Tag Archives: dc comics

House Ads 3- Vengeance of Bane

Posted by comiczombie on

After introducing Azrael, who would go on to become the new Batman, it was time to introduce the man who would create a need for a new Batman. Enter: Bane, the man who would break the Bat!

Vengeance of Bane is a cool one-shot story that introduces Bane and tells his super effed up backstory growing up in an island prison in the horribly corrupt nation of Santa Prisca and does a serviceable job establishing why a man from this corner of the world would give two craps about Gotham City or the Batman.

It’s a pretty cool ad, too, as it gives Bane a sense of mystery and menace and teases his look without giving the whole thing away. Also, “the man who will finally break the Batman”? What could that possibly mean? No way some new guy takes out the Batman, right? They wouldn’t do that after just doing to Superman, would they?

WOULD THEY?!?!

House Ads 2- Sword of Azrael

Posted by comiczombie on

Today’s entry is for an excellent little story that would have far reaching effects on the Batman titles for years: Batman- Sword of Azrael!
Written by Batman legend Dennis O’Neil and drawn by a young Joe Quesada, the story introduces the avenging angel, Azrael, aka Jean Paul Valley, who would meet and fight the caped crusader in this story, which would end with Batman bringing Valley into the fold to train him and help him overcome the brainwashing he had experienced since youth in the cultish Order of St Dumas.

The first of two stories that set up the (then) upcoming Batman: Knightfall, Sword of Azrael is the unofficial first part of the most massive Batman epic of its time and absolutely worth a pickup if you can find a copy.

(Calling Azrael a hero at this point, as the copy does, is a hell of a stretch, considering he is an assassin for a secret society with flaming sword gauntlets. But hey, he looks cool!)

House Ads- Call to Kill Robin!

Posted by comiczombie on

One of the more underrated aspects about comic books is the in-house ads you find in some issues.

They’re often very memorable for a variety of reasons (not always positive), and more than a few of them are stuck in my brain forever, so I wanted to start talking about a few of them.

I’d like to start with arguably the most famous one to-date, the ad for the 900 number to call to vote to save or kill the Jason Todd Robin.

It famously didn’t go over so well for old Jason, and the ad below was what readers saw before having to make a decision…

CZ#53 – “Superman” (2025) and “Fantastic Four: First Steps”! – Podcast

Posted by ErikSlader on

Click here to listen to the new episode!

“That is where you’ve always been wrong about me, Lex! I am as human as anyone. I love, I-I get scared. I wake up every morning, and despite not knowing what to do, I put one foot in front of the other, and I try to make the best choices that I can. I screw up all the time, but that is being human, and that’s my greatest strength. ” – Superman to Lex Luthor

That’s right, it’s the one you’ve all been waiting for (probably) Chris and Erik are finally back with their thoughts on James Gunn’s “Superman” (2025), and the MCU’s latest entry, “Fantastic Four: First Steps”!

Featuring cameo reviews by:

(Episode edited by Erik Slader)

Also be sure to listen to Episodes ⁠⁠#40 – “All 4 Fantastic Four Movies?!” ⁠⁠and ⁠⁠#49 – “The Superman Movies (1978-2013)”!⁠

Essential Reads: GREEN ARROW

Posted by comiczombie on

On one of our latest podcasts (issue #48) we gave our recommendations for the emerald archer: Green Arrow!

Here are some honorable mentions and both Chris and Erik’s picks for their favorite- or at least most recommended- Green Arrow stories!

Continue reading →

5 Coolest Moments From… Batman: Knightfall

Posted by comiczombie on

We already discussed some of the more awesome moments from the most famous of the early 90’s DC epics, the Death of Superman, but somehow, we have yet to touch on the best of the early 90’s DC epics, Batman’s ‘Knightfall’!

Generated originally as a cool idea to really hammer home to fans why Bruce Wayne is Batman, and why it’s important that a guy like Bruce is Batman, it quickly grew into a monster of a story that spread across all of the main and ancillary Bat-titles in 3 massive parts: Knightfall, Knightquest, and Knightsend. As each of these chapters of this bonkers big story have a LOT going on, we are just going to focus on the first (and most famous) chapter: Knightfall!

So put your Batman soundtrack tape in your walkman, put on your most comfortable Hyper Color t-shirt, take the house phone off the hook, put your feet up and bathe in glorious early 1990’s nostalgia with me as we delve into 5 of the very coolest moments from Batman: Knightfall!

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Top 100 Villains 5-1

Posted by comiczombie on

4427-wizard_lms_dc_villains_vs_marvel_vi

Everyone knows nothing makes a good hero like a great villain. Sherlock Holmes needed Moriarty, G.I. Joe needed Cobra, the rebels needed Darth Vader, etc. Nothing makes a story better quite like an interesting, intriguing, and yet hated adversary. Readers tend to flock to the villains they love to hate. The best villains bring something out of the hero that nobody else does or force the hero to push themselves further than before to find a way to win.

We wanted to make a top 10 list, but that’s impossible. There are just too many good choices, and we couldn’t agree on any of it. So we increased the list, and increased it, and increased it (honestly, we probably could have kept going, too). So, before it gets too out of hand, here are our choices for the 100 best villains in comics.

(Click here for our Top 100 Heroes List!)

Continue reading →

Top 100 Villains 10-6

Posted by comiczombie on

4427-wizard_lms_dc_villains_vs_marvel_vi

Everyone knows nothing makes a good hero like a great villain. Sherlock Holmes needed Moriarty, G.I. Joe needed Cobra, the rebels needed Darth Vader, etc. Nothing makes a story better quite like an interesting, intriguing, and yet hated adversary. Readers tend to flock to the villains they love to hate. The best villains bring something out of the hero that nobody else does, or force the hero to push themselves further than before to find a way to win.

We wanted to make a top 10 list, but that’s impossible. There are just too many good choices, and we couldn’t agree on any of it. So we increased the list, and increased it, and increased it (honestly we probably could have kept going, too). So, before it gets too out of hand, here are our choices for the 100 best villains in comics.

(Click here for our Top 100 Heroes List!)

Continue reading →

Top 100 Villains 20-11

Posted by comiczombie on

4427-wizard_lms_dc_villains_vs_marvel_vi

Everyone knows nothing makes a good hero like a great villain. Sherlock Holmes needed Moriarty, G.I. Joe needed Cobra, the rebels needed Darth Vader, etc. Nothing makes a story better quite like an interesting, intriguing, and yet hated adversary. Readers tend to flock to the villains they love to hate. The best villains bring something out of the hero that nobody else does, or force the hero to push themselves further than before to find a way to win.

We wanted to make a top 10 list, but that’s impossible. There are just too many good choices, and we couldn’t agree on any of it. So we increased the list, and increased it, and increased it (honestly we probably could have kept going, too). So, before it gets too out of hand, here are our choices for the 100 best villains in comics.

(Click here for our Top 100 Heroes List!)

Continue reading →

Top 100 Villains 30-21

Posted by comiczombie on

4427-wizard_lms_dc_villains_vs_marvel_vi

Everyone knows nothing makes a good hero like a great villain. Sherlock Holmes needed Moriarty, G.I. Joe needed Cobra, the rebels needed Darth Vader, etc. Nothing makes a story better quite like an interesting, intriguing, and yet hated adversary. Readers tend to flock to the villains they love to hate. The best villains bring something out of the hero that nobody else does or force the hero to push themselves further than before to find a way to win.

We wanted to make a top 10 list, but that’s impossible. There are just too many good choices, and we couldn’t agree on any of it. So we increased the list, and increased it, and increased it (honestly we probably could have kept going, too). So, before it gets too out of hand, here are our choices for the 100 best villains in comics. (Click here for our Top 100 Heroes List!)

Continue reading →