The CCD Podcast: Episode #90 - Deadpool - 25 Years of The Merc With A Mouth

Some people like to shit on Rob Liefeld... they make fun of his comics, say he can't draw, say he can't write... but he is still in the game, And one of the reasons that is has to be a little character he brought to life 25 years ago by the name of Deadpool. Sure... he is a rip off of Deathstroke from DC Comics. So? Sure.... he has a lot of powers in common with Wolverine. So? Sure he looks like Spider-man with a couple of katanas. So? Deadpool is amazingly the single most popular character in Marvel's current stable, and now he is FINALLY getting brought to life on the big screen by Ryan Reynolds! But in true CCD fashion we have decided not only to chat up the film (it was AWESOME!) but talk about the history of this improbable star from his first appearance in New Mutants #98 to his massive box office success...




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The CCD Podcast: Episode #63 - Upcoming Comic Movies Through 2020 or "What? 2020 ?!? I Barely Remember Where I Saw Avengers 2 A Few Months Ago!"

We are living in the golden age of comic book movies... that is one thing that can be said with a certainty. On top of the big dogs like Marvel & DC getting their properties green lit to the silver screen, we are noticing a bunch of indy titles also getting adaptions into movies. I never thought I would be alive to see a great Spider Man or Avengers movie in my life.... I certainly didn't ever think we would see indy titles like Kick Ass, Scott Pilgrim, and The Losers made into a full length feature. There are even a whole bunch of movies made in the last 10 years that ARE actual adaptions of comics that most viewers have NO IDEA were originally COMICS! (From Hell, Road To Perdition, A History of Violence just to name a few) So with recent announcements for the upcoming slate of comic movies getting more and more crowded, the CCD gang decided to jump into the mix and discuss some of our thoughts and expectations for all of these films. We are looking toward the future... and man, does the future of comic book movies look bright!

 




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The CCD Podcast: Episode #53 - The Current State of Marvel or "Make Mine Marvel... All Day, Everyday!"

Make Mine Marvel... this was the rallying cry throughout the 70s/80s/90s from the biggest comic company in the game. Before Image shook up the comic world... before DC made a comeback... before all that, Marvel was on top of the world. And then the bad times came. The low book sales. the systematic selling off of the movie rights to their roster of characters. The impending bankruptcy. The leather clad hero outfits of the 90s. It got real bad in ole Marvel-ville. Rock bottom bad. And then... well, and then they got their shit together. They took one of the properties that they still had the rights to, Iron Man (not exactly the biggest tier character) and made a movie, A FANTASTIC MOVIE. This was one of the best comic films ever. And it began... the rebuild. Into the monster franchise money maker that we all know and love. Books sales went up. Making each and every movie work no matter who is in it (and not having their TOP TIER characters back). Being acquired by Disney. Huge... HUGER than everyone could have ever expected. TV shows. Netflix shows. A talking Raccoon and a Tree leading the highest grossing movie of the year. Yup, Marvel is on top of the world. So Jedi Rob & Mike D breakdown the current state of affairs over at the house that Jack Kirby & Stan Lee built. Enjoy our recap on all that has come, and all we have to look forward to... MAKE MINE MARVEL!!!!

 Here are a few last minute pics released by Marvel for upcoming character tweaks that will hit the Marvel Comic Universe after Secret Wars runs it course.... interesting, no?

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Tommy Lombardozzi Does An Awesome Rocky... Um, I Mean ROCKET Raccoon Variant Cover For Me!!!!

 

With Guardians of the Galaxy doing gangbusters business in the cinemas right now, it is only to be expected that parent company Marvel Comics would make a push in print with all the characters involved. Rocket Raccoon, Star Lord, Guardians, Nova, and Thanos all have been playing major parts in the comic universe through individual titles... and characters from the "cosmic" side of the Marvel Universe have been popping up in every major title. So on a trip to one of our local mom & pop comic shops (Pinocchio Comics in Brooklyn) I looked over and I seen a stack of Skottie Young's new Rocket Raccoon #1 variants sitting there. They had all 3: The one with Rocket with a huge gun, the one with Stan Lee, and a white blank cover. Now I am not one of those comic collectors that will get caught up trying to track down variants and chase covers... its not my style. But I have been talking to Tommy (resident artist here at CCD) about doing something with one of these... having him create me a unique cover image (a 1 of 1) that is hand drawn. But I have been waiting for the right one to come along, and since Rocket is one of my favorite characters ever and I started collecting monthly comics again with the launch of this particular title I figured now was as good as a time as any. So I bought it, turned over to Tommy, and awaited the results. My man TL did NOT disappoint.... he did a bang up job on this awesome cover, and took the character way back to it's roots as being inspired by the Beetles song "Rocky Raccoon". Great, just great.... TL also happened to snap some incredible WIP shots of his initial sketches and the finished product. So great... thank you my friend. This has definitely "Rocketed" to the top of my collection as one of my favorite books (see what I did there). Check em all out after the jump...

 BUY SOME OF TOMMY"S ART NOW AT HIS WEBSITE....

The original cover by Skottie Young

The blank Variant cover I gave Tommy

Initial sketch and pencil on the variant cover

B & W before color

background details

The raccoon of the hour close up

Wider detailed shot

Top of the title card has a play on Rocky Raccoon lyrics changed to fit the character

The Finished BOOK!!!!!!

And a back cover inscription for Me.... Thanks TL! 

     

Rocket Raccoon: A Musical Parody by Animfantastic x Town In The City

When I was a kid, my dad would play the Beatles constantly.... In the car, at the house... always with The Beatles. I developed quite a love for the Fab 4, but there was one song in particular that always held a soft spot for me. 'Rocky Raccoon'. I don't know why, but the songs lyrics (although dealing with adult themes of relationships, adultery and gun play) are quite appealing to kids. Maybe it is the sing-songy melody of the tune, or the drawl that Paul is using when singing the lyrics. Whatever it is, the song just jumped out of their catalog to me as a favorite. So, years later when I encountered Rocket Raccoon in the pages of Marvel comics it was hard to ignore the influences of the 'Rocky Raccoon' song over the character and story arc. Rocket is dating Lylla (like Lylla in the song), they are searching out a sacred book called Gideon's Bible (a direct reference to the song), and his best friend is a walrus named Wal Rus (clearly a link to the walrus of 'The Magical Mystery Tour' album). No wonder I always was drawn to the character of Rocket in the comics. Bill Mantlo and Keith Giffen create a magical character and world that was clearly rooted in the Beatles music... which is amazing! So when I came across this great video finally acknowledging the links by mashing up the two... well, I was sold immediately. Animfantastic teams up with Town In The City to produce the video, and while it is silly... who cares? It is a song about a talking Raccoon after all, so isn't is supposed to be silly? Enjoy the mashup after the jump...

Oh, And For The Record 'Cosmo the Russian Astronaut Dog' From Guardians of the Galaxy Is Pulled From The Comic Pages Too...

Cosmo the Russian Astronaut dog that is seen captured in the Collector's collection in Guardians of the Galaxy is not just a wink and a nod to animal manned space flights of the 1960s. Cosmo himself is a frequent guest in the Guardians of the Galaxy comic, and a few other of Marvel's galactic titles as well (think Nova, Nova Corps, the Inhumans, etc). He actually first appeared in Nova #8 (vol 4) when Richard Rider encounters him on Knowhere (the Celestial skull planet from the Guardians movie) and thinks he is a regular dog. Turns out, he is a powerful telekinetic pup that has played major parts in Annihilation, the Thanos Imperative, and many other storylines throughout the last few years of the Marvel Comics universe. He has even been a member of the Guardians of the Galaxy themselves (issues 15 through 19 of Guardians from 2009 as a matter of fact). A cool little Easter Egg thrown in to the film from James Gunn and the Marvel Cinemtaic crew that comes right off the pages of the comics. Check out some panels and pics of Cosmo after the jump...

Nova #8 (first appearance of Cosmo)

Nova #8

Nova #8

Guardians #15 (2009)

Appearing in the team lineup!!!

Nova Prime, Rhomann Dey and Yondu Get Character Posters For Guardians of the Galaxy!!!

Any good movie has great starring characters, but it is the strength of the supporting cast that will really cement the property as across-the-board amazing. We have been going wild hearing about the five main characters that will make up the 'Guardians of the Galaxy' (Star Lord, Rocket Raccoon, Groot, Drax and Gamora), and we were also intrigued when Ronan the Accuser and The Collector were named as villains. But who else will be making appearances/cameos in this film to fill out the character components of this film and may provide Easter Eggs  for future Marvel Cinematic movie universe films? Well it seems that the Nova Corps will play a huge role in the movie, with characters Nova Prime (played by Glenn Close) and Rhomann Dey (played by John C Reilly) occupying key positions among the intergalactic police force. Will Richard Rider (the full time hero known as Nova in the comics) be one of those cops? Maybe. But theses two alone prove that the Corps will be intricately involved in story lines for future movies to come. Then we have Yondu. Yondu was an original member of the Guardians of the Galaxy back in 1969 when the comic premiered. But in this inclination he will not really occupy that role. It seems he will be the adoptive dad-type for Star Lord, and will start Peter Quill down the path of scoundrel and law breaker before he becomes a hero. After a heist they pull together , Quill vamooses with their goods and Yondu and his gang of outlaws called the Ravagers follow him and the rest of the Guardians across the universe trying to get it back. A dual role of father figure and, later, foil for Yondu, played by director James Gunn's favorite co-contributor Michael Rooker. Can't wait to see all these characters play out on the screen... two more weeks baby! Check out the three posters after the jump....

  

Just Another Reason I Wish I Was A Kid Now Instead Of The 80s: Guardians of the Galaxy Halloween Costumes....

I love the fact that I grew up in the 1980s... the experience was spectacular, and our generation was the first to start to benefit from technological advancements in our entertainment (articulation in toys, animation getting better, etc). But some things were still a bit behind the advancement curve. One glaring thing has to be Halloween costumes. Halloween costumes for popular characters always existed, they were just regulated to a shitty plastic mask that covered the front of your face and went around your head with a rubber band & a smock type outfit that usually featured logos of the character being portrayed. It was generic, but it was what we had to work with and we made the best of it hoping for a day when Now a days, costume companies are trying to correct that and give kids (and some adults like me!) the costumes they deserve. Now this is why I wish I was a kid now instead of the early 80s! Need proof? Check out the new Guardians of the Galaxy costumes available for this Halloween via websites like Costume Craze after the jump...

They Even have a Ronan the Accuser Mask... WTF!!!!!