Another day, another Hulk. As we journey through the past of the publishing history of everyone’s favorite angry, green superhero, we find ourselves – once again in 1985. This time, though, we’re focusing in on She-Hulk, who takes the lead role in Fantastic Four #275. Fantastic Four #275 is written and drawn by John Byrne, […]
Author Archive | Pat Shand
THE INCREDIBLE HULK: A Marvel Cinematic Universe Outlier
I consider myself a huge fan of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I’ve seen almost all of the movies in theaters since the release of Iron Man 2, some of them multiple times, with the exception of Doctor Strange which I am still sad about missing. What the MCU is doing with their titles, creating standalone […]
Origin Story: Incredible Hulk #312
Hulk month continues! This time, we have an origin story on our hands… sort of. It’s about as originy as you can get for a three-hundred and twelfth issue, and reinvents/overlaps with Hulk’s original origin in the very first issue of his series, which I covered back in December for those interested. This time, we […]
Modern Classics: Planet Hulk
Last time, I kicked off my Hulk Month pieces with 2016’s Hulk #1. That issue has to be in the top five comics I’ve reviewed for Blastoff, so I’m not sure how much better we can get. I’ve enjoyed Hulk comics before, but not Mariko Tamaki’s writing took it to an entirely new level for […]
Jennifer Walters Is HULK
All right, we’re kicking off Hulk month for Blastoff Comics – and rightfully so. Not to put any disrespect on Hulk’s name, I think the last time the general public has been THIS excited about the character was… well, definitely not in my lifetime. And I remember when a two little rashes of Hulk mania […]
Modern Classics: Dan Slott’s Spider-Man
In the constantly changing game of superhero comics, where creators are replaced between solicitations and release and creative runs are often cut short, it’s easy to forget that Dan Slott has been writing Spider-Man for three-hundred and seventy years. Or, it seems that way. I started reading comics on a regular basis in 2007, the […]
Marvel Firsts: The Amazing Spider-Man #2
I’m back with another installment of Marvel Firsts, the series where I journey through Marvel’s most iconic first issues and first appearances. Last time, we covered the big introduction of Venom in The Amazing Spider-Man #300. Now, as we introduce another of Spidey’s most infamous villains, we’re taking it back to the beginning. In The […]
Marvel Firsts: The Amazing Spider-Man #300
Today, my journey through Marvel’s most iconic first issues and first appearances takes me to 1988, which saw the debut of Spider-Man’s most iconic foe, the monstrous Venom, in The Amazing Spider-Man #300. Written by David Michelinie, drawn by Todd McFarlane, colored by Bob Sharen, and lettered by Rick Parker, this is a landmark issue […]
Gems of the Recent Past: Reading Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #1
Let me talk for a second about why I enjoy writing for Blastoff so much. The comics industry moves at a breakneck pace, with the status quos of iconic characters constantly changing on a month to month basis. It’s impossible to keep track of everything going on, and for those who didn’t grow up reading […]
Waiting for Wonder Woman: An Incredibly Delayed Viewing of BATMAN V SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE
First up, here’s what we’re not going to talk about: Batman and Superman killing people or using guns. This has been covered a bunch and has dominated the conversation for some comics fans. Everyone has their opinions there, so I figure we’ll put that conversation to the side and look at the rest of the […]
“And What a Woman! ” – Reading Sensation Comics #1
I know that it often takes a few issues for the most iconic superheroes to become the characters we know and love today. In his early appearances, Batman didn’t have his no killing rule, nor did he have any qualms with using guns. In fact, he let the chopper spray on occasion. Superman didn’t so […]
“Forget the Old” – Reading Wonder Woman #178
This 1968 revamp of Wonder Woman is advertised with what now, fifty years later, appears to be a direct taunt to their readership: “Forget the old… the NEW Wonder Woman is here!” Of course, the comics industry had learned time and time again that folks don’t want to forget the old. For better or worse, […]
“The Story Keeps Changing” – Reading WONDER WOMAN #1 (2016)
With Wonder Woman finally (finally!) hitting theaters this year, I’m going to spend the month looking back at big moments in Diana’s history… starting with recent history. DC revamped Wonder Woman with a new number one with their Rebirth initiative, bringing fan favorite Greg Rucka back to write the title. He’s joined on this first […]