Whiz Kids

In my opinion, Jerry Ordway's Power of Shazam series successfully retained the Golden Age charm of the Marvel Family, while at the same time bringing a modern sensibility in the stories it told. It's my favorite Shazam series so far. But art-wise, Don Newton will always be at my number one spot.

I absolutely disliked how they were handled in the 2000s, especially that Dark Mary Marvel abomination.

Elektra Mooning a Knight

After finishing this piece I realized that Moon Knight was looking up directly at Elektra's crotch. Totally unintentional. Anyways, much like the Silver Centurion Iron Man armor, a lot of people didn't like Moon Knight's Fist of Khonshu outfit. I kinda liked how the gold broke up the monotony of the all-white costume. I also liked how Moon Knight's strength depends on the phases of the moon, acquiring super strength when the moon is full. I think later writers just abandoned that notion without any explanation at all.

Power Girl is Bustin' Loose!

This is a take on the time when Power Girl was revealed to be Atlantean, and not Kryptonian. DC Comics eliminated their multiverse and poor Kara was left with no origin since she couldn't be a parallel Earth version of Supergirl anymore. Thus she became a descendant of Arion the sorcerer. Nowadays, since the multiverse is back, Kara's gone right back to being Kryptonian. This piece is also an homage to Neal Adams' cover for Superman #233.

Mutant Relations

The concept above is based on what was supposedly Chris Claremont's plan to have Mystique and Destiny (Irene Adler) be Nightcrawler's actual parents. Supposedly, the two were lovers and Mystique shape-shifted into a male form and impregnated Destiny, and their offspring was Nightcrawler. Of course, the idea was nixed, because Mystique producing sperm by transforming into a male was deemed too far-fetched.

Son of the Serpent

Zuma, despite being a villain, is one of the most iconic characters in Philippine comics. Created by Jim Fernandez, he first appeared in the novel Aztec, illustrated by Elmer Esquivias. He then appeared in numerous other novels/series, most notable among them was Anak ni Zuma (Spawn of Zuma), which may be one of the longest-running serials in Philippine comics history. He even starred in two movies, plus his own title in the 1990's, flip-flopping from villain to hero and vice versa. Recently, Jim Fernandez announced on facebook that he and longtime collaborator Hal Santiago are working on a new Zuma comic.

Enter the (Daughters of the) Dragon

The very first issue of Power Man and Iron Fist I ever read was issue no. 101. It was Assistant Editors' Month and most of Marvel's titles were a bit unusual. For this one, it starred Misty Knight and Colleen Wing instead of the titular characters, who were out of commission courtesy of Impasse, the villain of the issue. I liked how they were as capable as the guys, maybe even more so.

The Bat and the Botanist

I don't recall Batman as having been attracted to Poison Ivy, unlike his other female adversaries like Catwoman or Talia Al'Ghul. Which is kind of strange, since out of the three, Ivy is the one who is more often depicted as a temptress and seductress.

Spaceknight versus Mad Titan

We didn't have to wonder how Steve Ditko would depict Rom, greatest of the Spaceknights. But what if Jack Kirby had a go? It might look a little bit like this (forgive my poor Kirby-style approximation). Also, wouldn't it be a hoot to see Rom go up against a big bad like Thanos?

Slam Evil!

Mark Verheiden and Luke McDonnell's 80s DC series is still my favorite among the various Phantom comic book incarnations. The stories touched upon real world issues, and were far grittier than the comic strip stories. McDonnell's scratchy art suited the tales well. Too bad it was cancelled in just thirteen issues.

Deadly Hands (And Feet) Of Kung Fu

Did Shang Chi ever wear shoes or any kind of footwear during his first series? I only have a handful of issues, but in all of them he was always barefoot. Now that's bad-ass.

A Couple Of Crusaders

Archie Comics' brief revival of their superhero line during the 1980s opened my eyes to other publishers aside from DC and Marvel. As a kid, I was wowed by the fact that there were other superheroes not under the DC or Marvel banner. I even thought these guys were new heroes (well, Darkling was at the time) and didn't know 'til later that some of the Mighty Crusaders have been around since the 1940s.

Superman Versus A Guy With Allergies

Aahh... Karb-Brak. The Superman adversary who wasn't only allergic to his own alien race, but also allergic to Superman. And Vartox (to be fair, who ISN'T allergic to Vartox?). You can read all about the insanity that is Karb-Brak here.

Bro, Buddy, and 'MAC

It's an amusing coincidence that the major players in OMAC are slang words for "friend," like my title suggests. We have "Buddy" Blank, OMAC's non-powered alter ego, "Bro"-ther Eye, the satellite that gives him his powers, and the main character himself, O-"MAC." Yeah, I dwell on these things too much.

The OTHER Dr. Strange

Adam Strange is an archaeologist, who I assume is a very good one so he may have finished his PhD and is a doctor of archaeology (like that other guy who calls himself Indiana). Has anyone referred to him as Dr. Strange in the comics?

Eel Versus Spider

Time to showcase some Philippine comics characters! Palos (Eel) is a thief with a heart of gold, robbing from the bad guys to give to the needy. Gagamba (Spider) is a masked crimefighter in the vein of pulp characters like, well, The Spider. Both debuted in separate stories in the weekly anthology Tagalog Klasiks, co-created by brothers Virgilio and Nestor Redondo. Both were also very popular at the time (the '60s) and spawned numerous sequels and movies. Later on, both of them headlined their own titles (Palos Komiks and Gagamba Komiks), a rarity in the Philippines, where most titles are anthologies.

Marvel Team-Up: A Spider and a Hawk

I've always loved team-up books when I was a kid. To my young mind, it was a bargain. Two heroes for the price of one comic book! I always felt like I got my money's worth... Marvel Team-Up, The Brave and the Bold, DC Comics Presents, Marvel Two-In-One... Even Marvel Double Feature, which wasn't a team-up book but featured two heroes nonetheless.

Black Bolt's Amazing Adventure

It looks like Marvel's not giving up on highlighting the Inhumans any time soon. If rumors are to be believed, they're being positioned to replace the X-Men as a major franchise because Fox won't let Marvel take back the X-Men movie rights. But are readers biting?

Justice League with Booster and Beetle

Among all the superheroes on the Justice League roster during the Giffen & DeMatteis run, these guys emerged as my favorites. Their individual short-lived titles were okay, but it was in the Justice League that they started to grow on the fans. Ted Kord was a generic millionaire superhero in his own title, and Booster Gold sometimes got pretty annoying in his. But Giffen & DeMatteis (with Maguire, Templeton, Hughes, McKone, etc.) gave them personality and character.

Aquaman and Mera (not) Sitting in a Tree...

For as long as I've been reading comics, these two have been a couple. There have been ups and downs (especially the time when their son was killed), but they've always ended up together sooner or later. Hopefully they'll get re-married again soon.

Man (and Woman) of Action

DC Comics' late '60s Captain Action had great art by Wally Wood and Gil Kane. It may not come, but I would snatch up a trade paperback reprinting of those issues in an instant. And although the original Captain Action was before my time, I had the pleasure of working on these two characters for Moonstone Books and Captain Action Enterprises. I hope I can work on them again in the future.

DC Comics Presents: Dick, Clark

To the best of  my knowledge, Nightwing didn't appear on DC Comics Presents. Dick Grayson did, however, team up with Superman back when he was still Robin. Also, I just realized that this cover features two guys who went by the code name Nightwing at one time or another.

Etrigan the Little Devil

When I was in grade school, I used to buy black and white reprints of Harvey Comics. My favorite was Hot Stuff, the Little Devil. He appealed to me more than Casper, since I found Casper to be a bit depressing (a ghost who just wanted to have friends but more often than not scared those he wanted to befriend). So I guess the answer to the question on the cover above is "Turned him into Hot Stuff."

Beware the Claws of the Cat, Moon Knight!

The character Patsy Walker must have the most interesting journey in comics. First starring in an Archie-type teen comedy book, then becoming a supporting character in the main Marvel universe. After a while she became a superhero as Hellcat, and even got married to the Son of Satan himself! (I know, the cover above is a bit of a cheat since Patsy herself didn't star in The Cat comic book. That was Greer Nelson, who later on became Tigra.)

The Rage of Thor!

Tried a different inking style with this one. I wanted to give it a Bill Sienkiewicz vibe, but I think I went overboard with the scratchiness. Also, I forgot to draw the two white "dots" on his trunks.

Iron Man vs. Iron Man

I don't know why a lot of people don't like the Silver Centurion armor. For me, it looked great and the additional abilities (like the Stealth Mode) were awesome. Plus, I think the silver and red color scheme went together better than the gold and red. It was also the first time that Tony Stark would change his armor on a more frequent basis. The armor that preceded this was Iron Man's standard look for over a decade, except for the time that it grew a nose.

The Shadow Knows The Domino Lady

The Domino Lady is one of  the characters I've worked on for Moonstone Books. Seeing as how she's a public domain character, it's not far-fetched that she could've appeared in DC's Shadow comic book series. Dynamite is doing well with The Shadow nowadays, and with Matt Wagner at the helm that shouldn't be surprising.

Wonder Woman Triumphant!

The one thing I was questioning about Wonder Woman was... If she's invulnerable, then why does she have to deflect bullets with her bracelets? Well, Kerry Callen has the answer, found here.

Batman and Deathstroke: Stand-Off!

Deathstroke was introduced as Deathstroke, the Terminator in the first page of New Teen Titans no. 2, but after that he was always just referred to as the Terminator. I wonder why, later on, DC decided to refer to him as Deathstroke once again? Was it to avoid confusion with the Terminator movie series?

Zatanna vs. Doctor Fate!

Variant covers! How did that happen? You can read all about it at the Flashback Universe's Lost 100 Pagers, where this piece originally ran. (Does this count as an inter-blog crossover, too?)

Rom is Back!

Rom comes back to comics this year courtesy of IDW. I did pick up the FCBD issue last month, and it was okay. I'm still on the fence if I'm going to pick up the regular series. I liked the Marvel series by Bill Mantlo and Sal Buscema when I was a kid, and it's a testament to both creators' talents that Rom still has a large fan base decades after the original comic ended. If you're so inclined, information on how to help Bill Mantlo with his medical bills can be found on billmantlo.com.

Iron Fist: Kung Fu Killer?

Iron Fist's costume is yet another design that works very well on the comic page, but would look kind of goofy in real life.Plus, that high collar would obscure his peripheral vision. Not good for a martial artist. But, hey, it's comics! This piece is an homage to one of my favorite artists, John Byrne, after his splash page for Iron Fist no. 10.

Swamp Thing Fights Someone Born on a Monday

The first Swamp Thing comic I remember reading was the one with the Nestor Redondo cover where he's emerging from the grave. Later on, I would get to pick up another issue drawn by Ernie Chan and Fred Carrillo where he was turned back to Alec Holland. Unbeknownst to me, that was the final issue of his first series. Much, much later, I'd get to read the Alan Moore series where it was revealed that he wasn't Alec Holland in the first place. I got confused because he reverted back to human before. That was my first experience with a retcon in comics. This one was also originally done for The Lost 100 Pagers.

A Swingin' Spider-Man

In my opinion, Steve Ditko hit a home run with Spidey's costume design. It didn't look like any of the other super-heroes at the time. No trunks, full face mask, one-way eye pieces, the web pattern over most of the costume... Great design. And it translated well to live-action, too, when done right.

World's Finest: The First Generation

Another one that originally ran in The Lost 100 Pagers, conceptualized by Jim Shelley. I thought it was a very neat idea, and a Dominator as the puppet master of these events is very apt. Don't bother deciphering the Interlac glyphs on the arena wall, though. They're just a bunch of random letters I threw together as a design element.

Captain Barbell Reborn

Captain Barbell is one of the most popular superheroes in the Philippines, created by Mars Ravelo in 1963. He is mostly compared with Superman, but has more in common with Captain Marvel (of the Shazam variety). Even his name is a play on Captain Marvel's (Barbell rhymes with Marvel). He has gone through numerous costume changes, of which the last two (including the one above) were designed by myself.

The Punisher in a Pickle

Thomas Jane, at first, didn't seem like a good fit as the Punisher in the 2004 film. But upon viewing the movie a second time he kind of grew on me in the role. Plus, he really killed it in the Punisher fan film Dirty Laundry. Jon Bernthal, though, is the best screen Punisher so far.

The Phantom Stranger: Possessed by The Demon!

Another one originally done for The Lost 100-Pagers, In a role-reversal of sorts, it's the Phantom Stranger who's trapped in a pentagram by Etrigan.

Manhunter: Hunted!

Manhunter's uniform looks impractical in the real world, but in comics it's a very striking visual, especially when it's drawn by Walt Simonson. In the circles that Paul Kirk found himself in, it's not far-fetched for him to encounter Ra's Al Ghul's daughter, Talia, seen here sporting an outfit designed by Irv Novick. This illustration was done originally for Jim Shelley's Lost 100-Pagers, found here.