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Warning: Spoilers for Venom War #5!In the aftermath of Venom's big Marvel event, the scariest symbiote is creeping up again to totally ruin a hero’s life as Eddie Brock strikes a diabolical deal to become the new host of Carnage. Though it had previously been announced that Eddie would take up the murderous symbiote’s mantle, details on how or why were still scarce. As the Venomverse gets majorly shaken up, Carnage reaches new horrific heights.

After the brutal brawl wrapping up Venom War, both Carnage symbiote and Earth-616’s Eddie Brock are left beaten and near death. Carnage makes a sinister proposal to the former Venom host in the cliffhanger finale of Venom War #5 by Al Ewing, Iban Coello, Frank D’Armata, and Ariana Maher: "Can the two of us make a deal...?"

Back in a church setting reminiscent of Brock’s origin with the symbiote species, Carnage...

Catwoman: Guardian of Gotham reimagines Batman as a villain, with Catwoman taking on the role of Gotham's hero in a dark twist. The Elseworlds comic portrays a twisted relationship between Selina Kyle and Bruce Wayne, where Batman becomes a sinister adversary. While Joker's schemes are destructive, Catwoman's switch with Batman in the comic makes him a more malicious villain than the iconic Clown Prince of Crime.

Despite Joker being one of Gotham's most iconic and long-lasting villains, Catwoman swapping places with Batman released a villain infinitely worse. The Elseworlds comic, Catwoman: Guardian of Gotham, made the titular villainess the primary heroine of Gotham. Instead of Bruce Wayne losing his family and donning the cowl, she lost her family and took up her moniker to match her twisted new origin.

Catwoman: Guardian of Gotham was released in 1999. It spanned two issues and had the creative team of Doug Moench, Jim Balent,...

Warning! Potential spoilers ahead for Duke #3

G.I. Joe villain Major Bludd makes his debut in the Energon Universe on a variant cover for Duke #3. The mercenary Major Bludd is known for his attempts to seize power from Cobra Commander in the original series. Duke #3 sets the stage for the formation of the Cobra organization, with more G.I. Joe villains expected to appear.

G.I. Joe is back in comics in a big way thanks to Skybound’s Energon Universe line, and now, one classic villain is making his debut in the new continuity on a variant cover for the upcoming Duke #3. Teased from the very first issue, Major Bludd makes his EU debut in a beautiful new variant cover.

Released via Skybound.com, the Major Bludd variant of Duke #3 comes courtesy of Karl Kerschl, showing off the Cobra mercenary in all his gun-toting glory. Kerschl's variant is readers' first look...

Speculation on the upcoming Avengers: Secret Wars began almost as soon as Marvel announced it: promising to deliver another stunning culmination of years' worth of storylines. A good deal of it centered on Tony Stark, who kicked off the Marvel Cinematic Universe in 2008 and died saving it in the finale of 2019's Avengers: Endgame. The prospect of Robert Downey Jr. returning to the role as a Stark variant in Secret Wars is enough to get fans very excited.

In point of fact, however, Stark doesn't play a huge role in either of the comic series upon which the movie will be based. The MCU will likely change the plot to fit its storyline, and leaving the franchise's progenitor out feels like a mistake. But while he has a presence in the 2015 comic book arc -- a number of Stark variants run around the series' setting of Battleworld -- he's not a major player.

The following contains spoilers for Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, now playing in theaters.

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse finds a surprising antagonist in Miguel O'Hara, aka Spider-Man 2099, who serves as the self-appointed leader of the film's reality-hopping Spider-Society. Despite his good intentions, he ends the movie as one of Miles Morales' most tenacious opponents, having turned the entire Society against him. That twist leads right into the film's cliffhanger ending, with Miguel presumably destined to cause more trouble in the upcoming Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse.

Miguel is played by Oscar Isaac, one of the busiest actors in the world today, with prominent roles in everything from the Star Wars franchise to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He's revealed a fondness for Miguel -- describing him affectionately as "the one Spider-Man that doesn't have a sense of humor" -- and embraced his status as an ostensible superhero doing the wrong things for the right reasons.

It might seem like only yesterday we were listening to Tems’ rendition of “No Woman, No Cry,” but just two months after Black Panther: Wakanda Forever roared its way to the top of the box office, Ryan Coogler’s superhero showstopper has landed on Disney+. As well as securing Letitia Wright’s Shuri as the new Black Panther, we had an Oscar-worthy turn from Angela Bassett and the introduction of Tenoch Huerta as Namor (dropping the Sub-Mariner suffix).

Doing what the MCU does best, it also queued a ton of potential projects. Alongside another war with the Talokan people in the mythical Black Panther 3, there was the tease of Phase 5’s Thunderbolts and a possible Midnight Angels spin-off. One arc (reactor) we know is directly tied to Wakanda Forever is Chinaka Hodge’s Ironheart. However, is the technological whizz-kid also setting up the return of the original MCU foe?

Alongside Namor,...

Marvel fans generally understand that Iron Man is the best when it comes to creating suits, but in the Ultimate Universe, Spider Man's father created a Venom suit that tops anything Tony Stark can create.

Since the start of the Ultimate Universe, fans had been questioning when and how Venom would fit into the continuity. Their demands were answered when it was revealed that Eddie Brock and Peter Parker were in fact childhood friends because their fathers worked together as scientists. When the young Brock tried to continue his father's work, he contacted his childhood friend Peter in order to rekindle their friendship and get him involved on the project.

Related: Venom Flips His Powers In the Ultimate Twist on Symbiote Lore

In Ultimate Spider-Man by Brian Michael Bendis and Mark Bagley, it was revealed that the project the adult Brock and Parker were working on was called the Venom suit.

Written by Jack Kirby, Steve Englehart | Art by Jack Kirby, Gil Kane | Published by Titan Comics

I’ll be honest here, and say this won’t really be a review. A review is when you approach something objectively, weigh up its pros and cons, and hopefully throw in some entertaining prose. This book, the fabled unpublished Marvel Comics Prisoner, is not something you can objectively review. It’s 70′s Marvel. It’s prime Kirby, and Steve Englehart and Gil Kane are nothing to be sneezed at either. And it’s The Prisoner, an iconic series celebrating its 50th anniversary. I’d give it five stars for any combination of the above, but throw in the way this has been lovingly presented, curated even, by Titan, then this is an absolute slam dunk.

For those not in the know, Marvel Comics bought the comic book rights to The Prisoner TV show back in the early 1970′s.

The babies are back!

Firefighters at an Oklahoma department made headlines last year with an adorable Christmas card featuring six of their little ones — born within six months of each other. Now, the babies are all 1 year old and ready for their closeups again.

“It was like a zoo around here trying to get on the same page,” Durant firefighter Cliff Wilson tells People. “The first year, they were all infants … this year it was a challenge. The photographer, Richard Parker, he is a firefighter, he had a whole lot of patience.”

In the end, the families got the perfect shot.

True story, Spawn was one of the first comics that "teen me" had ever read, and now Marvel is re-releasing the first issue to celebrate the series' 25th anniversary. Also: six preview pages / cover art for Neil Gaiman's American Gods: Shadows #3, Rob Liefeld's return on Deadpool: Bad Blood, five preview pages from Dead Inside #5, and Rose #2. This week's Flashback features Justice League Dark Vol. 1: In the Dark, with a Fast Forward focused on B.P.R.D.: The Devil You Know #1, including a variant cover by the one and only Mike Mignola!

Spawn #1 25th Anniversary Director's Cut: "2017 marks the 25th anniversary of Spawn, created by Todd McFarlane. Spawn debuted to the public, selling 1.7 million copies in 1992 and is on track to be the longest running independent comic ever.

Digital:$4.99

Print:$4.99

Story / Art: Todd McFarlane

Cover: Ashley Wood

Variant Cover: Clayton Crain

Published: May 17, 2017

Diamond...

It’s pretty wild when friends have kids around the same time. It’s even more of an occasion when it’s six of them, and they’re all part of the same fire department.

But that was the case with the Durant Fire Department of Oklahoma. The squad is small to begin with — just 33 people — and so they decided to take advantage of their unique situation for this year’s Christmas card.

Durant Oklahoma Fire Department

Owen, Augustus, Mitchell, Ava, Nash and Brevyn were all born between February and June 2016, and all star in the Dfd’s Christmas card this year.

I wanted to break away from event comics from Marvel because they were getting so frustrating to read. So I went to the library on the app, went to my favorite character Spider-Man, and spun the wheel, picking a story at random. What came up was a six part story from 1989 called The Assassin Nation Plot.

I’ll start off with something I usually hold off on till the end of my reviews. The art work by Todd McFarlane is a sight to behold. There are some artists that, similar to guitar players, the moment you see their work, you know who created it. I was reading this storyline at work and someone glanced over my shoulder and said “Hey, McFarlane!” without knowing anything about the story I was reading.

I don’t know what it is about his art that works. Each character is a little grotesque in appearance.

Most people like to see resolution in films but not every filmmaker gives us that. Sometimes, they just leave us wondering. While there are times this can be just a symptom of bad writing or editing, it can also be an excellent way to get people to leave the theater thinking. In the hands of a clever and talented filmmaker, this technique can make a good film even more interesting. Here are seven good movies that don’t give us the answers we expect.

Rashomon (1950) The Plot: In feudal Japan, a priest, a woodcutter and another man are taking refuge from a bad rainstorm in the ruins of an old army gatehouse called Rashômon. The priest and the woodcutter are discussing the trial of a bandit accused of the murder of a samurai whose body was found by the woodcutter in a forest grove. Both men have been called to testify.

Sony Pictures

When it comes to their endings, comic books movies have typically been something of a mixed bag. Notable examples of brilliance in the genre are few and far between, and it almost feels like a cliche now to say that it’s more likely their full-stops will be disappointing (even with franchise longevity resting on them).

Sometimes it’s a case of safeness: studios often shoot multiple alternate endings to decide (usually with audience tests) which “works better”, or which is most financially intelligent. Or which doesn’t rock too many boats. Where they might have been bold and memorable in their choice of finale, the studio lost their nerve, overlooking the more interesting and fundamentally braver alternatives. And audiences simply don’t like that.

That means there are some abandoned comic book movie endings that were braver, bigger and bolder, and which fundamentally would have improved their respective films,...

If you have been living and routinely interacting with other human beings over the last month, you’ve probably heard one or two words involving this year’s Academy Awards and the heated controversy over the startling lack of both films and people of color among the nominees. Personally, I think that the real focus of concern ought to be less on the back end-- awards handed out for films which were financed and/or studio-approved, scheduled for production and filmed perhaps as much as two or three years ago-- and more on addressing the lack of cultural and intellectual and experiential diversity among those who have the power to make the decisions as to what films get made in the first place. This is no sure-fire way to ensure that there will be a richer and more consistent representation of diverse creative voices when it comes time for Hollywood...

Feature James Hunt 18 Apr 2014 - 06:00

What hints did Amazing Spider-Man 2 give us about the rest of Sony's planned Spider-Man franchise?

This article contains spoilers for The Amazing Spider-Man 2.

The end of The Amazing Spider-Man 2 may have lacked the next-movie teaser Marvel Studios likes to pin onto their films, but that doesn't mean we haven't got any clue as to where the Spider-Man franchise is going. With Sony's stated goal of turning the property into its own universe of films, we got to thinking: what clues are there in Amazing Spider-Man 2 that might get followed up as the franchise expands?

Just so you don't get spoiled, we're going to put a big picture up here. After that, it's spoiler territory...

Still here? Right then...

"Felicia"

Felicity Jones' all-too-brief appearances were a highlight of Amazing Spider-Man 2, and not least because anyone familiar with Spider-Man has...

Warning!

I’M Going To Educated Guess Using Previously Discussed Spoilers For CAP2, Asm 2 and Dofp. Sometimes This Makes Accidental Spoilers.

If You Don’T Like Spoilers, Come Back After The Movie.

We sit on the cusp of another blockbuster season now that this solstice has passed us into spring. We’ve got Captain America: The Winter Soldier coming up representing the Marvel Cinematic Universe, we’ve also closed in on the final trailers for our two other Marvel Universes: Sony’s SpideyVerse and Fox’s X-Verse. We’re close enough to all three, and all of them have at least one sequel announced, and they’ve all been advertised out the wazoo.

I enjoy trying to figure out how random pieces of pop culture connect, and I’m guessing you do too, because that’s what comic book continuity is, that’s what story tension is, that’s what actively watching media is.

Yesterday (March 19), we were treated to a special presentation of about 35 minutes of footage from "Amazing Spider-Man 2," the highly anticipated superhero sequel coming from Sony on May 2, presented by director Marc Webb.

We're going to run down what we saw, so if you're particular about spoilers, it's best to turn around now (swing away!)

If you want to know what our general impressions are, you should know that we were pretty impressed. The first film, while filled with winning moments, thanks mostly to that ridiculously agreeable cast that was led by Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone, is more of a disappointment than not, a warmed-over retread of Sam Raimi's original "Spider-Man," with more emo pop music moments and an unconvincing lizard-man villain.

From what we saw today, "Amazing Spider-Man 2" is much, much better. The movie seems to move at a much better clip and the action is just...

We all know that Spider-Man 2 is including three villains (much like the unfortunate and much-derided Spider Man 3). However, the latest trailer suggests that there could, in fact, be even more going on in this movie. A scene that presumably takes place in Oscorp shows a man in a suit walking past a series of display cases as Richard Parker speaks in a voice-over, saying that he finally discovered what Oscorp was planning on using his research for. One display case holds four moving mechanical arms. Another holds a pair of metal wings. This strongly suggests the existence of Vulture and Doctor Octopus (and further suggests that Richard Parker may have had a hand in the creation of their signature technology). While it is unlikely that Vulture and Doc Ock will appear as major players in Tasm 2, this may reveal to us two more of...

The Visual Effects Society has announced the nominees for their 11th Annual Ves Awards. From film to animation to television to commercials and video games, the Ves Awards honor the outstanding visual effects artistry.

"Life of Pi's" Ang Lee will be honored with the Visionary Award. Winners will be announced on Tuesday, February 5, at the Beverly Hilton.

Here's the complete list of nominees; for winners/nominees of other award-giving bodies, click here:

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Visual Effects-Driven Feature Motion Picture

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

Joe Letteri

Eileen Moran

Eric Saindon

Kevin L. Sherwood

Prometheus

Paul Butterworth

Charley Henley

Allen Maris

Richard Stammers

Life of Pi

Thomas Fisher

Susan Macleod

Guillaume Rocheron

Bill Westenhofer

The Avengers

Susan Pickett

Janek Sirrs

Jeff White

Guy Williams

Battleship

Grady Cofer

Pablo Helman

Jeanie King

Glen Mcintosh

Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Feature Motion Picture

Rust and Bone

Béatrice Bauwens...

Fuel VFX has received two award nominations from the Visual Effects Society.

The.peer-voted accolade for the company's work on Ridley Scott.s Prometheus follows the near-collapse of the VFX house, which was saved in October 2012 when Animal Logic acquired its assets.

Fuel co-founder Paul Butterworth was nominated for .Outstanding Visual Effects in a Visual Effects-Driven Feature Motion Picture. for Prometheus (alongside non-Fuel nominations Charley Henley, Allen Maris and Richard Stammers).

The Fuel team of Xavier Bourque, Sam Cole, Simone Riginell and Denis Scolan - representing the hard work of all 16 compositors who worked on the film at the company - were nominated for Prometheus (Engineers & the Orrery) in the "Outstanding Compositing in a Feature Motion Picture" category.

Fuel has also provided effects on a number of Marvel films including Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger. Fuel continues to run from its Newtown, Sydney-based offices where Animal Logic...

Glenn and Mike were at the movies – separately – just so they could have a heart-to-heart conversation about The Amazing Spider-Man. This time, each has a fairly different opinion.

Of course, there are spoilers ahead.

Glenn: So, this is going to be an interesting exercise. I believe I could hear your teeth grinding from Norwalk…

Mike: You liked it?

Glenn: Most of it, yes.

Mike: Jeez. I found only the last third the least bit tolerable. What did you like about it?

Glenn: The casting, for starters.

Mike: The casting was fine. But it was in service of a director who put everything he learned in community college up on the screen.

Glenn: Andrew Garfield won me over very quickly, with a naturalness that Tobey Maguire never quite seemed to have. Emma Stone could have carried the film even if she didn’t look just like a John Romita drawing.

Mike:...

The Years of the Locust, by Jon Hotten, tells a true story of murder, corruption and intrigue set amidst the world of boxing. It involves a salesman-turned-promoter named Rick Parker and his innocent/naive fighter Tim Anderson.

Hotten noted in a blog post last year that Considine was looking at adapting it, but it now seems to be a bit more official. Considine, who has always had a sterling reputation as an actor (Dead Man Walking, Hot Fuzz, Submarine, The Bourne Ultimatum), has garnered nothing but rave reviews for his directorial debut, Tyrannosaur and had been presumed to be looking at another project to write and direct.

Backstage at the BAFTAs, where Considine picked up an award for Outstanding Debut by a Writer or Director, he confirmed he is now working on adapting The Years of the Locust, although on his website he also confirms that he is working on...

Living in a smaller market that doesn’t typically get access to slightly esoteric pleasures — such as foreign films in a theatrical environment — one of 2011′s biggest cinematic misses for yours truly was Paddy Considine‘s feature directing debut, Tyrannosaur. I, unfortunately, still have to wait a couple of months for that one to be on my Netflix queue, but that doesn’t mean I can’t already look forward to his recently confirmed follow-up, The Years of the Locust.

After grabbing a Best Debut by a British Director, Writer or Producer award at the BAFTAs this very evening, Considine announced that, for his next turn behind the camera, he’ll be adapting Jon Hotten‘s book, which takes a look at “the world of professional body building.” Enticing, but not entirely new; this has been public knowledge since he revealed it in an Empire web chat at the end of September,...

Something big is happening on Monday 6th February for Sony’s big blockbuster reboot The Amazing Spider-Man. Several cities across the world including London, New York, Los Angeles and Rio are holding screenings for what we think will be our first look at some preview footage, probably the opening prologue from this July’s blockbuster, similar to Warner Bros’ strategy with The Dark Knight Rises in December.

Tickets were released for these screenings a couple of weeks ago and they sold out extremely quickly and only the lucky few who were fast will get their eyes on the footage tomorrow.

No one really knows what to expect from what is going down but we have all seen the posters go up across our cities and the viral trailer posted below;

So in lieu of whatever Monday brings, here are 5 things we dearly hope for The Amazing Spider-Man;

1) Keep it real...

[1] Which character is Guillermo Del Toro thinking will make a good villain for his Hulk TV show? What have we learned about the bad guys in The Avengers? Is there a cooler looking X-Men: First Class Blu-ray case out there? Who made the best comic book arcade game of all time? What are the most ridiculous comic book movie moments of all time? Are scientists evolving an immunity to x-rays? Read about all of this and more in today's Superhero Bits. /Film read Joshua L noticed that Loki and Thor had their eyes on something on the set of The Avengers and decided to caption it. [2] Comic Vine [3] (via Comic Book Movie [4]) has posted a rumor that Guillermo Del Toro is attempting to make the Red Hulk the villain in the new Hulk TV show that goes to pilot next season. Read more at the above links. [5] The problem with...

Warning! Warning! Danger, Will Robinson! Here There Be Spoilers!

There are easier ways, right? Toss the ring into Mount Doom and you’re done with it! Darth Vader’s your dad, love him and redeem his soul! The Red Skull (who, let’s face it, didn’t do much evil to begin with, since all his plans – save one assassination – were spoiled by Cap) touches the wrong glowy thing and vanishes in a puff of cosmic smoke! Sure all those villains can come back, hale and hearty and ready to roll, but at least defeating them was quick, clean and made some sense.

And then there’s Voldemort.

To be clear, I think Jk Rowling is hands-down brilliant. I’ve no doubt the seven book/eight film Harry Potter saga will be part of our culture, download, e-book or otherwise, for decades to come. At the same time, though, among...

Today and tomorrow, you and your loved ones can have a mighty good time at the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art's annual festival! This year's festivities include an amazing array of panels and programs to tickle the fancy of plenty of comic, sci-fi, and cartoon fans alike. With a gaggle of exhibitors, and professionals there to sign all your ebay-able wares, there's plenty for you to do! Highlights include:

Saturday, April 10th

11:30 Am Titans of Comics: Living Cartooning Legends with Al Jaffee, Arnold Roth, Gahan Wilson and Danny Fingeroth!

2:00 Pm The Art of the Superhero: When Singular Vision Meets Popular Mythology with Paul Pope, Jaime Hernandez, Frank Miller, Kyle Baker and Dean Haspiel!

5:15 Pm The MoCCA Live Strip Show: Actors Perform Indie Funnies Featuring the art of: R. Sikoryak, Michael Kupperman, Kim Deitch, Gabrielle Bell, and Emily Flake with the voice talents of Sam Seder, Sara Benincasa and Jon Glaser!

If you've ever visited Smith magazine, you've probably been there for the great comics (A.D.: After the Deluge, The Pekar Project, Next-Door Neighbor, Graphic Therapy, Shooting War, and My Home Birth) and their innovative Six Word Memoirs. Inspired by the famous anecdote of Ernest Hemingway telling a complete story in only six words ("For Sale: Baby shoes, never worn") they've gotten enough contributions from readers to fill an entire series of Six Word Memoir books.

Amazingly, though, they haven't really combined the two.*

It works suprisingly well, and a few of them are already made for it-- "With great power comes great responsibility"; "Truth, Justice, and the American Way"; "Criminals are a superstitious, cowardly lot"-- and so we've decided to jump start the process. So here are our first six:

Reed Richards: Don't worry, the shielding will hold.Batman: I promised on my parents' grave.Wonder Woman: War's easy.

"American Splendor" writer Harvey Pekar, whose life and long-running autobiographical comic inspired a 2003 film starring Paul Giamatti, has never been known for his tech savvy. Famously avoiding computers and the online world whenever possible, Pekar surprised many fans with his latest project: an ongoing webcomic series.

Titled "The Pekar Project," the ongoing series hosted by Smith Magazine kicked off its run this week with four new comics written by Pekar and illustrated by a quartet of artists. New comics will appear every two weeks, with various interviews, lists and other types of content produced by Pekar appearing in alternate weeks. (Check out Pekar's list of recommended jazz albums that appeared last week for a taste of things to come).

I spoke with the veteran writer about this new project, his relationship with technology, and what to expect from both the series and the team of artists involved with the project.

Perhaps not as well-known as Superman—and certainly not as chiseled as the Man of Steel, either—"American Splendor" creator Harvey Pekar is nonetheless a comic book legend. The autobiographical "Splendor," which details Pekar's musings on life's everyday occurrences, has already crossed over into theaters in the form of a 2003 Paul Giamatti-starring film. Now, Pekar is trying out a whole new medium: the Internet.

Harvey Pekar and Smith Magazine are teaming up for "The Pekar Project," an all-new ongoing webcomic series written by Pekar and illustrated by artists Tara Seibel, Joseph Remnant, Rick Parker and Sean Pryor. The series will be edited by Jeff Newelt.

"Pekar [in Smith Magazine] is a natural," said Newelt. "Because this is a free webcomic, and can be read while not-working at the office, on your iPhone, etc, we're hoping to literally turn a new generation, those who are into shows like ['Seinfeld' and 'Curb Your Enthusiasm'], on to Pekar's work in general.