When I began this journal back in 201 , the initial idea was to concentrate on
2000 AD characters and strips, though I acknowledged I would occasionally step outside that universe, as I have done with
Watchmen, and will continue to do. However I had no desire to tread on the toes of he who originally had the idea to have a comics journal, and still do not wish to upset Batty. I discussed this with him about a year ago, and had originally considered starting a new journal to tackle the idea, but now that I give it some more thought, it seems to make more sense just to expand this journal to encompass the new direction.
So, with that rather confusing and uninformative introduction, I give you
A new sub-journal, if you will, within my own, in which I will tackle some of the characters from the Marvel universe for the first time. However I will be concentrating on what are generally considered lesser strips, often unknown outside of their own fanbase, with two rather important exceptions, of which more shortly.
The Marvel universe is filled to bursting with interesting characters – both heroes and villains – and incredible storylines, much of which tends to get pushed to the background in favour of the bigger acts, those who have been our favourites for decades and whose adventures we avidly read as children, and more importantly, those who have made the transition to the big screen. Spiderman. The Hulk. Captain America. The Avengers. X-Men. Iron Man. All of these names are well known now, mostly thanks to the intervention of Hollywood, though Spiderman was pretty much always up there with the greats, rubbing shoulders with DC rivals Batman and Superman. All of these I love, but I will be steering clear of.
My sub-journal will focus on the little guys – not literally small, of course but those who have been passed over, in most cases, by the movie moguls and whose very existence few, other than their fans, are even aware of. I'm talking here about your Inhumans, your Bloodstones, your Silver Surfers. Red Sonja, Dazzler and even Dracula, who of course is a celebrity but whose adventures in the pages of Marvel Comics might come as a surprise to a lot of you. Deadpool is another one. Yes, he has his movie but he's still regarded as a fairly minor character, nowhere in the league of the big boys. Spider-Girl, Spider-Ham (I kid you not!), Ghost Rider ... if there is a minor or not that well known character I can write about, you'll more than likely find them here. There are, as I mentioned earlier, two rather important exceptions to this self-made rule of exclusion.
The Mighty Thor. I grew up reading Thor and his adventures fuelled my interest, first in Norse mythology and then in mythology in general. Beside Spidey he was my all time favourite, so although he's had two movies, I feel they didn't really portray the Thor I spent my childhood reading, where his stories tended to take place mostly in Asgard, not on Earth, and so I'll be including the god of thunder here.
Doctor Strange. As I say, I had this idea a year or more ago, and back then there was no whisper of a Doctor Strange movie, so I assumed nobody outside of his fanbase knew of this man. I had already decided to write about him, as he is a fascinating character, and I don't intend to change that decision. I have not seen the movie, but with a character as deep and complicated as Steven Strange, I feel they can hardly have got the essence of the man into a two-hour movie, so I'll be delving deep into his psychology, motivations and of course his many dark adventures.
I'll probably hop, skip and jump around, either taking the best stories from each or perhaps even intermixing an episode of one with an episode of another; I haven't really yet decided the format. This is just to let you few who read this journal know of the change, and if there's a minor character (Marvel universe only: I'm restricting myself to this) that you think I should be covering, let me know.