Comic Features

Top Ten Worst Comic Book Covers of 2011

What constitutes a bad comic book cover? The better question for this year is: what doesn’t? After having a slew of great covers, there are still a ton of bad ones. In this feature, a continuation of my Top Ten Worst Covers of 2010 feature, I pick the top ten worst covers of 2011 based on their simplicity or poor artistry… and it has gotten worse since last year.

10. Ultimate Captain America #1: I had to do a double-take at seeing Captain America brandishing a huge gun, but this is the Ultimate universe. But even after that off-putting though, Captain America is drawn very stiff with little emotion on his face and the classically done-to-death for no good reason closed eyes. Admittedly, the background is nice. I like the patriotic imagery and the setting sunset behind Captain America. But the most important element of the cover should be the title character, and he does everything but look good.

The Player Affinity Comic Awards 2011

To start off 2012 with a bang, we are announcing the Comic Awards: anything from greatest hero to greatest event is here.  Something you love didn’t make it in 1st place or as a runner-up?  Tell us your picks in the comments section below.

Best Comic Book Hero of 2011: Aquaman
Aquaman has not only become one of the New 52’s greatest surprises, but also one of their greatest heroes. By utilizing the stigma that has been associated with him and turning it on its ear, Geoff Johns and DC has made Arthur Curry a serious force to be reckoned with, in both the Justice League as well as the Aquaman series. Not only have they made this man a complete badass, but they also created some depth to his character, by having him battle this preconceived notion that he is one of the worst superheroes of all time. I mean, really, who doesn’t like the underdog?

Top Ten Best Covers of 2011

Continuing last year’s tradition of the Best Covers of 2010, this year I will be picking the Top 10 Best Covers of 2011. Again, this list is limited by one issue per series and is for comics that came out in 2011, including comics labeled 2012 that came out on comic book stands up to December 31st. It doesn’t matter how good an issue is on this list on the inside, the outside is all that counts on this list.

10. Witchblade #150: A beautiful cover for the “End of an Era” issue of Witchblade, perfectly playing homage to the very first issue of Witchblade and truly “Ending an Era.”

The Top Comic Book Characters to Out-Santa Santa

Greetings and happy holidays, PlAff faithful! It’s around this time every year I find myself thinking fondly of that big red guy who brings so much annual joy to people everywhere. No, I’m not talking about Red-Hulk. No… not Atrocitus, either. To whom then do I refer, I pretend to hear you ask? Santa Claus, of course!

Santa Claus is the holiest, jolliest, and Christmas cheeriest guy around. He’s the best he is at what he does. Or is he? Sure, Santa is great, but there are so many characters in comics that there have to be some who can do what even Santa can’t. This is my list of the top comic book characters to out-Santa Santa.

Comic Books That Should Become Movies

There are many comics that would be received well in Hollywood, or at least deserve a chance to become the next Dark Knight.  These are the series that have the possibility of being transformed into great movies, but probably won’t, as Hollywood is busy making Batman 27: Batman Meets Jigsaw (now there’s a great fanfic idea).

Yes, there have been several Swamp Thing movies and a TV series, none of which have been terribly appalling. But almost all were cheesy B-movies. I remember before watching the Return of the Swamp Thing movie from the 80’s I read the entire book based off of the movie, written by Peter David, and it was a creepy, horrific tale filled with suspenseful moments. Then I watched the film. Many of the plot points were the same, but the effects kept the film from being horrifying and it was instead a great sci-fi adventure. Now with the power of CGI at Hollywood’s disposal and the popularity of the Swamp Thing series making the Green more streamline, a sincerely terrifying movie would be a great addition to the comic book movie library.

You Missed That Issue? – Pieces for Mom: A Tale of the Undead

In this feature we take a look at a comic book that fell on the wayside despite being a gem – a very bloody gem too.  Pieces for Mom was a one-shot that came out in 2007 and was written by one of the masters of comic book horror, Steve Niles, writer of such fan-favorites as 30 Days of Night and Simon Dark.

In Pieces for Mom we join Derek and Mike, two young boys trying to survive in a post-apocalyptic world.  Their previous life as a happy family is seen being shattered by the zombie apocalypse when their mother and father go on a food run one day and only their mother returns, with a nasty zombie bite.  Being their mother and retaining her ability to speak, the boys can not put her out of her misery and keep her chained up in her old bedroom, continually feeding her flesh.

And the Next Movie is… Hack/Slash

Ever since this now renowned horror series hit the stands the creators said it would become a movie. It hit the stands in 2007. Still no movie. With all the remakes now in the world of horror people are begging to see some originality, and transferring this series from comics to a feature length film would be the perfect Halloween treat.

A lot of speculation has gone in to what it could be about and who should play lead heroine Cassie Hack, behemoth of a bodyguard and friend Vlad, and the various other supporting characters in Hack/Slash. I’m here to say what I think should be, and hopefully one day will be in the future Hack/Slash movie. The movie needs to have the combined blood shed and comedy that the series has, and therefore deserves some of the greatest names in horror.

Comics That Would Make Great Cartoons

In terms of entertainment, no two mediums are as similar as cartoons and comics. Put some motion into a comic and you have yourself a cartoon. Pause a cartoon on TV and write in marker above the character’s head what they’re saying and you have a comic. Don’t do that though. However, not all comics have become cartoons. Yeah, a lot definitely should stay on the page, though there are those that would make for great translations. Here are just a few of them.

Unlucky 13: Thirteen of the Creepiest Comic Characters

In celebration of the upcoming holiday I wanted to write some spooky features this month.  This time we’ll be spotlighting some of the creepiest characters in all of comics. Some of these unlucky thirteen have faces only a mother could love, while others have minds no one could love – and there are some puns only I find funny.

Cartoons That Would Make Great Comics

There have been tons of comic book adaptations of all sorts of media, just as there have been adaptations of comics in different media. When there is more story to tell and a low budget method of putting it out is needed, comics to the rescue. However, no media, to my mind, makes a more effective transition than cartoons. I grew up reading comics based on The Simpsons and Ren & Stimpy. Comics allow a transition from cartoons that carry the same art and the same personality, offering fans more of what they love or a new perspective on their favorites. Of course, not everything is going to translate as well as others, but here are some cartoons that I genuinely think would make great comics.