Stages of Grief: Thor the Mighty Avenger

The cancellation of Thor the Mighty Avenger is my first experience in losing a series that I really enjoyed. The discussion in the forums reflects everyone else’s dismay in the cancellation. Many of you have experienced previous cancellations. As Tee said, “Welcome to my world.” In entering Tee’s world of disappointment, I have to work through the stages of grief in losing my first series.

Denial: TMA combined the efforts of two creators I have come to love, Roger Langridge and Chris Samnee. Who would be crazy and/or evil enough to cancel this team? Obviously Marvel recognizes this is a crazy and evil decision as Editor-In-Chief, Joe Quesada, has claimed the decision was not his. I must not be the only one in denial.

Anger: I don’t pick up many comics monthly. TMA was my second monthly after Buffy. Why does Marvel hate me? Is it because I think they have too many Deadpools? Why do they want me to spend hours on Wikipedia if I want to read the remaining Thor books?

Bargaining: In response to the cancellation, fans of the series began tweeting with the hash tag #SaveThorTheMightyAvenger. I tweeted Marvel asking for at least allowing for a more complete end of the series in the traditional 12 issue arc many mini-series take. Just let them finish the plans they currently had. It makes sense from a trade standpoint. How can Marvel ignore such logic?

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The Nerdy Dozen: Comics Greatest Leaders

Ask twelve different people what makes a great leader and you could certainly get a dozen different answers. Part of the equation is of course what kind of follower you might be and therefore what type of leader you need. But personal needs or taste aside, I think a few ways to look or in this case rank leaders are by their longevity, the reaction they get from others, the situations they have been presented with and of course their results. With these points in mind, here is my Nerdy Dozen of the greatest leaders in comic book history.

12) Nick Fury

Politics and espionage are dirty businesses so Nick Fury is far from a squeaky clean leader in anyone’s eyes. But still for decades there he was in charge of soldiers and superheroes alike in trying to save the world on a daily basis. Eventually his “ends justify the means” way of doing business caught up to him, but he had a tremendously long run as a powerful leader in the Marvel Universe.

11) Professor Xavier

Like a lot of well known leaders and comic book heroes, Charles Xavier has had huge successes and huge failures. And while I think it is easy to remember his mistakes, he is still the founder of both a school and a superhero team that did immeasurable good for not only mutants but the entire world.

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Review: Thor The Mighty Avenger #3

I have been loving Thor The Mighty Avenger! It is a fun and well-written book that appeals to fans of all ages! In the first issue we are introduced to the two main characters, Thor and Jane Foster. Thor has mysteriously been sent to Midgard and wants to return home. He meets Jane at the Bergen War Memorial Museum when he tries to get his hammer, Mjolnir, out an urn in one of the museum displays. We are also introduced to the villain of this story arc, Hyde. The second issue is action packed as Thor defeats Hyde. Now, in issue three, the action continues as mayhem ensues, with a little help from Loki. Thor meets superheroes Henry Pym (Ant-Man) and Janet van Dyne (Wasp) but it is not a friendly encounter.

Roger Langridge‘s writing is perfect for this series. It is fun, fast and self-contained. All you need to know is between the covers. Partner that with Chris Samnee‘s art and you’ve got magic. I love the bold lines and the dynamic movement of Samnee’s art. And I love the sense of life that he gives the characters. If you want to see more of Samnee’s art check out Siege: Embedded and the Comic Twart Blog. Matt Wilson‘s coloring really helps to accentuate Samnee’s art. Everything fits together incredibly well!

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The Nerdy Dozen : Comics Most Memorable Deaths

Since the dead continues to rise with the assistance of jewelry over at DC, I thought it might be a good time for a list about death in comics. But I struggled with the title of this list because who wants to make a “best of death” list? It’s kind of a morbid thing even for fictional characters. You also have to factor in the fact that deaths rarely have a lasting effect in superhero comics (which is the source for most of this list) so it can be hard to label a comic book death as meaningful. But despite all of that here’s my list of the top twelve most well crafted or “memorable” deaths in comics.

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Iron Man DVD Review

Iron Man DVD Cover ArtThe second biggest movie of 2008 and the 21^st biggest box-office money maker ever finally hit DVD last week and it hit hard. Iron Man was a huge blockbuster for Marvel Films and it is obvious from all of the various DVD releases on the market they are hoping to make the same sort of splash on the home entertainment market as well. You would assume that just based on the box-office for the film, great DVD sales would be a given. It would seem Paramount and Marvel doesn’t want to risk such an assumption as they are flooding the market with a ton of different “special” editions of the film or more accurately its packaging upon its release.

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