282 – Flatman


Back in the early 90s, John Byrne did a run on West Coast Avengers (Avengers West Coast?) that I absolutely loved, and part of his run was the introduction of The Great Lakes Avengers, a ridiculous team of Midwestern Superheroes who actually turned out to be pretty competent and powerful. Hawkeye and Mockingbird both left The Avengers to lend guidance to the GLA. They popped up maybe a couple other times, but were subsequently ignored for the most part.

In the mid-2000s, Dan Slott brought the team back for a mini-series and some one-shots that I enjoyed. They were goofy fun heroes, and sadly, I don’t think Marvel or DC has any room for that type of book anymore.

Anyway, the team consisted of Mr. Immortal, Doorman, Dinah Saur, Big Bertha and Flatman (pictured).

281 – Ultimate Nick Fury


At it’s core, I have no problems with Ultimate Nick Fury. But I do have a problem with the fact that he simply exists only to get the attention of Samuel L. Jackson. And hey, it worked! Unfortunately, this is so meta and so twisted in on itself, that there’s now no room for Ultimate Nick Fury to be his own character or have a personality. He is simply Sam Jackson fictionalized. But hey, now Jackson is playing the character in movies, so who cares?

280 – Nick Fury


Nick Fury, Old School, Original Flavor. Y’know the one with an established history and personality that makes him a rich and compelling character.

279 – Odin

By Odin’s Beard!

My friend Stephen Alexander is a member of a group called The Gem City Gentlemen of the Gilded Beard. This is a group of people who are in love with – to a possibly obsessive degree – their own beards.

If my comments seem snide, it is out of pure jealousy and my own inability to grow a decent beard.

But weird beards aside, they are a pretty giving group of folks, and on November 12th, they are holding Ohio’s Second Annual Beard and Moustache Competition and Festival. The event is being held at COSI, in Columbus, Ohio.

This is more than just an odd excuse to look at and possible fondle beards. Proceeds from the Competition will go to the organization Central Ohio Men Against Prostate Cancer, and this drawing of Thor’s father, Odin, will be auctioned off to benefit this charity, along with some other great art, too.

Stephen had asked me last year to contribute a drawing for The Competition, but I was undergoing my artistic nervous breakdown at the time and told him I couldn’t. I hope Odin makes up for it this year.

So, on November 12th, go to COSI early and explore SCIENCE! and then stick around for the Second Annual Beard and Moustache Competition and Festival and buy my art for a good cause. More information can be found at Beard Team Ohio.

That said, it was difficult to find any decent reference on Odin outside of Anthony Hopkins. I definitely knew I wanted this to be a Jack Kirby version of Odin, but he drew Odin completely different each time he set pencil to page. Either that or Vince Colletta did. Also the color palette was pretty awful as well, so I just kinda winged that.

Ok, PANIC!: Do-Over


A re-do of the Star Wars topic.

278 – V


I am no longer a very political person. There was a point in time that I was, but I pretty much just stopped giving a crap. I vote, and that’s pretty much it. My politics currently can be summed up in this manner: You can insult and make fun of Herman Cain and criticize his politics and policies all you want. The second you insult his pizza, you have trouble.

I know that the film version of V for Vendetta has become a rallying point for some politically minded folks, and yeah, whatever, that’s fine. I think it’s absolutely 100% hilarious that Guy Fawkes masks have become a huge seller for these anarchist and Anonymous movements and that they continue to pump millions of dollars into Warner Bros. who own the rights to the image.

I also think it’s absolutely hilarious that throughout all of that, these people are essentially fucking Alan Moore in his financial hole (it’s in the taint). See, Alan Moore was promised all the rights to his books Watchmen and V for Vendetta once they go out of print, which will never happen if folks keep buying the books, movies and other related merch. Good job!

And finally, I think it’s hilarious that the point of the movie is leftist conformity, whereas the point of the book is anarchy and individuality.

As for me, I don’t care. Alan Moore is a pompous windbag full of misdirected bearded rage.

That said, V for Vendetta is a far better book than Watchmen. I made that declaration when I read it the first time 13 years ago or so, and I still liked Watchmen back then. I tried reading Watchmen recently and found it unbearable. I read V again after the movie came out and it still held up.

So anyway, Remember Remember the 5th of November when I declared that your political views don’t matter the slightest, everyone is out for #1, those that claim they aren’t are the ones who are absolutely the most, and I welcome the upcoming race and class wars and the annihilation they will bring.

277 – Rusty Venture


I’ve been watching Season 4 of The Venture Bros.. Goddammit I love that show. I love that show more than I’ve ever loved my any of ex-girlfriends. I love it more than I’ll ever love any future girlfriends. If I could start a religion about The Venture Bros., I would.

276 – Captain Marvel


The other Captain Marvel, aka Monica Rambeau, whom I know better as the team leader from NextWave, quite possibly one of the best comics Marvel has produced in 10 years. So of course it got cancelled.

275 – Vindicator


Cap’n Cananada, eh.

274 – Walker


Over at Gutter Trash, Jason (my co-host) and I review Darwyn Cooke’s adaptation of the Richard Stark (aka Donald Westlake) novel The Hunter – a book that has been adapted to film twice before (three on a technicality). The most recent version is Mel Gibson’s Payback, which has a Director’s Cut version that is so vastly different, it might as well be a separate movie. Before that though, in 1967, was Point Blank starring Lee Marvin. Westlake never allowed anyone adapting his books to use the main character’s name, “Parker”. In Payback, his name is Porter; and in Point Blank, Lee Marvin’s character is Walker.

I watched Point Blank to gear up and supplement our review of The Hunter (Westlake allowed Cooke to use the name “Parker”, a first). Lee Marvin has such an interesting, grizzled look, I felt the need to draw him. His crazy eyebrows, the wispy gray receding hair, narrow eyes and deep heavy bags under his eyes. He was probably 45 or so when he made Point Blank but looked like he was 60. The man lived a hard a life and it showed, which made him such a great movie star.