In 2021 I’d like to cross over the 1,000 comics review barrier, meaning reviews that I (Mike Clarke a.k.a. pghhead) contribute to the blog. That’s what this odyssey is about, beginning January 01, 2021. I needed to end June with 500 comics read in order to be on track. I’m going to make a bigger effort from this point forward. Wish me luck. . . . . . .
#456 THE MARVELS #3 (Marvel, 2021) “The Monster Belt”. Would I continue to pick up a book that I’m kind of indifferent about solely on the basis of great cover art? Yep, the magnetism of Alex Ross pulled me in again.
This is the best issue so far, for several reasons. One, it doesn’t jump back and forth between scenes, actors, or timelines. Things here are centered in the small nation of Siancong, nestled somewhere between Vietnam and the Chinese border. Two, none of the new characters which have been mostly uninteresting to me so far, are in this issue’s story. Three, it’s a flashback to an earlier time before the birth of the Fantastic Four, with Reed Richards, Ben Grimm, and early versions of Modoc (George Tarleton), Georges Batroc (The Leaper) and others. I’m always interested in these pre-history tales.
The only thing that was a little confusing was the caption referring to this issue’s events as taking place 17 years ago. Reed and Ben obviously don’t have powers, and Johnny Storm is just a bratty little brother to Sue. Reed even refers to a planned spaceflight, but that occurred in 1964 (if I remember correctly). So, is this 17 years prior to the cosmic ray event? Or, just an alternate version of the Marvel Universe?
Reed and Ben are part of a U.S. government team exploring reports of giant monsters in Siancog. They aren’t the only ones interested in the proceedings. Enter the Deviants, the Shi’Ar, Winter Soldier and Red Guardian. Hoo-ha! It’s a free-for-all melee. Cue Nick Fury. THREE AND ONE-HALF STARS.
I picked this up, thinking it might be a good comic to give to my five-year-old grandson when he visits this month. However, the time travel plot in the first story doesn’t make a lot of sense. If it confused me, it’s going to do the same for him. And, I would not be able to explain how it works when he questions me. Pass.
The second story is more straight-forward. The Scooby-Doo gang get a guided tour of the Batcave. There’s ghosts, and ultrasonic pulses, lots of bats, and the Joker and his clowns. They planted a GPS on the Scoobies which they hope will lead them to the Batcave. Will the team figure out the mystery in time to foil the Joker’s plans?
THREE STARS.
The CLASSIC X-MEN comics were great, re-visiting those awesome 20 page (or less) stories as well as introducing a brand-new 10 pages or more story in the back, usually written by Ann Nocenti, an unsung X-scribe from the glory days.
In Issues #26 & #27 the X-Men’s return flight from Japan is diverted to snowy Calgary, Canada as the prime minister wants his Weapon X experiment (Wolverine) returned to the folds of Alpha Flight. Some great battles take place over the two issues. Wolverine evades capture, fooling Alpha Flight into thinking they won.
Issue #28 is a hodgepodge of storylines, continuing some and foreshadowing others. This is something that the Claremont/Byrne team did almost every issue, and did it very well Colossus has a crisis of confidence. The relationship between Cyclops and Coleen Wing is getting more serious. Professor X is in space with his girlfriend Lil Andria, believing the X-Men slain by Magneto. Phoenix/Jean Grey is heading to research her condition with Moira MacTaggert in Scotland and has a brief introduction to Jason Wyngarde of the HellFire Club.
Storm visits her childhood home, now a drug-infested hovel in the ghetto. Black Tom Cassidy and Juggernaut meet with Arcade to launch his plot to murder the X-Men. Whew.
The back stories in Issues #27 and #28 are especially good. While traveling across middle America, Cylcops, Jean Grey and Wolverine learn of some recent troubles at a shut-down chemical plant where the toxins are producing some Alien-like monsters. It’s the backdrop for a neat prelude by Nocenti that ramps up the sexual attraction between Logan (really hits on her here) and Jean. Issue #28’s backstory is a fun outing where some X-Men attend a masquerade party and foil a clown’s murder attempt. FOUR STARS.
I certainly agree with that. Buscema was a master whose dynamic art went a long way towards establishing the power and majesty behind the Conan character. I can see the influence in the very fine art of Castellini, whose drawings also indicate that Neal Adams’ style must be another influence.
It wasn’t just Buscema’s art that made Conan an immortal comics character. It was also helped by the writing of Roy Thomas, whose adaptations of some legendary stories as well as original works also made a big contribution to Conan’s popularity.
Unfortunately, the story here by Roland Green is strictly formulaic and pretty mediocre, containing some very stilted and “wooden” dialogue and captions. A wizard who can animate wood and turn trees into monsters ought to make for an interesting story. It did not. TWO STARS.
#462 CONTEST OF CHAMPIONS II #2 of 5 (Marvel, 1999) Sadly, this is the only issue of this mini-series remaining in my collection. Writer Chris Claremont took the main concept from the first series (heroes transported to a neutral planet to battle for the amusement of an alien race) and adds a few wrinkles and mystery to make it more interesting the second time around.
There’s actually four contests this issue, with the main one featured on the cover occurring early and concluding rather quickly. That’s not the Spider-Woman everyone remembers on the cover. It’s Mattie Franklin, who inexperience with the spider powers is taken advantage of by The Human Torch.
Johnny Storm is featured in three of the four bouts, also against She-Hulk and Psylocke, and handles himself fairly well. (No spoilers, sorry). The fights feature some clever moves by several of the opponents. Mr Fantastic goes up against The Hulk in the other match.
THREE STARS.
The art and colors by Nathan Gooden and Addison Duke are superb. Michael Moreci’s storyline is different enough from standard barbarian fare to make it feel fresh and new.
The foul-mouthed Barbarian (the only name revealed so far) talks and consults with his battle-axe. To others, it just looks like he’s talking to himself. Is the greedy, blood-thirsty axe possessed or is Barbarian suffering from dissociative identity disorder?
Barbarian encounters three wraith-like witches who cut him with a knife poisoned with wolfsbane magic. The only way to survive is to accept the witches’ curse: to live in servitude to the world, to do good or suffer for eternity in hell. This complicates matters.
Barbarian rescues an alleged witch from persecution, and finds another blade, another ally to help him in his mission. And, she also hears what the battle-ax is saying. Amidst all the gore and bodies split in two, there’s a humorous element to the proceedings that makes things more palatable. FOUR STARS.
I don’t even want to get into detail about this. I had to force myself to finish it. If you’re a Silver Surfer and/or Jack of Hearts fan, you’ll be disappointed by their portrayal here. The third story featuring Keith Giffen and Lovern Kindzierski’s Lunatik (will remind you of Lobo) is kind of interesting with some Daerick Gross art that looks a bit like Sam Keith’s stylings. TWO STARS.
Stuck with the role of substitute teacher for the young FF class, Johnny opts to leave the classroom and take the students on a field trip tour of the Negative Zone. He’s still recognized as the king there and gets pulled into a conflict between warring factions. At issue is a demand for free elections, so the benevolent Torch grants it.
But he doesn’t do well at all in the public voting. Guess who the landslide victor is? Annihilus, the write-in vote. Wacky. THREE STARS.
Writer Matt Fraction breaks the 4th wall as Ant-Man takes Matt, artist Mike Allred and Editor Tom Brevoort on a tour of the micro-universe. All research for the creative team, of course.
Meanwhile there’s a mole within the Future Foundation, planted by Doctor Doom. And a captive Inhuman, Maximus the Mad, plays 20 questions with the student body. I love Allred’s art, but this story is too wacky for me. TWO AND ONE-HALF STARS.
The trail leads them to a remote island, where they are captured by an army of rogue Deathloks. Quake unwittingly summons Ultima. War Machine is turned into a Deathlok, but temporary. Modok shows up to act as an ally against the robots, but he’s playing them.
It all turns out okay, but not for readers maybe looking for more of the Matthew Rosenberg magic. He’s all spelled out here. This is pretty formulaic. TWO AND ONE-HALF STARS.
#468 - #473 HOUSE OF PENANCE #1-6 (Dark Horse, 2017)
An engaging read, worth your time. Writer Peter J Tomasi takes the true history of Winchester House, changes a few dates to suit the narrative, and adds enough supernatural elements to create a fine ghost/horror story with an underlying Lovecraftian threat that may or may not be real.
The story is enhanced and complimented by the fantastic art of Ian Bertram, reminiscent of Edward Gorey's creepy works, that propel the story and thoroughly visualize the Victorian atmosphere.
FOUR STARS.
#474 DISNEY DUCK TALES #6 (IDW, 2018) I’ve been looking through my collection for some comics to have on hand when my grandson visits next week and came across this one.
Here’s the things I’m not as sure about: 1) There is a lot of dialogue on every page, which could make for an uncomfortable read. 2) The use of bigger words as well as their meaning might prove challenging. This reads as if it was aimed at middle grade readers. He does reads at a higher level, so I’m going to let him have at it and offer help if he has questions or wants to discuss. I’d be glad to read it to him, although he likes to read to others now. There’s even some funny references and puns in here that only adults will get. (I read the issue once to make sure it was appropriate for his age).
At this point, you’re probably wondering if this really consists of a review of this comics. In “Welcome To Beagle Island” Scrooge McDuck with Huey, Dewey and Louie with air pilot Launchpad follow a treasure map to an island. They have to win a football match against the Beagle Boys (who cheat and change the rules as they go) in order to recover their plane and leave.
In “The Giant Butterfly Of Duckburg” Scrooge helps the young trio on a wilderness journey to earn their Junior Woodchuck merit badges. THREE AND ONE-HALF STARS.
PROCTOR VALLEY ROAD is one that I bought and put away for later reading. Now that I see the Trade Paperback is coming out in September, I decided to finally read Issue #1 and make my decision.
First impression was how different the art of Naomi Franquiz is for a horror-themed comic. I like that she varies her style depending on what’s occurring on the page. Either dark when the subject is dark, or lighter when the scenes are less threatening. Colorist Tamra Bonvillain also adjusts the shading to suit the mood. At times, this book looks like standard Archie Comics or a young adult slice-of-life story. Don’t be fooled.
Just like STRANGER THINGS focused on a group of 1980’s teens facing a monstrous threat, PROCTOR VALLEY ROAD plants its’ teenage characters in the 1970’s for their challenge. The story by Grant Morrison and Alex Child also serves as a warm trip down memory lane for me, with many references to 1970’s youth culture. They also don’t sugar-coat that era, and include references to the troubled Vietnam War as well as racial prejudice and chauvinistic behavior towards women.
Proctor Valley is a dark, isolated road in small-town California where bad things happen and feral beasts are thought to prey on drivers. A group of teenage girls hoping to raise enough money for tickets to a Joplin concert come up with the novel idea of offering guided urban myth/ghost road tours. Things don’t go well on their first excursion.
If this stays on course and doesn’t go off on baffling tangents (as Morrison often does) it looks to be a good read. This could even make a great nomination/selection for a future Captain Blue Hen Monthly Book Club offering. FOUR STARS.
Hulk and Harpy/Betty Banner are hiding in a Manhattan hotel while Bruce Banner remains in The Hell Below with The Leader. Jen Walters/She-Hulk has second thoughts about siding with The Hulk and confesses her worries to reporter Jackie McGee, who’s been with the group since the early issues. The Avengers are working on their next plan of action. After his soul-searching and confession time, Hulk decides to go find Banner. This is gonna get good. FOUR STARS.
I was going to pass on this one. While I like Frank Cho’s art, I didn’t think his story was that interesting to me. However, Issue #1B with the Mike Deodato wraparound cover caught my eye, and here we are.
The throne of Queen of the Galaxy is vacant, so to decide who can sit there ten of the toughest women are fighting for survival on a hostile alien planet. Lots of action, lots of great art. The females are beautiful, but not depicted exploitively. Not all of them survive Issue #1. A mystery is introduced to add another layer to the plot. I just don’t feel like I really have to read this series.
THREE STARS.
#478 - #480 THE MISADVENTURES OF SALEM HYDE VOLUME 1: SPELLING TROUBLE children’s graphic novel by Frank Cammuso (Amulet Press, 2013)
I found the perfect book to gift my six-year old grandson when he comes to visit this week. A nice discovery!
A longer review of this appears on the blog for Saturday, July 10.
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