With characters dropping fast I thought these casualties in the War of Light deserved a place of recognition for their premature (though not necessarily final we hope) fates. Welcome to the Hall of the Fallen. I’ll amend and bump the gallery as more heroes are taken from us in subsequent chapters of Blackest Night.

Over the decades that DC has been publishing comics, many heroes have been killed off only to return to life. At first many thought Blackest Night was happening because death wasn’t happy about all the ressurections, but now Nekron claims that the heroes to returned to life only because he allowed it. And unfortunately for our heroes, it seems what Nekron gives, he can take away… He’s already transformed Wonder Woman, Conner Kent, Animal Man, Kid Flash, Green Arrow, Donna Troy, Ice and Superman into Black Lanterns and told Flash and Green Lantern to drop dead too – but they haven’t succumbed… yet.

The following fallen heroes died during Blackest Night and either have or are likely to show up as Black Lanterns.

Although the heroes aren’t the only ones being targetted, their casulty list is a lot longer than the list of villains who have been killed to join the ranks of the Black Lanterns…

Now the final fate of these characters will likely be up in the air until the conclusion of Blackest Night. As I see it there are 3 possible outcomes… #1 The dead stay dead and all Black Lanterns end up with their “connection severed.” #2 The Black Lanterns are all somehow reunited with their souls and return to life. #3 Some combination of 1 and 2 with some characters rejoining continuity and others going willingly (or unwillingly as the case may be) back to their graves. THOUGHTS?

I still have no idea exactly what Daken is up to. He’s managed to make himself look good AND mess with his boss, which I’m sure is what he set out to do. But why screw with Norman? What does he have to gain by doing things his way… is it just about smug satisfaction? a psychotic need to cause carnage and death? or is there something more insidious going on?

Norman Osborn’s plan to improve Daken’s public image has gone horribly wrong, resulting in the deaths of dozens of innocent people. Meanwhile, Daken’s plan is moving along quite nicely…

via CBR

Looks like SOMEONE at DC was reading the buzz about Zatanna’s costume as seen in Cry For Justice #4, because although #5 opens moments after #4 ended, Zatanna is looking considerably less skanky. She must have looked down between panels and realized that she was wearing an actual teddy and anot her costume and switched costumes magically.

Thankfully no change in Red Tornado’s HUGE package though!

OK that said, I just don’t really get what this is about. The cover to #5 has a big ol smooch between Supergirl and Captain Marvel that isn’t even remotely part of the story (the two barely exchange 2 words much less a romantic moment). I also have problems with the storytelling – one moment Supergirl and Congorilla find Roy unable to clap, cauterize his wound and roar for help. But then they run off (before help arrives for Roy?) to find who did this and next we see an enraged Kara and Freddy fighting each other and Congorilla and Wally are unconscious. If Robinson wasn’t going to be our JLA scribe, i wouldn’t care enough to figure out what’s happening, but that looming fact unfortunately has me paying attention to this dreck.

One more point – they have a master villain running around manipulating lesser villains to do his bidding. One of those villains is defeated and they confiscate a strange teleporter and bring it RIGHT into the JLA HQ to study it without first seeing if it perhaps has any OTHER functions? I still remain thoroughly unimpressed with this miniseries.

I definitely don’t see a love connection between these two, but can see them as good friends. I think Carol would need more of a take-charge alpha male type for a long term companion. While Peter Parker IS brilliant and funny, I just don’t see that working. Plus he belongs with MJ, or at least Felecia.

The War of The Marvels is over, but before Carol Danvers can deal with it’s aftermath, she must brace herself as she faces down the biggest mistake she made before her apparent death…promising Spider-Man she’d go out with him. Brian Reed teams with Mark Robinson (SKRULL KILL KREW) to bring you THE AMAZING SPIDER-DATE!

I’m not sure who I’d pair Carol Danvers with… probably a secret agent type. She has a shaky history with relationship so it’s difficult to imagine the character as part of a couple. I could see her with Clint Barton if Bobbi really doesn’t want him.

But all this is beside the point as the story seems to be a thinly veiled attempt to remind us that it was Mystique who was behind the attack by Rogue that left Carol powerless and amnesiac for years (realtime – not sure how long it was in comic book time). This issue seemed like filler, but – NEXT ISSUE: MYSTIQUE! I think they are building up to something big for milestone issue #50 which is just around the corner!

via CBR

A new cover mashup music video (the music “Bleeding Love” by Leona Lewis with the lyrics from “Finally” by Ce Ce Peniston) directed by Adam Joseph and Josh Kesner. Starring Lars Stephan, Stuart Perkins and Erickatoure Aviance.

via WayOutWest and AdamJosephMusic

This issue focuses on the origins of Trauma and a confrontation between Penance (Robby Baldwin a.k.a. Speedball) and his former teammates the New Warriors (who are unaware Penance is their old friend under the control of Norman Osborn).

Can the Avengers Resistance and the Initiative unite to defeat a classic Marvel villain…or would that be a Nightmare? The lord of horrific dreams has invaded the physical world…and now that the Hood is no longer empowered by Dormammu, the only chance to defeat this near-omnipotent fiend is for two rival squads of heroes and villains to join forces. But how can they fight together if they’re stabbing each other in the back? Guest-starring Tigra, Justice and Taskmaster!

Turns out Trauma’s birth was engineered by Nightmare who had possessed the man who fathered him long enough to conceive in an origin similar to that of the Teen Titan empath known as Raven (daughter of otherdimensional demon Trigon who continually attempts to use her as some kind of gateway).

via CBR

Ultimate Avengers is taking it up a notch. A rogue Captain America has his hands full with Tony Stark’s mysterious older brother Gregory at the helm of a group of Avengers that have more in common morally with Norman Osborn’s Dark Reign lackeys than any other team of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. Steve Rogers has discovered that he has a son who was raised in captivity by the US government until he slaughtered his way out and skinned off his own face to become… wait for it… THE RED SKULL.

It’s an all out super hero throw-down! Captain America and The Avengers face-off as the dreaded Red Skull plots universal mayhem! How will Fury’s death squad cope with the legend and his son? The world as we know it is on the line! Join superstars MARK MILLAR and CARLOS PACHECO for the next mind-blowing chapter!

This is shaping up to include all the elements of a classic cap story… intrigue, ass-kicking violence, the Red Skull and of course… a Cosmic Cube! I loved Ultimates Volumes 1 & 2 (though I found the animated adaptions to be sub-par). Volume 3 did nothing for me but this story from Mark Millar (Wanted, Kick-Ass) and artist extraordinaire Carlos Pacheco (Final Crisis, Avengers Forever) has brought the Ultimate imprint back on my buylist.

via CBR

This is GREAT! Nice to see the Muppets doing what they ought to be doing in today’s market… funny viral music videos. Enjoy their Bohemian Rhapsody! Now if they could just manage to make a new Muppet Movie.

Whatever happened to the one in the works with Jason Segal?

via frogboy

Popular gay comic writer/artist Tim Fish (Cavalcade of Boys, Young Bottoms in Love) has gone on record about his upcoming Northstar story in Nation X #2 due January 8. Apparently he was a bit gun-shy about announcing it because he’s been slated to do a story about Marvel’s first out and proud hero before. That project died, but this time his inks have met with Marvel’s approval and been passed on the the colorist so it is happening. Congrats Tim! I’m looking forward to learning more about Kyle… like his last name and occupation for one. Who is he that he landed a jet setting world famous ex-Olympic skier turned snowboard entrepreneur/superhero. Tell us all about the fabulousness that is Kyle.

It is an 8 page story about the impact the separation of Northstar living on the X-Men’s Utopia is having upon the relationship between Jean Paul and his boyfriend, fellow Canadian "Kyle."

This story might be a first… Northstar intorduces Kyle as his BF and they have implied sex!

Although he was the first Marvel hero revealed to be gay way back in 1992, Northstar hadn’t been given a love interest until recently when Kyle was first introduced in Uncanny X-Men #508.

via TimFish and Randall Kirby

With the cataclysmic way Adam Warlock/Magus, Phyla, Mantis, Gamora, Cosmo and Vance Astro went kaboom the team is definitely in for a shake up in the line-up… for now. The prophetic deam panels of Moondragon seeing something in a chrysalis perhaps suggests some kind of return at least for Adam Warlock, hopefully for the whole gang. Even though her attitude needed work lately I want Phyla and Moondragon together. There aren’t many happy LGBT endings and those two deserve one.

A REALM OF KINGS story! The Guardians have been to hell and back on a desperate quest to save the past, present and future of the universe itself. But after their monumental efforts and terrible sacrifice, could it be that—due to the end of WAR OF KINGS and the creation of The Fault—the universe is an even more dangerous place than before…and they just don’t realize it yet?

via CBR

I recently installed a new video card and was finally able to play a game I bought awhile ago… Champions Online. I’m already a wee bit obsessed. I was a player of City of Heroes and City of Villians for about 4 years and had a number of maxed-level characters so I was eager to play when I first bought it, but couldn’t play due to graphics issues. Now I’m playing and it’s fun, but I REALLY need allies.

My character’s name is Ebonclaw – as of now he’s level 19, but I’m logging in to play and hope to level up tonight. If you play either leave me a comment here or give me a shoutout in game! ebonclaw@fanboi. The game is fun and the character creation engine rocks. CoH/CoV didn’t have thigh-high boots for men and their brief wasn’t as hot. Team with Ebonclaw if only to run behind him a bit

I just don’t know about newly uber-ninja Doug Ramsey being able to read “body language.” It is an interesting way to make him far less ineffectual if they mean to rescue him from Selene’s clutches and make him part of the team again. I don’t fully understand these resurrected characters yet. They SEEM to have their own personalities but that could just be programming. I’m hoping Warlock will be able to purge the virus from Doug and return him to his old friends.

The massive event tying X-FORCE, X-MEN LEGACY and NEW MUTANTS together continues! Doug Ramsey isn’t the only one back from the grave as the New Mutants’ old enemies the Hellions come calling. Old grudges (and enemies, for that matter) don’t die easy.

via CBR

Check out this great guerrilla musical number organized by DJ Dan Murphy and starring one of Australia’s most famous drag queens – Joyce Maynge… The video was so cool it had Kylie Minogue all atwitter.

I’ve wanted a spontaneous yet choreographed musical number to erupt around me my whole life. I’m just never in the right place at the right time. Oh well, at least I get to watch the video.

via WayOutWest

I’ve been waiting for the writers to really deal with Phobos’ godhood and this issue they tackle the subject head on. I’ve been a fan of comic book pagan theology since The Teen Titans took on their namesakes. So this was a special treat. This title just gets better and better.

The time has come to settle all accounts. What was the deal Fury struck with Ares concerning his son? What does the future hold for the God of Fear? A hall of Gods and the judgment of Phobos…and of course, plenty of that super hero spy stuff you’re used to…

But no new hints about my favorite subject of speculation… Jerry Sledge a.k.a. Stonewall. Of all these characters he is my favorite, and not (just) because he runs around half-dressed like a Class Comics character or because I’m sure he’s going to turn out to be a big gay powerhouse. I’m interested in theories about his origins. What are his powers? To date, he has exhibited super strength, enlargement, some degree of invulnerability and it looks like he has (at least) a metal form (and maybe others?). I wonder what his parentage could be… Maybe love child of Carl “Crusher” Creel (The Absorbing Man) and Titania? Thoughts?

via CBR

I’m sure you didn’t expect things to be easy on the X-Men’s island Utopia. Where would the fun be in that? No worries. The X folk have their hands full with a plane full of mutant eating monsters known as Predator-X. This issue is chock full of questions and surprises….

Magneto’s return has stunned the X-Men, but that’s not the only surprise they’re in for as a herd of Predator X’s come hungry for mutant tar tar. The hits just keep on coming, but can the X-Men, still nursing their wounds from UTOPIA, deal with all this?

Just how powerful IS Rogue now that she has control of her abilities? What’s up with the Phoenix force? Is Magneto’s age FINALLY catching up to him? Can they PLEASE use Northstar well for a change? He’s a super speedster with years of experience – he would have more in his repertoire than just zipping around punching metal monsters ineffectually.

via CBR

I thought in the spirit of the day, comic fans and art history buffs alike might appreciate these great homages to Norman Rockwell’s much referenced 1943 work “Freedom from Want.”

And some on topic videos…

If you are new to the site, be sure to check out last Thanksgiving’s videos too! Some real classics.

via onceuponageek

Part of me is worried that stylistically it seems to have more in common with Sky High than with Wanted. The swan-diving superhero at the beginning is a good sign that they didn’t COMPLETELY kidify the story to make it not only palatable to the teens and tweens who will inevitably want to see a movie about a 15 year old who dons a suit to fight crime, but also acceptable to their parents who would have a problem with an 11 year-old hit girl going all Kill Bill on a group of Mafiosos (hence they aged her).

Kick-Ass is a great supposedly monthly comic (although I have some problems with the unnecessary hate speech that writer Mark Millar puts in his hero’s mouth), but it was seriously harmed by scheduling issues (took 18 months to publish 8 issues). A pivotal part of the plot was revealed early… at the time the casting for Red Mist was revealed, the character was described as the son of a Mafia don even though he hadn’t even been introduced yet – completely spoiling that characters eventual betrayal. The concluding eighth issue of Kick-Ass is due in December so perhaps we’ll see a resolution to the story before the movie comes out.

Losing the Prop 8 vote in large part to the direct influence of the out of state Morman political machine left a lot of LGBT Californians with unresolved anger. At the time there was a lot of talk of LGBT boycotts of Mormon business but I hadn’t heard as much about it until recently.

As with its predecessor Twilight, The impending release of New Moon has some calling for a boycott of the film (which is based upon a book by a “devout” Mormon writer and the books are chock full of Mormon ideals) others raving about Jacob’s (Taylor Lautner) amazing abs and the rest generally just don’t care. I’m torn, and haven’t decide yet which camp I’m in, but thought I’d open it to debate. But I have to remind you no matter how hot he is, the boy is jailbait until February 11 2010, so so no fauxtoshopping and set your countdowns now.

So is YOUR anger at an organized religion interfering in an out-of-state political process stronger than the lustful desire to watch the sinewy 30 pounds of muscle that Jacob (Taylor Lautner) put in in action while he runs with the rest of his shirtless pack.

Now I will say that I read the series and while some of the ideas about the vampire mythos were interesting and include a rich history with great story potential, the books themselves were not particularly well written and the peppering with Mormonism is hamfisted. So with very little of Edward (Rober Pattinson), aside from young Mr. Lautner and his shirtless wolfpack, I’m nit sure what else New Moon has to offer.

I still feel “the Unspoken” is a generic retconned excuse of an Omega level threat. Just kick his ass already and do the inevitable roster shakeup that follows a massive team up.

The epic conclusion! The MIGHTY AVENGERS and members of the NEW AVENGERS, YOUNG AVENGERS and the AVENGERS RESISTANCE assemble against the incalculable might of THE UNSPOKEN!

Plus QUICKSILVER is reunited with the INHUMANS… now what will they do with him? All this and the strange secret of the Infinite Avengers Mansion stands revealed! This one’s got it all!

via CBR

I love the Onion.