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the EXTREME 90's


The NZA

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subtitle says so, debbie downer. let's hear/see some 90s love! i even grabbed the Bad Girl era shit cause it was (tragically) a legitimate thing back then. the only book i recall digging (besides Shi and actual quality like Kabuki) was Dawn. kinda wanky, but linser could draw.

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^part of the era...and i know i filled it up with some really goofy shit, but there's other gems in there too, man. you'll notice from the pics i grab, i try to toss stuff in there like the Maxx as well (still way ahead of its time), because that's kinda how the 90s were for me when i got older and looked back - a lotta fun/gimmicky shit, with some treasures hidden about (and not just early vertigo stuff either).

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  • 1 month later...

So me and 'Baytor's Juggie talk reminded me of a certain relic that seems to have been all but forgotten, and with good reason. Even the internet at large scarcely acknowledges his existence, which is saying a lot. I had to copy/paste all these images by hand.

 

I almost put this in Stupid Comics, but it's such a product of the 90's that I had to put it here.

 

Ladies and gentleman, I present to you for your disapproval J2 - Son of Juggernaut

 

31655ax.jpg

Well, they're right about one thing there. I certainly didn't expect it.

 

J2 was part of the MC2 universe, an earlier, more faily version of The Ultimate Universe. A lame attempt at attracting new comic book readers, chock full of forced hipness and almost exclusively populated by the children of more popular characters. It's also a testament to how alien pop culture can be to some middle aged men. I can fill several pages with it's assorted lameosity, but I'm going to force myself to stick with Zane Marko here (yeah, 'Zane'. Even his real name is extreme).

 

To truly know him, you must understand his roots. Which, if you know anything about Peter Parker, you kind of already do.

 

2yoabl4.jpg

 

Poor Zane is a hapless nerd. He's overly articulate and wears glasses, so he's naturally targeted by Flash Thompson generic bullies. Poor Zane, always living in his father's shadow. If only HE had that kind of power, then he'd show those bullies a thing or two!

 

208i5iw.jpg

 

He's also easily startled. "That guy said he was going to murder me!" I'm sure he was being literal. He also said he'd attend your funeral, which is actually pretty thoughtful.

There's no waking up from this nightmare, that swirly and/or wedgie is imminent! Time to go into survival mode.

These problems matter. What an inopportune time for a migraine!

 

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Maybe not quite completely unexpected. I'll be honest, I kinda expected this.

 

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Power fantasy circuit complete! Commence pummeling! I sympathize Zane, because me and the writer can't come up with a rational justification either, because there fucking isn't one! The sense being made here simply isn't. Yeah, maybe you're a mutant who's ability makes you look like your dad did after being granted powers by a mystical gem. That's one hell of a coincidence.

 

Unlike daddy, Zane still has the problem of a costume. He's a typical broke teenager, so he's limited to what materials he can easily procure and somehow needs to remain looking incredibly cool and trendy in the process. Quite a challenge, no doubt.

 

do8l0o.jpg

 

Some skin tight spandex to cover the ol' shoulders and legs? Check. Easy to find at any dancing supply shop and always a good look.

Doc Martens in a size 32 Wide? check. Daddy had those made for Ska concerts.

Giant ankle manacles made out of a solid piece of metal? Check. Who doesn't have a few of those laying around the house?

And the finishing touch. A flannel shirt tied jauntily around the waist? OH FUCK YEAH! This is 1998, kids love Seattle!

 

Sandblast and polish up an old spare helmet left laying around by an absentee father and you're almost ready to rock 'N roll, Zane! Ready for the big reveal? I know I am!

 

2uorhcp.jpg

 

WHOA! We just witnessed the birth of a hero. And now, finally, that hero has a name. Something catchy for all the newspaper headlines he'll surely inspire: J muthafuckin 2! Watch out world! I almost laughed too, Zane, but for entirely different reasons.

 

It's time to take it to the streets, and start appearing in other titles.

 

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That's from A-Next, who were a lamer, more extreme version of the Avengers. They proudly counted J2 among their founding members.

 

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Please don't!

 

Wouldn't Thor be cooler if he wore spandex, had a ponytail and shot lightning out of his hands? Not particularly. But that's a story for another post.

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bats_az_by_thegregcapullo-d3fsxeq.jpg

 

Um, unless this was drawn in 1911, 28 years before his first appearance, this is definitely not '90s.

 

 

It's actually Greg Capullo, so I'm guessing its pencils from the upcoming Batman run.

 

 

As for the rest, some of the 90's stuff is actually still pretty good, yeah a lot of it is an overdrawn mess, but stuff like this:

 

30848.jpg

 

is quite good. Very well put together cover, good lighting, and the figures aren't in any way Liefeldien. And this one is a classic, McFarlane was considered the top of his game for a reason:

 

Spiderman1.jpg

 

A lot of the rest is shit though, but there really were some great artists in the 90s.

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I don't know what that Batman pic is referencing. Was that hidden in one of NZA's 90's megaposts? It's a badass drawing, so I don't mind looking at it regardless.

 

The Wolverine cover is good because it's Silvestri, before digital coloring made everything look vaguely similar. And you're completely right, there's some genuine gold buried in there.

 

It pains me to praise McFarlane. And I mean that literally: it causes me physical pain, but he's some sort of idiot savant penciller. At his time, he was really creating some fine work.

All of it art, mind you, couldn't write his way out of a paper bag. Or speak. Or make his own peanut butter sandwich. He's probably the luckiest motherfucker on the planet, he's this fumbling big tongued retard who can make some pretty pictures, and now people interview him and seek out his opinions while he rolls around in millions of dollars.

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yeah, there was like, 2 bat-images amongst kubert, darrow, mad etc, even after we mentioned some of that wasn't done in the 90s but followed the style...guess what dude highlighted?

 

i think what kills me about Todd - besides having to fast-forward past his HBO spawn intros (who told him he should speak?) is that i wanna say he has the record for highest paid per-page artist on lock at this point. ive read him taking up to $1k per splash page at the height of the 90's...i mean, at least with music, you can point to the Beatles at the top financial spot and say "alright.". what if it was a Flock of Seagulls? and like Logan said, what if they still banked just going around and talking about how great I ran so far aw-aaay was in the day? dude fucked up minor league baseball, then failed upward, basically - not taking from the art he put in, but the echelon he's on blows my mind. don't even wanna talk about Alex Ross.

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  • 2 months later...
  • 6 months later...

I always thought Thor needed to show a bit more belly. I was sad to see it go.

 

Random idiot: "Hey, you know what would be really badass? If we took Marvel's biggest powerless street level vigilante and brought him back as a DEMON SLAYER and he could have these super guns given to him by angels and glowing eyes and a symbol on his forehead. Dude, that would be fucking SWEET! Punisher would FINALLY be COOL!"

 

Marvel: "Hire this young genius!"

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