Reggie Blogged

The above picture is nothing new but it is one of my favorite fan-made Naruto pieces. Any avid Dragon Ball fans will instantly recognize the stances that Naruto and Sasuke are taking. I think it's quite appropriate, given that Naruto has many DBZ influences and there have been parallels drawn between the characters. Naruto has an appetite that's similar to Goku's and he loves to fight. Sasuke has been known to be arrogant, similar to Vegeta and he's been envious of Naruto's strength on more than one occasion. You gotta love homage.

The awesome Spider-Man drawing you see to the right arrived for me in the mail on Friday afternoon. How did I get such a sweet pic? Well I subscribed to Todd's Art Blog and my name came up as his very first character commission. Basically, he asked me what I'd like a drawing of and I said Spidey. The picture to the right is what he came up with. I just had to pimp it here. Todd's a wonderful artist who does a masterful job of mimicking Steve Ditko's style. Really, I cannot say enough about what an amazing artist Todd is. I can draw but I'm nowhere near on Todd's level. I thought this drawing would be the only thing Todd would send. It was all I was expecting but Todd sent some extra stuff as well. The picture above is the final of a drawing Todd had been working on for a while. Looking through his older blog posts I was able to see this baby when it was in black and white. Getting this was an unexpected bonus and so was the little beauty below. Another fantast...

Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Twice Marvel has tried to get rid of Mary Jane to tell single Spidey stories and twice they've failed. The previous failed attempts were the Clone Saga and the '98 reboot. With Brand New Day, this could be Marvel's third time getting an F in history. The sales estimate numbers for June's issues of Amazing Spider-Man: AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #561 - 72,372 AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #562 - 71,409 AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #563 - 70,792 ( Link Here ) If you've been keeping up on past sales estimates for ASM, then you know that outside of a few spikes here and there, ASM has been dropping since BND began. Spidey editor Tom Brevoort made some comments about this in his blog. "It seems like, more and more often now that the internet has diminished the dividing line between the average fan and the behind-the-curtain business aspects of the world of comics, every reader is incredibly interested in the sales numbers. Not a day ...

Once again I post a cool picture and do not know the name of the artists who drew it. This particular piece pits two of my favorite Shonen heroes against each other. First off, let me say that Luffy vs. Goku isn't a match. This would be a one-sided beat down with Goku not even having to use much of his strength to defeat Luffy. Even Krillin would beat Luffy with not much effort. Still, this is a pretty sweet pic and even I can put aside my knowledge of the outcome to take in its awesomeness.

What began as a humble manga series in 1984 has grown into a world wide phenomenon. Akira Toriyama's martial arts epic Dragon Ball (the later half in the anime known as Dragon Ball Z) has wowed millions for 24 years now. The series ended in Japan in 1995 and in the United States, the anime ended in 2003 while the final volume of the manga was released in 2006. (No, I'm not couning GT because it sucks.) Now that I have all 42 volumes I've been meaning to go back and read the entire series ago. I also need to catch up on the season DVD releases of Dragon Ball Z. I'm hoping Funimation gives the original 153 Dragon Ball anime series a similar treat that DBZ has gotten. Happy 24th anniversary, DB. Yes I said all that so I'd have something to go with that cool picture. Wish I knew the name of the artist who drew it. I really like the style.

Ah, Ultimate Spider-Man Annual. How I've missed you. In case you haven't heard, coming October, Ultimate Spider-Man Annual #3 will hit the comic shops. The issue will deal with the birds and the bees. You know, the horizontal polka. The wild monkey dance. "Houston, we have lift off!" That sorta thing. Still don't know what I'm talking about? Sex. There, I said it. USMA #3 will deal with the issue of Peter and MJ deciding on if they should take their relationship to the next level. Now as surprised as I was to initially hear about this story, teenage sex is still a hot button to this day. It isn't going to go away anytime soon and its only natural that Ultimate Spidey tackles such a subject. So will Peter and MJ do it? No. Way. Why? Short answer: This will bring so much unwanted crap down on Marvel. More in depth answer by Morbius from the Crawl Space Message boards : "I would love to see this happen because it is realism, and it's time in their r...

Ladies. Gentlemen. Boys. Girls. The Watchmen Trailer. If you're a comic book fan and you've never read Watchmen, you need to stop what you're doing, go to your comic shop, book store, or online store and buy it. I don't care if you only stick to one comic book character or you don't read DC. Watchmen is essential reading material, arguably the greatest comic book Alan Moore has ever written. Even Time Magazine called it one of the 100 best novels. Now I'm not saying all of this because I'm some old-school comic book junkie that read Watchmen when it first burst onto the comic scene in the '80s. I picked up the trade of Watchmen in 2007 and read it for the first time then. It wasn't until I'd read it that I finally understood what everyone was talking about, why this book was so good. Watchmen isn't so much about super heroes, rather than its about the people who are the super heroes and the world they live in, which is quickly crumbling aroun...

Oh yeah, now we're talking. THIS is the kinda stuff I want to see in Spider-Man. Fans that have missed having a married Spider-Man will get a nice fix in the form of Mr. and Mrs. Spider-Man, written by Tom DeFalco, drawn by Ron Frenz, and inked by Sal Buscema. If you click the link to the preview, you'll notice a few homage scenes. There's the cover to Amazing Spider-Man #44, and the famous final panel of Amazing Spider-Man #42. Peter and Mary Jane themselves are looking very John Romita-like, which has this Spidey fan foaming at the mouth. The Lizard looks more like he did in his earlier appearances, probably to keep with the old-school feel of the art. It all starts on August 6th, folks. Push, shove and knock over whoever is in your way to get a copy, but make sure you're polite about it.

Spider-Man has been drawn by countless artists over the 45+ years he's been around. One of my favorites is John Romita Jr. I love looking at his old work and his most recent drawing and he's still improving his art style. He's worked in the business for over 30 years and has a huge fan following. Volume 18 of Modern Masters focuses on JR Jr.'s career in comics with some good old Q & A, and a ton of artwork from Johnny Jr. The book will be in stock Jul 30th and when I get some cash, I'll be sure to order a copy. I'd like to thank Todd Merrick Novak for bringing this book to my attention and for giving me something else to spend money on.

In the letter page of Amazing Spider-Man #565, Spidey editor Steve Wacker filled the page with nothing but negative letters from readers that hate Brand New Day. Who says Marvel doesn't listen to the fans? And what's more, Mr. Wacker has even asked us to write in and tell them how we feel. Can you believe that? It takes class to run nothing but angry letters and a couple of those to the right are pretty nasty. My mother actually suggested I write to the editor and state my feelings on the molestation of Spider-Man in ASM. I'd been meaning to write them, but I just never sat down to do so. With the editor of the Spidey books kindly saying that the letter's page is "the place to vent," I think the time has finally come for me to express myself. I don't know if it will get printed since I've stopped reading ASM, but if they take my letter and many others that are outraged by BND to heart, then that's all that matters. Dear ASM Staff, Do you know what ...

You'll have to pardon my slapped attempt together logo as there was no official one and this is all I could come up with. One of the funniest things I've ever seen on YouTube is Marvel/DC: Happy Hour by ItsJustSomeRandomGuy. This mostly parody series uses action figures from both Marvel and DC comics, throws them in a bar and let's the good times roll. The humor in this series is absolutely hilarious and I like that the creator isn't afraid to touch on the serious side of things. There's all sorts of jabs to the comics, movies, and business practices of comic and movie studios. As far as I'm concerned, this is the best thing that combines the two most successful comic companies. Period. It doesn't get any better than this.

Back in 2007, I flipped through The Ultimate Spider-Man 100 Project. I probably should have picked it up then, but I just didn't feel like parting with $10 for it, even with my 25% discount on graphic novels at my comic store. Well I was in my shop today, and I didn't see much else I wanted to buy outside of Amazing Spider-Girl #22. They had two copies of USM100 Project, and remembering Bob's kind review of the book, I thought I'd added it to my collection of all things Spidey. If you aren't aware, this book is basically a ton of different variant covers for the 100th issue of Ultimate Spider-Man. There are covers from just about every well-known artist in the comic industry, including some not-so-well-know artists, at least to me. This is one of those books you can just pick, flipped through and appreciate all the sweet artwork. Not every cover is complete. Some are just sketched, but they still look nice. Even USM writer Brian Bendis contributed a cover. I highly...

Usually, I only talk about comics and comic related things here, but this news was too shocking not to mention here. Special thanks to alfaphlex from the SRK forums for bringing this to my attention. “With one vote, Congress has strengthened the executive branch, weakened the judiciary and rendered itself irrelevant,” said Caroline Fredrickson, Director of the ACLU Washington Legislative Office. “This bill – soon to be law – is a constitutional nightmare. Americans should know that if this legislation is enacted and upheld, what they say on international phone calls or emails is no longer private. The government can listen in without having a specific reason to do so. Our rights as Americans have been curtailed and our privacy can no longer be assumed.” If you don't feel like clicking the link to read all of that, here is is in a nutshell: our 4th Amendment rights, the right to privacy, protection against illegal search and seizures could very well be thrown out the windo...

That Robert is really rubbing off on me. In the past I'd only buy a few assortment of Spidey related things. Thanks to all those blog entries of his that I've read, he's got me picking up whatever things Spidey appears on. In this case, spinning tops. I got a 3 pack, which shows the web-head facing off against Venom, Sandman, and the Green Goblin. Since I don't have a camera, I had to search the net for pictures. Took a little bit, but I found the image you see to the left. These babies cost me only $1 and I must admit, they do look very cool.

"I am not a hero. The real heroes were the boys I once knew who feared for their lives, yet fought for freedom anyway." -Steve Rogers/Captain America Anyone that's into comics is probably well aware of the origin of Captain America. Mythos: Captain America is another re-telling of Captain America's origin, but for me, it would actually be the first time I'd ever seen the super soldier's origin in comic book form. I kid you not. As much as I admire the character that is Captain America, this is only the second time I've picked up a Captain America comic (the first time was when Marvel was doing their two-in-one reprints in early 2005 and I purchased New Avengers #3/Captain America #3). This may very well be one of the best comics I've read all year. It gives you Cap's origin in amazing detail and with some gorgeous painted artwork. Most of the times I've read about Cap, he's fought side by side with the other heroes of the Marvel world. See...

As much as I love Spider-Man and the Marvel universe, DC just eradicates them in the animation field. Batman: The Animated Series, Superman: The Animated Series, Batman Beyond, Justice League, Justice League Unlimited are all some of the finest cartoons that ever existed and all tie together in continuity to form the DCAU (DC animated universe). DC characters shine in direct-to-DVD releases just as well as they do in animated series. Superman: Doomsday was one of the best DVDs I picked up last year. Along with Spectacular Spider-Man, Justice League: The New Frontier is one of the greatest things that's ever been contained inside a TV set. For those of you that may not know, Justice League: The New Frontier is based off of an award winning comic book mini-series, DC: The New Frontier , written and drawn by Darwyn Cooke. If you've read the book, you'll probably be familiar with what's going on even though some changes were made to this movie. I haven't read the book (...

I'm not trying to brag, but being a contributor to the Spiderfan.org staff is one of the best things that's happened to me. Not only do I get to write reviews, but communicating with the staff via messages is a hoot. Plus you can see pics of lots of cool stuff, like the little doohickey to the right. I'm not a pinball player but I can easily sit back and watch someone else play. This is (obviously) a Spider-Man pinball machine. Maybe I need to get out more but of all the pinball machines I've seen, I've never seen one of Spidey. How old this cabinet is, I have no idea. With all the success Spidey has seen in other media over the last decade, you'd think companies that make and sell pinball machines would be banging on Marvel's door.

I didn't attend the event but thanks to the wonder of the internet, I was able to hear what was said concerning Spider-Man. Among the interesting things that were said in this piece: "The Spider-Man deal with Mephisto was looked upon as a “DC move” by some fans. There was a mixed reaction to a fan who hated One More Day but likes Brand New Day , with about a 50/50 split of cheering and leering." Yes, the devil deal was very much a DC move. Congrats, Joe Q, you can no longer ride DC for pulling stupid, world-altering stunts because you've just jumped into the pool with the competition. This one really stuck out to me: "Spider-Man’s status quo was mentioned as something that really bugged one fan. He said that now Peter Parker “can’t” get married, and that completely limits his future. He also feels that the last 20 years was erased. Over the next year - by issue #600, McCann said, readers will know how all of Peter Parker’s past fit in without Peter and Mary Jan...

Take a look at the image on the left. Notice anything about it aside from it looking awesome? Take a glance at Spidey's right foot at the bottom. See it now? Yes, true believers, that is the signature of the legendary "Jazzy" John Romita! JR Sr. is semi-retired but I always love it when he does some work on Spider-Man, even if its just a comic cover. If I recall, the last time John did some work on Spider-Man was in Amazing Spider-Man #500. He drew the last few pages where Peter had a reunion with uncle Ben. JR Sr. is without a doubt, one of the best artists to ever draw Spider-Man. The way he drew the character was so great that it was copied by nearly every other artist that drew Spidey for nearly two decades. The two artists that came closest to replicating JR. Sr.'s style was John Buscema and JR Sr.'s offspring, John Romita Jr., who now has his own take on Spidey. The cover you see here is one for the 6 part storyline coming in August, New Ways to Die. As much...

If you didn't know, Mega Man is my all-time favorite video game character. He's got (mostly) great games, said games have sweet music and he stars in some of the best web comics on the... net. The cream of the crop is Bob & George . This baby clocks in with 2,658 comics. Bog & George entertained many a Mega Man fan from April 1, 2000 all the way to July 28, 2007. Kudos to Dave Anez for making such a hilarious comic and for keeping it up and running for so many years. Even if you aren't into video games or Mega Man, odds are pretty good you'll still get a lot of laughs out of this strip. Another one of my favorites is Super Adventure Quint . The comic was plagued by delays, and I have no idea of the comic's current status but I always found it pretty funny. To my knowledge, it spans 6 chapters (so far) and over 250 comics.

Wouldn't it be cool if you could actually wear a Spidey costume? Well now you can. This sweet web-site has all sorts of Spider-Man costumes. It doesn't matter if you're 6 or 60, this site has costumes for all ages. Red & blue or black, they've got which ever suit is your favorite. They've even got a Venom mask for all the Vemon fans out there. On top of a huge selection, you've got prices that can't be beat. Now all we need is for someone to invent some web-fluid and come up for a way for us to crawl on walls, spider strength, spider-sense and we'll fill this world with a ton of Spider-Men!

The original Secret Wars mini series was initially made to sell action figures, much like Gi-Joe and Transformers were in the 1980s. That being said, I greatly enjoyed Secret Wars. I picked up the trade paper back in 2005 and although I wasn't impressed with the first two issues, issues 3 kicked the whole series into high gear and I was sold. There are a lot of good moments in Secret Wars to go along with the overall story. Spider-Man making the X-Men look like scrubs. Spidey taking on Titania and humbling her. Hulk holding up a 150 billion ton mountain to keep the heroes from getting crushed. And of course, who can forget Spidey's black, alien costume? I've never read Secret Wars II , but I've been told it isn't as good as the original. Some say the tie-ins are better than the actual story and there were a lot of tie-ins to this series, making it even longer than the original Secret Wars. Of all the omnibus books Marvel could release its kinda strange that Secret W...

Ah, web comics. You gotta love 'em. One of my favorites is The Incomplete Ninja , or TIN for short. TIN is written and drawn by Dave Stanworth. The art is on the simple side but that isn't a negative. This comic, while on the gory side is a laugh riot and the less detailed art is pretty fitting. I take it everyone knows what SNAFU stands for, so I won't bother getting into that. Dave's other web comic is called SNAFU and is primarily a strip that deals with video games. Dave doesn't really stick to one style with this comic. It has evolved over the years but it continues to change. Be warned that this comic can get pretty vulgar so if you're easily offended, you may not wanna read this.

Andie Tong is the regular artist of the Spectacular Spider-Man's UK comic book. Now I haven't read any of the issues, but I did come across his deviant art page last night, which feature some of the pages from what looks to be a superb comic. I love all the quirky posses Andie draws Spidey in. He also does a terrific job on the webbing and the half-mask. I can take big or small eyes on a Spider-Man mask, but I think Andie gets the right combo. The eyes aren't too big and they aren't too small. Andie also draws a very excellent Green Goblin. It'd be sweet if he could do the art for some of the Spider books in the states. James Offredi does the coloring on Andie's artwork. Needless to say, James does an amazing job, making Andie's already gorgeous art look even better. I know its only artwork and I haven't read any of these issues, but from what I've seen, it looks like the stories in the Spectacular Spider-Man UK book are a heck of a lot more interes...