For 85 years, Marvel has built an unparalleled library of characters and stories that have shaped pop culture. What makes a Marvel story unforgettable? Is it the classic characters, the dynamic dialogue, or the action and adventure? Is it a perfect panel, a stunning splash page, or a shocking page turn reveal? It is all of these things―and more.
Now The Folio Society, the independent publisher of beautifully illustrated hardback books, is paying tribute to Marvel’s epic storytelling tradition with Marvel Unforgettable Stories, a handsome, collectible 280-page hardcover that collects ten seminal Marvel stories selected by acclaimed writer and actor Patton Oswalt and acclaimed writer Jordan Blum. The story selections by Oswalt and Blum range from the classic ― including The Amazing Spider-Man #33 from the heart of the Silver Age ― to the contemporary ― including Hawkeye #11. Marvel Unforgettable Stories features an all-new stunning cover and slipcase design by Marvel artist Marcos Martín (Daredevil), an introduction by Patton Oswalt, and 280 pages of super hero adventures featuring Spider-Man, Wolverine, Daredevil and Captain America.
“Unlike so many ‘best-of’ collections, here Patton and Jordan have carefully provided a favorite selection of the comics that have defined their love of Marvel,” James Rose, Head of Editorial at the Folio Society communicated to ageekdaddy.com. “It's a personal journey through some of Marvel's most unforgettable stories. Housed in a hardback volume featuring artwork by Marvel artist Marcos Martín, the selection also includes one or two surprises.”
“Jordan Blum and I—both lifelong comics readers and ‘make mine Marvel’ fanatics—had a hard time picking only ten stories for this collection,” writes Patton Oswalt in the book’s introduction. “I can hear the bleats and rumblings of, ‘But you didn’t include . . .’ and ‘How could you forget . . .’ Lemme save your vocal cords the stress—you’re right. Any objections you have to any stories being passed over? You’re right. There’s simply too many to print under one cover. Hey, maybe buy this edition, and get all of your friends to buy one, and they’ll let us pick ten more! Capitalism!”
The Amazing Spider-Man #33 "If This Be My Destiny - The Final Chapter" (1966)
Daredevil #191 "Roulette" (1983)
Uncanny X-Men #205 "Wounded Wolf" (1986)
Captain America #367 "Magnetic Repulsion" (1990)
X-Factor #87 "X-aminations" (1993)
Untold Tales of Spider-Man #20 "Wings of Hatred" (1997)
Spider Man's Tangled Web #4 "Severance Package" (2001)
The Runaways #1 "Pride and Joy, Chapter One" (2003)
Fantastic Four #587 "Three, Part 5: The Last Stand" (2011)
Hawkeye #11 "Pizza Is My Business" (2013)
Marvel Unforgettable Stories is the latest collaboration between the Folio Society and Marvel, joining Marvel: The Golden Age 1939-1949, Marvel: The Silver Age 1960–1970, Marvel: The Bronze Age 1970-1980, The Avengers, Black Panther: A Nation Under Our Feet, Captain America, Doctor Strange, Hulk, and Spider-Man.
Marvel United brings the action of comic book adventures to tabletops with this game created in partnership with CMON and Spin Master Games. We had a family game night bringing together the heroes from Netflix's Defenders television show to try and stop the villainous master plan of the Kingpin. This bout used the core rules of Marvel United with characters from the Kickstarter exclusive expansion pack.
The game started off by selecting and setting up our main villain...the Kingpin. Since he is facing off against four Marvel comics inspired heroes (Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Lucas Cage, and Iron Fist) Kingpin is awarded 11 health points. The Defender's though can't reduce his health points though until they accomplish some tasks involving defeating his thugs, eliminating various threats and rescuing civilians from danger. That doesn't prevent Kingpin and his main henchman Bullseye from inflicting damage on our heroes though based upon how the villain's master plan cards are drawn out in the game's storyline.
Kingpin starts off the game in the location clockwise adjacent to where the villain's master plan deck is placed. drawing from the face down cards in his master plan deck and it is placed in play. Locations are shuffled and randomly placed clockwise around the game board. Plan tokens are also randomly placed on each location. If Kingpin obtains each of these tokens or plays all his master plan cards he wins the game! For our heroes to defeat him they must work cooperatively to get his health points down to zero thus thwarting his dastardly master plan.
This Marvel United match starts off Kingpin on the grounds of the Avengers mansion. Players now place the characters they are roleplaying at wherever this wish within the six locations on the gameboard and determine the order in which they are going to engage in their turns. Luke Cage begins the game at SHIELD headquarters, Jessica Jones in Times Square, Daredevil in Central Park and Iron Fist within Stark Labs. Each hero draws three cards from their deck to be an their up hand to use during turns. The game will commence with a card from the Kingpin's master plan deck being drawn and played out.
BAM! Kingpin advances his master plan by moving to the location with the lowest-number plan token on it. That happens to be in Times Square where Daredevil is. This triggers a lost card due to damage done by Kingpin attacking him. Each player starts out with three cards in hand and now Daredevil discards one into the bottom of his deck leaving him with two cards in hand. A character loses cards each time they are attached by a villain or henchman. This leaves Daredevil with two cards in his hand.
Kingpin's henchman Bullseye can attack the heroes though too each time a master plan card is played that has a BAM! effect. Bullseye can do one card damage to any heroes in the same or adjacent space to his location. BAM! BAM! Iron Fist is in a space next to Bullseye's location. Iron Fist loses a card too so he now has two.
If a hero is left with no cards in their hand, the character is knocked out. When this occurs Kingpin gets to immediately play another master plan card getting back-to-back turns. After Kingpin's turns are resolved, the knocked out character gets to draw three new cards from their hero deck and the normal rotation goes back into effect. The regular rotation of cards which is villain ... hero ... hero ... hero ... villain ... hero ... hero ... hero ... villain ..hero ... hero ... hero ... villain .... hero ... hero ... hero ... villain and so on.
Luke Cage kicks off the action for the heroes! He draws a card from his hero deck then plays one from his hand. Cards show symbols that relate to actions a player can take. They could have an arrow symbol that lets them move to another location, a star that lets them rescue civilians or eliminate threats or fist which lets them attack evildoers like thugs, henchmen and the main villain or wildcard which lets them choose which of the three other moves they would like to make. Plus the moves allowed on their card and also be used by the next player in during their turn as well.
With two wild cards, Luke Cage goes into attack mode to take out two thugs within the space he is in. Unfortunately the threat card for this location dictates that until three heroic actions are used any thugs defeated don't apply towards the unlocking the mission card which allows for Kingpin to begin taking damage. Next it is Jessica Jones turn.
Jessica joins Luke Cage at SHIELD HQ then uses her attack move to take out the last thug there. Finally she uses his two wildcard symbols to do heroic actions towards eliminating the threat card for that spot. They need to one more heroic action there to disrupt the threat at this spot which also prevented dispatched thugs from being counted toward the team completing its missions so that they can tackle the Kingpin directly.
Next Daredevil uses a card that allows him to use two heroic actions towards the three needed to alleviate the threat in Times Square. To move forward in being able to take on the Kingpin directly there are three missions for the heroes to complete. First they need to clear four locations from threats, defeat nine thugs, and rescue nine civilians. A number of the threats associated with locations prevent the thugs being defeated in those spots from being counted against the heroes mission tally. So clearing the threats has been determined a top priority by the Defenders. They have one threat down with three more to go!
Kingpin is back up for another move which takes him to Avengers Mansion and gains him another plot token. None of the Defenders is on that spot with him so he doesn't take any hero cards. On the other hand Bullseye can do damage to heroes adjacent to where he is located. Daredevil and Iron Fist are in locations on either side of the Police Headquarters where the henchman is staked out. Both heroes lose a card from their hand having it discarded at the bottom of their decks.
It is Iron Fist's turn. He takes out two thugs and uses Daredevil's forwarded heroic actions towards resolving the threat danger at his location. Trying to get some positive momentum going versus the Kingpin.
Luke Cage then uses a heroic action passed on from Iron Fist to unlock another threat at his site. The heroes now have two out of the four required threats resolved to potentially unlock one of the three mission cards. Plus this is now another location where they can get credit for defeating thugs to add to their mission cards as well. Things are moving in a positive direction for Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Daredevil and Iron Fist!
Jessica Jones uses a card with a special action on it. This lets her flip the top card on the villain's master plan deck so the heroes have advance notice of the next move Kingpin will make. The special action also lets her move to any location in the game. She jumps over to Stark Labs to lend Iron Fist a hand by punching out a thug. The Defenders are on the offensive!
Daredevil goes next. He moves a space and uses Jessica Jones wild cards that were passed on to him to clear the threat card on this spot. They now have three of four threats cleared and six out of nine thugs defeated. They've made some progress towards being able to disrupt the master plan but haven't made any damage to Bullseye or Kingpin yet.
Oh no! In the excitement of the game there should have been a Kingpin turn between Jessica Jones and Daredevil. Playing the villain every fourth turn can easy to be lost track of when playing with more than three players. Oops!
A card is drawn for Kingpin's turn. Ugh! He is directed to land where Daredevil is. The villain gets another plan token giving him three out of six and Daredevil loses a card from his hand. Then BAM! Bullseye who is in an adjacent spot does a distance attack taking another card from Daredevil. The hero is KO'd. The knockout allows Kingpin to take another turn right away.
Kingpin moves to SHIELD Headquarters taking another plan token as well as a hero card from Luke Cage. This also triggers Bullseye to take cards from Jessica Jones, Iron Fit and a rejuvenated Daredevil. Kingpin's move also adds more thugs to the spot where Iron Fist is. This triggers an overflow penalty which deals damage to Iron Fist. He loses another card and is knocked out.
Iron Fist knock out gives Kingpin another turn right away. He moves to a new location getting his fifth out of six mission tokens. Kingpin only needs one more token to complete his master plan and leave the Defenders in defeat!
Kingpin's move to the Police Station doesn't do any direct damage to the heroes because none of them are in that space. But it does trigger Bullseye to start tossing his knives about. Jessica Jones is hit and loses her last card. KO!
That triggers Kingpin getting another consecutive move. He picks up the last plan token. Kingpin wins the game.
The Big Apple is in turmoil. The Kingpin has solidified his control of its seedy criminal underworld. The Defenders were defeated in thwarting his evil master plan.
While Marvel United doesn't have complex rules it can still be challenging to play. Knowing that each game isn't a guaranteed win adds excitement and really makes teammates work together. Yes we were KO'd by the Kingpin but it was a fun family game night and we'll be back for another match.
Who is your favorite comic book super hero? Batman? Captain America? Hell Boy? Mine is Daredevil.
Trial attorney by day and super hero by night there is a lot that I can relate to when it comes to Marvel Comics' Daredevil. The man without fear doesn't let being blind handicap him as all his other senses have been ultra heightened to give him an edge when it comes to battling evil doers. Fine tuned hearing that gives him a radar-like view of the world around him puts Spider-Man's spider sense to shame. Fighting mob goons and ninja mercenaries in Hell's Kitchen provides for great noir style tales being told within the pages of Daredevil comic books.
The comic book artist who has the most impact in defining Daredevil is Frank Miller. One of the Daredevil issues he crafted for Marvel is considered by many as one of the all time great comic books. Now Dynamic Forces is reprinting Daredevil #181 with all its original 1964 content, including the ads. That is not all though … these limited edition replicas available through Sideshow Collectibles will have their covers each autographed by Frank Miller himself.
In Daredevil #181, the psychotic Bullseye is determined to escape from jail and visit vengeance on the man who put him there - Daredevil! But when he finds a way to get free, there's something he must deal with first - winning back his position as the Kingpin's number one assassin. And to do that, he has to get rid of Wilson Fisk's deadly new killer for hire - Elektra, the woman Daredevil loves Brace yourself for two brutal life-and-death showdowns in this double-sized comic book story being republished by Dynamic Forces.
This is a collectible that any Daredevil fan would be delighted to get their hands on. I know I want one! Don't miss out on ordering one of these limited run comic book reproductions signed by Frank Miller from Sideshow Collectibles before they sell out.
This post contains affiliate links for Sideshow Collectibles. Purchasing a product through one of these links doesn't increase your purchase price but does provide ageekdaddy.com with a small commission that helps out this dad blogger.
While in New York City for the annual Blogger Bash conference, which provides an opportunity for bloggers to network with and learn about some amazing brands, I found some time to explore the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum. Located in Manhattan's Hell's Kitchen neighborhood (the stomping grounds of one of my favorite Marvel Comics characters Daredevil) at Pier 86 along the Hudson River, this unique museum allows visitors to examine a decommissioned aircraft carrier, space shuttle, submarine and a variety of historic aircraft including the record-breaking British Airways Concorde. The Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum is open April through October weekdays 10 am - 5 pm and on the weekends 10am - 6pm. During the rest of the year it is open daily throughout the week 10 am - 5 pm.
The main attraction of the museum is the World War II era USS Intrepid aircraft carrier, which is a National Historic Landmark. This aircraft carrier survived five kamikaze attacks and one torpedo strike during World War II and played an important role in the Vietnam War. The vessel also served as a NASA recovery vessel for space capsules returning to Earth before it was decommissioned in 1974. Intrepid can now be toured providing a glimpse at what life was like on a mid-twentieth century navel vessel and displays a variety of civilian and military aircraft on the flight deck and within its giant interior hanger.
There are some amazing views from the decks of the Intrepid and a visit will bring out your adventurous spirit as you explore the ship's interior. Be prepared there are some steep ladders and walkways to traverse but making the effort to visit the various nooks and crannies of the aircraft carrier is well worth the effort.
At the back of the aircraft carrier's flight deck is the Space Shuttle Pavilion. This houses the space shuttle Enterprise, which was the prototype NASA orbiter which was used for flight tests to help design the shuttle fleet that went into space. As this shuttle never went into space and was used for testing descent within the planet's atmosphere it is essentially gutted with nothing to view inside. Yet it is still impressive to be able to walk directly underneath the first space shuttle are get a dynamic view of it from an elevated platform. Also on display is a Russian Soyuz TMA-6 rocket capsule which provides an interesting comparison on two different approaches to traveling into outer space.
My grandfather was a submariner during the same era the USS Intrepid was in service, including 9 patrols in the South Pacific during WWII, and I was always fascinated to hear him tell stories of his tours of duty at sea. So I really enjoyed the opportunity to walk through a ship similar to the ones he captained in the later years of his career during my visit to the museum. You are able to walk through the USS Growler, one of America's first guided missile submarines, providing a firsthand look at a crew's life aboard one. A tour of the Growler also provides you with an appreciation of how much technology has advanced since this ship prowled the seas in the 1950s and '60s when you take a look at the equipment in the "top secret" missile command center. I really give a lot of credit to the crews who do tours on the confined spaces of today's modern submarines and this tour really puts into perspective the tough living conditions on early submarines that make being assigned to this duty in modern times appear almost to be a luxury in comparison. Walking through the Growler is a pretty eye opening experience and not something you want to do if you are claustrophobic.
Also on display is British Airway's Concorde which set a record for the fastest flight crossing the Atlantic Ocean on February 7, 1996 at 2 hours, 52 minutes, and 59 seconds.
With so many fascinating things to take in at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum you should plan on spending at least a half day exploring the place. In addition to the vessels and vehicles being shown there are all sorts of interesting films and exhibits to view while you visit. I really had a great time checking out the museum and would highly recommend you make an effort to visit it during a trip to New York City.
One of my favorite aspects of collecting comic books is all of the incredible artwork that publishers commission for the covers of their issues. You'll often find spectacular cover art for comic book covers that is worthy of framing and displaying. That is one element of print editions that just doesn't translate over as well to digital versions of comic books.
To keep customers repeatedly visiting comic book shops on a regular basis, publishers spread the release of their titles' new issues throughout the month. So every Wednesday is always a "new comic book day" with a variety of comic book selections debuting each week. I always enjoy making a stop by my local comic book shop on Wednesdays to peruse the shelves for some new stories to read and to delight in all the great illustrations that decorate the covers of that week's featured publications. So I was very enthused to learn about a new partnership between welovefine.com and Marvel that will let people wear the art from their favorite new comic book covers on their chest.
Each week We Love Fine will release for sale on Wednesday limited edition t-shirts featuring the cover artwork from the Marvel super hero comic books that arrived on store shelves that day. Like the artwork on the newest issue of the Amazing Spider-Man? You can now get a t-shirt displaying it from welovefine.com. Don't wait to order though as these shirts will only be available for a few days then replaced with new selections the next Wednesday corresponding with Marvel's most recent comic book releases that week.
These t-shirts cost just $15, plus shipping and handling, and are available in mens basic crew tee or womens basic fitted tee in adult sizes Small to 2XL. The shirts are 100% cotton and black in color to frame the artwork displayed on its front. The exclusive We Love Fine / Marvel shirts are only available in black and though I'm not a fan of white or black t-shirts I can understand how this coloring really does a nice job of highlight the artwork which is the primary reason people would buy the product plus is probably a financial necessity to ensure the profitability of a limited run printing while keeping the price as affordable as they have. Hopefully if this program is successful they may add some other color options in the future for the t-shirts that are complimentary to the particular artwork you've selected but for now black t-shirts aren't much to gripe over.
If you like to wear clothes that have a sense of fun to them, are a bit unique and you most likely won't encounter someone else wearing at the same time you are sporting them these limited run t-shirts are a great option to accomplish that. They are also a great way to personalize your wardrobe a bit by adding artwork featuring your favorite comic book characters that really appeals to you. If you enjoy comic book artwork and super hero characters you'll want to regularly check out welovefine.com to see what Marvel Covers t-shirts they are printing up each week.
Following the success of its television adaption of the comic book Daredevil, Netflix is giving another Marvel character a series. Jessica Jones will premiere with 13 episodes on November 20, 2015. To help promote the debut of this new series on Netflix, Marvel has released a FREE digital comic book on Comixology that people can download which provides an overview of the show's main character and how she will be portrayed on TV.
The premise of the show is that after a tragic ending to a short-lived super hero stint, Jessica Jones is rebuilding her life as a private investigator who gets pulled into cases involving people with extraordinary abilities in New York City. In the show, she will be working out of Hell's Kitchen (Daredevil's stomping grounds) and working with Luke Cage (who is the lead character of Netflix's planned third television series focusing on the Marvel comic book universe which is set to be released in 2016). Jessica Jones was originally the lead character in a 28-issue comic book series called Alias created by writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist Michael Gaydos that ran from 2001 to 2004. Alias won the Comic Buyers Guide award for "Favorite Comic Series" in 2003, and the Harvey Award for "Best New Series" in 2002. It was also nominated for two Eisner Awards ( the Oscar of the comic book industry) in 2004 for "Best Continuing Series" and "Best Serialized Story."
Alias was produced by an imprint of Marvel called Max Comics that specialized in R-rated comic books that were filled with graphic violent scenes, mature themes and sexual context. Jessica Jones is based off of the Alias comic book series and will present a darker and edgier version of the Marvel Universe than has previously been portray on television or in the movies. Jessica Jones will feature Krysten Ritter as the title character, Mike Colter as Luke Cage, and David Tennant as Zebediah Kilgrave. Kilgrave who has the power to take over other people's thoughts and actions will be an overarching villain in the series and is tied to how Jessica Jones gave up her super hero identity of Jewel and why she now suffers from alcoholism and PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder).
In the free comic book by Bendis and Gaydos -- the original creative team behind Alias -- Jessica Jones has been tasked to hunt down a dead beat dad and finds him laid up in a hospital bed after the thug has had a run in with Daredevil. The way the private investigator handles the situation demonstrates that she clearly has no problem with a Hell's Kitchen style of justice approach to her job. This comic book is a nice starting off point for beginning to view the Jessica Jones series when all the episodes become available for streaming on November 20th. CLICK HERE to download the free comic book from Comixology.
