expatNERD

Tag: James Gunn

  • The Son of Doom

    Man what a Super week last week was! And I will say, after seeing Superman…it totally rocked! James Gunn brought the big guns and it looks like the movie will have legs. I think we can say that DC is back film-wise and I can’t wait to see more films in this rebooted universe.

    But good news true believers! The Fantastic Four movie comes out next week! As Marv keeps saying, if you told me that one year we would have a new Superman movie, then a mere two weeks later, a new Fantastic Four movie…well…I just might have to punch you in the face for lying. But boy, my face would have been red because it’s actually true!

    With the new Fantastic Four movie coming out I thought I would give you some of my recommendations from the comics. This is in no particular order, but the first storyline that comes to mind is the Son of Doom storyline, by Marv Wolfman and Keith Pollard.

    This is incredible and has all the classic elements of the Fantastic Four. Including their arch nemesis Doctor Doom, who changes by the end of it. Wolfman sprinkles the plot crumbs starting in issue #192 and then slowly ramps it up to the resolution in #200. You have a lot of drama packed in these issues and I do not want to give too much away, but it is definitely worth hunting down these issues. They should not break the bank too much by any means and you can easily find them. And I promise you, you won’t regret it.

    Plus, for people who come to the store and would like to begin with the Fantastic Four, especially with the new stuff, I always recommend to start here. Once you get through the Son of Doom, Jim Shooter (RIP big guy) takes over as editor in chief. And then, as we know, Shooter will eventually hand over the book to Johny Byrne, who will start his classic run on the series. And the Son of Doom (in my humble opinion) is really the start to all of that.

    Finally, one fun part of the Son of Doom, is that Thing really has a hankering to punch the living daylights out of Doom. And that is celebrated in my drawing below.

    Tschüsschen!

    Franka

  • DC Comics Presents

    Can you believe it? This week is Superman week! On Friday I will see James Gunn’s Superman and I really cannot wait. Thus, I continue my Superman recommendations and give you, what I think, are some of the best Superman comic book stories out there.

    I started with the Death of Superman, continued to Superman: Exile, and now I present you three issues within the DC Comics Presents line, featuring the first appearance of Mongul, created by none other than Jim Starlin.

    DC Comics Presents #’s 27, 28, 29, is a trilogy of sorts. For those that do not know, DC Comics Presents was, more or less, DC Comics’ answer to Marvel Comics’ Team-Up, which featured Spider-Man teaming up with another character in the Marvel Universe. Alternatively, DC Comics Presents had Superman teaming up with a character or characters within the DC Universe. This series was created to capitalize on the popularity of Superman after the successful movie adaptations, Superman The Movie and Superman II.

    And what a beautiful three issue series this was. Jim Starlin provided his beautiful art and gave us what he has always been best at: grand stories on a cosmic scale. Len Wein supplied the scripts and this was a true inspired team-up. #27 introduced Mongul and Warworld and we have a heart-wrenching battle between Supes and Martian the Manhunter. Issue #28 was an epic battle between Warworld, an entire weaponized planet, and Superboy and Supergirl. #29 wrapped it up, as Superman tested the limits of his powers as he chased Supergirl who was knocked on unconscious. He went up against the Spectre who told him he was breaking forbidden barriers and the entire issue summed up who Superman is and also gave us an insight into how powerful Sueprman was at the time. With Starlin’s art, these three issues are not only beautiful, but everything seems to explode off the page.

    Because of the significance of this being Mongul’s first appearance, these issues can be quite pricey if found on their own. #27 is usually the hard one to hunt down and I think it will run you at least 30 bucks, depending on the comic grade. But again, it’s worth it, especially if you are not familiar with any of the pre-Crisis Superman stuff.

    I hope you enjoyed these Superman recommendations! With the movie coming out this week, next week I will start giving you some Fantastic Four recs.

    Bis bald,

    Franka