The Ultimate Avengers

Mark (Kick Arse) Miller's  Ultimates, upon which this animated movie is based, was a retelling of The Avengers storyline in a much more mature way than was usual for the title, but it's just a shame that this movie didn't manage to  retain the same tone. It does aim for a adult audience though and it is a little too serious for younger children, but it just doesn't manage to hold it together in the way DC's animated movies do. Marvel may currently rule the live action super hero movie, but they just don't some close to DC in the animated stakes. I think with some of the better DC animations you are sucked into the story to such an extent that it seems to become a live action experience, but not once while watching The Avengers did I forget that I was watching an animated adventure. There were parts that were very cartoonish.



"It's too violent for younger viewers, but not mature enough for older ones. It's a movie trapped in between target audiences." Film Critic, David Cornelius

The film starts off during World War II and we discover that Steve Rogers, AKA Captain America has been frozen. We then jump forward to the present day when Cap is found and thawed out to face a baffling new world.  Then we have Nick Fury trying to form the Avengers in order to thwart an alien invasion, which the team eventually do but then find themselves having to battle the Hulk and it is in these scenes that the movie really comes alive. As with the Avengers live action movie, the Hulk is the star of the show. Iron Man comes across as a little bland which is not the case with the live action movies and out of the Avengers it is Captain America and The Black Widow who are the most interesting characters.

Now I don't consider myself to be a hardcore comic book geek, but I have known these characters since I was a kid and have read many many comic books, and I found this movie to be good but ultimately disappointing next to the animated DC movies I've seen of late. Maybe if I hadn't been aware of the heights DC were hitting with their animated films, then I would have though better of this one.But there we have it - it is a good film and the final battle with the Hulk is paced well and full of humour.

The film is currently available as a triple set along with The Ultimate Avengers 2 and the Next Avengers, and at  the budget price it is truly a bargain, and provides big entertainment for a small amount of cash.

Simple MARVEL...ous

Marvels
Graphic Novel - NO 13 in the Ultimate Graphic Novel Collection

by Kurt Busiek and Alex Ross


Originally published as a four issue mini series in 1994.

Those with a knowledge of comic books will have heard of this groundbreaking title, but this is the first time I've come across it. I enjoy graphic novels and have read a great many over the years but they form only a small portion of my reading and the Marvel Ultimate Graphic Novel Collection is proving a must buy for me and allowing me to catch up on classics that originally went beneath my radar.

Before I talk about Marvels - I just want to say it blew my mind.

It really is that good.

It's basically the entire history of the Marvel universe,encompassing all the key events, but told through the eyes of ordinary people - our ordinary Joe is Phil Sheldon who just happens to live and work in New York. Marvels super heroes, unlike DC's, tend to live in real cities, most often the Big Apple and  so Phil  gets plenty of photo opportunities to snap the various super heroes or, as he calls them, Marvels. The graphic novel kicks off with a prologue featuring the original Human Torch and then takes us into the Second World War and the appearance of Captain America.

The story continues through until the present day, well the 1990's in any case, where Phil is now an old man who has grown tired of the way the world at large treat the Marvels.

 "It would have served us right if the Marvels never returned. We didn't deserve them."


The death of Gwen Stacy hits Sheldon hard and our story ends with him retiring from photo journalism to be with his family.

The art by Alex Ross is absolutely stunning with each incredibly detailed  frame hand painted- there is some humour too and in the frame depicting the wedding of Reed and Sue Richards, The Beatles can be spotted amongst the guests. And when you've got artwork this good twinned with a script as strong as this one, you've got something very special indeed.

It works on a few levels - on the surface it's an incredibly entertaining read, but underneath it serves as a fitting tribute to everyone who over the years worked on building the Marvel universe.


It is also a stroke of genius to make out narrator an everyman and make the super characters part of the supporting cast. It all seems so real and this graphic novel is as complex as any straight novel and really shows what the medium is capable of.

The deluxe hardcover edition published this week as part of the ultimate graphic novel collection part work is excellent value - priced at £9.99 you are getting a book that is easily worth double the money.


The original mini series won several awards and turned both the writer and artist into superstars.

• Won "Best Finite Series" Eisner Award
• Won "Best Painter" Eisner Award, for Alex Ross
• Won "Best Publication Design" Eisner Award, for Comicraft
• Nominated for "Best Cover Artist" Eisner Award, for Alex Ross
• Nominated for "Best Single Issue", for Marvels #2 "Monsters"

STAN LEE GETS HIS OWN STAR

American comic book writer, editor and publisher Stan Lee, was honored with his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on December 4, for his contributions as former president of Marvel Comics. The 88-year-old comics maven worked on the creation of super heroes and villains, including the iconic Spider-Man, the Hulk, the Fantastic Four, Iron Man, the X-Men, Thor, the Silver Surfer, and the Avengers - characters that have inspired blockbuster movies, television series, video games and toys.

"He is that American dream that we all look for," said comics creator Todd McFarlane at the event. "He comes up with the ideas that we all look for to move us forward."

Lee shouted his trademark "Excelsior!" to the cheers of fans and friends, as his star, the 2,428th along the famous sidewalk at 7072 Hollywood Boulevard, joined celebrities of the film, television and music worlds.

Lee worked as a movie-house usher and a sandwich-delivery kid before joining Timely Comics, where in 1941, as a teenager, he worked on Captain America comics.

Marvel's new boss man

The Archive congratulates Axel Alonso who is now the new Editor in Chief at Marvel Comics. -Marvel Worldwide, Inc announced today that it has promoted Axel Alonso to Editor-in-Chief, Marvel Entertainment.  In this new role, Mr. Alonso will report to Dan Buckley Publisher & President, Print, Animation & Digital Divisions, Marvel Worldwide Inc. Mr. Alonso will oversee all day to day aspects of Marvel’s Publishing division, including advising on the editorial creative direction, developing new storylines and brainstorming new initiatives. Additionally, Mr. Alonso will work on creative aspects of development of larger corporate initiatives involving Marvel’s popular library of characters. The announcement was made today by Joe Quesada, Chief Creative Officer of Marvel Entertainment.


Mr. Quesada stated, "It’s with tremendous pride that I announce Axel Alonso’s promotion to Editor-In-Chief. For over a decade, Axel’s been instrumental in bringing fresh new voices to Marvel and reinventing our biggest characters like Spider-Man, the X-Men, Wolverine and so many more. He’s fought to create unique imprints like Marvel MAX while also bringing fresh new voices to the Marvel family."

Yesterday's Papers - Marvel Comics

Archive reader, John Taftwell sent me a scan of what was effectively the first ever Marvel comic book - it was actually published by Timely Comics which was founded by Martin Goodman in 1939, though the company would later become the Marvel Comics known today.

The comic's first story is The Human Torch though this is a different character to the Human Torch we know today - the character was not Johnny Storm but actually named Jim Hammond. Created by writer-artist Carl Burgos.The "Human" Torch was actually an android made by scientist Phineas Horton. He possessed the ability to surround himself with fire and control flames. In his earliest appearances, he was portrayed as a science fiction monstrosity, but quickly became a hero.

 See the image left and the character even resembles the Human Torch from The Fantastic Four - this first strip is just a retelling of the Frankenstein story. Firstly The Human Torch is treated with suspicion and the authorities try to destroy him, but the Torch manages to fight off all attempts on his life and he flies off, vowing that no one will ever use him for selfish gain or crime.

It was great fun reading this story and realising that from this basic style of storytelling the mighty Marvel empire developed. The second story featured another character familiar to modern comic book readers Namor The Sub Mariner.


The mutant son of a human sea captain and of a princess of the mythical undersea kingdom of Atlantis, Namor possesses the super-strength and aquatic abilities of the "Homo mermanus" race, as well as the mutant ability of flight, along with other superhuman powers. Through the years, he has been alternately portrayed as a good-natured but short-fused superhero, or a hostile invader seeking vengeance for perceived wrongs that misguided surface-dwellers committed against his kingdom.

Modern character

Next up is Tarzan-alike, Kazar The Great - the character was actually created for the pulp magazine of the 1930's and was adapted for Timely Comics. Born in South Africa in 1918, three-year-old David Rand accompanied his British parents John and Constance on a flight to Cairo to visit his grandfather. Unfortunately, their plane crashed in the jungles of Congo. Constance died in the crash and John was driven mad. Living in the jungle with his father, isolated from the local tribes, David grew under the jungle’s hardships into an unusually powerful youth and developed strong empathy with wildlife, notably rescuing Zar the Lion from quicksand. When a criminal named Paul de Kraft discovered emeralds in Congo, John died opposing him only for Zar to scare Paul de Kraft off. With the support of Zar, David became the jungle's leading warrior within a few years challenging different animals like Bardak the Ape and N'Jaga the Leopard. Considered to be "god-like" by the natives, David Rand ended up named Ka-Zar (native for "Brother of Zar"). When Paul de Kraft returned to seize the emerald deposits, Ka-Zar killed him thus avenging his father.

Next up is the western story, The Masked Raider - it is the story of Jim Gardley who rides a horse called Lightening. And rights wrong wherever he finds them - something of The Lone Ranger there. Indeed The Lone Ranger was a popular radio series at the time of this comic so it seems obvious that this was where the writers took their influence from.


It was great reading this comic - as a kid I grew up reading British comics and although it was the homegrown titles I preferred I did from time to time get titles like The Mighty World of Marvel which featured reprint material from the American comics in the British format - that's how I came to know characters like Spiderman and the Hulk, but most of this early stuff was new to me. And it's good to have what is effectively the first ever Marvel comic even if it is a digital version and not some extremely valuable ancient comic book.

Reprint comics like this introduced many British kids to American superheroes.

Fear itself

Marvel Comics go all social commentry for, what it is calling a seven issue mega event -

"In these tough times of record unemployment, terror alerts, oil spills, mortgage foreclosures and partisan politics that have torn a rent down the middle of this country, Americans have good reason to be living in fear."

"The climate in the world today was certainly the inspiration for this as we started to think about the bigger stories for the Marvel Universe," Marvel editor in chief Joe Quesada said at a press conference at Midtown Comics in Manhattan. "You will absolutely see the real world inject itself into this story because it's undeniable that there's a certain something in the air right now…we tend to tap into that whether consciously or unconsciously and it effects all our stories."

The company had great sales success three years ago with its "Civil War" series, which similarly mined real world events to tell the story of a division in the ranks of super heroes in the battle between personal liberties and security.

That storyline ended in the death of Captain America -- as first reported by the New York Daily News – which many conservative commentators interpreted as a political shot aimed at the Bush Administration.

FIND OUT MORE HERE

Marvel Civil War, Secret Invasion - you ain't seen nothing yet

Tom Brevoort has claimed that the next company-wide event at Marvel Comics will be as epic in scale as previous events like Civil War and Secret Invasion.

Marvel's vice-president revealed that the company will announce the next event in a few days following a week of teaser images depicting a number of iconic superheroes confronting their fears.

"It's incredibly huge, incredibly far-reaching, it's a big ol' bombshell to drop," Brevoort told CBR. "This will not be a small thing. This will be a grand, sweeping, epic Marvel event the likes of which you haven't seen in a few years."

The announcement suggests a sharp departure for the company, who in recent years have focused more on smaller, self-contained events like Chaos War, Shadowland and World War Hulks.

"It's definitely larger in scope than Siege, more on the scale of Secret Invasion, and as ambitious in its way as Civil War," Brevoort added.

Marvel will announce details of the new event at a press conference on Tuesday and The Archive will be here with the news as soon as it announced.

Nuff said.

RELATED -Anyone interested in Marvel Comics of comics in general could do worse than check out the Bookish Boy blog for an entertaining history of Marvel.

FANTASTIC MIGHTY WORLD OF MARVEL

When I was a kid we had our own British versions of Marvel comic strips - these were usually in black and white and were always reprints from the original American strips. These days Marvel are published in the UK in full colour and in better quality books than the originals but this was how we once caught our super-hero action.












FANTASTIC COMIC ISSUE 65 - June 1968














Mighty World of Marvel was a long running title - today Panini comics also publish a Mighty World of Marvel.














The Hulk was always the main star of The Mighty World of Marvel and later on other titles would be merged into the magazine before vanishing forever.













And nice to see Charles Atlas had some competition.

IT'S OFFICIAL DISNEY TO BUY MARVEL

The official report is posted below:





OFFICIAL DISNEY STATEMENT:

August 31, 2009

DISNEY TO ACQUIRE MARVEL ENTERTAINMENT

Worldwide leader in family entertainment agrees to acquire Marvel and its portfolio of over 5,000 characters

Acquisition highlights Disney's strategic focus on quality branded content, technological innovation and international expansion to build long-term shareholder value

Burbank, CA and New York, NY, August 31, 2009 —Building on its strategy of delivering quality branded content to people around the world, The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) has agreed to acquire Marvel Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:MVL) in a stock and cash transaction, the companies announced today.

Under the terms of the agreement and based on the closing price of Disney on August 28, 2009, Marvel shareholders would receive a total of $30 per share in cash plus approximately 0.745 Disney shares for each Marvel share they own. At closing, the amount of cash and stock will be adjusted if necessary so that the total value of the Disney stock issued as merger consideration based on its trading value at that time is not less than 40% of the total merger consideration.

Based on the closing price of Disney stock on Friday, August 28, the transaction value is $50 per Marvel share or approximately $4 billion.

"This transaction combines Marvel's strong global brand and world-renowned library of characters including Iron Man, Spider-Man, X-Men, Captain America, Fantastic Four and Thor with Disney's creative skills, unparalleled global portfolio of entertainment properties, and a business structure that maximizes the value of creative properties across multiple platforms and territories," said Robert A. Iger, President and Chief Executive Officer of The Walt Disney Company. "Ike Perlmutter and his team have done an impressive job of nurturing these properties and have created significant value. We are pleased to bring this talent and these great assets to Disney."

"We believe that adding Marvel to Disney's unique portfolio of brands provides significant opportunities for long-term growth and value creation," Iger said.

"Disney is the perfect home for Marvel's fantastic library of characters given its proven ability to expand content creation and licensing businesses," said Ike Perlmutter, Marvel's Chief Executive Officer. "This is an unparalleled opportunity for Marvel to build upon its vibrant brand and character properties by accessing Disney's tremendous global organization and infrastructure around the world."

Under the deal, Disney will acquire ownership of Marvel including its more than 5,000 Marvel characters. Mr. Perlmutter will oversee the Marvel properties, and will work directly with Disney's global lines of business to build and further integrate Marvel's properties.

The Boards of Directors of Disney and Marvel have each approved the transaction, which is subject to clearance under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act, certain non-United States merger control regulations, effectiveness of a registration statement with respect to Disney shares issued in the transaction and other customary closing conditions. The agreement will require the approval of Marvel shareholders. Marvel was advised on the transaction by BofA Merrill Lynch.

I

About The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company, together with its subsidiaries and affiliates, is a leading diversified international family entertainment and media enterprise with five business segments: media networks, parks and resorts, studio entertainment, interactive media and consumer products. Disney is a Dow 30 company with revenues of nearly $38 billion in its most recent fiscal year.

About Marvel Entertainment, Inc.
Marvel Entertainment, Inc. is one of the world's most prominent character-based entertainment companies, built on a library of over 5,000 characters featured in a variety of media over seventy years. Marvel utilizes its character franchises in licensing, entertainment (via Marvel Studios and Marvel Animation) and publishing (via Marvel Comics).

Forward-Looking Statements:

Certain statements in this communication may constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements relate to a variety of matters, including but not limited to: the operations of the businesses of Disney and Marvel separately and as a combined entity; the timing and consummation of the proposed merger transaction; the expected benefits of the integration of the two companies; the combined company's plans, objectives, expectations and intentions and other statements that are not historical fact. These statements are made on the basis of the current beliefs, expectations and assumptions of the management of Disney and Marvel regarding future events and are subject to significant risks and uncertainty. Investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they are made. Neither Disney nor Marvel undertakes any obligation to update or revise these statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied. Such differences may result from a variety of factors, including but not limited to:

• legal or regulatory proceedings or other matters that affect the timing or ability to complete the transactions as contemplated;
• the possibility that the expected synergies from the proposed merger will not be realized, or will not be realized within the anticipated time period; the risk that the businesses will not be integrated successfully;
• the possibility of disruption from the merger making it more difficult to maintain business and operational relationships;
• the possibility that the merger does not close, including but not limited to, due to the failure to satisfy the closing conditions;
• any actions taken by either of the companies, including but not limited to, restructuring or strategic initiatives (including capital investments or asset acquisitions or dispositions);
• developments beyond the companies' control, including but not limited to: changes in domestic or global economic conditions, competitive conditions and consumer preferences; adverse weather conditions or natural disasters; health concerns; international, political or military developments; and technological developments.

Additional factors that may cause results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements are set forth in the Annual Report on Form 10-K of Disney for the year ended September 27, 2008, which was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") on November 20, 2008, under the heading "Item 1A—Risk Factors" and in the Annual Report on Form 10-K of Marvel for the year ended December 31, 2008, which was filed with the SEC on February 27, 2009, under the heading "Item 1A—Risk Factors," and in subsequent reports on Forms 10-Q and 8-K and other filings made with the SEC by each of Marvel and Disney.

Important Merger Information and Additional Information:

This communication does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities or a solicitation of any vote or approval. In connection with the proposed transaction, Disney and Marvel will file relevant materials with the SEC. Disney will file a Registration Statement on Form S-4 that includes a proxy statement of Marvel and which also constitutes a prospectus of Disney. Marvel will mail the proxy statement/prospectus to its stockholders.Investors are urged to read the proxy statement/prospectus regarding the proposed transaction when it becomes available, because it will contain important information.The proxy statement/prospectus and other documents that will be filed by Disney and Marvel with the SEC will be available free of charge at the SEC's website, www.sec.gov, or by directing a request when such a filing is made to The Walt Disney Company, 500 South Buena Vista Street, Burbank, CA 91521-9722, Attention: Shareholder Services or by directing a request when such a filing is made to Marvel Entertainment, Inc., 417 Fifth Avenue New York, NY 10016, Attention: Corporate Secretary.

Disney, Marvel, their respective directors and certain of their executive officers may be considered participants in the solicitation of proxies in connection with the proposed transaction. Information about the directors and executive officers of Marvel is set forth in its definitive proxy statement, which was filed with the SEC on March 24, 2009. Information about the directors and executive officers of Disney is set forth in its definitive proxy statement, which was filed with the SEC on January 16, 2009.Investors may obtain additional information regarding the interests of such participants by reading the proxy statement/prospectus Disney and Marvel will file with the SEC when it becomes available.

Marvel's Civil War

The Marvel Civil War storyline is now being published in the UK Marvel Collectors Editions from Panini Comics.

Now I'm not a regular comic book reader but I had heard a lot about this reconstruction of the Marvel universe when it took place a couple of years ago.

I picked up the information from the Around Comics podcast which I still listen to. It's a great forum based show that is both amusing and informative. I'd promised myself that I'd catch up o the story one day.

Now I know these multi-book crossover storylines are really a marketing ploy but this story which is set in post 911 American sounded enticing.

The story kicks off in Avengers Unconquered issue 1, which is a repackaging of Avengers united (another marketing ploy). Still it's a 100 page issue and I do love these UK editions. They are better constructed than the US originals - in that they come with a soft card binding and the quality of printing is excellent. Course they'll never have the collectors value of the US originals but they are excellent for archiving.

I intend to follow this entire story arc, across however many different books, simply because I was so impressed by this issue.

The story starts with a group of heroes, created for a super hero reality TV show - anyway things get out of hand when one super villain effectively turns himself into a nuclear bomb and explodes himself.

What follows is the new America sick of costumed freaks doing more harm than good. And there is even talk of banning the costumed crime fighters - in the end it is made law that all costumed heroes must sign a disclosure of powers and identity and then take a wage and work for the government.

Captain America is the first rebel and he soon finds himself not only at war with heroes who had once been allies but with the country he loves. And he's not the only one as others are forced to take sides.

Almost every major character in the Marvel universe takes part in the storyline. The illustration on the left features all the characters involved in the war.

The artwork is moody and the writing generates an intense feeling of paranoia. This is a story with genuine depth and relevance to the real world.





...a world that could do with one or two super heroes.

But besides all that - many years ago me and my mates always used to wonder what would happen if hero x met hero y. Now Marvel are answering that boyhood fantasy.
This issue features the issues Civil War 1 , Disassembled 1
The Decision
Choosing Sides
Disassembled 2

The storyline then continues in other books on sale this month.

It's hard not to be cynical of these multi comic book storylines but when the quality of story and art is up to this standard that fact becomes acedemic. This is high quality storytelling with truly adult themes presented in the fantastical and much loved comic book super hero universe.