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Entertainment Earth Spotlight: Stark Industries License Plate Frame

Posted on December 13, 2016 by Graphic Policy Team

Proudly display your love for technology and Tony Stark wherever you go with the newly in-stock red Stark Industries License Plate Frame from Bif Bang Pow!. Measuring 12 1/4-inches wide x 6 1/4-inches tall, this standard-size license plate frame can be quickly and easily added to your car or truck. Order yours today!

This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links and make a purchase, we’ll receive a percentage of the sale. Graphic Policy does purchase items from this site. Making purchases through these links helps support the site.

S.H.I.E.L.D., Stark, and Jarvis is My Co-Pilot License Plate Frames

Posted on September 1, 2016 by Graphic Policy Team

Entertainment Earth has revealed three new license plate frames from Bif Bang Pow! that are perfect for fans of Marvel. One features S.H.I.E.L.D., another Stark Industries, and the third lets people know Jarvis is your co-pilot.

The three plates retail for $11.99 and will be out this September.

The Avengers Revealed for Knight Model’s Marvel Universe Miniature Game

Posted on February 5, 2016 by Brett

Today the Avengers have been revealed for Knight Model‘s upcoming tabletop game Marvel Universe Miniature Game. This comes the day after the Guardians of the Galaxy were revealed, and the X-Men preceded that. The game will be released with three starter sets, Guardians of the Galaxy, X-Men, and Avengers, that will each included four metal miniatures, character cards, and a mini rulebook.

The Avengers are made up of Steve Rogers as Captain America, Tony Stark as Iron Man, Thor, and Natasha Romanova aka Black Widow. We don’t know who will be in the blister that will be released along with the starter set.

Each character’s description sounds like they embody their comic counterparts. Captain America is a leader who provides boosts to his teammates. His Vibranium Shield acts to help boost his defense and can be used offensively attacking multiple enemies as it bounces off of them in the air. Iron Man is all about the suit which allows him to fly with speed, his built in offensive repulsor blasts, missiles, and the Unibeam. Thor fills the role of the flying tank in his strength, and Mjolnir. He can also bring down lightning and like Cap, use his hammer as a shield. Finally Black Widow is about the stealth and close combat. It sounds like she has an infiltrate ability and uses close combat, firearms, and her Widow’s Bite to take on her opponents.

So, now that all three starter sets have been revealed, which will you be getting? I can’t decide, so I guess it’s all of them for me!

(via Tales of a Tabletop Skirmisher)

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Review: 1872 #1

Posted on July 8, 2015 by

For the most part Secret Wars has been a retrospective look back at some of the biggest crossovers which ever occurred in the Marvel universe. While it has focused on a lot of these kinds of stories it has also branched out a bit from time to time. Some of the minor focuses have been to recast heroes or to shine a light on some villains, most of whom have been working in some kind of confine of the Secret Wars world. In the case of 1872 though we get something completely different from what we have seen thus far in this series. Secret Wars was itself designed as a simple enough way to clean up the Marvel Universe, touching base with some of the bigger stories which have maybe gone off the plot of the main universe, while also addressing the various multiverse dimensions which are populated by a different list of heroes.

If this was the inspiration for Secret Wars then it was rewritten and thrown away, as the context of this series is exactly that of an alternate timeline that has never seen before. In other words, it is expanding the multiverse, not contracting it. Here Steve Rogers is cast as Wyatt Earp and Tony Stark is cast as Doc Holliday, as they battle a corrupt mayor (Fisk) and governor (Roxxon). The issue at hand is the water supply for a small valley, which while it is fueling the work in a mine, it is also depriving people of their access to water. Steve stands as the representative of the law, one which he knows is broken in certain ways, but which has lines which he seems reluctant to cross, else he erode his own sense of morality. Standing beside him is Tony, a sidekick for banter but dangerous enough by himself it would seem. Banner is also here, though his role is still a little vague.

The result of this strange mix is actually one of the smarter ideas to come out of Marvel for this whole crossover. There was after all a time when western comics ruled the day in the medium, and this is a bit of an homage to those days, taking not just a crossover, but instead an entire genre and mixing it into the whole of Secret Wars. The result is fun and is as good of a Western that modern comic readers will probably ever get to see, with the same grit that made the genre so beloved for so long without the anachronisms that are thrown in with the modern versions.

Story: Gerry Duggan Art: Nik Virella
Story: 9.3 Art: 9.3 Overall: 9.3 Recommendation: Buy

How Old are Comic Book Characters?

Posted on May 1, 2015 by Brett

How Old Do I Look? is an interesting website where you can upload an image and it’ll guess your age and gender based on that. While it’s fun putting people you know in, it also works in some drawings. So, I decided to put in some comic characters to see what the site says.

As you can see, it’s a bit all over the place, hell it thinks I’m in my mid-50s.

Review: Ant-Man #2

Posted on February 4, 2015 by

The first issue of this series unexpectedly took the comic readers by surprise. After a bit of a push from Marvel, it seemed likely that Ant-Man was going to be their new focus, with the upcoming success of the Avengers all but assured. Far from being just a comic book leading into the movie, it seemed as though the series was interested first in making readers like the comic version before they got a chance to see the movie version. The story followed Scott as he tried to get his life together, only to find that his family was moving to Miami, leaving him with the choice of either a nice job with Stark or following his heart.

Now in Miami, Scott is left to deal with a different set of challenges. He is still living in a toy set on top of someone’s roof, but the problems are a bit bigger, as he is forced to deal with Grizzly, a foe of a former Ant-Man. Although this is up-front in the issue, it actually doesn’t really provide as much to the story as might first seem. Instead Scott is forced to ask for a bank loan and to deal with the unforeseen consequences of doing so (which are really unforeseen) and then forced once again to improvise again when his business plan becomes a reality.

While still a decent read, the second issue feels a bit too much like the person that tells a funny joke out of nowhere and then won’t let the joke go. It makes sense that Scott is down on his luck, but the inane way in which he secures his future in this issue is not deserving of the same praise that made the first issue such a spectacular read. There are still some high points, such as the one panel cameo by Tony Stark, but on the whole this issue leaves the reader wanting a bit more, specifically the humorous first entry in this series. After the standout first issue, it is too early to write off this series after a relative flop with the second entry. The creative team seems to have the overall story together, and good things are likely still in store for this series.

Story: Nick Spencer Art: Ramon Rosanas
Story: 7.8 Art: 7.8 Overall: 7.8 Recommendation: Read

Around the Tubes

Posted on April 23, 2013 by Brett

Did you listen to our show last night? If not, you can listen to an archived version now! It’s new comic book day tomorrow, what are folks picking up?

Around the Tubes

The Beat – Disney rejects Tony Stark alcoholism storyline from Iron Man 3 – Wasn’t this one of the crappy subplots in the second film?

ICv2 – Pat Robertson Takes a Swing at ‘D&D’ – What year is this!?

Bleeding Cool – Will Print, Not Digital, Kill The Comic Store? – Amen.

Around the Tubes Reviews

CBR – Daredevil: End of Days #7

The Beat – Jupiter’s Legacy #1

MTV Geek – Jupiter’s Legacy #1

Spandexless – Pirate Eye

HeroClix Online Releases Marvel’s The Avengers Movie Set

Posted on April 27, 2012 by Brett

HEROCLIX ONLINE RELEASES MARVEL’S THE AVENGERS MOVIE SET

Provides Codes for Virtual Figures Within Physical Sets

Hillside, N.J. & Cary, N.C.—April 26, 2012— Wizkids/N.E.C.A., the makers of HeroClix Online today announced the arrival of the game’s latest Marvel collection, Marvel’s The Avengers , which adds 16 new figures to the online game and are also available through codes in physical sets.

Joining the current line-up of Marvel characters, Marvel’s The Avengers Starter Pack figures include Thor, Captain America, Iron Man, Black Widow, Hawkeye and Hulk. Thor, Hulk, Nick Fury, Captain America, Iron Man, Agent Coulson, Skrull Infiltrator, Hawkeye, Tony Stark and Heimdall are also available as Single-Figure Boosters.

Offering players an alternative way to collect, free codes for the virtual Marvel’s The Avengers Starter Pack can be found in physical Marvel’s The Avengers HeroClix Starter Packs. Additionally, codes for individual, random, virtual Gravity Feed Singles can be obtained through physical Gravity Feed Single-Figure Foil Packs or Booster sets.

For more information on HeroClix Online, visit http://hco.heroclix.com/.

For news updates and announcements, follow HeroClix Online on Facebook and Twitter.

About WIZKIDS/NECA, INC.
A wholly-owned subsidiary of the National Entertainment Collectibles Association Inc. (NECA), WizKids/NECA is a New Jersey-based game developer and publisher dedicated to creating games driven by imagination. The HeroClix brand is the most successful collectible miniatures games on the market today, with over 250 million miniature game figures sold worldwide. For additional information, visit www.wizkidsgames.com.

About Marvel Entertainment
Marvel Entertainment, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, is one of the world’s most prominent character-based entertainment companies, built on a proven library of over 8,000 characters featured in a variety of media over seventy years. Marvel utilizes its character franchises in entertainment, licensing and publishing. For more information visit www.marvel.com.

Catching Up on Reviews, Part 8 — Fear Itself

Posted on July 25, 2011 by

Fear Itself #1 (Marvel) – For the record, I am a big fan of the thematic art that ties Fear Itself together. I think I like just about every single cover of the series and tie-ins. I also like the story better than any of the recent Marvel events, maybe going back to Secret Invasion. Issue one is exactly what the launch of a big event should be like. Matt Fraction’s writing really pulls us right into the story and sets up the importance of the conflict. Suart Immonen’s art is near-flawless, it takes chances and it captures the grandness of the epic. Some of the keys here are the supposed helplessness of Steve Rogers, the fall of Thor and the cryptic rise of the Serpent.

Story: 10 Art: 10 Overall: 10

Fear Itself #2 (Marvel) – I’ll say that the hammer concept used here is just great and the idea that the Worthy are drawn from across the spectrum of good and evil is great as well. The level of the threat established here from the very beginning is awe-inspiring. How can anyone stand up to eight of the most powerful characters in the Marvel universe who have all been given significant power boosts. Plus the Serpent, the one who gave them all the power boosts. Plus Odin and all of Asgard. Fraction continues to tell a great story and Immonen’s art impresses as well, particularly the new appearance of Juggernaut, which I think is one of the coolest-looking characters I’ve ever seen, and the opening shot of Blitzkreig U.S.A., which is breathtaking.

Story: 10 Art: 10 Overall: 10

Fear Itself #3 (Marvel) – It would seem difficult for Immonen to improve his art, but in this issue, he does it. Some of the most epic battle and apocalyptic artwork to ever appear in Marvel is in this issue. Fraction also ups the ante on the story with a shocking death that you wouldn’t have expected.

Story: 10 Art: 10 Overall: 10

Fear Itself #4 (Marvel) – While it would seem likely that four issues into a series like this, it would be prime time for a letdown and, to be fair, this issue is the weakest so far, but that’s not a knock on this issue, which is better than most things on the market, it’s just not quite as good as the previous issues, which were all superb. There is still some amazing art — Immonen’s Thor looks amazing — and a couple of great plot points towards the end, involving Tony Stark-Odin and Thor-Hulk-Thing. Issue #5 will have to be a barn-burner with a set-up like this.

Story: 9.75 Art: 9.75 Overall: 9.75

Fear Itself – Book of the Skull (Marvel) – Another example of the over-used Marvel device of extensive retcons that add backstory to current events. This one isn’t a bad one, and it helps set up Fear Itself, but I think I’ve already forgotten the point of the story, and I just put it down.

Story: 6 Art: 7 Overall: 6.5

Fear Itself – Deadpool #1 (Marvel) – Cartoonish art and a cartoonish story — and I don’t mean that in a good way — make for another bad comic in the extensive overuse and killing off of the quality of the Deadpool character.

Story: 5 Art: 5 Overall: 5

Fear Itself – Deadpool #2 (Marvel) – When the best thing about an issue is the picture on the cover of Deadpool in MC Hammer pants, you know that reading a comic would be a waste of your time.

Story: 4 Art: 5 Overall: 4.5

Fear Itself – Fearsome Four #1 (Marvel) – The art in this series is my least favorite in the past few months, but even the art is better than the story, which inexplicably teams up Howard the Duck, Frankenstein’s Monster, She-Hulk and Nighthawk and calls them “Fearsome” because they are interacting with the Man-Thing. It isn’t as coherent as it sounds.

Story: 3 Art: 4 Overall: 3.5

Fear Itself – Fearsome Four #2 (Marvel) – The art here is a little worse, almost unprofessional, but the story is a little more coherent. It’s still a bad comic and a terrible series. Has to be a very strong contender for Worst Limited Series of 2011.

Story: 4 Art: 3 Overall: 3.5

Fear Itself – FF #1 (Marvel) – Much better premise for a Fear Itself spin-off, how do the Thing’s friends deal with his conversion to a monster? The issue has great tension and a compelling story, something missing from most of the Fear Itself tie-ins. Kudos to writer Cullen Bunn.

Story: 9 Art: 7 Overall: 8

Fear Itself – Sins Past (Marvel) – I’m not a fan of these reprint issues from Marvel. While it does have a little bit of new material, it doesn’t reprint stories that are important enough or compelling enough that they should’ve wasted an issue on it.

Story: 7 Art: 7 Overall: 7

Fear Itself – Spider-Man #1 (Marvel) – It’s pretty clear that, to date, The Spider-Man Fear Itself spin-off is the best of the mini-series. Chris Yost does an amazing job here of framing the Fear Itself story in terms of the regular people who face it and not just the super-heroes. Sure, Spidey is the lead here, but he’s really just another small figure going through this big event and not sure he’s going to be able to cope with it. Mike McKone’s art is stylish and unique and adds to the story.

Story: 10 Art: 9.5 Overall: 9.75

Fear Itself – Spider-Man #2 (Marvel) – Yost’s story continues to impress, but the key in this issue is McKone’s art, which takes chances and more often than not succeeds. This issue has a lot of stunning art and a strong story to go with it.

Story: 9.25 Art: 9.75 Overall: 9.5

Fear Itself – Spider-Man #3 (Marvel) – The art isn’t quite as good in this issue, although it has its moments. The story is an interesting twist on past Spidey-FF crossovers, this time with Spidey clashing with the Thing instead of the Human Torch, who isn’t around anymore.

Story: 9.5 Art: 8.5 Overall: 9

Fear Itself – The Deep #1 (Marvel) – I’m not really that big a fan of Namor and stories that focus on him frequently leave me bored, but this one has enough guest stars (Including Dr. Strange, who I like a lot) and good enough art to make it worth a read.

Story: 7 Art: 8 Overall: 7.5

Fear Itself – The Homefront #1 (Marvel) – I’m not a big fan of the Marvel anthology mini-series, either, as most of the time, the individual stories aren’t that good. That is only partially true here. The first story, starring Speedball is awfully compelling and has amazing, almost photo-realistic art. The team of Christos Gage, Mike Mayhew and Rain Beredo does a great job. The Agents of Atlas story, though, is much like the rest of the Atlas stories, in that it doesn’t really grab my attention and I forget about it right after reading it since the characters and the story don’t do much to excite me. It isn’t poorly executed, just nothing special. The final story, about the residents of Broxton, Oklahoma, after the departure of the Asgardians, is interesting if not essential.

Story: 7.5 Art: 8 Overall: 7.75

Fear Itself – The Homefront #2 (Marvel) – The first two stories in this issue are amazingly consistent with the first issue. The Speedball story is just as good and the Atlas story is just as mediocre. The third story, which is about Liz Allan and Tigershark, I think, aims high, but doesn’t quite deliver.

Story: 7 Art: 7.5 Overall: 7.25

Fear Itself – The Homefront #3 (Marvel) – The Speedball story, if anything, gets better in this issue. The story in the Atlas tale is growing on me a little bit, but the art is losing me. A third tale, starring Cardiac, has a compelling tale to tell about revenge and redemption, but the art is too cartoonish for the weight of the story.

Story: 7.75 Art: 7 Overall: 7.5

Fear Itself – The Homefront #4 (Marvel) – My thought is that the Speedball story here should’ve been expanded and given its own series or one-shot and that the Atlas story, which ends here, should’ve been eliminated altogether. Some of the art in the Speedball story is amongst the best in the entire Fear Itself storyline. The third tale here, starring someone apparently known as the Blue Marvel, is puzzling. If I’m supposed to know who he is, I don’t. If I’m supposed to get something big from the story, I don’t. I’m left with nothing but question marks, mostly the one after the question “Who is Blue Marvel and why am I reading about him”?

Story: 7 Art: 8 Overall: 7.5

Fear Itself – Uncanny X-Force #1 (Marvel) – While Simone Bianchi’s art takes a lot of chances, and some of them succeed, I don’t like a lot of the detail of the characters’ faces. The story itself is only vaguely related to Fear Itself, but it is a pretty good and interesting.

Story: 9 Art: 7 Overall: 8

Fear Itself – Wolverine #1 (Marvel) – I don’t really find much about this comic compelling, not the premise, not the story and not the art. I think that Marvel (and probably DC, too), should cut back on the number of extra series that are related to their events and make sure that every series really has a good premise and a point to its creation. This one doesn’t seem to meet that.

Story: 6 Art: 6 Overall: 6

Fear Itself – Youth In Revolt #1 (Marvel) – I like the idea of bringing back the Initiative, it wasn’t a bad idea when it was done before and done right now, it could be a good thing. I’m not sure the characters they chose to focus on in this series are the best ones, though.

Story: 7 Art: 7 Overall: 7

Fear Itself – Youth In Revolt #2 (Marvel) – So after the first issue, which doesn’t really have great, compelling characters, the way to expand that is to bring in Frog Man? Really?

Story: 6 Art: 7 Overall: 6.5

Fear Itself – Youth In Revolt #3 (Marvel) – Much better, bring in Juggernaut, improve the art and end it with a shocking finale that makes you actually care what happens in the series.

Story: 8 Art: 7.5 Overall: 7.75

Fear Itself – The Worthy #1 (Marvel) – Okay, so we know a little bit more about Sin’s background and it’s obvious why she is Worthy, but this isn’t something that is particularly memorable.

Story: 6 Art: 7 Overall: 6.5

Fear Itself – The Worthy #2 (Marvel) – To date, I think that Juggernaut is the coolest of the Worthy, but this issue doesn’t do anything to explain why and is a bit of a weak link in the Juggernaut portion of Fear Itself.

Story: 5 Art: 5 Overall: 5

Fear Itself – The Worthy #3 (Marvel) – This issue seems to give a little bit of insight as to why Titania is Worthy, but I can’t escape the feeling that she gets in because she’s dating the Absorbing Man and he’s Worthy.

Story: 6 Art: 6 Overall: 6

Fear Itself – The Worthy #4 (Marvel) – If anything, this story makes it seem like the Grey Gargoyle is unworthy. He’s a bit of a whiny loser, how does that make him a prime candidate for serving the serpent?

Story: 5 Art: 5 Overall: 5

Fear Itself – The Worthy #5 (Marvel) – Solid, if not spectacular, tale of why the Hulk is Worthy. Doesn’t tell us anything we don’t know, but could be valuable to newer readers.

Story: 7 Art: 8 Overall: 7.5

Fear Itself – The Worthy #6 (Marvel) – I’m not sure I get the point of this backstory of why Attuma is Worthy. It tells a little bit more about his background than we previously knew, but we already knew he was an evil bastard, what does this add to that?

Story: 7 Art: 6 Overall: 6.5

Fear Itself – The Worthy #7 (Marvel) – A brief bio of Absorbing Man that doesn’t tell us anything we don’t know, doesn’t explain why he’s worthy and doesn’t help the story.

Story: 6 Art: 4 Overall: 5

Fear Itself – The Worthy #8 (Marvel) – This one focuses on the last of the Worthy, the Thing, and moreso than any of the other issues, it makes it clear why the Thing becomes one of the Serpent’s servants. The only issue of this series that really adds something to the story. Too bad the art is so weak.

Story: 9 Art: 5 Overall: 7

Reviews

Friday Five: Marvel Characters With the Biggest Falls from Grace

Posted on January 7, 2011 by

A traditional plot device in all forms of writing is the character who is at the heights of his/her profession/field/country/whatever, and then falls from grace through their own faults or hubris or through outside forces. Since Marvel Comics has been publishing tons of stuff since the early 1960s, they have a lot of storylines that follow this arc. Here are the five of these arcs that are the best-written and the biggest, in my opinion, of course…

5. Daredevil: At one point, Daredevil was the most pure Marvel character, never giving in to temptation or crossing over to the dark side. Then came Shadowland and all that changed. Daredevil became evil and eventually fell off the radar. If Shadowland weren’t such a mediocre story, this might rank higher.

4. Dr. Strange: Dr. Strange was the sorcerer supreme and one of the most powerful and important characters in Marvel comics. I haven’t read the story of his fall, but his fall was far and significant in terms of the stories that followed. .

3. Tony Stark: Secretary of Defense and head of SHIELD who fell far enough to become the county’s most wanted criminal and then decided to erase his own brain rather than let Norman Osborn get ahold of it. He’d be higher if it weren’t for the fact that later comics are redeeming him. .

2. Norman Osborn: His rise to the top of America’s defense forces was obviously a set-up that had him destined to fall, but that doesn’t change the fact that he went from the most important person in American government to America’s Most Wanted and a prisoner in a short period of time. .

1. Professor X: From the 1960s to the 1990s, Charles Xavier was Marvel Comics’ ultimate leader, teacher and humanitarian. Turns out the whole thing was a lie as Professor X was actually comics’ biggest manipulator and mind-f**ker, much worse than what we learned about in DC’s Crises, as Xavier committed his crimes against his friends, allies and the children he mentored. There’s no bigger sign of his fall from grace than the fact that during the X-men’s toughest times in recent years, Xavier has been nigh-invisible.