fantastic four

When superheroes make the transition from comics to TV animation, it's always interesting to hear what kind of theme music they get. Songs with lyrics that explain who the heroes are can be fun, but they can also go awry. Instrumental tracks can be boring if you're not careful, but if they're well-executed, they can do a great job of creating just the tone you want for your cartoon. I've put together a chronological list of nine memorable theme songs from TV superhero cartoons. Obviously I can't include them all, but I expect to see in the comments which of your favorites I've left out.

On December 9, 1965, a shining man flew down from the sky, looked around for a bit, and then doomed the Earth. Or at least he meant to at the time. This was Fantastic Four #48, by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee, and of course the shining man from the sky was the Silver Surfer.

There’s a strong strain of the collector in fandom, and buying for a comics fan can be a difficult endeavor, because so much of what they want is something they already know about. But even the most famous writers, artists, and characters have obscurer works that often go overlooked. This gift guide looks at deep cuts for the superfan in your life, and we've divided into three sections; favorite artists, favorite writers, and favorite characters. If you know someone who is passionate about Darwyn Cooke, devoted to Warren Ellis, or a big-time Superman fan, we may have the perfect gift suggestion.

In honor of the caped crusaders of the convention scene, ComicsAlliance has created Best Cosplay Ever (This Week), an ongoing collection of some of the most impeccable, creative, and clever costumes that we’ve discovered and assembled into a super-showcase of pure fan-devoted talent. This week's selection of the best cosplay ever includes the Fantastic Four, Dr Jones, Chrono Trigger, Mysterio and more.

It feels almost too clichéd to be worth saying: whether you're naming a favorite superhero or a favorite comics monster, the Thing is no surprise for the top of either list. In fact the archetype of the monster as member of a superhero team started with him, and with Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, who introduced the character in Fantastic Four #1. He wasn't exactly the first superheroic monster, but he was the first one who wasn't a loner, and the first whose gruff but self-conscious demeanor contrasted with the sunnier dispositions of his non-monstrous teammates.

There's probably no superhero team that's as strongly associated with one lineup as the Fantastic Four. Mr. Fantastic, Invisible Woman, Thing, and Human Torch are a perfectly balanced quartet of heroes. The aloof one, the balanced one, the grumpy one and the impulsive one. Dad, Mom, and two uncles. The Four who were at the center of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby's genre-defining run are always going to be the center of the franchise. Naturally most of this Fantastic Four fan art focuses on the original team, but a few artists do choose a different lineup. A lot of the artwork plays with their team uniforms, another factor that separates the FF from most heroes. Some artists radically re-imagine the Fantastic Four, while others just try to capture their classic spirit. And of course a few artists pick just one of the four to focus on. Most are interested in the team dynamic, which is what the FF is all about. This is the best Fantastic Four fan art.

The Fantastic Four have some of the best villains in comics, in part thanks to Stan Lee and Jack Kirby's 100+ issue run on the title, which was ceaselessly creative and inventive. However, which of the FF's many enemies is their ultimate nemesis? OK, obviously it's Doctor Doom. So... who is their second greatest enemy?

If there’s one thing we’ve learned from our years on the Internet, it’s that there’s no aspect of comics that can’t be broken down and quantified in a single definitive list, preferably in amounts of five or ten. And since there’s no more definitive authority than ComicsAlliance, we’re taking it upon ourselves to compile Top Five lists of everything you could ever want to know about comics. He's the best there is at what he does, and even though Wolverine fancies himself quite a loner, he's also pretty great at doing team-ups with just about everyone under the sun.

It seems that at least once a year the Big Two superhero publishers push for a major relaunch of their titles with a wave of new number ones that often feature characters that haven’t had an ongoing series in a long while. The choices are sometimes baffling, but the relaunches usually result in at least a few surprise hits, like The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, and Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur. Marvel is currently in the process of launching an all-new, all-different Marvel Now with characters like Foolkiller and Solo, but there are a lot of great characters that just aren't being used to their full potential. We’ve put together a list of five ideal candidates for the next big Marvel relaunch, or the next phase of the current one.

In Cinemautopsy, we look back at a recent, high-profile failure and ask a simple question: What the hell happened? In this installment... the comic that launched Marvel Comics. A cast of beloved up-and-comers. One of the hottest young directors in Hollywood. A bold attempt to reinvent the superhero genre. What could possibly go wrong?