Artist Bill Walko has done some really nifty images. Check out his Deviantart page. He's got quite a few really nice Teen Titans illustrations and I was DELIGHTED to see his take on The Power Squad, the aborted all-female super team that I discussed here.
Looks like I'm not the only one who found this idea delicious! Here are a couple more images from his page that I particularly enjoyed!

Modernized Wonder Twins!
The Spider Friends!
The Herald and Bumble Bee! (This was later integrated into a larger Teen Titans group scene, which you can see on his site.)
Best of all... Jem & The Holograms!
This one is entitled "Who Is He Kissing:"
I like how Rio actually looks Latino here! All of his stuff is super adorbz! I think I'm actually going to order prints of a couple of these!

I'm just going to borrow these from Artastic Avenjer's blog. These are some VERY sexy images of male super heroes by Joe Phillips.
I LOVE Joe Phillips' style! If I could draw LIKE anyone, he is my pick. He doesn't do a lot of actual comic work. Usually, he does these awesome gay themed illustrations that are published in books or calenders and lots of merchandising.It's like hot and cute at the same time. One thing he does really well is capture age. He draws clear adults or younger characters. Not every illustrator does that. But anyway, enjoy!












This one's my favorite. It's so hot! Although I think Beast should be bigger. Ice Man looks like a young Ben McKenzie and ain't nuthin' wrong with that! Also Angel seems to be the least endowed and when I think about it... that sounds about right. Ha ha!

Wonder Wednesday - More Thoughts on the X-Men

I've been a tad busy. Had a lot going on. Sorry I haven't blogged. I can't believe I didn't even do a Manic Monday! Oh fine, here:There, happy? His name is either David Jones of Adam Cousins, depending on the website. Happy Googling!
Anyway, I was thinking that The X-Men are always the "odd" property at Marvel when it came to merchandising. So much merch uses classic 60s artwork, classic Ditko and Kirby stuff, but then you see like Cochrum or Byrne Wolverine or Storm tossed in, incongruously. Well, incongruously to me anyway. Joe Schmoe off the street probably doesn't think twice about it and probably thinks Wolverine and Storm WERE original X-Men.

That's another challenge to the X-Men First Class movie. No Storm. No Wolverine. None of the cool characters people, y'know, like!

This isn't the "First Class" from the comics, either. It's a precursor to that even! The X-Men comic was one of the rare misfires in the early Marvel pantheon. It just never took off like other properties like the Fantastic Four or Spider-Man. That's possibly because it was just a knock-off of the Fantastic Four to begin with.

To begin with, the ONE thing people gravitate toward with the X-Men is the cool, pop-out metal claws idea of being an outcast. But look at these guys! They're like the Legion of Super WASPs! What are they outcasts from? Boy Scout Pack 36? Let's examine them one by one:

The Beast - The Ben Grimm knock-off. Tough, cranky, thick. At least Stan Lee realized he was just a Ben Grimm knock-off and early on switched his personality to that of the "brain" of the group. His "grotesque" mutation that made him an outcast was his huge hands and feet. Today, that would just make him super popular with the ladies. Have you seen Kim Kardashian's boyfriend? He could palm a watermelon!
Eventually, The Beast morphed into this form, which became his most famous look, living up to his name. But strangely, he was never depicted as being any MORE of an outsider like this. In fact, he became even more mainstream, joining the Avengers for a lengthy run. And in a silly move that will be repeated again later, in the 80s, they decided to reform the original vanilla X-Men under the name X-Factor and for old-times sake, Beast reverted to his old big hand/footed human look. It was temporary as EVERYONE thought he was cooler looking like a bad-ass Cookie Monster.

Just as Beast was initially the Ben Grimm-lite of the X-Men, Iceman was the Human Torch knock-off, the pain-in-the-ass kid brother who annoyed everyone else and was a hot-head who charged into battle without thinking. Also... he looked more like Snowman back in the early days. And his whole costume consisted of pirate boots. That's all. If you're gonna run around in just one article of clothing, PANTS are the only option! Anything else just looks pervy.

Eventually, someone had the bright idea to throw Iceman against the Human Torch and they teamed up/fought off and on for years (in the Mighty Marvel Manner!). In fact bother were supposed to be featured on Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends, but Human Torch was bumped in favor of new character Fire-Star. Thus, Iceman became the original X-Man with the highest profile.

So you might think being made of snow ice might qualify you for misfit status.But wait, that was only when he was in Super Mode. Otherwise, he was just an ordinary dude.
The generically-named Marvel Girl was "the girl" of the group and somehow had the least personality of anyone in the group. That was kinda common back then. Being a "girl" was considered a personality trait. She was there to be lusted after by the boys, particularly sulky, stoic leader Cyclops and carefree pretty boy Angel. And in one particularly creepy tale, Prof. X. No, for serious!

Powerwise, she sucked and spent her time sweating and fainting in order to move the slightest object with her telekinesis. Ironically, she went on to become the omnipotent Dark Phoenix.
Her powers were purely invisible. She was a pretty red head. What made her such an outcast? Because they said so, that's why.
Blond millionaire Angel had almost less personality than Marvel Girl. He was rich. Handsome. Must be torture. Oh, but he had those grotesque wings! He could never fit into polite society!
Oh except he could harness them and tuck them away, so problem solved. Poor outcast.

Not only is his personality on the dull side, his powers were pretty boring too. I mean wings and flight? Like 75% of heroes can fly! But the majority of them can do other stuff as well! Not this guy. Eventually, someone wised up and in the 80s, he was reinvented as Archangel, with razor sharp metal wings that could fire dart-like feathers. Bad ass! And then some old fart was like, "I like him better the way he was before." And like with The Beast, they removed his only offensive powers and gave back his regular feather wings. He was stuck that way for ages, but they've recently given him back his Archangel look and metal wings.

And finally, the team was led by Cyclops, the one member who might have actually had trouble fitting in at the tea party at the country club. His eyes constantly emitted powerful energy blasts that he had to wear ruby quartz glasses to absorb. So, he was constantly rocking these funky red glasses, or an adjustable visor in Super Mode.

Cyclops sulked a lot. Carried a lot of responsibility and was a general stick-in-the-mud. He pined for Marvel Girl. (He was like the Nick Jonas of the team.) They eventually got married in between all her dying and coming back. He's currently banging sexy Emma Frost. Marvel Girl/Jean Grey/Phoenix/Dark Phoenix is currently dead.
The team, of course, was assembled and commanded by scary telepathic taskmaster, Professor X. Nowadays, Charles Xavier comes across as a loving, fatherly leader, but back then, he was just bald and creepy. (I mentioned that he hit on Jean, right?)

Comic fans love to point out one of those cosmic coincidences, in that around the same time Marvel debuted the X-Men, DC also had a group of misfit heroes led by a creepy guy in a wheelchair, The Doom Patrol. These outcasts were actually much more "weird" than the original X-Men. Robotman was a race car driver whose body had been destroyed and his brain transplanted into a copper robot body. Negative Man's skin was destroyed and he was wrapped in mummy bandages. Beast Boy had green skin. Elasti-Girl... could shrink and turn giant. Otherwise, she was still pretty. Well... I mean no one wants to read a comic with an ugly girl in it! It's The Munsters Rule.

Like the X-Men, Doom Patrol wasn't all that successful either and was eventually canceled... in grand manner! The four adult members sacrificed their lives to same a New England town from destruction! The X-Men chugged along into the early 70s but was eventually canceled as well, before the concept was completely overhauled with an all-new, diverse team in 1978.
But, the producers of the movie chose not to focus on this particular team and instead a younger Charles Xavier, Magneto, Mystique, Emma Frost and some others. Some younger X-Men have been retconned onto this team, like Havok who is Cyclops' younger brother in the comics and Banshee who joined the team at the same time as Storm, Wolverine, et al.

I'm gonna admit, I have a soft-spot for Banshee. Must be my weakness to Ginger Kryptonite. Plus he really filled out that Jim Lee-designed team uniform from the early 90s.

I've never heard of some of the characters like Azazel... a red "demonic" looking character. From the brief glimpses in the trailer, he might be able to teleport, so I assume there's some tie to Nightcrawler. Maybe he and Mystique hook up and he is their child? Zoe Kravitz plays a character named Angel... Salvadore. So Angel is her real name. Is she a new character? She appears to have fairy wings, like Pixie from the modern comics.

So yeah, there's my little commentary on the original X-Men.

Wonder Wednesday 10-27-10 Spider-Man & His Amazing Friends

I might be Halloweened out. I think it was the on-two punch of last night's Rocky Horror Glee Show and the Halloween-themed Raising Hope right after it. But when I went to bed, I'd slip into unconsciousness, start dreaming for SECONDS and then something would jolt me back awake, either something would fall loudly or I'd just hear a loud noise, stumble or whatever, but this went on for like three hours, during which time I got about 2 minutes of actual sleep. All I wanted was a good night's sleep... why is that so hard to give me, subconscious?! If you were a real person, I and my aluminum bat would have a few words for you today! But on with the show... today literally!
This was the first episode of Spider-Man & His Amazing Friends which I've blogged about before. It features the team battling Green Goblin, who in this universe is an actual Jekyll/Hyde creature who morphs from human Norman Osbourne into the Goblin, whereas in the comics, it was just some guy in a rubber mask or the movie where he was in that silly suit of armor.

This is one of the LAST shows I want on DVD, but as yet, inexplicably, it isn't available and there are no rights issues I'm aware of. Anyway, this episode is cool because in it, the gang, Peter Parker and his two roommates, Bobby Drake (Iceman) and Angelica Jones (Fire-Star) attend a "Comic Book Costume Party" at their college. HOT DAMN! I want to go to a Comic Book Costume Party SO BAD!!! Maybe that's my next-year's birthday party theme. But it seems I can never get anyone to go along with a theme party. Boo. Lame.



So anyway, the gang get all gussied up... Peter dresses in a store-bought Spider-Man costume (WINK!) complete with a plastic mask with a rubber band. Bobby goes as his idol, Captain America (who factors into two later episodes). Angelica dresses as Spider-Woman (As a "private joke" with Peter, WINK!) and Bobby's date Mona Osbourne (made-up niece of the Green Goblin) goes as fairly obscure heroine Medusa. But the geeky fun really kicks in when they arrive at the party and mingle with revelers dressed as Hellcat, Ka-Zar, The Hulk, Black Widow, Ms. Marvel, The Wasp, Yellowjacket, Scarlet Witch, Vision, Phoenix, Black Panther, Luke Cage (Power Man), Valkyrie, The Thing, The Falcon, Dr. Strange, Clea (miscolored), Iron Man, Daredevil, huff huff... Oh! And two Green Goblins... flying on wires!!! As if!

I like how Spider-Man then comments, "Something is turning my Spider Sense on." Why does that line never work when I say it? People just seem to scatter.

And what is that ONE dance they all seem to be doing! It's like "Tug the rope with both hands to the right! Now to the left! Now repeat!" I also love that when Angelica says, "Something's fishy!" and Bobby responds with his Steve Martin impression, "Well, excuuuuuse me!"



So then, apparently, Bobby is a dipshit and stands idly by as the GG kidnaps Mona! A point made even clearer when Spider-Man comments, "And he thought of that alllll by himself!" Creepy! At some point Norman strips off Mona's Medusa costume and redresses her in street clothes (including a negligee like top)! Ick! Also, love that the GG's hideout is some dilapidated hole-in-the-wall... with a super high-tech security/computer system.

The "Future Finder?" WTF is that?! I know these episodes were hacked to shit when they went into syndication, so I'm sure that factored in at some point. Now it's a non sequitur that makes no sense. They also cut out a scene of a girl dressed like Shana the She-Devil hitting on Peter at the party, to which Angelica responds by using her heat powers to create humidity to ruin the girl's hair and makeup! Don't step to Fire-Star, BITCH! Once again in a scene that no longer makes sense, Angelica spots the girl while dancing with Bobby and realizes something's amiss. However, without the earlier scene, it doesn't make sense.

And then four concrete walls and a ceiling appear out of NO WHERE! In some building that is surely condemned! I love Peter's distressed, "Heeeey!" when the wall he sticks to gets hot!

When Ice Man pops up, I realized, "hey, where the hell were they? Why did Spider-Man go after Gobs alone?" Then I love that right before they go into action they sound their battle cry, "Spider-Friends... go for it!" and pose!

And Fire-Stars utter fabulousity is in full effect as she removes the formula from the reservoir! Although, I don't think letting it run into the sewers is the best idea! Now New York is going to be overrun by Green Goblin rats! Ever think of that, Spider Friends?!"

Good times!

The End!

MANic Monday 10-26-10 Top Ten Men In Tights

This is a topic I have covered before, in great depth, but in keeping with the whole Halloween/costume thing, I thought I'd do a listing of my Top Ten Hottest Men In Tights, or the Top Ten Hottest Live Action Super Heroes Ever! Okay it would have been more logical to do like hottest guys in horror movies or hottest monsters, but sue me, I don't swing that way.

First, a couple of Honorable Mentions. These are guys from when I was REALLY young. Looking at them now, they look supa cheesy, but at the time, they were doing something right!

First, Burt Ward as Robin from the 60s Batman.

I mean, I was like a year old and I thought he was cute, so that's how gay I've always been. It's kinda strange I would gravitate toward him, though, since he's clearly "the bottom."

Next, Sam Jones as Flash Gordon.
Like WAY, UBER, SUPER 80s CHEESE!

And very closely related, Reb Brown as Captain America.

They made these two made-for-TV Captain America movies and man they were turds! But I recall, about 15 years ago, watching them on VHS, there was a scene were tan, blond, muscular Steve Rogers at the beach in a pair of short shorts (that's how men wore them then, not knee-length board shorts) and an unzipped hoodie with no shirt. Nice! I mean he had an amazing body, but his costume certainly didn't showcase that!

Nicholas Hammond as Spider-Man/Peter Parker
The show was kinda long and boring, but Nicholas Hammond was cute enough.... kinda like Larry Wilcox on CHIPS.

I later acquired an encyclopedia of sci-fi, horror and comic adaptations. The book ran an average b&w pic of Spidey in action, notable in that his jockstrap was visible underneath his tights. At age 10, that was Private Time! Nicholas Hammond has cute enough.... he could have been one of your dad's cute co-workers you got to get beers for after softball games. Yeahhhhh. Then recently I bought an in depth book about the super shows of the era and guess what? Nicholas Hammond only played Peter Parker! In the Spider-Suit was the longest haired, porno 'stached hippie you can imagine! A cloud of patchouli sprayed from the book into my face! I feel VIOLATED! Steel wool shower time! While I do that, enjoy this...

Hey Ladies? It's Lyle Waggoner as Colonel Steve Trevor from Wonder Woman!
Fun fact, the role in the 60s Batman series came down to him and Adam West! Guess Lyle had to settle with playing sidekick to Wonder Woman!

And the TOP: Gil Gerard as Buck Rogers!

I would have only been like six or seven when this show was on, but Buck Rogers working those white tights made me feel REALLY special. God, he was SO handsome!

I'll uh, forgive this pic.

Anyway onto more recent developments! The REAL list of the Hottest Men In Tights!

10. Shawn Ashmore as Iceman (X-Men)

I gotta admit, in compiling this list, it skewed way twinkier than I would have figured. But Shawn is so cute I can forgive him for not spelling his name S-E-A-N, as it should be. Bonus points for having an identical twin. (Yeah, gay guys are into that too!)

9. John Wesley Shipp as The Flash
Offsetting that a bit, like Gil Gerard, JWS is a more mature hunk. There's something about his non-symmetrical features that gives him that added rugged sex appeal. Which is odd, because when you think of the Flash in the comics, you don't really think of him as rugged! But Mr. Shipp brought it in this role. Too bad they drew from the movie Batman well and stuck him a molded foam rubber suit rather than something sleeker... you know, that a RUNNER might actually wear, rather than this cumbersome thing that would wear him out after walking five steps. Just sayin'. He went on to play Dawson's daddy on Dawson's Creek, but was killed off, even so he can be my daddy anytime!

8. Tobey Maguire as Spider-Man
Forget "Adorkable!" Tobey looked SMOKIN' HOT in that Spider-Suit!

7. Brandon Routh as Superman
Ditto Superman. Too bad nobody liked this movie. (I thought it was okay enough! I saw it twice in the theater!) Proof that you don't need to stick super heroes in armor or S&M leather to make them work.

6. Austin St. John as Jason the Red Ranger (Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers)
I used to love me some Power Rangers! (I was in college at the time!) This crazy show got me going in the morning before I discovered the magic of coffee. And Austin St. John totally got me going! God he was so HAWT! And did NOT go on to be a porn star, despite internet rumors. That last pic is of him recently and while he's packed on some pounds, I still find him very attractive. Very.

5. Chris O'Donnell as Robin (Batman Forever)
Batman Forever was GOOD! EVERYONE loved it! It was the one after that that sucked and torpedoed the franchise! (Although two of these pics are from that one.... eh, he was still cute.) Holy Codpiece! I saw this movie like FIVE times in the theater! I will ALWAYS love Chris O'Donnell. He's still dreamy!

4. Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool (X-Men Origins: Wolverine) and Hannibal King (Blade Trinity)
You know what? Stop making trilogies. The third one is ALWAYS ballz! X-Men 3, Spider-Man 3, Superman 3... ballz, ballz, ballz. Blade Trinity was crap... unbearable save for hunky, shirtless Ryan Reynolds as new addition, Hannibal King. Don't love the beard, but don't HATE it either. And I'll be honest, I never even saw Wolverine! I smelled that garbage truck coming down the street! And not even RyRey was enough enticement to lure me into that shit shack! AND he's not even through! He's coming up as Green Lantern next summer! And this time... tights! Start drooling now!

3. Chris Evans as The Human Torch (Fantastic Four)
C'mon, there's no denying Chris Evans' sexitivity! I think even animals are attracted to him! Squeeze that into a super snug "scuba suit" and AIN'T NUTHIN' WRONG WITH THAT!
And once again, more coming as he's working on Captain America to be released next year!

Anyway, if you've been paying any attention to this blog and honestly, I don't blame you if you don't, my top two should be no surprise.

2. Alan Ritchson as Aquaman (Smallville)
Blond, pretty, all-American goodness! (Even if he IS from Atlantis.) Aquaman on Smallville has a cocky swagger not found in the comics' pages. I'm not complaining! I bought his new series, Blue Mountain State on DVD and... yeah, I don't think I can ever watch it in the presence of another person. Blush!
JUST! CUZ!!!


1. Justin Hartley as Green Arrow (Smallville)
God, he is just like the most beautiful, perfect man I have ever seen. Not exaggerating. Just flawless! Plus he takes off his shirt... A LOT!!!
Once again, JUST! CUZZZ!!!

Did I omit any? Probably! And obviously, I'm not counting movies that aren't out yet. But anytime anyone makes a "definitive" list everyone thinks their list is shit and the "How dare you forget..." starts.