Nah, Deadpool is NOT one of the worst superhero films ever..although that Wolverine film he was in…

Recently and in the past few decades we have seen some critically acclaimed and financially $ucce$$ful films based on comic book characters . The Captain America Trilogy, Christopher Nolan’s Batman Trilogy, Guardians of the Galaxy, and the aforementioned Deadpool are recent blockbusters. Before these films, Tim Burton’s Batman (1989) and Batman Returns (1992) were financial successes that were nominated for Academy Awards with Batman winning one; Warren Beatty’s Dick Tracy (1990) won three Oscars, and Superman: The Movie (1978) was nominated for three Academy Awards, winning an Oscar for Special Achievement for Visual Effects for a total of four Oscar nods.

However, we have also seen box office bombs like The Rocketeer (1991), Billy Zane’s The Phantom (1996), and 1987’s He-Man and The Masters of The Universe (Frank Langella is positively deliciously evil as Skeletor and you Jack Kirby fans will have a field day with the references to Kirby’s New Gods/Fourth World work).  These flops are entirely watchable and entertaining films. They have since developed popular cult followings which isn’t nothing to dismiss. Zane’s Phantom movie did very well in VHS and DVD sales and is presently on Netflix. Remember, even the classic 1939 musical The Wizard of Oz was a commercial flop. That family favorite film property is worth millions now.

AND THEN there are the colossal stinkers. The ones that put the “B.O.” in Box Office (B.O. means smelly body odor in American slang). Movies so bad you wonder how they got made in the first place and who was fired for approving the script, cast, and film be it on the big screen or on television. Some were surprise bombs–Jonah Hex is a great character; the film had a great cast. Yet the storyline was lousy.We all have heard the comments about bombs like Ben Affleck’s Daredevil, his estranged wife Jennifer Garner’s Elektra, Seth Rogen’s The Green Hornet, Halle Berry’s Cat-woman, and Ryan Reynold’s Green Lantern; but these films did not make the list of the top five biggest stinkers. What could be worse than these films? Let me jog your memory.

5. STEEL (1997)

Kenneth Johnson created the television series “V” and “The Bionic Woman” and was instrumental in developing the television shows “Alien Nation” and “The Incredible Hulk”. Shaquille O’Neal was an NBA superstar and champion. Together they made this abysmal flop about the supporting DC character from the Superman mythos who had his own comic once and long ago in one of DC’s many reboots. A heavily and overly exploited joke in this film is the reference to O’Neal’s inability to complete free-throws. Yep. That’s about it for this disaster. NEXT!

4. THE FANTASTIC FOUR (2015)

What could be worse than all previous versions of the Fantastic Four live action films? THIS ONE. A totally revamped version of the first family of comics when the fans were begging BEGGING I SAY for one great film and what did they get–a science fiction film that would have stood better off alone on its own rather than be attached to the familiar family property. It did not help the fate of this film that some of the lead actors made arrogant and ignorant remarks prior to and during the filming of this movie; nor did it help that the media plagued the film with its constant barrage of political correctness mud slinging. The director fighting with cast and crew and leaving the project in this one act debacle pretty much sealed its doom that no doctor could have saved.  Hope you caught the pun-NEXT!

3. SUPERMAN III (1983)

It’s a shame that after two great Superman films Christopher Reeve ended up playing second fiddle to an out of place Richard Pryor in this film. Both men seem to be just waltzing through this after they got a paycheck for this poor excuse of a sequel.  This is how evil Superman’s twin is: he straightened out Italy’s Leaning Tower of Pisa. Any more evil and he might have gone as far as stealing Bruce Wayne’s left socks. NEEEEE–XT!

2. SUPERMAN IV: THE QUEST FOR PEACE (1987)

It’s a shame that after two great Superman films Christopher Reeve–whoa. Deja vu! What the heck? Yep, another abysmal Superman sequel starring one of if not the best men to don to iconic cape and suit. This one is an incredible train wreck. The premise is ridiculous. Superman is practically tyrant of the Earth as he informs all governments that he is getting rid of their nuclear weapon, and they just blindly accept his “generous” act?  Seriously? That act would make him world enemy and global threat #1 to nations of the planet Earth. Who is he to dictate world policy and step on the sovereign power of each country? We also get to see the Mariel Hemingway as Clark Kent’s new love interest breathe in outer space. What? This film is a face palm from start to end. Regardless how you feel about the last three Superman films, they were better than this and made a whole lot more money than this film and Superman III. This brings us to…

The worst comic book adaptation to film is THE MAN-THING (2005). Even George Lucas’  Howard The Duck was  better than this production shown on the Sy Fy (nee: Sci Fi) Network.  Have you seen it? Good! Then don’t! His powers are different, his origin is different–you figure the people behind the 2015 Fantastic Four film would have paid attention to this disastrous formula in bringing a property to film but nooooooo!  IF IT AIN’T BROKE DON’T FIX IT! His costume looks like a reject of the Spawn suit from the awful 1997 Spawn film (which made number 6 on this list!) painted in green! The character was liked by the fans as it was! You mess with it, you get what you sowed! A disaster!  The Man-Thing in this film is more like DC’s Swamp Thing who had TWO enjoyable films and his own series. You’re far much better off watching Swamp Thing than the unrecognizable Man-Thing mess.

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Each issue is masterfully laid out with illustrations perfectly balancing the articles on every page. Interesting features of the magazine include its recurring mascot HATCH (a simple unassuming character trying to peacefully travel through the void of space on his asteroid) and that the cover of Comics Unlimited is often illustrated by a featured talent interviewed in the magazine. Issue #1 for instance has the cover illustrated and inked by the multi Harvey Award winning artist Joe Staton in a detective noir style of Frank Miller.

The bi-monthly digital magazine is over 80 pages long starting with issue #1. There is a 34 page issue #0 of the on-line magazine that is free for your viewing pleasure. The free digital issue can be seen at http://www.sequentialmediapublishing.com or on the Facebook page of Comics Unlimited where you can also order your subscription. For the price of five issues you get a sixth one free. Or you can order a single issue of the 80 plus page magazine for only $7.50 USD by sending an email to this email address: sequentialmediapublishing@gmail.com, or just go to the Paypal link and order one copy, stating which copy you want. With the prices of most comics hovering around the $5.00 USD mark for 30 pages, this amount of entertaining in depth material in over 80 pages of glorious color is too tempting to miss.

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Jack Kirby passed away on this date 22 years ago.

I wrote passed away because he never died. What he did for the medium, how he influenced so many, will be unmatched. Artists have come and gone who drew “better” than him but have they left a legacy as untouchable as  him? Nope, not in comparison.Get into a discussion about creators in comicdom and his name comes up faster than two guys who created some fella named “Superman”. If there was no Kirby, so many characters would not have existed; characters who influenced other characters and franchises including Star Wars. He’s influenced so many artists who have gone into the field of comics.  There have been many creators in fiction, science fiction, and superheroes. Greats, Icons, Legends…but there was only one King. He may not have created Superman but he was one in his own right. Kirby has been ripped off in more ways than one that it’s sickening, His work is so great, so grand, that when Hollywood takes the properties he created, co-created, or embellished on, the hard core fans flip tables and revolt. They boycott. I don’t and can’t blame them on that. I’m not in any way, shape, or form dismissing the work of every other artist out there established or not; but what Kirby brought to the plate is untouchable. He’s the Babe Ruth of comics. The Elvis that shook it all up. He was and remains, The King.

His legacy lives on, there are some great Kirby pages that are on Facebook run by some passionate creative gentleman who we’ve been lucky to have interviewed on Eclecticka (streaming live on Sunday nights at 8:30pm on SEVNetwork. com with taped shows on YouTube) Check them out, and you’ll find that they, and members of their pages, have books, essays,magazines, and other merchandise on Kirby that you’ve never seen before.

Long live the King.

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