HeroDistrict

Nicolas Cage is almost as big a fan of comics as he is of terrible haircuts and spending ridiculous amounts of money. Unfortunately his latter habit has necessitated the sale of his impressive comic book collection. He has previously put up some great issues, like Avengers #1, but he just set all sorts of records with his latest sale. Nicolas Cage’s copy of Action Comics #1 just sold for $2.1 million. That’s a hefty chunk of change for you or me, or a one night eBay shopping spree for Cage.

This comic is worth more than everything I own. I want it.

It is awesome to see how valuable comics are getting these days, but at the same time this sale is disappointing. Everybody knows Nicolas Cage loves comics enough to take Luke Cage’s last name as his own, and it is always sad to see a collector forced to part ways with their prized possessions. Then again, it could be considered karma for making movies like Bangkok Dangerous. The part about this that really upsets me is that I don’t see myself having $2.1 million to spend on Action Comics #1, the holy grail of superhero comics. Guess I just need to start losing my mind and starring in every random movie I can while taking a comic book character’s last name. I think I’ll go by Jordan Odinson from now on.

Hey, ladies.

There have been some truly iconic comic book covers over the years. They have stood the test of time on their own, but Kerry Callen decided that they could be spiced up a little. The creator of Halo and Sprocket, a comic you should definitely check out, decided that he could make these covers even better by animating them. He created some simple .gifs out of comics that are amazing. Go to his blog right now and see drunk Tony Stark with the shakes! We’ll wait here until you get back.

It has always been Callen’s dream to drown Spider-Man.

Welcome back! Hopefully Callen will create more covers like these, because I could stare at them for hours. What other covers would look good with this animation treatment? I think the classic cover of Superman #204 by Jim Lee could use some subtle cape movement to reach perfection. What covers would you like to see Kerry Callen create in the future?

It’s either wind blowing the cape or Superman scratching his butt. Either one would be good.

There have been numerous incarnations of the Hulk over the years. He started out gray, then he became green, sometimes he is smart, but usually not so much. One of my favorite versions of the Hulk is Joe Fixit. Basically he is every dickish aspect of Bruce Banner’s personality put into a giant gray Hulk body. Joe Fixit found his place in Las Vegas, where he worked as a sort of enforcer. He spent his days being paid to beat the crap out of people and spent his spare time hitting on the showgirls. In other words, Joe Fixit is awesome. The Hulk Classics toy line came out with a 6″ scale version of Joe Fixit that lives up to the reputation of the character. If you need a muscle bound Las Vegas thug to add to your toy collection, you can’t go wrong with this guy.

Welcome back, readers! I hope that everybody who celebrates Thanksgiving had a great one, and everyone else just had a great Thursday. With Thanksgiving comes a celebration of gluttony as we all see how much food we can stuff in our bodies before we have to start undoing belt buckles. I’m sure some of you scoff at that notion, but not all of us can get away with wearing pants with elastic waistbands at family dinners. Today is the day that the food hangover really hits, though. Which one of these superheroes do you most feel like today?

Matter Eater Lad

Matter Eater Lad has the worst poops.

You ate everything in front of you, right? All your food was mixed together in a big pile on your plate, forming a mountain of deliciousness that you vacuumed down in minutes before getting up for seconds. There probably wasn’t even any leftover turkey for sandwiches today. Yet, somehow, you are still looking great in those jeans. What do you mean you lost 5 pounds? I gained 10 just looking at the desserts. Life isn’t fair.

Big Bertha

A remarkable transformation made every holiday season.

You ate much like Matter Eater Lad, but unfortunately it is starting to show today. Your pants feel just a little bit tighter today than they did on Monday. Is that the beginning of an extra chin? Don’t worry, a little exercise and you will soon be able to go out in public again without creating a solar eclipse with your mass.

Blob

You need to start wearing pants to these things.

I’m sorry, but you’re just fat. Your family had to cook an extra turkey just for you, and you still managed to eat enough that nobody else could get seconds. The sad part was you didn’t even know it was Thanksgiving, all your meals are like this. It’s kind of gross actually. Still, I will admit that I’m a little jealous that you eat entire turkey legs whenever you want and don’t feel guilty about it at all.

Superman

You’re still an illegal alien, you handsome bastard.

You probably woke up, played a friendly family football game, dominated it but with great sportsmanship. Then you went home, because you obviously hosted dinner, turned the game on your new 60″ flat screen tv and your friends helped themselves to the appetizers made by your part-time chef, part time supermodel wife. Hell, you probably took reasonable servings of everything, being careful of calories and sticking to your diet. You are the worst.

We are getting close to the holiday season and, much like radio stations and convenience stores everywhere, I’m going to get in on the action a month early. As a special treat for Hero District readers, today’s review will cover three action figures for triple the Sunday dose. We will be looking at figures for Juggernaut, Lizard, and Iron Spider-Man. Obviously they were picked for their Christmas colors, Iron Spider-Man for red, Lizard for green, and Juggernaut for being awesome. They are all great characters, but how do the action figure representations stack up? Check out the video below and see if they would make a better gift for a friend or an enemy.

It’s a bad day to be a low selling comic at Marvel.  Dark Wolverine, X-23, Ghost Rider and Black Panther are all being put to the axe. This is coming on the heels of a number of cancellations for Iron Man 2.0, Alpha Flight and yet to be released projects about Dr. Doom and a new team called the Destroyers. Punisher MAX is also ending, but this was the natural conclusion of the series and it wasn’t actually cancelled. What gives?

With Wolverine in 200 titles, we didn’t need one about a younger version with 90′s Storm hair to go with his daddy issues.

First of all, none of these series were selling particularly well. Which isn’t much of a surprise. Most of this bunch were never really superstars. I can’t say I’m disappointed, since none of these series looked particularly appealing. Although it is possible that Marvel is tightening its belt, there is some speculation that the publisher is considering a reshuffling of some kind. I doubt it, since these are books were clearly struggling, but it’s a chance. So if your favorite book has lagging sales, keep your fingers crossed.

Even though Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 was one of the best fighting games in recent memory, I initially wasn’t thrilled to dish out $40 on a glorified expansion pack.  Of course, I bought the damn game anyway after seeing the spectacular collection of new characters. Joining the game are Nova, Ghost Rider, Dr. Strange, Hawkeye, and the magnificent Rocket Raccoon. And some Capcom characters or something.

Hell. Yes.

All of these characters are firmly in Marvel’s B-list (or lower), but deserve much more. They’re all solid heroes with huge untapped potential, but are just missing that X-factor to push them into the spotlight.  Hopefully this game will be the first step in giving these characters the exposure they need to reach out to mainstream audiences.

Now you can harness the awesome power of rabies!

The game itself takes the same basic formula from the first and some polish. Each of the new characters has a unique playstyle and most are tons of fun.  Nova and Iron Fist are my favorites, and Ghost Rider is positively brutal.  There are some new game modes and challenges thrown in as well. I was shocked by how recent some of the costume and level additions are, such as Spider-Mans Future Foundation colors or the Shadowland stage. If you haven’t bought the original, this is a must get. If you loved the game and are looking for another chance to mash some buttons, the new content will satisfy you. Just don’t expect something dramatically different from the original.

Colossus has always been one of my favorite X-Men. He is a big old softy from Russia who is always trying to do what’s right. And he can turn into living metal and bench press an airplane. It is interesting to see how writers handle his softer and more quieter side, and then see how he can tear people apart when they get on his bad side. That is why the Marvel Legends Colossus has been on my wish list for a while now. I have plenty of the other X-Men, but my collection wouldn’t be complete without Colossus. Check out my review on this figure below.

Do you like Stan Lee, shirts and possibly winning $1000? Then you definitely need to check out Stan Lee’s World of Heroes contest. Stan Lee has teamed up with MASScanvas and the John Wayne Cancer Institute to create this t-shirt contest with a prize of $1000 each for the top 5 shirt designs. The theme is a design based around heroes or being heroic, so it is a fairly open ended contest. Voters will decide on the top 20 designs, and then Stan Lee will pick the 5 winners from those 20. This contest ends November 20th, so get your rears in gear to help a great cause.

You must design a shirt that this man will find fashionable.

There have already been some awesome designs submitted. It looks like Stan might have a tough time picking out the best of the best, especially once the entries from Hero District readers start to come in. Let us know in the comments section if you submit a design. For more information on the Stan Lee: World of Heroes contest visit MASScanvas, who also work with the Make A Wish Foundation. Even if you aren’t artistically inclined, there are plenty of awesome shirts to buy while supporting great causes.

If any of you watched South Park last night, you saw something special.  What started as  a Thanksgiving episode and bashing of the History Channel turned into spoof/homage of Thor. Filled with Plymouth-Asgard, pilgrim Myles Standish as Thor, and wormholes coming out of Natalie Portman’s nether regions.

Wait, what was that last one again?

As truly touched as I was by Thor getting recognition, Captain Standish needed to be more of a dick.  Y’know, like Thor.  Literally the entire plot of the movie was fueled by it’s protagonist’s rampant dickery.  Standish needed to punch like, I don’t know, at least five more people in the face.