The Zombies Are Back!

The original 2006 Marvel Zombies miniseries was a breath of fresh air. For my money, it was probably the most fun title of the last few years. At a time when a lot of serious developments were either brewing or in full swing in the main Marvel titles, Marvel Zombies took a great concept and ran with it, becoming one of the best selling minis in years and proving that there is a lot of fun to be had with the MU. The follow ups - Marvel Zombies Vs Army of Darkness, and the one-shot Marvel Zombies: Dead Days were equally fun , and the current Marvel Zombies story in the Black Panther book is managing to capture the feel of the original titles.

So, how pleased am I that in October we're getting anothr MZ miniseries? Pretty fucking pleased, I'll tell you.
Marvel Zombies 2 revolves around a Zombie version of the Civil War story-arc. The zombies return to to Earth after forty years in space, in which they have apparently devoured or infected the rest of the universe, and what follows is the beginnings of a zombie civil war. Solicitations state that what awaits them on the Earth under the Acolytes and Black Panther "is beyond anything even these shambling monstrosities could have conceived!".

Sounds like its going to be a lot of fun.

Superman: Doomsday (DVD)

I just watched the DVD of Superman: Doomsday (the latest animated feature from DC/Warner Bros) a few days ago, and I have to say, I thought it was excellent. I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it.

Based on the classic "Death of Superman" and "Return of Superman" storylines, it tells the story of Superman's death whilst battling the near-unstoppable creature Doomsday, the world's reaction to his death, and his subsequent return.
It's important to understand that, while the film is produced by the legendary Bruce Timm, it doesn't take place within the regular DC Animated Universe. The film takes place in a continuity where Superman is the only superhero on Earth, so don't expect the members of the Justice League to be involved (as they were in the original comic).
The film rates as a PG-13, which is a little unusual for an animated feature, but by the end of the first half-hour, you know why.

Seriously, the violence in this is brutal at times. When Doomsday finally appears on the scene, the carnage he causes, and the way he remorslesly kills every living thing he comes across is quite shocking, for an animated film. Granted, it's mostly a bloodless affair, but the brutallity of it all is enough. He hits and smashes regular Humans with the same force he hits Superman with, and nothing is safe from his killing spree.
Then comes the battle between him and Superman - which rages on for over 8 minutes. The fight is nothing short of epic. The moves they use on each other, and the power of the blows they trade really capture the essence of a titanic battle between two super-powerful beings.

There's some great character work in there too - the relationship between Lois and Superman has an interesting dynamic, and James Marster's Lex Luthor is nothing short of perfect. His reaction to Superman's death, and what it means to him to lose his greatest foe is really well handled and brings some extra depth to him as a character. Not to mention how ruthlessly evil he is - there's one scene in particular that demonstrates this. You'll know which one I mean when you see it.
Adam Baldwin's voice fits Superman perfectly, and he carries the role off to a tee. I'd love to hear him voice Superman in future animated movies.

The animation is pretty damn good, and the voice actors are all on top form. There are some great iconic images throughout the film too that harken back to the comics.

I really could go on forever about this because I honestly can't think of a single fault with it. I thought it was absolutely spot on. I'm going to stop writing now before this post becomes as long as the film. I'll just say one thing; watch this film, as soon as you can get a copy. It's thoroughly enjoyable, and I think any fan of Superman, or superhero films/animations in general, will enjoy it.

Here's a few stills. As ever, click to enlarge...

The Death of Batman?

There have been a lot of disconcerting rumours doing the rounds on the net over the past week concerning the possibility of DC killing off Bruce Wayne/Batman at the end of next year's big DC event - Final Crisis.
Most of the debate seems to have started when people started to notice the similarites between these two pictures...(click to enlarge)





Now, I think that's a bit of a flimsy starting point for a theory, but you have to admit, the similarity between the two images in undeniable. There's no mistaking that the artist specifically drew the scene to look that way. Whether this was just for a laugh, or as a cryptic clue to the fate of Batman, remains to be seen.
Still, Chris Chow over at Batman on Film noticed what could be even more subtle clues in recent DC issues. You can read them in his article here; http://www.batman-on-film.com/opinion_the-death-of-batman_c-clow_8-30-07.html

Personally, I think people are jumping the gun a little and seeing things that don't necessarily mean anything. I'm a little dubious that DC would kill off a character as big as Batman, especially with a new Batman movie due out next year.
Many people have been holding up the recent death of Captain America as an example of a title doing well without its main character, but I have a hard time believing that Captain America is as popular and well read as Batman is. I suppose if it's well written though, it could be a damn fine storyline. Where they'd go after the initial chaos surrounding his death has died down is anyone's guess.

Thinking about it though, it could be a really good opportunity to re-boot the Batman character. Batman, in the current DC continuity, is no longer an urban legend, he's a world-renowned superhero and member of the JLA. I think it would be great if they publicly killed him off, only for him to return as the thing in the shadows again. Build up the rumour of his return - low-level criminals in Gotham becoming frigtened again, seeing things in the darkness, rumours of the giant bat returning to Gotham circulating in the underworld. Something like that could be quite cool, if done properly.

I guess we'll just have to wait and see when Final Crisis comes out next year.

Warbound #1 Cover Art

As well as working on a What If? issue, and a third act of his Hulk trilogy, Greg Pak is also writing a Warbound miniseries featuring Hulk's comrades from Sakaar, and set after the events of World War Hulk. The abscence of Miek from the cover of issue #1 suggests that he will be one of the casualties during WWH.

Comics Round-Up

How fucking cool is Thor? Seriously, as if the first two issues of the Thunder God's return weren't cool enough, he then has to go and give Tony Stark the best arse kicking since World War Hulk #1. The latest issue (Thor #3) has secured this titles place on my "regular buy" list. Roll on issue #4.



Speaking of World War Hulk - this series is just getting better by the issue. WWH: X-Men #3 just finished off one of the best tie-in runs I've ever read. Chris Gage needs to be given more work at Marvel, he's an awesome writer.
The whole WWH thing is just really floating my boat at the moment. I'm loving what this whole arc (as well as the Planet Hulk arc) has done for the Hulk. He's a strategic fighter now, learning to exploit his opponents weaknesses (and as Juggernaught found out, their strengths too) instead of just relying on his ability to smash.
Also came across two cool pieces of WWH-related news this week; not only is WWH scribe Greg Pak penning a What If? issue where the Hulk dies on Sakaar in the shuttle explosion, and Caiera comes to Earth looking for revenge on the heroes who exiled him, but he's also working on a "third act" in his Hulk trilogy to follow on from WWH.
Personally, Pak can write Hulk stories for as long as he wants as far as I'm concerned. The man is brilliant.



New Avengers #34 brought us the shocking revelation that *gasp* no-one on the outcast Avengers team is a Skrull - unless Strange is a Skrull and is just faking all the identity spells, but that's a whole can of worms that I can't be arsed with right now.
I'm really enjoying New Avengers, but not quite as much as I'm enjoying The Mighty Avengers. Issue #4 was an awesome read, and I can't wait to see how Sentry reacts to the death of his wife at the hands of Ultron.



And then there's the whole "Are Peter Parker and MJ going to split up?" thing. Really, I think a lot of these idiot fanboys - who have an (inexplicable) beef with Marvel's EiC Joe Quesada - are blowing this whole thing out of proportion.
How about we wait until the "One More Day" storyline is over before we turn into a pack of slobbering, rabid fanboys howling for Joe Q's blood? Sound good to you?

I've not read much DC this month, but one thing I'm definitely pleased about is the return of Geoff Johns and Richard Donner as writers of Action Comics. Aside from how cool these two are as writers, I'm also glad the title has returned to an independent storyline instead of those constant bloody Countdown tie-ins. I mean really, do we actually need another fucking Cowntdown tie-in? I think not.



Anyway, that's it from me at the moment cause it's late and I've lost my train of thought. I'll probably be back soon, or at least I won't leave it so long to make an entry this time.

So long, and be on the lookout for Skrulls.

Holy God Damn Batman!

Seriously, I've been having as good a chuckle as anyone about the way Frank Miller is writing All-Star Batman & Robin, but surely in issue #6 he had a running bet with someone to see how many times he could get "the god damn Batman" into his dialogue.

It's a shame Jim Lee's talents are being wasted on a joke. They should move him over to the regular Batman title. I think him and Grant Morrison would make an awesome team.


Edited to add: My god, I didn't realise how long it had actually been since I last made an entry. Time sure does fly.

World War Hulk Begins

World War Hulk has kicked off nicely with the release of the much anticipated World War Hulk Prologue: Worldbreaker, and Incredible Hulk #106.

Both issues do a fantastic job of whetting your appetite for what is to come when Hulk reaches Earth and begins dishing out punishment to the Illuminati, who he despises for exiling him into space, and also blames for the death of his lover and child in the epic Planet Hulk story.


World War Hulk #1 is released in June.

All Star Batman & Robin 5, 6 & 7

Regardless of your opinion of Frank Miller's writing on All Star Batman & Robin, you can't deny that the artwork is shit hot. I've always been a fan of Jim Lee's art in general, but especially his work on Batman titles, and these covers are no exception to that.

Issue #5

Issue #6

Issue #7