Hey there Clashers, your Friendly Neighborhood Clasher here. It’s about time we swing into the world of Spiderman and take a look at the future.
Throughout the history of media the future has been a very popular theme with books like 1984, movies like Back to the Future, and TV shows like The Jetsons, it seems like we as a people just can’t help but to ponder what this unknown time holds for us. Marvel is no exception to this curiosity with their 2099 line in the 90’s, where heroic mantles are taken up by new avatars in the future where the heroic age is no more. Imagine if you will a world where the police only protect you if you pay your monthly protection bill. Where the heroes are gone except in memory. With Thor back in Asgard and being worshipped as a full blown deity. A future where corporations rule all, and mold their great minds from childhood.
One of those great minds is Miguel O’Hara; brought up by Alchemax to be one of their greatest scientists. Miguel was working on a way to rewrite DNA and was getting very far with his research but was sick of his boss’s vindictive ways so was ready to quit. Not wanting to lose his greatest employee, the CEO of Alchemax injected Miguel with a drug that grafts to a person’s DNA so they can never be over their addiction. And what do you know Alchemax holds exclusive patent on this drug and as long as he stays with them Miguel gets a free steady supply. Miguel attempts to use his research to rewrite his own DNA with an untainted sample of his DNA. Unfortunately, Miguel had a lab partner who was not content with living in his shadow. In his jealousy, Miguel’s lab partner replaces his DNA sample with a spider DNA sample they were working with turning Miguel into a new Spiderman. Miguel wasn’t exactly thrilled to have his DNA grafted with that of a spider; especially with the police force in Alchemax’s pocket and chasing down the “mysterious spider-powered intruder” but as he runs home he sees this as an opportunity to get back at the tyrant running Alchemax. Dawning an old day of the dead costume he got in Mexico, Miguel starts publicly attacking Alchemax as well as trying to bring them down from the inside. While attempting to escape the police Miguel sees how people outside of the corporate bubble still need heroes and takes it upon himself to be one.
Miguel O’Hara is definitely his own Spiderman. Because of the way he was raised, first by his hot headed father then by his cold hearted boss, he himself can be both hot heated and coldhearted at times. He’s nowhere near as free-spirited as Peter nor does he know much about a nurturing loving upbringing. On the same token however Miguel was living in the lap of luxury since he was 10 years old. The futuristic New York definitely adds a new dynamic to both the story and the characters themselves. The living conditions of the poor side of the city has people doing the craziest things to survive. One man calling himself the Vulture uses a flight harness similar to that of his namesake to protect the people under his watch. Seems heroic but any who dare threaten his followers…. Are killed and eaten. Miguel at one point teams up with the Vulture to protect innocent people but after finding out about his….”special diet” Miguel ends up at odds with the cannibal. Another interesting dynamic is the use of technology. Being set in the future gives it a certain science fiction element. At some point Miguel winds up in a virtual reality program trying to save his brother from a living virus.
Besides names and powers, Spidey 2099 is in no way like Peter Parker; comparing them would barely make sense. If you blurred out titles and Spiderman from th books you would never think to link the two. The variety is in my opinion a good thing so your not jut reading about a knock-off Peter Parker. Im glad they also made Miles Morales his own Spiderman as well but that’s a segment for another month in this year long web of celebration so until next time friends, keep clashing.
We're back. With a brand new News Edition. Here we go.
FREE COMIC BOOK DAY SELECTIONS ANNOUNCED; INCLUDING THE RETURN OF FURMAN & WILDMAN'S TRANSFORMERS by Frankie Rodriguez
Free Comic book Day has become a huge lure to bring in new comic book fans. And after the critical success of the DC reboot and in 2012, it will have more titles than ever this year; according to FCBD spokesperson, Leslie Jackson:
We had a record amount of entries from publishers this year with more than forty-five different titles. Retailers on the committee had a tough time deciding on which titles to choose for Gold sponsorship, but we’re sure fans will be pleased with the line-up for next year.
With all the titles, it includes the previously announce, then denied but revised of the return of Transformers fan favorite creators Simon Furman and Andrew Wildman returning to Transformers as of issue #80.5; which is among the books free during Free Comic Book Day this May. The following are the Gold Books coming out in 2012.
Archaia Entertainment Mouse Guard, Labyrinth and More HC Flip Book Written by Jeremy Bastian, Nate Cosby, Royden Lepp, Jim McCann, Ted Naifeh and David Petersen Illustrated by Jeremy Bastian, Chris Eliopoulos, Cory Godbey, Janet Lee, Royden Lepp and David Petersen. Cover by David Petersen This Free Comic Book Day, Archaia offers readers the chance to experience history in the making with a FREE, gorgeous, 48-page, 6” x 9” full color hardcover original graphic novel featuring all-new material! David Petersen returns with an all-new Mouse Guard tale that’s guaranteed to tug at your heartstrings! Lose yourself once again in Jim Henson’s amazing world of Labyrinth, featuring a fantastical story from Eisner Award-nominee Ted Naifeh (Courtney Crumrin) and Cory Godbey (Fraggle Rock). Get a new perspective on Jet Jones in Royden Lepp’s critically acclaimed Rust, with a short story seen through the eyes of younger brother Oswald Taylor. Jeremy Bastian’s acclaimed Cursed Pirate Girl hits the high seas in this whimsical, swashbuckling tale of wonderland journeys and unimaginable dangers. Nate Cosby (Pigs) and Chris Eliopoulos (Franklin Richards) present Cow Boy, a comedy/western that tells the tale of a young bounty hunter determined to send his entire outlaw family to jail. And Jim McCann and Janet Lee follow up their Eisner Award-winning Return of the Dapper Men with an all-new short story that leads into the upcoming sequel, Time of the Dapper Men. Witness the origin of a new, major character! And…the return of 41?!
Archie Comics Mega Man: Let the Games Begin Script: Ian Flynn Art: Patrick “SPAZ” Spaziante, John Workman, Matt Herms "Let the Games Begin!" Part One: Don’t miss the first classic issue of the hit new MEGA MAN comic series! The future looks bright when brilliant and benevolent Dr. Light unveils his latest creations: the Robot Masters! But when the nefarious Dr. Wily steals them for his own sinister purposes, there is no one left to stop him. No one – except Mega Man!
Bongo Comics 2012 Bongo Comics Free-For-All! SpongeBob Comics Freestyle Funnies By Groening/Hillenburg Bongo offers the best in humor comics with a proud tale from the boasting barflies of Moe’s Tavern, as they recount their close encounter with marauding beasts as members of the Springfield Bear Patrol. And Sergio Aragonés joins the fun with a story from his own past of how he made his first peso as an underground and underage artist. THEN, flip over the book for two of the swimmingest SpongeBob sagas from the series' hard-to-find earliest issues. In "Squidward and the Golden Clarinet," SpongeBob reads an issue of Mermaid Man to a less-than-welcoming Squidward. But this story has a musical hook even Squidward can't resist. Plus: a page of gags that go off the deep end by indie artiste James Kochalka.
Boom! Studios
Peanuts/Adventure Time Flip Book Author(s): Charles Schulz, Vicki Scott, Ryan North Artist(s): Charles Schulz, Ron Zorman,Vicki Scott, Paige Braddock, Shelli Paroline, Braden Lamb Cover Artist(s): Charles Schulz, Shelli Paroline and Braden Lamb Two stories of two boys and their dogs -- on one side, Charlie Brown and Snoopy, along with the entire Peanuts gang, come to Free Comic Book Day! On the other side -- boy Finn and his dog Jake, along with the entire cast of the hot new Cartoon Network series Adventure Time, adventure in the Land of Ooo for Free Comic Book Day! Get your full KABOOM! dose of “Good Griefs” and “Algebraics” all in one book!
Dark Horse Comics Star Wars/Serenity Flip Book Zack Whedon (W), Davidé Fabbri (P), Fábio Moon (P/I), Christian Dalla Vecchia (I), Adam Hughes (Cover), and Daniel Dos Santos (Cover) Han Solo and Chewbacca have a falling-out after a deal with a shady customer goes bad. When the client gets designs on the Millennium Falcon, Han and Chewie present a united front that can’t be beat! “Mal” Reynolds, captain of the outlaw vessel Serenity, is no stranger to jobs gone wrong. But when the chips are down, he’s able to rely on an amazing, odd, and diversely talented crew for help!
DC Comics DC COMICS – THE NEW 52 FCBD EDITION (W) Various (A) Various DC COMICS—THE NEW 52 took the industry by storm! Now get an exclusive look at what’s happening in 2012--- written and illustrated by today’s top creators.
IDW Publishing Transformers #80.5 Simon Furman (w); Andrew Wildman (p), Stephen Baskerville (i); Wildman (c) The wait is over--after a 20-year hiatus, IDW proudly returns to the original TRANSFORMERS comic book universe, picking up right where 1991's TRANSFORMERS #80 left off! Optimus Prime, Grimlock, Kup, Hot Rod and all your favorite Generation One TRANSFORMERS characters charge into the future as fan-favorite writer Simon Furman and legendary Transformers artist Andrew Wildman present TRANSFORMERS #80.5! Reflecting back on the dizzying highs and the terrifying lows of the original run of Transformers comics, Optimus Prime watches over a Cybertron that hasn't faced Megatron for decades. But that peace shudders to an end, as we dive headlong into July's TRANSFORMERS #81! Because the Fans demanded it! Thousands of TRANSFORMERS fans signed petitions urging us to make this book--and IDW listened!
Image Comics Image 20 An anthology featuring all-new stories with a mix of Image’s old and new best loved characters!
Oni Press
Yo Gabba Gabba Writer(s): Jamie S. Rich, Kali Fontecchio, Frank Pittarese, Evan Dorkin, & Sarah Dyer Artist Name(s): Michael Allred, Kali Fontecchio, Jarrett Williams, & Evan Dorkin, with Han Allred, Rico Renzi, & Sarah Dyer From the hit Nickelodeon show! Come join your Gabba Land pals Muno, Foofa, Brobee, Toodee, Plex, and of course DJ Lance Rock for a series of fun-filled adventures! Plus, an awesome Super Martian Robot Girl tale, too!
THE RETURN OF THE SCARLET SPIDER
by Frankie Rodriguez
During Spider-Island, the landmark story gave off a lot of story potential, which included the return of Spider Clone Kaine. And while Kaine played an instrumental role during the crossover, it lead to an opened question: what will he do next? And then NYCC hit with the news of a new Scarlet Spider ongoing series with Teasers and more. Now it's been been revealed that Kaine will be taking over the heroic identity as the new ongoing hits during the first week of the new year. Writer Christopher Yost and artist Ryan Stegman will be giving us a journey of the brand new Scarlet Spider, Kaine. This Scarlet Spider has been described as a darker hero, moving him to Houston, Texas with a whole new supporting cast. And while Kaine will be taking place mostly in Houston, it won't be the only place that he will see.
Christopher Yost says:
I think after Spider-Island, Scarlet Spider's motivation is to generally get away from New York, to get out of all that insanity, and start heading south to get out of the country. It's kind of the journey of Scarlet Spider to get away from it all. But as is want to happen, life kind of gets in the way, and a large portion of the story is going to be set in Houston, Texas.
And this all starts with a brand new villain make a debut that will cause the new Scarlet Spider swing into action. And from the looks of it, Houston will be having a look and feel that artist Ryan Stegman proclaims he's gotten a hold of:
As for Houston, I've been doing a lot of research on what exactly the city looks like. I'm also trying to book a trip down there next month to check it out and get a feel for it. Because I'm a nerd for accuracy on stuff like that. New York has a specific feel to it that I'm very aware of because I've been there a lot and I've also seen a lot of renditions of it in comics. But Houston is a bit more open. So hopefully I can convey the difference.
Scarlet Spider is the first new #1 of the new year. Scarlet Spider # 1, written by Christopher Yost with art by Ryan Stegman will hit sleeves January 4th, 2012.
IMAGE COMICS BRINGS BACK NANCY TO RAISE HELL
Press Release from Image Comics
El Torres' Nancy In Hell Returns This January With All-New Miniseries
Berkeley, CA – 29 November 2011 -- She's already fought her way out of the depths of hell, armed only with a chainsaw and her badass attitude. Come January, the voluptuous Nancy will be topside again, but she's about to find herself in Hell on Earth!
Spanish comics scribe El Torres has enlisted the intricately detailed artwork of Enrique Lopez Lorenzana and coloring of Fran Gamboa, to render even the beastliest citizens of Nancy's Hell as breathtaking. This 4-issue Grindhouse inspired miniseries presents the follow up to last years' NANCY IN HELL miniseries, a take-no-prisoners tale of one woman versus the greatest evil. Now with the Gates of Hades left wide open, not even the angels in heaven can save our world from the hordes!
"It's not just because of the limitless special effects budget that the comics medium offers that we have big monsters, small monsters, tiny monsters, tentacled monsters, smelly monsters, and hot chicks," explained El Torres. "It’s because I have great artists taking my words and transforming them into awesome pictures. I never believed I could visit Nancy again, but thanks to Enrique and Fran, here we are again!"
"To depict these hellish nightmares from El Torres' mind pouring into San Diego city it's both a challenge and a pleasure," added Lorenzana. "Ryp did a wonderful job in the first miniseries, now it's my turn, and I'm really happy to have the chance of design new monsters in almost every page!"
NANCY IN HELL (ON EARTH) #1 (NOV110371), a 32-page full-color horror comic book for $3.99, will be on sale in stores and on digital platforms on January 25, and will be available for order in the November issue of Previews. NANCY IN HELL, VOL. 1 TP (NOV1000433, ISBN: 978-1-60706-354-4) collects the entire first story arc and is available for reorder now.
VIDEO OF THE WEEK:
A little vamp actions with our favorite vampire slayer . .. BUFFY!
And that is the news for this week. See you all next week.
Our top story today is that after so many years and several movies . . . including a third movie being filmed, Hellboy met his end in last weeks. In the finale of Hellboy: The Fury #3, Hellboy Creator Mike Mignola and Duncan Fegredo took the red, demonic hero and killed him this past well. Reactions from creators, fans and others gave comments to CBR after the death of Hellboy last week. And Mignola promises that this is not just a gimmick to resurrect it later.
The following is comments from CBR :
Duncan Fegredo: As the artist I'd had some time to come to terms with Hellboy's passing, way before reading Mike's script we had talked of the event. I had long come to terms with the event, after all, it's not as if Hellboy hadn't died before... Even when the time came to draw the layout depicting the event, it was an abstraction, a problem to be solved, needs to be met. You'd imagine then that drawing the final art would be no more affecting, and you'd be right, well, maybe a twinge when it came to drawing hellboy's stunned expression when faced with the reality of his heart before him. It wasn't until I drew Alice, crumpled in despair in the stairwell that it really hit me, all my time on Hellboy lead to that moment, I'll be honest, I felt bereft, drained. Still a few more pages to draw, keep it together. Three months later, I still feel exhausted by the experience. But I'm also excited for the future of Hellboy, looking forward to reading the book as I used to, as a fan. I know a little of what Mike has in store for us, and I can't wait.
Guillermo del Toro, Director of both Hellboy movies:Farewell dear friend. Part of my heart dies with you- a dark, intimate corner reserved only for my most cherished monsters. The world is suddenly a lonely place deserted of your light. I stand amidst strangers wondering about your fate- your ultimate fate- having been born a demon and having raised to become a man. But so much more than a man. Unlimited power was laid at your feet and you resisted the temptation of tyranny and domination- your red right hand guided by the better demons of your nature. Farewell dear friend, I miss you too much already.
John Cassaday, Writer and Artist of “Big-Top Hell-Boy” from "Hellboy: Weird Tales" #1: It’s sad to see our big red boy go, but I’m sure he’s in a warmer place. Congrats to Mike on a lovely run and an inventive character that entertained me at every turn. Whatever’s around the next corner for Mike, whatever he does next-- I’ll be there.
Scott Allie, "Hellboy" Editor: For all the great things Hellboy did with his life, I think his chief virtue was in always believing he was just one of us humans. I think he was one of the best of us. I've been lucky enough to spend my days with Hellboy for nearly half my life. Seldom has a day gone by that I don't think of him, don't say his name. I doubt this will change, now that he's gone. I know I'm not alone in this.
Mike Mignola: It's strange. All these changes, like putting out his eye and now killing him, always seem like they're so far away. It's always strange when you get to that point and go, "Oh wait! It's really here." It's kind of like when your daughter takes her first driving test. You knew she was getting older and at some point we'd get to that...but it's strange when she just hops in a car and drives away. It's like that. It was weird to write the scene and go, "Are we really doing this?" I knew we'd been talking about that scene, but writing it that way, I went, "Am I really going to do this? Because once I do it, once I type this line out...there's really no going back." Then when Duncan draws it, you say "Are we really doing this?" You go through that whole process again! Can I change my mind? So now having the comic finally come out, it's like "Well...we've done it now." And it's fine. I don't have any second thoughts about doing this. You just hold your breath and say, "I hope it works. I hope it goes over the way I want it to go over."
It would be sadder if I didn't have all that room to go back and tell stories about the old, classic Hellboy. But I've got the best of both worlds. I've got the classic Hellboy, and I can move forward into really uncharted territory. Unlike everything I've done with Duncan where even if I didn't know exactly what I was doing it was at least clear that we were going to this place, what I'm doing now myself doesn't have a specific end point. It's got certain things it's got to do, but beyond a certain point, it's just blue sky. We don't know what happens to him after that.
There are still stories to do about Hellboy in Mexico. There's really so many things that I haven't done with Hellboy in the past. We've never seen a story about young Hellboy and the Professor Bruttenholm. Other than "Pancakes," we've never seen a story with young Hellboy. There's plenty of unexplored Hellboy territory to do. And for me as an artist, what I want to draw are these stories of Hellboy drifting through Hell, but as a writer, I can do a couple more books about Hellboy in Mexico and a lot of other stuff.
It is interesting though, because now that we've done it – while Hellboy has been pretty isolated of late, there will now be repercussions from "Hellboy" throughout the Hellboy world. Because we really did destroy England. And Duncan is drawing right now a sort of epilogue that will run in "Dark Horse Presents" that is Kate finding out that Hellboy is dead. There are these ripples. There's no way we could do this thing and not have it impact the B.P.R.D. a bit. I think we're all looking around right now and going, "We really did this...so how does it affect this, this and this?" It's exciting.
FURMAN & WILDMAN BACK ON TRANSFORMERS AFTER CHAOS!!
IDW has been taking care of the Transformers franchise for over 5 years now, giving us some pretty great stories for fans to take and enjoy. Yet, in all the time that Transformers has been hitting the presses . . . in all the time that Transformers series by Dreamwave, IDW and other indy companies . .. nothing has compared to the legendary work of writer Simon Furman and his often time partner of the Transformers UK & Transformers American comics of the 80s and early 90s, Andrew Wildman. It has now been confirmed that after the landmark storyline Chaos in the current Transformers ongoing, Transformers will go from issue #30 to #125. And confirmed during this years Comic Con, Simon Furman and Andrew Wildman will be the creators behind the helm. It seems that the current storylines "Chaos" and "The Last Story On Earth" are building up to the return of the Transformers legends. To people not up on their Transformers comic book lore, allow me to tell you what this means. This is like Chris Claremont and John Byrne returning to Uncanny X-Men after being away for so long. Andrew Wildman gain alot of favor with Transfans (as Transformers fans are called internationally) doing art for Marvel UK's Transformers series with Furman as well as taking over the last two years as artist in the original Marvel comics run. Simon Furman spent most of the 80s and early 90s writing Transformers both in the US and the UK Marvel divisions. The transformers books in the UK were weekly so he threw out many stories and concepts that were put into the animated canon and are still used today. Simon Furman was the man behind Primus, the god that created the transforms and for most Transfans and nearly every single comic book, animated and movie adaption since those books were released followed the fact that the Transformers were created by Primus aka The All Spark as dubbed during Beast Wars. He gave Transformers a god instead of followed the original G1 continuity that suggested that the Transformers were made by the Quintessions. Simon Furman penned well over 150 Transformers stories over his time and regarded as THE Transformers writer. Hence the news that this combo were coming back and were going to continue the fusion UK/US Transformers comic book continuity from the past has made many fans sit up and cheer. Fan pressure brought back this duel as a recent online petition, which was signed by CBC's own Frankie Rodriguez, proved to IDW that were was certainly a demand and market for Furman and Wildman working on the original Transformers comic book continuity. IDW's reprints of the Marvel UK stores selling well only added the fuel needed to bring back the two Transformers legends. Transformers #125 will hit stores this December, written by Simon Furman with art by Andrew Wildman.
FANTASTIC FOUR RETURNS IN NOVEMBER . . .BUT FF CONTINUES!
Okay. Things are going nuts in the world of FF as Marvel confirmed that the Fantastic Four will return with issue #600 coming this November. Oh . . . and this was just not something that is happening on a whim as first, there may have been sightings of the Human Torch but not confirm its Johnny Storm. But, smart marketing, the FF will continue with the kids as the Stars. So one book will easily becomes two. Franklin, Val, Alex, Dragonman and the others take over the FF while the original crew and Peter go over to the FF. Both written by Jonathan Hickman. Fantastic Four #600 written by Jonathan Hickman with art by Steve Epting, Di Giandomenico, Yu and Dalrymple. FF # 12 written by Jonathan Hickman with art by Juan Bobillo. Both books will hit stores in November.
DARKWING VS. LAUNCH PAD FOR CONTROL OF ST. CANARD?!
It’s a super-powered stampede as waves and waves of brand new baddies pop up all over St. Canard, in the midst of a mayoral race you have to see to believe! How many more meta human menaces are gonna show up to crash Darkwing’s political party? Count ‘em all in “The Ballot of Darkwing and Launchpad!” as our grand hero must face off against his best friend, Launchpad McQuack for control over St. Canard. Fan-favorite writer Ian Brill and superstar artist James Silvani bring you another fantastic issue of DARKWING DUCK!
Darkwing Duck #17 written by Ian Brill with art by James Silvani will hit stores this Wednesday, August 17th, 2011 for $3.99 from BOOM! Studios.
COMIC BOOK CLASH DC'S RELAUNCH BLOG PROJECT
Yes. You are reading right. CBC is doing a special project in honor of the massive relaunch of books from DC Comics this September. This is historic. And we want to know how you feel about the books. Yeah you! Not the person to the left. No, no the midget who stole your girlfriend. Not your parents. YOU! DC is releasing 52 new number 1s as you know . . . and we want to hear for you what you think.
We will go by a Week by Week Breakdown of the new titles. And we need your input. It can be a few sentences. It can be a video of your opinion that we can upload and/or link. But we are looking for as much input from fans about the books after you have read them.
Comments and/or videos from books on a certain week will come out the week after they have been released . .. For example, Justice League opinions will be hit our page September 7th. Then every week after till the final week of new number #1s, which will be seen in the first week of October.
We want your input. And we will take your input on more than just 1 book but at least 1. We want to have something for all 52 books so do hesitate to pick up a new #1 and tell us what you think. And don't worry, CBC and many of the J1 staff themselves will be weighing in their own opinions come September.
So if you are interested in take 1 book or more, reading it and giving us an honest opinion other than just "It's sucks!" or "It's awesome!", please feel free to email us at francisco.k.rodriguez@gmail.com and state which book or books you will give opinions on. Deadline for opinion of the book is the Monday before the next CBC so for Week 1, you have until 11:59pm Monday September 5th to tell us what you think of Justice League #1 and next Monday till 11:59pm for all the books of Week Two. J1 Studios and CBC will reserve the right NOT to post certain comments if they are too . . .offensive. So don't be shy. Tell us what you think. See and talk with you all soon.
Special Segment by Hector Ramirez
