Comic Riffs: Superheroes


Posted at 10:30 AM ET, 01/24/2011

'Fantastic Four'-Shadowing: How this week's much-heralded death will go down
By Michael Cavna
(Image: courtesy of Marvel Entertainment) It will happen this way: You may be logging on early Tuesday and suddenly find it trending on Twitter or popping up as a texted news alert. There has been a death in the...

By Michael Cavna  |  10:30 AM ET, 01/24/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Superheroes, Superheroes | Tags:  Fantastic Four, Jonathan Hickman, Marvel Comics, Steve Epting

Posted at 07:45 PM ET, 01/12/2011

CAPTAIN AMERICA fights for suicide-prevention awareness
By Michael Cavna
Real-life hotlines have sometimes had a dark presence in comics. "A Death in the Family" comes to mind, for example, when Batman readers -- voting via a 1-900 number -- chose the fatal fate of Jason Todd as Robin...

By Michael Cavna  |  07:45 PM ET, 01/12/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Superheroes, Superheroes | Tags:  Captain America, Marvel Comics, Suicide prevention

Posted at 01:00 PM ET, 11/29/2010

SPIDER-MAN ON BROADWAY: The Web's sense is tingling over mega-show's hamstrung preview
By Michael Cavna
With great expense comes great avidity. And over the weekend, the most expensive production in Broadway finally landed -- even when a stranded-in-midair star required the audience to literally suspend its disbelief. After months of delays and headlines, the...

By Michael Cavna  |  01:00 PM ET, 11/29/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Superheroes | Tags:  Bono and The Edge, Julie Taymor, Reeve Carney, Spider-Man, Turn Off the Dark

Posted at 12:15 PM ET, 11/17/2010

SARAH PALIN & MICHAEL BLOOMBERG power their way to America's comic-book covers [UPDATED]
By Michael Cavna
(Marvel Entertainment) In the wake of the midterms, President Obama is even losing political ground on America's comic-book covers. Back in his halycon days of the inauguration, of course, Obama graced Marvel's Spider-Man (No. 583), a coveted issue that...

By Michael Cavna  |  12:15 PM ET, 11/17/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Superheroes, Superheroes | Tags:  Bluewater Comics, Marvel Comics, Michael Bloomberg, Sarah Palin

Posted at 11:51 AM ET, 10/27/2010

THIS JUST IN: The title of the new BATMAN film is...
By Michael Cavna
(Warner Bros./DC) This just in: The current visionary for the Batman franchise, Christopher Nolan, tells Geoff Boucher over at Hero Complex that the title of his third Batman film will be (let's look to the skies) ... "The Dark...

By Michael Cavna  |  11:51 AM ET, 10/27/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Superheroes, Superheroes

Posted at 02:30 PM ET, 10/11/2010

'Superheroes': Turning 97 today, JOE SIMON reflects on his legacy with JACK KIRBY (*As do STAN LEE and NEIL GAIMAN)
By Michael Cavna
(Courtesy of Titan Books) Besides our boyhood fandom of Batman and our adulthood appreciation of Henry Selick, comics god Neil Gaiman and Comic Riffs humbly share at least one other cartoon-land trait: our mutual regret over our not meeting...

By Michael Cavna  |  02:30 PM ET, 10/11/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Superheroes, Superheroes, Superheroes, Superheroes | Tags:  Jack Kirby, Joe Simon, Mark Evanier, Neil Gaiman, Stan Lee, Titan Books

Posted at 01:45 PM ET, 08/24/2010

QUICK HIT: Stan Lee's super-powered pitch to comics retailers
By Michael Cavna
With three superheroes on the horizon, Friend of Comic Riffs Stan Lee is appealing directly to comics retailers, whom the Marvel legend calls the "most important link between creators and our loyal readers." In a new video, Lee is...

By Michael Cavna  |  01:45 PM ET, 08/24/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Superheroes, Superheroes | Tags:  Chad Hardin, Chris Roberson, Javier Pina, Khary Randolph, Mark Waid, Paul Cornell, Stan Lee

Posted at 08:42 PM ET, 08/10/2010

Broadway's troubled 'SPIDER-MAN' musical to open in December
By Michael Cavna
REEVE CARNEY (Associated Press / Marvel Entertainment) Broadway's "Spidey sense" can stop tingling. For now, at least, the seriously costly musical about Peter Parker might finally be out of danger. The producers of "Spider-Man Turn Off the Dark" said...

By Michael Cavna  |  08:42 PM ET, 08/10/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Superheroes | Tags:  Andrew Garfield, Marvel Entertainment, Reeve Carney, Spider-Man

Posted at 05:57 PM ET, 08/04/2010

Quick Hit: The first AVENGERS 'trailer' has landed
By Michael Cavna
So this is how it's going to be. With memories of the debut "Avengers" assemblage at Comic-Con beginning to fade, Marvel Studios now is apparently going to tease the public at large every few weeks with some new bit...

By Michael Cavna  |  05:57 PM ET, 08/04/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Superheroes, Superheroes

Posted at 06:01 AM ET, 07/02/2010

SPIDER-SENSES: 7 Reasons Why Andrew Garfield Might Surprise as Spidey
By Michael Cavna
One hour you're a relatively little-known actor, the next you're a trending topic on Twitter outpacing even a Bieber. Such is the power and profile of being the latest young talent to fill a franchise suit. This morning, of...

By Michael Cavna  |  06:01 AM ET, 07/02/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Superheroes, Superheroes, Superheroes | Tags:  Andrew Garfield, Sony/Columbia/Marvel, Spider-Man

Posted at 09:01 AM ET, 07/01/2010

An Artist's View: The true power of Wonder Woman's new look
By Michael Cavna
WONDER WOMAN'S NEW LOOK; : It was a beautiful night. The liquor was flowing. And there was I, spinning innocently only to suddenly find myself stuck smack between Wonder Woman and the Iron Man. And I, in that moment,...

By Michael Cavna  |  09:01 AM ET, 07/01/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Superheroes | Tags:  DC Comics, Jim Lee, Wonder Woman

Posted at 08:05 AM ET, 09/02/2009

The Super-8 List: The Coolest Marvel-Disney Mashup Cartoons
By Michael Cavna
If Disney can tap even half the creativity that went into creating Disney/Marvel mashup art the whole wide world (web) over, then the House of Mouse studios will be a magical place indeed. PhotoShop, Google Images and comic-book collections...

By Michael Cavna  |  08:05 AM ET, 09/02/2009 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Superheroes, Superheroes

Posted at 10:30 AM ET, 08/31/2009

The Fantastic Four-Billion! Disney Buys Marvel in Mondo Deal
By Michael Cavna
Spidey, Storm and Iron Man have just joined forces with one of the universe's superheroes who is even more powerful than themselves: Uncle Walt. Walt Disney Co. has just acquired Marvel Entertainment comics for $4-billion, the Associated Press is...

By Michael Cavna  |  10:30 AM ET, 08/31/2009 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Superheroes, Superheroes

Posted at 02:35 PM ET, 08/10/2009

The Riff: Why 'G.I. Joe' Could Be a 'Game'-Changer
By Michael Cavna
: Paramount refused to screen "G.I. Joe: The Rise of the Cobra" for most mainstream movie critics and now I have a pretty good idea why. "G.I. Joe" is not a movie. Oh, "G.I. Joe" has all the recognizable traditional...

By Michael Cavna  |  02:35 PM ET, 08/10/2009 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Superheroes, Superheroes

Posted at 04:00 PM ET, 08/05/2009

'Hello, Beautiful': How Long Till 'Obama the Joker' Posters Show Up Outside 1600 Penn?
By Michael Cavna
This morning, Comic Riffs wrote about Heath Ledger's final act of art -- which was not an Oscar-winning performance, but rather an animated short. Still, of course, his Joker creation in "The Dark Knight" will stand as one of...

By Michael Cavna  |  04:00 PM ET, 08/05/2009 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Superheroes, Superheroes

Posted at 07:00 AM ET, 06/16/2009

Now That Captain America's Reborn: Who'll Play Him in the Movie?
By Michael Cavna
'CAPTAIN AMERICA' (Marvel Comics) Has anyone checked Arlington National Cemetery to make sure the monument's still there? The news this week that Steve Rogers is being resurrected beginning July 1 -- for the five-comic-book series "Captain America Reborn" --...

By Michael Cavna  |  07:00 AM ET, 06/16/2009 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Superheroes

Posted at 11:30 AM ET, 03/18/2009

Sneak Peek: Marvel's New "Wolverine" Images
By Michael Cavna
Wolverine as a freakishly six-headed Warholian portrait? What would Joe Quesada think, let alone Hugh Jackman? Actually, we learn that Quesada -- the big cheese at Marvel Comics -- has blessed such an illustration, as well as numerous other cartoons...

By Michael Cavna  |  11:30 AM ET, 03/18/2009 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Superheroes

Posted at 05:50 PM ET, 01/21/2009

Will Batman Capture His Oscar Nod?
By Michael Cavna
Comic Riffs launched last summer with our sights excitedly set on one particular movie release: "The Dark Knight." And in the inaugural 'Riffs poll, more than 5,000 of you predicted (most of you correctly) what "Dark Knight's" opening-weekend box office...

By Michael Cavna  |  05:50 PM ET, 01/21/2009 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Superheroes

Posted at 11:00 AM ET, 11/14/2008

Colbert Speaks: So What DO He and Obama Have in Common?...
By Michael Cavna
Stephen Colbert, our favorite fake-news anchor on TV (he once stood still long enough to let us caricature him in person), is no mere mortal. Not since he's been immortalized in "Spider-Man." Early this year, Marvel honcho Joe Quesada, appearing...

By Michael Cavna  |  11:00 AM ET, 11/14/2008 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Superheroes

Posted at 11:20 AM ET, 07/18/2008

Dark Knight: Joker Moment No. 1...
By Michael Cavna
Once Heath said yes, the dye -- and makeup -- was cast. (Warner Bros. Pictures and DC Comics) With today's debut of "The Dark Knight," we conclude our weeklong countdown of the Top Five Moments in Joker history (a...

By Michael Cavna  |  11:20 AM ET, 07/18/2008 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Superheroes

Posted at 02:00 PM ET, 07/17/2008

Dark Knight: Joker's Top Moments...
By Michael Cavna
Robin, the Boy cast asunder. (DC Comics) As we eagerly await "The Dark Knight's" debut tonight at midnight, we're counting down the Top Five Moments in Joker history. Here's Joker Moment No. 2... The moment: In one of the...

By Michael Cavna  |  02:00 PM ET, 07/17/2008 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Superheroes

Posted at 01:00 PM ET, 07/15/2008

The Countdown: The Joker Gets The Last Laugh
By Michael Cavna
The Joker: The head that can't be shrunk. (DC Comics) As we here at Comic Riffs eagerly await Friday's cinematic release of the Batman sequel "The Dark Knight," we are spending this week counting down the top five Joker...

By Michael Cavna  |  01:00 PM ET, 07/15/2008 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Superheroes