spectacularly Marvelously Marvel Smoking Section

Captain America is Reborn or something little late to the party myself but I've been thinking bout the two caps and I remembered the old cap had a vice. Nothing quite says all American hero than a nice corn cob pipe. It's interesting how jovially it makes the captain seem. Not what I'd expect from him. I'd expect the All American New York city boy who served in the second world war to smoke either a cigarette or nothing at all. The corn cob pipe would fit a little better if Steve Rodgers was from Oklahoma or Kentucky. I could never imagine cap puffing this after a skirmish with Baltroc the Leaper.

His arch nemesis the Red Skull however is pitch perfect with a long Cruela DeVille ciggarette. It highlights his European-ness, his villiany, and it looks odd perched on his deformed person. Strangley elegant, yet grotesque its the perfect design compliment for Cap's most well known foe.

Been going through my old posts and found an old gem I'd like to expound upon. Found more character pics I like of great marvel smokers. Captain America's future best pal Tony Stark smokes marlboro's especially when he drinks. High pressure life style, women coming and going sometime's you just got to kick back and unwind with a good smoke.

Few things more befit a position of power like an eye-patch, Ciagr, and grey streaks on the side of the head. The classic Nick Fury has the triple threat.

Super spy's don't only smoke cigars in the USSR they enjoy a nice pack of Kool as the dealy Balck Widow can attest. It makes sense that Russia's baddest agent doesn't give a crap about lung cancer. I'd totally by a pack of smokes called Balck Widow's if this pic was on the carton.

All supevillains should smoke they're bad guys it makes sense. Others look really cool due to their choice in smoke. Others look more petty.

Cigars are not only for the rich and powerful. Alpha Flight's Puck is known to enjoy an occasional cigar. Nothing wrong with a good Montescristo after a long day of fighting the Wendigo.

Grey Hulk agrees.

So does Canada's favorite son, Logan.

Or maybe a pipe is better post Wendigo fight?

Scientist love pipes makes them more scientifical I think .

Coming soon my own Super hero smoking art. Think Dr. Strange, Luke Cage, Iron-Fist, Green Arrow, Green Lantern John Stewart, and taking requests for the final couple smoking art doodles I'm working on. I in no way encourage smoking it's a horrible habit and I don't do it myself. Although I don't mind if fictional people do it.

X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE

X-Men Origins: Wolverine = waste of time

You'd think a Wolverine movie would be easy. Set up a bunch of cool action sequences put Weapon-x in them and watch bad guys get sliced and diced. Instead they adapted the weaker part of Wolverine's origin.

I didn't like the focus on Victor and James/Logan as brothers the dynamic doesn't work for me. It doesn't feel natural and the movie never really sells it. We never get to see brothers being brothers, instead we get guys fighting and killing stuff in lame pg-13 fashion. The new Sabretooth Liev Schrieber is pure genius. I wish we could go back and put him in over tyler mane's lumbering grunting Sabretooth from the original fox x-men film.

Ryan Reynolds is used far to little. Blob was better than I thought he would be but he didn't fit in the film and should've been in Last Stand instead. WillIam was atrocious and should please stick to singing.

Stryker was fantastic and he was a great heavy which is difficult to pull off in a film with two great badasses like Jackman and Schrieber. The special effects were atrocious for the budget of the film and I hated the wire jumping with Sabretooth and the lame long finger nails. The effects were problematic and I think all of the X-men films were better fx wise even horribly rushed x3 looks better than Origins. This film would have been better as an R with less mutants and focusing more on him fighting in the wars and losing friends and finding pathos and trauma that will later fuel his animal berserker rages.

I loved the casting of Taylor Kitsch as Gambit and I think he worked but it just didn't feel like it fit for the movie. Logan and Gambit's friendship seemed unnecessary and forced. I'd love to see a Gambit Wolverine buddy mutant action film or grindhouse style double feature. Gambit in an ocean style thieve-thriller, and Wolverine as a revenge gore-story.

I kind of like the way they teased at X-men First class would have liked better if they would have played Prof. X straight and explain that he got botox later in life or something. I loved Logan as a lumberjack most of all in the film.

The opening acting and plot-line in the 1800's is horrible. The climax of the film was craptastic and it's ironic that the first film of the summer was the worst of the summer.

KICK-ASS the movie

KICK-ASS!!!

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comic

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movie

So I've been following the Kick-ass comics as you know and as a result I've been following the word on the Kick-ass movie and the buzz so far is that it is "teenage tarantino" TARANTINO! that is very high praise. I can see a bit of a Kill Bill Kick-ass vibe in this pic. I'd love to see Kick-ass versus the Bride vs. The Yakuza!!! j/k

Dave Lizewsky does kinda seem like it's a feasible Tarantino character.

Very catchy selling but it's hard to really get a good idea of a Millar property because he is so prone to extreme hyperbole. You can't judge Millar till you've read or seen the completed work all the way through. I like the casting thus far as reported by my favorite film news site. slashfilm.com I especially like the inclusion of Mc Lovin

one of my fav. actors of this current young hollywood set. I like Nic Cage and he has a great eye for good scripts but i don't see how he'll convincingly play the giant of a man/sniper in the comic book. We'll see what he can deliver. the girls have been cast to utter perfection and they look like they stepped of the page doey eyes and all!!!

I loved the wanted comic and i hated the wanted movie. I like the Kick-ass comic thus far even if it is a little meandering. The movie may play better with music and actually movement to the action and hardcore gore it is very promising. So that's how Millar comic2movie adaptation is going thus far. Tell me how you like this segment i may make it a recurring segment we will see.

I wish...

This is a new fixture I've just invented I call it.

I wish...

...that this was the current Fantastic Four.

This is probably my favorite what if story ever simply because it opens up so many story telling opportunities. I mean you consolidate the Spiderman villains, Wolverine's villains, Hulk's enemies, Ghost Rider's enemies and the Fantastic Fours. Imagine all the crazy villain team ups and teams you can do. Plus it would make the Fantastic Four the thing it was meant to be, be the rival to Justice League. Stan Lee says he invented the Fantastic Four because his boss told him to write a team book because JLA was selling well. This could be Marvels JLA forget the Avengers(Iron Man is a dick!).

If you haven't pick up this issue do so. This team works well because Ben Grimm approves of it. Heck if this were a real book I would make Grimm their dispatch guy, who manages their home, and makes sure they stay organized. 

It's also interesting how these four fit with the old four. Wolverine has the toughness of the Thing, and the power level of Sue Storm. Spidey has sort of Johnny Storm's wise cracking, and Mr. Fantastic's trapping ability and fluidness thanks to his webs. The Hulk has things clobberin and monster aspects, with Reed Richard types of smarts. Ghost Rider has Johnny Storms flaming nature, and rebelliousness.

Track down this book it's worth every penny. Here's a little two page spalsh to entice you. 

Oh and this is the last work of the much beloved Mike Wierengo who I'm sure you've been seeing around DC and Marvel as they have cleared up advertisement space to honor him.

AVENGERS MOVIE

What if the upcoming Avengers movie was based on this. Would that be good or bad?

Relevant Issues

Chris Schweizer has a great rundown of the Marvel Universe's biggest smokers.

My favorites that he lists are in no particular order.

GAMBIT - for obvious reasons.

REED RICHARDS - It's as if the pipe were invented for his nerdy stretchy face.

J. JONAH JAMESON - No type of smoking goes better with screaming growling menace like a fat stubby cigar and J.J. owns it.

BANSHEE - The cigarrette enhances his European-ness. It also shows of his pubby beer drinking side. Is Banshee dead?

ELECTRO & BULLSEYE - Smoking enhances their villainy and menace. It takes them from costumed clowns to realistic seedy criminals. You can easily imagine them in prison bartering for smokes or smoking a cigarette after a bank heist to relax.

Why bring this up?

Because some groups have taken offense to how William Hurts character in The Incredible Hulk was smoking. That is ridiculous the type of props and vices a character has enhances the character. It delivers quickly and clearly the type of person the character is with out to much work. This is a free speech issue. I understand not wanting to tell kids smoking is cool, but it's not the hero smoking it's the villain.

Come on?

Who are your favorite Comic book smokers?

HELL'S YEAH! I like GAMBIT.

Recently, Swinebread, who holds some what anti-Gambit beliefs, asked me why I enjoyed the character?

Also tomorrow X-men Legacy is going to feature him prominently so here's a Gambit post. 

I began my comics life with the 1990's x-men cartoon. Gambit was featured prominently on the show. He was attracted to Rogue, so was I.

 

The fact that he's a smoker is one of the reasons I like him. Not many superheroes smoke cigarettes, he's almost a villain and a bit of a cowboy. He has a unique sense of honor. H e has a wierd costume that I'm not sure serves a purpose but it does look pretty cool. 

He's like the Han Solo or Sawyer of the X-men team. He's not a boy scout he's a bad boy. He's maybe the second most bad-ass character on the X-team after Wolverine. 

He's a thief and he has skills beyond his mutation. He has so much destructive power but doesn't use it. He uses playing cards! 

He is in total control of his ability. You never hear about gambit accidentally blowing some one up. Gambit is pure Bad ass incarnate.

 

How do you feel about Gambit?

Smack Talk! DC vs. Marvel

I was planning on reviewing Young X-men and I promise I'll do that soon. However, at the moment I feel the need to square off against members of Merry Marvel Marching Society. Over at Pulp Secret I've gotten guff for feeling that DC does superior cross over work and reacting to Brian Micheal Bendis's interview in the aforementioned link, please read and watch the vid first. 

First of all as far as Bendis and the interview go, it really pisses me off. I like Bendis's writing, I've enjoyed almost every issue of New Avengers and I enjoy the way he treats Luke Cage. On the other hand, every time I see him speak publicly he comes across to me like the most pompous self righteous ass. Claiming that he doesn't do retcons is ridiculous. Secret Invasion looks like a pure retcon machine. Hank Pym as a skrull seems like the perfect avenue to shed his wife beating past and give him a chance to be heroic once again. Secret Invasion feels to me like the spider clone saga on a massive scale. Which although it discredits years of continuity, I think that is something comic book companies have to do, but why can't marvel do it like DC in the form of directly reshaping reality and time so that past stories aren't tainted. (Side note: I've never seen the new BSG but i've been reading all over the blogosphere that the plot is ripped from BSG. Is that true?)

As far as my claim of this Secret Invasion marketing being all BS. Marvel is not only prone to hyperbole, which bothers me, it's the fact that I think they believe it. I'm not alone either. Also I am reminded of issue 2 of Civil War Spider Man unmasks and Joe Q goes out publicly and said this is the direction were taking the character we're not going to undo it. How did that turn out?

On the point of DC doing superior cross overs. I'd say marvel has been jumping from one event to the next. The only events that seemed logical to being back to back was Civil War and World War Hulk. House of M came out of the blue, same as Secret Invasion(although I hope Bendis does a good job explaining why the New Avengers has been building to this). There events call for all of the heroes in the Marvel U which means that every book needs a crossover, or maybe affected  by the result of the event. Which was the case for New X-men which lost it's happy fun teen angst filled high school drama after house of M. To be replaced with mourning students, and apocalyptic extinction melodrama. DC on the other hand has had Identity, Infinite and Final Crisis. Identity was pretty self contained but it changed the dynamics of the Universe for a short time but was wrapped up with Infinite Crisis in a satisfactory way, uniting the heroes that had divided. 52 was totally self contained. So there wasn't crossover fever. It also allowed the new DCU to find it's place and setup a status quo. Countdown despite it's poor quality didn't interrupt the status quo for any of the major players.It seemed, to instead of push stories outwards onto other books, pulled stories into it's main theme. With Karate Kid and the lightning saga, to the death of Bart Allen, etc. Both 52 and Countdown gave the spotlight primarily to secondary characters. Allowing them to shine and find a new voice for these new times. What i find most comforting about DC universe cross overs is that although worlds change and planets collide, characters never get the short end of the stick(except for Max Lord). 

So Bombardem am I just a DC punk on Dan Didio's jock? Or someone that has thought this crap through?

Merry Marvelite or Citizen of the DC Nation?

When I first entered the world of comic books, I never thought that I would have an alleigance for one company more than another. As time progressed though, I noticed a shift in my pull list. My affiliation became quite clear. I'm a DC guy. Don't get me wrong I read Marvel. I love Luke Cage, Iron Fist, and Gambit. However when it comes to overall universe DC wins. Why DC? 

1. Escapism. DC recently is more escapist. In the Marvel Universe, I have to worry about politics. The moral and ethical implications of the superhuman registration act. Over at the Distiguished Competition my biggest worry is whether an alien invasion of power ring toting facists is going to conquer the universe and kill Hal Jordan.  
2. No more 90's. I was not buying comics in the 90's, but I feel I've read enough about it to realize thats prabably a great thing.  Marvel to me feels like it's still bogged down in the montony of 90's comics. There are dark character turns for wholesome characters(Speedball to Penance), shock value comics with no real weight or consequences(Spider-man unmasking and resetting his history thus negating his unmasking), and prime time character's dieing(death of Captain America).  
3. Hope and optimism. DC is a more optimistic place it's heroes aren't making deals with the devil(Spider-man), or encroaching on civil liberties(Iron-man). They are trying to write past wrongs(Hal Jordan, Green Arrow, and Batman), inspire(Superman), and they are all usually trying to save the world or worlds from regular pure evil bad guys.  
4. Locales. Marvel takes place in New York and other real locales (Latveria, and the Negative Zone not with standing.) DC is mostly set in fictional locations. Due to the fictionality of Star City, Gotham, and Metropolis, each of these fictitious cities can be what ever the creator wants them to be. Gotham's architecture can be art deco, or gothic. What ever best serves the stories tone and mood. 
5.  New reader friendly. DC is more new reader friendly at least at this moment. Due to recent crisis and approaching final crisis things are in a state of reboot. Character's and teams are becoming established and forming(JSA, JLA, Infinity Inc, Booster Gold, and Blue Beetle), they are producing plenty of one and done books(Jonah Hex, JLU, and JSA Classified), and they are producing several specials that have reprints of classic character defining stories that tie into and explain some of the characters and cancepts prominently featured in there crossovers(Countdown Special Jimmy Olsen, Countdown Special Flash, etc.). 
6. Continuity. DC is less bogged down in their own continuity due to there willingness to shed it when it gets too complicated (Crisis on Infintite Earths).  Also, a big plus to DC's shedding of continuity is that it is done formally, as oppose to Marvel which simply forgets a story takes place due to fan response.
7. Better Management. I like Didio more than Quesada. Didio has really made me feel like a part of the DC nation, with his columns at the end of DC books making announcements and touring his offices. While Quesada simply imposes his will and Tony Stark's over Marvel. Making what ever changes he wants no matter how out of character they are.
8. I just like DC more. It's really hard to explain an inclination why is my favorite color blue or my favorite number two. It's just the way I'm wired.

DC is not without faults. I wish that DC and Marvel would settle down with the crossovers and let their Universe's breath and develop a status quo for a while. I don't need to read a world shattering, character changing crossover every summer(just a JLA/JSA one). 

Where do you stand Merry Marvelite or citizen of the DC Nation?

Arch Villainy the dead art

A hero is only as good as his villains. False. 

A villain is only as good as the hero he hates. True.

Spider-man, and Batman have with out a doubt best super villians in all of comics.

 

I'd put a close second the Flash(i know some people don't like the Flash's rogues but i do they are unique and they al have a style and sense of community like no other in comics.)

        

, and in third Superman. 

Why do these villains stand out? It's because a villain is defined and best highlighted by how much he hates the hero. There aren't really that many choice super villains who belong to one character. Less so in the Marvel universe. 

The MU is very connected so good villains make their rounds from hero to hero.  Most of the b-list villains like Boomerang, Absorbing-man, Jack-O-Lantern,  Radioactive man, the U-Foes, etc. have their first appearances with certain heroes but end up fighting someone else and someone else and end up getting beaten up by every hero in the marvel universe. The reason these villaIns never find a worthy arch-nemesis is basically cause they're not really well defined characters who have yet to meet the writer that would make them gold. Now why do Spidey and Bats have all the choice villains, one could say they are better characters to play off of(which they are), and they're both mortal so anyone with any type of power can be a threat(which is important). But why the really have the best foes is simply because they have long publication histories and have tried more villains than any one else. 

Which brings me back to last post Why does Spiderman need this new villain Mr. Negative? 

Would Mr. Negative as a character not be better served if he were put up against a hero with a not so long and established list of hated enemies. Some one like Iron Fist, Ms. Marvel, or Luke Cage?

 The same can be said in the DC universe though I feel DC is really actively trying to remedy this as shown on Judd Winick's run on Green Arrow where he tried giving the emerald archer some rivals like Brick, Constantine Drakon, Merlyn, Natas, Onamotapeia, and Deathstroke. Why the lobby for a more diversified form of villainy? To be honest i love b-listers heroes and villains alike and I'd like to see them get a little love in the form of hate. 

Heroes that need villains?

1. Wonder Woman 
2. Iron Fist (Brubaker and Fraction seem to be remedying this so hopefully they keep up the goodwork.)
3. Booster Gold(also a work in progress)
4. Ms. Marvel
5. Luke Cage 
6. Vixen
7. Zatanna

Any other heroes in need of some villainy?