The Jacked Kirby Podcast: Episode #24 - The Avengers Issue #4 (1964)

The Jacked Kirby Podcast: Episode #24- The Avengers Issue #4 (1964)

“Captain America Lives Again!” in Marvel Comics’ issue number 4, volume 1, of The Avengers! (1964) Mike D. & TL are joined once again by their pal Big Al Boulder to talk about this penultimate issue of the early Marvel superhero line, and its effect on the Marvel Universe for years to come! It's the return of Captain America FOLKS!!!!

More singing, more Gary jokes, and more shout-outs than the Hulk can carry! Join us for some fun!

When Will It Stop: Why Are All The Nerds On The Internet Hating On The Ant Man Trailer? - A CCD Rant by Mike D

As I sat in my favorite bar n Brooklyn, the Irish Haven, watching Agent Carter with a few of my customers that are nerds like me I began to get excited. As the first hour came to a close (on a pretty great show, cause you know its Marvel...) I was anticipating the premiere of the Ant Man trailer. But then they announced that there was another hour of Agent Carter coming. Wait... what? How did I miss this? It was a 2 hour premiere? Ok... 1 more hour to anticipate the trailer. Hour 2 of Agent Carter was even better, and boy oh boy it was 9:55 Pm and we were finally here. It started... and I was completely breathless for 90 seconds. Trying to take it all in, I didn't want to miss a thing. And as I turned to my friends at the bar, they seemed about as jazzed as I was. I couldn't wait till the next morning when it hit the 'Net and I could get a proper breakdown (like this great one from the Den of Geeks!) of the whole packed trailer screenshot by screenshot. So imagine my surprise when I saw a bunch of my friends (and fellow nerds) on FB bashing the 90 second trailer, and then found a majority of articles doing the same... WHAAAAATTTT??? I can understand why a non comic fan might not be excited, but what did all these (supposed) informed nerds watch to be so mad about? I felt a rant brewing, and after a few days I have to unleash....

More after the jump...

A CCD Rant by Joe Esq: Am I The Only Nerd Who Gets Annoyed...

... When they change stuff in the comic book to make it match the movies? Ok look, I understand the corporate robot-think that leads to comic book companies doing this, but I find it contemptible and I'll never agree with it. And that's not just nerd-rage talking, the way I see it, its a really shortsighted and stupid thing to do.

My Parents Were Cool, But Not This Cool...

I had great parents that encouraged all of my idiosyncrasies and afforded me great things (like comics & toys) throughout my childhood. They allowed me to do what I wanted with my room, and I often decorated it with the things I loved (mostly comics & toys.. lol). But Joe Fletch sent me a Reddit thread that blows doors on anything I ever had as a kid... and it comes courtesy of a great dad that should be commended for being so creative. This dude turned his son's bedroom into Avengers Central, with all four corners of the room embodying each of the Big 4. They all have a corner, and each is cooler than the other. The Cap corner has his signature shield, Thor's corner has Mjolinir, Hulk's corner has his terrifying scowl, and Iron Man has his signature helmet. There is also a Stark Industry bookshelf, a hidden Ultron visage, a Iron Man suit breaking through the wall, and so much more.... really great! Parents need to pay attention, this is how you do it! Check out the pics of the room after the jump...

The Marvel Cinematic Universe Thus Far by One Man Sidekick

One Man Sidekick is a graphic artist who loves that Marvel Cinematic Universe. He decided to show his love for the excellent work that Marvel is doing on the big screen by compiling some pieces of all the major characters from each film, giving them all the proper shine they deserve. These are absolutely great, given the fact that he is using stock images of the characters. The way he arranges them and makes them play off each other, and also chooses specific versions of each character to bring his pieces to life. Check them all out after the jump... he even has a Thor 2: The Dark World one in there, so that he is right up to date!!!

Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. Gets It's First Promo - The Marvel Universe Invades A TV Set Near You!!!

Just picked up for next season, Marvel's show about S.H.I.E.L.D., the super secret spy organization in the Marvel comic book and movie universe. This seems like a great way for new characters and concepts to be introduced to the ravenous Marvel film fan base before showing up on the big screen in the summer blockbuster films. I am not sure if Coulson is alive or dead since I have no idea what time period this show is set in. I assume it comes after the first Avengers film. He could also be a LMD (life model decoy) which would be a great reveal to end Season 1. Check out more after the jump...

Pulp Avengers by Calamity Jon

I am a sucker when modern characters are re-imagined into old style projects. Calamity Jon is an artist who hit this idea right square on the head when he decided to take some of the lesser known Avengers (Wasp, Black Widow, Power Man) and fold them into pulp novel type stories. These covers look spectacular, and I would definitely read these books based on their tag lines alone. I am especially intrigued by the bonus in this series, DC Comics favorite space man Strange being written by Robert Heinlein (the author of Starship Troopers). That would be epic all the way around. Click here to see some excellent info on the source material of these covers, and check out all 5 after the jump...

'Too Many Avengers' - A Short Animated Film by Dan Meth

All Avengers. All the time. That seems to be the case here at CCD lately... lol. Anyway, here is an excellent short animated film from Dan Meth entitled 'Too Many Avengers'. In this film Meth wonders what would happen if the core 6 recruits for The Avengers didn't keep their recruitment a secret and invited a few of their "closest" fellow super friends. The possibilities are funnier and funnier. Enjoy the clip after the jump...

Avengers On Parade by Hannah Friederichs

The last couple of weeks have been up & down for me. I was very saddened a few weeks back by the death of Maurice Sendak. I was also very happy when I was able to take my 9 year old son to see 'The Avengers' on the big screen. That is a roller coaster of emotion, and its bittersweet. Than I came across Hannah Friederichs excellent Sendak-styled run down of the Avengers, and it all came together in a very positive way. This is what a good mash-up should be. Check out the full sized image after the jump.

Avengers Assemble by Fidgt

2 more days.... That is it!!! Two more days and we finally get a live action Avengers movie. Need something to hold you over? How about a fantastic minimalistic take on the Earth's Mightiest Heroes by artist Fidgt. You can get the print for 15 bucks on his Society 6 page by clicking here. 2 more days...

Avengers '78

Wow. Just wow. I watch millions of clips a week and see plenty of fan made trailers that make me smile because they are mildly clever. If I get a bit of a giggle than I feel that the faux trailer was quite successful. But when you get your hands on a masterpiece like the 'Avengers '78' faux trailer.... well, this is the stuff that legends are made of. I am not sure who created the faux trailer, but  it was posted on Quarv's Youtube page. They take all of the footage from the old fashioned 70s/80s Marvel TV series & films and mold them into a solid promo for a CBS Movie of the Week. Watch Ferigno and the rest of the Marvel gang show the current crop of Avengers how it is done. And you gotta love the Hawkeye cameo, not to mention the choice of villain... watch it after the jump and enjoy!!!!

Mega Morphs by Lou Kang

Check out this very cool concept entitled Mega Morphs, which are basically giant robot versions of your favorite Marvel heroes. Think giant Transformers with the powers/weapons of Wolverine, Spider-man, Ghost Rider, and others. The artwork is done by artist Lou Kang. This would be so fucking cool. It reminds me of the robot versions of the Avengers from the Marvel animated feature Young Avengers. Lets hope they find a way to get this done. It could be really cool. See the full size pics after the jump...

Image Avalanche #11 by Cal From The Cave of Cool

My main Canadian brother from another mother is back from the frozen North to share some cool ass pictures with us CCDers down here in the ole Continental 48 states. Those Canadians sure have a good eye for finding some cool shit on the intrawebs, and Cal may the all time best at it. Make sure you click here and check out his site, and click after the jump for today's collection...

Avengers Assembled

I remember when I first started hearing the rumors back in 2007, that the upcoming "Iron Man" movie was going to have a cameo appearance by Nick Fury, played by Samuel L. Jackson, that is going to set up for an Avengers movie............Suuuuuuuuuuure. Now first, I didn't believe it, and second, even if they did include said scene, ain't no way in hell they are gunna be able pull off that kind of big plan.

But here we are, 5 movies later, and less than a year away from an unprecedented comic book movie event. Here's a look a the character posters they unveiled over the weekend at SDCC all together as one giant banner of nergasm.

Click the pic for a big version. I'll let you guess what my current wallpaper is.

Aside from a few bumps (I really wish that was Edward Norton) Marvel looks like they may actually pull this off. An ensemble comic book film, all with predefined singular experiences, helmed by Joss Whedon, one of the best ensemble and genre handlers out there today. Holy crap I say.

I have enjoyed all the movies thus far, as good, fun, "comic book movies." I am eagerly awaiting this. If it doesn't go any further after, I'm totally fine with that, because as I said, I never would have believed it would have even made it this far.

What do you guys think? If the world does end late next year.....are we good?

The Avengers Family Tree by Joe Stone

I have featured artist Joe Stone's Family Tree's before... both the Fantastic Four & The X-Men. Now we get The Avengers... and it is wonderful (click to enlarge) :

Heroes Vs Villians Toy Battle: Mikey & I Play With Some Toys!!!

My son Mikey has been fascinated by Marvel's Superhero Squad toys ever since he first laid eyes on him. You got to admit that the little figures are extremely cool due to their amazing likenesses and cool selection of characters that are included in the set. They have released a shitload of these guys over the past few years, and Mikey has an extraordinary amount of them. I thought it would be cool to set up a mock "heroes vs villians" battle scene on the kitchen table, pitting all the teams we love from the Marvel Universe against their mortal enemies. Due to Marvel trying to capitalize on the success of Wolverine, Spiderman, and Iron Man, there are an obscene amount of these characters present (especially Iron Man!!!). Unfortunately, you must keep buying these duplicates in order to get some of the cooler figures in the two packs they come in. Anyway, I shot some awesome pics as well as a video of the "great battle". Hope you enjoy.

Side View

Front View

***Please click Read more below to see all of the individual figures pics***

TheComic Book Pull List, Vol #2 by James West

Spider-Man Doesn’t Work Here Anymore

Yup, the recession is still hitting everyone. According to Spider-Man editor Steve Wacker, Spidey’s so broke he had to stop using web fluid because it’s too expensive. And now, after an employment of 50-ish years, Peter Parker no longer has a job. Unless Tony Stark can lend him some money, or the government gives the Daily Bugle some bailout-ness, looks like tough times are ahead for the WebHead. First, the very existence of his super model wife gets wiped from reality, and now this? I’d rather have no power and no responsibility than this.








Kevin Smith’s Green Hornet

Kevin Smith once joked that his Green Hornet movie would be the title character and Kato would just be conversations about inappropriate material, followed by off panel fighting. Well, now we get a chance to find out if this is true. The book came out two days ago, and even though I haven’t gotten it yet, I’m looking forward to finding out what the movie would have been like if it didn’t fall through.










I am an Avenger. Me too. And me. And me. And me…

Marvel’s doing an excellent job of promoting the new Avengers books with posters in the same format as the one above. So far, on The Avengers, we have Captain America (Bucky), Iron Man, Thor, Hawkeye, and Spider-Woman. The Secret Avengers are still just that- a secret. The only posters that have been released have been nothing but silhouettes, but this just heightened the hype. Speculations have included Moon Knight, Steve Rogers, Scarlet Witch, War Machine, Captain Marvel, War Machine, the hood, and the Sentry. Finally, the New Avengers were released this week. They are: Luke Cage, Wolverine, Spider-Man, Jewel, and the Thing. I wonder what Marvel has up their sleeve once Siege is over…

 
 
 
Now get out there and support your local comic book stores!!!!