Merry Morlocks! Memorable Comic Book Christmases on TV!
Just like various “very special episodes”, can’t miss events and other TV specials, a Christmas episode of beloved television shows was, for a long time, a staple of the fall TV schedule, and the episode was sometimes repeated year after year during the show’s run. Comic book related shows, of the animated and live action sort, are certainly not exempt from this, and over the years there have been a mix of the funny, effective, strange and touching episodes related to the holiday season. Listed below are a few of the more memorable, for naughty and nice reasons. Read more
Comic Book Previews for October 7th, 2009
Before you punch your ticket to Baltimore, Maryland for this weekend’s Baltimore Comic-Con, be sure to stock up on plenty of reading material for your plane, train or automobile travel! You certainly won’t lack for pages and pages of action this week, and DC kicks things off with an explosion of Bat-titles! Kicking this off is the first issue of new limited series Batman: Unseen, which promises us a new supervillain to add to Batman’s formidable rogues’ gallery. Batman Annual #27 and Batman and Robin #5 also drop into stores this Wednesday, and fans should look for a new printing of the landmark graphic novel Batman: The Killing Joke, the book that redefined former Batgirl Barbara Gordon’s role in the DCU. Read more
Comic Book Previews for September 2nd, 2009
Before you hit the beach, the mountains or some other locale for the Labor Day holiday, don’t forget to swing by your local comic book shop and pick up this week’s new releases! Image Comics continues to serve up plenty for fans of their runaway hit series Chew. Issue four bows this week, along with reprints of the first three issues! This is your chance to catch up on the adventures of Detective Tony Chu all in one week! Pete Wentz, frontman for the band Fall Out Boy, sees his co-creation debut this week with the first issue of Fall Out Toy Works, the first in a five issue limited series! Mice Templar: Destiny #3 also lands in stores this week, giving fans of Image even more to be excited about! Read more
Comic Book Releases for August 5th, 2009
August is here! This first week of our eighth month has lots of comic book action and goodness, so hold on, here we go!
Marvel releases several big issues this week, with Captain America: Reborn #2 continuing the surprising events and twists from Captain America #600 and Reborn #1. Ultimatum’s finale sees the release of two one shots, wrapping up the stories of the Ultimate X-Men and Ultimate Fantastic Four in two separate Requiems. Black Panther kicks off it’s second arc with issue seven, and expect an interesting run on the limited series Ghost Rider: Heavens Fire, which starts this week as well. Luke Cage is given an interesting solo story in the creative Luke Cage Noir #1, which sees the hero back home in the Prohibition era! Read more
Barroom Brawlers: Seven Comic Book Tough Guys (and Gals) We’d Want in a Fight
While we here at comicbook.com are generally a peaceful, live and let live kind of lot, we also enjoy a good drink now and then! Saying that, even we recognize the need now and then to have people around who, if the occasion ever called for it, would definitely be the ones who we would want to have our back if a barroom brawl were to ensue. Here are some characters that could certainly fill that role, and a few doorframes. Read more
A Satisfied Feeling: Good Endings To Comic Book Shows
The passing of a TV show can elicit similar reactions to the death of a beloved relative. For some there is anger: “They cancelled WHAT? I’ll kill those %*@&”, denial: “This has to be some rumor, what blog did you read?” bargaining: “If you just read these 50,000 fan letters, oh powerful producers, I’ll watch it on the network and not YouTube”, and variations with all the classic stages of grief. When the final episode airs, mourners may wear attire appropriate for the occasion and the deceased, it’s usually a big event with everyone staring ahead at a box, and sometimes food and drink can add a comfort.
After the final credits roll, there can be a feeling of peace and fond memories of DVD viewings to come, but only if the deceased was given a proper farewell. If it was a careless burial by the TV network, the fans will wring their hands and forever wear black, cursing the day the show was taken. Comic book fans have experienced both sides of this cruel coin, but take comfort friends. Many times, comic book TV shows suffer the dreaded “unresolved finale”, and therefore, clear closure is lost. Listed below are five comic book TV shows that got a proper good-bye on their trip to TV hereafter.
Why I Quit Buffy: A Fan’s Lament
I sometimes wonder if Joss Whedon thought, in this heart of hearts, that we would still be talking about Buffy the Vampire Slayer 11 years after its television debut. The 1992 film obviously brought the character into being, but if that were the only incarnation of Ms. Summer we had ever met, we would have another mediocre cult movie to watch when the mood struck us and nothing else.
Discovering Buffy and her Scooby pals mid-way through its second season, I was hooked. Who were these people? Who was writing this great dialogue? Who was responsible for this witty, subversive comedy/action/thriller/drama that never got the full accolades it deserved? When the show ended in 2003, I was sad but satisfied. The ending felt complete. I felt that I could put those characters to bed and blissfully revisit them on DVD whenever I wished.
Imagine my jaw-dropping excitement and double fist-pumping when I found out that Season Eight of the show was coming to Dark Horse Comics! With Joss Whedon! And it would be in continuity! I leapt over hordes of fans the first day issue one went on sale and quickly sat in my car outside the comic shop and read it. I was intrigued right away. Dawn’s a giant? Hmmm…An organized slayer network around the world? I’m down! Political parallels with the U.S. government thinking Buffy runs a terrorist cell? Sure! Interesting and intriguing.
