MMM/Ultraverse: Freex and Solitaire, all for one or one alone

For the second Ultraverse spotlight, we look at one of the line’s false starts and an under-appreciated gem! Writer Gerard Jones describes two of the books that made the Ultraverse unique. Unlike other MMMs, this is more an reminder of great Marvel properties that deserve a new light than it is an examination of who the heroes are.

The Ultraverse was a writers’ playground, where new takes on comic book standards could be tried out. The X-Men were born mutants, but eventually became part of the super-hero elite. What if they never came out of the shadows? The Punisher wages a one-man army on crime, but what if the Kingpin was his father?

With new characters in a new universe, these concepts could be launched in unexpected directions.

MMM/Ultraverse: The Strangers were Heroes before Heroes was cool

This is the first in a series of Ultraverse spotlights, and fittingly we kick off with a comic about the start of a new age of super-heroes! Writer Steve Englehart was good enough to chime in on some of his favorite creations.

Imagine a world just like our own. Normal people living normal lives. Then one day a rare celestial event occurs, and dozens of people learn they have super-powers.

Sounds like the plot of Heroes? They were The Strangers, the team that jumpstarted the age of the Ultra in 1993!

Marvel Mystery Monday: Stuporman, the Man of the Day After Tomorrow!

He’s big, he’s blue, he’s nigh invulnerable and his smart as a spoon. The Tick maybe? Try Stuporman!

To be fair though, this big guy ain’t as dumb as he looks. He actually outsmarts his enemies and has (psuedo) scientific explanations for his powers.

Marvel Mystery Monday: Davey and the Demon and the Prince of Good

Sorry, I’ve been busy with a road trip to the Grand Canyon and freelance work, but I’m working on a big MMM project. More info soon.

In the tradition of Tommy Tyme and Jimmy Jupiter and other alliterative boy heroes, we take a moment back into the Golden Age of comics to visit Davey Drew, orphan demon summoner.

Davey and his unnamed Demon fought for four issues straight in perhaps the most one-sided extended battle in comicdom. Despite Davey’s valiant efforts to keep humanity safe, he’s long been forgotten by the Marvel Universe.

And now… read on … if you dare!

Marvel Mystery Monday: Obnoxio the Clown, send in the creeps

This week creator Alan Kupperberg talks about one of his most obnoxious creations, and an obscure Marvel character that appeared in dozens of issues before appearing in a single story,

Obnoxio the Clown is one of the strangest heroes to almost exist in the Marvel Universe. For years he was nothing more than the mascot for Marvel’s joke magazine Crazy , like Alfred E. Neuman of Mad or Sylvester P. Smythe of Cracked or ProJunior of Wild or Irving Forbush was for SNAFU.

Unlike all those other guys (well, except maybe Forbush-Man), Obnoxio fought the X-Men.

And won.

Marvel Mystery Monday: Tzin, intergalactic drug pushers

Like the Asthma Monster the Tzin are bad guys who Captain America can fight to show kids how to live a healthier life…unlike the Asthma Monster, the Tzin have Peter David going for them, so that already shoots them up to all sorts of cool.

And yet, they haven’t made a mark on the Marvel Universe yet – what gives?

Ersatz iPhone: is the Quran R-rated? (and Spidey gettin’ ripped off)

Two quick iPhone-related updates here.

First and foremost, something is seriously weird about the iPhone’s self-censorship system.

All apps are slowly updating to catch up to 3.0 software, and apparently updating the iQuran app includes a warning that the Muslim holy book could be inappropriate for minors. This true for other religions? On my phone I have the Quran, the Book of Mormon, the King James edition, the complete works of Shakespeare, Karl Marx and H. G. Wells. I like to stay well-read… but I was surprised by this update.

What gives? Does Apple want minors to reconsider their religious affiliation or was this done by the makers of iQuran? Guided Ways has been notified of the situation, so let’s see where this goes.

In tangentially related news, there’s a new game app that features a red-and-blue hero singing from building to building in a major city by a “rope” shot from his wrists. Rope’n'Fly is apparently not Spider-Man.

Yeah… that’s not Spider-Man, it’s just a coincidence.

Marvel Mystery Monday: Little Lizzie, from copyright infringing to copyright bending

Like other companies in the years between the Golden Age of super-heroes and their revival in the Silver Age, Marvel tried any number of other genres, from westerns to romance to science-fiction. In some areas, particularly the westerns and sci-fi comics, Marvel’s creators excelled far beyond many of their competitors (in quality, if not sales figures), but they weren’t quite as original with some of the also-ran genres.

Take Little Lizzie, for example, she sure seems familiar, and it’s not nice to imitate someone with a lot of friends.

Marvel Mystery Monday: Asthma Monster, the coolest/lamest villain

How important is a villain that can create a dust of death, an army of genetically altered super-beings, a functioning teleporter, a means of power-enhancing life-support and he dresses up in a green, creature-themed costume?

He might sound like the ultimate Marvel villain, until you realize he named himself “The Asthma Monster” and that he could be defeated by regular inhaler usage.

About the Marvel Mystery Handbook

MARVEL MYSTERY HANDBOOK:
70TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL #1

WRITER: Michael Hoskin, Ronald Byrd, Anthony Flamini, Stuart Vandal, KEVIN GARCIA, Jacob Rougemont, David Wiltfong, Sean McQuaid
PENCILS: Mitch Breitweiser
THE STORY:
As the Marvel Universe celebrates 70 years of the world’s greatest comics, journey back to where it all began — OFFICIAL HANDBOOK OF THE MARVEL UNIVERSE style! Featuring the greatest characters of Marvel’s first year — a year that not only gave us the Sub-Mariner, the Human Torch, the Angel and Ka-Zar, but also THE TWELVE’s Black Widow, Phantom Bullet, Electro, Mister E, Dynamic Man, Phantom Reporter, Fiery Mask, Master Mind Excello and Laughing Mask! Also featuring a host of oddities from Fletcher Hanks’ Whirlwind Carter to Taxi Taylor! Plus: an introduction by Timely comics scholar Dr. Michael J. Vassallo! Rated T …$4.99
IN STORES: September 30, 2009