Alex Ross Art Exclusives for SDCC

For those of you unfamiliar with Alex Ross, he is an illustrator and painter known for creating super realistic versions of comic book characters. Ross is best known for his work on Kingdom Come, Justice League: Secret Origins, Justice League: Liberty and Justice, and Marvels. He has also done many covers and variant covers for DC, Marvel, and Dynamite Entertainment.

Sal Abbinanti is the official art dealer for Alex Ross (alexrossart.com) and will be selling art books, comic book variants, sketch covers, exclusive prints and other geeky art goodness.

Batman #47 Set of 3 Signed Variants: 100$

Black Panther #1 Alex Ross Incentive Signed Variant Exclusive: 100$

Exclusive Han Solo and Chewbacca Print

Avengers, Captain America Joins Mini-Canvas: 150$ (11.5″x17.5″ Canvas Giclée)

Alex Ross 2016 SDCC Sketchbook: 20$

Batman Scars Lithograph (11″x16″): 50$

New Alex Ross Print: Flash Gordon’s 35th Anniversary

Flash Gordon’s Sam Jones will be signing copies of Alex Ross’s print Thursday, July 21 from 12pm-2pm. Booth #2415.

So if you happen to be at SDCC this year check out Alex Ross’s booth, there are some excellent exclusives to get framed and or put on your wall!

Keep checking in at Sktronixxx for more SDCC news and announcements.

A Finger Lickin’ Good KFC Comic?

So I woke up early this morning to an email from Skatronixx with the subject title KFC comic?. I thought I was misreading it due to me being barely awake, but no he was 100% serious.

Now the fact KFC has a comic book doesn’t necessarily shock me, it’s more the fact that DC publishes it. The first issue was apparently released last year (The Colonel of Two Worlds). I was totally unaware that this existed, so when reading the sequel The Colonel Corps (which is free on Comixology) I had low expectations.

The Colonel Cops is an all ages book. It uses the DC multiverse as it’s a backdrop for what I consider an unoriginal story. The Colonel of Earth one can only seem to remember one of his eleven herbs and spices for his famous chicken recipe after the Colonel Sanders of earth 11 arrived to ask him about it via dimensional travel courtesy of the flash. Earth 11 Sanders can only remember one different ingredient. They determine that the other Colonel’s in different realities know the other nine ingredients and must find them.

Some of the different Earth’s the Colonel’s travel to include  Kingdom Come (Created by Mark Waid and Alex Ross) and All-Star (Created by Grant Morrison and Frank Quietly). It was cool to see these worlds appear in the comic as its the only highlight of the comic for me.

I understand that this is a promotional comic for a fast food chain. It doesn’t change the fact that the story and dialogue are cheesy. I read one site call this the best comic book of the year. Really?  Unless you’re a diehard KFC fan, this comic will be forgotten quickly. Kids may or may not find it entertaining I believe.

While I don’t recommend reading The Colonel Corps, it is at least free.There are also dozens of other free comic options on Comixology, so please look the up as well.  So if you were curious about how they would do a KFC comic by all means check it out. If DC were charging a 2.99 or even .99 price tag, I would think of a better title to support.

Arrow Fans Rejoice! Diggle Is Returning Without The *Magneto* Helmet!

Arrow fans, rejoice John ‘Diggle’ is returning for Arrow Season 5, not only that but he’ll be returning minus the highly controversial Magneto styled helmet. I for one think Diggle is pure badass, he’s the muscle behind Team Arrow and has anyone ever considered the possibility of David Ramsey as the next James Bond or Jason Bourne? I for one could see it. However for all of Diggles’ toughness and dependability, there was one thing that I could not take seriously, THAT HELMET! Now don’t get me wrong if you’re a badass supervillan aka Magneto you can wear purple and a silly helmet and still strike fear into people because you are a pure combination of awesomeness and evilness, but for Digs, sadly even though he is one tough guy, not even him could pull that look off.

Now don’t get me wrong, if you got a young family and you’re fighting some seriously bad people to save your city on a daily basis, you’ll need some form of protection. But not that, come on DC get original, get some inspriation from somewhere, if you’re gunna take some inspiration, don’t take it from arguably one of the greatest villans from the Marvel Universe of all time. That’s like Marvel ripping off The Penguin *finds The Owl online* oooooooh right!

So what will this new helmet look like? Will it be a Doctor Doom inspired mask? Well all we can say is that we don’t know BUT it will be designed by none other than the lovable sidekick of The Flash, Cisco Ramon aka Vibe. You know that means? ARROW-FLASH crossover YAY!!!

This was confirmed by Ramsey at fan event Heroes & Villains Fan Fest 2016, when answering questions from the crowd he responded by saying ‘Season 5, you will see a Cisco-created new mask for Diggle.’

I for one am psyched about this news for three reasons. 1)Diggle is back 2)The Silly helmet is gone 3)Arrow-Flash crossover.

What do you think? Are you glad that the helmet is gone, Diggle is back and we’re getting another crossover episode? Let us know!

Previewing This Week In Comics: 6/29/16 Edition

Hey everybody you may know me as the Lucha Underground writer for this site so I’d like to welcome you to my new weekly comic book preview for Skatronixxx.

I recently got a job at a comic book store and have the chance to check out and read these issues before many others get the chance to. I hope this info helps you decide what you may pick up this week and I’ll make sure to do it spoiler free.

I’d like to start my first article by beginning with my pick of the week.

Steve’s Pick of the Week: Captain America: Steve Rogers #2

I know many people are frustrated and bothered by the end of the last issue and I was no different. Cap turning “heel” (that’s a wrestling term for you non-wrestling fans) was one of the weirdest decisions in recent comic book history.

Why is this my pick of the week? Let’s just say this issue may be even more intense than the first one. I will admit though, if you had problems with the first issue you may have them with this one as well.

Also this week from Marvel we are getting new issues of Black Panther, Captain Marvel, Darth Vader, Squirrel Girl and Star-Lord. Just to name a few.

Black Panther has been remarkably well-received at my store so far and is consistently towards the top of the popularity list. I’ve enjoyed the first two issues and am looking forward to checking out the third in the next few days.

As I mentioned, we are also getting new issues of other Marvel comics this week. One I suggest you check out is Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #9. I really enjoy this series and this issue is no different. Each issue of this comic is just plain fun.

On the DC side of things its a bit of an off week. There’s no new Rebirth comics week but we do get some interesting annuals from Teen Titans, Grayson and Deathstroke.

My pick on the DC side of things this week would be Dark Knight III: The Master Race #5.

The series is off to a great start and I think that streak continues this week in issue #5.

This week from IDW we get new release like Bebop & Rocksteady Destroy Everything #5, Micronauts #3 and Wynona Earp #5. As a massive TMNT fan, I suggest you check out Bebop & Rocksteady Destroy Everything #5 this week.

For other companies like Oni Press, Dark Horse, Image and Boom!, we’ll see some pretty great releases this week from them too. Those being new issues of Rick & Morty, Steven Universe, East of West and Mae.

East of West has been terrific and continues to be in the next issue as does Mae in what is only it’s second issue.

I hope you all have enjoyed my first article on the comics of the week! If you decide to pick up any that I suggest, tweet me at @JellyBeanSteve or @Skatronixxx and let us know what you thought about my choices (rather good or bad).

Thanks for reading and go out and buy comics everybody!

Nicolas Winding Refn Interested in Directing a Batgirl Movie

Nicolas Winding Refn, director of the recently released The Neon Demon, has expressed an eagerness to direct a Batgirl movie.

Refn’s The Neon Demon, which has encountered some very mixed reviews, is his first movie with a female lead. This isn’t for a lack of trying though – Refn also expressed interest in directing a Wonder Woman movie. Obviously, this didn’t pan out (Warner Bros. and DC’s Wonder Woman due out next year has Patty Jenkins directing) – but now Refn has brought up another DC superheroine.

Refn told Business Insider in a recent interview;

“God, I would love to make one [a superhero movie], it would probably be great fun, I just don’t know when it’s going to happen. I very much enjoy my freedom creatively, but I also would love to make one of those big Hollywood films that costs a lot of money and has a lot of people running around with cell phones and all that insanity.”

When asked what hero he’d like to work with, he thought for a moment (“What ones are left?”) before continuing on “You know the one I want to do? I want to make Batgirl. Let’s get Warner working on it.”

Refn has shown with The Neon Demon that he can make a dark, beautifully visual movie with an interesting lead protagonist – it’s the story of a young girl (Elle Fanning –  The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Super 8, Malificent) as she succumbs to her career in the fashion world of Los Angeles. It’s described as a gory thriller show – so perhaps not something Warner Bros. would be interested in to keep it’s PG-13 rating with it’s movies. But, at the very least, it would be visually interesting.

Perhaps one day we’ll see Batgirl hit the big screen – she’s already rumoured to be part of the Harley Quinn standalone project, slated to star and be produced by Margot Robbie (The Wolf of Wall Street, . Robbie would be reprising the role as the anti-heroine after her debut in Suicide Squad, due for release this summer.

But whether Barbara Gordon, or any of the Batgirls will ever have a stand-alone, or if Refn would be crowned director, is something we’ll just have to wait and see about.

A Brief History of Comic Books

Hi! I’m Cole. I’m a new author on Skatronixxx, and I love comic books. I have my own blog at Comic City and I am so excited to be an other here, in the Comics and books section. Well, enough of me blabbering, let’s get to the history of comic books!

Comic books have been around for 80+ years, and there is a long and confusing, but intriguing history behind them. I will try to break the history down into less confusing chunks.

The first ever comic books were just comic strips collected fro various newspapers put into a book form. The first full story comics were usually eith
er mystery comics such as Detective Comics (1937) and comedy comics such as The Funnies (1936) or Fun Comics (1935). When Action Comics 1 debuted in 1938, it started a whole new genre of comic books: superhero comics. Detective Comics saw the success of Superman in Action Comics, they introduced another world famous comic book hero, Batman. All American comics (1939) also switched to the action genre, introducing famous characters from the Justice Society of America such as the first Green Lantern, Flash and other heroes. Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson, the man behind Famous Funnies, Fun Comics and many other popular comic book titles, merged New Comics, All American Comics, Fun Comics, Detective Comics, and almost every other comic book title published and founded DC Comics, one of the most known comic book publishers today.

While all this was going on, other publishers were trying to enter the comic book business, such as Marvel Comics. In 1939, a man named Martin Goodman started the company called Timely Publications, which will later be called Marvel Comics. Marvel Comics 1 was debuted in October, 1939, introducing heroes like the Human Torch and the Submariner. In 1941, Captain America 1 was published and had great success.

Marvel and DC continued their success, and by the mid 1950’s, the silver age of comics began. In 1960, Justice League of America 1 was debuted, and a team of DC’s superheroes unite to fight the terrifying Starro, the giant starfish. In 1962, Amazing Fantasy 15 introduced Spiderman and in 1963, Avengers 4 re-introduced Captain America, after his solo comic was cancelled a few years before.

People are unsure of when the silver age of comics and the bronze age started, but it is some time in the 70s. Comics still thrived, and they still are today. Around 1985, the bronze age of comics ended and the modern age began.

There is so much more to the history of comics. If you would like to look into it so more, check out some of these books:

• The Classic Era of American Comics by Nicky Wright
• Men of Tomorrow by Gerard Jones
• Marvel Comics The Untold Story by Sean Howe

It is amazing to see the progress and history of comic books. If you liked this blog (and even if you didn’t) make sure you follow Skatronixxx.com to get blogs from myself and the other of the amazing authors on Skatronixx. Also, be sure to check out my blog at Comic City and follow me on twitter at @TheNicolasTweet.

Until next time,

-Cole