We've mentioned a few strange live-action adaptations of super-heroes in the past, but we've stayed away from discussing the CBS's 1977 television series "The Amazing Spider-Man"...

...mostly because we've heard that it's pretty awful. Even the ever-smiling Stan Lee criticized it for being "too juvenile" while it was coming out, and it ended after only 15 episodes that saw the unforgivable sin of actually toning down the perfection that is J. Jonah Jameson.

But it did have one thing going for it: A smooth, '70s funk theme song.

Last week saw the release of "Final Fantasy XIII" in North America, the latest entry in the epic RPG series from video game maker Square-Enix. At this point I'm required to make a witty remark concerning how strange it is that a series with the word "Final" in its title is releasing its thirteenth game (not counting numerous other tie-ins). And then I should add that this one will undoubtedly sell millions of copies, no matter how good or bad it is, paving the way for further sequels beyond the already announced "Final Fantasy XIV".

One of the main draws of the video game series has been its stories, the heroic journeys of ensemble casts that can last for tens of hours. And while the last few games in the series have employed a highly cinematic approach to their storytelling, earlier games didn't have that sort of technology available to them. Instead they told their stories through a mix of text, moving and static images, and music -- a hybrid form somewhere between animation and comics.

The manga tradition was likely a greater influence on the game's makers than comics published in the U.S., but any regular reader of Marvel and DC who plays games in the Final Fantasy series would find a lot that was familiar. So in honor of Final Fantasy XIII finally hitting this side of the Pacific, here are some favorite elements shared between western comics and Final Fantasy.


The artist responsible for the concept illustrations that created the core look of the Final Fantasy series and its regular bestiary of creatures, Amano got his start at animation company Tatsunoko Productions in Tokyo. His gorgeous artwork was often too complex to render accurately into the Nintendo and Super Nintendo games, but served as a constant inspiration to the sprite designers in the series. His character portraits were used in game for Final Fantasy VI, the last title in the series in which he played a major design role.

Have you ever desired the power of the Wonder Twins, whether you're one part of a twin combination or you just happen to have a good buddy or colleague that would make for a good superhero partner? Well, there's nothing that can be done to help you in that department - at least not within the realm of reality, though I suppose there is much to be explored in this great big galaxy of ours - but at least you can look like Zan and Jayna, thanks to Graphitti Designs, Inc.

The clothing manufacturer has added a few cool comic book products to its repertoire, including the indigo-hued Wonder Twins T-shirts. There are two designs available - one for Jayna, one for Zan - with the shirts' listed features consisting of:

- Wonder Twin powers, ACTIVATE!
- Form of...awesome apparel!
- Wear your favorite comics!

Huh. So maybe I was wrong about these shirts not being able to transform you into a sabertooth tiger or a roaring tsunami. Regardless of function, the shirts are great purchases for any Wonder Twin fan. You can activate your purchase at Entertainment Earth.

Director Bryan Singer and producer Lauren Shuler Donner gave a lengthy interview to The Los Angeles Times about the current status of the "X-Men" films, particularly Singer's "X-Men: First Class." A lot of hate is being heaped on the fact that Singer wants "First Class" to focus mainly on Professor Xavier and Magneto as opposed to the younger mutants.

"Just doing younger mutants is not enough," said the director. "The story needs to be more than that. I love the relationship between Magneto and Xavier, these two men who have diametrically opposite points of view but still manage to be friends - to a point. They are the ultimate frenemies."

Honestly, I'm not that bothered by Singer's assessment. Xavier is a big part of the "X-Men" story and Magneto is a defining aspect of Xavier. I see this as more of a Dumbledore-Voldemort dynamic, certainly an important relationship in the film but not necessarily the central one. Maybe I'm wrong - in which case, I would be annoyed - but I'm not getting my torch and pitchfork out just yet.

In addition to "First Class" talk, the article also mentions that Hugh Jackman is trying to woo Singer into directing a project that's most likely "Wolverine 2," while Donner is attempting to get the filmmaker back for "X-Men 4." Sounds like Singer and FOX have made nice nice.

Image has finally wrapped its parody of Marvel's Avengers marketing with an image of the latest addition to its own "Guardians of the Globe" title out this August. Fortunately, the longrunning gag has reached a climax:

As cool as it would be for Tim Hunter Harry Potter to join the premiere super team of Robert Kirkman's "Invincible" universe (and the artwork is a lot of fun to look at), the self-aware ad already realizes the trouble with making it a reality. Even if this eye-scarred analog of HP attends "Dog Farts" instead of Hogwarts.

It's been a fun ride this week with many gun jokes, but I'm still curious as to who will be working on the actual "Guardians" title, and truth be told, if it will even exist at all at this point. Kirkman's a busy cat, so if he's not writing it fans will understand. Bruce Brown and Cliff Rathburn from the 2007 "Brit" ongoing would be good candidates, as would Benito Cereno and Nate Bellegarde of the "Atom Eve" and "Atom Eve and Rex Splode" minis. It seems super unlikely that Ryan Ottley would commit to another ongoing series after departing Kirkman's "Haunt" a few months back, but who knows?

Update: According to CBR, It's a six-issue mini-series to be co-written by Kirkman and Cereno with art by Ransom Getty.

Check out a roundup of this week's gags after the jump.

On its seemingly ceaseless quest to reignite the early '90s Disney Afternoon programming block in comics (which, it should be noted, I support 100 percent), Boom! Studios has announced the return of "Duck Tales" in its "Uncle Scrooge" line beginning this June in issue #392.

According to Boom! Kids' official press release, the issue will kick off a 4-issue storyline entitled "Like a Hurricane," sporting backups galore. Here's the official rundown of the creators involved (there are many):

The first Duck Tales arc starting in UNCLE SCROOGE #392 includes scripts by veteran Disney writers Paul Halas, Tom Anderson, Didier le Bornec, Chris Weber, Karen Willson, Doug Murray and Régis Maine with outstanding art by modern masters Xavier Vives Mateu, José Maria Carreras, Roberto Santillo, Cosme Quartieri, Wanda Gattino, and José Cardona Blasi.

Did I mention the backup in #392 is called "The Littlest Gizmoduck?"
Too stoked to think properly...If anybody needs me I'll be playing Capcom's "Duck Tales" games on the NES the rest of the day.

This morning's solicitation for "Green Arrow" #1 by J.T. Krul and Diogenes Neves, spinning out of the current "Rise and Fall" storyline and tying into "Brightest Day," brings with it both an image of a seemingly verdant Star City and the promise of a "miraculous event" in the wake of Prometheus's bombing at the end of "Justice League: Cry for Justice." In other words: They're going to extend Green Arrow's Robin Hood milieu to his city, creating a corrupt modern-day Sherwood Forest for him to be a heroic outlaw in.

It's the latest example of a tactic that can best be described as Johnsian literalism; chiefly pioneered by Geoff Johns in his first "Flash" run, it largely involves stripping back a character to their core conceptual metaphor and then reconstructing their surroundings and supporting cast around it, so that every aspect of their lives and adventures is a repetition, reflection or refraction of that. Green Lantern is about overcoming fear, so he lives in a fearless city, fighting space terrorists who feed off of fear. The Flash is about needing to slow down in a fast-paced world, so he lives in a fast-paced ultra-modern city where everybody just wants to get things done without focusing on the details. And now, if this cover image and solicitation imply what they seem, Green Arrow – a heroic outlaw patterned after Robin Hood – will extend that metaphor to his own location.

Here at ComicsAlliance, we value our readership and are always open to what the masses of Internet readers have to say. That's why we've given Senior Writer Chris Sims the punishment pleasure of stepping into the grand tradition of the Answer Man as he responds to your reader questions!



Q: Chris, how do I approach a comic artist, in a most polite way, to draw a simple topless girl?

A: As illustrated above in Stuart Immonen's incredible "50 Reasons To Stop Doing Sketches at Cons" strip -- a sadly out-of-print must-read for anyone planning on hitting up a comic convention -- asking for artwork of an erotic nature can be a tricky proposition. Normally, when you buy a piece of art, it's assumed that you're going to hang it on the wall or put it in a portfolio, but when it's a topless girl, there's a subtext of... well, other activities involved that make the whole thing a little more personal than I think either party would like it to be.

Unfortunately, I'm not in much of a position to offer advice on this one, as I'm enough of a prude that I felt a little weird asking Jeremy Dale for a sketch of the Baroness. But I do know a few people who might be in a better position to answer, so I ran the question past them to see if I couldn't help out.