Comics
Ahead of the release of The Avengers Assemble, contributor Dan Cole is taking us through the comic book history of The Avengers. You can read the last installment here but here we’re going through the 2000s: The Disassembled, The New and The Ultimate. When Busiek left the book Geoff Johns took over writing duty. The future DC Comics top dog, tried to spice up the book by granting the Avengers international authority by the United Nations and added a new Ant-Man and Jack of Hearts, the explosive Avenger. It was a brief stint by Johns and as new writer Chuck Austen joined...
Ahead of the release of The Avengers Assemble, contributor Dan Cole is taking us through the comic book history of The Avengers. You can read the first installment here but here we’re going through the The 1990s: Death, Rebirth and Return The 90s are an infamous decade in the comics book industry. The 80s saw works like Alan Moore’s Watchman and Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns. These books turned the industry upside down and in light of this fact the 90s seemed to be creatively bankrupt. Well that is an extreme view of it, but the early 90s Avengers weren’t doing so...
Ahead of the release of The Avengers Assemble, contributor Dan Cole is taking us through the comic book history of The Avengers. You can read the first installment here but here we’re going through the 1980s: Domestic Violence and The First Spin Off. The Avengers in the 80s were defined by three things: Hank Pym’s breakdown, writer Roger Stern joining the book and the creation of The West Coast Avengers. Hank Pym’s breakdown was a mixture of an inferiority complex and identity problems (he changed his codename and costume a lot). This lead to him abusing his wife Wasp (image above), failing...
Ahead of the release of The Avengers Assemble, contributor Dan Cole is taking us through the comic book history of The Avengers. You can read the first installment here but here we’re going through the 1970s: The Classic Era. Roy Thomas was on the book until 1972, but before he left he created one of the all time great storylines. The Kree-Skrull War, which basically involved two alien races (The Kree and The Skrull) going to war with Earth (and the Avengers) stuck in the middle, is considered the quintessential storyline of this era. The storyline increased the scope of...
In the first of a 6 part series and ahead of one the year’s biggest releases The Avengers Assemble, regular contributor and comic book aficionado Dan Cole takes us through the history of The Avengers from all the way back to the 1960s to the present day. Last week saw the release of the latest trailer for Marvel Studio’s ambitious Avengers film: the culmination of all their cinematic adaptations, The Avengers Assemble will bring together The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man, Captain America and Thor. With a rich history, the Avengers has showcased Earth’s mightiest heroes for over 49 years before its adaptation...
It started in the latter half of 2010 as a horror web-series concept. Writer & Editor Mike Garley began developing a series called “Dead Roots” with a view to production the following year. I was recruited to write one of the episodes. But as production continued to be delayed, Mike made the decision to move the project to the world of comics, so as to not lose momentum. The human side of Zombies have always intrigued both of us, for different reasons. Mike approached me to write for the comic anthology because he thought my style of writing would suit...
Before opening The Vessel of Terror we are presented with a front cover which perfectly encapsulates the tone of the book; eerie, intriguing and a little frightening, it’s adorned with the image of a human figure with small tentacles erupting from its head. It’s striking with its white background in contrast with the shadowy figure and gives us a taster for what’s in store. It’s a tale about madness, which blurs the line between reality and the surreal. Wearing it’s Lovecraftian influences as a badge we are treated to a claustrophobic horror story, which involves the discovery of a unusual...
On a cold Saturday morning in the middle of November anyone who walked past the Leeds Royal Armouries museum would be in for some strange sights indeed. A group of zombies having a conversation with Judge Dredd, Batman comparing his costume with another Dark Knight and a plethora of anime characters prancing around full of excite. No, this isn’t some sort of alternative reality where fictional characters gather to swap stories, it’s Thought Bubble. Leeds’ annual comic art festival had returned for a weekend full of art, discussion and above all, fun. Celebrating its fifth birthday, Thought Bubble has grown somewhat from its humble beginnings beneath...
