Comicbabe battle Round 4 - Spiderbabe Winner - Part 2 ( Finally ! )

It´s been more than a month since my last entry about comicbabe battle and I didn´t reveal who won in the spidercategory.


I don´t think it´s going to be a big surprise but now that I have dealt with the solicitations ( in fact it seems I´ve done nothing but solicitations ) let´s get back to the important things : comics and babes. And babes in comics. There are still a few categories left and it´s about time to get this post finished so that I can start on the horror babes. So that I can have the finished horror babes post just in time for Halloween.

But back to the sexy spiderbabes. It took me a long time to decide who should be number one in this category but after a week of contemplation I finally had a winner. So the number one spiderbabe of all time is :

Felicia Hardy a.k.a. Black Cat


Now the reason why the Black Cat is in the number one position has nothing to do with the fact that she´s bi. First off I didn´t know it when I made the decision. I only heard of it through the comments to one of my posts. As far as I know it hasn´t been mentioned in any of the spider - titles I´ve been reading. Or if it has been mentioned I have totally forgotten about it.

And second if she really is then I doubt that we´re ever going to see any hot girl on girl action inside of a Marvel comic for the forseeable future. Come on they had Frank Cho cover up Shanna for Christ´s Sake. And that was the only selling point of that series. So the chances of seeing Pete, MJ and Felicia in steamy FFM action are almost null.

It could be totally fabricated and my position is : if it´s not in wikipedia it´s not official.

One of the factors was the costume ( and I´m not talking about that pirate - abomination costume ).


Being overed from neck to toe in skintight black leather is always a plus. Just ask Black Widow or Catwoman. Although like the last one Felicia´s costume has undergone several modifications. From the different artists who portrayed Marvel´s bodacious catburglar the one who really grasped what it´s all about was Mike Bagley. He gave her the mother of all cleavages and apparently Marvel is abit embarrased by the fact that they allowed it back in the day. Because I really tried to find any picture of it, brother, but for the life of me I couldn´t find it. Hard as it may be to believe in this day and age but the new " Sidney Savage " look of the Black Cat didn´t even make it to the cover.

Now Mark Bagley is still drawing his version of the Black Cat as any reader of Ultimate Spider - Man can attest ( megacleavage and all ) but I had to get some other pics to illustrate this post. I hope that is okay.


Concerning the reasons why Felicia became my number one I used an old trick. I just thought that if I had to delete all the pics of her OR MJ and if I only could keep one set - which would it be ? And just looking at the amount of pics I had of MJ and the amount of pics I had of the Black Cat it was clear. Simple as that.

Like with all the other contestants I´m going to take a look at their history and especially the worst moments and catastrophic retcons. But firstly I have to rectify an old urban legend which is that the Black Cat was made as Marvel´s hommage to Catwoman.

From today´s perspective it seems pretty obvious but nevertheless it´s not true. To quote wikipedia :

In 1979, creator Marv Wolfman was looking for a female foil for Spider-Woman. He decided to base a character off a Tex Avery cartoon "Bad Luck Blackie" in which a black cat brought misfortune to anyone in close proximity. The Black Cat's costume and appearance were designed by the late Dave Cockrum.


When Wolfman changed writing assignments within Marvel Comics to Amazing Spider-Man, he brought his character with him. On the bottom of the letters page of her first appearance in Amazing Spider-Man #194, a thumbnail of the intended cover for Spider-Woman #9 (as well as a rejected cover for Amazing Spider-Man #194) appears.

The Black Cat is often mistaken as an homage to DC’s Catwoman, as her forename, Felicia, was shared by Catwoman's sister in Brave and the Bold#176.

CBR: When you created the Black Cat to be Spider-Man’s new girl friend, was it linked to a desire to write stuff about Catwoman or was it only an homage?

Marv: I didn’t plan Black Cat to be in Spidey. I created her for Spider-Woman (look at the letter column of the first B.C. story and you’ll see). I then decided to leave Spider-Woman and moved her over. So, I never even thought of Catwoman when I did her. I got the idea for her from a Tex Avery cartoon, Bad Luck Blackie.


Felicia Hardy's signature costume, cat burglar profession, and her steady relationship to Spider-Man predate Selina Kyle's similar depiction in comics by almost a decade. Catwoman spent most of her comic life as a purple-dressed female super villain who used big cats to commit anything but subtle crimes. Selina Kyle's current comic book incarnation as a black suited cat burglar with romantic ties to Batman didn't occur until 1987 with Frank Miller's classic Batman: Year One, although Batman did show a romantic interest in her during her first appearance in Batman #1 before she wore a costume and was known simply as "The Cat". Catwoman's depiction in 1966 on the Batman television series was the first time outside the comics that we saw Selina Kyle as a black catsuit-clad cat burglar seductress.

Don´t say you never learned anything reading this blog.



For today this is the end but we will stay on the subject of the Black Cat in the next post. I just know how hard it is to scroll down so much text ( yes, I´m lazy too ) and it´s easier to see that there is new content. And there is a comment I want to mention so stay tuned when comicbabe battle continues.

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Solicitations Part 2

Welcome to part two of our look at the new solicitations. In the first part we finished all the DC stuff so now we come to Marvel and other publishers.


But first a few comments about the cover above. I´m not sure if I should get some issues of BOMB QUEEN. The overall theme doesn´t look really new to me and I think my brother is reading the series. I´m not sure because so far he has bought a few issues on and off but only the girlfight issues since that´s more up his alley.

It does have a certain appeal ( hmm, I wonder what that might be ) but the question is if there´s more to it than cheesecake and a little eye candy. I´ll have to ask my brother someday if he´s following the book or not.

Okay, Marvel stuff. The big thing this month is of course :

Captain America 34


Yep, Cap´s got a brand new bag. Or to say it in John McClane´s words : Ho, ho, ho. Now I´ve got a gun.

What ? Don´t tell me you didn´t expect Marvel to put somebody else into the costume. They´ve done it before and they´re going to do it again. And the last time they did it they turned out a damn good story while they introduced a new character. Or rather turned an old one into the schizo we all love to hate : U.S.Agent. The dark side of the american dream.

So I´m slightly optimistic for this turn of events. I mean, so far Ed Brubakers run on Cap has been rock solid ( don´t worry youngsters. that´s just 80s slang meaning it´s totally cool ) and I don´t think he´s gonna slip now. One year ago everybody was up in armsd about the return of Bucky Barnes and now Winter Soldier is one of the most interesting characters of Cap history.

Which by the way would make him an ideal candidate for the new Cap. It seems the Punisher is off the list but maybe Marvel will go with a lesser known character like Paladin or maybe Hawkeye is sick of the Ronin outfit and is taking up Tony Stark´s offer. If only to infiltrate his organisation. Or they will pick someone completely new. Whatever the case might be I´m staying tuned.

Black Panther 34


Yes, the new Black Panther series was relaunched at the same time as Captain America as you can see by the numbering. The difference between the two books is that while Captain America has remained at almost the same level artwise ( I think Steve Epting has improved his already impressive skills over the course of the title ) in the pages of Black Panther the art has been in a state of heavy decline since the departure of John Romita Jr.

But that´s not the reason why I posted the picture. I´m just curious who the hot woman on the cover is ? Is it Storm or some other whitehaired bombshell ? If it´s Storm I have to say that this new " Cleopatra Jones look " is hopefully here to stay.

Hulk 1


Okay, they´ve really done it. Hot on the wave of the success of PLANET HULK and WORLD WAR HULK Marvel really started a new Hulk title starring an apparently red Hulk written by Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuiness. Which means that either they have finished their run on ULTIMATES but Marvel decided to publish the run by Joe Madureiras first because it´s also finished.....or that Marvel told them to stop doing ULTIMATES and has now put them on this title instead.

Which would mean that Joe Madureiras has probably NOT finished his run and after the first issue comes out it will take three months till issue two is published. And four to five months to issue three. And two more months can be added for each additional issue till we´re up to one year and a half which is the average time you have to wait on an issue of Ultimates so far.

So the question is : do we really need another Hulk title by Ed McGuiness instead of more issues of Ultimates ?

And the answer is : Hell, yeah ! That man was born to draw Hulk and verily that´s what he shall do. So speaketh Subzero the girded one.

Maybe we won´t get the Ultimates drawn by the Edman but a book where the Hulk mops the floor with the Marvel universe ( at least that´s what would happen in my book......aside from guest - starring the participants from comicbabe battle ) isn´t bad either. So we lose on one side and win on the other side. We get a book from Ed McGuiness but it´s not the Ultimates. Rather it´s the ultimate book for Ed McGuiness. And it probably comes out on a more regular basis than Ultimates too.

Marvel Adventures Spider - Man 35


No particular reason for posting this image besides the fact that I think it´s really funny. Don´t look now Spidey but I think Eddie´s pissed. So much for the idea to forget your troubles by webslinging through Manhatten´s skyline.

Comics really need more covers like this. Covers that tell a story in itself instead of flashy pin ups that have nothing to do with the interior. But that´s a different topic and one that I already wrote about in my post

DO judge a book by it´s cover

Up till now I haven´t had the budget to pick up issues of the Marvel Adventures line but maybe it´s about time. This story about Venom wanting to become Spidey´s sidekick sounds rather interesting. And i just have to read the issue of Marvel Adventures Avengers were the Avengers get M.O.D.O.K.fied.

New Avenger annual 2


Nice cover by Jim Cheung but shouldn´t he be doing something else like DRAWING NEW ISSUES OF YOUNG AVENGERS ????

Man, is this title ever going to be continued ? I´m waiting Marvel.

PvP 40


Another fine homage to famous comic covers by Scott Kutz. So far the only real issue of PvP I own is the FREE COMIC BOOK DAY issue ( a concept that will not be practiced in Germany for my remaining lifespan ) but I swear I will get me some PvP....as soon as I figure out in which chronological order the trades have to be read - and bought.

And since we´re in the indie section now there is only one book left I want to comment on. In WIZARD magazine they used to have the MORT OF THE MONTH. Which meant a spotlight on a villain that was so lame that he ought to be dead. Or that everyone thought long dead because he was so lame but it wasn´t. The only reason why I´m bringing this up is that now we have the same thing in comicbook form.

Youngblood 1


See what I mean ? Just when I thought I was out they dragged me back in. And just as you thought it was safe to go to the comic shop again. I mean are there really comic readers out there who yearn for new adventures of Youngblood ? I must say I never read an issue of Youngblood and I kept my mental sanity during the image boom of the 90s. Coincidence ? I think not. But to each their own. It´s just.....Youngblood ! Of all the titles that were published at image.....why Youngblood ? Oh the humanity.

And on that note we end today´s post. Just don´t go jumping off a cliff because of Youngblood. Don´t forget we also get the Edman´s Hulkster.

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Solicitations

Again it´s time for our look on the new solicitations with comments and random thoughts by yours truly. It seems like more and more I´m writing about the solicitations and less about other stuff.


That´s of course not true. The only reason it may look that way is that I have not posted very much in the last few weeks. Our internet access is less and less reliable and my last posts about the new solicitaions were two weeks late because of illness and the need to delete all files from the computer. But nevertheless it´s my goal to post more frequently and establish a few monthly recurring " series ". One of them being the solicitations.

My " opus moderandi " in this section will be to pick the few striking cover images that pique my fancy and comment on them. It may be a cool cover, a strange cover or something that just yells at me. Or I have some general comments on the series. In general that are the series I´m not reading and mostly I will also comment on why I´m not reading this series. In a few instances it will be from a series that I´m reading but normally I will keep that for the actual reviews of it.

And of course there will be some pics without comment that I will place on top of the post or at the end. Normally that are covers that are fantastic ( like the Adam Hughes cover for Catwoman in this post ) but I don´t have anything clever or entertaining to add. So without further delay let´s see what´s up this month :

Showcase presents - Superman family 2


What´s wrong with this picture ? Nothing. Come on where´s the story ? I´m no expert on Silver Age Superman stories but I always thought that was everyone´s general reaction to Jimmy. I mean he´s always bugging Clark or Perry White getting on everyones nerves and when he´s not disguised as an arabian prince to score with Lucy Lane or time travelling to become a Nazi doubleagent he´s busy desecrating the remains of dead vikings. I can´t imagine he would get any other reception than the one depicted in this image.

And for my taste " Mr. Action " sounds like the name of a porn actor. Is that a name he gave himself or did the women give him the name ?

" Mr. Action " as in " what you won´t be getting any of ".

I always thought that Jimmy got the dangerous assingments because Perry hoped that he would kick the bucket on those suicide missions. So....no Jimmy, they haven´t forgotten who you are. They are just pissed at you and trying to ignore you. Go away. Everyone hates you.

Batman - The killing joke 20th anniversary deluxe edition hardcover


One of Alan Moore´s better stories. Thank god DC didn´t go for a " special brand new " cover like for other anniversary editions since you just can top Brinad Bolland´s masterpiece. Although DC hadn´t the balls to declare the origin story of the Joker in this comic the official origin when it came out many writers and artists have referenced it since then and based their stories on it. So in a way it has found his way into the Batman canon and is the unofficial official origin.

Another reason why this comic should be in any comic collectors collection ( besides being one hell of a story with unbelievable art by Brian Bolland who almost does no interior work anymore ) is that it´s the origin story of the Birds of Prey leader Oracle a.k.a. Barbara Gordon ( and former Batgirl - well up until this story ).

Justice League International hardcover


Now while I think that this is the best league ever I´m not sure if it´s really necessary to reprint this. It´s not as if there are no trades available in comicshops. Unlike the KILLING JOKE reprint this one doesn´t even include any new material.

What DC should be reprinting however is THE SECRET GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MAXWELL LORD which collects the issues after this trade. THE SECRET GOSPEL is indeed out of print, you can´t find it in comicshops....in fact it may just well be a myth. I myself have never seen a copy or know any person who has ever seen one. Maybe it´s just an urban legend.

So if they had included that in the hardcover I might have been tempted to take a look but without it...no way, Jose.

Time Masters Tp


With Rip Hunter featured prominently in 52 and the new Booster Gold series ( after appearances on JSA and Superman ) it seems that the time is ripe for the reprint of this miniseries. I don´t know anything about the comics itself since I have seen a few issues in comicshops now and then but I never was so curious that I actually picked up an issue. Being a fan of science fiction and time - travelling - stories ( indeed SUPERBOY AND THE LEGION OF SUPER - HEROES is one big time - travel - story ) I´m going to give the book a chance.

Jonah Hex 27


Another issue done by TORPEDO and BETTY BY NIGHT artist Jordi Bernet. If I ever have the time to continue my report from the SALON DEL COMIC in Barcelona I can write about the nice sketches I got. Anyway it seems that I have not been paying enough attention because when I was at my emergency comicshop yesterday there was an issue of JONAH HEX from Jordi and I didn´t know. Apperently there has been a snafu at the solicitaions for PREVIEWS and the credits were messed up.

Which is extremely frustrating if you have to order via the internet ( since my regular comicshop does not have many comics outside for the customer´s pull lists ) and can´t look at the actual book. Since I have a very strict budget the book is not on my pull list but I try to get the issues done by Mr. Bernet.

And like always this is all we have time for today and we will get to the Marvel stuff and other publishers in part two.

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Anyway, what´s so funny ? You´ve never been mindcontrolled by a gorilla ?

Last post before ComicAction

It seems the more I do to post more frequently on my blog the less I manage to do just that. So much has happened in the past few weeks that prevented new posts that I just don´t know where to start.


We got new windows from the company we had problems with for almost one year and when they finally delivered they told me the wrong amount of money and sicced a lawyer on our ass imidiately. And since my mother has canceled our insurance we couldn´t even go to court.

Then of course I am still sick and like a guy who has trouble with his gal I have been sleeping on the couch for the most days. Because it´s much warmer than the bedroom or like I like to call it " the fridge ". Right now I´m feeling a lot better and have actually slept in my own bed a again for the last few days. But I´m still drinking a lot of hot tea with honey and I´m popping Eukalyptus drops like m & m´s.

Of course we also had to burn all files on CD Roms and delete them ( again ) to defragment the computer ( again ) so that it will work better.


Because of that I spent the little time I had on the computer saving my files for the blog, then defragmenting the computer and than putting them back again. And since I can´t find any of the files when I need them I have reordered them so I can find what I need. The first ones I did where all the photos with hot chicks like Lindsay Lohan or Lacey Chabert that I need for my clips. The next ones will be all the covers in alphabetical order.

Because that´s not enough and apparently my brother just can´t do it I had to organize a navigation system to get us to Essen for the ComicAction. We have to keep up with modern technology and my brother just won´t drive to Essen without it. You really could think it´s not our fifth time to make the trip. Anyway, after some research I got the number three navigation system ( the number one was not available at QUELLE and the number two was sold out ) and after one week we even managed to get it to work.

Speaking of Essen we still don´t know if we will have a place to sleep when we get there. Like the last time we are meeting the guys from SCHWARZER TURM there but unlike last time I don´t think it´s an all - expenses - paid invitation like last time. I already sent them an e - mail about when we will come but so far we haven´t gotten a reply. I guess they´re real busy at the moment right after the Frankfurter Buchmesse ( Frankfurt bookfair - the biggest in Germany ) and right before the ComicAction but I could sleep a little better if I knew what the deal was.


Okay, in the meantime I have received an e - mail and it seems like we will not get to the ComicAction this year. The rooms where we stayed last year are not available this time around. There is a new alocation possibility but it´s 22 EUROS per night and person instead of 8 EUROS and that´s just too much for our budget. Damn, that was supposed to be the highlight of my year. With all the &?&%%%&?# that´s been going on in my life this was the ONE thing that would ahve made it all worth. Them´s the breaks.

I know you don´t read this blog to learn about my miserable life as a comic afficionado but since the internet doesn´t work most of the time anymore ( like always right after a defragmentation ) I wanted to use the opportunity as long as I can post something.


That´s the end of this post. I have been working for three days on this but now I can finally wrap it up. Since I´m not going to the ComicAction this year ( at least that´s what it looks like at the moment ) maybe I can put up a new post in a few days....if the gods and the internet are willing.

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