Slightly Misplaced Comic Book Heroes Case File #59: Slapstick

Not the guy to call if you are afraid of clowns.

The comedic superhero is a time-honored tradition.  Sometimes its just a hero like Spider-Man who cracks wise during any given fight.  Other times you get a hero like Plastic Man, who may or may not be the straight man in his own adventures but has goofy powers and kooky adventures to compensate.

Then there’s Slapstick.  He didn’t fight crime.  He played cruel jokes on it.

Spiders, Spiders Everywhere Part 7

Thanksgiving is the official start of the holiday season for you folks in the US isn’t it?  So it’s only fitting that we start this collection of Spider-Man cameos with a Marvel holiday special.  After the break, more from this issue and other cameos that don’t quite make the cut to be included in the  Spider-Man Complete Chronology.

Jimmy Attempts To Read All Of Secret Wars XXX (Siege Edition)

I’ve never read the 2009/2010 Siege from Marvel.  Which really doesn’t matter since that Norman Osborn/Loki/Asgard story has nothing to do with the current Secret Wars mini-series of the same name.  While many other series have only “borrowed” the name of a previous event, they are at least usually related in some way.  Infinity Gauntlet for example.  But in this case, Siege is the story about the men and women who defend Battleworld from the horrors on the other side of The Shield.

After the cut I will look at the excellent series containing Siege #1, Siege #2, Siege #3 and Siege #4.  If you are only reading the main series or are picky about the tie-ins you are reading because only an insane person would read them all, I’d recommend moving Siege onto your buy list.  It is one of the few that is heavily integrated into the main story, and you will get a lot more out of Secret Wars #6 in particular after reading this series.  (Note, I kinda spoil the end of Inferno, so if you care, make sure you are finished that as well.)

(And I’m sure there is a Watson joke in the title of this post somewhere…)

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, 29

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:

That One Time The Human Torch Got Snuffed…

“How about a hug, Iceman?”

I decided, after enjoying Jonathan Hickman’s work leading up to Secret Wars (you know, that thing I did that series of near-Wikipedia entries on), to go back and read through what was by all accounts an equally epic Fantastic Four run.

Yesterday as I type this, I read the trade that included the “death” of Johnny Storm, the Human Torch.  Yeah, even if I didn’t know he was coming back, I wouldn’t have believed it.

Time For Some Gratuitous Violence And Course Language

Sorry Jenny

After the break, check out this awesome supercut celebrating some of the best action movie pre-mortem one liners.  As per the title, be aware of NSFW language and violence.

Slightly Misplaced Comic Book Heroes Case File #10: She-Thing

Um, sexy?

OK, so, Jenny did not like my suggestion from a couple weeks ago that Phantom Lady could have been a good fit for her criteria on Iconic Female Heroes That Are Not Madam Xanadu.  That was because of her costume.

Admittedly, Phantom Lady has a terrible costume.  No one would argue that one, aside from the occasional pervert, like Jimmy.  He’s only a pervert on some occasions.

But with this in mind, I think it’s time to go in the complete opposite direction for this week’s column and go with a somewhat forgotten character that was for a period a knock-off of an established male hero.  Let’s talk about the She-Thing.

Peter Parker Popup aPearances (Or Spiders, Spiders Everywhere 2)

Working as a photographer for a great metropolitan newspaper has it’s advantages when you’re Spider-Man.  Need to get to Florida?  Get esteemed publisher J Jonah Jameson to pay your way in exchange for a Lizard or Man-Thing exposé.  And don’t worry about the seldom asked and even less seldom pursued questions like “What is Spider-Man doing in Paris?  Hey, isn’t Peter Parker in Paris?”  A stand-in, Spider-Man suit stuffed with hay or a well timed and placed pre-recorded message that makes people thing Spider-Man and Peter Parker are not one and the same, will do just fine.  This is not a universe that can be fooled by a pair of reading glasses, but they’re not much better.