Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes

By -
Avengers:EMH opening theme & closing credits.

The new Avengers cartoon, story edited by Marvel writer Chris Yost, has begun. I recommend starting with the 20 5-minute mini-episodes that were done as prequels to the premiere. They’re not essential in the sense that you can certainly enjoy and understand the series without them – with one exception: the explanation of why Hawkeye’s in The Vault in ep. 1 – but they’re very good and they flesh out the background of the story. The Captain America shorts, set in WWII, are the best ones (look for the cameo in the Howling Commandos scene) but even the Ant-Man eps are pretty cool. You can view the mini-episodes on Disney XD's Avengers page, which for some reason wants to show you the last episode first. To view them in order, you have to scroll down and watch them from the bottom up. (I think the mini-eps are available in Comcast and Verizon’s “On Demand” too, but I haven’t verified that.)

The initial two-part story in the full episodes is loosely based on the premise of Brian Bendis’ “New Avengers”, where a massive supervillain prison breakout brings the heroes together. It goes in some surprising directions, however, and the threat level is high enough that I honestly wasn’t sure how the heroes were going to win. The character designs are great – I especially like how big Thor and the Hulk are compared to the other characters – and there are tons of supervillain cameos during the prison breaks. (My only quibbles: Whiplash is a woman for some reason, and the Living Laser has an odd costume that I initially mistook for Vector of the U-Foes.) I really enjoyed the way the show is faithful to the source material but still modern and interesting. I loved the interpretation of the Hulk they’re using, and I’m not ashamed to admit that this old fan got a bit of a chill when the Wasp named the team at the end of episode 2.

“Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes” airs Wednesday nights at 8:30pm on Disney XD. For you Captain America fans, I think the episode where they pull him out of the ice is scheduled to air the first week in November. The clip above is the cheesy (but catchy) theme song for the show. I like the animation in it, and I thought it would be less likely to get pulled off YouTube than any story material.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Robert Kirkman: Invincible, Walking Dead, Wolf-Man

By -
Image
I wasn't actually a huge fan of Robert Kirkman when I first started reading his books.  He was competent, sure, but I didn't see the appeal-- The Irredeemable Ant-Man was a boring side story in the middle of  Civil War and  The Initiative (although I've since changed my mind about this), and his  Ultimate X-Men run was, in many places, a mixed bag (although I did very much enjoy his "Phoenix?" storyline).  And  Marvel Zombies  just seemed like a ridiculous idea--not that I bothered to try it at the time. Now, though?  I've completely reevaluated my opinion on his work, and when his name is attached to a project, I'm far more likely to give it a look.  I don't know if I'd classify him as a master storyteller or a comics icon--but he's very skilled, he has an incredible knack for dialog, and he writes stories that, no matter how ridiculous, seem real .  In a medium where characters frequently violate the rules of physics, that's not alway
Read more

more random readings from May 2009

By pghhead -
Image
What else did I finish reading last month?  Here’s a cross-section of various titles . . . . . . . . . WITCHBLADE #126 “War Of The Witchblade Part 2” by Ron Marz and Stejepan Sejic  (Top Cow/Image) Preface:  Now here’s an interesting concept! = In order to attract new readers to its’ titles Top Cow is giving out free books each month as part of it’s Let Us Win You Over project.  ( www.topcow.com/freecomics )  Every month it’s a different title. And they work through different comics shops each month as well.  In April the title was Witchblade #126 and one of the participating dealers was Captain Blue Hen Comics in Newark, DE (my preferred supplier) so voila! - - - I find a copy in my hands. Since the last time I explored the Witchblade series the mythology has expanded to a battle between the forces of light and dark with each side choosing its agents on Earth, hence the Darkness vs. the Witchblade.  I’m still not overly interested in this type of fare on a regular basis, but
Read more

Best descriptive 2013 title: Vampire Vixens of the Wehrmacht

By pghhead -
Image
VAMPIRE VIXENS OF THE WEHRMACHT “If You Want Blood” one-shot (Bump and Grind Comics, August 2013, second printing with foreword by film maker Paul Campion) Writers: The Emperor + Alex Ronald.  Artist: Alex Ronald.  Letterer: Jim Campbell. Original Concept: Alex Ronald.  (Parental Advisory, Adult Content)  Limited print run, but digital copies are available from http://www.vampirevixens.co.uk/           If you can’t figure out what this comic is about from that title, then I’m guessing you’ve been living for decades in a cave without a DVD player and no access to cable television.   VAMPIRE VIXENS OF THE WEHRMACHT is a fast-paced horror comic driven by action, rooted in World War II history, and dripping with blood, gore and tantalizing sexual imagery.  What makes it work is a light-hearted approach to the subject matter, all in fun but never silly or stupid.  You may find yourself laughing at several of the scenarios or chuckling at the devilish dialogue.           VAMPIRE VIXENS O
Read more