Welcome to Friday’s Mega Comics Group Updates!

The Mighty Thor In A Theater Near You!

Chris Hemsworth as Thor Wallpaper courtesy of comicbookmovie.com.

The Thor movie poster.

We’re on a roll here! A film roll that is! 😉 The last two weeks we’ve talked about the new movies of  Green Lantern and Green Hornet. So since we have nothing better to talk about at this point and the subject is interesting to some of us, we’ll continue with the theme! Albeit, this time around we’ll not be going with the Green motif for obvious reasons. Today we’ll share what we know of the forthcoming Thor movie. What we know could fit in a match box, but that’s never stopped us from spouting off before! So why change now, eh? 😉

By now you know the drill. So here we turn it over to Mark Poe, our esteemed Publisher-In-Training and part time Myth Manager.

Take Note: If you like the awesome wall paper above, get more for your computer desktop at: www.comicbookmovie.com .

Mark’s Remarks

The Hammer of Thor Promo Poster.

The stuff of legends… literally! Chris Hemsworth portrays the mighty but arrogant god warrior whose careless actions re-start an ages old war. Thor is kicked out of the heavenly gates of Asgard by his father Odin played by… gulp… Anthony Hopkins? Forced to live and move among the lowly mortals of Earth he meets a beautiful young scientist, Jane Foster portrayed by Natalie Portman. She, of course, as the old Stan Lee/Jack Kirby story goes, becomes his first love. Here, as is the usual case with a classic love story, is where Thor grows up. He soon learns what it takes to be a true hero when the Asgard’s most dangerous villain sends dark forces to invade Midgard (Earth).

So far so good. Except for casting one of the biggest movie villains ever, Anthony Hopkins, as Odin, it sounds as if we have the making of another great film from Marvel. The sets and costumes look convincing, even if not exactly as Kirby drew it. The hammer is perfect, which will go a long way. Mjolnir of course is no mere movie prop, and it will be interesting to see how they use the Hammer of Thor in the flick. A lot of the props and costumes reflect the work of Walter Simonson from his run on Thor in the ’80’s as well as that of Lee and Kirby from the ’60’s. That’s a nice tribute to Walt who probably did more with the characters than anyone else since Stan and Jack created them.

Anthony Hopkins as Odin.

So why isn’t Hopkins playing Loki, Thor’s evil half brother? Good question. Age, I suppose has a lot to do with it. But to his credit Hopkins seems to do well for the part in the little bit which can be seen in the movie trailer. Still, in my mind at least, Odin should be played by someone a bit heavier, more imposing figure with a deeper voice. Someone like Orson Wells, if he were still alive, would be perfect, but maybe that’s just me.

Chris Hemsworth seems to fit the Thor role to a “T”. This Thor again is more like the character Walter Simonson revamped than does the original Lee/Kirby creation. Donald Blake seems to be no where in sight on the trailer. Maybe the producers thought the timid, Clark Kent type was not right for the movie, but it seems to me to be an interracial  part of the story of Thor’s humbling. For Odin to have forced his arrogant  son to spend time in a weak, crippled body as Blake was portrayed in the comics seems to be the perfect path for the story in my estimation.

Natalie Portman, of Star Wars: Episode 1 fame, is a great pick for the Jane Foster role. But she seems to be a stronger personality than Lee and Kirby’s Jane. Of course the world is a lot different place now than it was in the ’60’s. Watching the trailer we noticed another female role in the film. Could that be Sif, Thor’s warrior maiden girlfriend? Hmmm…

Out of the 3 films I have reported on, this movie looks the most promising. I still have not seen Green Hornet, but some of my friends on Facebook were less than impressed with it. So much so I may wait until it’s released on DVD this summer to watch it.

Something to watch for: The website comicbookmovie.com has reported the movie trailers for both Thor and Captain America are to be two of this year’s Super Bowl commercials.

Again this week as an added treat we’ve linked the Thor Movie trailer to this site for everyone to see.: www.greenhornetmovie.com. Enjoy!

Any questions or comments? All are welcome.

______________________________

Archives Spotlight

We continue our look back at our previously posted web comics. We’ll be looking at all that’s come before with this feature and adding new comments as well. This month we are reviewing Project: New Man #2 and Humants #1! Stay tuned to this section every Friday for more of our archived titles.

Project: New Man #2 – Page 19 – Prison makes for a good backdrop for the telling of a story. And this is some kind of story to tell!

Mark’s Remarks: Ah! Listen to the dialog here. Freazie White, Jr. Creator and editor of Humants as well as Project: New Man’s csripter extraordinare, masterfully used the conversation between Max & Dave to reveal a lot about the Rockwell Prison Holding Facility. Using this device subtly explains why a guy on death row would be in the same joint with someone serving a sentence for a minor offense.

Humants #1 – Page 18 – Yow! Is that guy going into convulsions?! Whoa! What’s with his eyes?! Gulp! He’s being levitated and it seems he is being absorbed by that dark figure. Uh oh…

Mark’s Remarks: It’s alive! The origin of the Humants chief nemesis Mageddon continues! Nice page, Freazie!

Any questions or comments? All are welcome.

CU Next Friday!

The Green Hornet, Kato and related characters are TM & © by The Green Hornet Inc. Clark Kent, Green Lantern, and related characters are TM & © DC Comics. Captain America, Thor, Odin, Loki and related characters are TM & © Marvel Entertainment, Inc. Images and information for conventions and signings, see convention sites for copyright and trademark owners information. Fair Use reference to intellectual property of other companies are intended for historical and informational accuracy only. Mega Comics Group™ or Mega Graphics, LLC™ does not represent or have any relationship to any other company or entity or their intellectual property unless otherwise clearly noted. Ghost Owl, The Guard, Ghost Woman, Blackout, The Conqueror, Amazona, ArchAgent, Atomaster, Medicine Man , Black Fury , Lady Patriot, Madame Strange, Black Lion, Atlas the Titan, Iron Lady, Atomoro, Mega Tales, A-1 Comics Spectacular, and the Amalgam Agents and all contents ™ and © 2010 Mega Graphics LLC, unless otherwise noted herein.   Project: New Man™ and  Humants™ and © 2010 Freazie White, Jr. D.B.A. Legacy Comics. Tess, the Living Tesseract™ and © Stephen Greg Legat and Mark Poe. All rights reserved. Mega Graphics LLC, licensor.

Welcome to Friday’s Mega Comics Group Updates!

Truth, Justice and the Captain America Way!

Cap’s Entertainment Weekly Cover

Cap’s original shield.

Next up on our look at upcoming super hero movies is Captain America! So far we don’t know a whole lot about this one. It’s suppose to be out in July of this year, but other than a few still photos and the basic premise Marvel seems to be keeping a tight lid on this project. This isn’t the first time they have tried to do a movie about the star spangled World War 2 legend and the previous attempts were met with less than enthusiastic reviews.

As with out previous previews, we will turn this over to Mark Poe, our esteemed Publisher-In-Training and part time Historian.

Like the photos? There are plenty more cool looking wallpaper  for your computer desktop images like you see here from: www.comicbookmovie.com .

Mark’s Remarks

A glimpse of the government project which turns Steve Rogers into a Living Legend.

The Living Legend of World War 2! Stan Lee used that phrase over and over to describe Captain America during the 1960’s Marvel Age of Comics. Along with Jack Kirby and the Marvel Bullpen of artists and inkers, Stan turned a Golden Age character who, after the World War, was all but forgotten into, a household name. Of course, turning obscure characters into cultural icons was what Stan and Jack were all about in those days! They brought a company that didn’t even really have a name, which published movie and TV knock-offs to become the top selling comic book publisher by the end of the decade. This was accomplished in large part due to the marketing savoir faire of both Stan Lee and then Publisher Martin Goodman who never missed an opportunity to merchandise the Marvel Characters. Whether the opportunity was stationary, t-shirts, model kits or the animated series which ran on TV. Stan did not miss a trick. There was movie proposals as well but none ever panned out in the ’60’s.

Then came the ’70’s and Marvel’s first live action attempts. Captain America appeared first in a 1979 made for TV movie on CBS: Captain America, which aired January 19, 1979. Later that same year Captain America II: Death Too Soon debuted November 23, 1979, both starring Reb Brown as Cap. Other than the character names these films resembled the Marvel Comics characters very little. Although not bad movies these still fell short of fan expectations. Neither did the changes made in the characters and story  relate better to the TV viewers of the time who had never read the comic books.

Captain America: The First Avenger 2011

There was also a 1990 film titled Captain America, starring Matt Salinger. This movie was shot in Yugoslavia. It was fairly faithful to the Marvel Comics version depicting the origin of Captain America from the 4-F (rejected) volunteer soldier Steve Rogers. The movie showed his World War 2 missions and his apparent death at the end of the war. Then he is found decades later frozen in ice, and being awakened from suspended animation, he must deal with being a man out of his time like a modern Rip Van Winkle. The Red Skull is in this one too, but for some reason they made him an Italian fascist rather than a German Nazi. Weird. This film itself was never released in theaters in the US, but it was released on VHS in 1992. I saw the previous two movies but I never saw this one. From everyone I’ve talked to or read after who has seen it I’ve not found any positive reaction to it. Apparently after doing a few test screenings, Marvel decided it was not good enough to release to theaters.

It is worth mentioning the ’40’s serial film about Captain America. I never saw this either but I’ve read the plots, which are very loosely based on the Marvel Cap and I’ve seen still images from the film. From what I’ve seen it doesn’t look like a winner.

That brings us back around to the 2011 Movie.

“In 1942, Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) is deemed too physically unfit to enlist in the U.S. Army and fight the Nazis in World War 2. Volunteering instead for Project: Rebirth, a secret military operation, he is physically transformed into a super-soldier dubbed Captain America. With sidekick Bucky Barnes, he fights the Red Skull (Hugo Weaving), Hitler’s treacherous head of advanced weaponry, whose own plan for world domination involves a seemingly magical object known as the Tesseract.“

I have high hopes from the photos I’ve seen. If you notice the uniform Cap wears for this film, you can see the producer is trying to use a more realistic approach and  play down the spandex. The uniform is based off  airmen’s jackets from the World War 2 era and the gloves and boots from some of the GI gear. There is said to be an effort in the script and direction of the story for Steve Rogers to laugh at the costume they want him to wear to USO rallies, which is the comic book version of the Captain America costume. Instead of settling for ridicule of wearing the “Patriotic Pajamas” Steve get’s in contact with Howard Stark, Tony (Iron Man) Stark’s dad, and has him design and make a more battle sensible uniform. This should add a bit of realism to the super hero myth, since most real people would never wear the traditional super hero tights.

Reminder: The folks at comicbookmovie.com has reported official movie trailers for both the Thor and Captain America movie trailers are to aired during this year’s Super Bowl .

Even though there is no official Captain America trailer out YET, regardless of what folks posting to YouTube tell you, there are plenty of fan created teasers. Some are very good, like the following:

Any questions or comments? All are welcome.

______________________________

Archives Spotlight

We continue our look back at our previously posted web comics. We’ll be looking at all that’s come before with this feature and adding new comments as well. This month we are reviewing Project: New Man #2 and Humants #1! Stay tuned to this section every Friday for more of our archived titles.

Project: New Man #2 – Page 20 – WOW! Did we tell you New Man had a shady past or what?!

Mark’s Remarks: Once again Freazie White, Jr. Creator, artist and editor of  the Humants title as well as Project: New Man’s scripter, turns in some great work! Very nice, natural, dialog between these two characters.

I was also pleased with the art here, which is now 100% my pencils and inks. Look closely and you will see my artistic influences. There are hints of Jack Kirby, John Byrne, Terry Austin and Joe Sinnott on this page. Still I had room for improvement, as is always the case.

Humants #1 – Page 19 – Mageddon, the Spoiler of Dimensional Integrity! The Dark Lord of the Hecati! Not a guy you want to hang around for sure. Lawthers better find a fast exit while he can!

Mark’s Remarks: No, not a good day for Gregory Lawthers at all! The origin of  Mageddon continues! Freazie and Al turned in another great page here! With just a little inking assist as well as half tone shading from yours truly. 😉

Any questions or comments? All are welcome.

CU Next Friday!

Captain America, Thor, Iron Man, The Red Skull, Bucky Barnes and related characters are TM & © Marvel Entertainment, Inc. Images and information for conventions and signings, see convention sites for copyright and trademark owners information. Fair Use reference to intellectual property of other companies are intended for historical and informational accuracy only. Mega Comics Group™ or Mega Graphics, LLC™ does not represent or have any relationship to any other company or entity or their intellectual property unless otherwise clearly noted. Ghost Owl, The Guard, Ghost Woman, Blackout, The Conqueror, Amazona, ArchAgent, Atomaster, Medicine Man , Black Fury , Lady Patriot, Madame Strange, Black Lion, Atlas the Titan, Iron Lady, Atomoro, Mega Tales, A-1 Comics Spectacular, and the Amalgam Agents and all contents ™ and © 2010 Mega Graphics LLC, unless otherwise noted herein. Project: New Man™ and  Humants™ and © 2010 Freazie White, Jr. D.B.A. Legacy Comics. Tess, the Living Tesseract™ and © Stephen Greg Legat and Mark Poe. All rights reserved. Mega Graphics LLC, licensor.

Welcome to Friday’s Mega Comics Group Updates!

Here’s the latest Avengers: Infinity War, YouTube trailer

Avengers: Infinity War is coming soon from  Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. It is intended to be the sequel to 2012’s Marvel’s The Avengers and 2015’s Avengers: Age of Ultron and the nineteenth film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). The film is directed by Anthony and Joe Russo, with a screenplay by the writing team of Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, and features an ensemble castincluding Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Benedict Cumberbatch, Don Cheadle, Tom Holland, Chadwick Boseman, Paul Bettany, Elizabeth Olsen, Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, Danai Gurira, Letitia Wright, Dave Bautista, Zoe Saldana, Josh Brolin, and Chris Pratt, among other actors from previous MCU films. In Avengers: Infinity War, the Avengers join forces with the Guardians of the Galaxy to stop Thanos, who is trying to collect the Infinity Stones.

Avengers: Infinity War is scheduled to have its world premiere on April 23, 2018 in Los Angeles, and is scheduled to be released in the United States on April 27, 2018, in IMAX and 3D. The sequel is scheduled to be released on May 3, 2019.

(Sources: Wikipedia, therealstanlee.com.)

______________________________

Archives Spotlight

Archive’s Spotlight is designed to look at all which has come before and add new comments as well. This posting we are reviewing Project New Man 3 Page 9!

______________________________

Project: New Man #3 – Page 9 – We are back to working on changes related to the background and the use simulated  Duo-Shade for the backgrounds of Project: NewMan #3. But due to several unforeseen delays, including the page was a bit harder to clean off than some of the others, this is the only one we have to show today. The next page is in the works but could not be finished in time for today’s blog. To the left you can see, and click to see a larger image of the, original page as it was scanned so many moons ago. Unfortunately the 25 year old original art pages Duo-Shade tones had faded some and so the scanner could not pick up everything as it was originally produced.  To the right you can see the cleaned up, restored art for page 9 of Project NewMan # 3. You can see a big difference. It may not be perfect but it is a lot better. Mark says this is about a 95% restoration to the original. In some ways it’s even better. He also informed us the tones on the original Duo-Shade art boards did not develop as well as it should have when these were first produced. It could have been some old developer fluid or maybe the art boards were old when purchased but some areas did not develop as clearly as should have. So in that way these are better than the originals.

Check back next week for more pages in PNM #3 will be updated in prepping these books for printing with Ka-Blam Comic Book Printing and digital sales at IndyPlanet as well as DriveThru Comics in the weeks to come.

Speaking of our digital editions at IndyPlanet and DriveThru Comics: Here’s what we have on sale right now. You can still download Project: NewMan #1 and Humants # 1 for absolutely FREE! Project: NewMan # 2 and Humants # 2 can be downloaded now, for immediate gratification, for a mere 99ç each! And if you want actual hard copy prints the Indyplanet will sale those to you for only $2.99 each!

So don’t wait, get you some Mega Comics Group / Legacy Comics goodness today! Check out the cover links to DriveThru Comics and Indy Planet.

Mark’s Remarks:

Publishers Note: Yes, we cut it a little short today. We have had several marathon posts of late so we decided to take a little break and keep it short and sweet today. Onward! Mark

CU Next Week!

Fair Use reference to intellectual property of other companies are intended for historical and informational accuracy only. Mega Comics Group™ or Mega Graphics, LLC™ does not represent or have any relationship to any other company or entity or their intellectual property unless otherwise clearly noted. Mega Tales™ and © 2010 Mega Graphics LLC, unless otherwise noted herein.  Project: New Man™ and  Humants™ and © 2010 Freazie White, Jr. D.B.A. Legacy Comics. Tess, the Living Tesseract™ and © Stephen Greg Legat and Mark Poe. All rights reserved. Mega Graphics LLC, licensor.