Tag Archive: Marvel Comics


Preview–C-3PO gets his own monthly series from Marvel

Filed under: Comics & Books, Fantasy Realms, Movies, Sci-Fi Café — Leave a comment
February 26, 2016

C-3PO banner

Anthony Daniels’ C-3PO, the Star Wars human-cyborg relations protocol droid, was the comic relief of the original Star Wars trilogy.  On re-watching classic Star Wars it is surprising how many laugh-out-loud scenes he has.  C-3PO has appeared in all seven Star Wars films, as a rusty, corroded android, sometimes all shiny gold and spruced-up, and in the prequels without any gold plating at all.

In Star Wars: The Force Awakens he appears with a red right arm until the end of the film when his golden arm returns.  So why the red arm?  Was he some kind of undercover spy for the Resistance, sporting the red of Captain Phasma and the latest fleet of TIE Fighters?  We will find out the story behind his red arm in a new Marvel Comics series beginning next month, with Star Wars Special: C-3PO, Issue #1.

Writer James Robinson and artist Tony Harris are teaming up for the first time in more than 20 years to create the new monthly series.  Keep an eye out for seven covers: a regular cover by Tony Harris, a red arm spotlight cover by Harris, an action figure variant cover by John Tyler Christopher, variants by Reilly Brown and Todd Nauck, a movie photo cover and a blank cover.

3PO 1    Star_Wars_Special_C-3PO_Teaser

Check out these preview pages of Tony Harris’s artwork from Star Wars Special: C-3PO, Issue #1:

Continue reading →

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
Read More & Comment

New Marvel “Old Man Logan” series strikes all the right chords

Filed under: Comics & Books, Superheroes — Leave a comment
February 11, 2016

Old Man Logan 2016 1

Now in its second issue, Old Man Logan, Marvel’s newest X-Men monthly, tells a familiar story told previously by Mark Millar and Brian Bendis.  But it’s a visually compelling jump-on point to a future world story of one of the Marvel universe’s most popular superheroes.  Mark Millar and Steve McNiven’s Wolverine: Old Man Logan first told the story of a disturbing dystopian Marvel future where the villains have won and Wolverine must take on the gang that is the last legacy of Bruce Banner’s Hulk.

Last year’s Secret Wars, written by Brian Bendis, re-introduced Logan aka Wolverine as an old man 50 years in the future.  On the heels of the success of the now Academy Award-nominated, big screen return of the similar post-apocalypse Mad Max: Fury Road, there’s little doubt the story will be appealing to modern readers.  Fans of Hugh Jackman’s take on Logan will also hear the same voice in this grizzeled and even more put-upon version of the character.

Old Man Logan 2 cover art 2016

In Old Man Logan Issues #1 and #2, we learn Logan’s past is the same past we’ve seen before–overrun by villains and a world without Wolverine to protect it, Logan is a farmer with a wife and kids, whose life is destroyed when the Hulk Gang kills his family.  But the twist is Logan finds himself back in future’s past, able to change the timeline and destroy all of those who one day will ruin his life.  This Logan is an Old West wanderer and drifter, an update to Clint Eastwood’s Man with No Name and Unforgiven.

Continue reading →

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Read More & Comment

Cover gallery–Micronauts to return from the Microverse this Spring

Filed under: Comics & Books, Retro Fix, Superheroes — Leave a comment
January 24, 2016

mic a    mic c

Derived from a licensed Japanese line of toys called the Micromen, which themselves were small-sized versions of a 12-inch action figure called Henshin Cyborg, Micronauts toys took America by storm in the late 1970s.  A Microverse of humanoids, borgs, and robotoids, a civilization of 3.75-inch retro-Kenner sized action figures, ships, and accessories from the Mego toy company before there were Kenner action figures, were loved by a generation of kids.  That is, before Kenner drove Mego out of the market.

But not before Micronauts became two classic Marvel comic book series.  Featuring stories by Bill Mantlo and art by Michael Golden, over time the series would include art by the likes of plenty of comic book greats: Howard Chaykin, Steve Ditko, Rich Buckler, Pat Broderick, Val Mayerik, Keith Giffen, Greg LaRocque, Gil Kane, Luke McDonnell, Mike Vosburg, Jackson Butch Guice and Kelley Jones.  Micronauts and their characters would be woven into the rest of the Marvel Universe in other series, interacting with Star-Lord from Guardians of the Galaxy, the Wasp, Doctor Doom and the Fantastic Four, Nightcrawler, Alpha Flight, Cable, the X-Men, and Thanos.  As recently as last year its Microverse concept was included in the screenplay for the Ant-Man movie, renamed the Quantum Realm for the final cut of the film.

mic e    mic f

Uncanny X-Men writer Cullen Bunn will be scripting the series with artwork by David Baldeón.  Check out six covers offered for issue #1 (above and below) drawn by Baldéon, J.H. Williams III, Butch Guice, Gabriel Rodriguez, and Michael Golden.  The sixth cover features the classic action figure of Baron Karza.  If you think he looks like a copy of Darth Vader, think again.  Karza was created before Star Wars was released.

Continue reading →

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Read More & Comment

Review–Stunning new book reprints original Chaykin artwork from 1970s Star Wars comics

Filed under: Backstage Pass, Comics & Books, Con Culture, Fantasy Realms, Movies, Retro Fix, Sci-Fi Café — Leave a comment
January 5, 2016

Artifact Edition IDW Star Wars Chaykin Goodwin

Review by C.J. Bunce

IDW’s latest Artifact Edition has so much going for it it’s difficult to know where to begin.  For a lifelong fan of Marvel Comics’ original comic book adaptation of the original Star Wars as well as the continuing comic book adventures that followed, for someone whose first comic book was Star Wars Issue #8, and for someone who has discussed the series at length at multiple comic conventions with artist Howard Chaykin, the new Star Wars Artifact Edition is the next best thing to owning the original artwork.  Call it a treasure trove.

The Star Wars Artifact Edition is a deluxe, over-sized boxed hardcover that collects actual 12 inch X 17 inch original comic book artwork scanned in full color to faithfully create the feel of holding the original artwork in your hands.  This is the original Howard Chaykin pencil work inked by others that was then lettered and sent off for printing and the addition of color.  So it contains margin notes, tape residue, eraser marks, rub-on cross-hatch shading, some pencil-colored pages, and publisher identification information.  If you collect original comic book art, this will all be familiar to you and if you don’t, you’re about to enter a different world of what comic books are about.

Star Wars 5 cover art Hoberg    Michael Golden Star Wars 38

As far as content, you could hardly cherry pick a better selection of pages to represent Chaykin’s Star Wars work, which is amazing considering missing pages were likely not included because they could not be located.  Chaykin has said that he sold many of his original pages at a relatively low price in the years before auction prices skyrocketed for original comic book artwork.  So unfortunately Chaykin didn’t get to realize the full return his work would one day be valued at in the private market.  In addition to covers and pages from Issues 1-10, Issue 16 featuring borg.com Hall of Famer “The Hunter” is included, as well as the Michael Golden special Issue 38–for years considered one of the prized issues of Marvel Comics’ initial Star Wars run.

Continue reading →

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Read More & Comment

borg.com Best of Movies, TV, and Print 2015

Filed under: Backstage Pass, Comics & Books, Con Culture, Fantasy Realms, Movies, Retro Fix, Sci-Fi Café, Superheroes, TV — Leave a comment
December 28, 2015

Arnold Terminator Genisys

Well it’s been one long year, with plenty to do and see, plenty of good and not-so-good to read and watch, and as with last year we’re certain we reviewed more content this year than ever before.  This year was a big year for borgs in TV and film, so we had some difficult decisions to make.  All year long we sifted through all that Hollywood had to offer and honed in on the genre TV, films, comics, and other books we thought were worth examining.  We went back and looked at it all and pulled together our picks for our annual Best of the Best list.

Today we reveal the entire list–the best genre content of 2015–with our top categories Best Sci-Fi Fix, Best Fantasy Fix, Best Superhero Fix, Best Animated Fix,  and Best Borg selected regardless of medium.  A dozen properties garnered multiple mentions.

We hope you agree with many of these great creations of the entertainment industries, and wish everyone a great 2016!

Killjoys

Best Sci-Fi Fix – Killjoys (Syfy).  Surprised?  Killjoys pulled together great worldbuilding, characters and actors in a year of a dozen new sci-fi shows to provide us the closest thing to the next Firefly we’ve seen in a long time.

Galavant

Best Fantasy Fix – Galavant (ABC); Runner-up The Librarians (TNT).  It aired early in 2015 but nothing surpassed Galavant’s medieval high adventure and all-out Princess Bride-style fun.

the-cw-arrow-flash-crossover

Best Superhero Fix – The Flash (CW).  Of all the Marvel movies and TV series from Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. to Agent Carter and from Arrow to Supergirl, nothing had us coming back for more each week like the superhero world in The Flash.

Rebels season 2

Best Animated Fix – Star Wars Rebels (DisneyXD).  Compare it to Star Wars: The Force Awakens and see if you think this animated Star Wars galaxy had an even better story and characterization, along with the return of its own group of original trilogy actors, compelling visuals and rousing music.

Terminator Genisys image

Best Borg – Pops (Arnold Schwarzenegger) from Terminator Genisys (Paramount).  Schwarzenegger created yet another borg that could stand up against his prior successful characters from the series.  A cool, moving character in a big year for borgs on screen!

Ava from Ex Machina - borg

Best Borg Movie –  Ex Machina (DNA Films).  Incredible storytelling and a small cast of talented actors provided a classic science fiction story and Oscar-worthy film about our favorite subject.

Humans series

Best Borg TV Series – Humans (AMC).  On television the most in-depth look at life as a borg and among borgs has never been portrayed more dramatically than on this year’s surprise sci-fi hit series from AMC.

Star-Wars-Force-Awakens-Rey-Finn-BB8-running

Best Kickass Genre Movie Heroine – Rey (Daisy Ridley), Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Disney); Honorable Mentions: Sarah Connor (Emilia Clarke), Terminator Genisys (Paramount); Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron), Mad Max: Fury Road (Village Roadshow)

Liv Moore

Best Kickass Genre TV Heroine – Liv Moore (Rose McIver), iZombie (CW); Honorable Mentions: Dutch (Hannah John-Kamen), Killjoys (Syfy); Helena (Tatiana Maslany), Orphan Black (BBC)

Want to know who we picked for best villain and best comic books of the year?  Take a look after the cut…

Continue reading →

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Read More & Comment

Will new Scarlet Witch series be Marvel’s next Hawkeye?

Filed under: Comics & Books, Superheroes — Leave a comment
December 23, 2015

SCARLET-WITCH-#1

Last week saw the release of the first issue of Marvel Comics’ latest monthly Scarlet Witch.  The series is written by James Robinson with artwork by Vanesa Del Rey with colors by Jordie Bellaire.  Award winning Hawkeye cover artist David Aja provides the cover to the first issue, plus variant covers are available from Kevin Wada, Bill Sienkiewicz, Erica Henderson, Tom Raney, and Chris Sotomayor.  It’s not only David Aja’s cover, but Robinson’s well-paced introduction and Del Rey and Bellaire’s visuals that remind us of Matt Fraction and Aja’s successful Hawkeye series, another series about a secondary character and a life outside the scope of saving the world with the Avengers.

The new Scarlet Witch has a ghostly quality, and a style similar to DC Comics’s initial New 52 stories of Batwoman from J.H. Williams III and W. Haden Blackman.  It’s introspective look at a superheroine with a past also echoes Nathan Edmondson and Phil Noto’s brilliant Black Widow series.

Scarlet Witch interior page

But this is a distinctly different story about a much different character.  She is not a young heroine.  She is a witch who speaks aloud with the ghost of Agatha, a dead woman she may or may not have killed in her past.  Scarlet Witch–Wanda Maximoff–is a detective of sorts in the same way as Liv Moore uses her supernatural skills to solve crimes in iZombie.

Continue reading →

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Read More & Comment

First look–Marvel’s Avengers return next summer in “Civil War”

Filed under: Comics & Books, Movies, Superheroes — Leave a comment
November 29, 2015

avengers-civil-war-official-poster

The Avengers and cast from Avengers 2: Age of Ultron are returning to theaters next summer for the next installment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe in Captain America: Civil War.

Check out this trailer for Captain America: Civil War:

Captain America: Civil War hits theaters May 6, 2016.

C.J. Bunce
Editor
borg.com

Tags: , , , ,
Comment

First look–Netflix releases trailer for Marvel’s Jessica Jones series

Filed under: Comics & Books, Superheroes, TV — Leave a comment
October 24, 2015

Jessica Jones Krysten Ritter

Netflix just released the first full-length trailer for its new series, Marvel’s Jessica Jones, based on one of the more obscure Marvel Comics characters–and it looks pretty grim.  Veronica Mars’s Krysten Ritter has the title role, and so far this looks like a knock-off except this heroine detective has superpowers.  Several other genre actors in supporting cast roles co-star in the series, including Doctor Who’s David Tennant (Kilgrave), The Matrix’s Carrie-Anne Moss (Harper), Men in Black 3’s Mike Colter (Luke Cage), Transformers’ Rachael Taylor (Trish Walker), and True Detective’s Erin Moriarty (Hope).

The Netflix original series is the second of four Marvel series, Marvel’s Daredevil launched earlier this year, plus Marvel’s Luke Cage and Marvel’s Iron Fist are on the way, leading up to Marvel’s The Defenders, all to be released only on Netflix.  Behind Marvel’s Jessica Jones are creators of the Twilight movies, Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and Elementary.

David Tennant in Jessica Jones

Here is the first full-length trailer for Marvel’s Jessica Jones, showing that despite the teaser released earlier, there’s apparently not a lot of humor in the series:

Continue reading →

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
Read More & Comment

First look–Two teasers for Marvel’s Jessica Jones

Filed under: Comics & Books, Superheroes, TV — Leave a comment
September 29, 2015

Jessica Jones Krysten Ritter

The first teaser has been released for the new Netflix series, Marvel’s Jessica Jones, based on one of the more obscure Marvel Comics characters.  That’s right, in the Renaissance of superhero shows, Jessica Jones beat Wonder Woman to get her own television series.  Veronica Mars’s Krysten Ritter has the title role.  Alone, that makes it worth giving the series a try, but several other genre actors in supporting cast roles will give us even more to look forward to.  This includes Doctor Who’s David Tennant (Kilgrave), The Matrix’s Carrie-Anne Moss (Harper), Men in Black 3’s Mike Colter (Luke Cage), Transformers’ Rachael Taylor (Trish Walker), and True Detective’s Erin Moriarty (Hope).

The Netflix original series is the second of four Marvel series, Marvel’s Daredevil launched earlier this year, plus Marvel’s Luke Cage and Marvel’s Iron Fist are on the way, leading up to Marvel’s The Defenders, all to be released only on Netflix.  Behind Marvel’s Jessica Jones are creators of the Twilight movies, Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and Elementary.

David Tennant in Jessica Jones

Here are two teaser trailers for Marvel’s Jessica Jones, one a mood piece and the other a brief hint at the nature of humor in the series:

Continue reading →

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Read More & Comment

New Chewbacca comic book series to feature art of Phil Noto

Filed under: Comics & Books, Fantasy Realms, Movies, Sci-Fi Café — Leave a comment
September 28, 2015

Chewbacca 1 cover Phil Noto

If the first images out of the gate are any indication, Star Wars fans are in for a real treat.  Black Widow artist Phil Noto will be illustrating interior and cover work on a new limited series featuring Chewbacca in Marvel Comic’s Star Wars: Chewbacca.  He’s really captured the look and feel of our favorite, furry rogue turned Rebel.

Deadpool and Uncanny Avengers writer Gerry Duggan will serve as writer of the new spin-off series.  In Issue #1, after the Battle of Yavin, Chewie crashes a ship on loan from the Rebellion, and meets up with a young woman who aims to take on the Empire.

Chewbacca interiors  Chewie and friend

The series is slated for five issues.  Check out these superb future covers:

Continue reading →

Tags: , , , ,
Read More & Comment
%d bloggers like this: