marvel | the m0vie blog

Should Joss Whedon Direct the Avengers?

Posted on April 7, 2010 by Darren

It appears that releasing news that Joss Whedon was in contention for the gig as director of The Avengers on April 1st was just horrible timing – it looks like this particular story might not be a festive-themed joke and might just be something thiat may be actually happening. However, since Marvel’s somewhat shrewd business strategy seems to consist of mentioning a name and dodging the internet backdraft long enough to determine how fans will react, we thought that a Joss Whedon helmed Avengers film might merit some discussion.

Will Joss Whedon assemble the Avengers?

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: films, joss whedon, louis leterrier, marvel, Movies, superheroes, the avengers | 8 Comments »

Iron Man 3 Before The Avengers?

Posted on March 26, 2010 by Darren

A geek bombshell has landed. Apparently Iron Man 3 may be arriving in 2012. Not that it’s coming at us out of nowhere. Iron Man and Iron Man 2 were two years apart. There’s no reason to believe the same wouldn’t be true of Iron Man 2 and Iron Man 3. Also, The Avengers was the only major Marvel film planned for 2012… well, before the Spider-Man reboot got moved back to 2012, but that’s a co-production with Sony. Marvel have strived to get a bit of momentum going – Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk were released in 2008 as a double-act and Thor and Captain America will have the same partnership next year. The Avengers is big enough to open by itself, but it seemed likely that Marvel would have some other support feature designed to lead into it a month or two before release (in case audiences forgot about Captain America: The First Avenger in the year since its release). I like the idea of Iron Man3 in 2012.

Looks like Tony might not be taking any well-deserved time off...

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: films, gossip, iron man, iron man 2, iron man 3, jon favreau, marvel, marvel films, Movies, robert downey jr, rumour, superheroes, tentpoles, the avengers, trilogy | 2 Comments »

Why Chris Evans is a good choice for Captain America…

Posted on March 23, 2010 by Darren

It’s official. Chris Evans is Captain America. I’m sure the internet is on fire with people complaining and yelling and shouting – like they were when John Krasinski was the front runner. But I’m actually quite happy. He seems like a great fit for the role and – with a bit of luck – I can see the role doing for him what Tony Stark re-did for Robert Downey Jnr. It could be a star-making role. And I think he deserves that. But I also think there are other reasons he’s a great fit for the role.

Apparently Chris Evans wields the shield...

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: captain america, captain america: the first avenger, casting, film, iron man, marvel, Movies, superheroes, the avengers, the avengers movie, the first avenger: captain america | 7 Comments »

Daredevil by Brian Michael Bendis Omnibus, Vol. II

Posted on March 22, 2010 by Darren

I still stand by my assessment of Daredevil as the most consistently well-written comic book of the past decade. Sure, there have arguably been smaller runs that have been more experimental (Grant Morrison’s New X-Men), slightly more easily accessible (Mark Millar’s Ultimates), or more important for the medium as a whole (Geoff Johns’ Green Lantern is perhaps most responsible for general trends in the medium), but none is as consistently satisfying as the relaunched Daredevil title, in particular the two runs by Bendis and Brubaker. Here we have the second half of Bendis’ iconic run collected (along with some Daredevil-related miscellany). It’s a great collection that might not be as breathtakingly incredible as the first half of his run, but it certainly delivers on what was promised.

He's also The Man Without Shirts...

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Filed under: Comics | Tagged: alex maleev, comic books, daredevil, daredevil by brian michael bendis omnibus, daredevil omnibus, golden age, karen page, kingpin, marvel, the golden age, the murdock papers, the universe, what if karen page had lived? | 1 Comment »

Matt Fraction’s Run on The Invincible Iron Man – Vol. 1 (Hardcover)

Posted on March 19, 2010 by Darren

Released just in time for you to play catchup before Iron Man 2 hits the cinemas, Marvel have published the first nineteen issues of Matt Fraction’s run on The Invincible Iron Man. It’s a big book. Unfortunately, it only contains two storylines (it looks like the era of decompression isn’t quite over), but despite some storytelling issues it manages to be a fairly entertaining read. Mostly because Fraction seems to have a fairly solid handle on the man inside the suit of armour.

Iron Woman...

Note: I do feel a little bit robbed. I bought this on amazon.com advertised as a Marvel Omnibus. It arrives at my door as a slightly larger than usual hardcover. There are next-to-no extras or commentaries or anything. I was looking forward to shelving this with my cool Omnibus collection – they do just look better. It isn’t any smaller than the Death of Captain America Omnibus or the second Brubaker Daredevil Omnibus. I’m a little bit ticked off. But I’ll get over it.

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Filed under: Comics | Tagged: comic books, heroic age, iron man, iron man 2, marvel, marvel comics, matt fraction, norman osborn, regression, salvador larocca, the invincible iron man, the invincible iron man omnibus, tony stark, world's most wanted | 2 Comments »

Daredevil by Brian Michael Bendis Omnibus, Vol. I

Posted on March 16, 2010 by Darren

It took me a while to write this. Because it took me a while to figure out what to say. I honestly believe that the combined Bendis/Brubaker run on Daredevil has been perhaps the single most impressive run on mainstream comics in the past decade. It isn’t post-modern or retrospective, it isn’t flashy or innovative. It’s just a collection of good and clever stories, well told. Some of them reflect the state of the superhero in popular culture, some of them explore the role and function of the media as a supreme court of arbitration, but most of them are just good and clever noir stories. If you are looking to pick up a single collection of comic books, I would recommend this. It’s nominally a superhero story, but at its heart it’s a gritty urban thriller. But that’s enough hyperbole, don’t you think?

Better the devil you know?

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Filed under: Comics | Tagged: alex maleev, arcs, brian michael bendis, comic books, daredevil, daredevil by brian michael bendis omnibus, daredevil omnibus, hardcore, marvel, out, review, the man without fear, trial of the century, wake up | Leave a comment »

Brian K. Vaughan’s Run on Ultimate X-Men – Vol. 5-6 (Hardcover)

Posted on March 12, 2010 by Darren

Brian K. Vaughan is the accidental Ultimate X-Men author. Originally drafting a single arc to transition between Brian Michael Bendis and a potential arc by David Mack, his entire tenure was overshadowed by the near-constant suggestion that X-Men director Bryan Singer would be hijacking the title for a storyline or two. Neither of these two proposals came to pass, and Vaughan ended up working on the series for nearly two years. Perhaps because of the seemingly temporary nature of his stay – liable to end with any given arc – his run seems to lack overall consistency or direction. That isn’t to criticise his individual stories, which are arguably the best in the entire run of Ultimate X-Men, but an observation about the nature of Vaughan’s tenure.

Mojo is big... in television...

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Filed under: Comics | Tagged: brian k. vaughan, brian vaughan, Comics, graphic novel, magnetic north, marvel, Mutants, review, shock and awe, stuart immonen, the most dangerous game, ultimate universe, ultimate x-men, x-men | 2 Comments »

Comics for Grown Ups?

Posted on March 8, 2010 by Darren

We’re a bit late to the party, but this week we’ll be celebrating the 75th anniversary of DC Comics, with a look at the medium, the company and the characters in a selection of bonus features running Monday through Friday. This is one of those articles. Be sure to join us for the rest.

Comic books are what Neil Gaiman once famously described as “the medium that’s always confused with a genre”. The fact that they are typically populated with spandex-wearing superheroes has led to a bit of a pop culture stigma around the medium, as stories about grown men in their underwear pounding each other are the only stories that could be told in that format. Anyone even loosely familiar with the history of the genre will know better, but I’ve always imagined comic books having a hard time fitting in to popular culture in the same way that books or film or television do. So can comic books ever really draw in that elusive adult audience?

Smoking? In a comic book? That will not stand!

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Filed under: Comics | Tagged: alan moore, comic books, dc comics, films, for kids, grant morrison, graphic novel, kids, marvel, mature, maturity, neil gaiman, pop culture, sandman, vertigo, watchmen | 5 Comments »

Mark Millar’s Run on Marvel Knights Spiderman – Vol. 1 (Hardcover)

Posted on March 3, 2010 by Darren

With the news of the Spider-Man reboot being bandied about and the rumour that they were “darker and edgier” with the character, I thought I’d best check out what “dark and edgy” Spider-Man looks like. Here’s a hint: it isn’t Spider-Man III. I picked up Marvel Knights: Spider-Man. For those not-too-versed in comic book lore, Marvel Knights was basically the “mature” branding for Marvel properties, like Vertigo is over at DC (Neil Gaiman’s Sandman was published at Vertigo, for example). Basically, Marvel attempted to publish several books under this header – including Spider-Man and Kevin Smith’s relaunch of Daredevil – the idea being to offer more “grown up” versions of the familiar superheroes. While it’s entirely unfair to take the fact that the series was rebranded within three years as evidence of it’s quality, it failed to convince me that Spider-Man really needs to be made “darker and edgier”.

Yes, "darker and edgier" is a euphemism for "more violent"...

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Filed under: Comics | Tagged: Comics, down among the dead men, kevin smith, last stand, mark millar, marvel, marvel knights, marvel knights: spider-man, review, spider man, venomous | 1 Comment »

Captain America: Bob Hope With Better Abs…

Posted on February 18, 2010 by Darren

I remember announcing last year that Captain America: The First Avenger was the movie in the Marvel canon I was most anticipating over the next few years. Well, it looks like the gods of movie-making are out to smite me for my doubts about Jon Favreau and Kenneth Branagh by giving me a taste of what exactly director Joe Johnston has in mind for the erstwhile superhero and super-patriot. I have to admit – after thinking about Iron Man 2 and reading all the casting and discussion on Thor – that this take on Captain America seems rather… mundane. To say the least.

He can punch Hitler in the face, but can he manage a chorus line?

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: adaptation, captain america, captain america: the first avenger, ed brubkaer, film, joe johnston, marvel, Movie, the avengers, the first avenger: captain america, the red skull, uso | 1 Comment »