As I’ve mentioned earlier, I’ve been reading and collecting comic books for almost my entire life and I’m a huge fan of the superhero genre. But lately I can’t seem to finish reading that last stack of trade paperbacks I have lying around, because there are just so many great movies, animated films and TV shows coming out, featuring comic book superheroes. Today I’d like to talk to you about some of my recent favorites. And there may be spoilers ahead, so you have been warned!
Captain Marvel
The first movie I’d like to talk about is Captain Marvel. My friend and I went to see it last thursday, on it’s opening night, and I really liked it. It’s not an epic tale like Infinity War was, but it’s a nice origin movie for new fans to get to know Carol Danvers and sets up the character for the upcoming Endgame movie, which premieres in a couple of weeks. I liked Brie Larson as Carol, Samuel L. Jackson was brilliant as always and seeing Monica Rambeau as a kid was a nice touch as well. And you just have to love Goose the Flerken. Please ignore all the crazy reviews and politics surrounding this movie on the internet and just go and see it, people. It’s a fun superhero movie and you really should see it before watching Avengers: Endgame.
The Umbrella Academy
In my last entry I talked about Netflix’s Titans show and how it related to the comic books. And that’s how it’s always been. Most of the time I will at least have read some of the comics featuring the superhero characters that appear in a movie or show. But this was not the case with The Umbrella Academy. I knew about the comic book and that it was written by the singer from My Chemical Romance, but I just never got around to reading it. So I went in “clean” and really loved the show. This is definitely one of the best shows I’ve seen on Netflix thus far. The story, the characters, the casting and even the soundtrack are really good. Please give it a try, folks. You won’t be disappointed! I actually liked it so much, that I am currently reading the comic book series as well, on my iPad, using the Dark Horse comics app.
Reign of the Supermen
I actually remember when Superman died in the early 90’s. It was a really big deal back then, so last year’s The Death of Superman animated movie took me back to those times, because it was done so well. And like in the comics, it is now followed by Reign of the Supermen, featuring 4 alternate versions of the man of steel, who are trying to pick up the mantle. Like with most DC animated movies, the animation and voice acting is spot on and I really enjoyed it. Marvel may be doing a better job with big screen, live action adaptations of their comic books, but DC definitely has the upper hand as far as animation is concerned.
Punisher season 2
Those of you who’ve read my entry about my top ten comic book heroes wil know that the Punisher is one of my all time favorite characters. So I was really excited when he got his own Netflix show, after appearing in Daredevil’s. However, I didn’t like the first season that much. I know his origin story had to be told, but to me the focus was too much on Frank’s military past. Now season 2 is out and it’s a lot more like the comic books. From the brutal violence to his relationship with the few friends and allies that he has; it feels a lot more like the Frank Castle we’ve come to know and love from the comic books.
Upcoming stuff
Unfortunately we don’t have DC’s streaming service here in Europe, so I still haven’t seen Young Justice season 3 and Doom Patrol season 1. I hope Netflix Europe will pick both up soon, like they did with Titans and the previous Young Justice seasons, because I’m really looking forward to watching both. And the next few months are going to be very busy if you like superhero movies. Shazam, Hellboy and Avengers: Endgame all hit theaters next month and Dark Phoenix and Spider-Man: Far From Home are coming up in june and july. That’s just crazy, but also pretty awesome if you think about it. These are great times to be a comic book and superhero fan. I’m just glad I stopped watching all those CW shows, because otherwise I wouldn’t get around to reading actual comics anymore 😉
Comic Geek 76 - My Thoughts On Comics and Pop Culture 