Greetings Comic Vine readers! Welcome to the twenty-second "Roundtable User Discussion"! [Applause]

- "But what is a Roundtable User Discussion, Self?"

- "I'm glad you asked, Voice Inside My Head!" (The voices in the host's head are for entertainment purposes only. Yellow boxes are sold separately)

Well you see, a couple of CV users virtually met up to talk comic books and other comic-related topics. That conversation has been posted here for you guys to see, read and enjoy. Be sure to comment below where you can submit your own opinions after reading ours. Also, go back and read our past conversations (Here) and share your thoughts. Even if you disagree with us, we like comments.

I am Geo, known to the internet as sora_thekey and I will be moderating this discussion and giving my amazing insight along the way. Don't worry the voices in my head will not interfere because in reality I'm not crazy (I think).

Please welcome the participants of this Roundtable (RT): For the first time welcome Decoy Elite (Decoy), thanosrules (TR) andThe Impersonator (Imp). Also give a warm round of applause for the amazing Icarusflies (Icarus) making her RT comeback. Wave to the crowd puppets... I mean, poppets.

Icarus: No Mr. Bond….I expect you to die. >strokes guinea pig<

O_o Uh….I mean…this isn't a death ray! It's a…a new shower fixture! :D

>_> / <_<

Hahaha!

Decoy: Hello, I am Decoy Elite, the ultimate distraction. Master of all things webcomics... except for the things I haven't read.

Imp: Alright! It's good to join the club. WHOO!-HOO! :D Now where are the drinks? :P

Ooops. I forgot to introduce myself. I was just drinking the Molson Canadian beer. :P By the way, I'm the Impersonator who likes to impersonate anyone. It's nice to meet you all. CHEERS! :P

TR: Hello, my name is thanosrules, and I'm a comiholic. I surround myself with comic related items. They are my yellow sun, green lantern, power comic? ;)

Imp: Nice to meet you, thanos and a good username too. Can I have one of your infinity gems? :P

TR: Nice to meet you Impersonator, but apparently you forgot, I gave you the Time gem, you messed things up and I had to go back and change things back. ;)

Imp: LOL! yeah, I did kinda messed up with time. Sorry about that. :P Well, it's time for the discussion. :P

Welcome!

This should prove to be an interesting discussion with all of you here. Today's topic of discussion is DEATH! (Cue dramatic music and lightning). But before we begin talking about this controversial subject I want to know what you have all been up to.

Right now I'm working on catching up with some comics because I've been gone for some time: Avenging Spider-Man in one hand and Ultimate Comics X-Men in the other. Plus a new Batman: The Black Mirror HC is calling me out as I write this. Oh and I've been drawing, a lot, I just haven't posted any of my drawings for the past few months. Right now I'm working on a interesting Loki and Scarlet Witch image.

What have you been reading, writing, watching or drawing that is comic book related?

Icarus: Comics:

Whoa that's a lot of comics Icarus!

Imp: Well, I was busy writing Wolverine fan-fic series. The series is titled, Project X: The Birth of Wolverine. So far I wrote 65 chapters. It's been a lot of work which I have done in the fan-fic forum lately. I never thought I had the full energy to do it. Man. that was quite a healing factor there. But for now, I'll be taking a break and enjoy the snowy ashes of winter. :P

On the other hand, I'm also reading other user's fan-fics. Their stories were brilliant. Most of the writers I find talented are KisserNe, TypingKira, and Mechanical_Ape.

On the TV side. I watch Naruto Shippuden episodes in crunchyroll. :)

TR: Hmm... what have I been up to? Well... buying comics, reading comics, reviewing comics. Yikes. This was a big week on top of all that - massive purchase on Wednesday (relatively). I just read/reviewed Magneto: Not a Hero #2, I have The Shade #3 up next and was going to listen to the CV Podcast once I had some free time. In fact, I have been listening to all the back podcasts for a while now, taking forever to catch up (I just joined CV on October 7th, 2011). The rest of my current read/review list is here.

I am not sure I can list all the other comics I am trying to get in, but my near term plans include all of the following issues:

1. What If? (both series, and all the one-shots)
2. Civil War (trades and related tie-ins)
3. Fear Itself (non-tie in issues)

and more!

Recent notable purchases:

1. All 10 Starman Trades
2. All available Walking Dead Trades
3. All available CHEW Trades
4. All available The Boys Trades
5. Both Cowboy Ninja Viking Trades

and more!

You see, I have been out of the comic game for 15 years now... I am just catching up where I left off. I have A LOT to catch up on. Comic Vine FTW!

Finally, on a very long drive from Illinois to Texas last night, I thought up of a new character I want to start writing about. :)

Imp: Oh yeah, I also forgot to mention that Icarusflies is a talented writer too. Since she's already with us at the roundtable. Right, Icarus? :P

There are also other talented writers in the fan-fic forum. Amazing work! :)

Man! Everybody has been busy!

Decoy: Honestly I'm not current with any print comics right now, but I've been reading lots of old stuff. I actually just finished Sandman, blasphemy to take this long I know. Also, as usual, I've been reading lots of webcomics such as Gunnerkrigg Court which stands out amount them just because it's plot is starting to move a bit more again.

You know, I've never read Sandman...

Decoy: You should. It's one of the few times I've liked Death in comics. ;)

Nice segue Decoy!

Fine lets get on topic then. Like I mentioned before today we are going to talk about comic book deaths so I want to know what you all think about them.

Q1: We all know that comic book deaths are a big deal in comics and that in most cases death is not a definite ending point to a character. What is your perception of comic book deaths?

Decoy: I don't like Comic Book deaths, mostly because they're either pointless or a waste of a character. There's a few exceptions for the most part, but overall Comic death is just all-around a bad idea.

TR: Thanos says, "Don't get any ideas, Death is mine!"

On a more "serious" note... Because I have been off of the comic tread-mill for so long, I was surprised to hear of all the "deaths" over the past few years. It wasn't like when Captain Marvel died and the first "Marvel Graphic Novel" was born. Now, it feels like a "last resort" plot device, meant to churn advertising and interest. My comic fan heart does not want to admit that many of the recent deaths have been a marketing ploy, but it does feel that way at times. It also feels like "comic deaths" are way more important to the "big two" publishers...

Icarus: Comic deaths have two tiers: Major and Minor. Major character deaths tend to be worthless, reversed, and pointless. HOWEVER, it's all about the story with those. If one can write a good death AND resurrection the death is worth it. If not, it's just a money-making scheme.

Minor character deaths are often not reversed and make the more dedicated fans sad.

Imp: Comic book deaths are really necessary. Well, not most of the character deaths. If you think about it, it does have an impact on their friends, heroes, or whatsoever. But a comic book fan might not like the fact that their favourite character is dead. How will she or he react? But it depends on the story and where it's going. To me, a death could be temporary if a certain character has to return. If not, then its permanent.

So would you say you like them Imp? Or are you just giving us an elaborate "depends"?

Imp: I wouldn't say I like the character deaths. If the character dies, I would accept it since it's part of the story.

Decoy: I wouldn't accept it because if they're a major character they'll be back in a month. I mean, just look at Captain America.

As for minor characters, well my rage over the death of Stilt-Man is well documented.

TR: I accept them for what they are. If they are a good and necessary part of the story arc, then so be it.

It seems like the prominent reaction is negative.

Q2: Can you think of a comic book death that made you evoke some emotion? Whether it'd be positive or negative?

TR: I have to say, Silver Surfer Requiem did make my heart sink a bit...

Imp: Hmmmm. Interesting question. I would say the recent death of Batman. I felt mad about it at first, I thought he was totally killed by Darkseid. I mean, he never gets killed or beaten down (Well Bane did break his back though). Because he's Batman.

Icarus: I have cried SO HARD over several comic deaths.

Ted Kord.

Sue + Ralph Dibny.

Ted Kord.

Agent "!"... and did I mention Ted Kord?

Imp: Ted Kord was a gruesome death to watch. I can't imagine a superhero like him gets shot by none other than Maxwell.

Icarus: Oh, and I did kinda cheer over the deaths of Magog and Libra. >_>

And probably some other people I'm forgetting right now.

TR: Also notable for me, the death of Thanos in Annihilation - awesome. I was impressed. Happy for Drax, happy for Thanos, and I loved his reaction. "Interesting."

For me it would have to be the recent Death of Spider-Man. That was very well handled story arc.

Decoy: I didn't like Ult Spider-Man's death because even if it was well written it had gimmick written all over it.

Get out!

Decoy: When it's done right I actually love comic deaths, they can be a great goodbye to a character or a fitting end for a villain. But more often than not it's just a cheap gimmick or the writer throwing a character "no one" know about under the bus. Which I find really, really annoying.

Icarus: I think writers have been a bit better about not killing characters I actually care about recently…so no.

Please keep in mind that since I'm a big DC reader there's been more character RETCON than character DEATH as of late.

Imp: I'll be back, guys. I'm going to make some tea. :P

Bring me some!

TR: Because I am catching up on years of stuff, the older ones are what I have "fresh" in my mind. The rest I hear spoilers about, like Human Torch, Nightcrawler and even Spidey. Because I have not caught up to read those stories, I hear about them and I am like "wow, really?" So sadly, I do not have more of a comment on recent deaths.

Even Thor's "sacrifice" to ensure the death of the Serpent generated no more than a "meh, he will be back" - and there he is, still in the comics, fighting giant whales in the afterlife. ;)

Decoy: See? Deaths have just been so badly handled for so long that at this point they're just pointless. At least when it comes to the big two. Marvel seems to be the worst offender, with writers openly admitting they brought in a newish character just to kill him off.

I guess because he's a god then death is handled differently, but we'll talk about Gods later. I keep mentioning Ultimate Spider-Man's death because like Decoy mentioned, the story was well handled but it seemed like a gimmick from the start.

Q3: There are some cases where the return of a deceased character is very well handled, how do you feel about those deaths then? (Like Fantastic Four #600 or when Bucky became the Winter Solider.)

Icarus: As I mentioned earlier, the resurrection is just as important as, OR MORE IMPORTANT THAN the death. Superboy's death and resurrection, for example, were masterfully handled, and lead to stories that actually expanded him as a character.

TR: PROPER resurrection is critical a death/resurrection story arc. It will define whether or not the reader feels cheated (or if the death was just a marketing ploy by the publisher).

That said, I am embarrassed to say that I have not yet read about the resurrection of Thanos for the Thanos Imperative, but I like the idea of it. This, due to how Thanos has always "transcended" physical death and how he has an actual relationship with the "idea" of death. Resurrecting him makes him angry, because it takes him away from his love. In a way, it is a nice play on the concept, close to breaching the fourth wall in terms of how the reader may conceptualize the concept of death as a character and an event.

Imp: I'm back!

Now to answer that question about being back :P, I felt it's important to bring those characters from the dead. Because there bound to be stories to tell about them. It may be a long time to see that they have been dead for ages. For Jean Grey, I can't say for sure when she'll be back. But who knows? She may appear sometime in the future. It could be a surprise for all we know. Right? And we'll be like WHAAAAAAAAAAAAT?

Decoy: Not to be morbid, no not in our death discussion here, but for me it depends on how warm the body is. Bring back a character after years then I still can view the death as meaningful, bring them back in the same issue and I'm going to be calling the writer some very bad words that I can't say on this site.

Icarus: I have to agree with Decoy on that. An issue-long death doesn't really count. Give some time for impact, and then make fans exuberant when…SURPRISE! They're back!

The EXCEPTION being with death-based characters whose powers could easily bring them back…(ready for a mandatory Umbrella Academy reference?) The Séance for example.

Decoy: I just wanted to add that they death and resurrection also needs to be done well. Although that probably goes without saying.

So wait are you two actually saying that the return of a dead character doesn't bother you unless it is handled right and there is a significant amount of time in between?

Icarus: Yes, that is exactly what I'm saying.

Decoy: Yup. Simple as that.

Okay then, follow up question(s) for everyone.

If the resurrection of a character is well handled and there is a significant amount of time between the death and the return, does that mean that Captain America, Cable and Batman had enough of that time in between to make their deaths significant? Does that mean that Nightcrawler has been dead for long enough? Does this mean that it applies for Jean Grey?

Decoy: I would motion to say Batman was never really dead.

Cap, I felt seem to have enough time, but maybe that was just because of how sloppy and pointless his death felt. Cable, eh, not really. But Time travel can help with that.

Nightcrawler...I want to say yes, but honestly it's only because I really like Nightcrawler. They should wait a bit longer, assuming they're going to bring him back..which they totally are.

Icarus: Well Sora, I think with those characters it's a somewhat different matter: everyone KNEW they would be back. And I don't think most of the resurrections OR deaths were handled well with most of them. Batman's barely made sense (I liked it anyway. >_>). I don't even know how Captain America came back. Cable is lame and is being written by Loeb.

Nightcrawler is adorable and needs to be brought back. Jean Gray just needs to STAY DEAD ALREADY.

TR: I guess it also depends on HOW they died.

Captain Marvel has been dead for a LONG time. He died of cancer. His death had meaning, both to the story and socially.

I am not sure how you come back from that. He wasn't put in a time capsule or frozen "until there was a cure". I guess someone could time travel and kill Nitro before he caused any issues for Cap, but then again, someone could just go kill Death and no one will ever die again. ;)

Imp: I don't think Nightcrawler has been dead long enough. It doesn't apply to Jean Grey since she's dead a long time ago. But since Nightcrawler AoA version is crossing over to Earth 616. I would say Nightcrawler's death is permanent.

I felt like it was the right time to bring Cap back since Bucky doesn't prove to be the next Captain America. Because Steve is always the Cap.

For Cable, I can't say for sure if he can die. Time travel has a lot of ways to bring this X-character back.

TR: Anyway, to answer specifically for those characters:

1. Batman - he was just misplaced in time right?
2. Jean Grey - Phoenix is another word for "crying wolf"
3. Nightcrawler - he died to protect hope (literally I guess), he should come back, and there are many plot devices that can be used to make it "feel right"
4. Captain America - no comment

Decoy: Hasn't Jean Grey only been brought back once? I never understood why she got so much flack. I think Captain America has been brought back more times than her.

Jean Grey is not dead! She's alive somewhere in the universe! (Phoenix: Endsong) But anyways, there's another type of death we haven't talked about.

Q4: How should gods' (or god-like creatures) deaths be handled? Thor and Loki died but their stories didn't end the moment they died.

Icarus: Depends on the character. I think the way the Endless die and are replaced is a good example. Don't want to give spoilers though.

Decoy: Gods deaths should be handled as a big deal and maybe not even possible.

Personally I liked how The Sandman dealt with the possible death of abstracts, not going to spoil it, but it was pretty awesome in my opinion.

Icarus: Copycat. xP

Do you guys think gods should even die?

Decoy: Depends on the situation and the God. I think guys like Thor can, I mean his death is embedded in Norse Myth itself.

Icarus: [I say] Yes. When they outgrow their usefulness and become obsolete.

Decoy: Outgrow their usefulness? How does a character even do that?

Icarus: Gods are created for specific purposes. Once man ceases being afraid of the dark, moon gods become useless, for example.

However, I don't think this is common in comics, AT ALL, the only real exceptions being the Sandman and Lucifer series. Just kinda Neil Gaiman's thing.

TR: I do not think gods or god-like characters actually die. I think their characters are either "put on pause" or immediately seen in an "afterlife" (like Thor).

Counter-Point: We do see Aegis and Tenebrous actually get absorbed by "The Crunch" at the end of Annihilation... and they were as powerful as Galactus, so I guess they do not fit my statement above... unless of course their "physical body" is really just a manifestation of energy which could be re-formed at a later time (thus "put on pause").

I guess it does depend on the character and the circumstance. But that is another conversation entirely - then we have to talk about power levels, physical composition, relationship to death and the afterlife, etc.

In a way I say most of the comic book characters who die are "put on pause".

Imp: I don't think the Gods should die because they're supposed to be immortal. They do have some weakness though. For example, the Golden Hind can kill the Greek gods. For the Norse mythology, a mistletoe can kill the Norse gods. But then what's the point of calling them Gods if they can die. Right? :P

Decoy: It really is just a varied mess when it comes to Gods. :P

Rule of thumb seems to be that they should only temporarily "die" most of the time. Helps with the whole resurrection thing in comics.

Okay then, lets move away from the immortal and move toward the mere mortals of the comic book universe.

Q5: Are secondary character's deaths more meaningful because there's less of a chance that they will resurrect the same way a primary super-powered character would?

Like Uncle Ben, Gwen Stacy, Ariel, Marla Jameson or Lola Maclntire?

Icarus: YES. >cires< I MISS MY SECONDARY CHARACTERS!!!

This is what I was talking about earlier. They don't come back usually, so their deaths are meaningful and sad. :(

*cries*

Decoy: Secondary characters do have more of a death impact, assuming they're established well, but you can still screw that up. Pointlessly killing a secondary character is in many ways worse than killing off a hero. A certain little girl comes to mind when I think of doing a secondary characters death badly.

Icarus: AGREED!

TR: Yes. They are the REASON for the existence of many characters, as we know them.

Secondary Character deaths often occur to strengthen the primary character's character. Where would Batman be without the death of his parents? Spider-Man without the death of Uncle Ben?

Interesting input. I just have one last question for all of you:

Q6: Is there a story, that involves death, you would absolutely recommend?

A story that makes you say: "Everyone needs to read this!" You don't have to spoil who dies in the story just mention the title, issue or story arc.

Icarus: Um…hm, that's a hard one. I think that Infinite Crisis is definitely a must read.

Decoy: Sandman: The Kindly Ones and Sandman: The Wake (I can't read one without the other, ever.)

Icarus: Ooh, also what Decoy said.

Decoy: Haha, Sandman is just getting so much love in this RT.

Icarus: I know, it really is. Don't care though, because Sandman DESERVES it. It is just THAT GOOD.

Fine I'll read Sandman!

TR: I can't imagine that people haven't already read Annihilation, but it is certainly worthwhile.

Maybe a better choice is the "Life and Death of Captain Marvel" - it is a classic story and very meaningful to the Marvel Universe.

Imp: I would say the death of Spiderman arc in Ultimate U. I was surprised that Spidey actually dies in a comic book. Poor Ultimate Spidey. May Ultimate Spidey rest in peace.

I love Death of Spider-Man. Did you ever watch the fan-made motion comic of this arc? Everybody should watch it!

In my case Gwen's death will always be my favorite death because of the emotional effect on Spidey.

Anyways we need to take this Roundtable to Rest In Piece... (Get it?)

Bring it home Roundtable-ers!

Imp: Now, it's time to swing out! Bye, folks and see you next time. :D

Decoy: Good bye everybody hope you enjoyed Round-table discussions: Death/You really should read Sandman, seriously read it.

TR: Thanos here... I have a date with Death. See you later Comic Viners!

Icarus: Oh no! Mr. Bond has escaped! Clementine, fire the moon laser!

PEW PEW PEW!!

>silence<

I guess I have to go attend my own funeral now, but before I go I have a question for you the reader...

Reader Question: Time to ask a question to you. Yes you, the person who is reading this post! As weird as this question my sound, what is your favorite comic book death? Be sure to comment below and let us know.

So, if you liked this Discussion and would like to join future Roundtables please let us know in the comments below or PM me.

This is Geo/sora_thekey signing off...

-- Geo (sora_thekey) 24/7 geek! -- Follow me on Twitter: @sora_thekey

How I Met Your Mother's star, Cobie Smulders, will be playing Maria Hill in The Avengers film next year. In a recent interview with NYMAG the actress let a major character adjustment slip:

You're also getting into action with Joss Whedon's The Avengers. Before he cast you in that, he said he was considering you for a Wonder Woman project. So he’s clearly a fan. Did he ever tell you why?

No! If he did, I would throw up in my mouth. I mean, the Wonder Woman thing was a very kind comment, I think. I was never in touch with studios about it or anything like that. But we had so much fun shooting [The Avengers]. We had days when it was just us working — and, oh, 200 extras — but, you know, in the inner circle, it was nice to sit by the monitor with him and watch him take on this ginormous project with great ease.

You’re not a superhero in the movie, but you do have sick costumes?

I do. They’re very sleek, and very leather. And she has superpowers and is hyperintelligent; a very nice, fine woman who has all the answers.

Superpowers and Hyperintelligent? For those of you who don't know Maria Hill is originally a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent who eventually takes on the role of SHIELD Director and later on the Avengers' supervisor. As far as I know, none of her comic books appearances showcases her with powers so this is a really interesting change to the movie.

Skrull and Secret Invasion rumors have been going around for a while now and reading this interview made me think of something. If the rumors are true, could it be that Maria Hill is a skrull?

The Avengers will premiere May 4, 2012.

UPDATE

NYMAG updated their interview with Cobie Smulders to clarify that he character does not have superpowers:

You’re not a superhero in the movie, but you do have sick costumes?I do. They’re very sleek, and very leather. And if she had a superpower it would be that she is hyperintelligent; a very nice, fine woman who has all the answers.*
*This quote has been updated to show that Smulders didn't mean to suggest that her Avengers character has superpowers.

I guess my Skrull hypothesis is no longer plausible.

-- Geo (sora_thekey) 24/7 geek! -- Follow me on Twitter: @sora_thekey

Originally posted on Anime Vice: Here

Aiming to coexist with humans, the X-Men, an elite group of mutants, have dedicated their lives protecting people like themselves and also the people who fear and hate them. For many of us the X-Men's story is a well-known, thanks to 20th Century Fox's movies, various animated television shows and comic books about this mutant super-hero team. The first episode of Madhouse's X-Men anime is no different.

Being Madhouse and Marvel's third twelve-episode series brings different kinds of expectations from everyone. In my case those expectations were not met but that is not necessarily a bad thing.

The episode begins with this interpretation of the X-Men fighting their fellow teammate Jean Grey, in her not-so-lucid form known as the Phoenix. (An overused plot point, sure, but it has worked all these years.) Putting aside Scott Summers/Cyclops' over dramatic screams, this first scene set up the team, their powers and the tone neatly. By the end of this scene Jean Grey dies, (shocker right?) but the interesting part is that while the team blames a mutant illusionist called Mastermind, Scott realizes that there is another mutant involved: Emma Frost. After the introductory credits the actual story begins.

The X-Men have disbanded and Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters has been closed for a year now. The rest of the episode is just about bringing the team back together to aid a young mutant girl in Japan named Hisako Ichiki (known as Armor in the X-Men comics) who has been kidnapped by the Inner Circle and their awesome-looking Sentinels. As an avid comic book reader my perception of this first episode is "well-informed" (I spend a lot of time on Anime Vice's sister site: Comic Vine) and for me this was all a big déjà vu.

The set-up reminds me a lot of the canceled animated series: Wolverine and the X-Men. Of course, unlike Nickelodeon's show, this first episode was a bit slow-paced. Aside from the first scene, the episode only focused on character traits and premise set up. The combination of an American story handled by Japanese storytellers is no as seamless as one would hope. Yet, one must always remember that this was originally made for a Japanese audience, one that probably is not as aware of the X-Men as Americans would be.

Anime is known for it's "extraordinary" tales, taking things to the limit, but a lot of this seemed restricted by its original counterpart, including the disappointing X-Men 90's-esque opening sequence. Originally, I kind of expected a story-line that would fit better with a Japanese tone. Aside from the squid with human intelligence who gives classes at a university this was very much Americanized. From an anime-viewing standpoint this would probably come off as bland but this isonly the first episode.

I probably do not know how to perceive the show. Should I look at it as an anime or a US-influenced animated series? Aside from that I have to say that the voice acting was pretty good on the most part and the animation is very attractive. It is a satisfying introduction to what the rest of the series will be. I will certainly continue to watch the anime and try not to judge the rest of the series by its first episode.

Episode 1: The Return - Joining Forces
Summary: When Jean "Phoenix" Grey's mind is taken control of by Mastermind and the Inner Circle, she sacrifices herself to protect the world. A year has passed since Jean's death, and the X-Men have since disbanded and the Xavier Institute closed. When Professor X receives word that a mutant named Hisako Ichiki has been kidnapped, he sends out a call to Storm, Wolverine and Beast. After being informed they are to fly to the Tōhoku region of Japan, where Xavier's psychic abilities cannot seem to reach, Wolverine and Storm go to talk to Cyclops, who has been brooding since Jean's death, in order to convince him to join them.
Company: Madhouse Studios
Air Date: April 1, 2011 (JP) / October 21, 2011 (NA
Run Time: 23:33

Watch on G4 Fridays at 11PM ET

-- Geo (sora_thekey) 24/7 geek! -- Follow me on Twitter: @sora_thekey

Hey there ComicViners!

As you probably already know, back in July I accompanied the Comic Vine staff as their convention intern again. I wrote a Survival Guide for the attendees and completed a Scavenger Hunt full of tasks of stuff you wanted to see (me) do at the convention floor. I also proposed to Power Girl, got kicked in the crotch by Deadpool and more in this awesome video (also embedded below). Oh and I almost forgot, I also did a tour on the Square Enix booth.

That's not all though! I was on my typical Draw-Off contest only this time it was not just with one of my favorite artists Peter Nguyen (Bruce Wayne - The Road Home: Catwoman and Fear Itself: Black Widow) but also Dennis Calero (X-Factor, X-Men: Noir and Devil Inside) -and someone else who I won't mention since the video is not up yet.

So, please enjoy the videos:

Sadly, I won't be attending Long Beach Comic Con or Comikaze Expo this year so that means that there will be no Scavenger Hunts, Draw-Offs or Shenanigans on my part until probably next year.

Hope you liked the videos!

-- Geo (sora_thekey) 24/7 geek! -- Follow me on Twitter: @sora_thekey

"New York, New York". Do you feel like singing some Frank Sinatra? That's probably because New York Comic Con is going on right now. Sadly, I am not there to enjoy the awesome geek ride that is NYCC, now that I think about it, I have not been to New York in over five year. I am glad the internet is around to allow information travel to us people who are far away from the "Big Apple".

The Cup O' Joe Panel at NYCC had a few big reveals but the biggest one might just involve a well known "fire bird". CBR.com describes it to those who were not present:

"The recent Marvel teasers saying "It's Coming" saw a bit of a reveal as an image was shown featuring the Phoenix. Whether that means a return for Jean Grey has yet to be seen as the only information given were the names Aaron, Bendis, Brubaker, Coipel, Fraction, Hickman, Kubert and Romita, Jr. At sight of the image, Brevoort said the first step towards this Phoenix story will be seen in the upcoming "Point One" issue the publisher is prepping now."

I guess there is something coming. Will that involve Jean? Who knows, but I bet you were never this excited for a 'Point One' issue since Amazing Spider-Man #654.1 came out a few months ago.

If I had to make an educated guess, based on all the names involved on the teaser, I am guessing this will revolve around next year's Marvel event, once the repercussions of Fear Itself, Schism and Children's Crusade are resolved.

The last time we saw Jean was in Phoenix: Endsong but there have been glimpses of the Phoenix Force (and Jean) in the X-Men books recently. Besides the obvious Phoenix/Jean resemblance in Hope Summers, Emma Frost has been having a lot of visions and dreams that involve our favorite 'fire bird'. Emma recently dealt with some psychological manipulation from the Phoenix Force in Uncanny X-Men #542 where it said:

"Scott loved her in a way he will never love you. And she always comes back."

I guess this is even more true now. Plus, I am sure it is no coincidence that "it's coming" shortly after Wolverine's new school, The Jean Grey School for Higher Learning, opens and Jean's "children" (X-Man and Rachel Summers) re-join the ranks of the X-Men in Regenesis.

It has been over five years since Jean returned to the mainstream line of Marvel books, what do you think?

Source / Source

-- Geo (sora_thekey) 24/7 geek! -- Follow me on Twitter: @sora_thekey

"New York, New York". Do you feel like singing some Frank Sinatra? That's probably because New York Comic Con is going on right now. Sadly, I am not there to enjoy the awesome geek ride that is NYCC, now that I think about it, I have not been to New York in over five year. I am glad the internet is around to allow information travel to us people who are far away from the "Big Apple".

For me, one of the most exciting news came from Marvel:

Beginning in March 2012, the Runaways will guest star in a special two-part arc of AVENGERS ACADEMY written by Christos Gage. Check back tomorrow for more information.

Excited? I am huge fan of the Runaways so you can bet I will be reading Avengers Academy #27 and 28 next year. The Runaways is a team of young kids who joined forces when they figured out that their parents were super villains. It has been a while since we saw the kids and now we will see them face off another team of young kids who are being trained on how-not-to-be super villains. This should prove to be an interesting crossover.

What do you expect to see when Julie Power meets the another flying, rainbow-emitting girl (Karolina Dean) again? What will happen when Mettle feels the powerful wrath of Molly Hayes? We will just have to wait and see next March.

Source

-- Geo (sora_thekey) 24/7 geek! -- Follow me on Twitter: @sora_thekey

The amazing The Avengers trailer hit the internet yesterday, and boy am I excited for May of next year. The trailer was so good, I almost missed something that is not entirely coherent with the distributing deals we have been hearing about ever since Disney bough Marvel. Around the 00:34 second mark, right after the Marvel logo, we see the Paramount Pictures iconic stars and mountain appear instead of Disney's logo.

It was about a year ago when Walt Disney Co. announced that they would be distributing The Avengers and Iron Man 3, not Paramount.Now that the trailer is out, the question is, what changed?

Variety.com has the answer:

Knowing Disney wanted to turn "The Avengers" into a franchise and bank on the success of "Iron Man" after buying Marvel for $4 billion, [Paramount]'s brass negotiated a deal in which it continues to collect 8% of the B.O. as part of fees it would have earned for distribbing the pic, as it did with the two "Iron Man" pics, "Thor" and "Captain America." It gets 9% for "Iron Man 3."
At the minimum, it earns $115 million, should they not perform.
At the same time, the deal granted Par placement on the marketing materials for both titles, even though Marvel's films are fully owned by Disney and will be solely distributed and marketed by the Mouse House, Variety learned.
Because of the ownership, Disney wants Marvel to get the spotlight, since Marvel = Disney.
Still, pay TV rights for "The Avengers" belong to [Paramount]'s Epix, not Starz, through which Disney releases its pics.
"In completing this agreement, Disney will leverage these two highly anticipated films across the multiple global platforms of the Walt Disney Co.," studio chairman Rich Ross said Oct. 18, 2010, when the deal was announced.

While it does seem to be a good move for the marketing of the movie, and the company's income, it's sort of off-putting that Disney spent all of that money on Marvel not to be able to show the castle at the beginning on the movie.

The good thing is that this does not affect the final product since, like Variety said, Marvel = Disney. The Avengers will premiere in theaters on May 4th, 2012.

-- Geo (sora_thekey) 24/7 geek! -- Follow me on Twitter: @sora_thekey

After the official First Look at Anne Hathaway as 'Selina Kyle' in 'The Dark Knight Rises' we all wondered whether or not Selina would completely don the 'Catwoman' role by adding cat ears to her outfit.

Today we get the answer to the question and since a picture is worth a thousand words here are more than a thousand (unofficial) words courtesy of sister site Screened.com, Just Jared and celebrity-gossip.net:

Gallery

Sadly, all I can personally think of is: "Why?!". While I do think that Catwoman should have cat ears, why was it decided that hers' would look this way? All of Batman's ensemble in the Nolan films has a purpose. What is the purpose of the Halloween-headband cat ears? At least we now know she will share a scene with Commissioner Gordon.

Opinions?

-- Geo (sora_thekey) 24/7 geek! -- Follow me on Twitter: @sora_thekey

This is probably the most complicated “Art Blog” I will ever write (‘till now).

Ever since Marvel’s Ultimate Comics’ relaunch announcement I have wanted to draw something that applies with the announcement. I decided who better to draw than the only constant character in the Ultimate U that I like, Kitty Pryde (It used to be Peter Parker but as you probably already know, died).

I decided to draw a simple “profile” image of her at first (Left) with her Shroud alter ego. The problem with this is that it was too boring and as I was drawing it I realized I got the proportions wrong. Other the anatomic errors there was not much that seemed “wrong” with this approach but it was still not what I wanted. (Of course I don’t want to get into the errors in the wardrobe area.)

After this I went with an action scene. I have always wanted to see Kitty phase up through the floor and punch someone in the face. I decided to try that but I failed. I have mentioned before that I am not good at action shots. In the end the drawing looked too posed (Right), definitely not what I wanted to achieve. As for who she was punching, you can’t really tell because the scanner didn’t get my light pencils but it was originally going to be Sandman.

Once again I attempted my favorite femme fatal in the 1610 universe. This one actually was the best out of them all. This is also the one with the most potential of getting finished. In another attempt to do an action scene I decided to draw Kitty jumping down through the floor. I thought this would be interesting especially because of the movement of her shroud (Left). I liked it; I still do but half way working on this I realized that a drawing of just her was pretty boring. So I dropped this and decided to add more characters. Of course, the man of the hour is Miles Morales, the new Spider-Man so I decided to add him.

Then again adding more characters didn’t prove all that productive in the end. I mentioned once that adding more that two characters to a drawing is very complicated for me. The next attempt was not all that bad. I went with another action pose. I started with three characters: Kitty Pryde, Spider-Man and Hawkeye. Problem was that my organization was so bad that the characters were lost amongst each other, so I dropped Clint (or rather, erased him). As I was completing the drawing I realized that now the piece was unbalanced because there was a huge gap where Hawkeye used to be. The drawing ended up as another failure even though I liked the action poses for Kitty and Spider-Man (Right). I especially loved the flexibility that I accidentally achieved with Morales. Another problem with this one was that suddenly the character I wanted to draw stopped being the focus of the art and instead of sharing the spotlight she faded in the background. I still might finish this one too, but for the moment I gave up and decided to go another route.

After so many attempts I finally got an “acceptable” drawing. While I do like the final product (Below), I am a bit disappointed I was not able to achieve what I did with this one on another “action” piece. I guess I should face the fact that I am better with “pin up” style art than sequential art. As for the drawing itself, I used a simple pose for Miles. The challenge with him was his costume; even though I don’t color getting the (red) webbing on his costume was hard! Kitty Pryde now shares the spotlight, instead of fading in the background. I decided to have her hood on this time, something I didn’t do with the past ones because it added a darker air for her character and if you have been keeping up with her she is definitely in a darker place now. I also used Mark Bagley’s variant cover to Ultimate X-Men #1 as a reference for the costume’s accuracy. I really hope you all like this one because it took a really long time to get it “right”.

Give me your opinions please! :)

-- Geo (sora_thekey) 24/7 geek! -- Follow me on Twitter: @sora_thekey

At San Diego Comic Con this year I bought Phoenix: Endsong, the one book where I don’t despise Greg Land. This is one of the first books I read at the library before I became an avid comic book reader.

Reading the trade again made me want to draw Phoenix, but there has been so many amazing interpretations of her (Mostly made by EGoD [link]) that I didn’t know how in the world I would be able to make it original.

One of my favorite panels of the book is a very simple scene where Jean takes on the White Phoenix costume in order to enter the White Hot Room (That’s right people I am spoiling it, but only because this is an older story and this will let you be aware that Jean is “technically” not dead). That panel is one of the sweetest scenes in the book because it shows how vulnerable Phoenix can be in the hands of the beloved Jean Grey.

I decided I wanted to do something similar but adding the fact that she is also dangerous. That is why I came up with what I have here. One of the greatest signs of vulnerability is holding yourself with your own hands around your torso, but because I didn’t want her to cover the Phoenix sign I used another sign of vulnerability with her left hand, holding her head/face. The way I concluded I could show her dangerous side is not only by having her give you a confusing stare but also adding fire. Phoenix is a fire bird, why not give Jean wings?

Let me know what you think! I tried to go with something original here, hopefully I achieved it.

-- Geo (sora_thekey) 24/7 geek! -- Follow me on Twitter: @sora_thekey