Tag: dc

December 30 / Gene / Comics

Staff Picks: Our 10 Favorite Comics from 2015

2015 has been a great year for comics – we got two reboots from Marvel and DC, Image kept pumping out winners, and some of the best series from 2014 kept going strong.

It’s also been a great year for Shortboxed! We managed to hit lots of cons up and down the California coast, made it up to Seattle for Emerald City Comic Con, visited some comic book shops overseas, and we got to attend the mecca for comic book geeks, San Diego Comic-Con. We also added another member to the Shortboxed crew this year, Jeremy, who’s been crushing it with his reviews and opinion pieces! All this on top of reading some amazing stories from our favorite creators this year! So thank you to all of our readers and followers on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook for allowing us to geek out with you and connect over this passion of ours.

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November 30 / Jeremy Dizon / Comics

A Discussion on Canon: Batman

Out of all the properties in the comic book space, I have always gravitated towards Batman; maybe it was seeing Michael Keaton don the cowl when I was growing up or how that Seal song, “Kiss From a Rose,” always got stuck in my head whenever I heard it. Either way, Batman was a part of my life at an early age, from the dark and brooding Tim Burton flicks to even reruns of Adam West’s campy but enjoyable Batman tv show.

It wasn’t until Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Trilogy started that I chose to pick up comic titles apart from the current Batman run. There were a lot of non-canon books written and drawn by brilliant writers and artists that ended up becoming part of the Batman legacy; and it’s in these standalone books that I want discuss the impact they’ve had not only on the character but his world as well.

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July 15 / Gene / Cons

Our Favorite Moments from Comic-Con 2015

San Diego Comic-Con 2015 just wrapped up, and we’re still trying to decompress and soak in all that we experienced. This was personally my favorite SDCC I’ve been through, for many reasons. I’ve chatted with other Shortboxed editors who went and these are some of our favorite moments from 2015 and we’re excited to give you a tiny glimpse of our con experience.

Princess Leia, Luke Skywalker and Han Solo reunion. During the second half of the Star Wars panel, JJ Abrams brought out the Holy Trinity of the original Star Wars cast – Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill and Harrison Ford. When Ford came out, all of Hall H went into a frenzy and gave him a standing welcome. We were among the first on our feet!

Photo courtesy of ilpost.it

Lauren Cohan texting the cast of The Walking Dead. During The Walking Dead panel, one person was missing from the table – Lauren Cohan, who plays Maggie. She was with her family at the time and couldn’t make it to Comic-Con, unfortunately. She texted the cast and asked Steven Yeun, who plays her lover Glen, to read it aloud. She apologized to Hall H for not being there with us – it was very personal and a nice way to thank the fans and give us something special. She ended the text by asking Steven to, “say something funny.”

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June 24 / Jeremy Dizon / Cons

SDCC Guide: WB Signings

For the past 5 visits to San Diego Comic-Con, I’ve focused on leaving San Diego with not only memorable experiences but also something physical that I can be proud of. SDCC exclusives fall into this category but if you’re like me, my wallet isn’t as deep as some peoples. So another thing that I enjoy hunting is autographs.

Autographs have always been a fun memorabilia item that is synonymous with conventions and the like. But I’ve had the lucky opportunity to have left San Diego in recent years with several autographs from people I consider geek celebrities. One of my favorite moments was at Nerd HQ’s inaugural year that allowed me to get Alison Haislip, Olivia Munn, Danny Pudi, Jorge Garcia, Alessandra Torresani, Joshua Gomez, and Zachary Levi‘s autographs after a super awesome panel. You can imagine that I was giddy with happiness when I met these actors and snapped a picture with Alison Haislip and Olivia Munn was the icing on the cake!

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May 21 / Jeremy Dizon / Industry

Death in Comics, Part 2

In my previous post about death in comics, we discussed the role of civilian deaths and how writers use it to propel their stories forward. In this post, I wanted to touch on a few superhero deaths that rocked the comic world. There were many to choose from and as iconic as Superman’s death at the hands of Doomsday, but after doing research, I noticed an intriguing pattern; that dead superheroes don’t stay dead for long! For this discussion, I wanted to focus on those superhero deaths that made an impact to their respective stories but also spent some time in the grave (so to speak).

We begin with a bold move by Brian Michael Bendis in the pages of Ultimate Spider-man with the “Death of Spider-man”. In the Ultimate universe, Bendis kills off Peter Parker! Crazy right? But that’s not where the story ends. Oh no! Bendis introduces us to Miles Morales, a half black, half hispanic teen who was bitten by a genetically-altered spider that gives him superhero powers. Sounds familiar, right? Miles actually witnesses Peter’s death and feels so guilty that he didn’t use his powers to save Peter, that he takes up the mantle of Spider-man.

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May 2 / Jeremy Dizon / Movies

Avengers: Age of Ultron Non-Spoiler Review

Today, Marvel fanboys (and fangirls) were given another chapter in the Marvel Cinematic Universe with Joss Whedon’s 2nd Avengers installment that brings back our favorites from the 1st Avengers movie. I took a long lunch with my work team to watch this movie, which I’ll refer to as Avengers 2 from this point forward, in IMAX 3D glory. And my one word impression of it is: WOW!

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March 17 / Jeremy Dizon / Industry

Fan Reactions: Wonder Woman’s New Costume

Recently, DC Comics released a teaser image of David Finch’s new Wonder Woman costume which will debut in Wonder Woman #41 in June. The new costume will be another attempt at updating Wonder Woman’s look from the iconic “Linda Carter” costume that fans are familiar with and love. Ever since DC Comics went down the The New 52 journey in 2011, several characters have gotten a new look like Supergirl, Superman, Harley Quinn, and Batman. Personally, I supported the costume refresh because Jim Lee helmed a bunch of them, more specifically the Justice League, adding his hard lines and artistic style in droves.

Iconic Linda Carter

Jim Lee’s Redesign

Justice League #3 Cover, art by Jim Lee and Scott Williams

He posted,

I rarely comment about comic book industry matters on my personal FB page, but I gotta say, shoulder pads, especially big bulky metal ones NEVER look good on women. Everything about them is unfeminine and lacks style. No grace to this approach at all.
And on a side note, I find the continued knee-jerk reaction to internet message board critics demands to keep female heroines covered from head to toe in fabric an overreaction. She’s an Amazon Warrior, she’s NOT in the *Taliban! unsure emoticon

Now, I’m a huge fan of J. Scott, like a little overly infatuated with him and his art. I do believe he does make some good points but at the end of the day, as long as Wonder Woman is still her badass self oozing Amazonian flair and the God of War tendencies, then I’ll be a happy comic reader.

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November 12 / Jon / Guides

The CW’s The Flash Character Guide

UPDATE: May 20, 2015

One of the awesome trends happening in pop culture entertainment the last few years is the influx of high-quality TV shows based on comic books. A combination of great screenwriters and comic book writers working together with TV producers and directors have brought the Marvel and DC universes to the small screen. As a result, we’ve got Arrow, The Flash, Gotham, Agent’s of S.H.I.E.L.D., and Constantine, with others in the works such as Daredevil, Teen Titans, Agent Carter, Supergirl and The Defenders. Who knows what else!

As new viewers and fans watch these shows, it’s often challenging to know who’s who, especially if you haven’t read the comics religiously. Several characters are introduced and they may have a deep history in the comic universe, and just knowing a little bit more about these characters creates a more immersive and complete viewing experience. We’ve done the work for you.

Jump : Everyman / Bug-Eyed Bandit / Trickster / Golden Glider / Peek-a-Boo / Pied Piper / Reverse Flash / Rainbow Raider / Green Arrow / Blackout / Girder / Plastique / The General / Gorilla Grodd / Felicity Smoak / Captain Cold / Heat Wave / Firestorm / Mist / Multiplex / Simon Stagg / Weather Wizard / The Flash

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