Archive for July 8th, 2018
Comic book artist Steve Ditko, 1927-2018
by Doc on Jul.08, 2018, under Comics, Obituaries
Steve Ditko, a comic book artist who co-created with Stan Lee the characters of Spider-Man and Doctor Strange, passed away. He was found in his apartment in New York on June 29th. He was 90.
He started out studying under Batman artist Jerry Robinson at the Cartoonists And Illustrators School in New York City, and in 1953 he went to work for Joe Simon and Jack Kirby. He created the character of Captain Atom in 1960 for Charlton Comics. He also drew for Atlas Comics (which became Marvel Comics in 1961), where he worked with Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. He left Marvel in 1966 and went back to Charlton, later DC Comics, returning to Marvel in 1979, and retired in 1998.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: A Fun Time in a Cloudy Universe
by Doc on Jul.08, 2018, under Movies
The latest installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe provides a breath of fresh air, sunshine and humor in the midst of its darkest time. Ant-Man and the Wasp continues with the precedent set by Ant-Man – a superhero movie set with humor. Whereas the other movies would often include humorous lines here and there, here the premise incorporates the fact that the protagonist is inept but good-hearted, surrounded by ultra-smart people whose technobabble is way over his head. Paul Rudd continues his perfect portrayal as Scott Lang/Ant-Man, again joined by Michael Douglas as Hank Pym, Evangeline Lilly as Hope Van Dyne, and Michael Peña as Luis. Joining the ranks this time are Laurence Fishburne as Dr. Bill Foster, a former colleague of Dr. Pym, and Killjoys‘ Hannah John-Kamen as Ava.
I’m going to say this right now – every Marvel movie should have Michael Peña’s Luis do all the catch-up exposition.
I won’t get too much into the plot as I hate to give any spoilers, but at least to answer the pressing question as to what happened to Ant-Man during Infinity War – he’s been under house arrest since the events of Captain America: Civil War, having reached a plea deal for having violated the Sokovia Accords, and is about to be released after his two-year sentence, during which he has had no contact with Pym or Hope, who are in hiding. But a vision that Scott has indicates that it might be possible that Janet Van Dyne – Hank’s wife and Hope’s mother, may still be alive.
Hannah John-Kamen’s Ava provides a new character that takes the story’s conflict in a new dimension, and her portrayal is perfect – I look forward to seeing her in future movies.