It's Comic-Con time again! The International Comic Con happened in San Diego this weekend and bringing with it even more previews and news of some of the biggest pop-culture events coming in the next few years! Hollywood and TV have dominated Comic-Con over the last decade and there is no lack of big announcements from movies and TV projects. Last year I posted about the upcoming events announced at San Diego Comic-Con 2013, so I thought I would follow up with this years events. CHERNOBOG'S BLOG PRESENTS: Comic-Con 2014: Top 10 Upcoming Events! Enjoy!
#10 Interstellar (2014) - Christopher Nolan directs a new science-fiction epic starring Matthew McConaughey and Anne Hathaway where a group of explorers discover a wormhole in space that allows them to travel the furthest reaches of space.
#9 Godzilla 2 (2017?) - Director Gareth Edwards unveiled his plans for the sequel to this years Godzilla reboot and rumors circulate of the appearances of even more kaiju monsters!
#8 Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) - Director George Miller previewed his new Mad Max reboot/sequel starring Tom Hardy and Charlize Theron.
#7 Wonder Woman (2017?) - DC has announced that the Amazon warrior, played by Gal Gadot, will finally make it to theaters despite her failed TV series. Wonder Woman will soon join Batman and Superman in a rumored Justice League movie!
#6 The Walking Dead: Season 5 (October 2014) - The remaining survivors have made it to "Terminus" and it's not what they expected!
#5 Ant-Man (2015) - Director Peyton Reed brings the newest Marvel hero movie to the screen (after Edgar Wright dropped out), starring Paul Rudd as Scott Lang/Ant-Man, and Michael Douglas as Hank Pym.
#4 Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) - Director Zack Snyder returns with a DC heroe extravaganza with Henry Cavill reprising his role as Superman, Ben Affleck as Batman, and Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman, also rumored as Aquaman, Jason Mamoa!
#3 DC Comics TV Series (2014) - While Marvel has dominated the big screen, DC has taken over the small screen with continuing their highly acclaimed Arrow series with Season 3, and announcing the premieres this Fall for three more DC inspired titles including Gotham, The Flash, and Constantine!
#2 The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014) - The finale to Peter Jackson's (The Lord of the Rings Trilogy) Hobbit Trilogy comes to an epic conclusion with the dwarves battling to reclaim the Lonely Mountain as fending off all of Middle Earth from their home and Bilbo caught up in the middle of it all!
#1 Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) - Director Joss Whedon returns to direct the sequel to his 2012 superhero epic! The team lead by Nick Fury including Hulk, Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, Black Widow and Hawkeye, with new additions Quicksilver (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen), (and possibly The Vision!) reunite to battle Ultron (James Spader/Andy Serkis?)!
COMIC-CON is this weekend! Specifically Comic-Con International: San Diego 2013, THE biggest convention in the world dedicated to all forms of entertainment including comic books, movies, video games, TV and more! Comic-Con International: San Diego is a nonprofit educational corporation dedicated to creating awareness of, and appreciation for, comics and related popular art forms, primarily through the presentation of conventions and events that celebrate the historic and ongoing contribution of comics to art and culture. Comic-Con began in 1970 when a group of comics, movie, and science fiction fans banded together to put on the first comic book convention in southern California. Now over 40 years later it is the largest comics convention in the world, completely selling out every year since 2008. For those like me who aren't able to enjoy Comic-Con in person there are still plenty of websites, blogs and live video feeds covering the event from the comfort of your home. This weekend at Comic-Con, audiences can get their hands on tons of exclusive merchandise, and also attend many exciting panels with creators, artists, writers and celebrities of all kinds, and not to mention, see previews of some of the biggest events in entertainment coming up later this year and next year! CHERNOBOG'S LAIR.com always tries to stay on top of the latest entertainment news through my blog, twitter feed, and Facebook; so this weekend I thought I would post my Top 10 list of Upcoming Events featured at this year's San Diego Comic-Con. Enjoy!
#13 Ender's Game (2013) - Based on the classic Young-Adult, Sci-Fi novel by Orson Scott Card, 70 years after a horrific alien war, an unusually gifted child is sent to an advanced military school in space to prepare for a future invasion. Starring Harrison Ford, Ben Kingsley and Asa Butterfield.
#12 Godzilla (2014) - Director Gareth Edwards' (Monsters) remake of the classic Kaiju franchise! A giant radioactive monster called Godzilla awakens from its slumber to wreak destruction on its creators!
#11I, Frankenstein (2014) - Aaron Eckhart stars as Adam, Dr. Frankenstein's (Aden Young) creature, who finds himself caught in an all-out, centuries old war between two immortal clans.
#9 300: Rise of an Empire (2013) - New director Noam Murro's sequel to Zack Snyder's 300 (2006), The Greek general Themistocles (Sullivan Stapleton) battles an invading army of Persians under the mortal-turned-god, Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro)!
#8 Riddick (2013) - Vin Diesel is back as Riddick, after almost 10 years since Chronicles of Riddick (2004). After he is left for dead on a desert planet, Riddick is up against a new alien, predatory species and a group of mercenaries after his head!
#7The World's End (2013) - Director Edgar Wright reunites Simon Pegg and Nick Frost and others in the third installment of "The Cornetto Trilogy"! A group of old friends go on a pub crawl in London when they come to the last pub, "The World's End", they find the town has been taken over by strange alien robots!
#6 Batman: Arkham Origins - The highly anticipated third part of the Arkham Asylum video game series features new villains: Black Mask, Deathstroke, Deadshot, and Copperhead!
#5Kick-Ass 2 (2013) - Kick-Ass (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and Hit-Girl (Chloë Grace Moretz) return with a few new allies including Col. Stars & Stripes (Jim Carrey), to take on some new villains including formerly Red Mist (Christopher Mintz-Plasse)!
#4 Vikings, Season 2 (March, 2014) - Ragnar Lothbrok (Travis Fimmel) and the Vikings return to pillage and plunder in the new season on History Channel!
#3 The Walking Dead, Season 4 (October 2013) - Based on Robert Kirkman's award winning graphic novel series, the survivors led by Sheriff Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) live on in the Zombie apocalypse after dealing with the onslaught from The Governor (David Morrissey)!
#2 X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014) - Director Bryan Singer returns to the X-Men franchise with Professor X (Patrick Stewart) and Magneto (Ian McKellen) reprising their roles as "older" characters from the previous X-Men movies. Also featuring a few new mutants including Bishop (Omar Sy) and introducing a new threat: The Sentinels!
#1 Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (Fall 2013) - The new TV series marks the return of Agent Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg), leading a small group of agents from S.H.I.E.L.D. Together they investigate the new, the strange, and the unknown across the globe, protecting the ordinary from the extraordinary.
THE WOLVERINE...He's "the best there is at what he does, but what he does isn't very nice". When he first appeared in the last panel of "The Incredible Hulk" #180 in 1974, who knew that this short, Canadian-born, berserker would become one of the most popular mutant superheroes today! Created by Roy Thomas, Len Wein and designed by John Romita, Jr., Wolverine had a fierce temper, a bad attitude, and claws to boot! Unlike any comic book hero before him, he had a mysterious origin to go along with his mutant powers. He also possessed an adamantium skeleton and claws which for the longest time, remained unexplainable. Later, appearing in "Giant Size X-Men" #1 in 1975, he became part of the new class of X-Men and soon rose to become a fan-favorite. Upon getting his own long-running comic book title in 1988, after a successful mini-series (1982) by Chris Claremont and Frank Miller, his popularity grew even more!
Incredible Hulk #181
Having appeared in numerous comic books, cartoons, video games, even music videos, he finally achieved life on the big screen when Hugh Jackman appeared in the 2000 X-Men movie. Since then, his popularity has grown immensely, having his origin completely retold in the comics ("Origin"), getting the adamantium ripped out and put back in again, several lovers and marriages, learning he had a son (Daken), and not to mention dying and going to Hell! With the upcoming release of his fifth (sixth if you count his brief but hilarious cameo in X-Men: First Class (2011) movie appearance in The Wolverine (2013) and next year's release of X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014), I thought this would be a great time to look back at some of Wolverine's best stories over the years. Wolverine (a.k.a. "Ol' Canucklehead") has been one of my favorite comic book characters since I started collecting comics when I was about 10 years old. His attitude, ferocity and overall badass-ness is just a few of the reasons why he has endured for almost 40 years! CHERNOBOG'S BLOG PRESENTS: "Top 10 Best Wolverine Stories"! Enjoy, "bub"!
#10 Origin (2001-2002) Written by Bill Jemas, Joe Quesada and Paul Jenkins, and illustrated by Andy Kubert - One of the most controversial Wolverine stories ever, this six-issue limited series presented readers with the "definitive" origin of Logan/Wolverine as it is revealed he was born James Howlett in Alberta, Canada in the 1880's. A moving and dramatic story, it was a successful story-arc with it's final issue breaking sales records. However, to most fans and readers it only did more damage to the already convoluted and confusing origin of Wolverine.
#9 "Just Don't Look In Its Eyes", Classic X-Men #25, (Sept.1988) - As an obsessive hunter tracks down a feral bear in the frozen north, what he ends up hunting is Logan. This short story appeared in the back of the reprinted issue of The Uncanny X-Men. It also appeared in the booklet for the deluxe edition of the heavy metal album Entombed, "Wolverine Blues" (1993).
#8 The Uncanny X-Men #s 139-140, (Nov.- Dec. 1980), "The Wendigo Arc", Written by Chris Claremont, art by John Byrne - Wolverine reveals more of his origin as he returns to his home in Canada where he reunites with his old team Alpha Flight and an old enemy: The Wendigo!
#7 The Uncanny X-Men #268, (Sept.1990), "Madripoor Knights", Written by Chris Claremont, Art by Jim Lee - While in Madripoor (Logan's old Casablanca-like turf) with Psylocke, Jubilee and Black Widow they take down the Hand Ninjas and Logan remembers a similar situation in 1941 when he teamed-up with Captain America to take on the Nazis!
#6 X-Men Vol.2, #25- Wolverine Vol.2, #75, (1993), "Fatal Attractions", Written by Scott Lobdell, Fabian Nicieza, larry Hama, art by Adam and Andy Kubert - In one of the most epic crossovers in X-Men history, the final confrontation between the X-Men and Magneto! In a fit of rage after nearly being gutted by Wolverine, Magneto tears the adamantium out of Wolverine's skeleton. Professor X, enraged by Magneto's actions, mind-wipes Magneto. Remarkably, Wolverine recovers from his injuries and reveals that his claws had always been made out of bone. As a result, his mutant powers cause him to revert to a feral state until his adamantium is later replaced by the villain genesis (Wolverine Vol.2, #100, 1996)
#5 "Wolverine Vs. The Hulk", The Incredible Hulk #340, Feb. 1988, Written by Peter David, art by Todd McFarlane - Regarded as "one of the most intense, visceral and shocking savage Wolverine stories ever!" As the Gray Hulk accidentally brings down a plane near DFW, Texas, Wolverine and the X-Men barely miss it. As Wolverine investigates the damage, what begins is a knock-down, drag-out fight between Wolverine and Hulk!
#4 Kitty Pryde & Wolverine Mini-Series, (1984-1985) - One of the best stories in Wolverine's saga came from an unlikely team-up with a 6-issue limited series. Kitty Pryde, a.k.a. Shadowcat, was the X-Men's youngest member of the 1980's. Wolverine and Kitty Pryde struck up a deep kinship during that time and in the story while Kitty is trying to rescue her father from the yakuza but is captured by ninjas and the evil Ogun, Wolverine's former mentor, who brainwashes Kitty and sends her to kill Logan!
#3 The Uncanny X-Men #s 172-173, (Aug.-Sep. 1983), Written by Chris Claremont, art by Paul Smith - Logan invites the X-Men to Japan for his wedding to Mariko Yashida. When Markio is captured by Viper and Silver Samurai Wolverine and the X-Men must rescue her but soon after Mariko cancels the wedding telling Logan he is unworthy.
#2 "Weapon X" (1990) by Barry Windsor-Smith - Originally presented in the pages of Marvel Comics Presents (Issue #s 72-84), a long-running monthly anthology comic book, this tells the story of how Logan was turned into the ultimate human weapon in the "Weapon X" project under the direction of Dr. Cornelius. Subjected to experimentation and torture, Logan eventually fights his way out and escapes. An impressive "piece of work" (said writer Larry Hama), "Weapon X" is the most brutally violent, bloody and intense Wolverine story ever!
#1 "Wolverine" Mini-Series (1982) - Written by Chris Claremont and art by Frank Miller, Wolverine stars in his first solo-comic where he returns to Japan to find his one-time fiancée Mariko Yashida and winds up in a lot of trouble with Lord Shingen, her father. With the help of the assassin Yukio, Logan must challenge Shingen and win the hand of Markio.
This weekend I went to Dallas Comic Con 2013 at the Irving Convention Center in Irving, Texas. This is the second Comic Con event I've been to in the last year including Dallas Comic Con: Fan Days back in October. Dallas Comic Con is considered to be one of the largest "Mega-Cons" in the state along with smaller sister event the Sci-Fi Expo under the management of OfficialPix produced by C2 Ventures, Inc. This years' Comic Con was the biggest by far with 25,000 attendees! This years' Dallas Comic Con ran from May 17 to 19. Among the many special media guests included were: William Shatner, Richard Dean Anderson, John Noble, Brent Spiner, LeVar Burton, Gates McFadden, Kevin Conroy, Ernie Hudson, Brandon Routh along with many others! Also in attendance were some great comic book creators, writers and artists such as Jim Steranko, John Romita, Jr., Arthur Suydam, J. David Spurlock and many more! The two biggest disappointments this year was the cancellation of special guest Nathan Fillion and the Art of Akira exhibit. Although the con was incredibly crowded with incredibly long lines, a broken escalator and over priced food, I managed to meet and get autographs from all the guests I planned to this year including: John Noble (Denethor, Lord of the Rings Trilogy), plus Brent Spiner and LeVar Burton (Star Trek: The Next Generation), and also Kevin Conroy (voice of Batman, Batman Animated Series, Arkham Asylum)! The biggest thrill came from when me and my family met LeVar and Brent as we were dressed in our Star Trek uniform shirts, LeVar was overjoyed and took a picture of us on his own phone! I also had the pleasure of meeting comic book artists Jim Steranko and John Romita, Jr.! I was also able to attend several panels including the Kevin Conroy Q&A on Friday, the John Romita, Jr. Q&A on Saturday, and the Star Trek Q&A on Sunday. I love comic cons, the special guests, the vendors, the costumes/cosplay, but unfortunately, there is always the crowd. While I feel the crowd was somewhat manageable, the lines in the morning just to get in seemed so unorganized as we were lined up inside the convention center parking garage for hours! As for things that the con organizers had no control over, they were unavoidable such as the escalator breaking down Saturday afternoon and the convention center café running out of food on Sunday. But thankfully that did little to diminish the whole experience. I hope to return to Comic Con next year and may possibly attend the next Fan Days in October, there is also the Sci-Fi Expo in February.
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