Moon Return: Forms, Zombies and Memories

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Did you know that when the first men to land on the moon returned to Earth that they completed a report for customs?  That’s right, NASA astronauts, Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins completed a customs form upon their return.   A spokesman for NASA has confirmed the authenticity of the document and you can see a full-moonsized version at Space.com.

I was ten years old when we first landed on the moon.  I can remember watching black and white images beamed to us from 240,000 miles away as all of the adults in the room and Walter Cronkite on the tube got giddy.  It was is pretty cool stuff.

We were on the moon!  How long w0uld it be until we had flying cars like Nick Fury?  How long until astronauts were going to Mars and beyond? Perhaps even  a five year mission to go where no man had gone before was in order.

But getting back to the custom’s report, I never knew about it before a few days ago.  I do remember that when Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins returned to Earth that they had to wear special biological containment suits and  were kept in quarantine for three weeks to be sure that they didn’t bring back a virus or germ that could start a zombie-apocalypse.

Ok.  I made up the zombie-apocalypse part, but the astronauts were kept in quarantine and did have to wear the biological containment suits.  Even at ten years old, I remember thinking that the end of the human race would be like a cool episode of The Twilight Zone if the astronauts accidentally brought  back a virus or germ that killed us all.

Think about it, our greatest human triumph leads to our extinction.  Now that would be a cool episode for The Twilight Zone,  except it really wouldn’t be so cool in real life, would it?

 

The Top 10 Characters from Marvel & DC

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Recently CBR.com posted the results of a poll of comic book readers to determine the top 100 Marvel and DC characters.  Using just their list of the top 50 for each company, I present my top 10…

10.  Namor – 539 points (7 first place votes):  There was a summer when I was a kid in elementary school that I thought that Namor was the coolest cat walking swimming.  He looked like Spock, was a Prince, could breathe on land and sea.  Yeah, Namor was the man.

09.  Black Widow (Natasha Romanova)- 452 points (3 first place votes):  I’ve read fewer stories with the Black Widow than any of the other characters in my top ten, but I like this character.  The first time I really noticed her potential was in a black and white magazine that featured her in a story drawn by Paul Gulacy.  Around the same time, Frank Miller put her to good use in Daredevil.

08.  Green Arrow (Oliver Queen) – 1495 (17 first place votes).  Denny O’Neil and Neal Adams, Mike Grell, Trevor Von Eden and Jock all have worked their riffs on the Green Arrow.  I’ve enjoyed all versions… especially those without the trick arrows.

07.  Luke Cage – 633 points (3 first place votes):  I can still remember picking the first issue of Luke Cage: Hero for Hire off the newsstands, reading it and thinking, yeah, this is how it would in real life if someone got super-powers.   When I was in junior high I had a “shop” class and one of the things we had to create were business cards.  It had to be for a business that wasn’t real and we couldn’t use our own names.  My card read “Blackjack Joey – Hero for Hire.” So you can see the influence that Luke Cage had on me.  Bonus points to anyone who can figure out where Blackjack Joey came from.

06.  Question (Vic Sage) – 382 points (6 first place votes)  Although I never read the original Question stories, I really dug the Denny O’Neil / Denys Cowan / Rick Magyar stories.  Add in the covers by Bill Sienkiewicz and you have a top ten character.

05.  The Punisher (Frank Castle) – 995 (17 first place votes)  I’m talking about the real Punisher.  You know the one who appeared in the mini-series and graphic novels by Steven Grant, Mike Zeck and John Beatty.  You can throw in a bit of Miller and Romita Jr’s riffs, but count me out when the Punisher becomes a substitute teacher or starts hanging out with Microchip or any other sidekick.

04.  Daredevil – 2280 points (71 first place votes):  If Frank Miller wrote Daredevil and either he or David Mazzucchelli drew the series, I’d be a lifetime subscriber.

03.  Wolverine – 2728 points (54 first place votes)  Wolverine during Claremont, Byrne and Austin’s run was the coolest character ever.  His biggest fault was he became too popular and was everywhere.  Miller’s mini-series was cool.  Chaykin has done some neat stuff with Wolverine as well.  Unfortunately, too many people tried to work their magic on Logan and I lost interest.  I’d still return to read stories about the runt if the right creator took the reins.

02.  Nick Fury – 619 points (7 first place votes):  I remember buying an issue of Nick Fury: Agent of Shield off the stands when I was elementary school.  I’d never seen a comic that looked so cool.  Steranko was is amazing.  When I attended my first comic convention, the first items I purchased were a complete run of Steranko’s Nick Fury comics [and an issue of his publication, MediaScene].  Someone find a way to get Steranko to do covers for a Gulacy drawn, Doug Moench written Nick Fury series set in the 1960’s.  The time is right.

01.  Batman (Bruce Wayne) – 6585 points (313 first place votes)  It doesn’t matter who draws Batman [Neal Adams, Marshall Rogers, Jim Aparo, Frank Miller, etc.], what kind of stories [funny, serious, set in any time period or genre], Batman works.  That has to make him the #1 character… at least in my book.

Evan Bryce Knows the Cure

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Today we have the return of Evan Bryce and his riff on Sly as Cobra. I’ve been a fan of Evan’s art for a few years now and we’ve become friends via the internet. We’d met just once at Heroes Con in 2009 and I got a cool Sly from The Expendables sketch.

Evan didn’t make it back to Heroes in 2010 and he wasn’t supposed to be there this year. However he surprised everyone and made the trip. I asked for a Stallone character sketch of his choice and he went with Cobra and threw in the car and cityscape background as a bonus.

Evan is an exciting artist and one to keep an eye on. You can see more of his work at his blog or his Deviant Art site. Plan to spend a while.

UFC on Versus 6 Results

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That’s 5’11”, Pat Barry getting ready to slam 6’11”, Stefan Struve, in just one of the four exciting bouts that were live last night on UFC on Versus 6.   Let’s take a look at the fights and my predictions.

  • Matt Wiman (13-6) vs. Mac Danzig (20-8-1) This was a war earning fight of the night honors and an additional $65,000 for each fighter.  Both men were there to win and neither wanted to take a step backward.  At different times it seemed that either man could end it.
    Prediction: Wiman via decision.
    Result: Wiman via decision making me 1-0 for the night.
  • Anthony Johnson (9-3) vs. Charlie Brenneman (14-2) 
    Prediction: Johnson via decision.
    Result: Johnson won and earned KO of the night [and the extra $65,000 that went with the honor] when the ref stopped the fight after a solid head kick knocked Brenneman to the mat.   There is no doubt that Brenneman was in trouble and had been wobbled by punches earlier, but when he landed on the mat, he was already part way up [and never out] when the ref signaled the end to the fight.  Still, the result made me 2-0 for the night.
  • Pat Barry (6-3) vs. Stefan Struve (21-5) The tallest fighter in the UFC [Struve at 7 feet] took on one of the UFC’s shortest heavyweights [Barry at 5’11”] and it must have been difficult for each to get their range, because it was slow going at first.   When they finally did start to land, it looked like Barry was going to be able to wade in a land a KO punch.  Barry wobbled Struve and  that’s when Struve took things to the mat.  After a failed guillotine, Struve smoothly transitioned to a triangle choke.  Barry lifted the Struve high above his head and slammed the giant to the canvas.  Struve was able to hold on to the choke, and the slam simply made it tighter forcing Barry to tap.
    Prediction: Barry wins by KO.
    Result: Struve wins by submission making me 2-1 for the night.
  • Dominick Cruz (18-1) vs Demetrious Johnson (10-1)  What a battle!  Cruz was forced to change his game plan in order to retain his title because Johnson was faster and better conditioned.  The final judges scores indicate a lopsided win for Cruz and although he did win every round in my opinion, Johnson was always in it.  At one point Johnson got out of a deep choke and back to his feet and immediately went on the attack again.   Johnson is a fighter and at some point will get another chance at the title.
    Prediction: Cruz wins by decision.
    Result: Cruz won by decision making me 3-1 for the night.

 

 

UFC on Versus 6 Live Tonight

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Tonight we have the UFC Live on Versus 6.  Let’s take a look at the fights and my predictions.

  • Matt Wiman (13-6) vs. Mac Danzig (20-8-1) This is a rematch.  Wiman won their first fight back in June of last year.  Although it was a controversial stoppage, and a win for Wiman, I see no reason that Wiman won’t repeat.
    Prediction: Wiman via decision.
  • Anthony Johnson (9-3) vs. Charlie Brenneman (14-2)
    Prediction: Johnson via decision.
  • Pat Barry (6-3) vs. Stefan Struve (21-5) The tallest fighter in the UFC [Struve at 7 feet] takes on one of the UFC’s shortest heavyweights [Barry at 5’11”]. If Struve could use his reach to keep Barry at bay, he’d have a decent chance.  I don’t see that happening.
    Prediction: Barry wins by KO.
  • Dominick Cruz (18-1) vs Demetrious Johnson (10-1)  Although this should be a good fight, I don’t see Johnson pulling out the win.
    Prediction: Cruz wins by decision.

 

100 All Time Best Comedies

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Recently TimeOut.com posted their choices for the 100 Best Comedies of All Time.  Using just their list, here is my top ten…

  • Airplane: The only other movie that made me laugh so hard was Richard Pryor Live… and why didn’t it make the 100 Best list?
  • Blazing Saddles: At the time it was one of the craziest movies I had ever seen.  Mel Brooks‘ masterpiece.
  • Dr. Strangelove: One of my favorite movies.  It’s not an all-out laugh fest like the first two because of the subject matter.  A masterpiece.
  • Arsenic and Old Lace: My favorite Cary Grant movie.  I can watch this one anytime.
  • Planes, Trains and Automobiles: I was surprised at how good this movie was.  A comedy with heart and real LOLs.
  • National Lampoon’s Vacation: Probably gets bonus points because I have so many fond memories of watching it with my ex-brother in law.  I actually like Christmas Vacation better, but it didn’t make the list!
  • Raising Arizona: Nick Cage’s funniest intentionally funny movie.
  • The Pink Panther Strikes Again: I saw it in a theater back in high school and although it’s not as funny as I remembered it to be, my memories of it are good enough to get it into the top ten.
  • The Princess Bride: A classic fairy tale that happens to be pretty dog-gone funny.

Robin Holstein’s Sly Art

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I met Robin Holstein for the first time at this year’s Heroes Con. I’d see a bit of Robin’s art online and so I made sure to swing by his table and meet him. After talking to Robin a bit, I decided to commission a Stallone sketch from him. Robin came up with the sketch above. Upon seeing it, I immediately asked if he had room on his list for another piece — my buddy, LittleJohn312 was with me and he also asked to get on Robin’s list. Lucky for us, Robin was able to fit us both in.

You’ll see my second piece by Robin soon. If you can’t wait and want to see more of Robin’s art now, you can at his site.