Articles for January, 2018

Some Trump Supporters Think Mueller's Grand Jury Has Too Many Black People

Some Trump Supporters Think Mueller's Grand Jury Has Too Many Black PeopleWASHINGTON ― Supporters of President Donald Trump have opened a new line of attack on the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election: They think special counsel Robert Mueller’s federal grand jury has too many black people on it.


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Kirby 100: The Lost Adventure

Join us to celebrate Jack “King” Kirby’s 100th birthday by learning about the characters and stories he created that changed comics forever. To commemorate Jack’s centennial, we’ve sat down with the modern-day creators he influenced—and the decades of work he gifted us all.

In Jack Kirby’s final issue contributing pencils to FANTASTIC FOUR, the first family of super heroics spotted an old foe called Janus—whom readers had never seen before—in the Negative Zone. Issue #108, which also featured the work of Stan Lee, Joe Sinnott, John Buscema, and John Romita, explained how, long ago, this incredibly powerful individual wreaked havoc, and once even defeated Johnny Storm and Ben Grimm in combat.

Fantastic Four (1961) #108

Fantastic Four (1961) #108

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When Reed Richards recalled an old school friend, named Janus, who studied Nega-Power, he joined Sue Storm on a reconnaissance mission. The Invisible Woman and Mr. Fantastic traveled to his old friend’s home, where they discovered that Janus’ scientific experiments went awry, creating an evil Janus that had to be killed.

Instead of ceasing his research entirely, however, Janus decided to travel to the Negative Zone to continue his Nega-Power experiments in isolation. As the team watched him, they wondered what would happen should his evil form return—which, of course, he did.

Fantastic Four (1961) #109

Fantastic Four (1961) #109

  • Published: April 10, 1971
  • Added to Marvel Unlimited: January 09, 2009
  • Penciller: John Buscema
  • Cover Artist: John Buscema
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This tale, however, did not appear as originally intended. In 2008, Marvel published a one-shot called FANTASTIC FOUR: THE LOST ADVENTURE, which presented the story as written by Lee and Kirby, this time with some help from Sinnott, Ron Frenz, and colorist Chris Sotoymayor.

As explained in the book’s intro, Lee and Kirby intended for the Janus adventure to take place five issues earlier than it did, in FANTASTIC FOUR #103. Despite their original plan, however, they didn’t complete the issue in time, and Romita and Buscema ended up filling in to complete the issue for #108.

The original story—which Frenz helped finish drawing based on notes made by the original creators—varied from the one first published. Instead of seeing Janus in the Negative Zone, the team saw a statue of Janus, inspiring Mr. Fantastic to recount their adventure with the villain by way of the nearby Neuroscan. Then, after Reed and Sue planted a camera in Janus’ house, the evil Janus appeared and discovered the FF’s spying device. The good Janus, also present, pulled a gun on his evil form, but this time did not kill him—instead, it was revealed that Janus and Janus were twins!

Fantastic Four: The Lost Adventure (2008) #1

Fantastic Four: The Lost Adventure (2008) #1

  • Published: February 13, 2008
  • Added to Marvel Unlimited: January 23, 2009
  • Rating: RATED A
  • Writer: Stan Lee
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This issue—our final Kirby Spotlight—is the King working at his peak. Featuring killer fight scenes, secret hideouts, wild villains, as well as powerful imagery and character work, Jack Kirby ended his run with the Fantastic Four in style.

In appreciation for this story—and for every story we’ve covered during the celebration of the King’s centennial—we say thank you, and happy birthday, to Jack.

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Which Champ And Star Should Get The Final Two Challenge Spots?
The finals are approaching on 'The Challenge: Champs vs. Stars' -- who should get the last two spots?
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Deadpool vs. Old Man Logan: ‘Poolverine

On January 17, Old Man Logan and Wade Wilson have to swallow their pride, put aside their differences, and come together for the greater good. And by “come together,” we mean “literally come together.”

In DEADPOOL VS. OLD MAN LOGAN #4, writer Declan Shalvey and artist Mike Henderson combine the two heroes’ bodies to create a wise-cracking mercenary with an Adamantium skeleton—also known as ‘Poolverine!

We caught up with Shalvey to hear more about this unholy combo.

Marvel.com: What do we need to know ahead of issue #4?

Declan Shalvey: We start off the issue in desperation. While trying to rescue a young mutant girl from a shadowy organization called GenForm, Deadpool and Old Man Logan have been captured. GenForm wants to weaponize the abilities of mutants, and while their target all along has been this new mutant, Maddie, they now find themselves with the fabled Weapon X—the original test subject. Admittedly, he is…a little ripe.

Marvel.com: How did ‘Poolverine come about?

Declan Shalvey: ‘Poolverine is a little nickname for Deadpool’s current state at the beginning of issue #4…if you’ve read issue #3, then you know that Deadpool has escaped from his cell in a very unconventional way.

Maddie has used her teleportation powers out of desperation. She’s always been adamant that she cannot teleport people, so Deadpool suggests she tries teleporting Adamantium. Then Wade uses Old Man Logan’s own claws to come to the rescue.

Marvel.com: Wade and Logan don’t exactly get along, so what can we expect from a team-up as unique as this?

Declan Shalvey: What I like about Deadpool and Old Man Logan is that even when they team-up, they fight. They’re the perfect match for a book like this; both their personalities force them to bump heads constantly. And, because of their abilities, they’re able to literally rip into each other and still walk away. It’s the perfect odd-couple or buddy cop scenario, but with a lot more severed limbs.

Marvel.com: What do you see as their greatest strengths? 

Declan Shalvey: Well, they both have healing factors. They can both take a lot of punishment—from their enemies and from each other! As characters though, while they have their flaws, they both want to do the right thing. Their motivations for helping Maddie may be petty, but they do want to help her. They’ve both lost young girls in their lives—Deadpool missed his daughter’s infancy; Old Man Logan’s young daughter was murdered along with the rest of his family. So they’ve both endured emotional tragedy and physical torture. Both changed, but have come out the other side. They’d never admit it, but they have a lot in common.

Marvel.com: What are their weaknesses? 

Declan Shalvey: Frankly, Deadpool is immature, Old Man Logan is short-tempered, and they’re both as stubborn as each other. It makes for great character work, but it makes it hard for them to achieve their goals.

Marvel.com: How will those factors play into their quest to save Maddie?

Declan Shalvey: The main obstacle for the last few issues has been getting Maddie on board while fending off the GenForm organization. In issue #4, however, we reach a crossroads of sorts, with both Deadpool and Old Man Logan choosing very different tactics to solve the problem.

After the events of this issue, we’re going to see Deadpool and Old Man Logan really bust heads over what to do with Maddie. Their concerns will have proven to be valid, as we also learn a shocking secret—something that will change the entire outcome of this story.

Marvel.com: Describe your favorite scene in issue #4!

Declan Shalvey: Hmm…There’s a double page spread in this issue that I love. And the following page in that scene is a nine panel grid, all of Logan cutting loose. I felt so frustrated writing it because I wished I was drawing it. And, as expected, Mike Henderson killed the scene.

Marvel.com: How has Mike Henderson helped realize your vision?

Declan Shalvey: Issue #4 is where Mike gets to really cut loose, and it’s a joy to behold. We really deliver on the “vs.” premise—we’ve been building to this climax since we started. I’m so delighted with how this limited series has turned out, and I can’t wait for everyone to see what happens next.

Dig your claws into DEADPOOL VS OLD MAN LOGAN #4, by Declan Shalvey and artist Mike Henderson, on January 17!

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Singer, lyricist beats writer’s block with action figures – The Sun Daily

Singer, lyricist beats writer's block with action figures
The Sun Daily
WHEN singer and lyricist Zuan Ishmael (pix) gets the writer's block, he often turns to his collection of action figures for inspiration. "Sometimes, when I have no idea how to create a song, I spend some time with these games that can reduce stress and ...

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Star Wars Spotlight: Resurrection of Evil

Each week Star Wars Spotlight combs through the digital archives of Marvel Unlimited to showcase one classic story from that distant galaxy filled with Jedi, Sith, princesses, scoundrels and droids.

The original Marvel STAR WARS series blazed more than a few new trails as it continued to wrack up higher and higher issue numbers. Between “A New Hope” and “Empire Strikes Back,” the series filled in plenty of gaps while also presenting many new adventures. After “Empire,” the various creators continued those efforts, but without the swagger of Han Solo.

With 1981’s STAR WARS #51 and #52, David Michelinie and Walt Simonson brought Leia, C-3PO, Luke, R2-D2 and Chewbacca all back together for one of the Rebellion’s most important missions: destroying The Tarkin.

A brave freedom fighter by the name of Captain Maraba Tev stole plans for the new planet-destroying weapon and paid for delivering them to his superiors with his very life. General Rieekan then recalled the familiar heroes who had been scattered to various corners of the cosmos in search of a new home base for the Rebels, having lost Hoth.

Star Wars (1977) #51

Star Wars (1977) #51

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With the heroes of the rebellion reunited, they learned about this new weapon. The Empire had decided to take what they learned from the Death Star and make it unkillable. So, they took the ion cannon and surrounded it with engines and shields that would keep it safe from attack. Terrified at what this device – called The Tarkin – could do not just to the Rebellion, but all life in existence, they needed Leia, Luke, Chewie and the droids to infiltrate the Empire and make sure they never finished building this atrocity.

They then flew the Millennium Falcon to a planet called Hockaleg in the Patriim system where they quickly grabbed some uniforms from a group of workers and began their infiltration of the crews building The Tarkin. Thanks to Luke’s further master of Jedi tricks, he got them all aboard a ship that took them directly up to the in-construction destroyer.

Our heroes had no idea that Darth Vader oversaw construction and immediately sensed Luke’s presence as they unloaded along with a legion of other workers onto The Tarkin. Vader even made moves to trap the young man by removing the security detail from the main power reactors. However, another force moved against Vader in the form of a group of Imperial officers who wanted the masked man eliminated for leading so many of their comrades to their deaths!

As you might expect, everything came to a head in the second issue of this two-parter. The Rebels made their way through the facility as Vader awaited his confrontation with Luke and the Imperials planned their own trap. As Skywalker approached, the traitors opened an airlock to kick Vader out into space which also wrenched the grenade Luke carried from his hand.

Star Wars (1977) #52

Star Wars (1977) #52

What is Marvel Unlimited?

With their plan in peril, our heroes did a fair amount of scrambling and improvising, but they also had an unknown ace up their sleeves in the form of Lando Calrissian who had stowed away on the Falcon, which remained parked back down on Hockaleg. He took off in the Falcon just as the infiltrating group reunited and hopped on a transport of their own. With Lando keeping the TIE Fighters off their backs, they managed to escape.

After some fancy flying and even the presence of Lord Vader in his personal TIE Fighter, our heroes managed to fully escape after the Tarkin attempted to fire on them but instead self-destructed. Leia then explained that, after their initial plan went south, she reprogrammed the giant cannon to blow itself up upon first use!

From the Jedi Temple Archives

As mentioned above, the Marvel series covered plenty of ground as it ran for over a hundred issues. The Tarkin marks an interesting foray into the thinking of the Empire. At this point only “New Hope” and “Empire” had been released, so no one knew that 1983’s “Return of the Jedi” would feature a second attempt at the Death Star. Once a weapon makes an impact, though, it tends to keep getting used and upgraded as we saw just a few years ago when “The Force Awakens” introduced us all to the First Order’s Starkiller Base! Maybe a more portable version like the Tarkin will show up before long on the big screen…

Next week we swing our X-Wings around to check back in with POE DAMERON!

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Challenge Chess: Can Cara Maria Survive the Game With So Many Vendettas?
Can Cara Maria survive 'The Challenge: Vendettas'?
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Beyoncé Makes Good On Her Promise To Headline Coachella In 2018
Coachella's 2018 lineup includes headliners Beyoncé, Eminem, and The Weeknd.
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The Sisterhood Of The Traveling Pants Cast Reunited To Celebrate America Ferrera’s Pregnancy
Blake Lively, Alexis Bledel, and Amber Tamblyn celebrated America Ferrera's pregnancy during a 'Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants' cast reunion.
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Arkansas Mosque Pays Fines For Man Who Helped Vandalize Its Building

Arkansas Mosque Pays Fines For Man Who Helped Vandalize Its BuildingHisham Yasin, social director of the Masjid Al Salam in Fort Smith, told HuffPost on Tuesday that his congregation had forgiven the convicted vandal, Abraham Davis, long ago. The back is gone,” Yasin said.


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