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At iFanboy, Friday means it’s letter column time.
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Depressing week, I found my first grey hair. I always assumed I would go Reed Richards or Hal Jordan (when he was all full of Paralax-y fear) grey. Sadly my grey is on the top, although a Rogue skunk streak is not out of the question.
This got me thinking, if you could have any comic character’s hair who would it be? I know my wife always wanted Mary Jane’s Larsen era hair, but was told it was impossible.
Mike from Annapolis, Maryland
Hair. It is the great leveler of men and women. You have my condolences, and you have Conor’s scorn. Is grey better than none? It’s hard to say, but what is clear is that when characters in comics get hair issues, they always come out cooler than before. Grey hair? It’s awesome if you get lightning shaped streaks, or Doctor Strange and Reed Richards styled grey bits. How great would it be if Captain America pulled back his mask and you get an Ed Harris shaped receding hairline. Hell, it worked for Gene Hackman, and in his 70s he could kick all your asses.
I think I got off track.
There are so many good choices, and not a single one of them would look good in real life. The big daddy of comic book hair is none other than Wolverine himself. No comic fan needs to have it described, and no one could recreate it in real life. But that’s an obvious choice. I think Quicksilver adds a touch of class to that basic design, making it a little bit smaller, but with that silver all over. There’s also Starfox, who goes red, but a bit more “swinger-y”. Starfox is the guy with the Wolverine style hair that also says, “yes, I will sleep with you, or even your sister. Whoever, really.”
When I was a kid, I thought the coolest thing on Earth was Sigurd Jarlsen’s hair. That’s Thor in his Midgard guise. It was really just a blond mullet in a ponytail. Not so great now, but in the mid-80s, that bastard was the shit. I think I’m going to go utilitarian. Why wouldn’t you want Medusa’s hair?I mean, from one standpoint, you might look a little like a girl, but on the other hand, you have the ability to lift a car with that girly hair. Then again, I tend to look better with shorter hair. I don’t know man. It’s a tough call. Let’s just say Gladiator from the Shi’ar.
Josh Flanagan
I’ve always been a big Superman fan and loved Zod from Superman II and it occurred to me that I really don’t have any comics with Zod in them. Do you know what are the greatest Superman/Zod stories? If so what trades are they collected in?
Andy (Thechangingman) from Cincinnati, Ohio
Oh Andy, why don’t you kneel before me while we talk about Zod.
(NOT like THAT, you dirty birds!)
It’s funny, as much of a fixture as General Zod is in the hearts and minds of comic book fans, and most especially Superman fans, it usually isn’t because of his comic book appearances. It’s because of Terrance Stamp’s portrayal in Superman II. I mean, when you think of General Zod that’s what you probably picture, right? I do.
I’ve been reading Superman comics off and on since the early ’80s and when I tried to think of General Zod stories — off the top of my head and without research — the only story I came up with was this past few years worth of New Krypton related stories. So if you want to know good Superman stories featuring General Zod I can only suggest, by default, those stories. Not that I would qualify my recommendation. I truly enjoyed the New Krypton stories. (Yes, I was the one!) I really enjoyed the in-depth look at the Kryptonian society and that Zod was fleshed out as a villain full of shades of gray.
The New Krypton story is collected in four hardcovers but I don’t know how comprehensive they are because the saga ran for two (?) years and through about 100 single issues over various titles and clearly those aren’t all collected in four hardcovers. New Krypton then led into the “100 Minute War” which capped off the entire most recent General Zod story.
Conor Kilpatrick
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The best ‘real’ hair in comic books belongs to the classic Hal Jordan design. He had that movie star curl, a real matinee-idol thing. Best ever.
Females have much better hair-options as far as comic-book role model, whether it’s the assymetrical Jamie McKelvie look, or those amazing curls Van Sciver gave Jean Grey. I know someone who wanted to go redhead and took a Justin Ponsor-colored X-Men comic to her colorist so she could look like Jean. I’d love to know how Mary Jane gets that shimmery red-over-black look, too. And the short kind of spikey look that Darwyn Cooke gave Selina Kyle is a very doable look.
Okay, done now. Sorry, but this is one of my favorite topics.
You are among friends Connor. I’m the "other one" who really liked New Krypton! It got robbed do to high, I’d almost say unrealistic expectations of the fans. Andy- Save up and read it. It’s good stuff
The reason that there are very few good Zod stories is that Zod was created specifically for the second movie.
For Zod comics: one of my favorite (but seemingly forgotten) Bronze Age comics was Superman Presents: The Phantom Zone, which is about all the Phantom Zone villains breaking out, trapping Superman and Quex-Ul in the Zone, then going on a mad Kryptonian rampage all over Earth.
Did I mention that it’s by Steve Gerber and has really awesome & atmospheric Gene Colan art? Also, I love how it takes the Silver Age backstories of those Phantom Zone villains, fleshes them out and makes them a lot darker. Definitely worth checking out if you’re a Superman fan.
I am SO doing the Rogue streak thing when I get older.
@mmyoung: I’m having trouble figuring out why that would be the reason.
How about Geoff Johns and Andy Kurbert’s Superman: Last Son from a couple years back? That was a pretty rockin’ Zod storyline.
@WonderAli *cough* Sometimes it happens naturally!
It’s very fuzzy, so the details may not be the most accurate.
It was either very late 80s or very early 90s In Superman, where he took it upon himself to execute the three phantom zone villains in an alternate reality, where they decimated that universe’s Earth. From this story came the Supergirl that wasn’t his cousin, but an artificial life (Matrix?). From his guilt, Superman became Gangbuster (split-personality). And Superman then exiled himself into space, where he first encountered Mongul….. It was the Jurgens-era Superman.
???? I hope that’s accurate.
@conor I’m just saying, the character hasn’t been around very long.
@mmyoung: 30 years isn’t that long…?
Terry Moore draws fantastic hair. In Fact, his hairstyles are one of the things which make his character’s breathe. Ryan Kelly too.
I have coveted the Curt Swan Superman SpitCurl all of my life
It’s been 30 years, but then you have the time taken up by the Byrne relaunch, the whole death and return, all of the events tie up a few issues, plus in the 80s the comics and movies tended to be kept separate. There just hasn’t been a lot of time for Zod.
Now, I’d rather have seen a Zod story than that whole Red/Blue split-up, but that’s a whole different story.
@mmyoung: That was 30 years ago. There are comic characters that have had entire rogue galleries built since then and epic stories around them 2 or 3 times over.
I think the lack of Zod stories has to do with the fact that for a period they erased all Kryptonians from the stories focusing on "Last Son of Krypton" story telling, at another point Superman kills Zod and his allies with kryptonite, to add depth to Kal’s suffering and then there is the fact that Zod is a hard character to write since he’s only ever had one goal and character trait, he’s more one dimensional then Superman is declared to be (which I don’t believe).
Despite that he still pops up a fair bit.
@ohcaroline – I’m getting there, I figure by the time I hit forty I’ll be able to rock that look.
Since we’re talking about hair, I feel that I should mention the character with the greatest hair in comic history: Cyclops in Age Of Apocalypse. The hair is almost a character itself.
Oh and Zod first appearance 1961 adventure comics 283.
@Crucio: You’re totally right – I’m kicking myself for not looking it up. Zod was created in 1961 so he’s been around for 49 years.
@comicbookchris You’re just trying to hurt me.
oh man AoA Cyclops does look pretty awesome.
actually, I was going to legitimately say Cyclops, particularly Jim Lee-style 90’s era. it’s pretty basic, but in an awesome way
Oh wow … I had been told by multiple sources that Mario Puzo created Zod for the movie. Guess I was just wrong on every level.
Cyclops in general has great hair. I cannot believe I made that initial comment and neglected to mention Cyclops. (AoA Cyclops’s hair is not good, though; however, it may arguably be awesome without being good. Subtle distinction).
Nightwing always has great hair. Currently, Tim Drake’s hair is way sexy. In Invincible, Oliver’s hair has started to get too long and stringy, but for a couple of issues it was at that sweet spot where he just looked incredibly hot. David in Strangers in Paradise at times cut his too short, but usually it was really good.
I spend way too much time crushing on comic book characters, and apparently it’s often got a lot to do with their hair.
An interesting Zod story is Superman: For Tomorrow. Written by Brian Azzarello with art from Jim Lee and Scott Williams. A "darker" take on Superman and his environment with a slight Superman/Jesus allegory.
a note: Ursa and Non were created for the movies, so it would be easy to make the mistake Zod was as well. Otis and Miss Teschmacher were too.
which brings up another question, why isn’t there a good Miss Teschmacher story? Hot girl-friday to mad man Lex Luthor, now that’s a story.
@ohcaroline – Cyclops’ hair is second only to his abs.
To get in on this hair discussion: I want Green Arrow’s goatee. Sadly, as a redhead, it will never happen.
I read New Krypton in trades (loved it), and I’d say it has some great Zod moments. I’d also recommend Last Son, as someone above me stated. Very, very good for Zod.
What about "Superman: Last Son" for the Zod story.
Early Robin had a unique cut… two opposing curls (to Superman’s one)
there’s also Jaxur…. many times just as threatening as Zod
JSA: The Liberty Files, an elseworlds title drawn by Tony Harris had some Zod stuff in it (without giving away too much). Damn good book too.
Luke Cage from the 70’s had the best hair hands down! Fro, tiara and the sideburns? Two words: Chick Magnet!
Someone call for some stories featuring General Zod story? I am your man, changingman.
If you want to check out some older comics from the Silver Age that feature the good General, DC released a book back in 2009 called, Superman: Tales from the Phantom Zone. It has the first issue that Zod first appeared in and also a lot of other stories centered around the Phantom Zone.
Another story would be the Superman mini-series, The Phantom Zone. It’s from the early eigthies and was written by Steve Gerber (Hard Time, Howard the Duck, The Defenders) and art by Gene Colan (Tomb of Dracula, Iron Man, Howard the Duck). The overall story is a basic summery of the history of the Phantom Zone and it’s prisoners. Basically, Zod and the other prisons escape from the Zone and once again run afoul of the Earth. I don’t want to give too much away because of Zod’s ultimate plan, but this mini-series is really good. It has a lot of Gerber’s trademark psychological writing and Colan’s dark atmosperhic art. Gerber really shows the horror of being in the Phantom Zone and asks if Superman’s father was in the right when he created it. Also, Gerber really shows how cruel and evil the Phantom Zone prisoners really are. It’s one of the darkest Superman stories I’ve ever read and I highly recommend it. Sadly, it isn’t collected so you’d have to search through any back issue bins.
I’d also check Superman #20 and #21 from John Bryne’s run. It also hasn’t been collected.
And as previously said, you can also read Superman: For Tomorrow, Superman: Last Son, and any of the Superman: New Krypton book.
I’ve been trying for the longest to get Colossus’ metallic flat top circa Uncanny#171 http://marvel.wikia.com/Comics:Uncanny_X-Men_Vol_1_171
Neb originally suggested Superman Last Son (Geoff Johns/Andy Kubert) at the begging of the thread ,which is excellent. In that story Zod steeps to a new low to get at Supes.Also a great cameo by Mon-El make it a must have.
I think the Silver Surfer has the best look in the Marvel Universe. Unfortunately, you can’t style a skull. Just ask the pumpkin-headed Watcher.
@Josh: Your response to the hair question had me laughin my ass off.
We all want superhero hair. None of us can have it because … well … we’re not illustrations. At the end of the day it’s just more proof that superheroes are both fictional and better than us.
@ Amircat – I agree. For me that’s about the only zod story i’d recommend if you want the zod from the movie. New Krypton gave him three dimensions for why he’s done what he’s done, but I find I like zod best when he’s there just to fuck up superman’s day.
Thanks for the suggestions. I didn’t think about New Krypton. I had no idea Azzarello wrote Superman. 100 Bullets is one of my favorite books and his run on Hellblazer is great so I will definately pick that up.
Regarding hair: I love when Spider-Man artists draw Peter Parker with the widow’s peak Ditko gave him.
Regarding Zod: I wish Terance Stamp had reprised his role as Zod in Phantom Menace instead of playing the effete Chancellor Valorium (or whatever his name was.) I would have paid good money for a Zod-Palpatine throw-down.
re Zod stories: I recently picked up ACTION Comics anual #11. Awesome conclusion to a Zod story. After reading it I said to myself, this is the best Zod story I’ve ever read. Art by Andy Kubert and story by Johns and Donner. Better then all that New Krypton stuff. Does anyone know what issues this arc starts in?
re hair: Doc Samson’s cool, Guy Gardner is not. I have in fact taken an issue of Amazing Spiderman to a salon to give as an example of how I want my hair to look. The stylist asked, " but how does the back of his head look". Best Peter Parker hair version. J.R.Sr. BOO-YAH!