There have been some truly awful Thors over the years. In researching this column (yes, I do research. It involves watching a lot of cartoons) I was reminded of how difficult it can be to bring a character like Thor to the screen. Things that work well in the comics, such as his faux Shakespearian dialect or his long, girly hair, just don’t really translate that well unless done properly. You either have to go all the way, and adapt the comic character as is (will only work in animation), or you have to make some pretty drastic changes somewhere.

To pick a prime example, check out Eric Allan Kramer’s awful turn in nineteen eighty-eight’s The Incredible Hulk Returns. While the original Hulk TV series was absolutely brilliant, Bill Bixby and Lou Ferrigno’s return to our screens in several low budget TV movies left a lot to be desired. Of the three, and opinions are divided, but in this writer’s opinion, this first one was the worst. Yes, The Trial of the Incredible Hulk featured a completely uninspired version Daredevil, but the Thor who showed up in Returns, and had his ass handed to him by the Hulk, was, at best, a one note joke. An Asgardian warrior who relished battle, women and drink. There was no nobility to the character, and he was incredibly difficult to sympathise with. He also looked bloody stupid.

So, as with last week’s look at Iron Man, we’re faced with a dilemma. There are few truly great Thors, and not a whole lot of good ones to choose from either. Still, I did manage to find five who, at the very least, could be considered adequate. Four of the men on this list deserve their places. This first guy though, I’ll admit, is mostly there to fill out the numbers...

Pages: 1 · 2 · 3 · 4 · 5 · 6

Looks like I better start seasoning up one of my hats for the chow down challenge of the century. If you're wondering what the hell I'm talking about, I can point in the direction of Yesterday's Fantastic Four post here. This teaser file is actually called FourFinal.jpeg and it's Friday so it's probably safe to say if this isn't the last one, then I'll cut off my right pinky (a little Smodcast joke there for those in the know, complete nonsense for those who aren't).

Read more »

If this isn't the final Fantastic Four #600 teaser, I'll eat one of my many hats. The cat is now well and truly out of the bag, all of the Fantastic Four stuff we've been showing this week, here and here has eluded to the Fantastic Four title returning to it's original numbering but now it's for definite.

Read more »

The latest Fantastic Four teaser from Marvel seems to suggest that Johnny Storm is making his way back to the Fantastic family, not so sure myself, not enough time has passed, it would be a mistake. However, if you follow Joe Quesada on twitter, you'd have known this was coming quite some time ago as the artist and Chief Creative Officer of Marvel Entertainment has been tweeting the development of this image for the last few weeks. Follow the jump to see the development of this Fantatsic Four image from pencils to finished product:

Read more »

This arrived in my inbox yesterday. I don't read Fantastic Four as I've eluded to earlier on this week, so I didn't really care. Then I heard this was actually a teaser for Fantastic Four #600. Next to arrive in my inbox was this second teaser...

Read more »

Link: http://www.behance.net/gallery/Marvel-Minimalist-Posters/1829335

I have to hand it to Marko Manev, his minimalist Marvel posters really are pretty cool and would look fantastic in my new minimalist lifestyle house (getting rid of some comics to make room for a dog!).

Read more »

Okay, it's time for the crappest game of Hangman in the history of crappy Hangman. Today Marvel released the above image with the below text:

"Megastars Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuinness (HULK, Superman/Batman) reunite this December for an action packed story of epic proportions. Want to know what it is? Find out in two weeks at the Cup O’ Joe Panel (Saturday, July 23rd at 2:45PM PST) during Comic Con International in San Diego!"

Read more »

It's becoming a global media event and we're a global media outlet - what did you expect? Also, the holiday weekend last weekend and the holiday weekend this weekend mean that I'm a bit strapped for time so there you have it!

As Prince William and Kate Middleton prepare to tie the knot at Westminster Abbey, we here at the Sidekick Blog make our way to a secluded corner of the garden party, take off our shoes and socks, losen our dickie bows, dip our feet in the water feature, order some more cocktails and reminisce about great weddings of yore.

That involved comic book characters. And perhaps didn't attract quite somuch world wide attention.

They're not really in order of preference, lavishnes or anything like that, they're just weddings. So grab your confetti, dust off your morning suit and grab a box of tissues. For drying your eyes, dirty!!

Read more »

After last week's Comic Book News Poem, I thought I'd try another, hope you like it:

New Thundercats
Giving it some Hoooo!
It looks close enough
Not to scream out Noooo!

We got Panthro, Cheetara
Tygra and Lion-O
But where on Third Earth
Did stinky ol' Snarf go?

Then there's that death
Of a Fantastic guy
Was it spoiled for you?
A tearful goodbye?

I could tell you his name
I could give you a clue
But just by this poem
You know it's not Sue

It was a great comic
Even better tv show
Just how far will
The Walking Dead go?

Now there's a game
On the horizon
Would you be a zombie
Or a man with a gun?

So here comes the end
Of another little rhyme
It may not be too good
But it takes me some time

Please let us know
If you just could
What you are thinking
Whether it's bad or it's good?

We've all known for some time now that there are creators stationed at Marvel who drive the direction the universe is going. Now it seems Marvel want to make that assurtion official with their Marvel Architects. The names are familiar and will be no surprise to anyone that is a fan of Marvel comics. Just what do these guys have planned and where will it leave our favourite books? PR stunt? Probably. Will status quo be 'irreversibly' altered only then to be put back together? Definitely. Am I still excited, even though I know all this? Hells yeah!

PRESS RELEASE

The very fabric of the Marvel Universe is changing and the Architects are the ones leading the charge! Marvel’s Architects initiative spotlights the writers and artists telling the most exciting and impactful stories that rock the Marvel Universe to its very core every month.

But just who are the writers in Marvel’s Architects?

Read more »