Comic Book Legend Tony de Zuniga Passes Away

Tony de Zuniga's entry into the highly competitive field of comic book illustrators paved the way for other Filipino illustrators to penetrate the international market.  He co-created the western comic character Jonah Hex for DC comics in the 1960's.

In the 1970's de Zuniga became an illustrator for the comic industry leader Marvel and dipped his artistry in the X-Men and Spider-man series.

His last notable work was for DC comics in the graphic novel Jonah Hex:  No Way Back which was done to coincide with the release of the Jonah Hex movie starring Josh Brollin and Megan Fox.

Tony de Zuniga passed away in May 11, 2012.  He was 71. 

Avengers: Nick Fury

I grew up reading comic books.  I practically learned the English language reading Spider-man, Batman, Incredible Hulk, Superman, Green Lantern, and yes---Avengers comics.  

Movies eventually gave real life personification to these characters and I have indulged myself in almost every film depicting my favorite superhero.  However, I get irked when the characters I knew from my childhood are defined contrary to the way I knew them.  One such character is Nick Fury.

David Hasselhoff played Nick Fury in the Fox TV movie
Nick Fury:  Agent of SHIELD 

Nick Fury is a fictional World War II army hero and present day super-spy.  He is actually a contemporary of Captain America which leads you to wonder why in the hell is he still alive to this day.  Well, if Captain America was injected super soldier serum, Nick Fury was on an anti-aging serum---Infinity Formula--- that practically stunted his aging process.  He has no super power but he is a master strategist and a born leader with a black belt in Tae Kwon Do and a brown belt in Jiu Jitsu.  He is a war veteran of World War II, Korean War, Vietnam War, and other unspoken of conflicts where he lent his consultancy and went on missions in.

Well, I knew Nick Fury as a cigar chomping bad ass with an eye patch---and he was a WHITE DUDE!  This is why I was taken aback when he was portrayed by Samuel L. Jackson in Iron Man 2.  Obviously I'm no longer attuned to the latest in the comics world and did not know that this version of Nick Fury existed in a Marvel parallel universe.  This version of Nick Fury debuted in Ultimate Marvel Team-ups #5 (August 2001).