Words Gary Mercado
There is hardly anything that speaks of geekhood more than the adulation of comics and
comic book characters, and there is no place more fitting for such things as the internet.
Bring these together and you have the formula for sheer entertainment, information and
just, plain good old fun - the way the internet and viewing websites really is supposed to be.
Armed with a hunger for info about your fave superhero, a taste for some occasionally
useless trivia, and most especially, a healthy dose of humor, these sites guarantee a
good time for the Marvel fan. Tongue firmly in cheek, here are a few select choices.
Spiderfan
http://www.spiderfan.org
This month's poll asks, "With the recent return of Slyde, what other third-rate Spidey foes
should return?" Choices are the Black Fox, Frog Man, Humbug, Looter, Lightmaster, Living Brain,
Tarantula, Thunder Cockroach and White Rabbit. Never heard of them? Well there's a reason.
Spiderfan.org is the serious Spider-man fan's home on the internet - with emphasis on the serious.
There is a good amount of info here, and I most especially like the Characters link, which showcases
in alphabetical order those that appeared in Spider-man comics, including their height, weight, real
name, aliases, major enemies, background, current and former occupation (for enemies, usually just
"Thug"), a full three-paragraph background - the works. Any serious Spidey fan wanting to get into it
should check this site out, and if you know something the staff doesn't, why not think of contributing?
Marvel Official Site
http://www.marvel.com
To be frank about it, the Marvel.com website isn't all that much. In fact, it's rather boring. Sure there
has to be a place on the internet where one can learn about the company, such as where you can subscribe,
where they are located, news, investor relations with such things as SEC filings and the like, and yes that's all
very important to someone.
However, for the typical action and info-hungry fan, this mostly isn't the place for you. I would, however,
recommend the dotcomics.marvel.com subsection, which should probably be a whole separate site in itself,
featuring great artwork, absolutely excellent wallpaper, and news for upcoming issues. Also, the links to mini-sites
per hero is a good start-off point to get your info search going. If you're an aspiring writer, artist, or even investor,
the Marvel site is for you; but if you wanna talk comics, then the fan sites are better.
Silver bullet comic books
http://www.silverbulletcomicbooks.com
Now we're talking. Advanced comics fans will eventually graduate to wanting to learn about the artists and writers
who bring life to their precious heroes, making silverbulletcomicbooks.com the place to be.
We're talking about articles written by the writers themselves for an up close and personal account of what they
were thinking when they wrote a story as well as artist interviews featuring who their influences were and how
they came to ink their characters. There's an avid collector's recount of the first comic books he ever owned and
how he came to decide to part with them one day. And of course there are news, reviews and tons of information
about the heroes and sundry other comic book characters that make being a comic book junkie such an interesting
life.
Bring On The Bad Guys - The Marvel Villains
http://www.geocities.com/marvel_villains
Ah yes, geekhood galore. The Marvel Villains site is one of three excellent fan sites edited, owned and designed
by Jeanne Burch, an English and Biology Major from the University of California who just happens to be a big
Daredevil fan, and who one day decided, along with several equally bent cohorts to make a site purely targeted
towards Marvel Villains. No, not the heroes, not even their seconds. Just the bad guys.
So if you've ever read a few comics and wondered how, say, an obscure nemesis called "The Beetle" ever fared
out, read up on the dude here. Baddies info include such things as real name, first appearance, "What's his problem?"
(meaning to analyze what exactly he's a bad guy for), abilities, heroes he keeps running into (in other words, the
good guys who whup him on a regular basis), favorite quote,
people who think he's not so bad (meaning his teammates if any, or friends who "understand" him) and most
despicable acts. Baddies are also categorized as Spidey, Avengers, Iron Man, DDevil, Monsters and my fave
"Guys Who Should've, Ought've, Known Better," which are for generic bad guys who just don't get the message. This is easily my favorite site.
The Second Stringers of Marvel Comics
http://home. ash.net/~jeanneb
If you've ever wondered whatever happened to Battle Star, a former Captain America partner who dresses like
Cap and also uses a shield, or wondered about Antman, a rather strange one with a cybernetic helmet that
allows him to communicate with ants, then look no further.
This is truly a comic enthusiast's place to be, a site not to be missed especially by those who don't just follow the
exploits of the popular guys, but also pay attention to the second stringers, the wannabes, the other
spandex-garbed who may have the super powers, ego and charisma, but not necessarily the following to
get them the top billing that Spidey, Hulk, Daredevil, The Avengers and the rest get, many of whom they've
shared the limelight with at one time or another.
If you've ever cheered for the underdogs, yet don't like the bad guys, then look no further than this.
The Women of Marvel Comics
http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/2855/more.html
In almost predictably geek fashion, this excellent fan site is hosted at Geocities, which instantly means
two things: (1) unpredictable hosting and (2) popup ads. If you think it should also mean that the site
isn't worth it, then think again. The Women of Marvel Comics is not only great fun, it's also where
geekhood and an appreciation of women characters (not necessarily just in comics) meet. These two
factors are equally present in most male adolescents, who also happen to be the main target for comic books.
And that is why this site is in dire need of a good host. This is another of Jeanne Burch's sites, where
you'll see such things as their aliases, first appearance, died in which issue, got better (revived) in which
issue, fave quote, team affiliation, abilities, fave and least fave storyline. In other words, if you've ever had
a crush on a hottie Marvel chick, whether heroine, wife, girlfriend or companion of the main character, and
had eventually outgrown comic books, relive those glory days and check this site out. Being on Geocities is
a big pity though, as it is plagued by ads and pictures that fail to load. With a better host, there is no doubt
this site will surely rock.
