Meme Monday 6/24/13

Clark still messing with the Avengers, and apparently Bruce approves

meme monday 6/17/13

just Clark being a smartass

Laid Back Comics: Secret Avengers #1

Not fond of this cover either

It is no shock I am a fan of Secret Avengers and I was very nervous hearing about Marvel NOW coming in as it might scrap the book for perhaps something else. But, I was relieved hearing that it was going to be coming back with a new writer in Nick Spenser and another roster change-up ; though upon reading the issue I did wonder if this was the right change to make.

If anything the book having the word ‘Avenger’ in the title seems a bit false. Make no mistake; this is a S.H.I.E.L.D. Book from the cast and the missions, which is not the only real secret the book is currently hiding. For what it is worth the first two ‘recruits’ Hawkeye and Black Widow didn’t seem interested in joining and then suddenly all read for the chance a panel later. Of course we don’t know why the sudden jump but only one of the many questions the books leaves us with as we get through it. The next plot point to all of this was that Hawkeye and Black Widow get nanoparticles that allow memories to be altered remotely. This all sounds pretty comic book super science which I have no real problems with. So in the end the missions are so secret they won’t even remember being on them or in the case of poor Hawkeye why he was in Bubdapest to start off with.

There are two things wrong I feel with this book and to start out it is trying very hard to connect with the Avengers movie using the ones who were working for S.H.I.E.L.D. Heck they even manage to make Coulson here look like actor Clark Gregg even though his first few appearances had him look nothing alike. But, if anyone is going to see this and expect the same Agent Coulson we fell in love with in the movies, we are sadly going to be disappointed. This Coluson along with Nick Fury ‘Jr.’ are out to save the world and in some way screw over Hawkeye and possible Black Widow. The reveal at the end to me seems to point to that happening sooner than later.

Spencer writing has never been bad, but never something I could say has blown me away either. Here is a book that has a lot of dialogue, and at times very witty, but low on the actually action portion.  It is hard to get behind a book that has so many talking heads and then quick action or off panel action. Art is much better with Luke Ross though wouldn't mind Black Widow having her zipper a few inches higher. I often don’t mention this and should but Matthew Wilson on color for this book did an amazing job and little disturbing job with a scene involving demon possession!

But, as the book comes to a close I felt more depressed than I was excited for the future issues. Maybe under has this been promoted as an S.H.I.E.L.D. book proper my expectations would be different and not blinded by volumes past. Here this title just lightly jogs in and stands around not doing much at all and doesn’t have much of a hook to keep me coming back.

OVERALL: 5.0 out of 10

Bryan "BAC" Clendening is a comic book reviewer and sometimes video producer on the internet, you can follow him on Twitter by Clicking Here.

First Impressions: Young Avengers # 1

Young Avengers # 1
Written by Kieron Gillen
Art by Jamie McKelvie, Mike Norton & Matthew Wilson
Marvel Comics


FLIPPING THROUGH:

            Sometime time has passed since Children’s Crusade. Yet, the first issue makes things accessible to you with the low down on Wiccan’s powers, what Kate Bishop is doing … more like who. And more of the wackiness with Loki and Miss America, just in time for Wiccan to slightly follow his Mommy, Scarlet Witch’s, foot steps.

            Now, we got some teen love, aliens, magic and one cliffhanger that connects to the original volume of Young Avengers that will make you go “HOLY SHIT!”


ART:

            The very style of the panels and pages really works for this new Young Avengers. With some vivid panel work in some pages added to some more classic comic book set up, Young Avengers # 1 really makes a go at it, showing what McKelvie, Norton & Wilson at work. Some pages feel like a trailer to a movie and really quicken the pace yet still fit very well to the scene and overall story in mind.

            McKelvie and Norton deliver solid pencils and inks throughout the entire issue. When the scene fit it, there were more panels which really picked up the pace for the scene. It really fit to what was going on with Kate and Nor-Vahh. It really heightened the experience while reading it.  The art kind of turned me off at first but after reading the issue, it won me over big time.  Aliens looked alien, quiet moments looked real and fantastic moments were just looking awesome. Wilson’s colors really helped bring McKelvie and Norton’s work to life.

            Really solid, clean and exciting work from McKelvie, Norton & Wilson.

WRITING:

            I like Kieron Gillen. Yet, when it was announced that he was taking over as writer for Young Avengers, I got a little scared. Very few writers really did much with the Young Avengers. And while I am overjoyed that they FINALLY are having an ongoing, I was kinda worried about how Gillen was gonna write the book. The previews had me intrigued.

During Young Avengers /runaways Civil War

            This first issue really blew me away. The characters seemed really spot on from  those I came across. Kid Loki is a welcome addition. Miss America was … interesting. And just the opening alone was solid … except for one particular thing I hate about it. Nor-Vahh TORTURED several members of the Young Avengers in the past? WHAT THE HELL IS KATE DOING SLEEPING WITH HIM?! 

            Yes. I got a reaction. A very intense reaction. That is the one, major problem I have with this. Nor-Vahh TORTURED them. And I am all for forgiveness and what not but the Young Avengers have no really had any screen time with Nor-Vahh in quite a while. And NOW … Kate is just sleeping with him?  Huh? 

            Well, maybe this will be explained. Still, Gillen does a great job with the rest of the issue and leaves with a perfect cliffhanger.


OVERALL IMPRESSION:

            A good, not great first issue. Honestly, besides the whole Nor-Vahh thing, this was great first issue. The action was fast and furious. The character exchanges, save for the first one, seem really in character. Visually, the book has it’s own sense of style that I am sure will continue forward. I really look forward to more. If it was not for my one major grip, this issue would have gotten a perfect score. Still, it is entertain, fresh and enjoyable.


RATING :

            I give Young Avengers # 1 a 7.5 out of 10. Seriously, the Nor-Vahh thing just erked me too much to make it an 8 or 9.  Still, I look forward to this Young Avengers team.

Cover of the Week 12/19/12

Hawkeye #6

Beware the Hawk.

Now this is a sweet cover. A blood red shot of Hawkeye looking down the shaft of an arrow. It really captures Hawkeye's presence and personality. The best part about the cover is the image is contained within Hawkeye's symbol. Though the white surrounding it takes away from the cover. It's sort of abrasive or blinding to the eye. It would have faired better with a black or red. But overall still an awesome cover.

Special: AVENGERS # 1 Trailer

Straight from Marvel, a trailer about tomorrow's all new Avengers #1:

NYCC Comic News: Spencer & Ross Reveal the Secrets of Avengers

 Marvel NOW continues its aggressive relaunch of titles, with either new jumping on points with new creative teams and/or directions. relaunches of titles or brand new titles, such as the recently announced Superior Spiderman.

  Another Marvel title that is getting relaunched is the Secret Avengers. Taking ideas from the Secret War, SHIELD is using memory re-writing tech in order to have its own group of Avengers. Thing is ... most of the roster doesn't even know they are on that team.

  The new Secret Avengers group will be SHIELD sanctioned and will include Nick Fury Jr, Hawkeye, Black Widow, Mockingbird, Taskmaster, Hulk and a brand new Iron Patriot whose identity has not been revealed. Bringing us this new team is writer Nick Spencer and artist Luke Ross.

  Spencer had this to say to Entertainment Weekly:

"Nobody on this team actually knows that they're on this team. "S.H.I.E.L.D. has decided that they want their own Avengers team, but Avengers are loose cannons: They're independent operators, they don’t have security clearance, they have a history of becoming bad guys."

 "I can’t reveal the identity of the Iron Patriot yet, but I think people are gonna like how he ends up in that suit," said Spencer. "That’s a suit that has a lot of history in the Marvel Universe, none of it good."

 Spencer wrote a few issues of the current run back last year  Fear Itself tie ins. No release date has been revealed yet.

Comic News: New Young Avengers Return in Marvel NOW

   That is right. You  are reading that correctly.  The Young Avengers will be brought back together through the new creative team of Kieron Gillen (recently of Uncanny X-Men and upcoming Iron Man writer)and  artists Jamie McKelvie & Mike Norton. Confirmation of the new series was announced earlier today through CBR. The core line up will include Wiccan, Hulkling, Hawkeye (Kate Bishop) with newcomers Miss America, Marvel Boy Noh-Varr (most recently the Protector) and surprisingly, Kid Loki.

   Kid Loki has been in Gillen's hand for his entire stint on Journey Into Mystery and now says that Kid Loki will help reform this new team of Young Avengers. He told CBR:

"The original volume of "Young Avengers" was a phenomenally successful book. I remember when it was announced and people were really cynical about it. Then the book came out and it had a completely respectful view of the long history of the Marvel Universe. It worked brilliantly.

I couldn't write that book. I couldn't base a story around a tiny bit of continuity from 30 years ago. I completely respect people that can do that and I love those stories, but that doesn't mean I can.

So I took a different approach. In this world the Avengers are almost civil servants or firemen or police. They work for the government and they're this enormous organization. But at the core? The real core of the Avengers? It's saving the world, because someone has got to, and that's what "Young Avengers" is about. They're called "Young Avengers" even though they're not Avengers. This is fundamentally about the ideal. It's about being a super hero. It's about saving the world because somebody has got to do it.

So instead of picking up continuity and weaving it in. I'm doing weird riffs on it. I'm taking notes from the Avengers mythos and doing them in a completely different way. The first arc is pretty much Loki puts the Avengers together. And of course Loki did inadvertently put the original Avengers together, but why is he actively trying to put this team together?

The first arc's major plot is basically a riff on the Ultron story, but it's not about Ultron. It's based around Wiccan and involves magic. It's your basic Hank Pym fucks up-style story [Laughs]. That's what Wiccan does and then they deal with it."

  As Kid Loki manipulates this team together, the other members have mixed feelings. While some of the members are happy the band is back together, others, like Wiccan, are not. Yet, that is a key to the reassembling of the Young Avengers.

"As everyone who's read "The Children's Crusade" knows, Wiccan is pretty fucked up. He's lost a lot of friends and doesn't want to be a super hero anymore. He's very angry and emphatic about that. Hulkling and the other Young Avengers are out doing it on the down low though.

So when Wiccan discovers this in the first issue it's almost like he's found out that Hulkling has been cheating on him and his mistake comes from that. He tries to do something and as he does it he realizes that he's actually being kind of selfish. Because if you think about it even for a second Wiccan hasn't got a bad life. He's got extra sets of parents. He's incredibly powerful and his mom is the Scarlet Witch. As Hulkling puts it in the first issue, "That's kind of like realizing Galadriel is you mom."


Conversely, Hulkling had his parents burned alive in front of him. He's got nothing except for Wiccan. So Wiccan slowly realizes he's being an idiot and then he makes a mistake. That mistake is the thing that gathers the rest of the team around them.Miss America is basically protecting Wiccan from Loki, and Loki is trying to stop Wiccan from what he's doing. That leads to them all coming together to try and clean up this mess."

  The new book will not only have a new creative team and new team roster, but also have a new look. McKelvie will pencil the characters while most of the backgrounds will be done by Norton with Norton doing full pencils when McKelvie needs time off. Plus, the creative team specified that they will be lots of panels that will be stylized and making sure the look and feel of the book is that of being a teenager growing up. McKelvie added to CBR:

"I guess it is the closest thing we've done to "Phonogram" in the Marvel Universe. It's very important that they are teenage super heroes. We wanted to give them a distinctive separation from the older heroes. Costume design has really been important so far. That bled into how I actually approached the story telling and the panels."

  According to Gillen, Miss America is not going to get along well with most of the team while Noh-Varr will being seemingly alien while loving humanity for its many flaws while also being condescending  Young Avengers #1 will hit stores this January 2013.

WHAT YOU & WE THOUGHT OF AVENGERS!!!!

Here are thoughts of The Avengers live action movie that has premiere this past weekend. We got stuff from fans and CBC staff so let's get down to it.

Jeremy Jones

Ever had one of those kitchen let downs? Y'know, when what's cooking smells so yummy but when you finally tuck in, it's mediocre. Not bad exactly, just not as good as it's scent set-up.
Marvel Studio's Avengers movie, released May 4th, is the exact opposite of a kitchen let down; the film was everything a fanboy could have hoped for, a veritable piece de resistance of comics-translated-to-the-big-screen movie magic. The promise made by Iron Man I&II, Thor, and Captain America movies over the last few years have herein been fulfilled.
Let's keep it to three reasons why Avengers was so satisfying. Director Joss Whedon also wrote the screenplay; the resulting singularity of creative vision makes a powerful, sturdy framework upon which to lay dynamic, toothsome special effects. The overall writing finesse and depth of characterization is brilliant and engaging.

There was no need for distracting backstory filler, often a failing of comic book movies, as the non-comic reading movie public must be brought up to speed. Avengers avoids the backstory baggage thanks to the four previous solo movies and we get right down to business; the pot is hot at the jump and the aromatic ingredients simply sizzle.

With strong acting in the mix, this trifecta of movie magic is complete. For the most part, the main characters are adroitly portrayed, with verve, and even secondary characters like Maria Hill shine. Just a bit of Samuel L. Jackson showed through Nick Fury, otherwise, only the character was on screen, the actors disappeared as they should, perfectly: you believe.
Avengers gets a well earned 9.5 of 10 stars.

If this movie was a meal, at its end you would've burped embarrassingly loudly then refused dessert.

CBC's Hector Ramirez

Avengers is the talk of the weekend and with great reasoning. Now naturally, I had to see it in imax 3D and I am glad I did. The graphics were great really worked with the 3d well. The story didn't have many holes in it. Of course, they had them quarrel amongst each other which you know fans wanted to see. When everyone starts working together, they really compliment each other well on the battlefield. The comedic element was a nice touch and catch phrases we will all be repeating for months to come. But speaking of catchphrases one very important catchphrase left unsaid: "Avengers Assemble" but due to the overall success, i'll let that slide. I will be listening for it in the sequel.  

Derrick JonesLet me start off with I really like Joss Wheadon’s television work. I was a faithful watcher of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, dollhouse, and Firefly. I can even see his hand in some of the story line as the movie plays out. Having said all that I was not the biggest fan of The Avengers movie. 

At times I feel the movie is trying to be too much to too many and falling short at every turn. It’s a buddy movie, except when it’s not, then it’s a romantic comedy (or a bromatic comedy) but then it shifts to pure eye candy action. For a movie that is just this side short of two hours and thirty minutes I felt like for the first hour and forty minutes of the movie I was in a sports car that was towed onto the street and pulled along until finally it was cut lose from the truck and allowed to hit speed. 

All the actors played their parts well Robert Downey Jr. still manages to bring an unlikeable arrogant Tony Stark to the screen and Chris Evans, who annoyed the hell out of me in the Fantastic Four films, plays a really believable man out of time Captain America. For me however the runaway star of the movie is Mark Ruffalo as the third and best Bruce Banner. While I am familiar with the comic version of the Black Widow I would not mind seeing her in her own movie, but again I have to give props to Josh Wheadon (yeah Scarlett also ) for the writing of a female character that is not all victim or pure fem fatale bitch. In the end I would give this movie 3 out of 5 stars.

CBC's Darryll "YTC" Carter

Aside from my sister somewhat ruining the end of the movie for me (that's why I don't go out with familly) Joss Whedon pulled it off. And I'm glad he did though. I, myself, didn't walk away with the experience I was expecting the rest of the world seems to think I should have and would have if my sister wasn't present. That being said I feel like the movie was too Stark and Widow heavy. I expected the movie to focus on Downey and Iron Man a bit heavily and while it wasn't outlandish it was noticable to me. Alot of people disagree with me, saying "No way man it was the Hulk" or "naw, it was Thor". I'm speaking more so about screentime not who got the most badass moment. But speaking of badass moments I felt like Black Widow did more in the film than Captain America. And that bothers me. Cap bias aside, he is Captain fing America the leader. He did shine as a leader though once everyone began to cooperate, namely Stark and Thor and surprisingly the Hulk. Though I wager there isn't much for the Hulk to complain about when his orders are "Hulk.... Smash." Priceless.

J1 Studios' Brian Misher

Just saw with some friends this morning. ABSO-FREAKING-LUTELY AWESOME!!! I will be seeing this twice!

Christian Prokop aka Mildra the RPG Monk

Saw Avengers the other day. The monk approves.

Deandra McFadden

  Omg! I love this movie. If you haven't seen this movie, go watch it now.

CBC's Frankie Rodriguez 

   This movie is beyond Epic. Beyond Awesome. This movie is exactly what it needs to be: Well paced, great characterizations and mind-breaking battles. This movie proves all the build up of the Marvel Movies continuity works and works well. And all the characters were very well balanced in this movie. No one over-shines anyone else in the film, in my opinion. 

   There are more than enough memorable moments, the pacing is excellent and the characters are all distinct and fleshed out well. Captain America is a god! And honestly, Mark Ruffalo is the best  Bruce Banner ever to hit a screen, tv or movie. Such a multi-layered portrayal and the movie was just full of Whedon full but not overly full of pop-culture references. Kids will love it. Adults will love it. Just ... amazing work. 

NEWS EDITION #33 - HAWKEYE & INVINCIBLE SPINS OFF INTO ONGOINGS,

Welcome to the news edition for the week of April 25th, 2012.

HAWKEYE SHOTS SOME VOLLEYS IN NEW ONGOING

by Frankie Rodriguez 

    Hawkeye has had a great couple of years. He's become leader of the Secret Avengers and a teacher in Avengers Academy. He is a part of the main team of Avengers. He has made it into the Avengers movie. Now, he is poised to a brand new ongoing from the team that made Iron Fist popular, Matt Fraction and David Aja. 

   In this new series, Fraction said he is gonna bring Clint Barton back down to a street level and takes Kate Bishop, Hawkeye from Young Avengers, along for the ride. Fraction commented on that to Newsrama:

"Small-scale, real world stuff. The idea of dropping this damaged idealist and reformed con turned inadvertent SOO PER HEE RO into the middle of a world of drug gangs, human slavery, shadow economies, homelessness, criminal bankruptcies, personal ruin, and all the other below-the-fold scams and scandals that screw up life every day for people like you and me was just too good not to want to write.

Kang comes, you call the Avengers. Weird post-Soviet Euro-gang running an ethnic protection racket in your neighborhood? Avengers are busy with Kang. Y'know? It's as grounded as Clint is grounded."

 And while Clint is one of the stars, Kate will be one of the main characters of the book. After falling in love writing her, Fraction promises that Kate will have a big role in the new ongoing. And that he will soon have a mix of old villains who are modernized while also having brand new villains. 

Hawkeye # 1 written by Matt Fraction and art by David Aja will hit stores in July.

INVINCIBLE SPIN OFF ONGOING HAS HEROES GUARDING THE GLOBE

by Frankie Rodriguez 

   Last year, Kirkman released a miniseries dealing with the super hero team that has been a mainstay in the Invincible title, Guarding the Globe. Now, the team returns with its own ongoing. This time though, the group is under the hands of writer Phil Hester, fresh from his stint on Darkness. Along with him is fan favorite artist, Todd Nauck, who got his start in Image with New Men and worked on DC's original Young Justice series. 

  Kirkman approached the two about doing the new ongoing with both Hester & Nauck having interesting reactions, as stated in on the Image Comics website:    

"When Robert first approached me about this ongoing series, I knew I wanted to be a part of GUARDING THE GLOBE," said Nauck, whose creator-owned series WILDGUARD was published by Image. "I really respect what Robert's accomplished so far with the series and I'm having a blast drawing this book. I feel it's my best work to date. It's great to be working with Image Comics again!"

"When Robert floated the idea it didn't take me very long to say yes," added Hester. "The characters in GUARDING THE GLOBE have the same kind of freshness INVINCIBLE does. It's a great chance to both pay homage to super heroes and upend them a bit in way that isn't cynical, but humanizing."

  With the new approach to the heroes, fans will get to see what they were missing or just enjoy seeing the many other heroes who have appeared in Invincible shine in this new ongoing. Guarding the Globe will give fans a taste come Free Comic Book Day than premiere their new ongoing when it hits stores this September.

VALIANT'S BIG COMEBACK
by Devin Walker

Valiant comics, a comic company that has been around since 1989, and was battling for the number three spot for top comic book company against Image comics in the 90s. Is now doing a relaunched of their comics, with four latch titles, X-O Manowar #1, (launching next week) Harbinger #1 (launching in June), Bloodshot #1 (launching July), and Archer and Armstrong #1 (launching in August). X-O manowar, and Harbinger will also be debuting speaking covers, though we know not what they will say, they will be the first comic book to talk to you. These comics are not the only things getting a re-launch, but also the logo has gotten a re-design by award winning gnocchi designer Rian Hughes who states.

"It is always a challenging and interesting project to design the visual identity of a publisher from the ground up in every detail -- logo, trade dress, title logos -- and to cohesively pull all these elements together so one strong visual identity emerges. Rebooting the Valiant line's design has been one such great project. The Valiant characters have a strong fanbase and heritage, and so the new logos are fresh and modern as befits a forward-looking publisher while still paying tribute to the originals, just as has been done with the characters themselves."

Valiant Comics is one of the most successful comic publishers of all time and has featured work by many of the industry's top creative talents, including Jim Shooter, Bob Layton, Barry Windsor-Smith, Joe Quesada, David Lapham, Bryan Hitch, Steve Ditko and many more. Reincorporated as Valiant Entertainment in 2007 by CEO Jason Kothari and Chief Creative Officer Dinesh Shamdasani, the company is set to return to monthly comics publishing this summer with four new monthly titles featuring its most popular characters -- X-O Manowar #1 in May, Harbinger #1 in June, Bloodshot #1 in July, and Archer & Armstrong #1 in August.

"Rian and our Executive Editor Warren Simons put an incredible amount of energy into making sure that the new logo and the look of the books themselves accurately reflect our perspective on what the Valiant Universe was and can be," said Shamdasani.

"The day that Valiant titles return to the shelves of comics shops worldwide is one that fans have been eagerly awaiting for some time," said Kothari. "This powerful, yet versatile new logo is the perfect way to signify a new era for Valiant both as a company and a premier creative brand."

This is the just the latest in a series of creative endeavors Valiant has announced to coincide with its "Summer of Valiant" relaunch. As mentioned before, the publisher has announced that it would be the first to produce animated, QR code-augmented covers for X-O Manowar #1 and Harbinger #1, as well as a series of "Pullbox Exclusive Variant" covers available only to comic shop customers who subscribe to Valiant's new #1 issues.

To learn more about these comics, upcoming launch plans and more you can learn more at Valiant comics official website: valiantUniverse.com

NOW AVAILABLE

CBC's very own Jeremias de Leon is not just a writer but an artist and is currently taking commissions:

Go here for his deviant art.  And this is his paypal. 

ON SALE NOW:


Michael Turner Wizard World Hulk # 1 Variant


Iron Man, Ultimate Extinction, Ultimate Origins


Spiderman Books including first Black Costume appearance


AVENGERS ASSEMBLE: Including Avengers (Volume 1) # 16, 1st Wonder Man & More


Action Comics # 1 & 2 SIGNED WITH VARIANTS


Death In Comics SET


Yugioh Lightsworn Cards


X- Saber Cards


Yugioh DESTINY Hero DECK!!!


Wind Up Rabbit Cards






BROUGHT TO YOU BY . . .


COMING THIS MAY!!!!

One of the few Tokusatsu Reviews I know. Great guy with a good set of reviews, a few countdowns and some specials. Tokusatsu is special effects in japanese but it is what the genre of live action stuff like Power Rangers and Kamen Rider Dragon Knight are based off of. Toku Time or Reviewtopia: Toku Time is where you can find him.






It's the new, BRAND NEW, Super Mario Dubstep Album. Listen as your favorite music from Super Mario has been transformed into remixes. The album is so addicting, you will feel like you're an addict!


GREEN MUSHROOMS & SUPERSTARS

From J1's own Shinigami (Ray Riley) & Forafire (Forrest Shamlian). FREE TO DOWNLOAD! NOW! 

FREE ALBUM DOWNLOADS

And don't for get the recently released Sonic Remix Album, SPIN DASH AUDIO is also available now. Al

RAJIO NIHON . . . the internet Toku Station where they play songs from tokusatsu, anime and give you in depth looks into the world of Tokusatsu. RAJIO NIHON  Take a listen as CBC's Frankie Rodriguez guests stars on a special 2 & a half hour podcast where he, Toku Time's EZ Rider, Oga of Rajio Nihon & Alex "Aznable" Smith talk about Sentai Music vs. Kamen Rider music and more. 

And don't forget to catch the Ikaricast from Reviewtopia!! Please look forward to it as CBC's Frankie Rodriguez guest stars in Season 4, Episode 11 & 13. Hosted by Jeremias de Leon aka Xaos. 


Also Don't forget to check out Frankie & Jeremias as they guest on 16 Bit Jeff's 

Episode 6 where they talk about Super Hero fighting games.

INTERVIEW WITH PATRICK ZIRCHER

Welcome once again. It's CBC EIC again, Frankie Rodriguez with a brand new interview with Captain America upcoming artist, Patrick Zircher.

1. You recently finished doing art for Hulk's Hulk of Arabia with Jeff Parker in Marvel. How did you like the project and how was it working with Jeff Parker?

Working with Jeff is a great experience. He's terrifically talented and capable of weaving stories together out of any number of ideas. He's also open to including characters that the artist would like to draw.  That's fun for an artist and really appreciated. 

2. You also did the recent Secret Avengers #21.1 issue, dealing with Captain America and Hawkeye. How did it feel to come back to drawing Hawkeye? How did you feel about the issue itself?

Coming back to drawing Hawkeye felt fresh, fun, with his new look being a part of it.  Old Hawkeye fans are going to shoot me full of arrows but I'm a big fan of Hawkeye's current costume-- more so than his old one.  The issue turned out nicely, but, as is the case with some one-shots, it could have used a little more space to tell its story.

3. As an artist, do you feel connected to the characters you draw again for a lengthy amount of time or does your excitement on your work depends on the story and what you can do with it?

Drawing the first issue is always exciting.  That's about a month's work.  After that, well you can only psyche yourself up so much-- whether the excitement remains high is very much dependent on the quality of the script and plotting. I try to feel connected to all the characters so that the 'acting', the expression and mood in the art, is as good as it can be.

4. What made you want to become an artist?

A hatred of alarm clocks.  I needed a job that didn't require one.  Really though, I've been drawing since I was a kid and-- this part is important-- received enough encouragement that I never stopped.  I always wanted to be an artist.

5. For readers who don't know, you started out doing art for table top RPGs. What made you decide to go from that to comics?

I spent my lunch money buying comics instead of eating and was a diehard comics fan by the time I was 8 or 9.  Drawing comics was always a dream for me.  In high school, I played D&D and just about all the other RPGs that were out.  At that time, the art for these games was such that, young as I was, I was able to get work published in them.  As I improved, comics work became available.

6. You've done a lot of work over the years. How do you feel that your style has evolved in terms of sequential storytelling?

This sounds arrogant but, even now, I'm a better artist than I was last year and expect I'll improve going forward.  I've never wanted to settle on a 'fixed' way of drawing things so my work has evolved-- and, hopefully, always will.  When I'm not drawing, I'm usually immersed in one book of art or another.

7. I was first introduced to your work during your stint on New Warriors back in the 90s and it seems you have done a lot more Marvel work than other companies. Do you have a particular affinity with the Marvel Universe? What do you believe is what connects you so well to drawing so much of the Marvel Universe?

Part of that connection to Marvel was the exclusive.  I just finished an exclusive, that with extensions, was for 5 and a half years-- but it's more than that.  Marvel has given me an opportunity to draw books I have a vested interest in. Iron Man, Terror, Inc., Thor, Mystery Men, Hulk, and Captain America were all titles I wanted to draw, not just 'assignments'. That willingness to work together to find the right project is special.

8. Who are some of your artistic influences?

There's been so many; all the great Silver Age comic artists, and later, horror book illustrators, manga artists, foreign artists, early 20th century illustrators; even if their styles were disparate.  In the long run, the influences boil down and you find your own way.

9. You have worked with a slew of creators and characters over the years. Who are some of the creator's that you have yet to work with that you would love to? What are some of the titles and/or characters you would love to work on in the future?

I'm an artist so writers come to mind, vets who really know their craft and exciting young writers who are influenced by them.  I can't possibly list them without missing someone I'd love to work with.  Characters are not as much a consideration in what I'd like to do as strength of writing.  A lot of comic characters are a kind of tabula rasa, aside from a few constants, they're blank slates on which to tell your version.  In other words, it's not the character, it's the characterization; it's what you do with it.

10. So what is next for you? Can you tell us or give us a hint? Any of it creator owned like your Samurai 7 work?

First, I can't believe you remember Samurai 7. Thanks.  Next out will be an arc of Captain America with writer Ed Brubaker.  I'm really taken with drawing again and find myself wanting to work every single day-- so I'm making a lot of comics.  I'm freelance in the truer sense of the term again so, in addition to Marvel, I'll be doing work for other companies, things I'm very excited about.  But I'm always hungry for more, another slow-building, 'back-burner' project-- just so I can do what I love every day.

11. Finally, Anything you want to say to any potential artists? Any advice or final words to our readers you would like to give?

Best of luck to all of you, it can be a really enjoyable way to make a living-- but get into a relationship or keep the ones you have.  You'll work alone, long hours, and you don't want to find yourself talking to the dog all day.