Fantastic Friday

Welcome to the First Fantastic Friday of October. Please enjoy this weeks selection!

A Collection of "Fantastic Four: World's Greatest Comics Magazine #1-12. 

FF #181, April 1977

Fantastic Four character sheet by John Byrne

FF #252, March 1983
This issue is presented in a unique way. The whole issue is sideways, or"wide screen".

The cast from the ill fated Fantastic Four movie from 1994.
Never released, it is rumoured that it was made as a "B" movie just so the producers could retain the rights, which were about to expire. 

Marvel Comics First Family by Alan Davis

Marvel on the Small Screen

Well, here we are well into September. The nights are getting cooler and the trees are starting to change colour and loose their leaves, so that must mean new TV shows. At least from the big networks that seem to hold onto that old style of programming.

A couple that I am looking forward to are "Marvels: Agents of Shield" second season and "Agent Carter".

First, Agents of Shield. The show seemed to start off with a bang last year and then seemed to falter a little early in the season, but finally seemed to find their footing. Over all I did like the show very much. One thing I really did enjoy was the tie-in stuff with both Thor the Dark World and to a greater extent Captain America: The Winter Soldier. I really do like this cross over continuity with the movie universe that they are creating. I am sure there are all sorts of surprises and cameo appearances coming in the new season, one new character they are adding is Bobbie Morse aka. Mockingbird, played by Adrianne Palicki (the actress who was Wonder Woman in the never seen 2011 stillborn series). Those familiar with the character know that she is a former agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. and costumed adventurer, linked to Hawkeye. Some question if they can keep it up, but with all the movies that Marvel has coming down the pipe in the next couple of years building their "phase II", I think that there will be more than ample opportunity to use Agents of Shield as a tie-in and marketing tool.

The other Marvel Universe Show is Agent Carter. Still "in development" according to IMDb, It is scheduled to air in January 2015. A spin off of Captain America, and also the Marvel One Shot: Agent Carter, the plot will seem to centre on the creation of, and early days of S.H.I.E.L.D. The One Shot short is just fantastic. if you haven't had the chance to see it you really should. If they can capture that level of cool with this series they should be in good shape. It stars Hayley Atwell as Agent Peggy Carter and Dominic Cooper reprising his role of Howard Stark. The show should have an abundance of source material for story lines. The trick will be how well they execute it as a period piece set after WWII. The short seems to put it in the late 40's or early 50's.  Over all I am really looking forward to this series. It has a great deal of potential if done right.

Also of note is the Defenders (Daredevil, Luke Cage, Iron Fist Jessica Jones) series/mini series that is due out in 2015 on Netflix, but the truth of the matter is I haven't really heard anything new about it since the initial announcement earlier this year.

All in all Marvel is creating quite the self-contained system here. If they continue on the right track they will have quite the empire on their hands in the years to come.

R.I.P. Richard Attenborough

Seem to be writing a lot of these lately. A sure sign of getting older I guess.

Lord Richard Attenborough passed away Sunday afternoon, London time, at the age of 90. Best know to most people as John Hammond in "Jurassic Park". He was in many other movies ("The Great Escape", and the re-make of "Miracle on 34th Street") and an accomplished Director ("Gandhi"). He was a very talented gentleman. He will be missed.

Richard Attenborough with Steve McQueen in "The Great Escape"

On the set of "Jurassic Park" with Director Steven Spielberg

Prelude To Axanar - Full Film

Awesome....just awesome.

Better Late Than Never

So...saw Guardians of the Galaxy...like the day after it came out. Didn't get around to posting about it, so here you go.

WOW. That was just fantastic. They really hit that one out of the park. Big surprise with all the good reviews its been getting, I know, but there it is. And a wonderful soundtrack. Been listening to it ever since. If you haven't seen this movie, stop what you are doing and go...now.

And even though its a short scene, Josh Brolin is cool as Thanos.

Here Is Your Wonder Woman

At the San Diego Comic-Con. they unveiled the costume for Wonder Woman in the new "Superman v Batman: Dawn of Justice" due out in 2016. Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman (with a cameo/minor role?), Henry Cavill will be reprising his role as Superman/Clark Kent and Ben Affleck as Batman/Bruce Wayne. The Details of her part in the story line are still under wraps, but they do seem to be using the character to help promote the movie, as all three were at San Diego this weekend.

Gal Gadot

Ben Affleck

Henry Cavill

DC's Big Three

I can't really say anything bad about this movie so far. All the costumes look good (but don't get me on a rant about Superman's shorts...) and even the casting choices I am OK with. I know people had issue with Ben Affleck as Batman, but I remember the same scepticism when word came out in 1986 that Michael Keaton was cast in Tim Burton's Batman. I think Mr. Affleck is a good actor. His initial trip into the superhero world, while the movie itself wasn't the best, his portrayal of Mat Murdock/Daredevil was good. I don't really know to much about Gal Gadot other than she is a fashion model/new comer actress, and I enjoyed Henry Cavill as Clark/Superman in Man of Steel ( except for the whole neck snapping thing). There is also a rumor, though nothing confirmed as yet, that Jason Momoa will be Arthur Curry/Aquaman.

Aquaman? Maybe

Batman and the Batmobile

So far DC seems to be on the right track with this. I know they want to create a movie "Justice League" franchise like Marvel has done, I just hope they take their time. It took Marvel at the least 6 or 7 years of planing and set up movies to get to "The Avengers" last year.
With any luck, they will take their time and let the creative people they have hired, do the job they are paying them to do. I am a firm believer that the fastest way to ruin a creative endeavor is to let bureaucrats, executives or marketing people get their fingers on something. But so far, so good. Stay the course DC...stay the course.

Super Saturday!

Just some cool stuff today...maybe even...Super-cool?

Superman by the talented Sean "Cheeks" Galloway

Remember when collector cards came with bubble gum.

As seen in DC Universe Online

Kotobukiya statue

The great Marlon Brando as Jor-El

"They can be a great people Kal-El, they wish to be. They only lack the light to show the way." 

Super Saturday...on Sunday

So, the second post is a week and a day late. To be honest, last week we were in Vancouver for a wedding and yesterday was my wife and my 26th anniversary. But enough excuses, on with the show!

This week I give you one of the quintessential Superman portrayals. Christopher Reeve. I have nothing but fond memory's of this movie and this version of Superman. I remember the awesome excitement of seeing this in the theaters when it came out. Back in the day before multi-plex's and multiple screen mall movie houses. I grew up in a small town and there was one theater and the movie would play for a week (or longer if it was good) then something else begin the next week. Big movies would be there for weeks, and the line-ups would be a block and a half long. I think I saw this movie 7 or 8 times. Many lawns where mowed so I could get my fix. The movie's tag line was "You'll Believe A Man Can Fly", and it did deliver that. The effects which in this age of digital magic seem simple were state of the art for their day and wowed audiences with the shots of Superman flying all around Metropolis.

But the reason this movie really means a lot to me is because I got to watch it over and over again about a couple of years after it came out. You have to remember movies would take years to turn up on TV and this was the early days of VHS tapes. VCR's were unbelievably expensive and hard to get and the tapes where just as expensive and hard to find (I remember my wife getting me a copy of Star Trek II for Christmas years later and that cost her $125 or so). Organizations could afford them (schools, hospitals etc.) I spent a few weeks of my summer in Vancouver Children's Hospital for knee surgery. I was kind of bummed about missing so much of those precious few months of warm, school-less time and to be honest a little stressed and freaked out about having to go "under the knife" as they say. The nurses there asked if I wanted to watch a movie on their new video machine. One of the few tapes they had was Superman the Movie. I must have watched it again and again for about 3 or 4 times a day, 5 days straight. It really cheered me up during a bit of a scary time in my young life.

Clark Kent

One of the funnier moments from the "First Night" part of the movie.

The Planet Krypton

That charming smile.

Chris Reeve really nailed it. He really was Superman. Years later, after his accident and his paralysis he showed the world that he really was just like the hero he portrayed on film. Every bit as heroic and brave, even without the powers...a true super-man.