Harley Quinn #58 (Variant Cover Edition)

Hey Puddin'!

Yours truly gave the fan art piece by singapore-based artist Derrick Chew (seen above and below) the top spot in a short Harley Quinn fan art listicle that I published to geeks.media sometime back (give it a peep by clicking here). So it was super effin' cool to learn just now that it's gonna be used by DC Comics as a special variant cover for Harley Quinn #58 (street date: 2/6/19). I won't go as far as to presume that my article really had anything to do with its selection by DC, but I'm tremendously happy for Chew...and I low key hope that it did.

'Spider-Man: Far From Home' (I See What You Did There, Marvel)

I'm sure that it's just a *ahem* coinkydink, but I really had to chuckle just now. I'd actually known the title for the second installment of the Tom Holland Spider-Man reboot series for a while. Months maybe. But it was only today, when I saw the new poster, that I recalled a comment I'd made about how I'd set my "Ultimate Spider-Man" story idea beyond the now boring borders of NYC.

"I also thought that I'd detail the story ideas that I have for my 'Ultimate Spider-Man' movie, which I've set in Chicago, Tokyo and Hong Kong (NYC settings have become a bit cliché in movies today)..." – Paco Taylor, 6.20.2015

Okay, New York is a great city. Far from boring. But Hollywood has just – I think –  milked the snot out of New York. And anyone who pays even a little attention to the culture of America's eastern media capitol knows that there's a very insulated "It's all about us" mindset there. And the fact Marvel Comics itself has always been based there didn't help. 

But damn. You'd think there weren't 50 States in America, and who knows how many cities across this nation. At least DC's Superman was from Kansas, and we got to see a glimpse of a rural, Midwestern landscape in the old Richard Donner directed Superman. 

Oh, wait. Marvel did put Tony Stark in some faux small town setting in Iron Man 3, right? And before that they were in Monaco for the Grand Prix and he was living a Hollywood/Disneyland lifestyle, so there's that. The Avengers and all the related films have seen various foreign vistas ("Wakanda Forever!"). It was mostly just Spider-Man that was relegated to New York. 

And I get it. In the comics, Spider-Man wasn't traditionally like the members of the Avengers or the Fantastic Four. Spidey has mostly been a cash strapped hometown hero. He could barely keep the rent paid in Lower Manhattan, let alone plan for a trip overseas. So at least he's getting a European vacation by way of a class trip in the upcoming film...which I very likely won't even see. 

I didn't see Spider-Man: Homecoming. I've heard tons of great things about it, but I myself was completely over the Peter Parker character. Let the new generation have their live-action Spider-Man, I had mine with Tobey Maguire in the role. Well, the first two Maguire films. The last one was a dumpster fire. Okay, it had some really good things going for it (Sandman!), but man...the bad things in Spider-Man 3 were/are just unforgivable.    

Anywho, I'm actually tired of posting stuff about Spider-Man(s). I just had to take one final dig at Mony (Marvel + Sony) for seemingly availing themselves still another of my brilliant ideas. 

If you're interested, Kevin Feige, Phil Lord, Peter Ramsey, Chris Miller, et. al, I'm available for casual brainstorming sessions and think tanks; I require that room temperature Fiji Water®, unsweetened golden oolong tea – Teas' Tea® brand – and assorted flavors of Japanese Kit Kats® be at my fingertips (non-negotiable). 

There are many more good ideas where these lil' blog toss-offs came from. So like I said before, have your people call my people. (LOL) Or...just shoot me an email: stpaco@gmail.com. 

Spider-Man: Far From Home opens on July 5, 2019.

P.S. I just now paid particular notice to that "I Love NY" sticker on the poster... *Dry heaves*

'Hey, Miles' by Catrie [Fan Art]

"The moment the credits rolled for [Spider-Man:] Into The Spider-Verse, I immediately envisioned this piece. This movie was so inspiring to me, and I hope someday I get to work on a movie like that." – Catrie Art

The above work by Catrie Art is a very sweet image I ran across on Facebook a few days ago. With regard to the color arrangement and composition, it speaks to me on several levels that have already been discussed. So I had to share it.

I also hope she gets the chance someday to work on a movie like this too.

SP

New Disney Princess? Thanks, Marvel!!!!

Okay, for those who may not know, there's long been a bit of rivalry between Marvel and DC Comics fans similar to long-running battles–staged and otherwise–between Coke and Pepsi, Ford and Chevy, Beatles and Stones, etc. The DC and Marvel rivalry dates back to the early 1960s, when they became the only survivors of the original 1940s era comics publishers.

In the 1970s, DC Comics was purchased by Warner Brothers, which secured their place in the pop culture landscape for decades to come. And in 2018, after a few near-death experiences, Marvel–after producing a solid string of successful superhero movies–was purchased by Disney.

Immediately after the aforementioned merger (I'm talkin' before the ink on the signatures could dry), adult Disney freaks started flyin' around on their #@$%ing Bedknobs and Broomsticks, pondering on Facebook and Twitter if Marvel's Shuri, royal daughter of Wakanda, was now "a Disney Princess!" 

Back in 2012, when Disney purchased Lucasfilm and Star Wars, these fanatics did the same damned thing over Princess Leia. And, um...why does every fictional female Disney character now need be a goddamned Disney Princess? (See: Branding Gone Wild™)

Anywho, fortunately, I didn't let my contrarian outlook on the matter prevent me from havin' a lil' fun with Disney Princess mania.

Mera, the red-headed royal consort of Aquaman in the blockbuster film (played by Amber Heard), and in comics is a character that's owned, registered®, trademarked™ and © copyrighted by DC Comics. But folks who aren't complete comic book geeks always seem to get which comic book characters belong to which comic book company, Marvel or DC, confoozled; hence my meme. But it backfired a bit.

Right before bed last night, I dropped the meme in three different geek groups on Facebook. When I woke up hours later, I noticed that a shocking number of people had given my "anonymously created" meme a over a thousand 👍and ❤️ emojis. And it seemed that *most* were done under the mistaken notion that Mera's actually a legit addition to the irksome "Is she a Disney Princess?" conversation.

Whoops!

Even as I type this about 24 hours later, emojis are popping up two-at-a-time on the left side of the screen. It's insane. 

The meme has also gotten a bunch of the desired reactions, too, though. These range from 😡 emojis and comments oozing with anguished nerd dismay to tickled amusement at the seemingly-intentional-but-maybe-not-intentional faux pas. That's the kind of stuff I was hoping for.

Good times.