House Ads for Pacific Comic 1983

From the short-lived but interesting publisher Pacific Comics

Some of Pacific Comics titles were picked up by Eclipse Comics after Pacific went bankrupt.

-Swinebread

Eclipse Comics House Ads from 1988

Here are four house ads from the defunct Eclipse Comics. In '88 they were #3 in the comic biz...

-Swinebread

Crappy Comics in My Collection

-swinebread

It is good news and strange news that Marvel Comics now has the rights to Marvelman

It’s weird because I was thinking the other day “what ever happened to Marvel Comics' strong push to get the rights to Marvel Man (Miracle Man),” and now here we are. Honestly, from a comic book standpoint this is the biggest and most important news to come out of Comic Con. I just don’t see anything else as earthshaking being announced. (see here)

Marvel Man has a long history and it doesn’t behoove me to try to get through the whole thing here, so check the Wikipedia page out for more detail. The article is actually quite detailed. Simply put, one of the main reasons that Marvel Man is important is because it showcases work by Alan Moore and Neil Gaiman (and some great artists too). This is Moore before Swamp Thing, Watchmen, and V for Vendetta; and Gaiman before Sandman (sorta).

Marvelman was originally a British knockoff of Captain Marvel and essentially the UK’s first superhero. His adventures were good, silly fun in the tradition of the big red cheese. Marvelman had a nine-year run from 1954 to 1963.

Alan Moore reinvented the dormant character in the 1980s and all the notions of modern comics that we associate with Watchmen were actually first explored in Marvelman. The irony of ironies, is that Marvelman had to be renamed Miracleman in the US as Marvel Comics was not interested in buying this strange adult character (unlike what DC did with V for Vendetta) and was none to pleased that another comic company (Eclipse) could publish MM’s stories using their company’s name. It’s my understanding that the birth scene really freaked them out. It was a big missed opportunity by Marvel at the time, but obviously Marvel has come to realize how important MM is and that they really need more Alan Moore comics in their intellectual property inventory to make gads of cash like DC does.

Anyhoo, Gaiman picked MM after Moore was done but only got about one third of the way into his storyline before Eclipse went bankrupt and MM was abruptly cancelled. The rights were tangled up badly for almost two decades with everybody claming to own all or part of the character and it was beginning to look like Marvelman would never see the light of day again. But now we have Quesada’s announcement that MM is back and Marvel has him and what’s even better is that they have worked out the rights with the original creator, Mick Angelo too.

What this all means (hopefully) is that Alan Moore’s run on the title will be collected and published again; Neil Gaiman will finally be able to finish his MM storyline; and the original 1950s-1960s stories will be collected for the first time as well.

What is maybe not so good is that it sounds like Marvel will bring MM into regular Marvel continuity somehow. That might not work out so well but we’ll wait and see I guess. An alternate MM is kinda already a part of the Marvel Multiverse via Moore’s work on Captain Britain. That might possibly be the way to do it but I’m not holding my breath.


I could go on about how important the Marvelman is to me personally. I was a teen when MM was published by Eclipse Comics. It blew my mind. I had never read anything so adult and so deep in comic book form before and when it comes to supervillians I got two words for you, Kid Marvelman. Never has a bad guy done so much, to so many, in quite such a horrific way. It was so delicious that my folks thought I was engaged in some light kidde stuff when in reality I was exploring the dark side of the superhero soul. This is what could have and maybe what should have happened to characters like Superman and Captain Marvel but obviously will never happen.

If you are a fan of Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman, Atomic Age superheroes, or are interested in the development of the “modern” superhero,” Marvelman is one of the true blues that changed the comic industry forever. Once you read MM, you’ll see how it has been ripped off and imitated countless times since it was created. I’m looking at you Sentry!

Make Mine Marvelman.


PS. I’m not saying MM is perfect but I am saying it’s very important. Plus it’ll be very funny if MM does become a top tier, mainstream Marvel Comics character because a very British Superhero will now carry the Marvel identity… now that is ironic and random strange.


Oh and one last thing... if you like comics and superheroes and don't think this is an big deal then tah hell with ya! :)!


-Swinebread

The Two Jacksons

As we all know, the so-called King of Pop died. I certainly was never a fan and in fact was quite horrified by Michael Jackson. Regardless, his music was a significant part of my childhood. I was there for the whole music video transformation that Thriller started and I remember when a Michael Jackson video was an event not to be missed. I have to admit that he was a gifted singer and dancer, and he worked very hard to perfect his act.

Sure, I have lots of memories (just like most of you folks do) with his different his different songs and but what really gets me down is that I can't separate Jackson (his many surgeries, child abuse allegations, skin bleaching, and crazy behavior) from his music. Gone is the fun I had as a youngster being entertained by Jackson. It's like there were two of him. The memory of what he was and the grotesque parody he became.

I cringe everytime I hear his songs...

Well except Thriller... because Michael Jackson, it turns out, was a zombie after all. I guess he just needed his outsides to match his insides.

So maybe there really wasn't two Jacksons, and that's the saddest thing of all because now I realize that he was crazy the whole time.

here's the prisoner version of thriller:



On a comic book side-note (because I just gotta have one), of course we all remember the Thriller parody/homage in Dazzler #33 right?



-Swinebread

Random Comic Panel

From DNAgents #15



-Swinebread

Favorite Costumes

Since it’s almost Halloween, I thought I’d list some of my favorite comic book costumes from years gone by. You'll notice no Superman, Batman, or X-men costumes (except for Dark Phoenix) because I'm just too overexposed to them. In no particular order:

Fantastic Four She-Hulk
Shulkie is interesting because she's never really had a costume per se except for her time in the mid '80s with the FF. The results were stunning don't you think?



Spiderman
Spidey's look is as iconic as DC's big three but somehow his costume still seems fresh after all these years.



Doctor Spectrum
I enjoy this Marvelized Green Lantern for his bold colors and simple masked design.


Sandman
The original pulp superhero. You gotta' love the gas mask and gas gun.


Harbinger
She's gotta' nice mix of Roman goddess and classic Sci-fi in her superhero outfit that gives her sexy regalness that brings it home for me.


Judge Dredd
Dredd has a hardcore, over the top, and supercool costume that's perfect for fighting crime in the future.


Doctor Doom
Doom is powerful and fearsome in his medieval looking armor and green cape. Plus his sidearm gives him that modern fascist look.



Supernova
He has kind of a generic costume but that's why I like it I think. It's sort of an everyman kinda look. The combo of full mask and cape really pulls the whole thing together.


Blue Beetle
I really groove on the cross Spiderman/Batman vibe that the Blue Beetle costume (at least the Ted Kord version) has.



Scarlet Witch
I love everything about how the she looks. The Scarlet Witch is the perfect gift for Valentine's day.



Gamora
She's had a lot of changes to her costume but I like the original the best. Sassy and deadly all in one.



Psycho-Pirate
His suit messes with my emotions...



The Question
Who doesn't like a guy with a fedora and trench-coat but when you add the blank face... classic!



The Shocker
I like the fact that this guy just looks like a thug.



G.I. Joe
I picked up a few issues of the G.I. Joe when I was a kid but I dropped it after I realized it was more about shooting people then having amazing superpowers, but I was still always attracted to the title for some reason. Now I know why. It was because of the costumes. Regardless of any jingoistic message of the series, G.I. Joe had and still does have a ton of wonderfully designed outfits. Basically, the X-men movie folks ripped off costume ideas from G.I. Joe when they went they looking for a more realistic look for the mutants. Here's a few of my top favorites.

Snake-eyes


Storm Shadow



Baroness



Cobra Commader with hate hood



Captain America
OK I admit the little wings don't work as well in this day and age but otherwise what we have here is the ultimate patriotic costume. Plus the Cap shield seals the deal for me. Cap is the Defender of Liberty not the attacker for Liberty and the Shield symbolically backs that up. Folks outside the US might not be able to appreciate his outfit as much which makes sense.


Valkrie
Does this really need to be explained to you?



Dark Phoenix
Sexy Cosmic Evil? ...I think so!


Moon Knight
I've never been a super big fan of Moon Knight but I keep coming back because of the excellent look that he has.



The Rocketeer
Best homage to retro-sci-fi ever. How could this wonderfully conceived outfit not be on any comic lover's list.



Vance Astro
The Guardians of the Galaxy are great and Vance has the best costume of the group with or without cap's shield. It's simple but elegant with an amazing abllity to stick to his face.



The Human Bomb
This guys is obviously dangerous and his costume says this in spades.



Doctor Fate
The archetypal superhero magic-user. I love the Helmet and color scheme .



Union Jack
I'm not an Anglophile but Union Jack sure has a kick-ass patriotic costume.



Jennifer Morgan
She sure looks like she has mystic powers right?



Nova
His suit has been messed with a lot over the years but I like the classic version the best although the latest one isn't too shabby.



Original Spider-Woman
One of the first amazing female costumes at Marvel IMHO. The 2nd Spider-Woman had a pretty good one as well.




Mr. Monster
Nothing says Halloween Like Mr. Monster!



Hobgoblin
Playful and Scary at the same time.



Kang the Conquerer
I know that most folks think his costume is dorky but there is just something about it that works for me.



Doctor Midnight
A classic cross of Pulp Adventurer and Superhero



Green Lantern
I think Hal Jordan's orginal sleek costume was a masterstroke from a design sense but I also like all the variations that DC has created for the different Green Lanterns over the years.



Dart
probably the best thing about the Atari Force comic was the character of Dart. I loved her her sci-fi mercenary look.



Jack of Hearts
He's always been one of my favs and his complicated playing card inspired costume is one of the reasons.


Wonder Woman
I'm not particularly into WW but you have to admit that her superhero costume is one of the best ever.



-Swinebread