The English Football "Captain Marvel"

I finally found out who the "Captain Marvel" is in English football (soccer). It's Bryan Robson, the longest-serving captain of the famed Manchester United team. He also represented England 90 times, captaining the team in 65 matches. He played from 1973 - 1996.

He later moved into management, heading Middlesbrough, Bradford City, West Bromwich Albion, Sheffield United, Manchester United, and the Thailand national team.

He is one of the all-time greats of the game, an immortal with many goals scored and several championships, but I have not been able to find any information as to why "Captain Marvel" was the nickname given to him.Perhaps because he was such a good player and long running captain, the most popular name in England to give to a heroic captain is "Marvel," and there it is.



It also seems that the title "Captain Marvel" is also given to other footballers who are given the captain's armband and perform exceptionally, including such folks as David Beckham and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Billy Batson/Captain Marvel appearing in Brave & Bold cartoon!

Back in July at Comic-Con in San Diego, it was announced that Captain Marvel/Billy Batson and the Marvel Family would appear with Batman in the "Brave and the Bold" cartoon. Well, the first clip is available on IGN and it's a doozy!

Batman: The Brave and the Bold TV Clip - Exclusive: Captain Marvel's Debut

Tara Strong does the voice of Billy, and Jeff Bennett does the voice of the Big Red Cheese. I can't wait to see how they will do Mary and Freddy!

Monster Society re-print delayed

Many classic Captain Marvel fans have been very excited since it was announced that the Fawcett serial "The Monster Society of Evil" was going to be reprinted in a single volume again, this time affordable priced (there was a deluxe hardcover edithion with a slipcase published back in the early 1990's, but it was a very expensive item).

Sadly, though, it seems that the release date for this has been delayed. perhaps it is to coincide with some anticipated news about the "Shazam" movie project?

http://www.comiclist.com/index.php/news/orders-cancelled-for-shazam-the-monster-society-of-evil-hc

New Video: Lecture on the DC-Fawcett Lawsuit

This was edited together from the Captain Marvel Culture lecture I did at I-Con in March:

Marvel (Miracle) Man to be reprinted!

Yes, I am a little behind on this news. Marvel comics acquired the rights to Marvelman (known in the US as Miracleman because of Marvel Comics' claim to the trademark of "Marvel"), the 1950' British follow-up to the original Captain Marvel created by Mick Anglo. Now they have announced that they will be reprinting the 1980's series written first by Alan Moore and continued by Niel Gaiman.

This was a remarkably well written and drawn series that broke new ground for comics and explored the ramifications of super-powers further than any comic book had sone up to that time. Peter Sanderson has lectured that the Marvelman/Miracleman series is one of the most important in comic book history because it kicked off the post-modern movement of 1986, which in his words, is "the Year the Changed Comics."

You can read the post by Graeme McMillan on 109.com here (the comments section, however, turns into a big argument about whether or not Alan More is an asshole for what he is quoted in the post as saying about this).

New Monica Rambeau video

I know it seems like I've been on a Monica Rambeau kick lately, and a lot of it has to do with the article I wrote that is coming out in the December issue of Alter Ego magazine (watch for it!).

And now this fellow has made a little video tribute to Marvel Comics' second Captain Marvel (and the only one with no direct connection to Mar-Vell, the only black female one, and the one with the longest run of appearances in a single, uninterrupted comic series).

New writer signed for "Shazam",movie

Boy, am I h=behind the itmes on this nes! This came from a Hollywood Reporter article from a few months ago.

"August 19, 2009 Actor-turned-writer Bill Birch has been tapped to reboot "Shazam!," Warners' adaptation of a DC Comics series featuring Captain Marvel. Geoff Johns, one of the three DC Comics heavyweights hired by the studio to act as consultants on DC projects, is also helping with the kick-start, co-writing the story with Birch. It's somewhat fitting that Birch takes on "Shazam!" as his very name echoes the name of the comic's hero, Billy Batson, a teenager who becomes Captain Marvel when he utters the magic word "Shazam!" The name is an acronym for six gods and heroes of the ancient world as well as their attributes: the wisdom of Solomon, the strength of Hercules, the stamina of Aries, the power of Zeus, the courage of Achilles and the speed of Mercury."

This makes I think four writers or wrioter teams for the project so far. There was William Goldman, the team from Toy Story, John August, and now this guy. At least it is good to see that Michael Uslan cares enough about this project to keep plugging away. I know he has a great love for the character from personal conversations with him, and I really hoe this movie is as good as it is right!