Cosmic Madness 2018 Elite 8 : All Regions!
Welcome to the Elite 8 round of Cosmic Madness!
Thanks to everyone who's been voting so far! Thanks to you, this round saw the closest match of the contest: Batman: Hush vs. Flashpoint! I won't keep you in suspense... Hush took down the victory by one single solitary vote!! The other marquee contest was also in the DC region -- Watchmen vs. Dark Knight Returns -- but it didn't turn out to be as competitive as we thought. Watchmen won in a walk!
The Elite 8 promises some excellent games:
- DC: Watchmen vs. Batman: Hush
- Everything Else: Sandman vs. Preacher
- Marvel: Civil War vs. Old Man Logan
- Image: Saga vs. Walking Dead
How do you even decide between these titles?? In any case, all you have to do is pick which titles you want to win in each contest. The Elite 8 round of voting will go from today until midnight on Sunday, March 25, with the Final Four round kicking off on Monday, March 26.
All the info you need, including the complete bracket and info about the contest, is available at Cosmic Madness HQ! Now GET TO VOTING!
WATCHMEN
Written by Alan Moore
Illustrated by Dave Gibbons
It all begins with the paranoid delusions of a half-insane hero called Rorschach. But is Rorschach really insane or has he in fact uncovered a plot to murder super-heroes and, even worse, millions of innocent civilians? On the run from the law, Rorschach reunites with his former teammates in a desperate attempt to save the world and their lives, but what they uncover will shock them to their very core and change the face of the planet! Following two generations of masked superheroes from the close of World War II to the icy shadow of the Cold War comes this groundbreaking comic story - the story of The Watchmen.
WHY IT SHOULD WIN: Watchmen has to be the early favorite of the tournament. Much like Frank Miller's Dark Knight re-imagined Batman, The Watchmen re-imagined the comic industry as a whole. There is a reason why this is the only book that does not feel the need to even put a title on the cover of their trade paperback and even thirty years later we are still getting a sequel (Doomsday Clock) and that is amazing too.
VS.
BATMAN: HUSH
Written by Jeph Loeb
Illustrated by Jim Lee
In this story of murder, mystery and romance, Batman sets out on a simple mission to discover the identity of the mysterious villain wreaking havoc in his life known as Hush. But Batman ends up facing possibly the most intense case of his life as secrets from his past flood into the present, and the most notorious villains to ever haunt Gotham City's street attack simultaneously!
WHY IT SHOULD WIN: Hush came out in 2002 and was originally published in Batman #608-619. It is one of DC’s all time favorites. They have published in a trade, in a hc, in an absolute edition, in a 15th anniversary edition, in a noir edition, needless to say they like it alot. And so do we. Basically, Batman sets out on a simple mission to discover the identity of the mysterious new villain wreaking havoc in his life known as Hush. And then things get crazy. Featuring some gorgeous art by Jim Lee and virtually every Batman character in it. Catwoman, Poision Ivy. Riddler, and Harley Quinn to name just few. On a side note it does end with a little Catwoman/Batman romance, and 15 years later our wedding invitation is in the mail!
WHICH WILL YOU CHOOSE??
CIVIL WAR
Written by Mark Millar
Illustrated by Steve McNiven
The landscape of the Marvel Universe is changing, and it's time to choose: Whose side are you on? A conflict has been brewing for more than a year, threatening to pit friend against friend, brother against brother - and all it will take is a single misstep to cost thousands their lives and ignite the fuse! As the war claims its first victims, no one is safe as teams, friendships and families begin to fall apart. The crossover that rewrites the rules, CIVIL WAR stars Spider-Man, the New Avengers, the Fantastic Four, the X-Men and the entirety of the Marvel pantheon!
WHY IT SHOULD WIN: Want to know where the modern Marvel universe starts? I say right here. Civil war was a 7 issue mini-series published in 2006 and was really the first big huge annual event that Marvel did. Tons of crossovers. Tons of titles. Tons of characters. It was big and it set the stage for all the Marvel annual events to come. Sides were chosen. Battles where fought. And the Marvel Universe was never the same. Whose side are you on?
VS.
OLD MAN LOGAN
Written by Mark Millar
Illustrated by Steve McNiven
Millar. McNiven. Wolverine. It doesn't get any better than this. The only way writer Mark Millar (Wanted, Kick-Ass) could top his all-time classic Wolverine tale "Enemy of the State" was to take it to the future -his Civil War brother in arms, Steve McNiven, handling the art duties! Fusing the dystopian super-hero elements of the X-Men's "Days of Future Past," the wild and wooly futurescapes of Mad Max, and the tragic pathos of Clint Eastwood's archetypal Western heroes, Millar's tale finds Wolverine at a crossroads with who he really wants to be and who he really is.
WHY IT SHOULD WIN: It’s a Mark Millar book. It’s a Steve McNiven book. They also teamed up on Civil war which we already talked about. It features a Venom Dinosaur! Yes a Venom Dinosaur. Coolest Venom ever. But most importantly it features a Wolverine more badass (if that's even possible) than the Wolverine that Marvel fans had grown to love!
WHICH WILL YOU CHOOSE??
SAGA
Written by Brian K. Vaughan
Illustrated by Fiona Staples
From New York Times bestselling writer BRIAN K.VAUGHAN (Y: THE LAST MAN, EX MACHINA) and critically acclaimed artist FIONA STAPLES (MYSTERY SOCIETY, NORTH 40), SAGA is the sweeping tale of one young family fighting to find their place in the worlds. When two soldiers from opposite sides of a never-ending galactic war fall in love, they risk everything to bring a fragile new life into a dangerous old universe. Fantasy and science fiction are wed like never before in a sexy, subversive drama for adults.
WHY IT SHOULD WIN: Well what do we have here? Saga. The poster child of Image comics? The poster child of Indy comics? The comic that every comic retailer in the country will tell you how many zillions of copies they’ve sold? Saga is the comic that every other non marvel non dc book is compared to. Read it and find out why.
VS.
THE WALKING DEAD
Written by Robert Kirkman
Illustrated by Tony Moore, Charlie Adlard
An epidemic of apocalyptic proportions has swept the globe, causing the dead to rise and feed on the living. In a matter of months society has crumbled: There is no government, no grocery stores, no mail delivery, no cable TV. In a world ruled by the dead, we are forced to finally begin living. Rick Grimes is not prepared for this. A couple months ago he was a small town cop who had never fired a shot and only ever saw one dead body. Separated from his family he must now sort through the death and confusion to try and find his wife and son.
WHY IT SHOULD WIN: What to say about Walking Dead. It's only the most important indy comic of the past decade. It won best book of the week and the month many times. Never forget the night (spoiler from 10 years ago) Carl got shot in the eye. Walking dead just lulls you right along and then really cool stuff happens. Haven't read it? Then what are you waiting for?
WHICH WILL YOU CHOOSE??
SANDMAN
Written by Neil Gaiman
Illustrated by Sam Kieth & Various
A wizard attempting to capture Death to bargain for eternal life traps her younger brother Dream instead. Fearful for his safety, the wizard kept him imprisoned in a glass bottle for decades. After his escape, Dream, also known as Morpheus, goes on a quest for his lost objects of power. On the way, Morpheus encounters Lucifer and demons from Hell, the Justice League, and John Constantine, the Hellblazer. This book also includes the story "The Sound of Her Wings" which introduces us to the pragmatic and perky goth girl, Death.
WHY IT SHOULD WIN: Neil Gaimans claim to fame. The critically acclaimed series ran for 75 issues and ended in 1996. While there are threads that tie everything together, iit all takes place in the same universe and there are multiple stories involving different characters throughout the series. There 10 trade paperbacks and at least that many different stories. That makes Sandman unique in our tournament.
VS.
PREACHER
Written by Garth Ennis
Illustrated by Steve Dillon
After merging with a bizarre spiritual force called Genesis, Texan preacher Jesse Custer has become completely disillusioned with the beliefs to which he had dedicated his entire life. Now possessing the power of "the word," an ability to make people do whatever he utters, Custer begins a violent and riotous journey across the country. Joined by his gun-toting girlfriend Tulip and the hard-drinking Irish vampire Cassidy, Custer loses faith in both God and man as he witnesses dark atrocities and improbable calamities during his exploration of America.
WHY IT SHOULD WIN: You’ve never read anything else quite like Preacher. It spits in the face of what some people might find appropriate but that just might be why it should win. Remember all the best comics showcase something you've never seen before. In fact just about every book in our tournament can make that claim and Preacher goes further than any of them!