Derf's Picks of the Week (November 15, 2023)

(Thanos destroys War Machine)

 

Please forgive me about my absences as of late.

Being going through a lot of personal & health issues.

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DC COMICS

Detective Comics #1077

Green Lantern #5

Outsiders #1

Speed Force #1

Superman: Lost #8

Wesley Dodds: The Sandman #2

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IDW

Dungeons & Dragons: Fortune Finder #1

Godzilla Rivals: vs. Mechagodzilla #1

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin (Reissue) #2

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IMAGE

Geiger: Ground Zero #1

A Haunted Girl #2

Killadelphia #31

Spawn #347

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MARVEL

Alien #1

Capwolf & The Howling Commandos #2

Daredevil #3

Dark X-Men #4

Deadpool: Seven Slaughters #1

Fantastic Four #13

Ghost Rider #20

The Immortal Thor #4

Spine-Tingling Spider-Man #2

Star Wars: Dark Droids #4

Star Wars: Doctor Aphra #38

Star Wars: The Mandalorian Season 2 #6

Star Wars: Return of the Jedi – The 40th Anniversary Covers by Chris Sprouse #1

Star Wars: Visions - Peach Momoko #1

Superior Spider-Man #1

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SKYBOUND

G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #1: Larry Hama Cut

G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #301

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Until next time, get your READ on!

Derf's Picks of the Week (October 12, 2022)

 

DC COMICS

Batman Incorporated #1

Batman: Urban Legends #20

Batman vs. Robin #2

Dark Crisis: Worlds Without A Justice League - Green Arrow #1

Jurassic League #6

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IMAGE

Hitomi #1

Spawn #334

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MARVEL

The Amazing Spider-Man #11

Daredevil #4

Ghost Rider #7

Punisher War Journal: Brother #1

Star Wars #28

Star Wars: Visions #1

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Until next time, get your READ on!

Saturday Spotlight: Shuma-Gorath

 

With May basically around the corner, I figured I would focus my spotlights on characters we may or may not see in the upcoming Multiverse of Madness Doctor Strange film.  The character I chose is in the trailer but most people may not know his background except for the fact that he is a playable character in the Marvel Vs Capcom games.  So, I decided to share my knowledge of the being known as Shuma-Gorath.

Shuma-Gorath first appears as an adversary for Doctor Strange in Marvel Premiere #10 (September 1973), created by writer Steve Englehart and artist Frank Brunner.  He also has deeper ties to Conan, being that it was Crom that imprisoned the mighty Shuma-Gorath.

During Earth's pre-history Shuma-Gorath ruled the world, and demanded human sacrifice until eventually banished and imprisoned within a mountain by the power of the god Crom. Shuma-Gorath continues to be an influence on Earth until returned to its home dimension by Crom.

When the entity tries to return to Earth via the mind of the Ancient One, his disciple Doctor Strange is forced to kill him to prevent this. Years later, Strange battles Shuma-Gorath in its home dimension, and although victorious, he gradually becomes a new version of the entity. Strange commits suicide to prevent this transformation from taken full control.  Strange is later resurrected, but that is a story for another time.

That would not be the last time we would see or hear from Shuma-Gorath.  Gorath has taken on all comers in a variety of timelines as well as a variety of galaxies.  He has battled teh Avengers, the Invaders, Doctor Strange, Galactus, and even the mad titan Thanos.  Gorath has proven to be a force that needs to be stopped, no matter the cost.

The most recent sightings of Shuma-Gorath have been through advertisements for the ne w Doctor Strange film as well as future toys like LEGO sets that are promoting the film.

Powers & Abilities

Shuma-Gorath is an ancient force of chaos, the immortal, nigh-invincible, and godlike ruler of nearly a hundred alternate universes.

Capable of:

• Energy Projection
• Shapeshifting
• Teleportation
• Levitation
• Altering Reality
• Sympathetic Magic

He is described as being vastly more powerful than other mighty demonic enemies, such as Satannish and Mephisto, and is capable of automatically destroying multiple galaxies through aura-pressure alone.

Publication Information

Publisher:  Marvel Comics

First Appearance: Marvel Premiere #10 (September 1973)

Created by Steve Englehart & Frank Brunner

Species:  Old Ones/Many-angled ones

Notable Aliases:  Lord of Chaos

Well, I hope you enjoyed my spotlight post on Shuma-Gorath.  Tune in next week when I pick another character from  the Doctor Strange Universe.

Until next time, get your READ on!

Saturday Showcase: Starfox

I was going to showcase Eros last week, but I figured I would give it another week to allow more people to see the Eternals and catch a glimpse of Starfox on the big screen even if it was only a post-credit scene.  So, who is Eros aka Starfox and why is he important?  Well, for starters he was an Avenger back in the day.  More importantly, however, he is the brother to the mad titan Thanos.  So, let's take a look at the family tree and see what else we can discover together.

Eros is a member of the Eternals, a genetic offshoot of humanity, that left for deep space from Earth thousands of years ago and settled on Saturn's moon of Titan. Eros is the youngest son of A'lars aka Mentor and Sui-San.  He grew up on Titan and was known to be a fun-loving, carefree womanizer and adventurer in contrast to his brother Thanos, a power-hungry, nihilistic conqueror. 

Thanos wanted to rule all of Titan, so he led a campaign to destroy those who stood in his way.  Eros fought alongside Titan's handful of survivors against his brother's thirst for conquest. When all seemed lost, Eros joined the alien Captain Mar-Vell in battling Thanos's minions.  Eros was held captive by Thanos, who revealed that he had killed their mother.  A very distraught Eros was freed from captivity and met Iron Man, Moondragon, who were assisting Mar-Vell and the Avengers in the first major defeat of Thanos.

Eros then returned to Titan to help console his cancer-stricken friend Mar-Vell when he retreated to Titan to spend his final days. After Mar-Vell died,  Eros left Titan for Earth.  Why Earth? To join the Avengers of course.   They admitted him to their training program and the Wasp gave him the name Starfox, since they felt Eros was an inappropriate code-name. 

He then went on his first mission with the team, against Annihilus. He helped the Avengers vanquish the Wizard and helped resuscitate the Vision with the help of ISAAC.  He was later made a full Avenger.  Although he had many adventures with the team, he decided he had enough and journey out into the cosmos.

Eros and his brother, Thanos, have a custom, where each Eternal year (Eternal year = 1000 Earth years) they bury the hatchet and convene at a neutral place, usually bearing gifts. This was an initiative of their father, who demanded that the two would meet every year as a reminder of the blood that runs through both their veins. The meeting is called The Truce and the two meet alone, although the hero Quasar was present at one of their meetings, and they refuse to fight one another.

Publication Information:

• Publisher:  Marvel Comics
• First Appearance:  The Invincible Iron Man #55 (February 1973)
• Created by Jim Starlin
• Alter Ego: Eros of Titan, originally Eron
• Species: Titanian
• Place of Origin: Titan

Team Affiliations:

• Eternals
• Avengers
• Dark Guardians

Abilities:

• Superhuman Strength, Agility, Durability, and Longevity
• Flight
• Psychic Control (over the emotions of others)

Until next time, get your READ on!

The Times, They Are A Changing

Thanos Vs Warlock

    Usually, at this time I post my comic picks of the week.  Unfortunately, due to the Covid-19 crisis, the comic book industry is on pause.  I understand that comics are not considered"essential" and that is why, among other reasons, that delivery and downloads of new comics is on hold.

    Let's hope everyone starts to take this pandemic a little more serious than I have seen people do so we can beat this virus.  Stay at home!  It's that simple.  Once we defeat the virus, the sooner we can return to our normal routines, like going to our favorite comic store every Wednesday.  

    I am still going to post my favorite comic cover over on my Facebook page to celebrate the wonderful artwork.  Until next time, Be Safe, Stay Safe, and get your READ on!

**The Times, They Are A'Changing is a song by Bob Dylan.  I suggest you check it out.**

the Avengers: Endgame (Trailer #1)

Is it April yet?

Saturday Showcase: the In-Betweener

    I was watching Guardians Vol. 2 the other day and it caused me to do some thinking about classic stories from the cosmos known as the Marvel Universe.  That is when I got the idea to do a Saturday Showcase on the In-Betweener.  Just who is the In-Betweener?  Well, he is Chaos, he is Order, he is right, he is wrong, he is madness, he is sanity, he is always in-between.  

    
    The In-Betweener was created in 1975 by Jim Starlin.  His first appearance was in Warlock #9 (Oct. 1975).  He has fought avengers, defenders, guardians, as well as the likes of Thanos and Galactus.  He is a powerful cosmic being, but his "ego" usually is his downfall.  

   He has had partnerships with villains such as Lord Chaos, Master Order, and even Thanos.  His powers besides immortality are the ability to warp perception as well as manipulate/alter reality.

    Like I said earlier, he once saw Thanos as an ally, but that ended when Thanos wanted the 6th infinity stone, the Soul Gem, which the In-Betweener possessed. Which led to a battle in which Thanos was the victor.  

    I believe that Marvel Studios already dropped the ball to introduce him since he was the holder of the Soul Gem, but it would be nice if he is at least mentioned in the Infinity War films.  Besides a Heroclix figure, you really don't see much of the In-Betweener except in the comics and I feel that is an injustice on this classic cosmic character.  I mean, he fought Galactus for Pete's sake!

Until next time, get your READ on!

Thanos Rising #1 : A Mini Comic Review

Thanos is a character that has always fascinated me.  To be so powerful and to take on all heroes without assistance was astonishing to me.  Growing up I was never really into the Silver Surfer titles, but if I saw my boy Thanos was going to be in it, I made sure to buy that issue.  I just love the raw power and indestructibility that is Thanos.  So, when I heard Marvel was releasing a new mini-series focused around Thanos, you know I went into total NERDom!

Thanos Rising is brought to us by the creative team of Jason Aaron and Simone Bianchi and published by Marvel Comics.  What I love about issue #1 is that we learn about Thanos from the time he was born until the time he develops a thirst for death as a child on Titan.  Thanos did not ask to be the monster he has become, but he was made that way by several factors in his life.

I am not going to give too many details about the book because I want you to read it and enjoy it for yourself.  I will however give issue #1 a perfect 10 out 0f 10 rating.  After you read it, you will feel the same.  All I can say is, bring on issue #2.

Thanos by Cinar

Excellent version of Thanos by Cinar.