Spiders, Spiders Everywhere Part 10 (Death Of Captain Marvel Edition)

The Death of Captain Marvel is one of those stories that routinely show up on critics “best of” lists, but that you never get around to reading.  Well, it has been that way for me anyway.  But I recently remedied that as I had to read it to see if it fit in with the Spider-Man Complete Chronology.  Given I’m writing about it in this column series and not in a Chronology update, I think reveals the answer to that.

More about The Death of Captain Marvel and it’s place in Spider-Man lore after the break.

Jimmy Attempts To Read All Of Secret Wars 49 (It’s Finally Over Edition)

Well, the day is finally here.  The last issue of Secret Wars is finally in our grubby little hands or sitting digitally on our computers, tablets or other electronic devices.  It’s been a long time coming.  I’ll look at the finale in all its spoiler-y glory after the cut.

Unfortunately for me (and probably for you), this is not my last Secret Wars post.  I still have some odds and ends to finish up my walkthrough, namely twenty or so issues that I haven’t covered.  (Excluding the Toys R Us exclusive giveaway Armor Wars #0.5…which I couldn’t find a copy of first or last.)

Geek Review: Fantastic Four (2015)

A four is not a vowel.

So, I finally saw the new Fantastic Four.

Look, no one logging in here today is looking for a Fantastic Four movie review.  You want Star Wars.  But I’m prepping for an unexpected but totally expected journey.  I couldn’t go today.  Instead, I went for this…whatever it was…on pay per view.

Thoughts and some SPOILERS after the cut.

Tom Recommends: Planetary

The deconstruction of the superhero genre is something that has been going on for a few decades now, and is often rather repetitive.  Generally, it is an excuse to show classic or recognizable characters doing things that normally they wouldn’t, often of a more R-rated variety.

That said, when the deconstruction is done right, such as in Watchmen, the work says something about the genre’s conventions and tropes in a way that can be highly entertaining for the reader, while also giving the reader a chance to think over the sorts of things that are taken for granted.

But one of the best deconstructions out there doesn’t just cover superheroes, but pulp literature and genre storytelling in general.  That would be the comics series Planetary, written by Warren Ellis and illustrated by John  Cassaday.

Secret Wars #7 Cover Who’s Who?

Not that Secret Wars #7

I was recently writing up my walk through for Secret Wars #6 and when I reached the end I flipped the page to see a preview of the cover for issue #7.  I had seen it before.  But as it sat there before my eyes, the longer I looked at it, the cooler I realized it was.  “Is that the Lou Ferrigno Hulk?  Forbush Man??  Goose Rider???”  What was going on with this cover?

It seems the Marvel multiverse is back and they are not happy with one Victor Von Doom.  After the cut, check out the full cover and our best guesses at who’s who.  We’ve identified must, but there are a couple we need your help with.  So get your Marvel dukes shined up and have a look…

Jimmy Attempts To Read All Of Secret Wars XXIX

So, not unexpectedly I’m way behind in going through all of Secret Wars.  But give me a break, there are over 200 issues and counting to this event.  At least the Secret Wars main series being so extremely late and now extended an issue gives me until at least December, if not 2016, to finish up “on time”.

After the cut I’ll take a spoiler filled look at the latest issue of the main series: Secret Wars #6.  As well, I’ll finish off my review of the series Old Man Logan.  I previously looked at Parts 1 and 2 and in this post I’ll examine Old Man Logan #3, Old Man Logan #4 and Old Man Logan #5.  I’ll save spoilers until after the cut, but let’s just say, we have another disappointing ending to add to the pile.

Related links:
Secret Wars Power Rankings
Tom’s Road To Secret Wars: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6,7.
Other parts of this series: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28

Another Podcast Reaction: Secret Wars Edition

This week on the podcast, the Gabbingest of Geeks stopped to discuss the fact that they took the podcast’s birthday off.

Lazy goofs.

They also discussed time travel.  But I covered my time travel thoughts a long time ago, so I am not doing that again any time soon.  Besides, it looks like Jimmy is covering the time travel stuff just judging from his title, so I’ll leave it be.

Instead, let me say a few things about the current Secret Wars.

Spiders, Spiders Everywhere Part 5

Fear not true believers, my obsession with the Spider-Man Complete Chronology and posts you won’t read has not wavered, just been waylayed by Convergence and Secret Wars.

After the break, check out some cameos that Spidey has made in the Marvel Universe over the years that are not significant enough to include in the reading order.

Four Fantastic Reasons YOU SHOULD SEE The Fantastic Four

If you happened to listen to our podcast the other day, you would have known that I was looking forward to seeing the new Fantastic Four movie. My heart was broken on air when I found out that the Rotten Tomatoes average review score was at a measly 18%, only to spiral downward Thursday morning to a whopping 8% – dear god! That’s only 2% better than Paul Blart 2. I was ready for this movie to be DOOMED.

But you know what? The critics are suffering from MCU syndrome. They have all been spoiled for too long. And sometimes they get it wrong, just see these previous examples.  Fantastic Four is a fun movie! That’s right – I like it! Don’t roll your eyes just yet, before you call bull-shit, see my four fantastics reasons for why YOU TOO should see the new Fantastic Four movie:

Fantastic Four Throwbacks: Then & Now (Infographic)

The newest movie, Fantastic Four hit theaters last night, so we thought it would be a perfect time to pull together all of the group’s looks in one infographic! This image shows 15 of the superheroes’ notable outfits, and is narrated by the Invisible Woman herself, Sue Storm. See how over 50 years of comic domination has changed over the years: