JUSTICE LEAGUE: DAWN OF APOKOLIPS

  Check out this cool fan-made film:

         Justice League: Dawn of Apokolips!!

           

Fu Jitsu #1 Review

Fu Jitsu #1 from AfterShock - 

      Fu Jitsu is a boy who loves burgers. But he's also a boy who is well over one-hundred years old, and a super-genius who has mastered every martial art on the planet, including cellular kung-fu, the art of rapid healing. Now, he's seeking to push himself beyond the limits of his mind, body, and spirit in his quest to do two all-important things: master sub-atomic kung-ku...And forget the girl who broke his heart. Fu, recently returned from a years-long, enhanced state of meditation, will need all of his skills to combat a deadly threat to the planet that has been brewing for well over seventy years; long ago, a madman discovered the power of mystical weapons, and has sought them for decades, finally deciding to forge the perfect one in order to dominate the world. This dark task has taken him decades, and the only person that can stand in his way is the legendary boy hero, Fu Jitsu. As the madman plans his preemptive strike, will Fu Jitsu be caught unawares, perishing after his years-long isolation, or will the would-be conqueror awake the most dangerous sleeping dragon the world has ever known?

     Jai Nitz pens this sci-fi, martial arts actioner, with a tongue-in-cheek twist!! Fu Jitsu hits all the right notes with an instantly likable, unique (but familiar), fun, burger-munching protagonist steeped in sci-fi/fantasy and over-the-top martial arts mysticism. Nitz's writing sparkles as he introduces the reader to both the protagonist and antagonist of his story in wonderful form, with just enough backstory to capture our imagination but not enough to give away the origins of the characters, leaving the juicy bits to be revealed at a later date. And I definitely want to know more about these cool characters, and this world that Nitz is bringing into existence. But Nitz isn't in this alone. Wesley St. Claire co-created Fu Jitsu along with Jai Nitz, and they're both pulling double duty; while Nitz is penning the story, St. Claire is rocking the pencils - and the pencils are gorgeous. St. Claire can do it all - from martial arts mayhem to explosions and wild action sequences to heavy, ominous villainry - St. Claire's pencils communicate the story perfectly to the reader while managing to be a lot of fun for the eyes. Shades of Karate Kid (not the movie, the comic character), Shaolin Cowboy, and Remo Williams have combined to give birth to an awesomely cool, new superhero in a wild first issue with just the right mix of action, comedy, historical fiction, and sci-fi/fantasy fun! I absolutely LOVE Fu Jitsu #1!!

RATING: 10 out of 10 for what looks like it will be 100% pure all-ages enjoyment!!

Writer's note: Please excuse my absence - a string of family illnesses and other life-related issues necessitated my hiatus. 

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TEX's BACK-ISSUE QUEST Episode 62 (The Punisher)

Hello, fellow Questers!!

    I'm back again to bring the pain, as we talk about one of Marvel's ultimate pain-bringers...The Punisher!!

   2016 was the year that the Punisher made his small screen debut! And it was pretty great! He took on Daredevil in the much-awaited season 2 of Netflix's series of the same name. A few days ago, on November 17, 2017, The Punisher opened a can of whoop-a$$ on Netflix, with the debut of his very own series! 

   Bernthal is reportedly using "Born" and "Punisher MAX" as inspiration for his portrayal on the Punisher. This is good news for fans of the Punisher, as Garth Ennis headed up both series, a writer who, arguably, penned the best Punisher stories ever.

   To mark this exciting occasion, I thought I'd roll out some of The Punisher keys from my collection, for your eyes to see. Sound good? Sweet. Let's pop smoke:

It's Captain America #241, published in 1980. This features the first meeting between Captain America and the Punisher...And boy do they get the fisticuffs done! Frank Miller is on the cover and Frank Springer is on the interiors. 

   Mike Barr really tried to starkly contrast Captain America's and The Punisher's ideologies in this issue. Cap tells The Punisher that he's "never willingly taken a life," even though Cap's a WWII war-hero who was part of the bloodiest war the world has ever seen. Captain America and The Punisher are representations of their respective eras and in how many Americans viewed the wars they fought. WWII is the stuff of legends, while the legacy of Vietnam is much darker in the collective American mind. Still, there is respect, and honor between these two war-fighters, and even though their approach to justice differs, they still find a way to work together to heroicly take down the threat of the mob!

    This is Marvel Preview Presents #2, published in 1975. In this B&W, non-Comics-Code compliant magazine, The Punisher tries to stop the murder of a politician that will be giving a speech on Wall Street; also, we get the very first telling of the Punisher's origin story showing the horrific murder of his family. While out for a day in the park, the Castle Family stumbles across a mob hit, and are mercilessly gunned down. On that day, the man known as Frank Castle dies, and the one-man Army of vengeance known as The Punisher is born.

Here are a couple of pages for you:

Gerry Conway writes and Tony DeZuniga rocks those pencils!

FUN FACT 1: The Punisher didn't exactly catch fire when he was created. He appeared in only 2 solo B&W stories and was basically a guest character in other books until he got his own series in 1986.

FUN FACT 2: This magazine also features the 1st app of Dominic Fortune (which Howard Chaykin created based on a character named Scorpion that he created for the now-defunct ATLAS SEABOARD)! It's true. I can't make this stuff up.

Next up:

Here we have The Amazing Spider-Man #135 - the second-ever full appearance of the Punisher (he had a cameo in #134), and the origin of the Tarantula! Isn't that cover just all kinds of swell?

And of course, I have the most important of them all:

It's Amazing Spider-Man #129, published in 1974, featuring the very 1st appearance of the Punisher and the first appearance of Miles Warren as the Jackal!! This swell cover was done by the hands of greats John Romita and Gil Kane!!


And finally:

Here is The Punisher #1, published in 1986. Written by Steven Grant, and drawn wonderfully by Mike Zeck, this series was in limbo since the early 80s when Grant and Zeck first asked to do it. Marvel wasn't sure about giving a hero that killed in cold blood his own title. What would the kids think? Eventually, Marvel published the title but didn't put much effort into promoting it, and it is no small wonder. This series is hard-boiled. You will see things in this series that Marvel hadn't even dreamed of in that era: suicide, the death of a child, and even a sex scene. Yikes!

And to round it all out, of course, I have the full set:

FUN FACT 3: Issues 1, 3, and 4 had banners above the title stating that this was a four-issue limited series; however, issues 2, and 5 clearly state that this is actually a five-issue limited series. Which was correct? 

FUN FACT 4: It was actually a five-issue limited series. Hurray for production errors. 

That's all for today. I hope you enjoy reading as much as I do posting! Comment and let me know if you enjoyed the article and if you enjoyed "The Punisher" on Netflix!

If you like these articles, PLEASE HIT THE +1 BUTTON below. We are on Google+, follow us and we'll follow you back.  We're also on Facebook. Like our page, and share us with your friends! Help me win one million readers over to the awesome world of comics!

GILGANDRA'S BACK ISSUES 2.0

Hey all, I've been so busy, gets more difficult as one gets older.

So here are some new pick-ups i have. More on the way before Christmas. Till then, Enjoy!

Paragon Software give'a'way, VF+. January 1989. Surprised by finding this at Supernova, The seller didn't realize how potentially rare it was. Told him after i bought it 😁  

Spectacular Spider-Man #189, VF. November 1992. 2nd Print Gold Hologram. Got this at Supernova as well from the same guy. Again i said: "thanks, that's a 2nd print" What the ...It is" he said. 😎 

Raphael (One Shot), F+. 1985. 1st App: Casey Jones. 4th appearance of the turtles over-all. Picked it up at Supernova.

Regular Show 2017 Special. Variant cover.

TEX'S Back-Issue Quest Episode #61 (The Justice League of America)

Hello fellow Questers!!!

   It's T to tha E to tha X back again on the wheels of steel, with the jams that make you slam and the grooves that make you move!! 

   Finally! Like General Douggie Mac, I have returned! It's been a long time - please forgive me. My wife took a huge promotion, which means more traveling for her, and more single parenting for me, which means lots of late nights with extra-curricular activities, on top of my own late-night teacher activities...But mama did it for me. She kept the home fires a-burning when I was off serving my country for over 11 years, so now it's my turn. I got this.

    It is TIME!!! After years of wishing, and hoping, and praying...the Justice League film has finally arrived!!! I'm beyond stoked! Beyond excited!!! I am ready to rock!! But first...It's time get our Quest on with a few Justice League gems from my collection:

   This is my copy of The Brave and the Bold vol 1, #28, printed in 1960, this is the first major Silver-Age superhero team! That's right - before the Marvel Age, before the Fantastic Four, Spider-Man and the Avengers, there was the dawn of justice! This comic features the 1st app of Starro the Conqueror and that crazy teenage superhero super-fan, Snapper Carr!!

Fun Fact: This is not only the first appearance of the Justice League of America, but it is also the very 1st time that Aquaman was ever featured on a cover.

Fun Fact/Flash Fact: The first (shown) chair of the Justice League was none other than the Scarlet Speedster himself...The Flash!!!

    Here is my copy of Justice League of America, vol 1, #1!! This comic is the moment that the JLA leap into their very own long-running title (1960-1987), and it features the first appearance of one of the JLA's most formidable enemies: Despero!!

    The Justice League was originally thought up by prominent comics editor, Julius (Julie) Schwartz in the very late 1950s. He wanted a new team to be an updated version of the Golden Age super force, The Justice Society of America, which was all the rage in the 1940s until superhero popularity began to fade in the latter part of the same decade. Schwartz one again tapped the brilliant Gardner Fox, architect of the Justice Society of America, to develop the new team, along with Golden Age artist, Mike Sekowsky. The result of this tenacious trio of minds was The Justice League of America which debuted in the March 1960 issue of The Brave and the Bold, which sported an amazing cover by a group of professionals including Mike Sekowsy, and the great Murphy Anderson. The new super-team originally consisted of Wonder Woman, Aquaman, The Martian Manhunter, The Flash, Green Lantern (Hal Jordan), Batman, and Superman, along with their far-out fan, Snapper Carr. The Justice League battled an alien threat named Starro the Conqueror! This new super-team was a runaway hit - it graced the pages of the next two issues of The Brave and the Bold, and then lept into its own new series, which was without a doubt one of the most successful titles published in the Silver Age. 

   The Justice League left an indelible mark on comics; however, comics weren't the only media pathway that The Justice League conquered. With the help of renowned animation company, Hanna-Barbera, The Justice League made the leap to television in 1973 as the action-packed, hour-long animates series, "The Super Friends." It only lasted for one season, but returned in 1977, conquering the hearts, minds, and imaginations of kids everywhere, and running until 1986 in several different iterations with a total of 109 episodes:

The first series of "The Super Friends" (1973-1974)

The final series, "The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians"

   FUN FACT: I loved this show.

   FUN FACT: Hanna-Barbera thought that the name, "The Justice League" might not work out too well in the anti-Vietnam War climate that was stirring up national strife. "The Super Friends" fit perfectly for a kids show based on comics - with toned-down violence for younger audiences. Funny thing is...Sometimes they actually called themselves "The Justice League." 

   FUN FACT: There were several members of the Super Friends who had never appeared in comics - these members are thought to be heavy-handed, but well-intentioned, attempts at a more racially diverse team (Apache Chief, Samurai, Black Vulcan and El Dorado):

    Yep, there is no doubt that the Justice League conquered TV with it's amazingly well-done animated show; however, unfortunately, we can't forget the major misstep that Warner Bros. took with this unaired, unforgettable (and some would say, unforgivable) 1997 TV movie/TV Show pilot, The Justice League of America. Here's a clip:

   And then there were those equally horrid late 70s specials:

FUN FACT: Oh, let's be honest. I call them horrid, but to my little kid eyes, those 70s DC and Marvel shows, specials and movies were GREAT!! And so were reruns of the 60s cartoons!

   From comics to cartoons, to TV specials, to TV movies, to big screen hits...All this leads us up to right now: the most important time in comics film history to DC fans for sure...The debut of the "Justice League" starring Gal Gadot, Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Jason Momoa and Ray Fisher!!! The culmination of nearly 60 years of great stories populated by great, iconic characters! And I, for one, just can't wait to see it tomorrow!!

   That's it for today friends!! Drop me your thoughts and comments on the article and the new Justice League film!!

If you like these article, PLEASE HIT THE +1 BUTTON below. We are on Google+, follow us and we'll follow you back.  We're also on Facebook. Like our page, and share us with your friends! Help me win one million readers over to the awesome world of comics!