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Marvel Comics
New For Patrons: Guide to Thunderstrike, Eric Masterson
Today I have a guide to yet another hammer-wielder guide for Patrons of Crushing Krisis to support my Guide to Thor, The Odinson as part of my countdown to Thor: Love & Thunder. Long before Jane Foster was the Mighty Thor, another civilian on Midgard was able to lift Mjölnir to don the mantle of Thor, though it started him on an ultimately tragic path…
Guide to Thunderstrike – Eric Masterson & Kevin Masterson
Reading every Eric Masterson comic for this Thunderstrike Guide reminded me of why I love the Marvel Universe.
(Below I will vaguely spoil a 25-year-old comic I almost certain you have not read. You’ve been warned.)
Eric began in Thor (1966) #391 as the most minor of supporting characters – an architect at a job site where Thor maintained a human cover identity. Over the course of five years, Eric went from supporting character, to ally to Thor, to intrinsically linked to Thor, to becoming Thor himself! All the while, creators Tom DeFalco and Ron Frenz developed a rich personal life for Eric – including a loving relationship with his son Kevin, complex friendships with a handful of colleagues, and an unlikely roommate in Hercules. [Read more…] about New For Patrons: Guide to Thunderstrike, Eric Masterson
Marvel’s Angela – Definitive Collecting Guide & Reading Order
Marvel’s Valkyrie – Definitive Collecting Guide & Reading Order
New for Patrons: Guide to Marvel’s Angela
Surprise! I’m back with a second new guide in a row for Patrons of Crushing Krisis, for yet another Asgardian leading lady… although, she started out somewhere very different (both within Marvel continuity and before she arrived at Marvel)…
One thing that DC Comics is very well known for that Marvel Comics is absolutely not known for is incorporating the characters from other publishers into their line.
Even before Crisis on Infinite Earths gave DC the infinite flexibility to subsume entire lines of characters like Wildstorm and Alan Moore’s America’s Best Comics, the DC juggernaut had absorbed entire universes of characters. They incorporated many Charlton Comics characters like Blue Beetle and Captain Atom (who also doubled as inspiration for Watchmen), and before them Fawcett Comics’ Shazam! Not to mention their self-incorporation of the many properties that branched out into the Vertigo line back to DC continuity.
Plus, DC never hesitates to engage in cross-company crossovers, as long as it’s not with Marvel. Even relatively recently we’ve seen Batman cross paths with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Gotham Academy with Lumberjanes!
The only time Marvel really came close to a wholesale import of characters was through their acquisition of Malibu Comics’ Ultraverse, which they hastily shuttered.
We could speculate endlessly about why this is the case. Is it Marvel’s self-reliance that borders on stinginess? The sacrosanct nature of their 616-Universe? That DC’s characters are more iconic and stand up better to other media properties? That Marvel has less adventurous fans?
Regardless of the why, it is a very big deal when any kind of outside character makes their way into Marvel’s Universe. It’s an even bigger deal when that character was created by Neil Gaiman, was one of the original big draws during the launch of Image Comics, and has been involved in a somewhat nasty set of legal battles with her now-no-longer-officially-recognized co-creator Todd McFarlane.
I am, of course, talking about Neil Gaiman’s Angela. [Read more…] about New for Patrons: Guide to Marvel’s Angela