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Mars Will Send No More

Tag Archives: Mark Millar

Movies vs. Comic Books: Who Controls Time?

16 Wednesday May 2018

Posted by Mars Will Send No More in superhero

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authority, Avengers, Civil War, comic books, film, Mark Millar, movies, narrative structure, planet hulk, superhero, thor ragnarok, time, Warren Ellis, widescreen comics

Now that films based on comic books and superheroes have firmly entered the mainstream of popular culture, characters and storylines we comics readers have enjoyed for years regularly come to life on the big screen for a wider audience than comics ever reached. Long-time readers are often thrilled to see their favorite heroes in live-action movies, but some feel a bit of regret. After all, it can be disheartening to hear people discussing characters as if the movies tell the entire story, when many readers have followed the characters in-depth for years or even decades.

Compressing years of story into a two-hour theater experience means a lot gets left out, as anyone who read the Planet Hulk stories can tell you about the movie Thor: Ragnarok, or anyone who read Marvel’s Civil War comics can tell you about the Captain America movie of the same name. Plus, the big screen and the printed page are two distinctly different mediums, each with its own storytelling conventions, so they deliver distinctly different stories.

Movies usually follow a formulaic narrative structure. From the inciting incident to the hero’s crisis, predicting the next story beat in a movie is pretty easy. Comic books often employ more flexible and unusual structures—a point in their favor in my opinion. This is true despite a trend toward making modern mainstream comic books more cinematic in their approach to storytelling.

Near the turn of the century, Warren Ellis used the term widescreen comics to describe the blockbuster-movie style he was creating in The Authority with artists Bryan Hitch and Paul Neary. After 12 issues, writer Mark Millar and artist Frank Quitely came on board and kept up the cinematic approach. Millar, Hitch, and Neary soon combined forces to reinvent the Avengers as The Ultimates—the forerunner of the current film versions of the Avengers. For a more in-depth look at widescreen comics, and how they influenced movies as much as movies influenced them, see Peter Suderman’s article for Vox.

As far as I’m concerned, there hasn’t been a movie yet that equals those first 29 issues of The Authority. But it’s more than just the awesome stories, vicious dialogue, and stunning artwork. What makes the printed page most enjoyable for me can be summed up in two words: time control.

In a film, time passes at a fixed speed determined by the flow of film through a projector, or its digital equivalent these days. Yes, a movie can use slow motion or speed up time, but all of that is determined by the movie itself. Moviegoers have no control of it in a theater. Time passes at a pace determined exclusively by the filmmakers.

With printed pages, the reader controls time. The reader determines how long to spend on a panel or page. Readers can turn back the pages to see something again if they did not absorb it on the first read. The reader can set the book down and walk away, then come back to it and pick up again from any point in the narrative. Movies only provide this convenience if you own or stream a copy at home and can rewind it or freeze the frames.

While I enjoy movies, I tend to enjoy their comic-book source material far more due to time control. An awesome action scene might be over in seconds or minutes on the big screen, but I can linger on it for as long as I like with a printed page. A stunning visual appears on the screen for fleeting moments, then moves on to the next one. It leaves me feeling unsatisfied when I want to spend more time taking in all its detail and beauty. With a comic book, I can pore over the artists’ rendering and take time to appreciate every line and shape, every bit of hard work that went into inking and coloring the picture. Instead of having it all fade away as I leave a theater, I can come back to it again and again with a book.

While many recent comic-book movies do look great, the awesomeness always go by too quickly for me. I never have a chance to fully appreciate it before its gone. And when the theater lights come on, fun time is over unless I want to buy another ticket. The experience is transient and ephemeral compared to a physical book I can keep for years.

None of this should be taken as an argument over which medium is “better”. Enjoy what you enjoy. This is only an attempt to articulate a feeling I’ve had for years but never explained very well to people who expect me to be super excited about recent superhero movies. It isn’t that the movies are bad; they simply lack one of the biggest things that gives me enjoyment with comic books: time control.

 

On a less serious note: a video.

I Think I’m in Love!

18 Friday Oct 2013

Posted by Mars Will Send No More in superhero

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Tags

elektra, enemy of the state, John Romita jr, Mark Millar, Wolverine

romita jr wolverine elektra think im in love

 
Collector’s Guide:
– From Wolverine: Enemy of the State by Mark Millar and John Romita, Jr.

First Appearance of Ultimate Nick Fury!

17 Sunday Mar 2013

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Mark Millar, Nick Fury, Tom Raney, Ultimate Nick Fury, Ultimate X-men, X-men

Casting Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury in recent Marvel Movies was a no-brainer. Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch already figured that out in the first volume of The Ultimates. It’s stated outright in a conversation the group has about casting an Ultimates movie!

But the first appearance of Nick Fury in the “Ultimate Universe” depicts him a little differently. He plays a supporting role in Millar’s “Return to Weapon X” storyline for Ultimate X-men. Tom Raney, who did such great work on Stormwatch with Warren Ellis, doesn’t draw Fury as a Jackson lookalike. And, the trademark all-black threads Fury sported in The Ultimates are preceeded by this cool all-white suit.

Still, the image of Fury as a ultra high-tech super-spy remains intact — even if his amazing gizmos are much less conspicuous than Jack Kirby’s version. Enjoy “Ultimate” Fury’s first scene in our gallery below.

Collector’s Guide: From Ultimate X-men #10. Reprinted in Ultimate X-Men TPB #2 “Return to Weapon X”. Reprinted in Ultimate X-Men Ultimate Collection #1




Should Have Known You’d Smell the Blood, Wolverine!

16 Saturday Mar 2013

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Adam Kubert, Mark Millar, Nick Fury, Return to Weapon X, Ultimate Nick Fury, Ultimate Wolverine, Ultimate X-men, Wolverine, X-men

Welcome to the Wolverine Gallery! In this scene from Ultimate X-men, Wolverine busts out of a cage and unexpectedly meets a wounded Nick Fury. After SNIKTing his way through the usual mess of unsavory commandos, Wolvie carries Fury to safety. For his good deed, he gets his @$$ shot off — which happens about a dozen times in “Return to Weapon X!” This flashback scene sets up later developments between Logan and Fury.

Collector’s Guide: From Ultimate X-men #11. Reprinted in Ultimate X-Men TPB #2 “Return to Weapon X”. Reprinted in Ultimate X-Men Ultimate Collection #1




Ultimates 2 Gallery: Bryan Hitch’s 8-Page Fold-out!

08 Friday Feb 2013

Posted by Mars Will Send No More in superhero

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Tags

Avengers, Bryan Hitch, Independence Day, Mark Millar, Ultimates, Ultimates 2

Click to expand to full awesomeness.

For Mark Millar‘s re-imagining of The Avengers as The Ultimates, Bryan Hitch produced some truly over-the-top battle scenes. For the final issue, Hitch created what may be the biggest multi-page fold-out in comics history! Eight — count ’em — eight entire pages of super-mayhem! Now that is awesome. Yet another reason why digital comics can never fully match the glory of print.

Collector’s Guide: From Ultimates 2 #13; Marvel, 2006. Also in trade or Ultimate Collection.

The wraparound cover.

Ultimates 2 Gallery: Bryan Hitch Double Splashes!

07 Thursday Feb 2013

Posted by Mars Will Send No More in superhero

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Tags

Avengers, Bryan Hitch, Hulk, Iron Man, Mark Millar, Thor, Ultimates, Ultimates 2

For Mark Millar‘s re-imagining of The Avengers as The Ultimates, Bryan Hitch produced some truly over-the-top battle scenes. Let’s take a look at how Hitch uses two-page spreads in Ultimates 2, #12. Here we see Thor, Hulk, Iron Man, and a whole mess of heroes kicking major butt! If you love a good superhero double-splash, this one’s for you!

Collector’s Guide: From Ultimates 2 #12; Marvel, 2006. Available in trade, single issues, or Ultimate Collection format.

I Was Torn Limb from Limb at the Dawn of Time!

22 Thursday Mar 2012

Posted by Mars Will Send No More in dinosaur, science fiction, superhero

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Bryan Hitch, dinosaur, Dr. Doom, Fantastic Four, Joe Ahearne, Mark Millar, Stuart Immomen, time travel

Yesterday we saw Dr. Doom get his evil butt drop-kicked back into the Pliocene Age where Megalodons devoured his body! YES! Oh, but the plot thickens! Let’s take a look at what REALLY happened to Dr. Doom!

Collector’s Guide: From Fantastic Four #554-569. Story by Mark Millar, Script by Joe Ahearne, Art by Stuart Immomen plus various inkers and colorists.

His Corpse Shall Make a Fine Meal for the Megalodons!

21 Wednesday Mar 2012

Posted by Mars Will Send No More in dinosaur, superhero

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Tags

Bryan Hitch, dinosaur, Doom's Master, Dr. Doom, Fantastic Four, Mark Millar, Megalodon, time travel

Dr. Doom gets his evil butt drop-kicked back into the Pliocene Age where Megalodons devour his body!

Collector’s Guide: Features artwork by Bryan Hitch, from Hitch and Mark Millar’s 2009 run on Fantastic Four: Fantastic Four #554-569.



We Can Bring Them Back Through Time!

31 Monday Oct 2011

Posted by Mars Will Send No More in science fiction, superhero

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Bryan Hitch, Fantastic Four, Galactus, Galactus Engine, Mark Millar, time travel

Today’s Galactus Gallery features artwork by Bryan Hitch, from his and Mark Millar‘s superbly entertaining Fantastic Four run in 2009: Fantastic Four #554-569. In this story, the Fantastic Four of the future capture Galactus… for a seemingly sinister purpose!

There are three runs on the Fantastic Four we especially love: Millar & Hitch, Lee & Kirby, and John Byrne. Okay, make that FOUR runs, because we loved Ultimate Fantastic Four from issue one through the end of Mike Carey’s run, plus the Thanos story that followed. The we got into that “Ultimatum” hogwash and lost interest.

You might also be interested in viewing our complete Galactus Gallery, our ever-popular Origin of Galactus, and our extensive Jack Kirby Gallery. Enjoy!

Wolverine Aces the Hulk!

03 Monday Oct 2011

Posted by Mars Will Send No More in superhero

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

Bruce Banner, Hulk, Mark Millar, Old Man Logan, Steve McNiven, Wolverine, wolverine vs hulk

Prepare yourselves for the most brutal battle in the history of comics as Wolverine returns — and unleashes a tidal wave of bloody revenge! It’s Wolverine versus the Hulk Gang to the death! Don’t miss the flesh-rending final chapter to the greatest Wolverine story ever told by the peerless Mark Millar and Steve McNiven!

Collector’s Guide: From Wolverine Giant Size Old Man Logan #1.




Wolverine Aces the Red Skull!

02 Sunday Oct 2011

Posted by Mars Will Send No More in superhero

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Mark Millar, Old Man Logan, Red Skull, Steve McNiven, Wolverine

Wolverine does to the Red Skull what Captain America should have done years ago. Backstory: Red Skull killed all the heroes years ago. He keeps their costumes in his trophy room. He especially likes wearing Cap’s outfit. But if you take Wolverine prisoner, you should lock up all the dangerous toys first!

Collector’s Guide: From Wolverine #72, part of the Old Man Logan series from 2008-2009 by Mark Millar and Steve McNiven.



What in God’s Name? Venom T-Rex!

20 Tuesday Sep 2011

Posted by Mars Will Send No More in dinosaur, superhero

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Black Bolt, dinosaur, Inhumans, Mark Millar, Old Man Logan, Steve McNiven, tyrannosaurus rex, Venom, Wolverine

Mark Millar might have a direct link to our brains that helps him cook up insane ideas like “What if the alien symbiote Venom attached itself to a dinosaur?” Mark, we thought you’d never ask! Just make sure you get McNiven to draw that bad boy — and maybe you could work in Black Bolt from the Inhumans somehow.

Collector’s Guide: “Old Man Logan” spans Wolverine #66-72 plus Wolverine Giant Size Old Man Logan #1. Now collected in the Old Man Logan paperback and hardcover.



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