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A Guide to Comics: Marvel Men Part 2

/ everythingkidchris / 5 Comments

Been long enough, better continue the series.

I would like to clarify one thing: what I mean when I say “volume.” In comics, a new “volume” of a title begins whenever that titled is re/launched at a #1 issue. This means different titles have different amounts of volumes based on how many times they were launched as a new series. This does not mean that more volumes makes for a longer series or a better/worse character. For instance, Amazing Spider-Man is just now on volume 2 while a title like Daredevil is currently on volume 4. However, Amazing started in 1963 and Daredevil started in 1964. It just boils down to how many times the characters are restarted due to creative or editorial decisions. This is also confused with the Trade Paperback use for the term “volume,” which refers to a sequential addition in a group of collections. The confusion gets exacerbated when you realize that each volume of a title contains multiple volumes of trade paperbacks. Why they didn’t decide on a different term for the collections, who knows.

Ultimately, all you need to understand is that “volumes” in these posts refer to the specific runs. If you have specific questions about how to hunt down the stories or series, shoot me a message.

Anywho, here we go:

Marvel Men Part 1

Marvel Women Part 1

Captain America
  • Character Summary: Steve Rogers – Boy Scout with a sometimes gruff exterior; Driven and mission oriented; Tactical and Careful; A super soldier in both ability and personality; Old-fashioned, has always maintained a sort of tragic element about him, really getting across the “displaced” feeling, especially in the hands of talented writers.
  • Common Themes: The line between duty and what’s right; Freedom vs. Oppression; ‘MURICA!
  • Good For: People who like Tom Clancy books/movies; People who really liked the Cap movies, honestly; People who are looking for a healthy balance of espionage, city destroying action, and the occasional wholesome moral.
  • Go To Series: Captain America (Volumes 1, 3 and 5, imo); The Ultimates
  • Stand Out Stories: Civil War; The Hero that Was; The Secret Empire; Captain America No More; Operation Rebirth; The Death of Captain America; Man Out of Time
…
Luke Cage
  • Character Summary: Carl Lucas; Sometimes called Power Man; NYPD cop, wrongly imprisoned, volunteered for an experiment to shorten his sentence; Thanks to some racist redneck jerkwad Georgia prison guard, the experiment went haywire and granted Lucas super strength and impervious skin; He then breaks out, moves back to NY and changes his name to Luke Cage; Founding member of Heroes for Hire, Cage deals with a lot of the street-level crime with the likes of Iron Fist, Spidey-Man, and others; Due to Luke’s history dealing with gang violence, he is typically seen running against crime syndicates and cleaning the streets of larger gangs; Luke was also a member of the New Avengers and the Mighty Avengers for quite some time, and has helped the Avengers on several occasions, including fighting the X-Men during the Avengers vs X-Men crossover and aiding Captain America during the Civil War story-line
  • Common Themes: Racism (duh); Life on the Mean Streets; Tough can be nice; With Great Power come Great Bad-Guy Butt-Kicking; Don’t judge a book by its huge muscles and tiara
  • Good For: Fans of Street-Level heroes; Fans of cop shows/movies; People who like the “tough guy with a heart of gold” trope
  • Go To Series: Power Man (vol 1); Heroes for Hire (vol 1); Mighty Avengers (vol 2)
  • Stand Out Stories: Pulse 11-14; New Avengers (vol 1) Annual #1; New Avengers (vol 1) 1-5; Luke Cage: Noir

A Guide to Comics: Marvel Men Part 1

/ everythingkidchris / 8 Comments

Being the resident comic book nerd of my friend group, people often come to me with questions when they want to start getting into comics. What titles would they like? Which books should they pick up? Plus, with all the new movies in the works, people want to get involved just as much with the hero on the page as with the hero on the big screen. Thus, I’ve decided to occasionally post a comprehensive collection of Comic Book heroes and what to expect of them.

NOTE: I won’t be doing characters that are mainly just a part of the team. I will be sticking primarily to characters that tend to shine as individuals. I plan on doing a separate list to highlight teams.

Other Guides:

Marvel Women – 1

Spider Man
  • Character Summary: Peter Parker – “Common Man” gifted with extreme power and potential, generally bad at juggling obligations and scheduling; Science focused, studious; Generally nerdy; Very quick wit.
  • Common Themes: With great power come great responsibility; Hot chicks dig nerds (with good bodies and handsome jawlines)
  • Good For: Anyone, really, but particularly those interested in a “relatable” hero, or rather a hero who has very real world problems; People who like flashier fights with a focus on speed instead of raw power; People who like Batman (rogues gallery, “no kill” philosophy, etc.); People who like a sprinkling of romance in their comics
  • Go To Series: Amazing Spider-Man, Ultimate Spider-Man, Superior Spider-Man (for veterans)
  • Stand Out Stories: Kraven’s Last Hunt, Spider-Man No More,The Night Gwen Stacy Died, Spider-Man Blue (For Romance), The Death of Jean DeWolff, Ultimate Spider-Man: Venom
Ghost Rider
  • Character Summary: Johnny Blaze (Later Danny Ketch, whose back story is a might bit flat, but has quite a few good stories during his run with the mantel in the 90s) – Stunt motorcyclist and demonology hobbyist; Was infused with the demon Zarathos, a Spirit of Vengeance, by the demon Mephisto, who was jealous of everyone giving Zarathos so much attention… Holy shit, that’s balla. Ghost Rider has slowly increased in power as time has gone along and picked up new skills and weapons. In his most recent Johnny Blaze incarnation, he was often referenced as one of the most (if not the most) powerful hero in the Marvel universe. Also, he shoots Hellfire at people, which is fire that burns the individual’ FRIGGIN SOUL. Nice.
  • Common Themes: Heavy Good vs. Evil, but also an emphasis on necessary evils; Punishment and retribution; Heaven vs Hell; Losing Control; “Good” not being the same as “innocent”
  • Good For: Motorcycle lovers, People who like Constantine or Hellboy, People looking for a less diplomatic hero, People looking for more of a “wrong side of the tracks” hero instead of some white boy from Queens.
  • Go To Series: Spirits of Vengeance, All New Ghost Rider, Ghost Rider (1990s)
  • Stand Out Stories: Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Ghost Rider Annual 2, Crossroads, The Curse of Johnathan Blaze, Trials and Tribulations

 … Continue reading →

For Old Wang Signs, or whatever…

/ everythingkidchris / 1 Comment

A New Year is fast approaching. We did it, folks! We survived 2014. Somehow. We did it.

As 2015 rears it’s ugly little head, I hope you all have had a fantastic year and I wish many more good years for you and yours.

Now, as New Year’s Day approaches, it brings with it some unfortunate hangers-on: Resolutions.

What will you resolution be? Will you dedicate yourself to health and fitness? Will you maybe cut back on something that causes you harm? Will you spend more time with a special person? Will you finally return the calls of someone who just wants to TALK TO YOU AND TELL YOU HOW PRETTY YOU ARE I’M NOT BEING CREEPY YOU ARE BEING RUDE, JENNIFER LAWRENCE!

(ahem)

Whatever your resolution, sticking to something that you drunkenly determine on a Wednesday for an entire year can be difficult. That is why I have decided to help out. My gift to you is a list of 20 easy-to-keep resolutions so that you may approach the dawn of 2016 saying “Welp, 2015 was a weird year. Glad I stopped reading that idiot’s blog. Maybe this year I’ll just cut back on donuts or something.” “YAY I DID IT! GO ME!”

Here you go, folks:

  1. My resolution for 2015 is to never have a conversation about the finale of Lost with a paraplegic outside of a Chuck E. Cheese
  2. This year, I promise to not have inappropriate or dirty thoughts about Gore Verbinski
  3. For 2015, I plan to levitate less and walk a bit more
  4. I promise that I will not drink beer on the 31st day of February, April, June, September, or November.
  5. This year, when people ask me what day it is and it is Monday, I will respond by saying something along the lines of “it’s Monday.”
  6. 2015 is going to be a great year and, darn it, I WILL find Fox news depressing and irritating if it’s the last thing I do!
  7. This year I promise not to participate in any no-holds-barred, underground Inuit throat singing deathmatches.
  8. My goal is to see at least one billboard this year.
  9. I vow that this year I will sleep around all day and take every effort to be as annoying/perplexing for my human masters as I can. (because cats need resolutions too)
  10. This year, when I have to go to the bathroom, I am going to eventually go to the bathroom.
  11. Years of battle have made me cold and unfeeling. This year I turn over a new leaf. I vow to deliberately miss every target I fire at, no matter how many other Storm Troopers are around me to witness it.
  12. Years of battle have made me cold and unfeeling. This year I turn over a new leaf. I vow to deliberately miss every target I fire at, no matter how many other Nazis from the Indiana Jones movies are around me to witness it.
  13. Years of battle have made me cold and unfeeling. This year I turn over a new leaf. I vow to deliberately miss every target I fire at, no matter how many other Henchmen from a James Bond movie are around me to witness it.
  14. In 2015, I will find anything by Charli XCX annoying and nauseating.
  15. I will not throw a Nerf football to Judi Dench while she is arguing with a busboy at Fuddruckers. Never again.
  16. Sure, I’m ready for 2015. I’ve already decided that this year my resolution is to have a resolution.
  17. My goal for this year is to take the Browns to the Superbowl less than 8760 times. (Poop Reference)
  18. My goal for this year is to take the Browns to the Superbowl less than 1 time. (Sports Reference)
  19. I think this year I’m gonna shake things up. I resolve to use, see, or be within 150 miles of an electronic device at least once.
  20. I’m determined, this is the year that I turn the tables. Or maybe just table. Like a small coffee table. I will turn at least one small table this year.
  21. BONUS: Look out, 2015! This year I plan on living every day as if it were 2015!

So, there you go. Now if any annoying New Year’s resolutioners come bothering you about what your plans are, you have a nice, easy response. Now your 2015 can be laid-back, and free of any silly, self-imposed recipes for failure!

So, what is your resolution going to be? How do you feel about resolutions in general? Let me know!

And everyone have a happy New Year! Be sure to party down in the best way possible.

alcohol animated GIF

-C