Awesome Comic Books
The League of Regrettable Comic Book Characters
Author Jon Morris wrote this series of comic book history books, including silly superheroes like Doctor Hormone, freakish villains like Animal-Vegetable-Mineral Man, and stupid sidekicks like Frosting the Bear. The books are packed with vintage art, backstories on the characters, and amusing commentary.
Funny Pages (Trailer)
Actor Owen Kline’s directorial feature debut is a coming-of-age indie comedy that follows the story of a young man who wants to pursue a career as a comic book artist. While pursuing his dream, he encounters some truly colorful characters.
Slugfest (Trailer)
Marvel and DC Comics have been rivals for decades. Produced by the Russo Brothers, this documentary series explores the history of the two comic book juggernauts and their friendly and not-so-friendly competition over the years. Narrated by Kevin Smith and premiering on The Roku Channel on 12.24.21.
Super Crooks (Teaser)
An anime adaptation of Mark Millar and Leinil Yu’s Super Crooks comic books is coming to Netflix. The story about a group of supervillains is like Oceans Eleven, but the heist crew has superpowers. Premieres 11.25.2021 spanning thirteen 30-minute episodes.
The Comic Book History of Shang-Chi
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings introduces the first new hero to Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But Shang-Chi has appeared in comic books since 1973. Alamo Drafthouse offers a retrospective on the character to give us a bit of background on the martial arts master before heading to the theater.
Sweet Tooth (Teaser)
Based on the beloved graphic novel by Jeff Lemire, Sweet Tooth follows the story of a boy mysteriously born as a hybrid human/deer, and who must rise to the challenges of a world ravaged by a pandemic after being raised in isolation by his father. Coming to Netflix 6.4.2021.
Jupiter’s Legacy (Trailer)
From Mark Millar, creator of Kingsman and Kick-Ass comes a Netflix series about the changing of the guard between the first generation of superheroes and their children. Will the young heroes maintain their parents’ ideals, or has the world changed too much to live up to their expectations? Premieres 5.7.2021.
How Marvelman Changed Superheroes
We’ve all heard of Captain Marvel, but the character has a long and complicated history, mired in lawsuits that gave birth to oddities like the UK’s “Marvelman.” Nerdwriter explains how the long lost character was resurrected and became the forefather of today’s of dark and flawed anti-hero characters.
Invincible: First Look
Based on Robert Kirkman’s comic book, this animated series follows the relationship between a young man (Steven Yeun) and his father (J.K. Simmons), the world’s most powerful superhero. As he inherits his father’s powers and learns of his origins, he struggles to accept his new role. Coming to Prime Video 3.26.2021.
The Legion of Regrettable Supervillains
From the poison brick-slinging Brickbat to The Horrible Hand, author Jon Morris’ humorous reference book catalogs some of the weirdest and worst supervillains in the history of comic books. Can’t get enough? Round out your bookshelf with some equally unfortunate superheroes and their half-baked sidekicks.
Code 45: Issues 2 & 3
After a great kickoff for the graphic novel Code 45, the second and third issues are now available for order. The story follows Vanessa, a subway driver in Montreal who hears rumors that there are ‘dragons’ in the tunnels. This mega-issue journeys into the night shift and closer to the monsters that dwell beneath the surface.
The Tech of Into the Spider-Verse
Jampacked with amazing visuals, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is a must watch for any fan of animation, comic books, superheroes, or just good movies. Movies with Mikey provides an in-depth look at some of the art and animation techniques used to bring this masterpiece together.
Alternate Versions of Captain Marvel
Captain Marvel is shaping up to be a blockbuster. Variant Comics jumps in on the movie’s hype by sharing the most notable versions of the hero/heroine. That includes the original version, one who defeated and then restored Death itself, and even a villain.
Inside Alex Ross’ Studio
Comic book artist Alex Ross is known for his realistic and Silver Age style of painting characters. CBS This Morning visited Ross in his home to take a look at his toy collection, memorabilia, as well as to hear his perspective on his career.
The Origin of Bullseye
The third season of Netflix’s Daredevil marks the small screen debut of one of Matt Murdock’s greatest enemies, Bullseye. Variant Comics explains the character’s origins, as told in the comic book miniseries Bullseye: Greatest Hits. Or so we think.
X-Men: Grand Design
From writer and artist Ed Piskor comes a three-part comic book miniseries that retells the story of the X-Men so far. Similar to what he did in Hip-Hop Family Tree, Piskor summed up over 50 years of X-Men stories in a retro and verbose style. More here and here.
Todd McFarlane: Business Serving Art
Todd McFarlane reinvented Spider-Man, created Spawn, and helped revolutionize the comics industry by co-founding Image Comics. Now he has a toy empire. He sat down with Complex to share tons of practical tips for success based on his passion and experience.
Alternate Versions of Iron Man
VariantComics shares their favorite alternate comic book versions of Shellhead, including the zombie Iron Man, the Green Lantern-Iron Man hybrid and the Ghost Rider-Iron Man combo. The House of M Iron Man does look dope.
My Favorite Thing is Monsters
Emil Ferris’ critically-acclaimed graphic novel is drawn and written as the diary and sketchbook of Karen Reyes, a monster-obsessed 10-year old living in 1960’s Chicago who tries to solve the murder of her upstairs neighbor.
Origins of the Comic Book Font
The Sandman: What Dreams Cost
Nerdwriter1 talks about how Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman used Shakespeare to point out artists’ tendency to have a detached and sociopathic approach to life, and how popular art tends to obscure its sources instead of bringing them to light.
Fight Club 2
The unnamed narrator and Tyler Durden are coming back. Chuck Palahniuk and Cameron Stewart’s 10-issue comic book miniseries is set 10 years after the novel. Read the first issue’s first six pages on Playboy (NSFW).