The Avengers Poster-Art Arrives!

Below you can see the poster art from the upcoming Avengers film. These separate posters were released at different times throughout SDCC this weekend, and the final poster was The Hulk, with Mark Ruffalo in the background. This is actually our first glimpse of the Hulk's character from the Avengers, as he wasn't featured in the teaser. I assume they haven't finished rendering his CG yet.

Either way, somebody had the brilliant idea to splice them together and it actually becomes one heck of a cool mural. Check it out below. Click image for higher quality.


From left to right we have Black Widow, Iron Man, the Hulk, Captain America, Thor, Hawkeye, Nick Fury and his S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents.

- A Dakota Lopez blog.

Location:Creek Rd,Mamaroneck,United States

Week 3 Roundup

Comics 7/13/11

Such a fantastic week to read comics. So many great stories by so many great producers. And I didn't have one bad issue this week! Exciting. I had a hard time choosing my pick for the week as well, because they were all so great.

Teen Titans #97 - Written by J.T. Krul and penciled by Nichola Scott. This issue closed the arc that brought us this fantastic new hero, Solstice, an Indian girl with mysterious light powers. This issue was probably chosen as my pick if the week because I got to actually meet J.T. Krul and got this issue signed. It was a cool day. 10/10

Green Lantern #67 - Written by Geoff Johns and penciled by Doug Mahnke. This was easily my runner up for pick of the week, simply because it was just so epic. Geoff Johns has really been redefining Green Lantern these past few years and this was him doing it again. It was the last issue of this volume, and we'll have to wait until September for the reboot to come and follow up. This is the one issue I don't want to give any spoiler alerts to. It's just too epic. Check it out, it's so good. Overall: 10/10

Superman #713 - Written by J. Michael Straczynski and Chris Roberson and penciled by... 6 different artists. Come on. That's ridiculous. At least I couldn't really notice. Anyway, Superman needs a lesson on why the world actually needs a Superman, and it was kind of a cute little tale of him being told different reasons why he NEEDS to exist by random citizens. 6/10.

Amazing Spider-Man #665 - Written by Dan Slott and penciled by Ryan Stegman. The full page spread of Spidey's webs is amazing! This issue was beautiful. Not just the art but the gravity and the maturity of the tale that was told. This issue was a reminder to Peter that he has great responsibilities, not only as Spider-Man but also as a friend and the importance of putting others needs before yourself. Fantastic. This is a 10/10. Well done.

The Red Wing #1 of 4 - Written by Jonathan Hickman and penciled by Nick Pitarra. The idea that the development of time travel to fix problems isn't new. But the idea that time travel would negatively be used for warfare is. Very clever. Story is a bit slow, but if you're into SciFi, it's drenched in it. Really cool idea AND no advertisements. Winning. The cover sold me btw. It's beautiful. Overall: 7/10

Detective Comics #879 - Written by Scott Snyder and penciled by Francesco Francavilla. Batman wasn't in this issue at all, but it was certainly a mystery waiting to be solved. I didn't mind the art, although I'm not a huge fan of all that overexposure in color. In fact though, it worked out well. Fantastic story by Snyder. The Joker is such a creep sometimes. Lemme tell ya. Overall: 7/10

X-Men: Schism #1 - Written by Jason Aaron and penciled by Carlos Pacheco. This issue showed the entire world turn on the X-Men and ready their Sentinels for all out war. Awesome. Was wondering when the Sentinels would be showing back up. This'll be a series to keep on the lookout for! Overall 9/10

The Incredible Hulks #632 - Written by Greg Pak and penciled by Paul Pelletier. "Heart of the Monster: Part 3". First truly "incredible" Hulk story I've read in a very long time. He fights to save his loved ones, but alas, at what cost?

Green Lantern Corps #61 - Writtwn by Tony Bedard and penciled by Daniel HDR. This issue follows the aftermath of the War of the Green Lanterns arc, and how many that were gifted with power rings during that time returned them, except for one. She, Qurina Vint of Calados, sets out to make her place in the Corps known and asks for the help of Green Lantern John Stewart, who is also an outcast, as he recently killed Mogo. It seems as though this comic was a lesson for kids or something, but nonetheless, I always enjoy a good story. 7/10.


- A Dakota Lopez blog.

Comic Signing by Writer J.T. Krul

Yesterday I got to head into NYC, check out the latest branch of the Midtown Comics industry (it's actually fairly downtown) AND I got to get about 19 comics signed by one of today's best writers: J.T. Krul. Most recently known for his run with Green Arrow and Teen Titans, Teen Titans issue #97 came out yesterday as well and it was a great end to an arc that involved a new character "Solstice" and a whole bunch of Indian mythology.

J.T. got to telling me a little more about how he got the idea to use Indian mythology/gods in his books, and also how he's pushing his series out a little faster, so that before the DC new 52 comes out, he can clock the series at a whopping 100 issues. He mentioned "you may see more of Solstice in the reboot. I hope I didn't create the character all for nothing." Also, preliminary scans of Nicola Scott have been sent in for issue 100 and he says they're looking really good. We look forward to it!

J.T. Krul and I

Comics he signed, along with Certificates of Authenticity for each.

First Dark Knight Rises Poster

The poster suggests that Gotham comes crashing down.



Click pic to see clearer.
- A Dakota Lopez blog.

Week 2 Roundup

As this is the second consecutive week of rounding shtuff up, please enjoy my brief reviews of some of this past week's comics!

Spider Island Daily Bugle #1 - This was a fun little freebie for the week. Essentially it was a tease at what's to come in Spider-Man's home town NYC in the near future. Basically all of Manhattan becomes plagued with Spider-powered citizens, who know little of consequences and less about responsibilities. It's aptly titled Spider-Island. Anyway, this is presented in the form of the Daily Bugle, the fictional newspaper giant of the Marvel universe. Overall 10/10 (cuz its free!) Thanks Dan Slott!!

Uncanny X-Men #540 - Written by Kieron Gillen and penciled by Greg Land. A lot of people read this book simply for Kieron Gillen's writing. Many are offput by Greg Land's artistic style. I'm no fan of it, but I surely don't think it's bad! Sometimes he has the tendency to make people look incredibly Asian (like Brock from Pokémon) when they smile and that's very annoying, but I get over it. This issue was seriously thought provoking. How do you stop an unstoppable force that's infused with an entity of fear? Overall: 8/10

Batman and Robin #25b - I got the variant cover. I like variant covers and this one's just pretty. Written by Judd Winick and penciled by Greg Tocchini and Andy Smith. The artwork is great and the banter between Jason, Dick and Damian is fantastic. That girl that they're rescuing, Sasha, is easily one of the mofugliest bishes I ever did see in a comic. I mean... poor thing! YOU need a mask. Overall: 9/10

Hulk #36 - Written by Jeff Parker and penciled Patch Zircher. The Red Hulk gets possessed by Zzzax!!! Anyway, don't buy this. I really disliked it. Basically it was all M.O.D.O.K. just monologuing. Overall: 3/10

X-Men #14 - Written by Christopher Yost and penciled by Paco Medina and Dalibor Talajic. The artists did a great job at complimenting each other as they switched back and forth. Medina drew the present and Dalibor drew the past panels. The story arc included the ancient Evolutionaries. Great story, complimented by great arc. The cover doesn't do anything for me though. Overall: 8/10

Herc #3 - Written by Greg Pak and Fred Van Lente and pencils by Scott Hanna and Neil Edwards. Despite the overall cheesiness, I somewhat enjoyed this issue. But it got to a point where it was so bad that it made me angry! Why on earth would anyone say 'No sleep 'til Brooklyn!' in a legitimate conversation? And also. Why why why would a Greek goddess start speaking in Latin? Or are we all so ignorant that we wouldn't know the difference? Ugh... This issue came out a few months ago, but I got it this week. Overall: 3/10

Titans Annual #1 - Written by Eric Wallace and penciled by Cliff Richards. Truly great storyline. The family feud between Iris and Osiris was great. The maniacal plot of Deathstroke. The emotions running through every character... So great. And the art was incredibly consistent and very well done. The cover is misleading. JLA and the Titans do not actually go against each other. Well worth the $4.99. This is my pick of the week. Overall: 10/10

DC Universe Online Legends #11 - Written by Marv Wolfman and penciled by Mike S. Miller. As the 11th issue of this run by Marv Wolfman comes around, I'm glad it's starting to make a little more sense. Although this is completely non-canonical from anything in the DCU, it's still a fun read. Lois turns muscley... Overall 7/10

Jeph Loeb & Ed McGuinness' New Secret Project

Entitled "XXXXX Reborn" Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuinness keep their secrets about their new project to themselves as they team up yet again. They've even wasted the better part of a poster. Anyway, you may know Jeph and Ed from some of their past works together, namely Superman/Batman and the Hulk. Now... I'm no huge fan of Ed McGuinness. But Jeph Loeb is undeniably a fantastic writer!

Any clue what the 5 character name is that could be reborn? Best that I've heard is Bucky. Wish it were Jean Grey though... More news to come at SDCC.

A test with my new iPhone

Blah blah. Just got my new iPhone and am currently testing out how well everything comes out.

Random picture:


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Batgirl #2 - Cover Art

Barbara Gordon looks as though she's regressed a good 15 years. No?

Will The New 52 Break DC?

I've heard many a fan/fanboy/hater/idiot/pessimist/orc say that this will be the end of DC Comics as we know it. I guess it has the potential to be, yes, but no it will not. Many say that this new reboot/not really a reboot/but really more than a regular reboot reboot will be their jumping off point, instead of on. And truly, I can understand the frustration. Everything that we know about classic characters is viable to change, and that's a scary thought. I'm still trying to figure out why Superman is wearing armor plates! But this is how I see it:

Come late August/early September, new comic Wednesdays come along and the stores are packed with geeks/freaks/koolkids/notsokoolkids/superheroes AND 52 new comics from DC. Maybe those fanboys will be heading in just to pick up their indie books, or Marvel books, but there is absolutely no way they'll be able to overlook the elephants in the room! There's going to be 52 shiny new books in there, all at a beautifully innocent 1st issue!

And let's say those pessimists actually go through with their plan to not buy any DC comics. After 3 months of no Batman/Superman/Green Lantern... Hawk & Dove, they're not gonna miss 'em at all! And a year goes by, the first huge storyarc comes around, some galactic evil threatens all life, and they're not going to think twice about it. They can honestly be content with never opening up another DC comic again, never even following their used-to-be favorite heroes again... No, this doesn't sound realistic! So I honestly think comic store owners have nothing to worry about. All that talk will be just that: talk. Maybe some truly will stick to their "word," but in the end the books will sell!

Will the new 52 comics bring in a new, younger crowd? I can't say that I know. I don't see how they are planning on actually advertising all of this. Maybe commercials on kids shows? Idk. If only comics were as popular as they were in the days of the Lost Boys. 

Shout Out to My Good Friend at Also, Bagels!

"Also, Bagels" a web comic stemming from the idiotic and often delusional brilliance of the mind of Brookes Eggleston, my good friend that I aforementioned, is updated 3 times a week, on Mon, Wed, and Fri. Whether or not I get the jokes is more often than not, beyond my capacity to comprehend, which at times makes me wonder if there was actually a joke in there at all, but I usually assume there is so I laugh anyway. But sometimes the updates catch you by surprise and give you that laugh that you so need while you check your phone on your "breaks" from work.

He's built quite the recurring cast within his web comics, and he continues to add to their history and connectivity as it goes on. Last year he even had his own booth at NYCC and I was invited in with a "Professional" guest pass. This is actually why I chose to get back in to comics and start this blog, as a matter of fact! Anywho. Here's a picture of his primary mascot Bagels McCoullagh:



And Below is a picture from NYCC '10:

Follow him! He's also on Twitter. Also, you may find the Bagels here.

Week 1 Roundup

So what am I rounding up, on "Week 1"? Comics! I've decided that since this is the first week I started my Twitter feed, it's the first week I can round up all my reviews into one post. I plan on this being a weekly event, unless of course, life gets in the way, but we'll see! So this week we had:

The Amazing Spider-Man #664 - Written by Dan Slott and penciled by Giuseppe Camuncoli. Revolves around the plot that the Anti-Venom ties up Spider-man to, in his own twisted way, prove that he's the good guy and not crazy, and take down Mr. Negative on his own. Stuff goes wrong in classic Spider-Man style, and it came out to a good read! Overall, a 9/10!

Detective Comics #878 - Written by Scott Snyder and penciled by Jock. Dick Grayson, as Batman, has been trapped by Tiger Shark, who we learn is from some line of ancient mystical royalty. The story is told, just as a detective would take his notes: well. Overall, an 8/10!

Green Lantern: Emerald Warriors #11 - Written by Peter J. Tomasi and penciled by Bernard Chang. Now, I've never been a fan of Guy Gardner, particularly because he's a douchebag, but I must give credit for a job well done in this issue. He succesfully died and came back to life! Anywho. Overall, a 6/10.

Justice Society of America #52 - Written by Marc Guggenheim and penciled by Tom Derenick. I guilt myself for never taking a liking to this supergroup in the past, but I think I'll make it an effort to read more into them. This book takes us to a story about a mysterious door that leads to a forgotten city; a City of Evil! Originally apprehensive about the art, but it grew on me. Has an old time feel! Overall, a 6/10.

Namor: The First Mutant #11 - Written by Stuart Moore and penciled by Carlos Rodriguez. Namor's a new concept to my palette, but I've grown to like the many facets he caries, and Moore has brought out the plights of a solid character, although his actions may at times be rash. Not sure if this is the last issue, it ended with epic finality... Hope not! Overall, a 7/10.

Uncanny X-Men #539 - Writen by Kieron Gillen and penciled by Ibraim Roberson. I'm really craving some more involvement with Hope and her mutant team with the X-Men and I got it with this issue. She seems to be coming into her own character and is worthy of her own book, but was a warm welcome back to Uncanny X-Men. I previously described the art by Roberson as "watercolor with a hint of life" and I'm sticking tho that. It felt soothing and real. Overall, a 9/10!

The Walking Dead #86 - Written by Robert Kirkman and penciled by Charlie Adlard. Always a worthwhile read, The Walking Dead lives up to it's name. Circling the story more around the lives of those who've survived into a post-apocalyptic zombie infested world than on the zombies themselves, Robert Kirkman has himself a steady ongoing gem. Full page spread near the end by Richard Adlard was fantastic! Overall, a 7/10.

(Hehe, I reviewed them in alphabetagammical order!)