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In honor of the Fantastic Four‘s 50th Anniversary, I thought I’d run down my favorite runs on the book. It’s worth bearing in mind that I like a lot of bad comics and that I haven’t read much from after Stan and Jack’s departure through John Byrne’s coming on board for double duty (so from about #103 – #230ish) so I’ve missed a good quarter of the original volume. I also never read the Marvel Knights Four book, or Morrison’s 1234 so they aren’t included here either.

Anyway…my totally subjective list of FF goodness (including Amazon links to some stuff; please ignore them if you like):

1 - Stan and Jack’s run: Fantastic Four #1-102

You can’t have the FF without this; hell, you can’t really have the Marvel Universe without this. As I said previously, it’s not just a great run but it’s the sheer number of other ideas that came about from this, ideas and characters that underpin so much of the Marvel Universe. Once Stan and Jack hit their groove, the book became what defines it for me the most – the FF aren’t really super-heroes, they’re a family of explorers who happen to have super-powers.

2 - John Byrne’s run as writer/artist: Fantastic Four #232-293

Marvel took a chance when they put John Byrne on the book as writer and artist. Although he’d pulled double duty before (including a two-part FF tale and the classic Marvel Two-In-One #50 – I can’t recommend you track down that Thing story enough) handing him the reins to FF must have been a pretty ballsy move – but it payed off big-time. Byrne’s run lead to an empowered Invisible Woman, with Sue finally stepping into a strong role after playing nursemaid for 20 odd years, the Thing leaving the team, She-Hulk stepping up to the big times as a member of the team, Johnny seeing Alicia, the death and rebirth of Doctor Doom, the Hate Monger’s corruption of Sue Storm which lead to this oft-reblogged panel -

- and a whole host of other stories, including the FF traveling back in time as Nick Fury tried to kill Hitler. The FF were explorers again, and a family – even if Ben was absent for a good chunk of the run. Simply put, Byrne’s FF sold me on the team and the book when I was younger – and they sold me for life. His departure mid-story was abrupt and (I believe) related to him taking on Man of Steel for DC, but the stories up to that point – just great comics.

3 - Mark Waid’s run as writer, partnered with Mike Wieringo and Howard Porter: Fantastic Four v3 #60-70, v1 (renumbered) #500-524

Waid and the late Mike Wieringo gave the franchise a kick-start when they came on board the book in 2002, restoring a sense of wonder that was missing from the book for a while. Waid’s FF was about character, with the stories designed to highlight aspects of the team’s personalities that maybe hadn’t been played with too much in recent years; Reed’s desire to keep his family together coupled with his guilt for ‘ruining’ their lives; Johnny’s desire to better himself yet still be the irresponsible kid; and Doom’s desire for power at the expense of his humanity. In their ‘Unthinkable’ arc, Doom refocused himself on his magical powerset as opposed to his technological one, and wore an armor created from the skin of his one true love (yes, you read that right).

Waid and Ringo were fired from the book with #500, but reinstated after fan backlash – but the firing meant that Howard Porter stepped in for an arc where the FF took over Latveria. Ringo was back for the rest of the run though, as Reed, Sue and Johnny went to rescue Ben from Heaven – and a certain benevolent creator…

The run continued for over a year after that – and I recommend the whole thing. The FF were back as explorers (see, there’s my hang-up again).

4 - Tom DeFalco’s run as writer, mainly partnered with Paul Ryan: Fantastic Four #356-416

I’ll catch some grief for this one, as DeFalco’s 90s output rarely makes anyone’s list of good comics (except mine, where he also shows up for his Thor/Thunderstrike run) but I can’t help it: I love it. Coupled with the under-appreciated Ryan, DeFalco crafted what turned out to be a years-long run. If a lot of that run eschewed the exploring for the super-hero aspect of the book, it turned out to be more than ever about family.

DeFalco kicked off by breaking up the marriage of Johnny and Alicia by retroactively making her a Skrull agent, Lyra, for the previous 100 or so issues (and this was before Superboy Prime retconned punch dead kids back to life). It was a bold move, but set in motion a great personal arc for both Johnny and Ben through his run, as well as adding Lyra to the ever-expanding family. The team grew after (spoiler!) Reed’s death to accommodate the likes of Ant-Man Scott Lang and his daughter (now better known as Young Avengers‘ Stature), Kristoff – Doom’s successor with a copy of Doom’s mind, Nathaniel Richards – Reed’s time-traveling entirely untrustworthy father, and more.

I’ll admit it’s not all good; Franklin’s fast-forward aging and subsequent heroic persona and team (the oh-so-90s Fantastic Force) and Sue’s abominable new outfit fairly reek of the decade of excess – and don’t even get me started on Atlantis Rising, but there’s enough good stuff here for me to overlook that. From Ben’s further scarred face (thanks, Logan) to the team’s cross-time adventure as they try to find Reed (spoiler – he’s alive), to the team’s final run as they go up against Onslaught, it’s a run that gets very little love – but I love it all the same.

Sadly, this run is almost entirely uncollected. I tell ya, DeFalco gets no respect.

5 - Steve Englehart’s run as writer, mainly partnered with Keith Pollard: Fantastic Four #304-325

Englehart picked up the book from Roger Stern (whose Avengers I love), who had the thankless job of tidying up Byrne’s run and getting the Thing back on the team in time for the book’s 25th Anniversary issue, and promptly made it his own by shipping off Reed and Sue to retirementville to raise Franklin away from danger and making Ben the leader of the team.

Ben replaced the pair with his gal pal from his time on the superhero wrestling circuit (yes you read that right), Ms Marvel – this being redheaded Sharon Ventura, not then-Binary Carol Danvers – and Johnny’s ex, the Inhuman princess Crystal, who had previously subbed for a pregnant Sue. This caused all kinds of drama for Johnny, who still carried a torch for her but had recently married Alicia, who was Ben’s ex. And a Skrull, of course, but we didn’t know that yet.

The run took the team on a tour of the MU’s wildest places – from Wakanda to the Mole Man’s underground kingdom to the Savage Land and beyond, cementing them once again as explorers. He also managed to throw in an unexpected sequel to Secret Wars II (which aptly featured one more throw-down between the Beyonder and Doom), wrap up his long-lingering Mantis storyline that he’d carried with him through various Avengers books, and to explore Ben’s role as leader and his character by mutating him further – the infamous ‘pineapple Thing’ – and making Sharon a female version of him struggling with depression.

Englehart’s run ended ignominiously starting with the return of Reed and Sue to the team in #326 (after they had a four issue stint as Avengers) by editorial edict and a horrible storyline for another six issues that he took his name off. It’s worth checking his site for his own comments on his run – but the first couple of years, right up to #325? Good stuff.

Like DeFalco’s run this is entirely uncollected – but worth tracking down in the cheap bins.

6 - Walt Simonson’s run as writer/artist: Fantastic Four #333-354, less a couple of fill-ins

Much more critically applauded than the last two entries on my list, Walt Simonson’s run had the dubious responsibility of cleaning up the mess left by Englehart and build to the team’s 350th issue. Simonson threw a lot of familiar stuff into the mix – Thor, Iron Man and, er, Death’s Head, for instance – and at times the Fantastic Four felt like bit players in their own book. Never was this more obvious than in the excellent three parter (with art by Art Adams) with the ‘new’ Fantastic Four made up of Spider-Man, Wolverine, Ghost Rider and the Hulk.

Even so, the highlight of Simonson’s brief run for me was #352 as Reed and Doom battled across time – with you having to find the next part of the battle by using the timestamp. Also, having the Time Variance Authority be filled with clones of Mark Gruenwald – as nobody else could keep track of everything – was a nice touch.

7 - Karl Kesel’s run as writer: Fantastic Four 2099 #1-4

Oh, what could have been.

In the month cover dated January 1996, the 2099 line added two more books – Fantastic Four 2099 and X-Nation 2099, bringing the total in the line to six; by the month cover dated August 1996 the line was canceled and replaced by an anthology book that limped before dying a slow death at #8, effectively marking the end of the entire line.

Unlike all the other 2099 creations, these weren’t namesakes – they were the original FF, or at least facsimiles of them. In his four brief issues (the fifth was plotted by Kesel but not scripted by him, as the book joined the line-wide hurtle to cancellation in the form of a giant planetoid flooding the Earth, or something) Kesel managed to exactly capture the feel of the real FF as they should be: an ordinary family of extraordinary people in an extraordinary situation. Worth picking those four up in the quarter bins at the next convention.

8 - Carlos Pacheco’s run as writer/artist: Fantastic Four v3 #35-54

Pacheco flew solo on the book after Chris Claremont’s run ended (see below) – with some script assist from Jeph Loeb – and the results were surprisingly good. He seemed to concentrate on revamping some of the team’s less threatening villains, with Diablo, Grey Gargoyle, the Puppet Master and Trapster all getting a look-in. He also wasn’t afraid of using the team’s history, with many past members showing up for cameos. And honestly, Johnny hooking up with Namorita was so obvious I wondered why it hadn’t happened sooner.

Once he was on a solid footing, Pacheco maybe overstretched himself a little with a big arc centering on Abraxas, an entity with a desire to destroy the universe, and with tying up a loose end concerning Valeria from Claremont’s run

Pacheco’s run as both writer and penciller ended with #49, but he remained as co-plotter through a silent issue and a four-part Inhumans story, then left the book. All in all, a good run that looked to the past for inspiration.

9 - Chris Claremont’s run as writer, mainly partnered with Salvador Larocca: Fantastic Four v3 #5-32

Claremont took over the book when (I think) editorial decided Scott Lobdell’s Heroes Reborn relaunch wasn’t working out. He promptly made it feel like a bunch of left-over X-Men and Excalibur plots, having the team run into those books’ cast-offs like Genosha, the Warwolves, the Technet, Saturnyne, Roma and the Captain Britain Corps – even going so far as to have an other-dimensional version of long-time Excalibur supporting character Alysande Stuart be a Scottish-themed Captain Britainalike, Caledonia, and join the team as Franklin (and later Valeria’s) nanny.

Speaking of Valeria, Claremont introduced her as the future daughter of Doom and Sue as a teenager who was soon accepted into the family; this seemed like it would make sense towards the end of the run but was never fully resolved. He also introduced Alyssa Moy, Reed’s former flame, who would later be used extensively in the Millar/Hitch run.

Once all the X-nonsense was out of his system, though, Claremont managed to tell a good space story followed by a great arc with Reed trapped in Doom’s armor and having to pretend to the world at large that he was Doom.

A rocky start – but a strong finish. Once again, this is pretty much uncollected – and I can understand why – but it shouldn’t be too much hassle to track down on ebay or at a con.

There are other notable runs in recent years – JM Straczynski’s run as writer, Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch’s run (which holds up better on re-read, actually) and the current Jonathan Hickman run – but for me, none of them quite capture the essence of the FF. They’re either too enamored of Reed (JMS), or of their own ideas (Millar and Hickman) or simply do not feel like the FF I know and love (Hickman, again).

Still, I should give an honorable mention to Dwayne McDuffie’s stint which had Black Panther and Storm replacing Reed and Sue, as it managed to replicate the family feel of the book very nicely. Sadly, it was always viewed as short term and Reed and Sue were back in less than six issues, with T’Challa and Ororo – and McDuffie – departing shortly after.

Also leaked today was this -

- really? A return of Fantastic Four title with #600? Who’d a thunk it?

50 years ago today on August 8th 1961, the Marvel Universe came into being with the publication of Fantastic Four #1, written by Stan Lee and illustrated by Jack Kirby.

A recent – and ongoing – lawsuit may cast doubt on who created what when, and bloggers and columnists have been complaining about legal issues and moral imperatives and the like, but putting that aside for a moment – this comic has lasted fifty years through three relaunches and dozens of creators and editors. I may despise not like the current actionless, joy-sucking direction, but I still love the characters at the core of the series.

It’s not just the core five – and I will fight anyone who says that Doctor Doom isn’t a core part of the book – that impresses about the FF, though, it’s the mind-boggling list of characters and concepts that sprung from it that are still around and important in the MU today; Silver Surfer, Galactus, the Inhumans, the Watcher, Namor (I know, technically Golden Age, but he was in limbo before being revived in FF), Blackbeard Thing…

I was going to do a longer post about homage covers, and origin homages (such as Cyborg Superman), and how the book has survived bad periods before and will survive the current incarnation, too.

In any case; here’s to you Fantastic Four #1 – now, anyone want to buy me a copy?

I’m on record (admittedly about 5 years ago and the image dropped off the post and the text got garbled over multiple blog migrations…wait, I’ve been doing this over 5 years?) as not really ‘getting’ Ghost Rider beyond him being a cool visual, but something made me order the Ghost Rider Omnibus from Amazon recently when it dropped to a decent price.

That something was writer Jason Aaron. Scalped is one of my favorite books right now (even if I don’t talk about it much); such a perfect noirish crime story that every new trade makes me want to reread older ones for things I missed. At this point, I’ll pick up pretty much anything with Jason Aaron’s name on it, I think (yes, even X-Men).

And I wondered what he could do with Ghost Rider.

A hell of a lot, as it turns out. I actually can’t remember the last time a book surprised me this much. As Aaron picks up the story, Johnny Blaze has found out that Ghost Rider is actually a creation of the angel Zadkiel as part of his private army to storm the gates of Heaven and overthrow God, and he’s none to happy about being lied to and basically screwed over for most of his life. His solution? Go to Heaven and kick Zadkiel’s ass – but getting there might be a problem.

Zadkiel’s developed quite the cult of followers on Earth, from gun-toting psychotic nurses to mass-murdering preachers and plain oldnut jobs, and Blaze has to go through them all to find out how to get to Heaven. Helping him on the way is a new Caretaker (a former nun who adapts to her new life after having a whole bunch of lore dropped in her mind) and a bunch of foreign Ghost Riders, Aaron’s biggest contribution to the convoluted mythos of the character, but one that opens up a lot of storytelling potential.

Also in Blaze’s way is Danny Ketch, his brother (and star of Ghost Rider in the 1990s), who gathers a bunch of old Ghost Rider villains – and a new Vengeance – together to stop him on behalf of Zadkiel.

Oh, and there’s some kick-ass nuns here too.

What Aaron’s done here – with his three or four art teams, some good, some not-so-good but still suited for the book – is create a grindhouse comic out of Ghost Rider and craft a story with a defined ending, something we don’t always get in comics these days. The Omnibus collects Aaron’s sixteen issue run on the main book and the six issue mini that followed, wrapping up loose ends and having the final confrontation with Zadkiel.

For a mainstream Marvel book, it’s surprisingly brutal and adult, but successfully places Aaron as one of Marvel’s top writers – and proves that when you let a creative writer loose on a low-selling book, sometimes you get something that surprises you.

Now, when does Aarons’ first Wolverine Omnibus come out?

It looks like The Dark Knight Rises‘ version of Selina Kyle isn’t averse to a little petty larceny, just like her cat-loving comics namesake – at least assuming that’s a stolen Batpod she’s riding in her first official image:

Granted, you can’t see much beyond the fact that Anne Hathaway’s in skintight leather straddling a big bike, but magazines have been founded on much flimsier ground than that. I actually quite like the image.

She’s also got some funky goggles.

They’re obviously high-techy (because they’ve got funky little blue lights and a crosshair thingy, so they must be, right?), and that’s a start but they’re not quite this funky:

Just sayin’.

Looks pretty good. Some interesting shots in here, and an appropriate sense of inevitability. August 27th isn’t too far off…

Surfacing on the web, the first official image from the upcoming Man of Steel movie with Henry Cavill as Superman.

No spitcurl, and funky looking texturing on the outfit, but aside from that not a bad promo piece. It certainly shows the power of the last Kryptonian.

What do you think?

The first was the discovery (via @danfaust) of The Society of Unordinary Young Ladies

Its a black and white comic taking the idea of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen but populating it with (mainly) young ladies from 70s and 80s US sitcoms. I admit, the cast in the first issue meant nothing to me on account of the UK not getting The Facts of Life, but from the Charles in Charge line I was fully clued up.

Amazing stuff, and the first four issues are online.

The second thing that made my day was this, and I think it speaks for itself. Unfortunately I can’t embed it right now, but still. Awesome.

I did manage to get a sneaky store visit last week but have barely had a chance to read anything I picked up (except Amazing Spider-Man #666 – a good prelude to Spider-Island). Never the less, tomorrow brings another shipment…

DC Comics Presents SHAZAM #2 – OK, I didn’t pick up last week’s DCP SHAZAM since I was getting a lot already, but these issues from the end of the Power of SHAZAM series wrapped the run up pretty well.

DC Retroactive The ’80s – Batman, The Flash and Wonder Woman All #1 – Like all the Retroactive books, I like the concept, I’d like to read them – but not at this price.

Firestorm The Nuclear Man TP – I’m a huge fan of Firestorm, and this never before collected mini series from the 1970s is a good read and intro to the character – although very much a product of its time.

Flashpoint #4 (Of 5) – I’m sure there will be some big game changing reveal at the end of the issue, like Parallax being behind it all or something. But my money is still on Barry being the cause of all these screw-up.

Flashpoint minis – Batman Knight Of Vengeance, Deathstroke And The Curse Of The Ravager, Secret Seven and The World Of Flashpoint All #3 (Of 3) – Like all the FP minis, these are worth reading in their own right (especially Batman) – but I’m still not sure Secret Seven makes the slightest bit of sense.

Superboy #10 – I felt bad leaving before Jeff Lemire got his story wrapped up, so I figured I’d run out the series.

Acts Of Vengeance Crossovers Omnibus HC – At this price, not worth it unless you’re a completist or have money to burn, but there are a some great comics in here, like Simonson’s Fantastic Four issues, Claremont and Lee’s Uncanny X-Men issues with Wolverine and a reborn Psylocke, Byrne’s Wolverine, and McDuffie’s Damage Control. There’s also some dross.

Avengers Academy #17 – Okay, so last week I caved and picked up the last few issues of AA in spite of them tying into Fear Itself. What’s coming up has me interested and I just plain missed the book.

Mighty Avengers Dark Reign HC – Collecting the entirety of the Slott/Gage run on the book, this odd collection of characters actually felt like the Avengers of old to me. There are some ups and downs, certainly, but all over I’d say this is worth a look.

Punisher #1 – I have difficulty getting excited for a new #1 for ol’ Frank, especially as it’s his, what, eleventh non-MAX #1 not including one-shots?

Ultimate Comics Fallout #4 (Of 6) – So I hear there’s a half-black half-Latino Spider-Man? The Ultimate U is not my thing, but I’m sure this will sell big time.

X-Men Fallen Angels HC – Perhaps the oddest X-related mini ever, starring an on-the-lam Sunspot and Warlock, Vanisher, Siryn, Madrox, Boom-Boom, Devil Dinosaur, Moon Boy and two sentient lobsters and their pet human. I can only assume there was a lot of pot involved in creating this. It may be your thing, it may not. But it’s definitely weird.

And the pick of the week -

Dungeons And Dragons #9 – For crying out loud, just pick up this book already, okay?

I didn’t get to the store last week and I’m probably not going to get there this week either – but when I finally get there…

Action Comics #903 – In spite of being hugely disappointed by Paul Cornell’s Lex Luthor arc, I decided to pick up the last few issues of his run as they’re the last few of this volume of Action and part of me hopes that there’ll be one last Lois and Clark scene. That said, this story is a mess.

DC Comics Presents SHAZAM #1 – It’s a crime against comics that Jerry Ordway and Peter Krause’s Power of SHAZAM! series remain mostly uncollected, so ‘ll be picking up this arc from towards the end of the series (#38-41) in the hope that it nudges DC to a couple of nice big hardcovers.

DC Retroactive The ’70s One Shots – Green Lantern, Justice League Of America, Superman – Like last week’s Retroactives, I like the idea of these enough to check them out in the $1 bins or in trade, but at $5 a pop I’ll pass.

Flashpoint Minis – Hal Jordan, Kid Flash Lost Starring Bart Allen, Lois Lane And The Resistance, Project Superman – All #2 (Of 3) – As I’ve said countless times, I’m really enjoying these books. There are some I’m enjoying more than others, but that’s always the way. As a whole, though, they’re painting such a comprehensive and interesting picture of the Flashpoint DCU that I’m kind of sorry that it’s going to be wiped clean by the DCnU. An Untold Tales of Flashpoint series of books, please!

Justice HC – I missed this when it was two trades, and didn’t want to shell out for an Absolute, but a single HC collecting all 12 issues? That sounds like a deal to me.

Teen Titans #98 – It’s almost painful to watch this once-great book in it’s current death throes (although I really liked JT Krul’s Blackest Night minis), but I. Can’t. Look. Away.

Skullkickers #9 – Consistently one of the most entertaining books on the stands. Highly recommended!

FF #7 – After last issue’s nigh-unreadable Black Bolt debacle, I am actually on the verge of kicking this to the curb once and for all. Just a terrible, terrible issue in a mediocre book. I know people hail Hickman as a great writer and plotter, and I certainly agree that he seems to plot way ahead of most writers but what he fails to do is make individual issues engaging. You should not be bored reading a comic.

Spider-Man Blue TP – If you only know writer Jeph Loeb from his more recent work, check out this collection of his second Marvel mini with the incredible Tim Sale. It’s a beautifully illustrated love letter to the Silver Age Spider-Man, and it’s one of the first books I double dipped on.

Spider-Man Fantastic Four TP – Really liked the Spider-Man/X-Men mini by the same team of Christos Gage and Mario Alberti. Both books take team-ups from different eras, and given the rich history of the FF and Spidey, this should be fun.

Spider-Man The Complete Ben Reilly Epic Volume 1 TP – And speaking of fun, there’s a lot to be had in this collection. Granted, the Clone Saga became bloated and repetitive, but there’s no denying that the first few months of Ben Reilly coming to terms with being Spider-Man were different from any Spider-Man we’d seen in years. It was fun to watch the former Peter Parker reconnect with heroes and villains, and build a new supporting cast and life. Unfortunately it was only five or six months before Peter and MJ were reintroduced and the writing was on the wall; but these issues at least seemed like a fresh new start. This collection focuses on Ben’s final adventures as the Scarlet Spider and his transformation into the new Spider-Man. And the New Warriors. Can’t go wrong there!

Venom #5 – While I’m generally enjoying this, it’s not quite clicking for me yet. Even so, the close ties to Spider-Man and the creative team will keep me on board at least until Spider Island is over. Which brings me to…

The Pick of the Week

Amazing Spider-Man #666 – After months of teases, Spider Island kicks off with Manhattanites developing Spider powers left, right and center. I like that at least part of the story will apparently deal with the fact that Peter no longer has a unique power, so does that mean he no longer has the responsibility – but obviously we know the answer to that is yes. In any case, I am looking forward to this one, even if I am slightly disappointed this issue number wasn’t used to have Spidey giving Mephisto a good kicking, just out of principal.

After the SDCC panel, here’s a trailer for the second half of the current season.

I don’t know about you but there’s a shot about 26 seconds in there which makes me a little worried…

Also: Cybermen!

Over the course of SDCC, Marvel has been revealing pre-production art of the Avengers – and they fit together…

(Click to make a bit larger)

Black Widow, Iron Man, Hulk, Captain America, Thor, Nick Fury, Maria Hill and Agent Coulson all look pretty damn good here – and honestly, I’m getting a little excited by next year’s movie especially after the post-credits bit on Captain America…

Oh, and if the Skrulls are in the movie as rumored, I’d say the chances of Coulson being one are pretty damn high, no?

Okay. Looks like things don’t get any better for Rick and company now that they’re getting out of Atlanta…

As expected, in the DCnU Clark Kent and Lois Lane are no longer married. In fact, they were never married.

And, as big a fan as I am of the marriage (and I’m a huge fan of it), I’m okay with that.

Why?

Because unlike the dissolution of the Peter Parker/Mary Jane marriage, this isn’t the result of a story point that makes no sense and is only shoe-horned in to get rid of the marriage itself, this is as a result of a line-wide rejigging of titles which is effecting change on multiple levels.

One of those changes is the nullification of the Lois and Clark marriage and the introduction of a new, admittedly douchey on first impressions, boyfriend for Lois.

And that’s okay. It’s okay to refresh the Lois and Clark relationship every now and then because it offers new creative teams (and okay, George Perez was also a Superman writer early on in the post-Man of Steel years) the opportunity to tell stories with a single Lois and Clark, and also because you know they’ll get together in the end.

The Lois/Clark relationship is, at this point, virtually pre-destined. Everyone who’s seen an adaptation of Superman in the past sixty years, or read a Superman comic, or has even a passing familiarity with the characters, knows that Lois and Clark will, at some point, end up together. It’s so strong that it will last until the 853rd century.

But, while the characters are single, I’m okay with them dating other people. Wonder Woman, Jose Delgado, Cat Grant, Lori Lemaris, Jonathan Carroll, whoever. I don’t much care, because the relationships that characters have move stories forward and eventually – spoilers – Lois and Clark end up together. Because they always do, and they always will.

Even when he has a mullet.

I mean, if she can get past that hair, you think a little continuity is going to stop her?

The low-selling Heroes for Hire book is undergoing a name change and a slight shift in focus for six issues as Misty Knight pulls together a team of bad guys for a mission.

My first thought?

“That’s just like the time Thanos formed his own Secret Defenders”

If, you know, Misty was a villain. Which she’s not. Oh, shut up, you know what I mean.

According to Marvel’s panel yesterday, Avengers Academy will be relocating to the old West Coast Avengers compound (although for some reason I thought that had been foreclosed on towards the end of that run; maybe it was just deemed unsafe due to being trashed all the time by Goliaths.

More interesting than the relocation (although I do hope the compound still has those big Doc Ock-like tentacles underneath the grounds for security) is the fact that the team will open its doors to other young heroes of the MU – such as, potentially, the Runaways – and that Julie Power is one of the first up.

I love Power Pack; the team of kids has a special place in my heart and was one of the best book Marvel put out in the 80s, a hidden gem. I like that Alex Power graduated to the New Warriors (the best book Marvel put out in the 90s) for a while, and that he now shows up in FF (definitely not one of the best books Marvel puts out right now) as part of the Future Foundation kids, even if he appears to have been deaged a bit.

Julie Power, though – Julie was awesome. She was always the smart one, the level-headed one with an inner strength. The heart of the team. She’s also apparently gay or bi, judging from a comment on the panel yesterday, which is news to me.

Any way, I’m glad to see Julie back (even if she does now appear older than Alex) – although it looks like the Avengers Academy team is short Reptil, Veil and Striker, unless this is half of a two-part cover. It looks like someone else will be joining – someone who looks a little like White Tiger, and a little like Black Panther; a White Panther?

Anyway, can we now just rebrand as the West Coast Avengers? Please?

I mean, really boring.

I know that Avengers is still shooting, and Amazing Spider-Man will still be in post, but come on – you can do better than a boring old logo or symbol tease, right?

One panel that I would have gone to if I’d actually gone to Comic-Con would be the Ringer one, today.

The new show starring Sarah Michelle Gellar as twins (stop it) marks her return to TV after some indy movies and a few mainstream ones that never quite hit. The premise seems pretty promising – loser sister moves in with rich sister when she’s in trouble with the law, only to have rich sister die and loser sister take over her life, but then rich sister isn’t really dead she’s just eeeeevil. Or something.

Sure, it sounds hokey and I’m not sure how they can sustain it for more than a season, but then I say that about a lot of shows – and this has a few things going for it; first there’s Gellar herself, who I’m a fan of. Second, there’s supporting turns from Nestor Carbonell (he of the ridiculously dark eyelashes from Lost) and Ioan Gruffud (who’s actually very good when he isn’t Mr Fantastic).

It also has the benefit of being on The CW, which means that the ratings don’t have to be as high to stay on the air. So yes, I’d check out the Ringer panel if I was at Comic-Con.

Which I’m not.

…web…see what I did there?

Not entirely sold on this in spite of liking everyone in the cast a lot (except Sally Field; I can’t stand Sally Field). I seem to remember reading a review where the origin was showed only in flashbacks, but this looks to be incorporating it wholesale into the plot of the film. I do, however, like the inclusion of Richard and Mary Parker. Now if only Sony hadn’t made this, and we could have them going off to meet Samuel L Jackson…

And for a movie trailer, the POV stuff makes it look like a pretty good video game.

Not entirely sure if that’s a compliment or not…

…and that’s about it really. The Walking Dead has a banner at Comic-Con and it looks like this:

Click it to embiggen.

Better late than never. I know a lot of people are off to San Diego this week but that doesn’t mean that we mere mortals aren’t able to pick up some comics too…

DC Comics Presents The Metal Men #1 – I think this mainly reprints the Metal Men backups that ran in the recent Doom Patrol series, but I could be wrong. May be worth a look as I heard good things.

DC Retroactive: Batman The ’70s , The Flash The ’70s , Wonder Woman The ’70s – All #1 (One Shot) – I really like the idea of these, but I had more affinity for the 80s and 90s at DC. Also, I’ll probably just pick up the inevitable trade – or I could always raid the dollar bins at the next con.

Flashpoint minis: Deadman And The Flying Graysons #2 (Of 3), Legion Of Doom #2, The Outsider #2 (Of 3), Wonder Woman And The Furies – All #2 (Of 3) – WW aside, these feel like they need to stand on their own as they do very little other than flesh out the Flashpoint world. Outsider has an interesting new character that I’m not altogether sure of, but the first issue was strong enough (aw, Mr and Mrs Terrific) to warrant a second; Legion of Doom feels like we’ve been there before, but the final page of an ingenious break-in to prison by a character I haven’t seen in a while hooked me, and Deadman and Dick (okay, but that’s what it should be called) not only fleshes out Europe after the Atlantean attack but is also a pretty enjoyable book in its own right (also, the covers are beautiful). Wonder Woman was also good last issue, and I’m enjoying the WW/Aquaman dynamic in the new world. All in all, surprisingly good stuff.

Supergirl #66 – With all the alien-ness of the new Superfamily, I’m going to miss the wide-eyed teen take on the girl of steel for a while. It’s been fun – and this story, with her going undercover at college shows the potential in the book. Ah well.

Daredevil #1 – I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t excited by the prospect of a more swashbuckling DD than we’ve seen in the past decade or so – I was one (possibly the only one) who really enjoyed Karl Kesel and Joe Kelly’s runs as writers on the character the last time this was tried back in the mid-90s. Mark Waid and his two art teams would seem to be the perfect fit, too. That said…although I’ll pick this up, I may end up moving to trades quickly, simply because I seem to do that with almost all Marvels these days.

Incredible Hulks Planet Savage TP – I’ve been a massive fan of Greg Pak’s run on the green giant, but I switched to trades a few arcs back. This has been one I’ve been looking forward to for a while; I’ve grown attached to Skaar, and the Savage Land is probably my favorite non-NY locale in the Marvel Universe, and one the Hulk always seemed well-suited for.

Thor Black Galaxy Saga TP – If there’s one thing the DeFalco/Frenz team did on Thor in the late 80s/early 90s (a team that I’m a big fan of), it’s pay homage to the masters. This Thor arc – that originally ran as a biweekly summer story back in the summer of 1990 – has Thor (bonded with Eric Masterson, future Thunderstrike) on a space adventure with Hercules, running into the likes of the High Evolutionary and the Celestials. It wouldn’t feel out of place in the 60s; that said…your mileage may vary.

Thunderbolts Violent Rejection TP – I wasn’t 100% on Jeff Parker’s first Thunderbolts trade, but I’m a big enough fan of his writing that I’ll give him another shot. I do kind of miss the classic T-Bolts though; I know that some of the cast is here, but it’s not the same. Okay: old man whine over.

And the pick of the week…

Turf HC – I harped on and on about this when it was being released, but the series took so long to complete that it drained a lot of readers goodwill. Well, don’t miss this if you can spend some money on it – Jonathon Ross and Tommy Lee Edwards have mashed up gangsters, vampires and aliens in prohibition New York in a story that works on a lot of levels. I’m impressed by Ross’ debut – dialog is sharp, characters are real (well, as real as you can get for a gangster bonded with an alien, and a Vampire who wants to live in peace) the plot rolls along with a minimum of slow points, and the strands of story really come together. As for Edwards – I’ve never been a huge fan of his, if only because the books I’ve seen him on never felt they played to his strengths, but his work here is nothing short of fantastic; he really captures the dirtiness and desperation needed here. Five stars. If I gave stars.