12.19.2018

'Graffiti Miles' by Marcus Williams [Fan Art]


"Graffiti Miles hittin' that note. I definitely had to show some love for this amazing film, Spiderman: Into the Spider-Verse. There's so much 'good' in the character building of this movie that makes me want to render scenes of the aftermath beyond the film." – Marcus Williams

12.11.2018

Six nifty Spider-Verse-related gift ideas, courtesy of your friendly neighborhood personal shopper. [Hotlinked]



So...did I mention how those utterly shameless swagger jackers working for Mony (Marvel + Sony) had the unmitigated gall to have a muhfuggin' Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse Fan Art Contest?!?! *Stares in Samuel L. Jackson*

Yeah, those suckers just keep twistin' that rusty Walmart hunting knife in my back at every imaginable turn. And I'm still giving Spider-Verse love like a dumb-dumb, because that's what loyal fanboyz do, even when that love ain't returned. 

Anywhoo, check out my post on some sweet Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse-related nerd merch™ by clicking on this lil' link right 'chere.


11.01.2018

X-Men / Shazam: Clash of the Multiverse [Fan Art]

X-Men / Shazam: Clash of the Multiverse mash-up by Paco Taylor

Respects (and apologies) to Alex Ross, the artist whose beautiful imagery was taken from two different comic book covers to create this mash-up idea that zinged me like a baby lightning bolt on Halloween eve. (See: Sugar rush) 

What you see isn’t the original idea that hit me, calling for a Storm Halloween cosplay mash-up of some sort. But I’m very happy with the more organic place the creative process took the original idea and what came out of it. 

As you can see, Storm of the X-Men stands in for Mary Marvel (aka Black Mary, circa 2007), striking an electrifying pose in front of Black Adam and Mighty Isis. The lighting bolt on the torso is a perfect complement to the little gold lightning bolt earrings that Storm was given in the early 90s, when her look from the previous decade was given a makeover.

If DC and Marvel were ever to revisit their Amalgam Comics imprint of the 90s, which saw heroes from both comic book universes merged to create new ones, Storm–as is quite apparent here–would be a natural (and gorgeous) fit for the Shazam comics universe. 

I'll leave it up to someone else to come up with a cool name for the new character. I needed a creative distraction from my writing duties, but now I've got to get back to work. 

Oh, yeah! And shout-out to AsylusGoji91 for the Clash of the Multiverse logo. It was a perfect fit for this comic book cover-style fan art.

Paco 
pacotaylor.contently

––––––––––––––––––––––

Original art: Alex Ross 
Digital composite: Me 

Storm and Uncanny X-Men ™ & © Marvel Comics • Black Adam and Mighty Isis ™ & © DC Comics



Uncanny X-Men NOW #29 (Variant cover by Alex Ross)

Justice Society of America #25 (Regular cover by Alex Ross)


10.19.2018

Did Stan Lee Base Magneto and Professor X on Martin Luther King and Malcolm X? [Hot Linked]



This idea about the influence of MLK and Malcolm X on Stan Lee's creation of the mutant leaders in X-Men comics has been circulating on the interwebz for years now. Amusingly, I even saw it mentioned in a short film recently. So I decided that it was finally time for Professor XXL to weigh in on whether or not this one is fact or fiction.

Oh, but do know that I've known the answer all along. And now you–if you don't know already–will, too. You can check out the essay by clicking here.

10.15.2018

[Press-N-Play®] Momoiro Clover Z vs Kiss - "Yume no Ukiyo ni Saite Mi na"



UM...HOW DID THIS HAPPEN, AND HOW AM I JUST LEARNING ABOUT IT?!?!

Despite my not owning any records, CDs or even a single mp3 track by the legendary rock group KISS, I still have a soft spot for 'em that dates back to my days as a lil' crumb snatcher. This is mainly because–aside from their super cool-looking visuals and superhero-like alter egos–the band had a series of toys made in their image (by MEGO), and a comic book published by Marvel (Marvel Comics Super Special #1, 1977). 

In addition to that serious soft spot for KISS, I have a fanatical love of anime that dates back to childhood. I've mentioned before how old school Japanese import TV 'toons like Prince Planet, Speed Racer, Starblazers, Battle of the Planets, Captain Harlock and others helped make me into the big ol' otaku that I am today. 

Well, the video for "Yume no Ukiyo ni Saite Mi na" ("Try to Bloom in a Dream About the Floating World") is giving me all the feels. The idol group Momoiro Clover Z did this rockin' lil ditty as a collabo with KISS back in 2015. I didn't know anything about it, though, until 10 or so minutes ago. So I'm postin' it here, cuz I know I'm not alone. 

And no, it's not subtitled in English. Deal widdit.

I mean enjoy!

10.09.2018

The Incredible Hulk vs Man-Thing!

Incredible Hulk issue 197 (March 1976). Cover by Bernie Wrightson.

One of the great things about comics is that somehow–even having lived through the Bronze Age–there's still so many cool books that I've never even seen. Wow.

9.18.2018

4.04.2018

Hey, Marvel! You got some purty colors on them new fangled 'Avengers: Infinity War' posters



Pink, electric cyan, lavender, greens, reds, varying shades of blue and hints of still other nearly-fluorescent colors. The arrangement is, um... "virtually antithetical to the hyper-masculine colors typically associated with testosterone-driven superhero movies." Heck, it almost kinda-sorta makes you wonder how ya'll came up with such a color palette.






Naw, just kidding. It really it doesn't. [Stares in Don Cheadle] Well played, motherfuckers.


Anywho, just wanted to say beautiful work on the 22 Avengers: Infinity War posters that you dropped on the nerdiverse today. Really beautiful. I approve. (You also get middle fingers, yeah, but I approve.)

St. Paco

3.28.2018

Opinion: Halle Berry Was Right Choice To Play Storm In ‘X-Men’ Movies [Hot Linked]



Yoooo! My new piece over on Medium (moved to Vocal.media) goes out as a special dedication to all the Halle Berry haters–cuz y'all suck. Feel free to get abreast on how I managed to milk more out of this very passionate topic of debate amongst geeks than should have been possible by (c)licking here.

~ 7 min read ~

3.27.2018

Martial Arts Movie Stars Bruce Lee And Jim Kelly Wore Onitsuka Tiger Sneakers [Hot Linked]


Onitsuka Tiger 'Gap Khaki' parody ad by STP Design

I'm going to miss seeing it in the margin atop my "Most Viewed" posts (where it's pretty much stayed since August of 2015!), but this popular lil' piece was deactivated by yours truly today. That's the bad news. 

The good news is that I've given the post a Revised-N-Remastered™ edition. I've beefed up the original version with more info and more pics and posted it all to Medium. You can check it out by clicking here.

~ 5 min read ~

2.28.2018

Paco Picks Out The 20 COOLEST 'Black Panther' Comic Book Covers For Krypton Radio!


Sometime back in November of 2017, the nice editors over at Krypton Radio extended this blogger an invitation to write for their sci-fi-centric website. And...last week I finally got around to pitchin' 'em an idea, which they were happy to accept. So, in honor of Marvel's newest box office smash, I pulled out my long boxes and clawed my way through 40 years of comics history to pick out what I deem to be the top 20 illest and flyest and dopest and – simply – coolest Black Panther comic book covers. Give it a gander on Krypton Radio's website by clicking here.

Excelsior!

2.07.2018

Once Upon A Time In China: An Open Letter To Anyone Who Might Be Mildly Interested



Early last year, I ran across a review written by a Dr. Adams Bodomo, the professor of African Studies at the University of Vienna (Austria). A book by author Don Wyatt, The Blacks of Premodern China, had been critiqued by Dr. Bodomo, and I admired his sharp insights.

I had only read a few chapters of Wyatt's book, but I was likewise critical of many of his theories on the origins of black folks in China prior to 1912 (when its modern era began). So on a lark, very late on the evening of January 31st, I sent Professor Bodomo a link to my photo essay "Ancient Chinese Secret." When I awoke the next morning, there was a brief reply.

With nothing in the way of fanfare, Dr. Bodomo opened by referring to my essay as "a wonderful piece of writing." Immediately after, he introduced the name of his associate, Professor Li Anshan, who he described as "the best historian on African issues in China."

He also mentioned where I might read some of Anshan's work. (By way of a Google search, I learned that Anshan is a professor at Peking University's School of International Studies. He's also the director of the university's African Studies program.)

Assuming that I might be familiar with the work of the African American historian and world traveler Runoko Rashidi, he also introduced his name into his note.

Ironically, I'd actually sent Runoko a link to the essay right after I sent it to Dr. Bodomo.

Runoko is someone with whom I've been acquainted for a decade. He even republished one of my essays in his 2012 book, African Star Over Asia: The Black Presence in the East (Books of Africa, UK).

I thanked the professor for his kind reply and went on with my day. Later that evening, I checked my stats on Medium...and saw that the page hits on my essay had gone up by about 1,500 new views, over the 950 it had slowly picked up after the piece was posted on November 28.

By Sunday evening, the stats reflected an even more surprising new total of 7.3 thousand views. (As of this posting, the count has just reached 13 thousand views.)

I've yet to write to confirm to whom it was that Dr. Bodomo sent the piece, but it seems that someone of influence liked it, and then shared it.

Benny Luo, the founder of the Nextshark website, saw the piece when it was shared by one of his contacts on Facebook. He tracked down my profile page and messaged me to ask if I was the author of the work. When I confirmed that it was in fact my piece, he asked if he could syndicate it on Nextshark.

Nextshark is an online magazine focused on business, tech, and culture, targeting Asian millennials around the globe. It averages about 3 million unique views per month. (See: site FAQs)

He offered some info about the site and I mentioned that I was already a fan of one of Nextshark's editors, whom I follow on Facebook. I also told him that I'd be pleased to have them syndicate my piece.

The next day, Benny told me to send a headshot and a 2-3 sentence bio. As of February 5, my photo essay currently on the Medium site is also being featured on Nextshark. The page views there are likely to be astronomical.

At the moment, I'm just tryna wrap my head around how quickly it all happened. But I'm happy the essay has finally found its audience. If I do say so myself, it is a wonderful piece of writing.

LOL! Fight me.