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Post by Van Plexico on May 24, 2009 11:34:06 GMT -5
I wanted to mention that I picked up BACK ISSUE this month for the Warlock coverage, totally forgetting that our own Karen wrote the main article! It was terrific! (And she mentioned Assembled 2 in her "about the author" blurb at the end, too!)
Way to go, Karen!
(I know Sharon had an article in an earlier issue and she deserves full kudos, too. I haven't had a chance to grab a copy of it, yet, though. )
Great job, you two.
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Post by Van Plexico on May 24, 2009 11:28:22 GMT -5
Thanks very much, everyone. We're all set.
I will post the final tallies after the event at DragonCon.
And if you're planning on coming to DragonCon (Atlanta, GA, Labor Day weekend), come to Marvel / DC Family Feud!
We will also be unveiling ASSEMBLED! 2 at a panel there.
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Post by Van Plexico on May 15, 2009 6:36:25 GMT -5
Here's the Table of Contents for ASSEMBLED! 2. If you're looking for something and it's not here, it's more than likely in A3 now. The indented lines here-- assuming they come through-- are the "text box features" that are smaller.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Preface
Introduction by Tom Brevoort
PART ONE: THE BIG THREE
And There Came A Day... (Van Allen Plexico)
Captain America: An Overview (Dave Medinnus) Captain America Ratings: The Steve Rogers Scale (David Medinnus)
Captain America, Welcome to the Avengers (Sharon Karibian)
The Romantic Life of Captain America (David Medinnus)
Captain America: Ultimate Avenger? (David Medinnus) Why Captain America Should Not be Avengers Leader (Ian Watson)
Captain America: Fallen Son (Mark Bousquet) The Golden Age Captain America (David Medinnus)
Iron Man: An Overview (Rob Clough) Iron Man in the Late 1970s (Van Allen Plexico)
Tony Stark: Villain (Mark Beaulieu) Iron Man’s World Conquest (Van Allen Plexico) The “Mr. Kline” Anticlimax (Scott Harris)
Of Gods and Men: The Mighty Thor (Karen Walker) On the Problems of Thor as an Avenger (Ian Watson) Gerry Conway’s Thor (Scott Harris) Why the Avengers are More Interesting with Thor on the Team (Trace Shelton) The Celestials and Thor (Scott Harris) Jim Starlin's Thor (Scott Harris)
The Big Three: Perceptions and Reality (Ian Watson)
The Big Three: History of a Friendship (Roberto Branca)
Jarvis: Why He is an Avenger (Joe Crowe) Jarvis Assembled: His Top Seven Moments (Ian Watson)
PART TWO: FOES NO SINGLE SUPERHERO COULD WITHSTAND
On Ultron and the March of the Machines (Ian Watson)
Ultron as Pym’s True Son (James Cameron Newton)
A Brief History of Kang (Rob Clough, Michael Proteau, Owen Erasmus, and Van Allen Plexico) Kang’s Immortality Problem (Van Allen Plexico)
Of Kurt and Kang (Van Allen Plexico)
PART THREE: DISASSEMBLED
Avengers at a Glance (Joe Crowe)
The Young Avengers (George Kopec)
The Iron Man Movie: A Personal Take (Van Allen Plexico) The Iron Man Movie Sucks / Rocks (The Jarvis Heads) Iron Man (Animated): Armored Adventures (Joe Crowe)
Worst Reporters Ever (Mark Beaulieu)
Avengers Forever (Rob Clough) Avengers Annual #7 and MTIO Annual #2 (Van Allen Plexico)
Avengers Assemble--in the Bookstore! (Keith RA DeCandido)
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Post by Van Plexico on May 11, 2009 20:17:41 GMT -5
For DragonCon this fall, instead of JEOPARDY, I am going to host Marvel / DC Family Feud!
I need to survey comics fans for this. So please read the following and post your ONE reply for each.
thanks! --Van
WE SURVEYED 100 GEEKS. TOP ___ ANSWERS ARE ON THE BOARD.
Name a super-villain who wears a cape.
Name a city in the DC Universe.
Name an animal closely associated with a superhero.
Name a job a hero has in his or her spare time.
Name a famous comics artist.
Name a famous comics writer.
Name a foe of Spider-Man.
Name a foe of Batman.
Name a facility the Fantastic Four have considered home.
Name a herald of Galactus.
Name a member of the Defenders.
Name a member of the Justice Society of America.
Name an alien race in the Marvel or DC Universes.
Name a member of the Green Lantern Corps.
Name a super hero who is also a millionaire.
Name the super hero power you would most like to have.
Name a member of the Legion of Super Heroes.
Name a superhero weakness.
Name a superhero vehicle.
Name a superhero's significant other.
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Post by Van Plexico on May 6, 2009 9:15:53 GMT -5
ASSEMBLED! 2 has now officially been broken in half-- we are producing TWO books at once: ASSEMBLED! 2 (mostly about the "big three") and ASSEMBLED! 3 (about everyone else).
A2 is nearly done and should be out soon. A3 will be along in a few months.
If you contributed something originally intended for A2 and you don't find it in there-- never fear! It will be in A3.
We had to do this because A2 was going to be over 400 pages and was just out of control.
A2 will have the intro by Tom Brevoort.
A3 will have an intro by Jim Salicrup and the Kurt Busiek chapter in which he discusses his Avengers run.
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Post by Van Plexico on Mar 25, 2009 14:50:46 GMT -5
I have taken almost all of the questions and answers from the last decade of Marvel / DC Jeopardy at DragonCon and put them into one book, formatted so that you can hold your own tourney or just enjoy the trivia: www.amazon.com/Super-Comics-Trivia-Allen-Plexico/dp/1442110910Also includes a bonus of 75 "Marvel InQuizition" questions. What'r ya waiting for?? Order one today!
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Post by Van Plexico on Dec 7, 2008 10:17:10 GMT -5
As I see it: (Subject to last-minute change if something spectacular comes out in the next couple of weeks, or if I remember something I'm forgetting now!)
COMIC SERIES OF THE YEAR: Guardians of the Galaxy Runners-up: Nova, Green Lantern, BPRD, Thor, Fantastic Four (Millar), Captain America
BEST COMIC BOOK (single issue) OF THE YEAR: Guardians of the Galaxy #1 Runners-up: Legion of Three Worlds #1, Kull #1, Final Crisis: Rage of the Red Lanterns
BIG EVENT OF THE YEAR: Annihilation: Conquest
MINI-SERIES OF THE YEAR: Hellboy: The Crooked Man Runners-up: BPRD: The Warning
OVERRATED EVENT OF THE YEAR: Secret Invasion Runner-up: Stephen King's Dark Tower
OVERRATED SERIES OF THE YEAR: Invincible Iron Man
SURPRISE COMIC SERIES OF THE YEAR: Kull Runners-up: Captain America
DISAPPOINTMENT COMIC SERIES OF THE YEAR: Solomon Kane Runners-up: Secret Invasion, Conan the Cimmerian
WRITER OF THE YEAR: Dan Abnett Runners-up: Geoff Johns, Ed Brubaker, Mark Millar
ARTIST OF THE YEAR: Paul Pelletier (GotG) Runners-up: George Perez (Legion of Three Worlds), Oliver Coipel (Thor)
CHARACTER OF THE YEAR: Captain America (Winter Soldier) Runners-up: Nova, Green Lantern, Quasar, Rocket Raccoon, Iron Man
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Post by Van Plexico on Dec 7, 2008 9:44:48 GMT -5
Kicking things off with a very simple, overall question.
For the Jarvis Awards this year, we can simply discuss what we felt our favorite comics, characters, and moments were (and least favorite).
At some point, maybe we can create a poll using the "nominees" that appear to have the most support in each category.
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Post by Van Plexico on Oct 28, 2008 14:44:18 GMT -5
Thoughts on the current "Secret Origins" storyline in MS MARVEL?
(I mean, it's not actually called that, but it is extremely similar to the Geoff Johns storyline going on in GREEN LANTERN.)
I thought this book had found its footing of late, but now I'm not so sure. But I do like seeing the exploration of some of Carol's past. Just not sure I like what's being revealed.
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Post by Van Plexico on Oct 28, 2008 14:41:14 GMT -5
I've been reading this series. I love Perez's work and I love the Legion, and I've become quite a fan of Johns's writing on GREEN LANTERN. So this has been a real treat.
I counted up the total number of panels in the first issue of this series, and IIRC the total number was close to 400.
IN. ONE. COMIC.
And it worked. It looked great.
George continues to amaze.
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Post by Van Plexico on Oct 28, 2008 14:39:17 GMT -5
Amen. I have been considering switching to TPBs at some point, mainly for storage convenience (and because, with a new baby around, my individual comics no longer seem quite so "safe!"). This might seal the deal.
I wonder if the TPBs will be going up 33% as well...??
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Post by Van Plexico on Oct 9, 2008 22:35:37 GMT -5
Dispicable and incredibly myopic.
I thought of reducing your number of posts to 1 in order to reduce your rank to "New Avenger," but that would be a silly, "comic book" response to something that was not a silly, comic book action on your part.
I do not claim to have any sort of moral authority to judge your actions, and will say no more on the subject. I will think what I think and others will come to their own conclusions. But I will not take any action of a "Message Board" sort in response to this-- such a thing would, in my view, be woefully inadequate and inappropriate to the situation.
I do, however, have to go into the ASSEMBLED 2 file and erase the dedication page.
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Post by Van Plexico on Sept 15, 2008 8:49:07 GMT -5
Waiting on the very last few chapters to arrive. Then one last big push of editing, and off it goes to Joe for copy editing and to Danny for interior layouts.
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Post by Van Plexico on Aug 19, 2008 21:56:49 GMT -5
This just in: I'm doing a reading of part of the upcoming fourth SENTINELS book at 4 pm on Saturday at DragonCon, in the Williams room.
I'll also read part of MARS MCCOY AND THE CHAOS HORDE, as well as a suprise new novel. I hope you can make it by!
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Post by Van Plexico on Aug 13, 2008 12:51:27 GMT -5
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Post by Van Plexico on Aug 10, 2008 8:39:55 GMT -5
It's that time of the year again-- time for the greatest SF/Fantasy/Comics/multimedia convention in the world! Okay, I lived in Atlanta for 12 years so I'm biased, I'll admit-- but still, Dragon*Con is fantastic fun. It runs Friday, August 29 through Monday, Sept. 1 at the Hyatt Regency, Marriott Marquis, and Hilton hotels in Atlanta, Georgia. The site is www.dragoncon.org. This is my twelfth DragonCon and once again they have me on tons of panels. I will be arriving midday Thursday and will be staying at the Marriott this year, so I will be readily available to meet and hang out with anyone who wants to chat a bit and maybe have a beer or something. They've just released my tentative schedule (below). I hope to get to meet some of you there! Note in particular that they have me scheduled for an Autograph session at 4 pm on Friday in M301-304, and I'll have copies of all my books there to sell and sign. Fri 04:00 pm M301 - M304 Dragon* AutoGraph 1 Hour AUTO Fri 05:30 pm International North Politics in SF 1 Hour SFLIT This will be me debating John Ringo for the third straight year. Last year we were joined by Tom Kratman. Who knows who'll be with us this time around? The mud gets slung hot and heavy, to mix metaphors... Fri 07:00 pm A703 Friday Night Games: Stump the Geeks 1 Hour CLSF I will be one of the "expert geeks" in Joe Crowe's annual trivia contest. Fri 08:30 pm Fairlie Communication from Beyond 1 Hour SFLIT This is a readings panel (of dead authors) in which I have been selected to read some of Roger Zelazny's works. He's my favorite author so it should be much fun. Sat 10:00 am Fairlie Tolkien & Lewis Breakfast Roundtable 1 Hour SFLIT I join a group of Tolkien scholars to discuss those two British guys and their somewhat obscure works. Sat 02:30 pm Greenbriar The Dark Tower 1 Hour SFLIT Discussing Stephen King's epic series and his other SF-related work. Sat 05:30 pm L508 Marvel vs DC Jeopardy 1 Hour COMICS This will be the tenth anniversary of my comics Jeopardy tournament. We started out in 1999 with about a dozen people in the audience, and last year we had over two hundred!!Sat 10:00 pm Fairlie Attack of Dead Authors Society 1 Hour SFLIT The panelists take on the persona of a famous (and dead) author, "channeling" their spirit and words. This will be my third go-round; I've been Roger Zelazny and Edgar Rice Burroughs. This year: it's a secret! This is a very fun, fan-favorite panel. Sun 10:00 am Greenbriar Small Press & Self-Publishing 1 Hour SFLIT I know a little tiny bit about this.... Sun 01:00 pm A703 Planet of the Apes 40th Anniversary 1 Hour CLSF How I ended up here, I'm not sure.... but hey, I liked the movie, so I will contribute my 2 cents to the conversation. Sun 02:30 pm A703 What happened to the Sci-Fi Channel? 1 Hour CLSF A pretty self-explanatory topic! Sun 04:00 pm Greenbriar SF & Fantasy Jeopardy 1 Hour SFLIT My second (or third??) year of doing the Jeopardy thing for the SF Lit track. Prizes and fun! Sun 05:30 pm A703 King Kong: 75th Anniversary 1 Hour CLSF Yeah. Um. I don't even like monkeys, and I'm doing two panels about them... Huh. Sun 07:00 pm Fairlie Look at All the Purty Pictures 1 Hour SFLIT A panel on graphic novels, not in the Comics track. Sounds fun. Mon 10:00 am Fairlie Roger Zelazny: Face of the New Wave 1 Hour SFLIT Greatest. SF. Writer. Ever. I will discuss. Mon 11:30 am Greenbriar Tales of Dragaera 1 Hour SFLIT A discussion of Steven Brust's works. I met him at OmegaCon a few months back, and he's about as entertaining as his books are. Which is to say, very.
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Post by Van Plexico on Jul 31, 2008 13:33:04 GMT -5
Except that he says in the interview that he's not doing the ULTIMATES. It's a new series involving the Ultimate universe...
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Post by Van Plexico on Jul 31, 2008 13:31:55 GMT -5
Everything I've ever read or heard has indicated it was supposed to be Ultron.
Same situation as the "Other" in IRON MAN during that period-- the writers changed, and the new guy had to figure out what to do with what the previous guy was doing.
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Post by Van Plexico on Jul 31, 2008 7:16:02 GMT -5
Just a heads-up-- with three days to go on these new auctions, many have no bids at all, and some can be had for ridiculously low prices. For example, as of now you can get EVERY issue of MIGHTY AVENGERS plus the annuals for $6.99! Every issue of AVENGERS: THE INITIATIVE plus extras for $5.99! Every issue of NEW AVENGERS #8-present plus the annuals for $12.00!The ENTIRE set of ANNIHILATION comics (just about everything from the first storyline!) for $6.99! Lots more like that. Check it out, tell yer friends.
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Post by Van Plexico on Jul 27, 2008 11:29:36 GMT -5
The second and final batch of comics auctioned on Ebay to help support AvengersAssemble.net and pay the costs for travel to conventions for Jeopardy and the like-- GOES UP TODAY (SUNDAY JULY 27) beginning at 5 pm CST!!See them all here: tinyurl.com/59qlg5This round of auctions includes: THE NEW AVENGERS # 8-43 complete Bendis + Annuals!
THE MIGHTY AVENGERS 1-16 Bendis Secret Invasion + more!
AVENGERS THE INITIATIVE 1-15 plus Preview, Annual, MORE
CONAN #19-50 Complete Dark Horse Busiek Mignola
SERENITY: Those Left Behind + Better Days JOSS WHEDON
CONAN and the Demons of Khitai 1-4 Complete Yoshida DH
CONAN and the SONGS OF THE DEAD 1-5 Complete J LANSDALE
CONAN: BOOK OF THOTH 1-4 Complete Busiek Wein Jones DH
CONAN and the MIDNIGHT GOD 1-5 Complete King Conan! DH EARTH'S MIGHTIEST HEROES (AVENGERS) 1-8 complete Casey
YOUNG AVENGERS & RUNAWAYS 1-4 complete CIVIL WAR!
Avengers WONDER MAN Complete 1-5 Peter David
IRON MAN: THE INEVITABLE 1-6 Complete! Living Laser!!
IRON MAN: ENTER THE MANDARIN 1-6 Complete!
IRON MAN: LEGACY OF DOOM 1-4 Complete LAYTON MICHELINIE
IRON MAN: HYPERVELOCITY 1-6 Complete Excellent!
THE THING 1-8 Complete Dan Slott series Excellent!
THOR 1-9 new series Complete JMS Coipel incl. Variant
CAPTAIN MARVEL 1-5 Complete SECRET INVASION Reed Weeks
FANTASTIC FOUR Millar Hitch complete 554-558 + EXTRAS!
ULTIMATE FANTASTIC FOUR collection Millar Zombies MORE!
SQUADRON SUPREME 1-7 complete JMS Frank +"Saga" + MORE!
ANNIHILATION MEGA-PACK!! Complete + all 4 minis + MORE! tinyurl.com/59qlg5
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Post by Van Plexico on Jul 26, 2008 8:36:18 GMT -5
The first set of auctions to help fund AvengersAssemble.net for the next year will be coming to an end tomorrow (Sunday) afternoon. As of this morning (Saturday), there are some * excellent* bargains still available, including: THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD (Waid/Perez) complete run #1-12 for $4.99 All the Warren Ellis THUNDERBOLTS for $5.99 Brubaker's CAPTAIN AMERICA from #25-40 (beginning with the "Death" issue, #25, which is a variant cover version, first printing) for $6.99 total Brad Meltzer's JUSTICE LEAGUE run for $3.99 ULTIMATE POWER complete series for $3.99 SUPERGIRL AND THE LEGION complete run for $3.99 ETERNALS (Gaiman/Romita Jr) complete set for $3.99 MOON KNIGHT (Huston/Finch entire run) for $3.99 IRON MAN (current series) #7-31 for $3.99 Go to Ebay.com and search seller: darthkoshior use this short link: tinyurl.com/59qlg5
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Post by Van Plexico on Jul 25, 2008 9:38:07 GMT -5
www.whiterocketbooks.com/sentinels/I've set up a new site for the SENTINELS, complete with the short story I originally wrote for A THOUSAND FACES magazine. The story comes just after the events of book 3, so beware-- you may want to read the books first. No huge spoilers, but you do learn a tiny bit about who's on the team at that point, etc! (Or just read the story to decide if you like the writing and the characters enough to pick up the books!) Or just check out Chris Kohler's interior art for books 1 and 2. I'll post book 3's art there when that book hits stores in a few weeks! www.whiterocketbooks.com/sentinels/
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Post by Van Plexico on Jul 25, 2008 6:58:24 GMT -5
"Starfox" in the Avengers? Not much interest here. I wasn't reading comics during the late 1980s and missed Stern's entire run the first time around.
"Eros" in CAPTAIN MARVEL? Awesome.
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Post by Van Plexico on Jul 22, 2008 9:46:31 GMT -5
Glad you liked it! That reminds me-- I need to check in on the printer's site and see how well it's been selling lately. We're hoping to have volume 2 along at some point, but it's mired in delays. We shall see.
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Post by Van Plexico on Jul 21, 2008 6:18:40 GMT -5
This is the best book Marvel is putting out right now, three months in a row.
Brubaker's CAP is very close, with its incredibly well-constructed scenes and dialogue and pacing.... but I think I enjoy GOTG just a tad more, due to its eclectic cast and humor and wild storylines, and the always-excellent writing of Dan Abnett.
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Post by Van Plexico on Jul 21, 2008 6:12:00 GMT -5
"In fire." --Kosh, 2259
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Post by Van Plexico on Jul 20, 2008 19:24:02 GMT -5
Time for me to do my periodic cleaning out of the longboxes, boys and girls. I have a raft of comics I'm putting up for sale, hoping they find happy new homes and delighted new readers. All profits go to helping keep AvengersAssemble.net up and running!The first big batch is up now, with each of these listed in separate auctions: tinyurl.com/59qlg5 * The Brave and the Bold 1-12 G Perez / M Waid complete
* A Thunderbolts mega-set
* Stephen King's Dark Tower mega-set
* Astro City comics
* Meltzer's Justice League of America run
* Ultimate Power complete set
* Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes complete run
* Captain America 25-40 "Death" (Bru) with variant #25
* Iron Man 7-31 current run
* Moon Knight 1-13 Huston/Finch complete
* CIVIL WAR 1-7 1st printing w/ MANY Extras
* Eternals (Gaiman/Romita) 1-6 complete
* Green Lantern Corps 14-25 w/extras (Sinestro Corps War)
* Green Lantern 21-32 (Sinestro Corps War)See them on Ebay here: tinyurl.com/59qlg5 These can be combined to save on shipping costs, of course. Spread the word if you know someone who might want these, and help keep AA.net alive! More are coming soon!
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Post by Van Plexico on Jul 20, 2008 19:10:23 GMT -5
The Watcher did turn up at the beginning of CIVIL WAR, right? And then basically vanish from the story...?
This seems quite plausible to me. Why else make such a big deal about this being a "religious sect" of the Skrulls, rather than just the Skrulls in general?
Good thinking.
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Post by Van Plexico on Jul 19, 2008 8:36:49 GMT -5
I just did a quick Ebay check and there are like a dozen copies of CAPTAIN MARVEL #58, for very cheap. That's pretty much the first issue of the Isaac/Titan storyline, where Drax shows up to kill Mar-Vell. I imagine the whole run can be had pretty inexpensively.
It's roughly 58-62 (series ends there) plus MARVEL SPOTLIGHT #1-3.
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Post by Van Plexico on Jul 18, 2008 11:50:59 GMT -5
You would already know the answer to that question if you read his recent series!
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