Your 99th Co(s)mic ComicBook B'Cast

Hi there comic fans,  what's up?
I woke up this morning and read about two things that intrigued me, first, it was something about DC Comics Black Label. DC's Mature comics line or imprint which I guess is similar to Marvel's MAX Comics (is that still around?) or has the Mouse House destroyed that along with everything else?
The second thing is Superman Year One.

Yep, DC will release Superman Year One in June of this year.
Now according to DC, this will be the coming of age story of the future Man Of Steel. The story of how a young boy who also happens to be an alien from Krypton trying to find his place in a new world.
I guess you could say, this is the story of Clark Kent and his journey to becoming a legend, to becoming Superman.
Now the surprising thing for me is the choice of writer for Superman Year One. He's not what you'd call the obvious choice. As a matter of fact, some fans, well most of them would say he hates Superman.
He's none other than Frank Miller. He man who did Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Batman: Year One, Daredevil: Born Again and Daredevil: The Man Without Fear.
You can see why some comic fans are kinda skeptical about Miller.
His partner in crime for Superman Year One is John Romita Jr. who is known for his work on Iron Man, The Uncanny X-Men, Daredevil,  Daredevil: The Man Without Fear and just so many others.
It looks like his inker for this project is Danny Miki. Which is great news, I like how Danny Miki's inks complements Jr. Jr. 's pencils.

The artwork I've got here is all from DC Comics and I'm just sharing them cause I'm excited about Superman Year One. Look at the artwork, it looks really good.

Since the announcement of this project by Miller and Jr. Jr, there's been a few questions thrown out there,  like why Miller?
I read somewhere on line that a few people believe that Miller dislikes Superman and that Brian Brian Michael Bendis would seem like the more obvious choice since he is currently writing Superman.
I for one will wait for issue # 1 of Superman Year One to see how Miller writes and depicts the Man of Steel.
I am however really happy to see John Romita Jr and Danny Miki working on this project.

John Romita Jr has worked with Miller on Daredevil: The Man Without Fear, so I'm intrigued to see this 3 part series.  How about you?
Superman Year One # 1 will be available in June, take a gander at the cover below by Jr. Jr. and Danny Miki.

Superman Year One # 2 will come out in August.

While issue # 3 will be available in October 2019.

And the Superman Year One Collection will be available in November 2019.
So, yeah, Superman Year One. As I mentioned I am interested, I am intrigued and definitely curious about this project. A few questions here and there, not the least of which is why release this under DC 's Black Label which is meant for their more mature comics.
Guess I'll have to wait and find out.  Which won't be easy. As I've mentioned and complained for a long time, there's NO comicbook store where I am and I will have to find a way to get these three issues.
Thanks for dropping by, thanks for reading and I hope to see you again next time. Until the next B'Cast, take care Comic Fans.

Your 98th Co(s)mic ComicBook B'Cast

Hey Comic Fans.
I'm back. I forgot to mention, the B'Cast about Ten Nights of the Beast is a two parter. You've seen Part One. Here's Part Two.
Let's continue with Ten Nights of the Beast.
One other thing I really enjoyed about all four issues (apart from the story by Starlin, the interior artwork by Jim Aparo and Mike DeCarlo) are the incredible covers for Batman issue 417 to 420.
All four covers for Ten Nights of the Beast were INCREDIBLY BEAUTIFUL.
All four covers were drawn by Mike Zeck.  The man who drew the covers for various titles over the years,  G.I. Joe, Secret Wars, Deathstroke The Terminator, Captain America and just so many other titles.
Well for Ten Nights of the Beast, the covers were beautifully rendered by Zeck.
Here's the cover to Batman issue 417. Part One of Ten Nights of the Beast.

Batman issue 418. Part Two.

Batman issue 419. Part three

Batman issue 420. The conclusion to the 4 part storyline.

I've always been a big fan of Mike Zeck's artwork and I was really happy when I found out that Zeck was the artist of all four covers and also the cover for the collected edition of the storyline.
Well, that's part two in this look at Ten Nights of the Beast.  Hope you'll have a chance to read this four part story. 
Thanks for dropping by Comic Fans. See you next time around.

Your 97th Co(s)mic ComicBook B'Cast

Hey Comic Fans, welcome to Your 97th Co(s)mic ComicBook B'Cast. For this edition, I'm going to take a look at a 4 part storyline written by Jim Starlin (yes, that Jim Starlin) with art from the legendary Jim Aparo and Mike DeCarlo.
The four part storyline took place in Batman issue 417 to 420.
The year was 1988 and I'm talking about Ten Nights of the Beast. This 4 issue storyline was published one year after Batman: Year One.
I was told about Ten Nights of the Beast by a friend who absolutely raved about it.

In Ten Nights of the Beast, the KGBeast comes to Gotham City to kill nine people crucial to America's Star Wars initiative.

A KGB agent together a team comprised of agents from the CIA, FBI, the GCPD and an unofficial addition to the team, Gotham City's very own Dark Knight to stop the KGBeast.
Despite their very best efforts, the beast manages to kill all nine on his kill list. The beast used numerous methods to kill his 9 targets.  I don't want to spoil it for you, so please try and look for this storyline, you won't regret it.
Okay, with 9 confirmed kills, does that mean the beast is done? Nope. He has an additional target on his kill list. He goes after President Ronald Reagan.
Here's one spoiler for you, Batman managed to save Ronald Reagan.

Throughout the four issue of Ten Nights of the Beast, you're treated to a nail bitting storyline and solid artwork from Jim Aparo and Mike DeCarlo. Really solid work here.

There's also a memorable moment involving Batman and the KGBeast where Batman managed to detain him.
The beast however managed to free himself from Batman's grasp by doing something really drastic. I won't spoil it for you, you've gotta get a copy or grab the collected version to see what happened.

I'm just going to say the KGBeast had the whole situation well in hand. Yeah.
So how did Batman finally deal with the beast?  Well, despite the fact that the beast had killed so many people, it was a foregone conclusion that he will never be brought to justice for his crimes. Even if they sent him back to Russia, the beast would kill more people in Russia, he wasn't a people person, the KGBeast.
So, what happened in the end?

Well, again, I'm going to leave you with the page above. If you have the chance, find Batman issue 417 to 420 or you could just get the tradepaperback. Like this one.

A really beautiful cover by Mike Zeck and Phil Zimelman.
I really enjoyed Ten Nights of the Beast. I thought Batman had come up against a foe that was nearly impossible for him to defeat. Storys like this one really captures your attention and you just can't wait for the next issue to see what happens. In my opinion, it's a great four part story.
Oh one other thing, the other thing that attracted me to Ten Nights of the Beast are the covers to Batman issue 417 to 420.
And that's what I'm going to share in the next B'Cast, so stay around comic fans.
Take care.

Your 96th Co(s)mic ComicBook B'Cast

Hey there Comic Fans, welcome to another B'Cast, your 96th B'Cast.
So what's up for this edition? Well, more comics.
Just the other day, I was sitting down with a few friends to talk about a project I wanted to do.  It's been on my mind for a while now.  Never got it off the ground and I never thought I would get a chance to actually do it but it looks like it could happen.
I'll keep you updated here if this project of mine gets going. If I don't mention it at all in the months to come, then you'll know that it ain't happening. Oh well.
Now, on to some comics. Three of my favorite issues of the Uncanny X-Men. Here we go.

My, what big teeth you have! Yikes.  Well, the blurb on the cover says it all,  the Brood is back!
This is The Uncanny X-Men issue 232. Cover by Marc Silvestri and Dan Green.
In this issue, the Brood lands on Earth and proceed to create a band of super-powered humans to aid them in infecting the Earth. Thankfully the X-Men sees the situation a little differently.

Another beautiful cover by the team of Silvestri and Green. This is the cover to issue 233. In this issue, the X-Men battle the Brood through the city of Denver.  Rogue, Wolverine and Psylocke are captured by the Brood, which brings us to the next issue.

The cover to The Uncanny X-Men issue 234 by Silvestri and Green.  Wolverine is infected by the Brood.
So, what happens in this issue? Well, it wouldn't be fair for me to spoil it for you, especially if you haven't read these three issues.
I highly recommend you go out of your way and locate these three issues. Great story by Chris Claremont and of course spectacular art by Marc Silvestri, Dan Green and Joe Rubinstein.
As a matter of fact Marvel collected all three issues into a collection called X-Men: Earthfall issue 1.
It reprints all three issues in one collection.
I forgot to mention, throughout the three issues, Chris Claremont was also laying the groundwork for Marvel's major cross over event, Inferno. So a lot to keep you interested.
These three issues are some of my favorites, they're what I like in comics, story and artwork.
Thanks for dropping by, hope you enjoyed this walk down memory lane. Until next time, take care Comic Fans!

Your 95th Co(s)mic ComicBook B'Cast

The art of Rick Leonardi and Dan Green on the cover to The Uncanny X-Men issue 231.

I'm a big fan of Rick Leonardi's work and I've always liked his rendition of the Uncanny X-Men. His work is truly amazing.
Here's Rick Leonardi and Dan Green's amazing splash page from issue 231.

Great artwork by Rick Leonardi and Dan Green.

Your 94th Co(s)mic ComicBook B'Cast.

When I was growing up many many many moons ago, one of the things I always looked forward to was the school breaks, especially the year end school breaks. After the final exams, it would be a couple months of relative freedom and I had a ritual the day after final exams whether I passed or not. More often than not I failed.  Anyway, the ritual.
I would sit down and look over a catalog from a comicbook shop and start writing down what titles and what issues I wanted. Those days, we didn't have the Internet, so all orders were done by hand and sent via snail mail.
This whole process would take almost 6 months.  Those days comics were not delivered via airmail, no air.  Comics were shipped from the United States to overseas destinations via sea mail. Let that sink in for a while.
Sea. Mail.
Yep and it took a long time for comics to be shipped anywhere in the world. It isn't as expensive as the airmail of today but it meant having a lot of patience. A lot of patience and there's always that chance they would lose your package of comics.
Since I did this once a year, I would save up some cash for the comics and of course for the shipping costs. It would take me a while to save up the money but to me, it was worth it.
So I've write to stores in the United States and ask if they sell and ship comics overseas, some said no, a few said yeah, sure.
And I'd buy in BULK. I mmean a number of titles and issues. Comics I couldn't get locally, favorite issues and just titles I really wanted to read.
Up until this point, I had been a fan of the Uncanny X-Men and the artist at the time, John Romita Jr.
I loved his work.  Followed the issues he drew religiously.
I was disappointed when he left The Uncanny X-Men. I followed him as he started drawing Star Brand and other titles.
Now, it was nearing time for me to buy my comics and I wrote everything down in great detail. I had read through news letters than John Romita Jr was now drawing Daredevil. Up to that point, I had only read a few issues of DD but now that Jr. Jr is the regular artist, I decided it is the perfect jumping on point. So I found out which issue he drew and ordered them. Remember I bought comics in bulk so I could read all these issues.
Well, sometimes these stores ran out on the issues I wanted and I'd miss out on getting a complete run of a particular title.  It was disappointing.
Well, I ordered Jr. Jr's issues of Daredevil and unfortunately I only got a few issues of Daredevil. I remember reading each issue voraciously. I loved the artwork.  Jr. Jr collaborated with veteran artist and inker Al Williamson on Daredevil and the result was something I loved.
One issue that always stood out for me was Daredevil # 252. It was a double sized issue and it was also a Fall of the Mutants tie in. I loved the issue.  I read that issue from cover to cover.

Here's the cover. Beautiful artwork by John Romita Jr and Al Williamson.

There was a sense of realism to the artwork that really stood out to me.  Here's the splash page from issue # 252.

This issue also featured an appearance by the Black Widow. Here's a few pages from this issue.

One thing I love about Jr. Jr's art is how good he is at drawing battle scenes. I guess after drawing the X-Men for so long, he can draw pretty much anything.

Daredevil # 252 was and still is a favorite issue of mine. I believe my copy of this issue is still in my collection. Hope it's still okay.
Now because the store didn't have all the DD issues I wanted, I missed out on a few issues of Daredevil and that was very disappointing.
I was lucky that there were other issues which were available. Like this one.

Daredevil # 259 where Typhoid Mary and the Kingpin gathered a bunch of Daredevil's "friends" and attacked him. Which brings us to another favorite of mine.

The final triumph of Typhoid Mary.  This was Daredevil # 260. Another beautifuly drawn issue. The more I read Daredevil, the more I loved the art of John Romita Jr and Al Williamson.
I could get issue # 261 though. The store didn't have that issue in stock. Never knew what happened in issue # 261. Don't tell me.  I don't wanna know. I figure I'll read it. One day I'll buy a copy. Somehow.

Here's another issue I couldn't get.  Issue # 257 guest starred the Punisher. It was rare in those days to have a guest star and whenever that happened, it was special.

So I didn't get to read this issue. One day.
Thanks for spending your time on the Co(s)mic ComicBook B'Cast. Appreciate any feedback you might have or comments.
I haven't been updating my blog on a regular basis But I'm trying my best to update this site as often as possible.
Thanks for dropping by, see you next time comic fan!

Your 93rd Co(s)mic ComicBook B'Cast

Thanks for dropping by for Your 93rd Co(s)mic ComicBook B'Cast.  You could be elsewhere, doing something else or visiting another blog but you're here, thanks for spending your time here.
Okay, so what am I going to talk about this time around. Well, I'm still going to talk about my favorite covers but for this edition of the B'Cast, I'm also going to touch on the corner box art as well.
Okay, we start off with this issue, the Incredible Hulk # 292.

The Incredible Hulk # 292 by Kevin Nowlan. In this issue, it's the Hulk versus Dragon-Man in a story called Dragon-Night! Bruce Banner is transformed into the Hulk unwillingly under Ringmaster's control.  Now if you notice, on the left hand side of the cover is the cornerbox for this title. If you'll notice, it shows the Hulk dressed up like a scientist. For those of you who didn't follow the adventures of the jade giant in those days, here's a recap.
In the Incredible Hulk # 272, Bruce Banner gains the ability to transform into the Hulk while still retaining his intellect. In other words, he had control over the Hulk. In the next few issues, Bruce/Hulk gets a presidential pardon and gets accepted by the world as a hero. He even turns down an invitation to join the Avengers to venture into scientific endeavors instead.
Eventually however, Banner slowly but surely begins to lose control of the Hulk. This regression to his savage person is clearly shown in the corner box art of the Incredible Hulk # 292 to # 300.
In each issue, we see the Hulk slowly lose control.  A bit more with each issue until we reach issue # 300 when the inevitable happens. Each corner box was drawn by Al Milgrom.  Here, have a look at the rest of the issues.

The Incredible Hulk # 293 by Bret Blevins.

The Incredible Hulk # 294 by Ken Steacy.

The Incredible Hulk # 295 by Bill Sienkiewicz.

The Incredible Hulk # 296 by Bill Sienkiewicz.

The Incredible Hulk # 297 by Bill Sienkiewicz

The Incredible Hulk # 298 by Kevin Nowlan.

The Incredible Hulk # 299 by Frank Cirocco.

The whole storyline by Bill Mantlo together with Sal Buscema and Gerry Talaoc culminated in this issue.  The Incredible Hulk # 300 with a cover by Bret Blevins.
What made the 9 covers unique is how the sad but inevitable story of Bruce Banner who had finally gained control of his alter ego was told not only in the covers themselves but also in the corner box art.

We  can see with each passing issue, slow change that Bruce Banner has to deal with. Each issue, we get to see how the Hulk slowly turns into a savage monster again.

What makes this unique is the corner boxes became a flip book where you could see the slow changes innthe Hulk.

Looking back at these covers and the corner box art, I'm reminded of the days when Marvel's corner box artwork was something to behold.  It was unique to the company although DC did try something similar. The corner box was a unique trademark for each issue and also Marvel.
This has got to be one of the best uses of the corner box by Marvel.
I'm a little sad the corner box has practically disappeared from Marvel Comics. I miss those corner boxes.
Thanks for dropping by and spending some time with me. I'll be back with more musings and comics related stuff for you next. Take care Co

Your 92nd Co(s)mic ComicBook B'Cast.

Welcome to your 92nd Co(s)mic ComicBook B'Cast. For this edition, I've got more favorite covers to share with you on the B'Cast.
After I posted a few of my favorite covers a few weeks ago, I actually got some response on Twitter and I got a few suggestions. I'm going to look for the suggested covers and post them in a future B'Cast.
But for this edition, a look at three great covers which were part of a crossover event which took place from January to March of 1988. This event spanned 3 issues of 3 different titles. The event wasn't your usual crossovers because this one wasn't intertwined. They were linked as each title showed the characters going through some drastic changes in their status quo.
Okay here it is, my three favorite covers from The  Fall of the Mutants in The Uncanny X-Men.

Okay, just to be clear, this isn't a cover. It was the Marvel In-House As for Fall of the Mutants with art by Alan Davis.
For the Uncanny X-Men, the Fall Of the Mutants spanned three issues with the covers showcasing the art of Marc Silvestri and Dan Green.

I couldn't believe my eyes when I first saw this beautiful cover by Silvestri and Green.  Love the detail in this cover. I personally think both Silvestri and Green worked very well together and both took their artwork to a different level.
This issue was titled : False Dawn. What an issue it was. The X-Men are trying to locate Storm by heading to Dallas where they clash with Freedom Force.
Their work was excellent and they continued doing great work with the next cover.

This issue was titled: Go Tell the Spartans. Another beautiful cover by Silvestri and Green.
In this issue, the X-Men form an uneasy alliance with Freedom Force in order to stop the attack of Adversary as both teams take refuge in Eagle Plaza, Dallas.
The art from the cover to the interior was excellent. Great job by the creative team, which continued in the next issue as the X-Men and Adversary face off in their final showdown.

This issue was titled: The Belly of the Beast. Another beautiful Silvestri and Green cover.
If you haven't read this issue or the issues before it,  then I highly recommend it. The artwork alone is worth the price of admission. The story by Chris Claremont is a well crafted story which makes you believe this is the end of the X-Men (you're gonna have to read this, no spoilers)
Suffice to say, Claremont crafted a story that will turn the page in anticipation. This is what comics are meant to be. A perfect combination of art and story,  well for me anyway.
I know I said this B'Cast is about the covers but I'm going to share a few pages from all three issues. This is to show just how good Silvestri and Green's art is and just how good Claremont's writing was for these three issues.

I remember when I first saw Marc Silvestri on the Uncanny X-Men and I have to admit,  I was like, he's okay but my opinions changed when I saw how his work just kept getting better and better and it appealed to me with each issue, each page and panel.

Here's a great example of just how good Silvestri is. These two pages with Spiral giving Dazzler a "new look" was so shocking, I remember rereading the pages again to see what happened. At the time, that was a holy crap moment.

I really love the work and effort put in by Marc Silvestri and Dan Green in these issues.
Again, if you have the chance, have a look at The Fall of the Mutants storyline. You won't regret. I'm won't regret as you'll definitely be caught up in a comicbook that will grab you and take you along for a great ride as you read about the X-Men and their efforts to save a world that fears and hates them.

For the next edition of the B'Cast, I'll have another look at more of my favorite covers. I hope you enjoyed this edition of the B'Cast. If you have a favorite cover you'd like to share, then let me know.  Leave a comment or join me here again on the Co(s)mic ComicBook B'Cast.
You take care and I'll see you again next time.