Nerd news: Matias Streb sketch card

Pulled this beautiful sketch card from a Marvel’s Greatest Heroes (2012) trading card box at one of my favorite nerd stores.*

*(Key phrase: “one of”)

The Brazilian artist Martin Streb drew the card. I really don’t know too much about him, other than the bits and pieces I found online. I know he’s on deviantART, but hasn’t been for long.

The card is a picture of Namor the Sub-Mariner. All I know about the Sub-Mariner is that he isn’t Aquaman … and he had an affair with the Invisible Woman … but that’s a story for another time. I don’t really follow the ocean comics … maybe since I’m not a good swimmer. After all, I’d hate to drown myself (snicker, snicker …) in all that back story … (snicker, snort …)

Anyway, this is one of the better-detailed sketches I’ve pulled and I’m pleased as punch to get it. But can anyone tell me about Mr. Streb?. I mean, how many did he draw for the set? What else has he done? I’ve seen about 20 different ones online and such … but I’d like to know more about the artist.

 

The sordid Fantastic Four?

I’ve never read much Fantastic Four, though one of my brothers used to have an extensive collection.  I know they’re icons. I know they’ve been around for 50 years. I know the Human Torch is now dead (or not). I don’t know specific storylines.

However, recently I came across some packs of Fantastic Four Archives, put out by Rittenhouse. Maybe it’s just the way the description is written, but some of these storylines for the Fantastic Four are so … sordid is the word that comes to mind … it seems soap opera-ish. Consider the description on the back of card #44 (above):

“Johnny Storm and Alicia Masters, the Thing’s ex-girlfriend, were getting married. In an attempt to bring the Thing back to the Fantastic Four, Johnny asked him to be his best man. It turned out not to be one of Johnny’s better ideas. Frustrated, angry and depressed, the Thing stormed out of the building with the She-Hulk in pursuit. Realizing that what the Thing really needed was to blow off some steam, She-Hulk started an all-out brawl with the Thing. This was just what the Thing needed and after he cooled down, he accepted Johnny’s offer to be his best man.”

What? Doesn’t that sound like a plot straight out of a reality show? Typically, asking one of your future-wife’s ex-boyfriend’s to be your best man is a recipe for drama. Am I wrong?

What other comic book story lines could be straight out of a reality show?

Free read: John Carter

I can’t say I’m excited to see John Carter (I’m not), but I am interested in the fact that the Edgar Rice Burroughs character has been around for 100 years and, therefore, is out of copyright.

Ergo, you can read A Princess of Mars and other John Carter books for free on Project Gutenberg (or iBooks or, I assume, Kindle). And you probably should, because if you think about it, the film is brought to you by the same studio that brought you the stinky The Prince of Persia … (For those who care, that’s based on a Tweet I wrote a week ago. For those who don’t, why are you reading parenthetical insertions?)

Other notes: according to reports, the plot of the film

Former Confederate captain John Carter (Taylor Kitsch) is mysteriously transported to Mars (“Barsoom”) where he becomes part of a conflict between the various nations of the planet, whose leaders include Tars Tarkas (Willem Dafoe) and Princess Dejah Thoris (Lynn Collins). Carter takes it upon himself to save Barsoom and its people.

Isn’t this the plot of Planet Hulk? Hmmm … must investigate.

Also, we can also begin to see how Disney is shaping Marvel. The comic book line released a 5-issue short run of John Carter: A Princess of Mars (the main storyline from the film) last year. Like tentacles slowly wrapping around a prey, Disney will eventually crush Marvel to its likeness.

Or maybe I’m just grumpy.

Nerd news: X-Men Archives Sketch Card

Pulling a sketch card is like hitting that one great golf shot in a round of otherwise unmemorable golf: it keeps you coming back.

Found this little gem in a pack of Rittenhouse’s X-Men Archives cards. I like the quality of Rittenhouse cards, so I bought a five-pack lot off eBay recently and, much to my surprise, this appeared.

To be honest, I have no clue which X-Man this is (I believe it’s Iceman, but, since I don’t follow the comic that pretty much means nothing to me). However, I did a little research and the artist is Daniel Brandao. It was pretty easy to find, considering the unique signature/logo. He did 147 difference sketch cards for the set, which seems about average. But that’s about all I know. Anyone know more about this guy?

Here’s his site (it’s in Spanish, so feel free to tell me what it means!). Here’s some more of his sketch cards from the X-Men Archives set. And, finally, here’s some information and a list of different artists who drew sketch cards for the set.

Struggling to suspend the disbelief

OK … I read comics, implying that there’s a fair ability to suspend disbelief and just go with it … but, even I have trouble reading this one with a straight face.

So, this guy survives a bank robbery, lies in a coma AND is struck by lightning? (Or is it survive a bank robbery, then struck by lightning, then the coma?) Either way, you don’t want to stand near this guy. (By the way, I read the Wikipedia entry on this guy … it didn’t help my disbelief)

Is this what it takes to become a superhero these days? I mean, all the Hulk had to do was get shot full of gamma rays. All Spider-Man had to do was get bit by a spider. All Captain America had to do was sit in a tanning booth. All Wolverine had to do was have his marrow replaced with the adamantium. Ok … that one would suck.

What would you put up with to eventually become a superhero?

If I had to wait an extra 10 minutes at Starbucks for an overpriced latte while I surfed the Internet, what kind of Superhero does that make me? My guess: Cliche Man.