Director Sam Raimi was constrained by the comic books with his three Spider-Man movies, but Kevin Fiege and Marvel Studios let him unleash everything for his latest superhero movie, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. The result is fantastic, the most ambitious crossover mash-up and blend of comic book characters to hit the screen since X-Men: Days of Future Past. Loki writer Michael Waldron was the right choice to create this seamless masterpiece of twisty storytelling, and adding music by Batman 1989’s Danny Elfman is the icing on a (dark, funny, horror-themed) cake.
Finally, the multitudes get to witness the madness of the multiverse for themselves–the film arrived this week on Disney+. Is it the best Marvel Studios ensemble movie yet? (spoilers ahead)
You know her as the red-haired she-devil with the sword. And they are the green-skinned invaders from the Topps trading cards. And Mars. Those vile little nasties of Mars Attacks are returning to Earth, but this time they have no chance against one of the fiercest heroines in the planet’s history, Red Sonja. Or do they? Sci-fi meets fantasy as Robert E. Howard’s savage barbarian queen pulls out all the stops to protect her world against the superior technology of science fiction’s most loathsome helmeted ghouls in Mars Attacks Red Sonja, coming this month from Dynamite. Get ready to pull out your wallet for a stack of variant covers.
If you enjoy Batman and especially if you read Batmancomics, there’s one series you should be reading right now. And if you’re a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles fan, there’s one event you can’t miss this year. It’s Crisis in a Half Shell, the third crossover/team-up series of writer James Tynion IV and artist Freddie Williams II. We previewed the series here at borg back in April. It’s the most fun extension–after a lot of creators have tried–to the actual Crisis on Infinite Earths, with a Batman-centric tale including a host of Bat-villains. Two issues into the series with a third issue arriving at comic book stores today, Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III also has that classic space fantasy look from its multiverse plot, stirred by ultimate villain Krang.
Fans of original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles creator Kevin Eastman should take note–Tynion and Williams have cleverly tied original Eastman artwork created for this series into the story. It works seamlessly and has a great Outer Limits/Twilight Zone impact. As we expected from seeing the first images of the new character concept drawings of Batman, the Turtles, and the villains back in April, this series is both classic Batman and classic Turtles. Fans of either–and fans of both–franchises will be impressed with every inch of each page, including Jeremy Colwell‘s coloring that makes for a perfect partnership with Williams’ vibrant, dynamic, wall-to-wall action layouts and painterly style. And Tom Napolitano‘s lettering takes different turns to emphasize voices, with a great, evocating type especially for this new world’s Joker counterpart.
Today’s new cover art by Williams and Colwell just can’t be beat. It’s flat out one of the year’s best covers. Take a look at this big preview of Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III, Issue #3/Part 3 of the Crisis in a Half Shell story, plus previews of the cover art to Issues #4 and #5, courtesy of DC Comics and IDW Publishing:
Last year Dynamite brought Charlie’s Angels back from the 1980s for some new adventures, joining other classic TV series comic adaptations including Batman ’66, Wonder Woman ’77, The Six Million Dollar Man, and The Bionic Woman. Dynamite has combined a few classic TV shows already, including a story with Wonder Woman ’77 and The Bionic Womantaking down some fembots. This year the publisher is putting together two more dream team-ups with The Bionic Woman joining Charlie’s Angels on a mission in Charlie’s Angels/The Bionic Woman. When Bosley hands Kelly Garrett, Kris Munroe, and Julie Rogers their next assignment from Charlie, they encounter one of our favorite classic borg characters, the bionic-powered Jaime Sommers. Following the events of the television series into the 1980s, we catch up with a privatized Office of Scientific Investigation, and it’s up to these four women to make sure the OSI technology doesn’t get into the wrong hands for military applications.
It’s a great move using the latter trio from Charlie’s Angels for the new series. Artist Cat Skaggs′ rendering of Tanya Roberts as Julie on her cover variant to Issue #1 is perfect, and she also provides a great portrait of Lindsay Wagner as Jaime for the cover of Issue #2. Other covers were drawn by Ron Lesser and Jim Mahfood, whose Issue #2 features a gorgeous, stylized, throwback design.
Cameron DeOrdio(Josie and the Pussycats) steps in to write this series, and in the first issue she lays the groundwork for a compelling spy thriller. Artist Soo Lee(Strange Attractors) brings in her unique style to give the series an authentic early 1980s vibe. Her artwork has elements of manga and anime blended with Matt Kindt, but best of all the book looks as if it could have been drawn in 1982. Color work is by Addison Duke, with letters by Crank!
Here are some preview images and covers for the first two issues, courtesy of Dynamite:
The Silent Seven–a mysterious crime organization from the 1920s-30s, from the time of Miss Fury and… The Shadow? Batman and Robin encounter Professor Pyg and his transforming “Dollotron” masks as the villain crashes a New Year’s Eve party. This is the Robin named Damian, Bruce Wayne’s son, a 13-year-old raised by assassins. Batman must forge a relationship with his son as The Shadow appears out of the past and looking for answers.
DC Comics and Dynamite Comics have partnered for a blend of the past and the present as Batman and The Shadow collide in a new crossover series, arriving at comic book shops today with The Shadow/Batman Issue #1. The Shadow: The World’s Greatest Mystery. The Batman: The World’s Greatest Detective. What if they encounter The World’s Greatest Evil? As they protect New York, and ancient evil surfaces. Can they work together to save their city?
Writer Steve Orlando (Batman/The Shadow, Justice League of America), artist by Giovanni Timpano (The Shadow, Transformers), and colorist Flavio Dispenza (Eclipse), come together to craft an action-filled noir story and a crossover of worlds and characters forged in comics’ Golden Age. DC Comics’ key hero and Dynamite’s classic pulp character are an obvious team-up opportunity.
Check out a preview of Batman/The Shadow, Issue #1, below courtesy of the publishers, as well as a look at another giant release of variant covers–a showcase of comic art talent–from Issues #1 through #3:
Is a Crisis on Infinite Earths adaptation on its way at last? Never before have all the pieces been laid out so well to adapt such a major comic book storyline. We have key player Barry Allen from The Flash, which spun-out of the Arrow series, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow have enough timey-wimey time travel to be able to see, view, and undo anything, and then the CW pulled over Supergirl from ABC this year and brought Superman with her. So the building blocks are ready. Is CW and DC Entertainment willing and able? Next week we’re going to see a step in the right direction with a mega-superhero week.
Monday, the CW begins a four-night crossover event with its four DC Comics-inspired series–and nothing screams comic books louder than a good crossover and major league team-up. The villains are a bit obscure–the Dominators–aliens Supergirl will encounter Monday night. The Dominators first appeared in the 1960s in Adventure Comics with a brief reprise in a mini-series called Invasion in 1989, and that’s the take-off point for the villains in next week’s event.
So it’s “Heroes vs. Aliens,” comic books coming to life in perhaps the biggest character showdown ever, actors donning Academy Award-winning costumer Colleen Atwood’s pantheon of more than 17 hero supersuits (Green Arrow, The Flash, Diggle/Green Arrow 2, Supergirl, Superman, Black Canary, Vixen, The Atom, White Canary, Steel, Wally West, two Firestorms, Speedy, Death Stroke, Martian Manhunter, Heat Wave, and more). We haven’t seen this many superheroes on TV since the animated Super Friends.
In the middle of the week, Arrow will see its landmark 100th episode Wednesday night. Who would have thought any superhero series would survive this long? Take a look at these previews for crossover week:
Are you a fan of Mattel’s Masters of the Universe and ThunderCats from the 1980s? Were they a part of your afternoon cartoon line-up? Did you pit your action figures of He-Man and Lion-O, in an epic battle against Skeletor and Mumm-Ra on your parents’ living room floor? If so, a new series from DC Comics and Mattel may be your next favorite comic book.
An outgrowth of the Big Jim action figures and toy line, Masters of the Universe toys first appeared in 1981. Four years later we met the ThunderCats in a Marvel Comics series and animated television series. Flash forward thirty years and Mattel’s Rob David and Lloyd Goldfine have written a limited series bringing together the two worlds with interior artwork and covers supplied by Freddie E. Williams II. The artist had a big year with another big crossover, his Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series, a huge hit for fans of both franchises and for DC Comics.
Advance publicity for the series gives us a look at what’s to come: In his eternal desire to destroy the mighty ThunderCats, the evil Mumm-Ra quests for a weapon that can rival the legendary Sword of Omens: He-Man’s Sword of Power! But his dimension-spanning scheme launches a cataclysmic crisis that will, for the first time ever, unite Lion-O, Cheetara, Tygra, Panthro, WilyKit and WilyKat with He-Man, Battlecat, Teela, Man-At-Arms and the rest of the Masters of the Universe.
This week the six-issue series begins. We have a preview of the series below for borg.com readers.
Nothing in the past five years has been more fun as far as comic book events are concerned than Dynamite Comics’ ever-growing crossovers incorporating their huge roster of licensed characters. The New 52 and Convergence events from DC Comics and the Secret Wars event from Marvel Comics are so much more of the same–pulling in dozens of titles and character crossovers over the course of several months. All of these publisher events attempt to reinvigorate their brands–to bring more people in to try out the regular monthly series featuring their stock of characters, whether you’re looking at the Avengers or the X-Men or the Justice League. Dynamite’s events also pull from their stock of characters, yet the publisher has managed to unleash something very new in the way these characters come together.
Dynamite’s Masks limited series introduced a pantheon of superheroes from the literary past: Green Hornet and Kato, The Shadow, Miss Fury, Spider, The Lone Ranger, Zorro, the Green Lama, Black Terror and The Black Bat (a second limited monthly follow-on series, Masks 2, is underway now). Then Bill Willingham expanded and amped up the Dynamite characters with his Legenderry steampunk adventures. Another limited series, this one introduced the Six Thousand Dollar Man, teaming up with a parallel world, steampunk era Red Sonja, Zorro, Flash Gordon, Green Hornet, the Phantom, and more. It now has its own expanded event series of sorts with Legenderry universe monthly series featuring each of Vampirella, Red Sonja, and Green Hornet.
But Dynamite’s best crossover event series may have just arrived with writer Gail Simone and artist Sergio Davila’s new Swords of Sorrow. A dark prince has enlisted an arsenal of women warriors to defend his interests, including the well-known red, horned villainess Purgatori. But a mysterious and beautiful otherworld woman called the Traveller has assigned various swords to her own select group of women warriors via the Courier, across time and space–from Everywhere and Everywhen to Nowhen–to defend worlds menaced by this prince. Her heroines include Red Sonja, Vampirella, Irene Adler, Dejah Thoris, Jennifer Blood, Jane Porter, Lady Zorro, Milan Kato, Masquerade, Black Sparrow, Miss Fury, Pantha, Lady Rawhide, and Jana the Jungle Girl.
Leading a select team of women writers in nine Swords of Sorrow tie-in series and one-shots, Gail Simone has her challenges here, required to pull together more than a dozen main characters quickly, explaining enough to let us know who they are for those unfamiliar with them all, and set up enough world-building to let us understand how they all fit together. This may be the best we’ve read of any series from Simone so far, as Issue #1 of the six backbone issues gives us all we need to get excited to see what comes next. Sergio Davila’s artwork is as detailed and interesting as his work on Legenderry, sure to keep us interested to come back for more each month. Check out the full checklist of the crossover series below.
