Fantasy Football Superhero Draft

Well football season is upon us and as usual, fantasy football is a hot topic. This year I ended up in three fantasy football leagues which my wife may not be to thrilled about. But all this fantasy football talk got me thinking "What if we drafted superheroes and what position would they play?" So I've come up with two teams, a Marvel team and a DC team and put them in positions I think they would best in. I'll break it down my position and who I feel would be best in those positions. 

Quarterback
The quarterback position has to have the best leader and the one that can think on his feet the quickest. For my Marvel team I pick Captain America and for DC I pick Batman. Both are exceptional at making quick last second decisions and making changes if they need to. They both would be great at reading defenses and calling audibles if they felt the need. I think Cap would be a better mobile quarterback and be able to allude tacklers better than Batman though. And well, although Batman is good with a batarang, Cap is use to trowing his shield with skill and accuracy. 

Running Back

Most fantasy teams have two running backs. You need to have a big strong tough runner who could break tackles and not go down easy. For my DC team I would definitely pick Superman for his pure power and strength and second could go a few ways but Hawkman would be my choice. Hawkman is a tough dude and will get the job done. 
For my Marvel team, these two picks are easy. The Hulk and Thor. I couldn't imagine anyone trying to stop these two coming out of the back field. If there wasn't a hole to run through they would make one. 


Wide Receiver

Like the running backs, I'll pick two for this position. For my Marvel team I'd first go with Spider-Man first because of his quickness and agility. Plus he could use his webs to catch the ball. And second I'd go with Iron Man. He could propel him self to anywhere on the field rather quickly and if the defender tried to block him at the line of scrimmage he would just take him out. If Iron Man didn't work out I might would go with Nightcrawler or Mr. Fantastic for obvious reasons.

My DC picks are a lot easier. First, I'd for sure pick The Flash. With his speed he would be waiting on the ball to get to him. And my second pick would be Wonder Woman. She would be awesome at slot receiver. She is smart and could run any route and easily make adjustments on the field. She's fast and strong and would fight for those extra yards. 

Tight End
Most fantasy leagues only have one tight end so we'll follow suit with this too. This is a tough one. You can look at this in different ways but I think for my DC pick I would go with Martian Manhunter. He is big and tough and he would would be a big target to throw to. Plus as a blocker he would be unstoppable. 

My Marvel pick would be Wolverine. He might get penalized to much but he's as tough as they come and you know he won't miss a play.

Kicker 
As far as kickers go, this is a no brainier. Marvel would be Hawkeye and DC would be Green Arrow. Now I don't know how good they are with their feet but I know they would have the accuracy. 



Defense
Now in fantasy football you choose a defense for one team and the points are based on how well they do. For my defense teams I'll just choose five heroes that I haven't chosen already to make up the defense. Let's start with my five DC picks. I'll go with Green Lantern, Shazam (or Captain Marvel), Red Tornado, Aquaman, and Power Girl. As far as my Marvel picks I'd go with The Thing, Luke Cage, Ms. Marvel, Beast, and She-Hulk.

So that's my fantasy superhero teams. There are a lot of heroes but I tried to stay with the more well known ones. Looking back at each team I think DC may have an edge but maybe not. I know there is an argument for most of the picks but just like fantasy football, it's all for fun. . Tell me what you think. What would you change?

The Team-Up Saga

Team-up comic books are nothing new but I have a few opinions of team-ups I want to get off my chest. There are different types of team up books: On going series, mini-series, or one-shots and can either have a team of several characters, a pair of the same characters or rotating characters in the book. I just want to talk mainly about books that pertain to two characters here though. We've seen team-ups with two heroes, heroes teaming up with villains and even team-ups that cross publishing lines. All these books can be very interesting and fun reads but sometimes it seems very cheesy and predictable. One of the most reoccurring themes in most team-ups is two heroes meeting for the first time and fighting then coming together to fight a common enemy or threat. Some times it seems like writers just throw two random characters together for the intrigue or maybe they are just trying to hard. Some team-ups should never happen. Yes team-ups can be tricky to write but if done correctly, these books can be a huge success. We need team-up comics sometimes to mix things up or draw interest but they have to be done properly.

Now I know that team up books have been going on for a long time but recently there has been some talk on the Internet and social media that have made me want to talk about it. I don't know if it's because of the newly announced Batman/ Superman movie or some of the new team-up books or some of the highly praised one-shots that have caused all the buzz but people have voiced their opinions.  Let's face it, team-ups aren't going away but that's okay, most are really great and fun to read.

There have been some epic team-ups over the years and some that keep reoccurring. Some team-ups we will never get to see again or at least any time soon, for instance, the classic DC/ Marvel team ups. Fans will never forget the Batman vs. The Incredible Hulk or Superman vs. The Amazing Spider-Man. These were some rare crossovers that we may never see again for many reasons but mostly because of the competitive industry.

But with such amazing team-ups also comes some equally bad team-ups. To see a list of some epic failed attempts at some team-up books then follow the link. You will get a good laugh. The Quick's Bunny and Superman?   http://www.weirdworm.com/10-absurd-comic-book-crossovers/

The comic book industry has tried so many different team-ups and some were, let's say, not so great and some that work and continue to work well. One team-up that will always be popular and sell well is Batman and Superman team-up. They had an ongoing series of 84 books and 5 annuals from 2003-2011 and recently started a new ongoing title. This team-up works in so many ways. One reason is because they are two totally different heroes. Superman has so much power and different abilities and Batman is a "normal man" who has trained his whole life to be who he is. This team-up also works because these two characters are two of the most famous characters in comics and have been around for so long. Also DC has an interesting team-up coming soon, Superman and Wonder Woman. This team-up will be very interesting because of their new relationship and the fact that they both are so powerful they have a hard time relating to most people.

One big reason team-ups have been talked about a lot recently I think is because of one of the best team-up comic I've ever read. (Don't crush me I'm still fairly new to comics) That praise goes out to The Flash Annual #2 written by Brian Buccellato. I've not been reading Brian's work very long but he's been doing a great job with The Flash series but this annual was on a different level. This book was a team-up with The Flash and Green Lantern. What made this so great for me was this started by showing how Barry Allen and Hal Jordan meet for the first time in a flash back. Then it went on showing them working together for a common cause in a more present day setting. I'm not going to talk in detail about it but definitely check it out!! You don't need to be reading The Flash regularly to read this one but I have a feeling you will be wanting to after.
I'm not a big Green Lantern fan but I would love to see a team-up with Green Lantern and The Flash happen in an ongoing series.

Brian proved that this team-up can work very well. You have two heroes with totally different powers, Green Lantern being able to go off into space and create virtually anything with his ring and The Flash has the speed force and all that comes with that. They also both have very different personalities but we know that they are friends and the comradely will be fun to read about. Maybe on reason this may not happen soon is because of where both are in their solo books and would mess up continuity. Hal has been off planet for awhile and not even in the Justice League right now and Barry could probably get away with another ongoing series but we don't need anything messing up what is going on now. I think one thing DC could do is make it a "Chronicles" series that is based on past adventures they had together. Show the building of their friendship and learning to trust each other. Brian Buccellato would write this so well I think and after hearing the praise all over the internet, I think a lot of people would buy a Green Lantern and The Flash team up book. I know I would!!

Another team-up book I would love to see a new take on is Captain America and Iron Man. These guys have had their own team-up series together before but I think a fresh and modern take on these two together would be a very fun read. I like this idea because Captain America is such a leader and everything he does is with purpose and precision and Iron Man more flies by the seat of his pants so to speak. We've seen them beat the mess out of each other and fight on different sides in Civil War so a team-up would be interesting.

Marvel also used to have a Power Man and Iron Fist team-up series that was very popular and I think they should relaunch this series. They would need to change it to Luke Cage and Iron Fist but they could take on some treats that are less main stream and a little more "dirty".
Team-up books are always interesting no matter how successful they are or how much they fail. No matter how odd or predictable a team-up my be it's fun to see what writers come up with. As long as these team-ups are done well, anything is possible. Maybe we won't get some team-ups I want to see but as long as we get other great team-ups I will be happy. 

No Smart Women in Comics?

I didn't think I would be writing a blog like this one but a buddy of mine made an interesting observation the other day. In both Marvel and DC and probably comics in general, there seems to be a serious lack of smart and intelligent women. It got me thinking about all the women superheros in comics and after doing some research I realized that not only are there not any highly intelligent women in comics but there aren't any heroins that are as rich as some of the male superheroes. If you compare the female superheros to the smart and/or rich male heroes like Batman, Iron Man, Bruce Banner, Reed Richards, Green Arrow, Hank Pym, Hank McCoy, Black Panther, Professor Xavier etc. there is no comparison.
There are a few exceptions to my theory. One super heroin you could make a good argument for is Wonder Woman. She is a princess of the Amazons on Paradise Island (or Themyscira) so you would have to assume she has or at minimum access to money. Also, Wonder Woman has been blessed by Athena the goddess of wisdom which makes very intelligent, even as smart as Batman or Martian Manhunter in the Justice League. But most of her wisdom she uses for tactical purposes in battle and not as a problem solver as far as science and technology goes.

Another character you could mention as a smart female hero is Batgirl, Barbra Gordon. She originally was a librarian by day and hero at night and in school she excelled and often skipped grades. After reinventing herself as the Oracle when the Joker shot her in the back paralyzing her from the waste down, she used her intelligence to help the DC Universe.
Maybe an even smarter, or at least more educated, example is She-Hulk, Jennifer Walters. Before becoming She-Hulk from a blood transfusion from Bruce Banner aka The Hulk, Jennifer was a Lawyer with a Master degree from Harvard Law School.

Obviously these three examples are minor compared to the level of wealth and intelligence that male characters have, which is a shame. I know that the female characters in comics have come a long way. There are some really powerful women heroes in comics that I love and a lot of them have become very popular. However I think the comic book industry is missing out on some great potential story lines not having intelligent or rich women in comics.

The comic industry has done a great job of making female superheros not only powerful and strong but leaders and role models. Storm and Kitty Pride are huge leaders with the X-Men and at the Jean Gray School for Higher Learning. Wonder Woman, after her lack luster start into comics in a sexist industry, has become one of the most well rounded and most popular heroins. Miss Marvel, or Captain Marvel now, is getting a lot of support from Marvel and is currently having a great run with her solo book.

I'm not trying to bash the industry for not supporting female characters and moving them forward into stronger roles but I think it's time to take the next step. As easy as it is to change characters or write in new things in comics, it would not take much to make a female superhero on the same level of intelligence or wealth as their male counter parts.

Comic Books: Where do I start?

Not long ago, when I wanted to start reading comics, the hardest thing for me was not knowing where to start. There were things I was interested in and things I wanted to read but didn't know where to begin reading. I remember going to the comic book store and just staring at the wall of comics not knowing what to pick up or look at first. Heck, I didn't even know there was a section set aside for the new comics that came out that week or that Wednesday was new comic book day. For me, someone who didn't grow up around comics at all, this was a little overwhelming and like most people I'm sure, I didn't want to waste money by buying just random comics.

When I first started reading, I was really interested in Captain America, so after researching online I found an old story arc that sounded interesting and bought the trade paper back or hard back. I started off with "The Death of Captain America" story arc by Ed Brubaker. I loved it! I loved the way it was written and the art, the characters, and everything. Being my first comics read, I loved so much about the experience. This experience helped me to learn so much about comic books and helped me become more comfortable with comics. I had to do a lot of research on the internet to learn about characters, numbering, and even terms used in comics. I wanted to learn so much about comics and the more I read and researched the more I enjoyed.

So, after almost a year of reading just back issues of mostly Captain America,  I wanted to pick-up the weekly books but still didn't know where to start. Here are some things I found helpful in picking out what to read and where to start:

1. Figure out a character or team you want to read about. Who or what are you interested in?

2. Is there a style you like? Team ups or Solo? Darker, grittier styles? Comedy? Spy? Space? etc.... 

3. Are there any spacific books or writers you've heard good things about?

4. Don't be shy. Talk to friends or people at your local comic book store and find out what people may suggest. 

5. Look on the internet. There are a plethora of comic book websites out there that talk about comic books. This was my biggest help. Look at their reviews and look at their forums to see what people are saying about some of the books you are thinking about.  Some websites I'll suggest are: Comicvine.com Comicbookresources.com ifanboy.com

One of my biggest concerns before starting to read was I wanted to start at the beginning of a story arc and didn't want to be lost or confused about the story. My advice to anyone with the same concerns is, if you know what book a story arc starts on then buy the back issues to get caught up. otherwise just jump in. You can usually get caught up pretty quick but if you do find yourself lost in the story, go online and read up on past issues. 

I started by picking up a few I really wanted to read and slowly built up my pull list by learning what writers were getting a lot of praise and which characters I found myself enjoying more. I remember when I wanted to start reading a Batman comic I started noticing all the different titles they had. This was very confusing and I had no idea how to pick one. After reading a few reviews online and hearing how great Scott Snyder was doing with the Batman book I started picking it up each month. I started reading towards the end of a major story arc but it didn't seem to matter. I quickly caught up on the story and soon the book moved on to a new story arc. Now I've got a pull list of 10 and holding but each time I picked up a new title, I took time to evaluate what I wanted and where to start. When it comes down to it, I just have to start reading. So far I've enjoyed most things I've picked up.

What started as a little interest in comic books has turned into a major hobby of mine. I look forward to going each week by the comic book store and getting new books. I hope you share my same enthusiasm and if not I hope you will soon. 

Justice League #22 Review (Spoiler Free)

For those of you who don't know, DC Comics has started a huge 6 part event called "Trinity War" written by Geoff Johns crossing over between three titles: Justice League, Justice League of America, and Justice League Dark. Justice League #22 is part one of the event and it is an amazing start.

I only read Justice League on a month basis so I'll have to pick up the other titles to read the whole event but I don't mind. One thing that I'm not sure about is the fact that I'm not real familiar with a lot of the characters in the DC Universe outside of the big names but so far it doesn't seem to matter. I'm sure I'll have to do some research on a few characters to know their powers and all but that only stretches my comic book knowledge.

I already knew that Geoff Johns was an amazing writer but he really stepped it up here. Not only is the story fantastic but the flow and the smoothness of the story worked perfect. 

The book starts very interestingly and you're basically watching what is happening through someone else's perspective. It jumps around a lot to tie a lot together but is done amazingly by Geoff Johns. There is a lot of dialog for most of the book and I was wondering at one point if there is going to be an action but the last quarter to third of the book it really delivers. I was pretty shock at what happened and how fast the event went the direction it did. It just hooks you so hard.

The art is amazing in this book as well. With all the characters and different scenes, the art truly delivers. There are a few full page and half page panels I just stared at for a few minutes to take it all in. There are so many details and colors that I found myself getting lost in the art. 

This event advertises that it's the good guys fighting the good guys but there is so much evil in the background controlling the events taking place and the Justice Leaguers don't know it yet. How far will it go before they realize other powers are at work? How many casualties will we they have? Who is behind all the madness?

Here is a check list of all the titles involved in Trinity War if you are interested. 

http://www.dccomics.com/blog/2013/06/25/trinity-war-checklist 

Man of Steel Review

Before I get to reviewing Man of Steel, I want to take a moment and rant. I have come to the conclusion that superhero or comic book movies are not made for die hard comic book fans. I've read some reviews and listened to people talk about not only Man of Steel but other comic book movies for the past year or so and I don't know why but reviewers seem to nit pic way to much. It seems like that if they don't agree with one little thing they can't enjoy the movie. I think a lot of hard core comic book fans just don't go in with an open mind and it's hard to enjoy anything like that. I hear way to much negative talk about these movies. These are not comic books. These are movies. Take them for what they are. I digress, lets get to the review.

Warning: Spoilers Ahead....

I wanted to wait a few days to write a review so I could talk in more detail and not worry about spoiling anything and mainly get my thoughts together, so if you have not seen Man of Steel yet please come back after you have seen the movie.

First of all you have to realize when going into this movie that this is NOT your Christopher Reeves Superman and this is nothing like Superman Returns (thank God). Your not going to have superman fly around the world backwards to turn back time and your not going to have a super villain created from a nuclear bomb shot off at the sun. At least in this movie, we don't get a stumbling and awkward Clark Kent, which gets old pretty quick. This is a new and more serious Superman.


Man of Steel is visually beautiful! Krypton was amazing. Everything on Krypton was so interesting and clean and beautiful. The look and feel it had because of it's red sun was stunning. Even the flashbacks to when Clark was growing us has a nice feel to it visually. I thought the way Superman flew around was magnificent.  I also thought all the Kryptonian suits were pretty awesome. They looked a lot better than spandex. I didn't know how I would feel about Superman's suit going into the movie but I did like it a lot in the movie. It looked better on film than one or two screen shots.

Man of Steel was nearly two and a half hours and there was A LOT of action. A lot more than I expected really. I think the first thing my wife said leaving the movie was "that was exhausting". Overall it had a great story though. Maybe could have had less action and more story but it was great because we have never seen Superman and this much action before on the big screen and he needed that.
We spend the first thirty minutes of the movie on Krypton with Zod trying to take over, baby Clark or Kal-El being sent to Earth and the ultimate destruction of the planet. That may have been my favorite part of the movie.

I loved the flashbacks too from when Clark was growing up. Kevin Costner did a great job as Clark's Earthly father. He was supportive, protective and influential like we all know and want Jonathan Kent to be. They only had one good scene with Martha Kent in my opinion. The one time she went to the school to help Clark that was good but other than that I think they missed the mark with her and the relationship between her and Clark.

Before I get to the actor who stole the show for me, I was to talk about Amy Adams and her take on Louis Lane. I think she did great. Not he typical look but I'm okay with that. I love how she was a hard nosed reporter and when she found out the truth about Clark and he tell his story about how Pa Kent dies in the tornado and all was such a great part and so touching. You can see how it affected Louis and understanding she becomes and keeps his secret. I still don't know if I like the fact that she knows he is Superman already but it was good for the story.

I just want to say that Russell Crow was spectacular in his part as Jor-El but I guess we should expect that from him. He was in the movie a lot more than I expected. Someone said he was in it more than Superman was but I didn't mind that at all. He look totally awesome in his Kryptonian armor too.


Henry Cavill did a great job as Superman. I think the women loved him more because he was visually nice to look at, but getting past all that, he made for a good Superman. The few emotional moments were great. He did a great job selling it. After killing Zod (we'll get to that) I could really feel his sorrow and although it didn't last very long, I know that he truly didn't want to do it.
The casting for the most part was great in Man of Steel. Zod and Faora were awesome. You could really feel the emotions from Zod throughout the movie. His hatred and evilness translated very well on screen.

Lets talk about the two controversial parts of the movie for a minute. First one that everyone one is talking about is the fact that Superman never tries to take the fight away from the populated areas so no one would get hurt. The first time in Smallville and the other in Metropolis. I think for the most part the reason he didn't was because he was to busy getting his butt kicked, expectantly in Smallville. He was fighting two elite Kryptonian worriers and he had never been in a fight before really. Maybe he could have taken Zod out in space or something to fight him but there was no where for him to go. The destruction from these fights were a little overwhelming especially adding the destruction from what the ship did in Metropolis.

The biggest problem most people had was the fact that Superman killed Zod at the end. I was initially shocked he did that but after thinking about it I guess he had to. They could have spent more time showing how Superman didn't have a choice and it was his last resort and all but the movie could have gone on for hours. Look, as quick as that scene was, all we need to take away from there was that Superman had no other choice and he was very sorrowful and upset that he had to kill someone. Yes, Superman is not suppose to kill but he had to in this case. Get over it.
I really liked the ending and the reason he gave to be at the Daily Planet, although we all know it was to be closer to Louis. They didn't do a lot of stuff we are use to seeing so it makes me excited to see the next film and featuring some other parts of Clark and Superman.
I haven't read many superman comics but one graphic novel I have read was Superman Earth One Vol. 1 and I could tell they pulled some material from that book which was was pretty cool for me.
Overall this was an awesome movie. Of course there were some things they could have done better or different but I thoroughly enjoyed it. I'm ready to see it again and will be buying this on DVD when it comes out for sure.