Your 102nd Co(s)mic ComicBook B'Cast.

Hey, what's up Comic Fans!

Welcome to the 102nd Co(s)mic ComicBook B'Cast. For this edition of the B'Cast, I'm going to talk about a comic book I bought a few years ago, well more than just a few years ago.  

I'm trying to recall if I bought this issue first before I started buying the back issues of this title. I'm trying to remember which came first and having no luck whatsoever recalling which is which. 

I have this weird habit of reading a comic book out of sequence. Happened to me a long time ago when I walked into a real comic book shop and saw Secret Wars # 12 (the first limited series) and read it from cover to cover. After that I went and found the other 11 issues. It's a weird thing to do, I know. 

Being in a place that doesn't have a shop that sells comics makes it hard for anyone to keep track of their favorite titles. I bought my comics sporadically. I missed out on so many great titles over the years. 

Okay, here's the issue I'm talking about. 

This is the cover to Daredevil # 270 (published in September 1989) by John Romita Jr and Al Williamson. 

I saw this issue in some book store and I immediately bought it.  I was a huge John Romita Jr fan and I loved his work on the Uncanny X-Men. So seeing his artwork here, I grabbed it. 

This issue is also significant because it also featured The Amazing Spider-Man, a character Jr. Jr worked on. 

Second, he was working with writer Ann Nocenti and ultra talented penciled/ inker Al Williamson. They made a great creative team on Daredevil.

Third, this issue featured the first appearance of Blackheart. 

Blackheart was created by Ann Nocenti and Jr. Jr.  This issue marked his first appearance in the Marvel Universe?  Now, just who is Blackheart? 

Well, he's the son of Mephisto.  Actually Mephisto created a son from the energy of evil. 

In his first appearance, Blackheart attempts to corrupt Daredevil and then Spider-Man who helps him out. 

I love how this issue starts out. Ann Nocenti weaves a tale about a brutal murder on a hill which becomes a site for many crimes and atrocities. 

 Eventually the hill becomes a place filled with myths and rumors and eventually become a place to be fearful of. It becomes evil.

I won't spoil it for you, in case you haven't read this issue, try and find it.

Meanwhile, Daredevil is feeling like his old self again after he was put through a blender for the past few issues. He's been through quite a few ordeals. As DD gets his body back into top form,  perhaps his mind will follow. I was really intrigued by this page by Jr. Jr and Al Williamson. As I said I've always been a fan but this was the first time for me seeing their artwork. 

And I absolutely loved it.  If I'm not mistaken, I decided that I need to buy the back issues of this title as soon as possible. I did. Never regretted it. 

On this page DD mentioned Inferno and how his life was shattered and how he had to leave Hell's Kitchen. I knew I had to get those issue. Okay back to this issue. 

As DD thinks about his life and how he's going to put it back together again, he notices a scent,  something burning,  something foul with a hint of Rose incense.  He detects movement but no heartbeat, that's when Blackheart attacks!

And as luck would have it, Peter Parker happened to be riding a bus nearby and Pete's spider sense goes off. 

Spider-Man shows up in the nick of time to save DD and they quickly team up to defeat Blackheart. 

As DD and Spider-Man attempt to defeat Blackheart, DD is slowly being possessed by Blackheart whose plan was to have the hero kill him as a way of corrupting the hero. 

Despite his best effort to corrupt DD, Blackheart was not able to do so thanks to Spider-Man. As a crowd gathers round, Blackheart realises that the crowd's eyes are draining his powers.

Blackheart retreats as more people gather around the scene. 

If you get the chance, pick up this issue. It was this issue that got me to buy the back issues of Daredevil especially the Ann Nocenti/Jr.Jr and Al Williamson's run on Daredevil.

I was really disappointed when Jr. Jr left the X-Men. I really enjoyed his work on that title, so I was really happy to see his work here on Daredevil. 

Oh I'm sure you know that this wasn't Blackheart's only appearance on Daredevil. He would return to bug DD again and even returned to bug The Punisher, Ghost Rider and Wolverine in a one shot which was also penciled by John Romita Jr.

Hey, thanks for dropping by and joining me as I reminisce about Daredevil # 270. My copy of this issue is in bad shape as I must have read it a few times... Well more than a few times. 

This was to me a great time to be a comic reader as the stories and artwork were top notch. TThanks again for dropping by. 

I'll see you again next time for another B'Cast. Until then, take care Comic fans! 

Your 101st Co(s)mic ComicBook B'Cast

Hey there Comic Fans, welcome to your 101st Co(s)mic ComicBook B'Cast.
As usual, thanks for dropping by. Hope you're doing alright.
Now, for this edition of the B'Cast, I'm going to talk about one of my favorite Marvel Comics characters.
He is none other than The Punisher!

The first time I read about Frank Castle was in this issue.  The Punisher Limited Series # 1 featuring a cover by Mike Zeck and Phil Zimelman. Mike Zeck also did the interior art with inker John Beatty.  I became a Punisher fan almost instantly. This comic blew me away and introduced to me a character I knew but never really followed.  Then came Issue # 2 of the Punisher.

After this issue, I was hooked instantly. I became a fan. Another great cover by Mike Zeck and Phil Zimelman.
Now I won't be giving you any new insight into this character or ananything like that.  There are other sites and blogs who do that sort of thing better than me. I am going to say that I don't like what Marvel did to the Punisher.
From the Frankencastle storyline to the cosmic Ghost Rider thing, I lost track of what the Punisher has become. Marvel no longer knows how to depict Frank Castle, in my opinion, they just throw whatever they have at him and hope and pray something works. Oh well.  I can grumble and moan about how crappy Marvel treats their characters but the powers that be won't listen to a lowly comicbook fan.
Anyway, what I intend to do here is to share the artwork featuring The Punisher by certain artists.
These are my favorites, like the covers by Mike Zeck and Phil Zimelman.
So, I hope you'll like the art I'm going to share for this edition of the B'Cast. Enjoy.

The Punisher Limited Series # 3 by Zeck and Zimelman.

The Punisher Limited Series # 4 by Zeck and Zimelman.

The Punisher Limited Series # 5 by Zeck and Zimelman.
And right here, we have a beautiful piece by Mike Zeck and John Beatty who both did the art for the Punisher Limited Series.  Issue # 5 featured pencils by Mike Vossburg.

Here's another artist who had drew The Punisher. Another favorite of mine. Bill Reinhold. 

Another artist who put his unique stamp on Frank Castle was Timothy Bradstreet.

John Romita Jr and Klaus Janson gave us their rendition of the Punisher in The Punisher War Zone. I remember reading that John Romita Jr drew Frank a little differently than other artists. He made me look grittier and patterned Frank's overall look after one of his uncles.

 John Romita Jr and Klaus Janson's Punisher.

I'm also a big fan of Joe Jusko's rendition of The Punisher as seem here in the covers to the Punisher Magazine issue # 6 and # 8.

But my all time favorite has got to be this cover to The Punisher Magazine # 10.

Here's another artist that drew Marvel's antihero.  His name is Michael Golden.

 The cover to The Punisher # 50 by Michael Golden.

The cover to The Punisher Armory # 10 also by Michael Golden. Awesome! 

 Take a look at this cover by Michael Golden from The Punisher # 100.

 The Punisher War Zone # 23 by Michael Golden.

The Punisher # 86 by Michael Golden. 

Well, I hope you enjoyed the covers and artwork featuring The Punisher. 

I wonder who else worked on The Punisher as well?  Yeah, well that's a question for another day and another edition of the B'Cast.

Again I hope you enjoyed seeing the amazing artwork by these amazing artists. 

Drop by again soon for another edition of the B'Cast..I'll see you again soon. 

Take care Comic Fan! 

Your 100th Co(s)mic ComicBook B'Cast!! Yay!

It's the 100th B'Cast. 100th! I never thought I would get to the 100th B'Cast.  In hindsight, I would have probably hit 100 a few months or a year ago but too many things kept getting in my way or I guess I let it all get in my way.
Well I finally got here. The 100th Co(s)mic ComicBook B'Cast. Okay for this edition, I wanted to talk about Iron Man. Not the Iron Man we see in the movies but the comic book version.
Also it's a version of the Iron Man armor that divided fans.  They either love it or they love it.  At one time, I read one columnist call this armor "Go-Bot" like.
I think maybe you know which armor I'm talking about. Yep.  The Iron Man armor that's been called the Mark XII or more commonly called the "Silver Centurion" armor.
The armor first appeared in Iron Man issue 200.

The cover to Iron Man # 200 by Mark Bright and Ian Akin & Brian Garvey.
The Silver Centurion armor first appeared in this issue. Tony Stark may have invented this armor for James Rhodes who at the time (Iron Man issue 170) took over as Iron Man.

Iron Man issue 170 by Luke McDonnell and Steve Mitchell showing us an Iron Man we've never seen before.
So back to the Silver Centurion armor, Tony Stark decided to put on the armor after a close friend was killed by a bomb meant for him.  It was obvious that it was all a plan by Obadiah Stane.

The Invincible Iron Man issue 167 by Luke McDonnell and Steve Mitchell. In the clutches of Obadiah Stane. Stane had manged to basically destroy Tony's life, destroy his reputation and took away his company and his fortune.
For a few issues, we saw a Tony Stark had given up the life of a millionaire playboy, philanthropist and genius.
The Iron Man suit and identity was passed on to James Rhodes. There were a few issues detailing how Rhodes became angry at Stark and ultimately hating Stark.
Tony builds an old basic model of the Iron Man armor and deals with a Rhodey who seems to have lost it.
The "new" old Iron Man armor appeared in this issue, Iron Man issue 191 by Luke McDonnell and Ian Akin & Brian Garvey.

And in the next issue, Tony and Rhodey.....well....they... "ironed out" their differences..kinda.

Iron Man issue 192 featured Iron Man versus Iron Man by Luke McDonnell and Ian Akin & Brian Garvey.

All of these situations came to a head in Iron Man issue 200. Having lost a friend, Tony decides to take the fight to Stane.  Rhodey offers to return the Iron Man suit but Tony refuses his offer as he has other plans.

Iron Man Silver Centurion by Mark Bright and Ian Akin & Brian Garvey.
Tony had been working on this new armor which was a huge departure from the armors of old.  The most obvious change was the color scheme, gone was the Red and Gold.  The suit was Red and Silver hence the name Silver Centurion.
The suit looked to be bigger and badder compared to the old models. It was different, a classic.
The armor had aan inverted triangular design on the chest and back plates.  It also had a backpack which had never been seen before in the previous armors.

 I'm guessing the backpack was meant for storage purposes.  In addition there was a new design in the terms of the helmet.  It was now a large oversized hooded helmet.
The new design had incorporated shoulder pads and the new triangular chest beam.
I was so excited when the news came out that Tony Stark would be back in the suit but I never thought they would design a new suit of armor.
The strange thing was, I didn't get a chance to see the silver centurion's first appearance in Iron Man 200, instead I saw the armor for the first time in a different comicbook.  This one.

There he is, Iron Man and his new duds front and well off to the left in West Coast Avengers issue 1. I was surprised to see this issue first before Iron Man 200. I don't know for sure which issue came out first but I saw Iron Man's Silver Centurion armor in this issue and I just excited to see more it.

Throughout Iron Man 200 we get to see the capabilities of the Silver Centurion, all the major improvements Tony had incorporated in the new suit.  I wwas enjoying myself finding out just what the suit was capable of.  I can't list out everything about the armor here but there are plenty of sites out there dedicated to the Silver Centurion armor, like www.ironmanarmory.com
And then we had the final showdown with Obadiah Stane who had designed a suit for himself. He redesigned and rebuilt the New old Iron Man suit Tony was using a few issues ago in Iron Man 191.

This is Iron Monger by Mark Bright and Ian Akin & Brian Garvey.
What happened when Iron Monger met Iron Man?
Well...

All I'm going to say is, find Iron Man 200 and read it,  it's a great issue.
After Iron Man 200, we got to know the Silver Centurion armor and the armor grew on me,  quickly!

Iron Man issue 201 by Mark Bright and Ian Akin & Brian

Iron Man 202 by Bob Layton.
The new Silver Centurion had a few similarities with the previous models. The suit's arms and legs section would zip into the gauntlets and boots for easy storage leaving Tony with a few easy to store parts which are then kept in his custom designed high tech briefcase.

Iron Man 203 by Mark Bright and Ian Akin & Brian Garvey.

This has to be one of the best renditions of the Silver Centurion armor. Iron Man 204 by Mark Bright and Ian Akin & Brian Garvey.

One of the changes made to the armor came in the new special feature in the Silver Centurion armor,  the Chameleon Effect, which enables Iron Man to blend into the background by projecting holograms of the background over the surface of the armor, in essence making the armor invisible.

Iron Man issue 205 by Mark Bright and Ian Akin & Brian Garvey.

Another good look at the Silver Centurion by Mark Bright and Ian Akin & Brian Garvey.
The new armor also came with a few new nifty weapons, apart from the repulsors, the new suit had new pulse bolt gauntlet cannons which get stronger the farther they travel.
There's also the Unibeam which was designed for higher intensity and even has a searchlight mode. Cool!

Iron Man issue 207 by Mark Bright and Ian Akin & Brian Garvey.

Iron Man issue 208 by Mark Bright and Ian Akin & Brian Garvey.
The Silver Centurion armor would stay around for a few issues more until the Armor Wars or Stark Wars but that's a story for another day. 
Hey, it's been fun sharing with you my look at the Silver Centurion armor.  I hope you liked it too, thanks for dropping by and I hope to see you again in the next Co(s)mic ComicBook B'Cast.
Until then, thank you and take care!