Seeing how I am a self-professed comic geek, I am generally my friends’ go-to source for any and everything comic book related. Currently, the most often asked question that I am getting is: “Why did they make another Incredible Hulk movie? Didn’t they just make one a couple of years ago?”

To answer that question, Marvel (comics) is taking a new direction with their movies. They will not be auctioning off licensing to the highest bidder as was done with Spider-Man, The Fantastic Four, and Hulk. In doing so, we were subjected Spider-Man with organic webbing, The FF looking like a 2 hour commercial for toys, and the Hulk trying to be cerebral and romantic – Ang Lee style. Also with different studios owning the movies, the fans were never going to see crossover cameos like Tony Stark made in the Incredible Hulk.

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Popularity: 20% [?]

Spider-man has been the Marvel cash cow for some time now. With three mega-successful movies, various animated TV shows, countless licensed products, oh and multiple comic book titles, it’s hard not to have immediate recognition of the Spider-man brand. Spidey is iconic, transcending, and loved for being the ultimate confliction of responsibility versus reward. Unfortunately, throughout the 90’s, it had also become a little tedious and a little absurd. This is not a knock on any of the writers or artists involved in producing the comics. This is a direct stab at all of the people involved that took Stan “the Man” Lee’s vision and started distorting it back in the early to mid 1980’s.

            While many writers and artists were given the thumbs up to take Peter Parker in all new directions, the editors failed to keep it within reason. Many of the readers, me included, loved it when Todd McFarlane introduced Venom into the Spider-man continuum. And nobody can act like they didn’t love the black suit,

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Popularity: 14% [?]

January 30, 2008 ended an era. Much like the last day of Ron Kirk’s (Dallas’ former mayor) time in office, or the last game of Michael Irvin’s hall of fame career…..yesterday ended an era. What happened you ask? The 60th and final issue of Vertigo comics’ Y: The Last Man hit comic book stores and bookstands.            

Now if you’re like most of my friends (and former girlfriends), you’re probably wondering what I’m talking about. I’m talking about one of the best non-franchise (Batman, Spider-Man) titles to come out in the last decade. Y: The Last Man is a comic book first, a piece of mythology second, and then it’s all wrapped up in a Shakespearean masterpiece. You will laugh on one page and choke back tears on the next. I know this from experience. The writing (Brian K. Vaughn) belongs in the pages of a NY Times bestseller. The artwork (Pia Guerra) is exactly what you want in this type of story (i.e. it doesn’t distract from the story).

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Popularity: 5% [?]

I can still remember the day that I bought my first comic book. It was a summer day in 1989. My mother had made me go to the mall with her and I wandered out of Dillard’s (department store) to the B. Dalton Bookstore next door. For some reason, my eyes were immediately fixated to issue #318 of The Amazing Spider-Man.

I don’t know if it was the art or the action, but either way, I was not leaving that store without that issue. Unfortunately, I did not have a dollar and I ended up “eternally borrowing” (a.k.a. shoplifting) my first comic book. I am not in the least bit proud of my early burglary years, but we all have things from our childhood that we regret. Chili bowl haircuts and tight-rolling Bugle Boy pants immediately come to mind.

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Popularity: 4% [?]