>So this week marked the release of Tatsunoko vs Capcom for play on the Nintendo Wii. The excitement that I have had for this game has been building and building for a solid year. But before I get into the specifics of that story, I’d like to take a moment to discuss just what the Hell a Tatsunoko is, anyway? Tatsunoko is actually a Japanese production company that has produced some pretty awesome anime of the years, the most famous of which is probably Speed Racer. Some of the other more well known properties are Gatchaman (G-Force or Battle of the Planets), Samurai Pizza Cats, the Littl’ Bits, and Robotech (The combining of three other Tatsunoko properties; Macross, Southern Cross, and Mospeada)… That isn’t to forget their co-production with Gainex to produce Neon Genesis Evangelion.
And now we know what a Tatsunoko is. So what’s so special about this game? Well, it’s all about what has come before it. Back in the mid-to-late 90’s, Capcom (Videogame company) produced a series of fighting games featuring their Street Fighter characters going toe-to-toe with Marvel Super Heroes. The first game of this series was X-Men vs Street Fighter, released back in 1996, gave us a taste of over-the-top comicbook-y action that proved to be so popular that it earned 3 sequels, ending with Marvel vs Capcom 2 back in the year 2000. This series was followed up with a new wave of crossover games featuring Capcom characters and their rival company, SNK. Depending on who you talk to, this series ranged from anywhere from 2 to 7 specific games… But the last practical game in that series was released back in 2004. After that, there was a void. For years, there were rumors about a Marvel vs Capcom 3 or another game pitting Capcom against some other company… But ultimately, nothing came to be of those fabled games. It wasn’t until Capcom decided to develop Street Fighter IV, sometime around 2006, that another cross-company Vs game would even be attempted. When Street Fighter IV was announced near the end of 2007, a few months later in 2008, Tatsunoko vs Capcom was announced. Capcom was attempting to revitalize the fighting game genre with 2 swings.
And so, with the release of Tatsunoko vs Capcom, we get to see a game where half the roster looks like a Power Ranger with a cape. That’s exciting to me. Casshern, Tekkaman, Yatterman-1, Yatterman-2, Hurricane Polymar, Ippatsuman, 3/5s of G-Force… Let me know if any of these names ring a bell to you, because I don’t know anyone who has heard of all of them. But with tons of flashy lights, awesome art from both sides of the world, online play, a ton of cameos, and the option of buying more than one “real” game a year on the Wii is a no-lose situation. Last year, I only purchased one game for my Wii (New Super Mario Bros Wii) and the year before that, just 2 games (Super Smash Bros Brawl and Mario Kart Wii). Now I’m not some sort of videogame snob, but seriously, Nintendo needs to get it together… But this is a good start. If you have a Wii, check the game out. It’ll be fun… Unless you don’t like fighting games, in which case… Watch someone else play it. See ya next time.
>Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock, then you probably know that the final season of Lost is on it’s way as of February 2nd. Lost isn’t just one of the best television series of all time (thats just my humble opinion) it’s also very much tied into the world of comics. Although references to comics aren’t as plentiful as they are to well known philosophers and religious figures, comics gets their props in Lost.
One of the first references I caught was in season one when Walt is lazily reading a copy of Green Lantern written in Spanish. (turns out it belonged to Hurley) and I do recall a shot to one of the panels of GL making a polar bear construct, which if you follow the show, polar bears are something of a theme. One of the moments in Lost that had me laughing just because I’m a nerd was in season 4 when Hurley and Charlie are walking through the jungle debating who is faster between the Flash and Superman before stumbling upon a booby-trap. In a flashback scene, a young John Locke is presented a copy of Mystery Tales #40 by Richard Alpert as part of a “test”. Of course the most significant tie to comics that Lost shares is through Brian K. Vaughn who writes for the television show as well as penning Ex Machina and Y the Last Man in the comics world.
I will be eagerly awaiting the conclusion to Lost and will wait and see if the writers drop us comic fans another Easter egg. But mostly I’ll just be torn between being pleased with a sense of closure to the whole thing, or wishing for more. Also, why not a Lost comic series?
For a relatively new character, The Sentry is quickly becoming one of my favorite heroes in the Marvel cannon. Created in 2000 by Paul Jenkins and Rick Veitch, and designed by artist Jae Lee, The Sentry was originally proposed as a forgotten character in the Marvel Universe, who existed way back in the legendary silver age of comics. Stan Lee, and others at Marvel, perpetuated the hoax and rumors spread that Sentry was a forgotten Stan Lee creation that predated the Fantastic Four. Though untrue, subsequent series, including the brilliant The Age of The Sentry illustrated the alter ego of Robbie Reynolds in the faux art and writing style of 60s Marvel Comics, making for a fun and believable back-story for the “Golden Guardian of Good.” He even had a super-corgi named Watchdog to add to the camp. As writers like Brian Michael Bendis expanded the character’s darker persona, he quickly became Marvel’s equivalent of Superman, a man with the power of “one million exploding suns” but worst enemy was his own personal flaw: A schizophrenic split personality and super-villain known as the Void.
The Sentry is currently a member of Norman Osborn’s Dark Avengers, and is easily the series most compelling protagonist. In the current issue of Dark Avengers, Sentry’s battered wife Lindy reveals her husbands true origin. Before he was a super-hero, he was nothing but a meth-head looking for a new high. When he broke into a laboratory and ingested a highly potent and unstable strain of the super-solider serum, which gave Captain America his abilities, he transformed into the unpredictable Sentry. Though his actions as the Sentry are viewed by the public as heroic, Reynolds transferred his addiction to the super-serum and his unknowing second-self The Void creates an equal amount of chaos in the world. The Sentry is the analogous superhero of Newton’s law “every action has an equal and opposite reaction.”
It has also been recently revealed that the Sentry cannot die. Though on the outside the comparison to Superman might be valid, with his metaphysical immortality, I would argue Sentry is closer to Watchmen’s Dr. Manhattan than the “Man of Steel.” As the character has evolved into an agoraphobic recloses, his detachments from reality and humanity has made him that much more intriguing, and readers are left with a genuine uneasy feeling about him regardless of his heroism. What more, unlike Dr. Manhattan, the Sentry is a member of an ongoing mainstream comic universe and his saga has been explored over a few years, not just a few issues.
Its remarkably impressive that such a new character can be written in a variety of styles, like the campy 60s version or the Alan Moore-like junkie, and be successful on so many different levels. As the Marvel Dark Reign comes to a close with the Siege crossover event, I’m excited to see where Sentry will be in the aftermath. Especially since Norman Osborn has been manipulating the mighty demi-god for the last year.
>So, I’m almost done with the entire Angel TV series (thank you TNT + DVR) and while I’m a huge fan of Buffy, I’ve found myself enjoying Angel a little more. Perhaps because there’s a little more of a noir element up until the last season giving it a detective story feel, and less teen angst then there is in Buffy. I have the first trade of Angel: After the Fall and I’m doing everything within my power to not read it before I can finally witness the series finale.
Having to see the comics all the time while watching the show has prompted a lot of questions that have been gradually answered like; Who’s that chick with the blue hair?, how come I haven’t seen Cordelia on any of the covers?, hey didn’t Spike die? Is Connor still around? These questions are becoming a little more clear, and I have to wonder if I’ll end up enjoying the events of After the Fall a little more than I have Buffy: Season 8. Either way, I can’t wait to get started.
I forget who it was in the shop that observed that Angel seems to be gaining in populaity of comic series as Wolverine or Deadpool, but I’d have to say that’s true. These characters seem to live on quite well beyond television and were ready made for the world of comics.
It’s kind of hard not to get warped back to a level of Mario nostalgia with the Nintendo mascot’s renewed popularity from the recent New Super Mario Bros. Wii. Though he is hugely popular now, Mario is nowhere near the phenomenon he was in the early 90s, when the heroic Italian was king plumber. Back then; Mario had the Super Mario Bros. Super Show cartoon hosted by “Captain” Lou Albano, an ongoing comic feature in Nintendo Power magazine, multiple comic series published from Valiant Comics, 3 hugely popular NES video games, and the bizarre cult classic Super Mario Bros. The Movie. As a kid caught up in the mitts of Mario-mania, I collected everything I could, and most of the Valiant Comics Mario series remains in my collection. With all things Mario in my head, I’ve recently looked through the old back issues and still love the 90s Mario issues.
The short-lived comics focused on game characters from the first 3 Mario Bros. games for the NES, and were an odd mish mash of the best elements of the gaming series. Included were mainstays like Koopa Troopas and Hammer Brothers, the dreamlike Shy-guys from Mario 2, and King Bowser Koopa and the Koopalings from the piece de resistance Mario 3. Yet, the Valiant comics were distinctly American, and Mario had less of a manga style and some weird western nuances, like the character’s strange obsession for Dirk Drain-Head, a plumbing superhero who never appeared in the video games.
My favorite issue was the Super Mario Bros. Adventures Comic and Cassette, which as the name implies was a comic with an audio cassette included that recited the story in a bad Mario Italian accent. The story was supplemented with the music of Mario 3, recorded while someone played through individual levels of the game. I listened to the tape so much as a kid I actually wore it out (man, that makes me sound really old). Here is some of the audio tracks for your listening enjoyment. The issues were really fun all-ages comics, and I enjoyed reading them again as an adult.
Unfortunately, there aren’t any Mario comics in print, but this site collects quite a few complete issues from the Adventures of Super Mario Bros. series. Sorry, but the physical issues are in another back issue castle.
>Hey, remember back to 2 weeks ago, when Marvel announced their plans to offer Comic Retailers a Deadpool variant of Siege #3 if they coughed up 50 covers to the DC Blackest Night “Ring” titles? Well, they finally released what the cover is actually going to look like. It’s very tacky, very gaudy, and it seems to have absolutely nothing to do with the Siege storyline at all. But even with that said, I must admit… I love it. It would appear that its taking a dig at DC’s ring promotion by having our favorite Merc with a Mouth blinged out in shining rings and ring-linked chains while dressed in a funky tracksuit costume reminiscent of DC’s rainbow brigade of light slinging heroes. However, one could also argue that it’s simply an image of Deadpool living up the dream of being a superstar mainstream rapper… The scantily clad women help further that point, but… I don’t know if I want to believe that. Anyway, J. Scott Campbell’s Deadpool variant, in my opinion, is simply awesome. Although, I don’t quite appreciate the effort that has to be made in order see it stores, but I think that it could make for a great background for my phone though. So, without further hesitation, behold the Deadpool Variant to Siege #3.
So check it out, lately, Marvel’s been attempting to reach out to females everywhere with new books having a primary focus on female superheroes. Late last year, Marvel put out a title called “Marvel Divas”, which dealt with Black Cat, Hellcat, Photon, and Firestar dealing with their problems with romance and whatnot… As I recall, the book was pitched as Sex and the City with superheroes. I remember reading the first issue and seeing the last panel reveal that Firestar has breast cancer. Now, when I first saw the comic, I’ll admit that the sexy poses on the cover is what made me pick it up, but when I read the content, I was surprised to see a fairly serious story. However, around the same time, Gotham City Sirens started up and that book had a lighter subject matter… At that time, I really wasn’t looking for a comic to make me feel bad, so I went with the adventures of Catwoman, Harley Quinn, and Poison Ivy. Can you blame me? As I understand it, the serious nature of the Divas book declined as the issues went on… The final issue dealt with the group going to Hell to save a fellow girlfriend… I’m not really sure how I feel about that nor am I sure about how well Marvel did with the female demographics they were after… But what I do know, is that Marvel is going to try it again with a new book entitled, Marvel Her-Oes.
Yes, Marvel Her-Oes (Pronounced like heroes… It just has a funky written emphasis) is another attempt at gaining female readers, but this time, they’re going to try a lighter approach to meet their goals. The new book follows a teenage Janet Van Dyne (The Wasp) as she attends high school with other teenage female superheroes. Her best friend Jenifer “Jenny” Walters (She-Hulk) is also there, but it would seem that she doesn’t have the same control over her HULKRAGE like she does in the normal Marvel continuity. When she Hulks-out, she becomes a Hulk not unlike her older cousin Bruce Banner. The Wasp also finds herself a rival in Namora, “an exchange student from Greece,” she is the big bad girl of the school who gives Janet a nice heap of trouble for when the comic starts up. There’s also going to be appearances from what seems like the entirety of the Female All-Time Avengers line-up, as well as Golden-Age female heroes standing in as mentors for the young heroes. I’m actually really curious and a bit excited about how this one turns out. While the book is geared towards young females, (probably aged 12 – 22) there were promises made that suggested that male readers wont be left in the dark. So look for Marvel Her-Oes to hit the shelves in April. It should be a fun ride.
For readers who also get our email newsletter, many of you might already know about our newly introduced used book section. We are now purchasing used books and manga on Thursdays and Sundays, and we’ve already gotten in quite a few choice comics. The first graphic novel I purchased from our used section was a copy of Tokyo Days, Bangkok Nights. I’d been eyeing the book for a while, but for half of the cover price it was too good of a deal to pass up. What’s great is it didn’t disappoint.
Tokyo Days, Bangkok Nights, published by the short-lived Vertigo Pop! Imprint, collects two stories by writer Jonathan Vankin, which only vaguely tie together with a theme of foreigners in an unfamiliar city. The first story, Tokyo Days, is what caught my attention because of the hyper colorful art by the late Seth Fisher. The boisterous story takes place in the Harijuku and Akihabara districts of Japan, and finds an American Gaijin (basically meaning foreign devil) getting swept up with an outrageous cosplaying girl named Maki. As the wacky chase story develops, a Japans pop star gets kidnapped, a group of Yakuza gangsters fumble an important assassination, and a fair number high-fashion Japanese girls get naked, leaving the reader in a whirlwind heat and gasping for breath. I hope if I ever go to Japan the experience is exactly like this book, full of non-stop Japanese gadgets, Cosplayers and reverence for the legendary Cheap Trick performance at Budokan.
The exuberance of the story is largely captured in the mind-blowing art provided by Seth Fisher. Also known as the artist on Batman – Snow and Fantastic Four/Iron Man – Big in Japan, Fisher had a unique manga influenced style he mastered in his adopted Japanese home. With my newfound appreciation for Fisher’s kinetic style, it is profoundly sad to learn the artist passed away in 2006 from a tragic fall from a seventh story Osaka nightclub.
Bangkok Nights takes a decidedly darker approach in exploring the seedy streets of the leading sex trade city in Thailand. Illustrated by penciller Giuseppe Camuncoli and inker Shawn Martinbrough, Bangkok Nights has more of a Vertigo in-house style and story. The protagonist of less likeable, the city is significantly more dangerous and the overall stakes are higher, when a teenage prostitute gets involved with a struggling western couple. Yet, Bangkok is perhaps presented in a more realistic light than its day-dreamy Tokyo counterpart, and readers get a dynamic two-for-one book showcasing Vankin’s diverse writing styles.
We don’t have anymore used copy of Tokyo Days, Bangkok Nights, but a new copy is still worth the price. If you come in to check it out, make sure to browse our used section for some more hidden treasures.
>Behold, the coming of internet webshow sensation, The Guild, to the world of comics! For those of you not in the know, The Guild, follows a group of Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (MMORPG) players in their real lives outside of their game. The show begins with one of the characters, Zaboo, arrives at Codex’s (The main character) apartment to take her up on a massive miscommunication involving them becoming a real-life couple. As a result, to save herself from Zaboo, Codex arranges to have a meeting between the rest of members of her guild, in an attempt to pass Zaboo off on someone else. For those who are Joss Whedon fans, you might recognize the main character/creator of the show as Felicia Day. She’s appeared in a few of Whedon’s televised properties, such as her role in the final season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, where she played one of the many potential vampire slayers… Or you may have noticed her as Neil Patrick Harris’ love interest in Whedon’s Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog. Or maybe you’ve seen her as a guest star in Whedon’s Dollhouse… Anyway, what she has created with The Guild, is definitely something worth most, if not all of the praise it has received, so it feels like the next thing to do with the property is to expand to another format, so… Why not comics?
Since this is a comic, the biggest thing that this format holds over it’s internet video counterpart, is it’s budget. You can pretty much do whatever you want, provided your artists are capable. So, with that said, Felicia Day has decided to show us the origin of Codex and her introduction to The Knights of Good, which is the actual name of the Guild in which the show is about. However, that isn’t to say that this is just the Codex comic, from the preview of the first issue, the book looks to showcase these characters in the present, as well as the past. But, what I feel is the best part about all of this, is that we’re going to get a look at the online game they play in the show. Although, if you’ve played or seen World of Warcraft, then for the most part, you already know what the game looks like. But it’s fun to see the cast as their in-game avatars while their word-bubbles deal with things not in the game. There’s a massive oppertunity to be had here with MMORPG jokes, such as if a character is AFK or lagging due to a poor internet connection or a shoddy video card.
So yeah, we get a three issue mini about people playing a videogame, written by Felicia Day and with art by Jim Rugg. This looks to be a fun deal here, and I’m very curious to see where this thing goes. The book doesn’t come out until March 24th, so that should give you plenty of time to catch up with what’s been going on with the gang, or meet them for the very first time. Also, here’s a video of the first episode, please excuse it’s low quality feel… The first season had no budget, Season 2 sees an upgrade to High Definition and an overall layer of gloss and style.. But that’s for you to see for yourself… Until next time…
>It’s been a while since I threw one of these out, but I award an unofficial prize of cover of the week to…Buffy the Vampire Slayer #31
This is of course the cover by Georges Jeanty who does the interior artwork and contributes one of the two covers released every issue. I love the painted covers by Jo Chen are often breath-taking works of art, but I love the Roy Litchenstein inspired pop-art piece from Jeanety. As a matter of fact, the Jeanty covers have been absolutely brilliant homages lately. Take for instance the Jeanty cover for issue #28 which looks just like a 60’s Jack Kirby cover from Sgt. Nick Fury and his Howling Commandos. It certainly helps that Xander is always ready to make light of the fact that he shares the same eye condition as Nick Fury. It’s not just Buffy that gets to have all the fun, I recently posted a blog about how awesome the covers to Angel have been since the GI Joe 80’s action figure package cover from a couple of months ago.
Thanks to the wonder that is the DVR, I’ve been watching every episode of Angel, and much as I love me some Buffy, I find myself enjoying Angel just a tad more, and cannot wait to start devouring the trades and various mini series that followed. Overall, it’s nice to see the Buffy-verse endures and that the fresh material is being produced in the beloved medium of comics.
One of my favorite bookstores in St. Louis. Star Clipper offers not only the best selection of comic books and graphic novels in the city, but also a cornucopia of art, design and pop-culture related books and magazines. 
