BDcomics

Nostalgia's nothing new. As Marvel's celebration of its superhuman history reaches its tenth anniversary, Ninth Art looks back on the mini series that helped propel Alex Ross and Kurt Busiek to superstardom, and marvels.

".....This is part of why MARVELS works as well as it does: it takes the humanistic approach that Lee, Kirby, Ditko et al pioneered in those halcyon days, and blends it with a semi-journalistic standpoint - the view of the common man, if you will.

Phil Sheldon is just that: an ordinary guy, doing his best to make a living as a photojournalist in New York (circa the late 30s, early 40s). Aspiring to cover the political strife in Europe - which would soon conflagrate into the Second World War - Sheldon pounds the local beat, hoping for a promotion, and its in this role that he comes across an exhibition by scientist Phineas T Horton, of his 'artificial man'.

However, Horton's creation is defective: when exposed to oxygen, it bursts into flame - a literal human torch. His fellow newshounds dismiss Horton as a crackpot, but Sheldon is not so convinced; his suspicions are confirmed when Horton's brainchild runs wild in the streets a few weeks later, causing a panic. Thus, the age of the Marvels is born in fire - and for the next few decades, Sheldon opts to observe the storm via the objective lens of his camera.

MARVELS' first chapter deals with the heroes of the 40s; the aforementioned original Human Torch, the Sub-Mariner, and Captain America. The second flashes forward to the rise of the modern-day heroes - the Fantastic Four and the Avengers - while contrasting their presence with the 'threat' posed by mutants such as the X-Men.

The third act retells the first coming of Galactus to our planet - from a vintage FANTASTIC FOUR story - and offers insights into how the populace of New York would react to such an occurrence. The final part touches upon the death of Gwen Stacy - caught up in the Green Goblin's vendetta against Spider-Man - and shows how that leads Sheldon to rethink his life's work.

MARVELS rehashes several of the 'classic' Silver Age stories upon which the self-described 'House of Ideas' built its foundation. Alex Ross - who was, a decade ago, an up-and-coming artist - originally conceived of the project as an anthology that would recall Marvel's past through fresh artistic eyes.

It was Kurt Busiek, though, that reshaped the idea into what we know as MARVELS today, giving it a unified point of view and bringing the heroics - which we usually had a ringside view of - down to earth. That said, I would hesitate in calling MARVELS a 'realistic' depiction of superheroes - while it looks grand and vibrant when appropriate, it's a mite difficult to suspend disbelief when the narrative involves a man who can grow to giant size, and disbelief goes out the window when faced with an immense alien demigod.

Obviously, Ross' art is the major selling point of MARVELS; to put in bluntly, it's what gets the punters in, as painted art seems more 'real' or traditional compared to the standard pencil-and-ink renderings common to most comic books. Does it look good? Yes, as Ross has a knack for capturing a moment and honing in on what makes it work. From a Rockwell-esque panorama of daily life, to a Kirby-fashion slugfest, it's technically very well executed.

However, where Ross falls down is the storytelling - for all the slick virtuosity Ross brings to the project, there is the unshakable feeling that when is all said and done, the reader is merely looking at a collection of pretty pictures strung together to form a narrative. There are points where Ross does the story more harm than good, where instead of drawing us deeper in to it, his grandiose splash pages serve to take readers out of the tale. That said, this is a decade-old work, and Ross has improved since then.

Kurt Busiek's love of comics' history shines through in most of the superhero projects he's tackled, from his own ASTRO CITY, to the recent JLA/AVENGERS event series. MARVELS - thankfully - avoids being a dry recitation of minutiae and trivia, as through the eyes of Phil Sheldon, Busiek takes the reader on a tour through the highlights of Marvel history with both zest and respect.

With the Marvels themselves serving as supporting characters, Sheldon, his family and his associates come to the fore, and they do come across as 'real' people, doing their best to live their lives in a world where aliens, super villains and 'evil' mutants are as commonplace as celebrities and sports stars. The script is MARVELS' true strength, and is easily the equal of Ross' art, even bettering it in places.

The best kind of cover version is one that adds something new to a familiar song, rather than slavishly recreating it or mutilating it beyond recognition. MARVELS manages to hit that note just right with its mix of nostalgia and insight. For long-time Marvel fans, it's very much a collection of familiar places and faces, but with the benefit of Busiek and Ross' hindsight, you just might find yourself seeing them with new eyes...."

Review by Brent Keane. The full review can be found here.

Download links:

Marvels 01
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=C7C0VNVX
Marvels 02
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=LFG9IDZ6
Marvels 03
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=OT9UK9IT

Marvels 04
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=8JY4ZV1T


Uploaded by Zatz
Countesy of the The Comics Club

Thanks to Jeemutbahan Roy for send this in.

Jeemutbahan Roy sent me this email with uploads of "The Authority". (Thanks!) Here's the mail:


"The Authority The Circle (01-04)
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=3AHAWG7E

Here it is.. The coolest super team of all time.. Ok
my opinion that is.. The Authority by Warren Ellis and
Bryan Hitch..

Ok you lucky dogs... I managed to upload the second
story arc of ellis and hitch's opus.. The most
shagadelic chick in comic lore is Jenny Sparks.. After
you read this - Would anyone care to dispute it.. Will
be putting up the books in the order they were
written.. So After Ellis's run comes Millar's and that
is so sweet.. let me tell ya.. here it is..

Authority 05-08 (Shiftships)
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=PRIWNWRA

The Authority 09-12 (Outer Dark) Ellis and Hitch's last arc
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=EKDK33G3


The Authority 13-16
by Mark Millar..
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=WVYGAME5

I like Millar- He's a clever writer- like Morrison- They have tons of cool ideas and idiosyncrasies that they wanna share with us.. Millar's arc on the Ultimate has some of the most subtle and at times Groo-like sexual undertones...

Watch the page no 1 of issue 13. It's a splash page and what does it remind you off... Once again check out Julian Darius's website sequart and here is the link to the Censorhip of the Authority by DC http://www.sequart.com/authority27.htm .. The censorship massively lessens the impact of his run though it's still great fun.

The Authority (by Millar and Quietly) 17-20 Earth Inferno
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=ED4BINXT

This is the fifth story arc- Earth Inferno.


Enjoy!


UPLOADS COURTESY:- THE COMICS CLUB (Mumbai, India)

Uploaded by Aniceto Pereira"

Justice by Alex Ross

Release Date: 8/3/2005
Manufacturer / Publisher: DC

Writer: Jim Krueger, Alex Ross
Artist: Doug Braithwaite, Alex Ross


Get ready for a classic-yet-fresh new look at the Justice League of America, imagined by fan-favorite painter Alex Ross (JLA: LIBERTY & JUSTICE, KINGDOM COME) and writer Jim Krueger (Earth X, Universe X) with pencil art by Doug Braithwaite (Paradise X) painted by Ross!

The members of the fabled Justice League of America are about to learn they aren’t the only ones who can band together toward a common goal. The greatest criminal masterminds of our time appear to be acting in concert — but with a surprising plan that seeks to achieve more good than the JLA ever could! How is that possible?


Download link:
http://rapidshare.de/files/3666362/Justice_01__2005___Shazam-DCP_.cbr.html

http://rapidshare.de/files/6596447/Justice_02__2005___Bchry-DCP_.cbr.html

Found in the ProjectW.org forum. Thanks to d4bow and SBrightblade.

Resident Evil comics


Issues 1 to 9, two full storys. 36MB.

http://s7.11mbit.in/0xpq5fJ45fJyH16lPv5FP8iFu8ij7HI26Mk7m1aFm056Gv56GHw27lm1/r3qEbGv5
http://s7.11mbit.in/zwB3DElzefghMN2CDs68hDNu85EFPw5FlvwbcH1277eo24dIoyzefBqr/5cLDFkPw

Password is: swissALFA


Thanks to Kummerbube for these. And he says "Greets from Switzerland."

Calvin and Hobbes Snow Art Gallery

http://www.angelfire.com/wa/zzaran/calvin.html

Wonderful! Simply wonderful! Calvin & Hobbes is the best!

Now someone make me a downloadable out of these!

Just found this in Digg.com. Good stuff. Not really downloadable, but here is the entire archive online and this is quality material!


Thanks to atrus80 for posting it on Digg.

read more | digg story

Wanted mini series from Top Cow Productions. Inc

http://rapidshare.de/files/7733671/Wanted_1_of_6.cbr.html
http://rapidshare.de/files/7733905/Wanted_2_of_6.cbr.html
http://rapidshare.de/files/7734169/Wanted_3_of_6.cbr.html
http://rapidshare.de/files/7734412/Wanted_4_of_6.cbr.html
http://rapidshare.de/files/7734733/Wanted_5_of_6.cbr.html
http://rapidshare.de/files/7733348/Wanted_6_of_6.cbr.html
http://rapidshare.de/files/7735147/Wanted_http://rapidshare.de/files_Dossier_01.cbr.html


Thanks to Julian Jair Téllez Morales for sending me the links. (Thanks!)

Would you hate it if I put up some Google ads in the site?

Or would you support the site by clicking whatever you find
interesting in the ads?

All right, fellows! This is the new look of the site.

Do you like it?

I think it's beautiful!

Update: I guess you'd not like the new look if you use internet explorer. It looks butt ugly in IE.

THIS is what the site's supposed to look. And it looks like that in Firefox.

Change your bullshit browser to Firefox.

Seriously!

Now after some work, here's what the site looks like now. I like it!

Of course, some minor changes will be made, but this is basically what I wanted the site to look like.

Also, I'd change the header, of course. (Put less text in it. The text size will be the same, or I might even make it bigger.) But I like it. It's so big and inviting.

Let's see.

And what do you think of the new layout?

Dear Visitors,

I'm working with the site's theme now. It's going to be more black,
more non-bloggish and with white/yellow text. Kinda like The Best Page
in the Universe (TheBestPageInTheUniverse.net)

So, if you suddenly find that the site is looking really ugly, it's
probably because I'm still working on it.

The final result should look good. Still, I've always got the old
theme backed up in case this doesn't work out.

Sincerely,
BDcomics

Marvel Knight Fantastic Four

Issues 1-22


http://rapidshare.de/files/5332068/Marvel_Knights_4_001.cbr.html

http://rapidshare.de/files/5331294/Marvel_Knights_4_002.cbr.html

http://rapidshare.de/files/5329768/Marvel_Knights_4_003.cbr.html

http://rapidshare.de/files/5329049/Marvel_Knights_4_004.cbr.html

http://rapidshare.de/files/5327545/Marvel_Knights_4_005.cbr.html

http://rapidshare.de/files/5327194/Marvel_Knights_4_006.cbr.html

http://rapidshare.de/files/5326193/Marvel_Knights_4_007.cbr.html

http://rapidshare.de/files/5308336/Marvel_Knights_4_008.cbr.html

http://rapidshare.de/files/5308030/Marvel_Knights_4_009.cbr.html

http://rapidshare.de/files/5304193/Marvel_Knights_4_010.cbr.html

http://rapidshare.de/files/5295933/Marvel_Knights_4_011.cbr.html

http://rapidshare.de/files/5293303/Marvel_Knights_4_012.cbr.html

http://rapidshare.de/files/5290643/Marvel_Knights_4_013.cbr.html

http://rapidshare.de/files/5287370/Marvel_Knights_4_014.cbr.html

http://rapidshare.de/files/5286386/Marvel_Knights_4_015.cbr.html

http://rapidshare.de/files/5284887/Marvel_Knights_4_016.cbr.html

http://rapidshare.de/files/5283628/Marvel_Knights_4_017.cbr.html

http://rapidshare.de/files/5279005/Marvel_Knights_4_018.cbr.html

http://rapidshare.de/files/5276516/Marvel_Knights_4_019.cbr.html

http://rapidshare.de/files/5275264/Marvel_Knights_4_020.cbr.html

http://rapidshare.de/files/5275032/Marvel_Knights_4_021.cbr.html

http://rapidshare.de/files/5274670/Marvel_Knights_4_022.cbr.html

http://rapidshare.de/6374120/Marvel_Knights_4__23__2005___Team-DCP_.cbr



Thanks to Julian Jair Téllez Morales for sending me the links. (Thanks!)

Graphic Novel: Neil Gaiman - Marvel 1602 - parts 1-8 + Sketchbook (Complete series)


Marvel 1602 -- more commonly known simply as 1602 -- was an 8-issue mini-series published in 2003-2004. The series was written by Neil Gaiman, who had never before written for Marvel despite his extremely celebrated status in both comics and novels -- but who struck a deal with Marvel to write a mini-series, the profits of which would be donated to the lawsuit fighting Todd McFarlane over the rights to Miracleman. Assigned to the project was the artistic team of the hit mini-series Origin: Andy Kubert and Richard Isanove, the latter of which provided digital colors with gradations half mimicking painting. Marvel imposed near-absolute secrecy over the project, originally planned for 2002 release, even through the delays that moved the series to the 2003 schedule.

Back in the early 1960s, Marvel Comics revolutionized and redefined the superhero genre. Amazing Spider-man, Uncanny X-Men, Fantastic Four, Incredible Hulk, Daredevil, Doctor Strange - within the span of five years, a dozen or so titles were launched that continue to this day. Of course, the stories within reflected the changing times; over the years, Marvel's characters have continued to change, and are just as relevant in the new millennium as they were four decades ago. But, what if the Marvel-verse had happened in another time, in another place? It's been imagined before, in fits and starts, from the occasional What If? one-shot, to the long-dead 2099 family of titles. Now, Neil Gaiman (creator of the DC title Sandman and author of the award-winning novel American Gods), in collaboration with artists Andy Kubert, Richard Isanove, and Scott McKowen, is putting a fresh spin, hopefully, on Marvel's beloved heroes and villains.


1602, an eight-issue miniseries debuting August 13, 2003, takes place in Europe at a time of great change. The Catholic Church's Inquisition is pursuing and rounding up "witchbreed", strange individuals with all sorts of unexplained abilities. Many of the witchbreed flee to the relative safety of England, where they are taken under the wing of Carlos Javier, an expatriate Spaniard with extraordinary abilities of his own. An elderly Queen Elizabeth sits on the throne of England - her ministers include Sir Nicholas Fury, her Minister of Intelligence, and Dr. Stephen Strange, her Court Physician and Magician. As issue #1 begins, Fury sends a blind Irish balladeer named Matthew Murdock to Europe to retrieve, from the last of the Templars, a mysterious item that may be either weapon or treasure. Unfortunately, this item has also come to the attention of Count Otto von Doom (also called The Handsome), ruler of Latveria.
All sorts of other odd things are going on, with strange weather, rumors of the end of the world, and a girl named Virginia Dare setting sail for England from the Roanoke Colony.

Gaiman got the idea for 1602 while participating in a comic convention in Venice, Italy, not long after the events of September 11th. He'd been mulling over the idea of doing a miniseries for Marvel, but by that time, he confesses, he didn't want anything with "skyscrapers, guns, bombs or planes in it. And the idea for 1602 fell straight into my head." Gaiman repeatedly insists that 1602 isn't a What If?, or anything like DC's Elseworlds - a puzzling claim since that's exactly what it is! The fact that it's a more comprehensive re-imagining than most such stories doesn't really change its "What If-ness". Says Gaiman: "Read it as a puzzle or and adventure. Things will become apparent as the story goes on."


Some links:

Neil Gaiman Official Site

Neil Gaiman Chronology

Annotations to Marvel 1602:
This is an extensive series of notes on this magnificent comic series. Check it out when or soon after you read the comics. Its a page-by-page background and commentary:



Download two files 44 and 47 MB
http://rapidshare.de/files/6550887/Neil_Gaiman_Marvel1602_01-04.rar
http://rapidshare.de/files/6551507/Neil_Gaiman_Marvel1602_05-08.rar



Thanks to phil_ga for posting this on the ProjectW.org forum

"I have always been a DC fan first, but what's good is good and this is really good. They have to put this back in print because it is one of greatest comics Marvel ever published. It has a fast-paced cinematic style similar to the one Frank Miller used in Batman Year One and Ronin. I am not a big fan of John Romita Junior, but his style was perfect for this story. Its obvious that both Miller and Romita Jr worked very hard on this. Daredevil's origin has been told before but when you read this you don't feel like you are reading rehashed material. There are plenty of new plots and ideas to keep it interesting throughout. As usual, the character interplay between Matt Murdock and Electra is excellent and very foreboding since we already know what the future has in store for her."

Review by Tariq from Bahrain. Taken from the Amazon product page.



Scanned and Uploaded by SLG4 from the ProjectW.org forum. (Thanks SLG4!)


Download links to Daredevil Legends Vol. 3: The Man Without Fear:

http://rapidshare.de/files/7297481/Daredevil_The_Man_Without_Fear_1.cbr.html

http://rapidshare.de/files/7336317/Daredevil_The_Man_Without_Fear_2.cbr.html

http://rapidshare.de/files/7336499/Daredevil_The_Man_Without_Fear_3.cbr.html

http://rapidshare.de/files/7337098/Daredevil_The_Man_Without_Fear_4.cbr.html

http://rapidshare.de/files/7337248/Daredevil_The_Man_Without_Fear_5.cbr.html