tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14973887214559497492024-03-13T19:50:35.773-05:00The Pouch FilesA comic book blog dedicated to celebrating and mocking the excesses of the 1990's.Dobsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08884152078310514684noreply@blogger.comBlogger89125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1497388721455949749.post-79804058256470727332016-12-21T13:52:00.000-06:002016-12-21T13:52:53.879-06:00<b>Stormwatch #1, Original Cover Date March 1993</b><br />
Story/Script by Jim Lee and Brandon Choi, Penciled by Scott Clark, Inked by Trevor Scott<br />
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I think I’m pretty open-minded when it comes to 90’s comics. I’ve really tried to emphasize that the 90’s were not all gigantic guns and weirdly proportioned women gritting their teeth at one another. That said, that’s exactly what Stormwatch #1 is. It’s everything you associate with an early 90’s X-Men comic except it replaces the characters you know and like with poorly designed doppelgangers!<br />
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We begin with Battalion, the aging, gun-toting, African-American leader of the Stormwatch as he leads his strike team of Fiji the even-keeled Japanese muscleman, Diva, the hot chick, Hellstrike, and Winter (I don’t know anything about these guys, they each get about one line). They are on assignment in Sarajevo to rescue an old friend of Battalion who is trying to get a school bus full of genetically important children to safety. The bus is attacked by the “Mercs,” an evil Brotherhood-like team led by Deathstroke the Terminator, I mean… Deathtrap. Let me guess, he's named “Blade” Wilson? Deathtrap is joined by Slayer, Razer, and Kilgore, with Kilgore as the Wolverine/Sabretooth type. Slayer and Diva square off, and we learn that Slayer was a good guy and that she talks like Rogue. I am not exaggerating. “I’ve become an exceptional cold-blooded killa, sugah.” Mid-fight, another Merc appears, a spikey-shoulderpad wearing guy that looks like minor villain “Ahab.” The mission goes well-enough, except Battalion’s friend gets murdered by Deathtrap.<br />
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Battalion wakes up in New York, re-living the events of the battle, when his mom comes in to tell him someone’s at the door. Synergy, a Stormwatch employee and former rival, is there with some government goons. Battalion’s brother Malcolm was arrested for robbery, but his diplomatic immunity gets him off the hook. Battalion listens to his brother’s insane story of his arrest, featuring pony-tailed white men breaking into an electronics shop for zero reason and carrying off televisions. Malcolm doesn’t actually take anything, but he runs off with his pals. When the police arrive, his pony-tailed idiot friend produces a gun and tries to shoot the cops, but gets shot to death for his trouble. The officer, having shot the kid to death, has his gun drawn on the unarmed teen and shouts “Don’t make me do it, son!” Which I mean, good for him for not shooting an unarmed teen for standing too close to an armed white guy! I feel like that would have been a bad thing to do! Battalion calls his brother Malcolm “boy” and lectures him for being a disappointment.<br />
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The next day, Battalion and his family are at his friend’s funeral, when who should appear but the Mercs. They start blasting everywhere, and Malcolm gets shot. Synergy checks on him and finds he’s completely unhurt. But that means… Battalion is forced to let Synergy “activate” his brother’s potential powers, causing pink optic blasts to shoot out of Malcolm. To be continued!<br />
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<b>Review:</b><br />
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Let me start by saying some nice things. Scott Clark (RIP) has some nice pencils. He’s not a superstar artist, and I think he may be tracing Jim Lee or some other contemporary artists on some of this, but overall his linework is clear and solid. Malibu’s vaunted coloring process is on display as the coloring is pretty good.<br />
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On the other hand, the first fight scene is staged incomprehensibly. I don’t know how much design work he put into these characters, but they all feel like below-average Lee/Liefeld action figures, and I say that as someone who had action figures of Gideon and other Externals. The plot is pretty much a train-wreck from jump-street, built around two confrontations with the blankest slate bad guys, mercenaries creatively called the Mercs. This is also a first issue that doesn’t introduce much in the way of character, setting, or anything else, devoted as it is to confusing fight scenes where new, unnamed characters appear halfway through. As alluded to, the rest of the team doesn’t ever talk to Battalion, who isn’t particularly sympathetic as he lectures his brother for having loser friends. The whole Malcolm scene is completely ridiculous, with Malcolm inexplicably getting caught up in the worst-planned theft in history. Typical NYPD cops though, talking about how they were going to charge him with “robbery,” even though it was clearly theft. Why is Malcolm associating with these clowns? Why are the heroes so flat-footed when the Mercs show up at the funeral? How did the mission even end, since we cut out that part? Why does Deadshot re-use essentially the same line about how he should have killed Battalion in Kuwait both times he sees the guy?<br />
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<b>90’s Fashion:</b> so much! Battalion’s costume is full of pouches, electronic doo-dads, and huge shoulder pads. Diva wears a Psylocke-style one-piece with knee-high boots, complete with spikes going around her thigh, and a pouch-belt around her waist. Winter wears a jacket over his bodysuit. Deathtrap has even more pouches, and an over-one-shoulder bandolier. Slayer, another member of the Mercs, is just wearing one of Magneto’s acolyte costumes she found lying around. Synergy wears a short red dress with a big blue jacket over it to Battalion’s home. Stoney, one of Malcolm’s pals, has a long, stringy ponytail. One of the Bosnian(?) schoolchildren is wearing an Image t-shirt.<br />
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Dobsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08884152078310514684noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1497388721455949749.post-51535753241468565452016-04-16T17:25:00.001-05:002016-04-30T10:16:36.271-05:00Arc Review: Fantastic Four, UnthinkableIn a previous post, I talked about how I didn’t share in the relatively common sentiment that J. Michael Straczynski’s <a href="http://thepouchfiles.blogspot.com/2014/03/arc-review-spider-totem-aka-coming-home.html">take</a> on Spider-Man was a sort of Renaissance, ruined only by editorial marriage-meddling, organic web meddling, Civil War meddling, and “Gwen Stacy secretly had Norman Osborn’s kids” meddling. In my review of the “Spider Totem” arc, I think I explained why JMS’s work didn’t do it for me, even coming after a truly dire run by John Byrne and Howard Mackie.<br />
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I bring this up because recently in my Fantastic Four re-read I’ve reached Mark Waid and Mike Wieringo’s celebrated run on the book, and while I enjoyed the first arc quite a bit, I found their much-touted “Unthinkable” arc to be… not good comics. Which stinks, because I love Ringo’s art and Waid can be one of the best comic writers in the business when he’s on; I have no vested interest in disliking a story made by creators I like. The story, for those unfamiliar with it, is that Doom, tired of his failures(???), embraces magic, sacrificing his teenage love Valeria in order to gain new mystical powers, which he then uses to capture the Fantastic Four and torture Franklin Richards by sending him to, as the comic puts it, “hell.” This is controversial to some fans, as apparently there’s a sentiment that this goes against Doom’s characterization as made famous by John Byrne and others, but the general consensus is that the vileness of Doom’s actions makes this a more memorable story. In 2011, it was ranked the #11 Dr. Doom story by Comic Book Resources.<br />
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I have quite a few problems with this story, so I’ll go over them one at a time. My first issue is: why does Dr. Doom feeling like he’s a loser? The idea of the story appears to be that Doom is tired of losing to Reed Richards, but that characterization doesn’t really make any sense. It’s the perception of Doom impotently shouting “RICHARDS” in Wizard magazine given form in a comic when it doesn’t reflect the comic’s reality. In Doom’s last appearance in FF, he’d successfully delivered Valeria, naming the child and one-upping Reed, who had failed to save Sue’s second child in one of Byrne’s best issues. So in his last appearance, he wasn’t “defeated” at all- he totally won. He's also the head of a small but important country. Before his latest appearance, he showed up at earth’s doorstep with an invading army after successfully conquering Counter-Earth. On earth, he rules a small country that he’s managed to keep independent from either Western or Eastern or Middle-Eastern powers, and he’s got diplomatic immunity: his previous story appearance prior to Unthinkable featured him offering asylum to the Inhumans. But for the purposes of this story, he feels like science isn’t working, and chooses magic, in what is a perfectly good prologue issue that doesn’t feature the FF at all. I’m fine with this issue showcasing Doom, and there’s a nice little fake-out that might surprise new readers, as Doom ups his magical powers at the cost of personal happiness.<br />
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So what does Doom want to do with these new powers? Humiliate Reed Richards, I guess? Now you can argue that Doom’s acted this way before, carrying petty grudges against the team, but there doesn’t seem to be any reason for Doom’s actions in the story beyond “Grr I hate Reed Richards.” But worse than his motivation is his execution, my second issue with this arc: Doom targets the family through their children, possessing Valeria, and mystically sending Franklin into “hell,” where he is tortured, presumably for hours if not days, by demons. Just so we’re clear, Franklin is 6-7 years old in this story. I get it, Doom’s the bad guy, but this is pretty bizarre stuff from the character, and seems to exist only to show that “this ain’t your daddy’s Dr. Doom!” It’s poor characterization that only makes sense from the outside looking in, trying to show that Dr. Doom isn’t just going to tie up the heroes and force them to dress as Blackbeard any more.<br />
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In the story, Doom then fights the team, whose “this time, it’s personal” response to their children being attacked is to bring guns. Also, Ben snaps Doom’s neck. But of course, since Doom is magic now, he Linda Blair’s his head back and captures the heroes. Except for the team immediately crossing their own moral event horizons, this is all pretty standard, but again, what bothers me is that Doom, who has engaged the team just because he hates Reed, then tortures the rest of the team too. Look, I’m not saying I oppose torture in my superhero comics (although I don’t like it), but here it’s just gruesome and needlessly grim. And unlike the old comics, where the heroes would be put in some sort of deathtrap and have to get out of it, the rest of the family just sort of sits there being tortured for the rest of the story until Reed saves them. I guess it’s nice in theory that we’re fridge-ing male characters now? Franklin, Ben, and Johnny’s literal torturing is just a means to make Reed feel bad. But don’t worry, Sue is tortured too, in that she is given an uncontrollable version of Johnny’s powers, leaving her painfully on fire. We cut to Reed, who has been left in Doom’s library, where Doom promises the tools to beat him are in some magic books he’s left scattered around a big library.<br />
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Reed, a character who regularly uses energy drawn from other dimensions and who hired a literal witch to be his child’s nanny is like “pff, magic is fake, I hate magic," as his characterization is somehow confused with Tony Stark's, and Dr. Strange appears to lecture him about magic technique (badly characterized Dr. Strange is apparently a favorite deus ex machina of early 2000’s comics: he had similar roles in JMS’ Spider-Man and the disaster that was Disassembled). Because this isn’t the focus of the story, Strange disappears and just leaves a vague ‘magic gun’ for Reed to use. He frees the team and they fight Doom for awhile, magicking him into the hell dimension, where Doom magically scars up Reed’s face. And it’s PERMANENT (for like, one arc). The rest of the team, uhhh, congratulate Reed for doing all the work, I guess?<br />
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And that’s that, except for a really tasteless denouement where Franklin is hugely traumatized and we need a two issue arc of him literally attacking people on the street because he thinks they’re monsters, and needs to be told it’s okay by Ben and Sue. Arguing with a friend about these issues, he pointed out that a “lesser writer would’ve skipped over Franklin’s trauma.” I think maybe a “lesser” writer wouldn’t have based a story around <b>torturing children</b> and the psychological damage it can do (that’s solved in two issues). I don’t want to read about psychologically damaged seven year olds in superhero comics, so maybe don’t base your storylines around total “Dr. Doom is EVIIIIIIL” mustache-twirling villainy stunts.<br />
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Maybe it’s just my own hang-ups, but Marvel in this period was really not what I wanted from comics. This was during the time Bill Jemas was trying to “fix” Marvel by focusing less on continuity and more on selling six part stories at Borders, and the rejection of the comics code resulted in some truly dire material as Marvel really wanted to sell ultra-violence and teased “adult content” in the most juvenile way possible. (Aren’t you glad none of this is a problem in mainstream comics anymore?) The whole story reads like an attempt to do “Ultimate”-style Mark Millar bleakness; the arc after Franklin’s PTSD has direct references to the Authority, after all (it's bad too). There’s a demographic that this sort of story appeals to: a demographic that thinks Kirby comics are uncool or that the FF in general or Dr. Doom is lame; unfortunately, that’s not me. I think there’s space on the shelves for gritty, realistic, Nihilistic comics, but I don’t think Fantastic Four should be that comic. There’s some cool visual moments by Ringo, but overall, there’s much, much better stuff out there that’s truer to the spirit of the characters and is just in general more enjoyable to read than this.Dobsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08884152078310514684noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1497388721455949749.post-70483682247626731332016-03-07T20:30:00.000-06:002016-03-07T20:30:01.633-06:00RIP Paul RyanPaul Ryan, comic book artist and cartoonist, died yesterday at the age of only 66. As a dedicated fan of 90’s comics, especially those that flew somewhat under the radar, this is really sad news. A veteran who contributed lasting work across three decades, it’s a shame that Ryan’s name is not particularly well known, even to comic book fans. Originally Iron Man artist Bob Layton’s assistant, Ryan moved on to penciling work at Marvel, taking over the art duties on Iron Man and the Squadron Supreme, and co-creating the series DP7 for Marvel’s New Universe. Perhaps his most famous single issue is Amazing Spider-Man Annual #21, aka the wedding issue.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVAlYzJsk12wokcXc596kRa8wQvVPXsqgkYCqdW7LdaimZYM6tJkz_RRtfWTFYhR44_vOHWXaJqhtzHFw7raT3samZV2XO9aOw10-pLAoOntbLpGQ5nPmnnQCP-MzGcT2ZlWLkPF0WtEW3/s1600/AmazingSpiderManAnnual21-550x.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Spider-Man Annual 21 1987 Paul Ryan wedding" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVAlYzJsk12wokcXc596kRa8wQvVPXsqgkYCqdW7LdaimZYM6tJkz_RRtfWTFYhR44_vOHWXaJqhtzHFw7raT3samZV2XO9aOw10-pLAoOntbLpGQ5nPmnnQCP-MzGcT2ZlWLkPF0WtEW3/s400/AmazingSpiderManAnnual21-550x.jpg" title="" width="262" /></a></div>
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Ryan began the 90’s working on the Avengers comic at a time when the book was struggling to find consistency or much in the way of sales success, but was pulled from it in order to work with then Editor-in-Chief Tom DeFalco on Fantastic Four, where he’d work for the next four years. In the wake of Walt Simonson’s incredible, boundary-pushing work, De Falco and Ryan focused more on the soap opera aspect, a decision that played to Ryan’s strengths at conveying emotion and character in his art. Perhaps most infamously, Ryan designed Sue’s “invisible cleavage” 90’s outfit, notable for a four logo being cut out, along with various other missing strips of fabric along her legs and arms. In some ways it was a response to the “bad girl” trend, but it seemed less extreme in the context of the story, where Sue was behaving more recklessly over time due to the slowly returning “Malice” entity from John Byrne’s run.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2pcatzjnVQRXrG7p13DMDXpFvuyJ8oznCcnVO-tLwxJ06V7pSlv82cwOPwhEzYIaeWjF-tgLp5Z9cXjMiuJW9nakZ7Pg8mN1bnJrti4kokhHn9ZLcz-wAENzdUJVJQIubDCtzovTRkIjy/s1600/Ryan+Invisible+Woman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Invisible Woman 90's Costume Invisible cleavage Paul Ryan" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2pcatzjnVQRXrG7p13DMDXpFvuyJ8oznCcnVO-tLwxJ06V7pSlv82cwOPwhEzYIaeWjF-tgLp5Z9cXjMiuJW9nakZ7Pg8mN1bnJrti4kokhHn9ZLcz-wAENzdUJVJQIubDCtzovTRkIjy/s400/Ryan+Invisible+Woman.jpg" title="" width="311" /></a></div>
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After Ryan left the title just before the Heroes Reborn event, he became a freelancer, working on Superman: the Wedding Album and Flash. He returned at the tail end of the 90’s as part of the MC2 line, where he’d be reunited with DeFalco. In 2005, Ryan, the former artist of the Spider-Man newspaper strip, was chosen as the daily artist for the Phantom strip, a job he’d hold until his death. In addition, he spent several years illustrating the Sunday strip.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyZo78D7CC026AdHV32qbhU6YxQ2GyDh9p5IOcQvf0Sv5u4GN1n1dvX8_Lw4Tgs96e0DYzEpT0TZK4251Sji7zQUZFirDEAMuExm2efrEIH_4fGEFm_5Nzr8gse2UN4RUaXu1Sd5bbHnQX/s1600/Ant-Man+Paul+Ryan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="Paul Ryan Ant Man Trading Card Series 3" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyZo78D7CC026AdHV32qbhU6YxQ2GyDh9p5IOcQvf0Sv5u4GN1n1dvX8_Lw4Tgs96e0DYzEpT0TZK4251Sji7zQUZFirDEAMuExm2efrEIH_4fGEFm_5Nzr8gse2UN4RUaXu1Sd5bbHnQX/s400/Ant-Man+Paul+Ryan.jpg" title="" width="285" /></a></div>
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That Ryan isn’t particularly well-known, even among comic book fans, is not correlated to his talent as a storyteller. Not particularly flashy, Ryan, along with relative contemporary Ron Frenz, was a sort of throwback to an earlier era of clean lines and strong anatomy at a time not particularly known for either. That ability to draw simple, clean characters helped Ryan become one of Marvel’s most prolific trading card artists.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTJiiE2KBRJJRLj6Tx-ZPo7ajw3skiCEhyphenhyphenEac7DwUMBaqy6AgzlIKB3ytHy0YyhsRaBFK-Eh6W19FoSTrw1-sOO1sObyQmH3OdVH1Ha-LFLWtHyQGOtcLAae-cd9wAGTppkIQqhqkvS6RN/s1600/avengersposter+Ryan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="Paul Ryan Art Avengers Poster" border="0" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTJiiE2KBRJJRLj6Tx-ZPo7ajw3skiCEhyphenhyphenEac7DwUMBaqy6AgzlIKB3ytHy0YyhsRaBFK-Eh6W19FoSTrw1-sOO1sObyQmH3OdVH1Ha-LFLWtHyQGOtcLAae-cd9wAGTppkIQqhqkvS6RN/s400/avengersposter+Ryan.jpg" title="" width="400" /></a></div>
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A fan of the industry since childhood, Ryan was fortunate enough to make his living drawing. His contributions, even of the invisible cleavage variety, should not be forgotten.Dobsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08884152078310514684noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1497388721455949749.post-52882483379413646812016-01-13T18:49:00.003-06:002016-01-13T18:49:41.000-06:00I Knew There Was a Reason I Didn't Trust That Baby<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Sorry to followers of this blog, I haven't had the time to update even on a slightly reduced schedule. I just don't have the time for humorous and insightful comics reviews at the moment, as I am somehow able to write as a full-time job. But I do have time to read great 90's comics and then screencap them:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg45jO2kcSsw2yA6ft26_E6Qj95acptygz4Q5GUVSMMl36Kimt7bjdelb2ACFyaE1lo3qdaKpEfDbLC40YbT1qvx6JIsTzsrY1P6AVPved6cspXLvB_lzBWl5Dlw7ol1d-Bo01ZEmBVkFys/s1600/Supreme+52+Evil+Baby.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Suprema Evil Baby Alan Moore Jim Mooney" border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg45jO2kcSsw2yA6ft26_E6Qj95acptygz4Q5GUVSMMl36Kimt7bjdelb2ACFyaE1lo3qdaKpEfDbLC40YbT1qvx6JIsTzsrY1P6AVPved6cspXLvB_lzBWl5Dlw7ol1d-Bo01ZEmBVkFys/s400/Supreme+52+Evil+Baby.jpg" title="" width="400" /></a></div>
Via Supreme 52-A, Alan Moore and Jim MooneyDobsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08884152078310514684noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1497388721455949749.post-63403875363465845612015-09-05T17:28:00.002-05:002015-09-05T17:28:41.952-05:00Review: Web of Spider-Man #129<b>Web of Spider-Man #129, "Time Bomb Pt. 2: By My Hand, Mary Jane Must Die!"</b><br />
Written by Tom DeFalco (plot) and Todd DeZago (script), Penciled by Steven Butler, Inked/finished by Randy Emberlin<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi33A0voy_FeZFWisVNl6U-UnGjxOsTjcQHGQayByr_qw5b0BL06UipVkvxXvOcLHlpPnNFL16lwhxfwNLd0aPWKYdBSB9cZTtrKslL0gZJAdVpgedLmZQ-Z-VT5RNPfU05Zj6lahFw9s3_/s1600/Web+of+Spider-Man+129.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="Web of Spider-Man 129 Cover" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi33A0voy_FeZFWisVNl6U-UnGjxOsTjcQHGQayByr_qw5b0BL06UipVkvxXvOcLHlpPnNFL16lwhxfwNLd0aPWKYdBSB9cZTtrKslL0gZJAdVpgedLmZQ-Z-VT5RNPfU05Zj6lahFw9s3_/s400/Web+of+Spider-Man+129.jpg" title="" width="261" /></a></div>
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In the podcast I appear in, I had some negative things to say about "<a href="http://allmyfriendsarerighthere.com/2015/08/19/some-of-my-friends-read-comics-009-spider-man-the-clone-saga/">Spider-Man: The Clone Saga</a>," a bizarre late 2000s miniseries written by Howard Mackie and DeFalco in an attempt to tell a condensed, "true to the original concept" clone saga story. In short, it's a bizarre mish-mash that chickens out about absolutely everything and is full of incredibly awkward dialogue and revives evil Harry Osborn for no reason. I'm not going to tell you the clone saga is great (it wasn't, by and large), but it did have genuine pathos when, say, Doctor Octopus saves Spider-Man's life and willingly surrenders, expecting to face Spidey next time only to be murdered by Kaine. Or Aunt May's legitimately great death issue that got rid of a character that hadn't been particularly useful in about 15 years in a touching, heartfelt way (later crapped on by John Byrne at his dirt-worst). But I'm not here to review those issues! I'm returning to <a href="http://thepouchfiles.blogspot.com/2015/04/review-web-of-spider-man-80.html">Web of Spider-Man</a>!<br />
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<a name='more'></a>Our story begins with Scarlet Spider dropping in on the New Warriors base to find it empty aside from Hindsight Lad, the team’s nerdy “Snapper Carr” equivalent. HL reveals the team went to rescue “some woman” who called asking for help from a deranged Spider-Man trying to kill her!<br />
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We then cut to Mary Jane screaming at a subway station as the New Warriors engage Spidey, who pleads with them to stop him before he gets to Mary Jane, because otherwise he’ll "tear her apart." We also get the first gratuitous butt shot of the issue, as Firestar’s 90’s costume has been drawn as though she’s wearing fishnets and a swimsuit instead of black tights. The New Warriors struggle to tag the agile Spidey, leading to Speedball bouncing every which way to try to out-bounce the hero. Unfortunately, Spider-Man uppercuts Speedball away.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihij43-P9MpM9VRuTUWpaHbZcHccEDKGS3ocWkO-lH8K3-52Yeniqh7frPXjsg9sZFBtlJJ7pX4tb-9G_2mu-2l95_8r0tAuHSyUuQ3zh4yG-U2oJ7fZIOAtDZzAnTXLCJh29ZVv600u8m/s1600/Web+of+Spider-Man+129+pt+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img alt="Web of Spider-Man 129 Firestar Costume" border="0" height="305" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihij43-P9MpM9VRuTUWpaHbZcHccEDKGS3ocWkO-lH8K3-52Yeniqh7frPXjsg9sZFBtlJJ7pX4tb-9G_2mu-2l95_8r0tAuHSyUuQ3zh4yG-U2oJ7fZIOAtDZzAnTXLCJh29ZVv600u8m/s400/Web+of+Spider-Man+129+pt+1.jpg" title="" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mary Jane is terrified by Firestar's butt.</td></tr>
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Scarlet finds Mary Jane, even as Spider-Man exits the subway station and we get an equal-opportunity shot of Spidey’s butt. He thinks that his desire to kill MJ is "ingrained in every cell in my body!" I hope Spidey’s just being melodramatic. Moments later, Spidey leaps towards MJ as she gets in a cab, shouting, "Noooo! I don’t want to murder my w-" before he’s cut off by Scarlet tackling him. The New Warriors try to intervene, but Spidey easily trashes Turbo and Alex Power before tearing the roof off of MJ’s cab. The cabbie runs off, leaving Mary Jane to drive off in his cab. MJ is somehow able to avoid New York traffic and cross the Williamsburg Bridge, even as Spidey begs Firestar to murder him and we get another shot of her mis-drawn costume. Spidey avoids the New Warriors and disappears into a sewer. The team tries to follow but loses him in the tunnels. Scarlet doesn’t follow, instead making a bee-line to where he thinks MJ’s going.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaNgIItGQQ_RQsMRA4nwiulPvq2_yNUZdRnRprYPxtXcSL0MkW6E8xpLAetJSs5jsMWVSwGhyphenhyphen3kqkCjHO3t8eoQbimNnvF6gez-8SgK-bvsoEZgOQPnQW6ML_9OaxKF-BwOwT2b-VH5Gib/s1600/Web+of+Spider-Man+129+pt+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img alt="Web of Spider-Man 129 Ingrained in Every Cell" border="0" height="356" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaNgIItGQQ_RQsMRA4nwiulPvq2_yNUZdRnRprYPxtXcSL0MkW6E8xpLAetJSs5jsMWVSwGhyphenhyphen3kqkCjHO3t8eoQbimNnvF6gez-8SgK-bvsoEZgOQPnQW6ML_9OaxKF-BwOwT2b-VH5Gib/s400/Web+of+Spider-Man+129+pt+2.jpg" title="" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Equal-opportunity butt-shots.</td></tr>
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We cut to Aunt May’s boarding house in Queens (has Peter sold that house? He had to be the sole heir, right?), where MJ is waiting in a recliner for her deranged clone husband. MJ says she can’t run from a ghost and says she has faith in Peter. Peter lets out a "rargh!" as the Jackal’s programming appears to fade away. The two hug it out as creepy voyeur Scarlet Spider watches from a nearby window, where he had been acting as MJ’s insurance. Ben thinks that it’s ironic that MJ was the one who finally defeated the Jackal for good as he swings away and Web of Spider-Man ends an era!<br />
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<b>Review:</b><br />
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This is the end of Web of Spider-Man, the 3rd/4th most important monthly Spidey comic at the time. The story is almost entirely devoted to a big, needless fight, and your opinion on the story really comes down to how much you like the art and whether you think the payoff, Mary Jane overcoming clone programming with the power of love, is dumb. Honestly I don’t think it’s a half-bad issue, even if the New Warriors feel awfully shoe-horned (the struggling title had been moved into the Spider-Man editorial family, which led to adding Scarlet Spider as a member) in. Spidey gets punked out a lot in his own title, so it’s kind of neat to see him mop the floor with admitted B-level heroes. I thought the ending was sweet, and I especially liked Butler’s image of the Jackal programming seemingly evaporating. I know it's stupid but I love Spidey's "nooo I don't want to murder my wife!" dialogue throughout the issue for it's over-the-top melodrama.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8zyEmQWXrMU4AW01Vc6YtXeMAgM1-N0HdMYN1ULAqr9RxH0gACICOf4g2lgEt0ysru_QgEW9V-nzzdhUEB5VcjyCOzGEPEqklH5CZQkkm6PdYP4_fvHNXajpvcwj4RcF8eP0BHFotd1Mh/s1600/Web+of+Spider-Man+129+pt+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img alt="Web of Spider-Man 129 Firestar Costume" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8zyEmQWXrMU4AW01Vc6YtXeMAgM1-N0HdMYN1ULAqr9RxH0gACICOf4g2lgEt0ysru_QgEW9V-nzzdhUEB5VcjyCOzGEPEqklH5CZQkkm6PdYP4_fvHNXajpvcwj4RcF8eP0BHFotd1Mh/s400/Web+of+Spider-Man+129+pt+3.jpg" title="" width="168" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Firestar just forgot her pants this week, okay?</td></tr>
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The negative stigma for this title comes not really from the issue itself, but from the fact that the story point we’re getting to is clone Peter announcing his retirement to go take care of his wife and move to Portland, presumably to grow a horrible beard and ride a unicycle to work. You shouldn’t need me to tell you what an awful idea that is. On our podcast, I went on record as being a big fan of Ben, even a big fan of Ben as Spider-Man (the story that’s a couple months away), since it lets creators tell new stories where Ben quite literally deals with feeling like an imposter, but ditching Peter and the rest of the book’s supporting cast was a horrible idea and probably the biggest reason for the big “Revelations” course correct down the road. That reveal really makes this story incomprehensible, because if Jackal was just messing with Peter re: being a clone, how did he set up this contingency ‘murder your wife’ ploy? I guess Peter’s just really susceptible to subliminal messages?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQdyg3TJObAaf2q-pnL8oCoruMVpDjArXkvN-sD-cfQhyphenhyphenioiQY4EYaZyPadXeQzVfiCEeDrbo3oUUXguEVmdIgg0pMMYYoiMdlLSh8w1qcZUYw0PkNRJUW1hQqaSflI4CE4ZSGfNTH-AQp/s1600/Web+of+Spider-Man+129+pt+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQdyg3TJObAaf2q-pnL8oCoruMVpDjArXkvN-sD-cfQhyphenhyphenioiQY4EYaZyPadXeQzVfiCEeDrbo3oUUXguEVmdIgg0pMMYYoiMdlLSh8w1qcZUYw0PkNRJUW1hQqaSflI4CE4ZSGfNTH-AQp/s400/Web+of+Spider-Man+129+pt+4.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Steven Butler’s work drawing Spidey is very solid this issue, as does a nice job keeping the basic “house style” of Spidey at the time without making him look too awkward. Some of Butler’s face work is a little rough, and his proportions can get a bit fan-service-y and weird. I don’t think you can blame him for the Firestar costume screw-up, but it’s pretty leery and weird. The cover is nice enough, with Spidey tossing a prone Ben off a rooftop as Justice, Firestar and Speedball show up. Yes, it doesn't really have anything to do with the plot, which should probably have Mary Jane overhead, but that would be weird.<br />
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Web is definitely a book that benefited a lot from the crazy four issues of inter-connected Spidey stories a month, as the last year or so of the book felt important, while stand-alone issues of the book have a tendency to feel like glorified fill-ins. It’s actually pretty impressive that the book lasted this long, considering it spent most of its life as the least important Spidey comic, but after Ben takes over, he becomes the Sensational Spider-Man, a book that I remember as being slightly better than its fellow Spidey books of the time. I guess I'll have to check out some of that to see if pre-teen me was the connoisseur of 90's comics I remember him being!<br />
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<b>90's Fashion:</b><br />
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Never forget Scarlet Spider's wrist-gauntlets (that held his impact webbing and stingers) or his ankle pouches that held.... his wallet? Firestar and Alex Power both wear jackets over their costumes in true 90's style.Dobsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08884152078310514684noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1497388721455949749.post-15530258862222530722015-08-04T21:22:00.000-05:002015-08-04T21:22:16.670-05:00Robin #19<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<b>Robin 19, “War Gods in the Hood,” Cover Date August 1995</b></div>
Written by Chuck Dixon, Pencils by Mike Wieringo, Inks by Stan Woch<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS0PvI_m-MmGOooUKfe8cDd34FgJPd2LwSZflLzMs_Hlt9yw8kmt3yCWfAZoM9wWo_fBR8MsQGrZcPB4l3CeNzZjI0l8Ua7W7HGkoDf_6NHva99rSF1kwU2iihMJiC0mz96xIFnXjnX8Xq/s1600/Robin+19.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="Robin 19 Cover Julie Caesar Ulysses General" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS0PvI_m-MmGOooUKfe8cDd34FgJPd2LwSZflLzMs_Hlt9yw8kmt3yCWfAZoM9wWo_fBR8MsQGrZcPB4l3CeNzZjI0l8Ua7W7HGkoDf_6NHva99rSF1kwU2iihMJiC0mz96xIFnXjnX8Xq/s400/Robin+19.jpg" title="" width="260" /></a></div>
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Tim Drake, aka Robin #3, is the Robin I grew up with as a kid in the 90’s. After the disaster that was the Jason Todd death, Tim Drake was created to be a smart, dedicated hero in his own right that wouldn’t be resented by fans for “stealing” Dick Grayson’s job the way Todd was. Early writers of the character, primarily Chuck Dixon, really focused on the “detective” aspect of the character. It’s easy to blame Batman’s sidekick getting his own series as some sort of early 90’s cash-grab, but the early Robin books tend to be consistently very good. All written by Chuck Dixon, who handled the mini-series and first 100 issues of the solo series, the books also benefitted from solid art from veterans like Tom Lyle and Tom Grummett. In the book’s second year, Mike Wieringo took over as the book’s regular penciler, and here we are!<br />
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The issue begins with Ulysses, aka “The General,” as he returns home to his family (no mention is made of his only other appearance, Detective Comics #655-56). We get a quick snapshot of his home life, where his mother seems to think his homicidal schemes are cute, while the rest of the family correctly sees him as dangerous. On a field trip, while complaining about the lack of military history at what appears to be an art museum, Ulysses sees museum security kicking out Julie Caesar, a homeless man who believes he’s the reincarnation of the Roman leader. Ulysses steps in and helps Julie, then convinces his parents to let Julie live in their basement. Immediately he recruits a gang, with Julie as the front-man, with a lion stolen from a German carnie as their muscle.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjluLoTwKUKQEySjM66l5oV21LmG7nmLtBPj2drXsHfedRmVRW25vppPBiBUU0teCxZki28PQN57WmWrG9x9UxBKp9mcEegnya5y7vHIQ-9qoQUmHlyZQ2zWULr1Xve0_IkWfj9eILiz2DK/s1600/Robin+19+pt+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="Robin 19 Ulysses General" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjluLoTwKUKQEySjM66l5oV21LmG7nmLtBPj2drXsHfedRmVRW25vppPBiBUU0teCxZki28PQN57WmWrG9x9UxBKp9mcEegnya5y7vHIQ-9qoQUmHlyZQ2zWULr1Xve0_IkWfj9eILiz2DK/s400/Robin+19+pt+1.jpg" title="" width="287" /></a></div>
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Meanwhile, Robin breaks up a truck heist by beating up a handful of goons and is asked by Batman to check out the lion theft. As Tim Drake, his girlfriend Ari’s uncle Vari considers leaving Gotham after his shop was attacked in a previous issue. Tim and Ari make up after a previous fight, but Ari doesn’t want to talk about her uncle.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhXV7tKx0DqIkOE3LO5t-7f26n1V7Nl2H_9HHVQbP68OZ-49iK4Y7TrbjnMIiFYx40ZiDW8zjVAC2OUTl5U-PBNL59n4GJNn-jV_tzKf_hKd7LpzcvZ4HwiecXwYaDdvuDKp-8WBkH4Hzm/s1600/Robin+19+pt.+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Robin 19 Ulysses Julie Caesar" border="0" height="370" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhXV7tKx0DqIkOE3LO5t-7f26n1V7Nl2H_9HHVQbP68OZ-49iK4Y7TrbjnMIiFYx40ZiDW8zjVAC2OUTl5U-PBNL59n4GJNn-jV_tzKf_hKd7LpzcvZ4HwiecXwYaDdvuDKp-8WBkH4Hzm/s400/Robin+19+pt.+2.jpg" title="" width="400" /></a></div>
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Robin checks in with Shotgun Jack, a sheriff who’s worked with Robin, and gets police reports about the recent Roman-related crimes. Robin finds out Ulysses was recently released from juvenile hall, and heads to his house. Trying to sneak into the basement, Robin activates a trap door. Robin says “game’s over,” but Julie gives a big “Let the Games Begin!” as Nero the Lion closes in on Robin. TO BE CONTINUED!<br />
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<b>Review:</b><br />
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This is formatted as a pretty simple two-parter, with a lot of the page-count going towards introducing Ulysses into the series. Dixon wrote Ulysses’ first and to this point only other story in Detective Comics 655-56 in 1993, just before “Knightfall.” Dixon and Wieringo re-work the character, downplaying the “murderous child” aspect by making him seem a few years younger and less menacing than his initial appearance as a gang leader who knocked out an injured Batman as part of a gang fight. He’s turned into a sort of “classic” Batman villain where he can be a bit inherently goofy, but his schemes are still taken as a serious threat. Obviously given his size and age, he’s more of a foil for Robin, and the plan is clearly to make him one of Robin’s regular rogues.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTxgVy7xqDt7tcyiCtxVkcjhz3ifVm0tFKCBzTZ4EkySNlSNyeGfffjw_m7U6DGUyK43DKymAjkw6i23zRYb97Z_XrqmKIr7vpEmRKUCzgRwNVXPXym44x7v6EWXVJOahWVNTfUCGBQUre/s1600/Robin+19+pt.+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img alt="Robin 19 Wieringo Batman" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTxgVy7xqDt7tcyiCtxVkcjhz3ifVm0tFKCBzTZ4EkySNlSNyeGfffjw_m7U6DGUyK43DKymAjkw6i23zRYb97Z_XrqmKIr7vpEmRKUCzgRwNVXPXym44x7v6EWXVJOahWVNTfUCGBQUre/s400/Robin+19+pt.+3.jpg" title="" width="268" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I remember it too, Batman! <a href="http://allmyfriendsarerighthere.com/2015/07/22/somfrc-007-batman-the-killing-joke/">I just talked about it</a>!</td></tr>
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Mike “Ringo” Wieringo was one of my favorite artists of the 90’s, and his work looks great here. A gifted cartoonist who developed his own distinctive non-Manga style, Ringo made a big splash by teaming with Mark Waid in a run of The Flash (that I shamefully have not read), before jumping off that book to work with Chuck Dixon on Robin, along with his first Marvel work in a limited series with Howard Mackie and Terry Austin (stay tuned for that, I'm always up for terrible Howard Mackie scripts). That Marvel never gave Ringo an extended run on their flagship Spider-Man title in the 90’s is a pretty clear indicator of Marvel at that time’s crippling fear of wealth and success (instead, Ringo penciled Sensational Spider-Man, probably the third most important monthly Spider-Man title at the time). After some more great runs, including a classic run with Mark Waid on the Fantastic Four, Ringo died of an aortic dissection in 2007. He was only 44.<br />
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Here, Ringo does a great job of drawing kids that look like kids. Ulysses, his siblings, Tim and Ari aren’t drawn as short adults, and there’s no real danger of confusing anybody, even though Ulysses and Tim sort of look alike. Maybe my favorite scene in the book is where Ulysses’ sister goes looking for her dog and finds the below image, just a great mix of comedy and weirdness:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyMcuKS851xBcGLUcTtc6ShMNg3zsH9nVzXLk-1NJK18mvZtSliHJ0rsZvqmy0WwVMtVhR_D73Je38BCGktTH4dHWFG2fdc6yp19gHzNVQ-O5pVGAsJXidgP-niQUJ7gFoHE4WFAa_Rn74/s1600/Robin+19+pt.+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="Robin 19 Ulysses Caesar scrying dog" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyMcuKS851xBcGLUcTtc6ShMNg3zsH9nVzXLk-1NJK18mvZtSliHJ0rsZvqmy0WwVMtVhR_D73Je38BCGktTH4dHWFG2fdc6yp19gHzNVQ-O5pVGAsJXidgP-niQUJ7gFoHE4WFAa_Rn74/s400/Robin+19+pt.+4.jpg" title="" width="272" /></a></div>
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The cover image features Robin dueling with a Roman gladiator in a scene we don’t get in the book. As much as I like Ringo’s covers during this time, this is a bit weak, with the gladiator-guy getting central focus, while Julie looks on, not even giving us a “thumbs down” gesture. I do like Ulysses’ passive indifference at Robin’s life-or-death fight, though.<br />
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All in all, this is a really solid title during this period (although Ringo does take multiple issues off, then starts doing covers only). Tim’s an interesting character that’s separate from what we’ve seen from other Robins, and his friends aren’t all Teen Titan-analogues for another few years. He seems inexperienced enough that there’s real danger, even from a goofy villain like Ulysses. I like what we get from the supporting cast: I liked Ari, and always found the Tim/Stephanie pairing to be kind of same-y, since it hit a lot of the same beats as Batman/Catwoman (anti-hero version), or Spider-Man/Black Cat, but with teens.<br />
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Dobsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08884152078310514684noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1497388721455949749.post-60692125242215306842015-07-25T11:35:00.003-05:002015-07-25T11:38:58.915-05:00Rant: Give Artists CreditComics Beat posted an <a href="http://www.comicsbeat.com/does-anyone-care-about-the-artists-on-comics-any-more/">interesting article</a> a few days ago about the importance of the artist in selling a comic. Incredibly, only 5% of retailers credited the artist as the most important thing in terms of selling a comic. I understand there's market forces at work there; comic book retailers have taken on the near-insane task of selling comic books, so their ideas are necessarily skewed by the need to "feed their family" and other similar considerations.<br />
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As someone who is entering the "<a href="https://itunes.apple.com/al/podcast/some-of-my-friends-read-comics/id987299401?mt=2">comic book podcast</a>" arena only a handful of years after most, I've already noticed that the two episodes that have gotten the most downloads thus far are the two with work by Grant Morrison and Alan Moore, two "names," that, not coincidentally, are not comic book artists. Not to pick on my co-hosts, but I cringe when introducing an episode by saying "Alan Moore's The Killing Joke," or similar pronouncements (although to be fair, in that episode we did explain that the story is really Brian Bolland's project more than Moore's).<br />
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The thing is, this mind-set is both backwards and toxic. Art is the most important thing in comic books. Period. It is the defining point of separation between comics and its bookstore neighbors in the sci-fi section.<br />
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On that Comics Beat article, 63% of people voting in a two-day poll said art was the most important reason to buy a comic. And yet the comments are full of people saying they buy comics for the story, or "the creative team," or the character. I'm not saying people can't buy comics for those reasons, but they shouldn't be as important as the art. I also wonder how, exactly, these people are reading the "story," since every story I've read in comics has been told by art on the page. It's like arguing that a movie's script is the most important thing about whether it's good or not, ignoring that movies are not staged readings read over the radio. People talk about "fridge logic" to decide that <i>Avatar</i> is a bad movie because it has literally the simplest script in the world ignore the fact that <i>Avatar</i> made a billion dollars because it looked amazing.<br />
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Personally I think there's a sort of life-cycle of a comic book reader. Their first, biggest impression is the art. The other most compelling aspect is probably the character, since historically that's the big marketing force (when I started reading comics, only DC even put its creative team on its covers). Then, at a certain age, comic book fans feel like they need to justify reading genre picture books, and do so by pretending that they really love certain comic book writers. They note that top-tier writers tend to put out top tier books (ignoring that these writers almost necessarily collaborate with great artists), and decide that it's the writer that makes the book. These fans don't notice or care that the thing their pet writer does best is focus on the strengths of his or her collaborators. Is my hypothesis based on my own experience growing up a comic book fan? Mmmmmmaybe.<br />
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But what's the harm in marginalizing the fact that art is what catches people's eye (and again, the very method of telling the dang story)? Beyond contributing to outright untruths like "Stan Lee created the Marvel Universe," the harm is that it limits people's ability to talk intelligently about comics. The plot of the average comic book is almost always dumb, and it's even worse now since one plot tends to stretch at least two to three, and sometimes up to six issues. And when we talk <i>only</i> about the plot, we're doing a disservice to the artist, who is doing the bulk of the work actually telling the story. Stan Lee could "write" ten books a month because the Marvel method meant letting Kirby or Ditko or Don Heck or John Romita go off and tell a story, and then writing in groan-worthy dialogue and narration boxes to explain the non-cinematic story elements those artists didn't want to draw.<br />
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Now most writers today don't work that way, but the work on the page of any given comic you read is still the artists' perspiration more than the writer's inspiration, and should be more of a deciding factor when it comes to buying a comic. As for what folks like me can do about this tendency among post-adolescents embarrassed to admit they read comics to look at cool pictures of things, the best solution is to give credit to the artists front and center. Don't take away a co-plotting credit when an artist is given one, don't bury the artist's name paragraphs after the writers, and do take the time to talk about art. Don't talk about the writer like he's some philosopher-king genius who just hired some bum off the street to draw his pictures. Joss Whedon's not picking John Cassady off the street, so don't minimize Cassady's importance by pretending Joss Whedon just made Astonishing X-Men by himself.<br />
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Just in case you think that isn't a real problem, look at this "Pop Matters" <a href="http://www.popmatters.com/feature/138414-joss-whedon-101-astonishing-x-men/">article </a>circa 2011: Cassady's name is mentioned TWO TIMES. Once in the intro, and once in paragraph 3, wherein three sentences are devoted to the art, mostly talking about how well it serves Whedon's writing: "[The art] also effectively communicates the characters' complex human emotions, which plays to Whedon's melodramatic style of writing." When we don't talk about the art in any real way and marginalize the artist's input by reducing the credit the artist receives, we ignore literally the thing we are looking at when we look at comics.Dobsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08884152078310514684noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1497388721455949749.post-58407574532977162662015-07-15T19:23:00.001-05:002015-07-22T07:33:55.054-05:00Review: X-Force #46<b>X-Force #46, “Behind Closed Doors,” Cover Date September, 1995</b><br />
<b>Written by Jeph Loeb, Penciled by Adam Pollina, Inked by Mark Pennington</b><br />
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Most people on the outside looking in at X-Force see it as proof of 90’s excess: it was Rob Liefeld’s pet project, the book that set all sorts of speculator records before being overshadowed by Jim Lee’s X-Men #1. Despite not having its own media presence, there was a line of action figures featuring endless variations of Cable, the team’s gun-toting mystery-man. While it’s true that the book as drawn and plotted by Rob Liefeld was the sort of big, bombastic action you’d expect from a book called “X-Force,” what a lot of people may not remember is that Liefeld’s tenure on the title was exceptionally brief.<br />
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X-Force had begun life as the New Mutants, the mid-80’s teen group created when Jim Shooter noticed that there were basically no more teens on the X-Men title (except Kitty), and while the team’s roster had changed in the wake of Cable taking over as leader, these were still characters that had existed in some form for several years. As I mentioned in my New Warriors review, I am a sucker for “teens growing up” stories, and X-Force is no exception. Personally, I found the leader-less “wandering around” phase far more interesting than the military strike team. So let’s get into it!<br />
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We begin our story with Siryn, undercover at the Weisman Institute for the Criminally Insane in Vermont. Siryn hacks into a doctor’s computer terminal to gain information about a ten year old that’s been institutionalized indefinitely. She ducks behind the desk even as an image of “Benjamin Russell” appears on-screen, a young man who looks exactly like current MIA teammate Shatterstar. Unfortunately, Siryn is found by the doctor, and while she tries to fight off two burly orderlies, she is pinned down and given a shot that knocks her out.<br />
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In Siberia, the Mimic attacks X-Force, who were investigating an attack on a mutant underground outpost when they found the outpost destroyed and the Mimic going crazy. The Mimic, best known for his silver-age X-Men appearances (pre-Exiles), has the ability to absorb any mutant powers in proximity, plus the permanent powers of the original five X-Men in true “Super Skrull” fashion. The team continues to fight with Mimic, giving him new powers every time one of them hits the mutant, who blames X-Force for the attack on the base. Just as Mimic is close to figuring out that they really have no reason to fight, Sunspot, who had been told to stay away from the Mimic, stupidly jumps in and attacks, despite Mimic outright stating “I think this was all a big mistake.” Mimic overloads and explodes, causing both Sunspot and the Mimic to fall out of the sky.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhowOdXRC7gwlx_6QQEot4SZXqUkKyY9QLrtQpjjjtmOuffAXvesM8XdrTRE8c30wy3n_YnGXUq1yA_NdgovY0hzyMZGznIMtD1RepgPxZSzr-1hEd2zDMjtYmNLZO-4a1_tKtAp0mlJYfk/s1600/X-Force+46+pt.+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img alt="X-Force 46 Boom-Boom Sabretooth Lion King" border="0" height="261" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhowOdXRC7gwlx_6QQEot4SZXqUkKyY9QLrtQpjjjtmOuffAXvesM8XdrTRE8c30wy3n_YnGXUq1yA_NdgovY0hzyMZGznIMtD1RepgPxZSzr-1hEd2zDMjtYmNLZO-4a1_tKtAp0mlJYfk/s400/X-Force+46+pt.+2.jpg" title="" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tabitha nurtures Simba back to health.</td></tr>
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Meanwhile, Tabitha, aka Boomer/Boom-Boom/Meltdown/whatever, is back at the X-Mansion, where a feral Sabretooth rubs up against her, kitty-cat style, after she brings him some milk. Back in her room, shirtless weirdo Wolverine warns Tabby to stay away from Creed. He also basically says that when he kills Creed, he’ll kill anybody in the way, too. After he leaves, Tabitha says out loud to no one how she’s sick of men telling her how to run her life.<br />
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In the wake of the explosion, Cable yells at Sunspot, as Caliban offers to track down the missing Mimic. Caliban follows the trail to a big hole in the ground, but there’s no sign of the Mimic. Cable doesn’t like the look of things, as he feels that someone pulled their strings to engineer the fight.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDAeHtdXM79Yyqzy5bOIk7T30noi6mMwgxtLOpq_KzP0APTwjqp4oMozsoWz7sO4EwQW9YcywEAVJJ8QqwRhhKLM0y0_lKZ3OtFrbfi2lo5qcznQUXQkIDxO7Di0eiDr4K1N69B9s0NEqP/s1600/X-Force+46+pt.+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img alt="X-Force 46 Deadpool Siryn" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDAeHtdXM79Yyqzy5bOIk7T30noi6mMwgxtLOpq_KzP0APTwjqp4oMozsoWz7sO4EwQW9YcywEAVJJ8QqwRhhKLM0y0_lKZ3OtFrbfi2lo5qcznQUXQkIDxO7Di0eiDr4K1N69B9s0NEqP/s400/X-Force+46+pt.+3.jpg" title="" width="361" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Good thing Siryn knew Deadpool's radio frequency!</td></tr>
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Back at the institute, Siryn has somehow made a jury-rigged radio in her cell. She tries to message Cable, the only one who knows she’s there, but can’t get a signal. Siryn knows what she has to do, although she’s understandably reluctant. She messages a certain merc with a mouth… Deadpool! To be continued!<br />
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<b>Letters Page: </b><br />
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One letter questions Shatterstar’s promise to Cable about saving his home-world, with the editor directing the fan to the picture of Ben Russel. Another letter features a pretty scathing condemnation of Loeb and Pollina taking over writing and art duty in X-Force #44, saying he is dropping the title immediately after following the New Mutants for over a decade.<br />
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<b>Review:</b><br />
<br />
This issue finds the team in the middle of a few divergent storylines. The fight with the Mimic gets the majority of the action, and is a pretty standard superhero fight. The subplots are more interesting from a character perspective, with Siryn’s “promotion” to deputy leader leading her to immediately go on an undercover mission without the team, doing the sort of solo mission Domino would normally do. The Ben Russel story has been covered elsewhere, but needless to say, it’s enormously dumb. The disappearance of the Mimic is apparently masterminded by Onslaught, but we don’t get even the vaguest of hints about that, even though Mimic’s connection to Professor X seems like something that would be relevant (of course, I’m not sure if anyone in the X-office knew that Onslaught was Professor X at this point). Although you could easily say Loeb is already getting way too bogged down in pace, I do like the framing of Siryn's story as the intro and exit of the story, since her storyline seems much cooler than the main storyline involving a marginal 1960's X-Men character.<br />
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Adam Pollina was mostly unknown to non-perverts when he was hired as X-Force's penciler with issue 44 (he was best known for an adult parody called "Sex Trek"), and he'd stay with the book until issue 81, when he'd be replaced as regular penciler by Jim Cheung. While I've seen Pollina's work occasionally singled out for its sloppy anatomy or cartoony style, I love the energy he puts into the characters. Maybe my favorite panel is Siryn collapsing after she's been drugged, with her hair turning into black as the panel goes from left to right. I'm sure it's not a new technique, but it looks great. The biggest downside is that the characters are so different from what we think of when we think of Liefeld's crazy designs. Cable during this period had gotten a lot smaller, and Warpath had dropped his embarrassing tribal outfit and gotten a haircut, and apparently lost a bunch of bulk in the process. By the time Pollina is done re-designing the rest of the team over the course of the next 35 issues, almost no one will be recognizable from their 1991 designs.<br />
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Pollina did have a creator-owned book in the early 2000's, but for the most part he didn't do much else, as he ended up getting a (presumably more lucrative) job working as an art designer in Hollywood and working as a storyboard artist for the original God of War.<br />
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<b>90's Fashion:</b><br />
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Proudstar's new outfit features yellow chaps and a big "X" belt buckle. Sunfire's costume is covered in pouches, including mid-thigh pouches. Cable wears a cool flight jacket over his pouched-up costume. Unlike Spider-Man, Deadpool is clearly wearing red boots, rather than booties.Dobsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08884152078310514684noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1497388721455949749.post-25763032829324012642015-07-03T09:56:00.001-05:002015-07-03T10:02:10.060-05:00Review: New Warriors #22<b>New Warriors #22, "The Stolen Children, Nothing But the Truth Part 1" Cover Date April 1992</b><br />
Written by Fabian Nicieza, Penciled by Mark Bagley, Inked by Larry Mahlstedt<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyD0vF_O0yiMi7tWeUGRuidz9naqPGjDpXowzbxzU2y_eYdPCIvk2dX19Jl-yMyNAcTnx6f16MKW7b_6ue4t0oMA34mPUFvuRcjwe-DGOconCuYvqnqG3cAt3ruOi0KBdHkCV7X4msEUVE/s1600/New+Warriors+22+Cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="New Warriors 22 Cover" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyD0vF_O0yiMi7tWeUGRuidz9naqPGjDpXowzbxzU2y_eYdPCIvk2dX19Jl-yMyNAcTnx6f16MKW7b_6ue4t0oMA34mPUFvuRcjwe-DGOconCuYvqnqG3cAt3ruOi0KBdHkCV7X4msEUVE/s400/New+Warriors+22+Cover.jpg" title="" width="257" /></a></div>
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I should preface this review by mentioning that I can't really be objective in my appreciation of the New Warriors. As I mentioned in a previous post, they were the first comic I read that I didn't learn about from TV, and I found the characters, who ranged from high school kids to college students to be pretty much the coolest. I know now that they're more or less Marvel's answer to the Teen Titans, but I love watching characters grow up, and that was the best part of the original series. It was also cool that I felt like I could follow all of the character's appearances, since they rarely popped up in other books. Of course, after years of growth, culminating in Justice and Firestar being added to the Avengers at the height of its resurgence in popularity, somebody at Marvel hit the reset button because the rest of the world wasn't aging, and things have been a bit dire for the team for the past 15 years or so as writers either play up nostalgia or take things in bizarre new directions. But taken on its own, Fabe and Bagley, two nearly unknowns at the time, managed to show everyone how good they could be and told a great, underrated story. Their run is <a href="http://www.amazon.com/New-Warriors-Omnibus-Fabian-Nicieza/dp/0785167749/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1435935600&sr=8-1&keywords=new+warriors+omnibus">available in hardcover</a> if that's your thing, containing two years of the ongoing series, plus annuals and crossovers. Unfortunately, the book is not available on Marvel Unlimited.<br />
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We begin our story in Cambodia, as the "Folding Circle," a mysterious group that appeared last issue, asks Night Thrasher to join them. Thrasher gets smacked around, but eventually joins, since they promise to tell him the truth about his origins.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnQjAOD9yOffw46XOIGKgtyy3hTslLQW1h83KW085VFVgTGok4O5AsUX15ySlrlLkFAT54Jbze61yy5KF5RWF04k5LcKgdqf8xyMAu5bJMslVJFGgSgrM6pxx0bnd6ZpODGqaUko9xKNaj/s1600/New+Warriors+22+pt+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="text-align: center;"><img alt="New Warriors 22 Nova Speedball Darkhawk" border="0" height="193" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnQjAOD9yOffw46XOIGKgtyy3hTslLQW1h83KW085VFVgTGok4O5AsUX15ySlrlLkFAT54Jbze61yy5KF5RWF04k5LcKgdqf8xyMAu5bJMslVJFGgSgrM6pxx0bnd6ZpODGqaUko9xKNaj/s400/New+Warriors+22+pt+4.jpg" title="" width="400" /></a></div>
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In a NYC hospital, Night Thrasher's adopted "mother" Tai meets with Chord, his father figure, in a hospital bed after an apparent suicide attempt. Tai revives Chord, although he is apparently brain-damaged. She tells him to send the New Warriors after Night Thrasher and her, and says that Silhouette was his real daughter. Chord begins crying as he is barely able to say "daud--er--."<br />
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At the Crash Pad, an abandoned factory, Nova, Namorita, Firestar, and Speedball watch trial updates of Marvel Boy (not yet Justice)'s murder trial (he accidentally killed his father in issue 20). Foggy Nelson is apparently acting as Vance's lawyer. The team worry about their future, with Night Thrasher announcing they were "disbanded" last issue, when Silhouette "ghosts" through the shadows, near-death. She is revived enough to say Chord is her father, and the one who did this to her was Tai.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3RTOyRfK7fH6y0leKifdLhGVGcWQTcAe11WP8cWbvEWuzHfgNv-pVM6PUK57b8krirvAaYla0jiMYZWdyabllLQkrQsTruAQ4xcaidaowYTs9eqQ8cQWf2um1vmFlMZgxEkOI_bfIbmt8/s1600/New+Warriors+22+pt+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img alt="New Warriors 22 Nova Namorita Cambodia" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3RTOyRfK7fH6y0leKifdLhGVGcWQTcAe11WP8cWbvEWuzHfgNv-pVM6PUK57b8krirvAaYla0jiMYZWdyabllLQkrQsTruAQ4xcaidaowYTs9eqQ8cQWf2um1vmFlMZgxEkOI_bfIbmt8/s400/New+Warriors+22+pt+1.jpg" title="" width="326" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nova: B+ Superhero, C- Student.</td></tr>
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After another trip to the hospital, the team frets until Silhouette bursts in and says Chord is awake and they need to talk to him. He tells them that Thrasher's in Cambodia, and that his parents were killed "begauz ob de paggd" (because of the pact). He also admits to killing Dwayne's parents.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidOJ6tjZu-A1MAP1N0kDfC3cPvuXV9AWpvGaryq7OTTKLxxMjCNF8eHOXw2CfirCQty4mD5RLEV2HY4up7FkQICJuQ9Ni11R0Uo0BTsju4RqmQ5aXxQCykFo7NNaBXvaZq01fHFh33-AFo/s1600/New+Warriors+22+pt+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img alt="New Warriors 22 Rage" border="0" height="328" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidOJ6tjZu-A1MAP1N0kDfC3cPvuXV9AWpvGaryq7OTTKLxxMjCNF8eHOXw2CfirCQty4mD5RLEV2HY4up7FkQICJuQ9Ni11R0Uo0BTsju4RqmQ5aXxQCykFo7NNaBXvaZq01fHFh33-AFo/s400/New+Warriors+22+pt+2.jpg" title="" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Can Rage just not afford adult clothes?</td></tr>
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In Brooklyn, a kindly old grandmother answers the door only to find Namorita, Sil, and Firestar at the door. She announces to her grandson that some friends are here to see him. Rage, a 13-year-old with a giant dude's body. The girls announce they need his help... to steal an Avengers Quinjet! In Queens, Darkhawk is called to reports that someone's juggling cars in a nearby junkyard, and finds Nova waiting for him. The world pre-cell phones, everyone!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFDJXk7PQ9oRfWbw8EdVVOlnn97euX3u7hG2C_24V30MiUQ3EWUQbcASssUNaFd7ycH5RTqiuSdRlhm30l5Ue6hx7oH8G-SSG_DABJ3oSA2W6n9gdEQak9TzDUxx6ep6G4iRIi2jOCNkji/s1600/New+Warriors+22+pt+8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img alt="New Warriors 22 Avengers Mansion Hank Pym" border="0" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFDJXk7PQ9oRfWbw8EdVVOlnn97euX3u7hG2C_24V30MiUQ3EWUQbcASssUNaFd7ycH5RTqiuSdRlhm30l5Ue6hx7oH8G-SSG_DABJ3oSA2W6n9gdEQak9TzDUxx6ep6G4iRIi2jOCNkji/s400/New+Warriors+22+pt+8.jpg" title="" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Learn your history, Darkhawk!</td></tr>
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The makeshift team meets and convince Rage to help, although Firestar announces she won't go, since she expects to testify at Vance's trial. The team gets into the Mansion, telling an aging "Miss Carter" that they're just there for a workout. When they open the hangar doors, another agent realizes something's wrong. Nova and Namorita are forced to smash the hangar. The team break through and get away in the Quinjet, but look somber about it.<br />
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In the meantime, Night Thrasher has been going through the jungle with the Folding Circle, when they're attacked by ninjas. Dwayne shouts to stop killing the ninjas, but the Folding Circle show no mercy, setting dudes on fire, slicing them with claws, and generally murdering everyone. Midnight's Fire says he knows these guys are guardians, and he knew they've been following them. One of the Circle members creates a big napalm-style fire at Fire's command, and the Circle and Night Thrasher find themselves at the entrance to a Tomb Raider-style temple. Midnight's Fire says from this temple the Circle will take over the world, while Night Thrasher wonders why the temple's guards wear armor that looks exactly like his.<br />
<br />
<b>Review:</b><br />
<br />
As I mentioned in my preamble, I'm a sucker for this book. This is the pay-off story that the book has been building to for two years. This book has always found itself in the somewhat awkward situation of being a team book led and founded by teen Batman; Night Thrasher pushes away his friends, and is as mysterious as a guy that wears a skateboard on his back can be, and here we get the pay-off to Tai's master plan of making him a super hero.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd7C_JtDZTcoCSwNh7bsf3z9Drmt04rCsQbW5gDD06A7Mt3WfPuOsjTztUHCxvx28ayD4dT_EQNoZx_K7Pnht-U2rxB7CS8B6XUWNWZija9vUoHXXXAYkQAOchjDBgNsagjmoc8UKua-g-/s1600/New+Warriors+22+pt+6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img alt="New Warriors 22 Nova Namorita dirty joke" border="0" height="372" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd7C_JtDZTcoCSwNh7bsf3z9Drmt04rCsQbW5gDD06A7Mt3WfPuOsjTztUHCxvx28ayD4dT_EQNoZx_K7Pnht-U2rxB7CS8B6XUWNWZija9vUoHXXXAYkQAOchjDBgNsagjmoc8UKua-g-/s400/New+Warriors+22+pt+6.jpg" title="" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jokes I didn't get as a child!</td></tr>
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Fabe is great at small character beats that really get across the most important aspects of the character at the time in a single issue. In hindsight, is "loves Vance" a great character for Firestar? No, but in the small scenes with Rage and Darkhawk we see the characterization of the rest of the team. I also like how the main action involves a relatively mundane bit of "action," with just a few pages of people actually using their powers, but it drives home that these aren't the Avengers or the FF with huge resources, but kids who are desperate to help their friends. It's also nice knowing that there's a fallout for Rage's actions, namely, him getting kicked off the Avengers, but that's in the future. One of the things I love about these old team books is that you can pick a line of dialogue and pretty much know who says it, even if somebody puts a text balloon the wrong way. I guess another possible complaint is this is a verrrry talky issue, built almost exclusively around standing around. I don't mind it, because it is setting the table for a four-part story, but there is probably enough depth that I wouldn't steer a new New Warriors fan towards this issue.<br />
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Bagley doesn't try to imitate Jim Lee-style splashes with the Folding Circle, a very 90's-style group. He's great at getting character emotion across in faces, which is useful, since it's most of the focus of the issue. A common complaint is that he makes everyone's faces somewhat interchangeable, and while that's somewhat true, he's at least done enough superficially to keep me from really caring. Namorita, for instance, has Namor's thin, super-arched eyebrows. Firestar is just Mary Jane in a mask and bodysuit, but again, that was an actual plot point in Scarlet Spider-New Warriors, so I feel like that's established continuity. I will say this cover doesn't do a lot for me. Maybe it's the orange? Maybe it's that it feels like someone just picked a half-dozen "New Warriors" stickers and put them over an orange background? It's just not a very memorable design.<br />
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<b>90's Fashions:</b><br />
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There's actually a bunch of leftover 70's/80's fashions in this book, from Firestar's "Amazing Friends" costume to Rage's luchador mask and leather outfit. The team rocks their original costumes, which by 1992 feel pretty dated, as all are 70's or 80's designs. Speedball out-of-costume has a very nice mullet and sits in a beanbag chair. One of the Folding Circle has sunglasses flipped up, which I will forever associate with Dwayne Wayne. Night Thrasher has brought his skateboard to Cambodia.<br />
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<b>Legal Mumbo-Jumbo:</b><br />
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Speedball states that if Firestar stays behind, "anything she says in court would be considered cumulative evidence and [the prosecutor] would leave the rest of us out of it." It actually <u>wouldn't</u> be cumulative evidence unless the whole team testified, Speedball. One person's testimony by definition isn't cumulative. FRE 403 allows an attorney to object to cumulative evidence when it is "a waste of time." The more you know!Dobsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08884152078310514684noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1497388721455949749.post-20992966267386450492015-06-28T12:34:00.001-05:002015-06-28T12:34:11.838-05:00July Posting PlansGreetings, humans! I've mentioned before that my output slowed down considerably in the wake of a job that requires a bunch of writing, but I haven't forsaken this blog! In addition to podcasting at <a href="http://www.yourstupidminds.com/">Your Stupid Minds</a>, I've also been podcasting about comics for <a href="http://allmyfriendsarerighthere.com/">Some of My Friends Read Comics</a>, a spin-off to my friend Vince's general pop culture podcast.<br />
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But rest assured, I'm still reading 90's comics, and I'm excited to talk about them in the near future! To that end, this next month I will be posting about some superhero teams that I remember fondly: the New Warriors and X-Force, post-Cable. I also plan to review an issue of Robin's solo series and a DC team book I know nothing about (which could be basically anything other than JLA or the classic Titans team).Dobsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08884152078310514684noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1497388721455949749.post-52461214015525425632015-06-06T20:30:00.000-05:002015-06-06T20:30:50.493-05:00Marvel Trading Cards Nostalgia<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
Last week Shea Serrano over at Grantland wrote a really nice piece about the original <a href="http://grantland.com/the-triangle/that-was-a-thing-skybox-basketball-trading-cards-were-incredible/">Skybox NBA trading card set</a>, and reading it woke up dormant memories of what inspired me to get into reading comic books in the first place.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLfxc6OAywB_zCMGzQ6pRwi2pX7IHXwhT-e2xDMFc8mtirb4gv0nM13lStmZ1SkWQ3crwk8QjHijWyEUYcdI34dYnp6NH2HPs75YRCs4eRpGWArIJ94qND93nrEo34cKb3_1PhEZh5-Mek/s1600/Captain+America+1990+Card.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img alt="Captain America Marvel Card Series 1 1990" border="0" height="277" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLfxc6OAywB_zCMGzQ6pRwi2pX7IHXwhT-e2xDMFc8mtirb4gv0nM13lStmZ1SkWQ3crwk8QjHijWyEUYcdI34dYnp6NH2HPs75YRCs4eRpGWArIJ94qND93nrEo34cKb3_1PhEZh5-Mek/s400/Captain+America+1990+Card.jpg" title="" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Because I was a dumb kid, I spent way too much time wondering <br />if someone really counted every Cap battle as a win, loss, or draw.</td></tr>
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I was six years old and living in Hawaii when my grandparents came to visit. My grandfather hadn’t been to the island since the Korean War, but I guess that didn’t stop him from finding a local flea market. In between looking at audio equipment and wondering whether Yamaha speakers were knock-offs and whether he could fit them into his luggage (my grandfather was borderline-obsessed with Sony audio equipment, particularly if he could buy it for cheap), he found something that he figured might be a fun gift for his grandson; a collection of pro wrestling cards (from the 1990 Classic WWF series) and Marvel cards (from the 1990 Series 1 set).</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtZEBimO4aGPIi5H_GzScSc60aox_JNf8NU9I7FMAeUF8X7u2N7cYNxLptF7cYZPchi2foJa2oNVTkLIYDzBcgdpx7wjJ5h4SHgqATpbbzE7vkBm_D_eE8wbiw8vIx2Agy4yE3YHSZyHcf/s1600/Marvel+Cards.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Marvel Series 1 Cards 1990 ad" border="0" height="290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtZEBimO4aGPIi5H_GzScSc60aox_JNf8NU9I7FMAeUF8X7u2N7cYNxLptF7cYZPchi2foJa2oNVTkLIYDzBcgdpx7wjJ5h4SHgqATpbbzE7vkBm_D_eE8wbiw8vIx2Agy4yE3YHSZyHcf/s400/Marvel+Cards.jpg" title="" width="400" /></a></div>
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I can barely guess why my grandfather thought this was a good gift for me; I had been a fan of wrestling, but my parents wouldn’t let me watch it during this time period (I only became a fan again via the N64 games years later), and I had never read a comic book. I think I had a few action figures, and I was just starting to care about baseball and other kinds of trading cards.</div>
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I can’t say why I connected with these cards, maybe it was that I liked the combination of art and text, especially the bombastic style aimed at kids slightly older than me, but both sets really blew me away. I probably read the back of every card five times, and would often spend rainy afternoons sorting them based on who would win in a fight, who was my favorite, or by multiplication tables (I might have been a weird kid, but remember, the internet did not exist). I spent a lot of time imagining what might be happening in these fictional worlds; who was Hulk Hogan wrestling next? What was Deathlok doing? Could Deathlok defeat Hulk Hogan?</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcFAoM189QpGbm4ANx8Z-8wIcpFEMYkp1Pi9zfs-1hk20FlvkHUIR5qLdHOIAtHyQFp2qw6roOLXwq_CJt4wxNRSDB3UQZ3i2PBUAqKo_kqADtioDqrEUvEL2fTgsuNbes9FJfQp7XvupM/s1600/Captain+Britain+Card.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img alt="Marvel Card Series 3 1992 Captain Britain" border="0" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcFAoM189QpGbm4ANx8Z-8wIcpFEMYkp1Pi9zfs-1hk20FlvkHUIR5qLdHOIAtHyQFp2qw6roOLXwq_CJt4wxNRSDB3UQZ3i2PBUAqKo_kqADtioDqrEUvEL2fTgsuNbes9FJfQp7XvupM/s400/Captain+Britain+Card.jpg" title="" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The card-set I have permanently burned into my brain: the computer effect backgrounds <br />connected so that the cards looked extra nice when set in order in your card binder.</td></tr>
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Even after I moved back to the mainland, it was cards, not comics, that I liked. I had friends who lived next door, and somehow I convinced them to waste their money the same way I did, and the three of us managed to build a somewhat impressive collection of Skybox’s 1991-92 NBA set (the sequel to those featured in the Grantland set, featuring white backgrounds and colorful crazy computer effects) and Marvel’s series 3 trading cards. Only after collecting these cards, along with watching X-Men every week and buying some ToyBiz action figures, did I feel like I should start reading comics, first some give-away Pizza Hut issues, and then various stuff I’d buy at the bookstore with my parents. My first comic subscription, a few months later and for my birthday, was the New Warriors, a series I was only interested in because I’d collected their trading cards: I had never seen an actual physical issue, since it wasn’t sold in bookstores, but I knew the premise and the characters from trading cards. Before movies or video games or even cartoon shows, it was trading cards that got me interested in fictional worlds. There’s a good chance that I wouldn’t be writing this in a blog about 90’s comics if my grandfather bought me a knock-off disc-man.</div>
Dobsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08884152078310514684noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1497388721455949749.post-53596795276729196302015-05-01T07:43:00.002-05:002015-05-01T07:45:06.922-05:00Image: Avengers #66Ultron is excited about his film debut! (from Avengers #66, Barry Winsor-Smith art.)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMdrXXZEg7lwy5_bT3d2MQIBrDUW05XMzzV2aBmYhwPtJ27QBgX6NogTUsLWFqmFpU-_Lq2J2ZB2gEYtBy-cKbnrCde8JQ224aos5yY1iaQYM3wUEwc3YORqNjgNJY95Oy9Pti1F7rYuGV/s1600/Ultron.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Ultron Avengers 67 Ultron-6" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMdrXXZEg7lwy5_bT3d2MQIBrDUW05XMzzV2aBmYhwPtJ27QBgX6NogTUsLWFqmFpU-_Lq2J2ZB2gEYtBy-cKbnrCde8JQ224aos5yY1iaQYM3wUEwc3YORqNjgNJY95Oy9Pti1F7rYuGV/s1600/Ultron.jpg" height="135" title="" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />Dobsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08884152078310514684noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1497388721455949749.post-61931457056906026912015-04-13T19:59:00.002-05:002015-04-13T19:59:36.276-05:00Image: Daredevil #239Is everyone enjoying the new Daredevil show? This guy has some complaints:<div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaRbhl6BOaNKuXhlluvBSH1s2Ep86AuP81-cWZ49g0xCQ_AceRdMlAF_vAgwWqUX4Uqn05BpeB6rCBT5DGAV1dCfCu2rfje5pJCwIwTdGsDWLzsP4W3VuvWJ9Wj5F8iN71Gtn58-2VSgBP/s1600/Daredevil+239+skateboard.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Daredevil skateboarding 239 netflix" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaRbhl6BOaNKuXhlluvBSH1s2Ep86AuP81-cWZ49g0xCQ_AceRdMlAF_vAgwWqUX4Uqn05BpeB6rCBT5DGAV1dCfCu2rfje5pJCwIwTdGsDWLzsP4W3VuvWJ9Wj5F8iN71Gtn58-2VSgBP/s1600/Daredevil+239+skateboard.jpg" height="137" title="" width="400" /></a></div>
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Via Daredevil #239, Written by Ann Nocenti, Penciled by Louis Williams. (Don't worry everyone, DD does some stunts to impress all the sk8 bois)</div>
Dobsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08884152078310514684noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1497388721455949749.post-38611616592473826032015-04-08T20:49:00.000-05:002015-04-08T20:50:58.115-05:00Review: Web of Spider-Man #80<b>Web of Spider-Man #80, "This Blood is My Blood," Cover Date September 1991</b><br />
Written by Terry Kavanagh, Penciled and Inked by Alex Saviuk<br />
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In the summer of 1991, we were a year into Todd McFarlane's "adjective-less" Spider-Man, and a month away from X-Men #1 by Claremont and Lee. It was about as high as the 90's wave crested. Meanwhile, in the fourth most important (monthly) Spider-Man book published that month...<br />
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We begin our story in media res, with Silvermane gloating over a only just conscious Spider-Man. Silvermane rants about how he didn't die in an issue of a more important book (Amazing Spider-Man #284), FOUR years ago in real time. Spider-Man is woozy, and a gloating Silvermane explains the last step of his cool new cyborg body is "super-unleaded, premium... blood!"<br />
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A shocked Spidey asks why he's being kept alive, because he doesn't understand how blood works. He asks why Silvermane is monologuing, and the villain reveals he's filming a video to hand out to other crime bosses to show how cool he is.<br />
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Meanwhile, Mary Jane sums up Peter's capture to a mystery person, revealed to be Felicia Hardy! Mary Jane has no idea where her husband went, but she has some exposition about how he promised he'd set off a spider tracer if he got stuck in a jam so that MJ could track him with his portable tracer-deal. Mary Jane puts aside her differences and asks Felicia to help her, so we get the Black Cat jumping around, trying to get cell phone reception.<br />
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Back at the base, Silvermane notices one of his cameras isn't working, when he notices something is jamming the machines. It's Spidey's webbing! He overloads the machine, and the base starts falling apart. In a truly bizarrely staged scene, Spider-Man's mask is completely torn off his head by falling debris. Uh, what? Silvermane is blinded by... something, so he starts throwing machinery in Spidey's general direction, even as Spidey realizes he's out of webbing and I guess his mask has been disintegrated or something when the rubble pulled it off his head?<br />
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Silvermane hears an alarm, and sees Black Cat coming, and sets off his security system. Spider-Man throws caution to the wind and boots the evil cyborg. With Silvermane stunned, Spidey grudgingly goes into the path of the cameras and retrieves his mask. Dude seriously, just smash the tape. It's 1991! He's not live-casting this! Black Cat shows up, even as the headquarters (an abandoned Hydra base) collapses. Spider-Man does a big "NO!" instead of checking Black Cat's pulse, then resumes his fight with Silvermane. After momentarily knocking down Spider-Man, Black Cat comes to his aid, prompting an "Alive still?" from Silvermane, channeling Yoda. Spider-Man recovers from being zapped and starts fiddling with Silvermane's machines, while Black Cat ducks out of Silvermane's clutches, only to get grabbed by the hair and held up in the Bane/Batman position.<br />
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Spider-Man finally comes to his ex's aid with a "wrong, dead wrong!" The headquarters starts collapsing even more, and Silvermane rushes to the console to grab a copy of Spider-Man's secret identity. Black Cat asks what he's talking about, but Spidey's spider-sense warns him to get away, even as the console explodes. Spider-Man says Silvermane's got an eternity to spend with video of his face now, to which Black Cat responds that wouldn't be so bad. Ew. Black Cat asks how Silvermane even knew about the unmasking, since he was blinded, and Spidey responds... "we'll never know now." Pretty convenient! He asks how Cat found him, and she says they're always connected, before giving him a meaningful look... and handing over Mary Jane's tracer. Cat is apparently annoyed to bring up Mary Jane, and hops away, wondering if Flash Thompson is looking for her.<br />
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Spidey drops in on his wife, playing the "guess who" game and saying "would you believe... Connie Chung?" Black Cat creepily watches the two make out, and hopes Spidey doesn't realize he never activated a tracer, she followed the robot's trail without Mary Jane's help. We also get an epilogue revealing that the dead Silvermane was a robot duplicate, and that while the real Silvermane was also blinded, computer sensors revealed that Spidey had been unmasked. Uh, sure. He vows to get Spidey next time.<br />
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<b>Review:</b><br />
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I'll begin with the positives. The pacing is good, as we get what amounts to a complete story in 23 pages (I know it's really the second half of a two-parter, but it stands as an independent story). The fight scenes are dynamic, which is a good thing, because this is essentially twenty pages of fighting. Alex Saviuk is a workhorse of a penciler, and he's doing his own inks here. His "Web" run started in 1988, and continued until 1994, which is a pretty impressive accomplishment, especially when you look at how awful Web's artists were before he came around. He manages to make Black Cat attractive without resorting to cheesecake posing. I also miss the effect of seeing multiple drawings of a character in a rough, semi-transparent style to show the character moving super fast. Comics today get a bit lazy with their film dynamics. I demand transparent blurs!<br />
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On the negative side, this script reminds me why I made fun of Terry Kavanagh so much during his Avengers: The Crossing issues. It's not that the underlying idea is so bad: Mary Jane has to go to Peter's ex, who she does not like, and together Black Cat and Spider-Man escape the bad guy. It's just that the story is full of bizarre choices by every character that doesn't really make sense in the context of the story. Silvermane is stealing Spider-Man's blood... but it turns out that was a robot running a test. Uh, why? The drama with Spider-Man's mask might have been a good idea on paper, but it's poorly executed and nonsensical, and how did he not immediately think to destroy the recording equipment? The moment between Felicia and Spidey is sweet, and then it's immediately ruined by a clumsy infodump about how the emergency tracer didn't work and blah blah blah. I'm not sure if the story would work better if Peter thought about Black Cat and how she must have tracked him down herself without the tracer, since he's with Mary Jane, but Black Cat comes off like a creepy stalker person (she also seems to think staring at his unmasked face all day would be pretty good).<br />
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<b>90's Fashion:</b><br />
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Mary Jane is waiting at home in what appears to be 80's style exercise clothes featuring green spandex.Dobsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08884152078310514684noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1497388721455949749.post-40232743584222414532015-03-20T21:06:00.001-05:002015-03-20T21:07:19.248-05:00Review: Gladiator/Supreme #1<b>Gladiator/Supreme #1, “False Gods,” Original Cover Date: March, 1997</b><br />
Written by Keith Giffen, Penciled by Ed Benes, Inked by Wellington Dias, Rene Michelletti<br />
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Why does a comic like this exist? The Image Exodus took place in 1991, six years before this comic, with Jim Lee, Todd McFarlane, Rob Liefeld and others burning bridges out the door as they left high-profile jobs to create their own versions of popular characters. Six years later, in the wake of the speculator bubble collapse, Marvel was declaring bankruptcy and made deals with Jim Lee and Liefeld’s studios to play with high-profile but poorly selling titles like Fantastic Four and Iron Man. It also led to truly bizarre crossovers like this, a crossover of ersatz Superman “Supreme,” a Rob Liefeld creation best known for being completely re-invented by Alan Moore, and Gladiator, an ersatz Superman created by Claremont and Dave Cockrum as part of the Imperial Guard, an ersatz Legion of Super Heroes. While Gladiator was presently starring in a mini-series featuring the Guard, he was a minor X-Men character, while Supreme was not exactly a huge hit, which is why Liefeld essentially gave the character away to Moore, who rebuilt him from the ground up as something between Silver-Age Superman and Promethea. So it’s the team-up we’ve all been demanding! Battle of the 3rd rate Superman knockoffs!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Legends say that he died, then was replaced by a black guy, a teen clone, an alien, and a robot.</td></tr>
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We begin our story in space, as Gladiator surveys a destroyed space craft, noting that one basically normal sized individual without any weapons blew up the ship single-handedly. He wonders what level of power could be responsible and reports back to his Shi’ar bosses. They identify the perpetrator as a terran, and state that they’ve researched terran mythology for a likely suspect. They say it’s either that alien who came to earth as a baby who shan’t be named in this comic, or Supreme. How do they know it wasn’t Hyperion? Or Prime? Anyway, after consulting the religious tomes produced by Rob Liefeld, the Shi’ar decide it’s probably him.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9MNRrWyMUIvil2ULvvI34cX5h4GUVX05gMwZADUz-Lig5TIG38VTOjqvJwblVIQi75qBGKdsQeJvLgx5wcr3TTMnzIXb8ax2Ts_iuqtNfbyOU621Q3Dbz2sFfnFV4fPMk37AEV57eGyUv/s1600/Gladiator+Supreme+pt+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img alt="Gladiator Supreme hernia" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9MNRrWyMUIvil2ULvvI34cX5h4GUVX05gMwZADUz-Lig5TIG38VTOjqvJwblVIQi75qBGKdsQeJvLgx5wcr3TTMnzIXb8ax2Ts_iuqtNfbyOU621Q3Dbz2sFfnFV4fPMk37AEV57eGyUv/s1600/Gladiator+Supreme+pt+2.jpg" height="400" title="" width="317" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gladiator is done in by a sports hernia.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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We then see Supreme as he lands on a primitive alien planet. He looks around a market full of oddly dressed people (some are in Conan-era clothes, some appear to be wearing jeans). He heads for the nearest church and finds what appears to be an icon in his own image. This makes him super angry, so he annihilates an alien priest with his laser eyes. Gladiator gets the report and heads for the planet, after being told that this primitive alien world is important for some reason, so try not to blow it up or tell everyone that their god is a psychopath.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN-1w2PpsKuI66DG5lE1uauvLBI3CwUrj3d1qUYNFnQ8BBJFAohOT9_lyNUB5Aa6pNvKYd6Rp0IFWbcZK0RVojuA1JsSBiMOsgNdsIEzuu7QFjD9EkS9dgo6fVIpVKOGaeccx9KGnRpw6Y/s1600/Gladiator+Supreme+pt+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img alt="Supreme Gladiator iconoclast aliens" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN-1w2PpsKuI66DG5lE1uauvLBI3CwUrj3d1qUYNFnQ8BBJFAohOT9_lyNUB5Aa6pNvKYd6Rp0IFWbcZK0RVojuA1JsSBiMOsgNdsIEzuu7QFjD9EkS9dgo6fVIpVKOGaeccx9KGnRpw6Y/s1600/Gladiator+Supreme+pt+3.jpg" height="400" title="" width="206" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"I'm telling you Rigel 9 revolves around the SUN"</td></tr>
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Gladiator and Supreme get into a punch-up that lasts most of the rest of the issue. Mostly it’s just Supreme pummeling Gladiator and then quoting scripture at him. The fight takes them back to the deployment ship, which ends up being evacuated after Supreme punches Gladiator through it. Gladiator tries to electrocute Supreme using the ship, but Supreme walks it off while Gladiator appears to be down for the count. After pronouncing Gladiator dead, Supreme flies off. Gladiator later shares a laugh with his CO about how Supreme “checked his pulse” like an idiot, because I guess Gladiator doesn’t have a pulse? The Shi’ar consider the fight a wash, since the planet turns on its religion by burning icons in the streets. Relunctantly, they decide to send Shi’ar priests to the planet to instruct the people in their, obviously superior faith, but wonder if it’s a good idea.<br />
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<b>Review: </b><br />
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I know it’s hard to believe from this review, but this comic was 48 pages long with a $5 cover price. Giffen is a talented scripter, but this is not a 48-page plot. This is a 22 page plot that introduces a multi-part story, oddly stretched until it’s a story where nothing much happens except invincible people punch each other. The side-story about the planet losing its religion is ham-handed and dumb, as we get super brief vignettes of a bonfire being made, and this lets us know that the entire planet hates its “god” now. And the aliens speak only alien gibberish. Why is this backwards planet so important to the Shi’ar? How do the people on the far side of the planet hear that their god is a psychopath?<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAu9RBRF9_P497dNWBMv0KbOwrtD8IzCsQ9o8LWXJEjPGs-x16UIrEgfuUa11lByRwSxFTIMzyCbuJ1HBu8uT0NBx9j1i8s5ac6lPIwkmpfvf0ReJC5n6rlXAJ7-3H1G-KxMeyk-RsQxe3/s1600/Gladiator+Supreme+pt+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img alt="Gladiator Supreme no pulse" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAu9RBRF9_P497dNWBMv0KbOwrtD8IzCsQ9o8LWXJEjPGs-x16UIrEgfuUa11lByRwSxFTIMzyCbuJ1HBu8uT0NBx9j1i8s5ac6lPIwkmpfvf0ReJC5n6rlXAJ7-3H1G-KxMeyk-RsQxe3/s1600/Gladiator+Supreme+pt+4.jpg" height="235" title="" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Humans and their "blood." What a bunch of idiots.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br />
Ed Benes was still virtually unknown at this point, and his art here for the most part is very strong. At the time, he would have mostly been known at Marvel for a Captain Marvel mini-series starring Genis-vell. His Jim Lee influence is obvious in this book, but that’s a good thing. Benes isn’t known for his great grasp of proportion, but the only outlet for that in this title is muscles on top of muscles, which is pretty much how people drew Superman knock-offs during this time. His art is dynamic and fun, and helps make the giant fight scene feel like less of a grind. His tendency to draw women as weird bird creatures isn’t really on display, since only a few alien extras are women, every other major character is an (alien) man.<br />
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I still can’t help but wonder what the point of something like this is: these characters are not big stars, and the book is clearly just a story pretense for them to punch each other. Why? And Gladiator always loses, so of course he ends up losing this fight, setting up for a re-match. But I don’t even think there is one? I forget if all these Marvel/Image stories ever led into a big finale that explained why at the end nobody in the Marvel universe heard from these ugly idiots again, or if they just disappeared forever without explanation. Jim Lee taking all the best toys to DC a few years later probably means we won’t get more Generation X/Gen 13 team-ups.Dobsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08884152078310514684noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1497388721455949749.post-86084432712609470702015-03-05T21:12:00.000-06:002015-03-05T21:12:00.669-06:00Review: Warlock & the Infinity Watch #7Warlock & the Infinity Watch #7, "The Island!" Cover Date August, 1992<br />
Written by Jim Starlin, Penciled by Tom Raney, Inked by Terry Austin<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1dwpWXREIjniYi-pmF7z0hFiSAPajkiommWf75zJx4bmA8mtNi8sqEKmVsbNowDNInFYp0moYzT7ErJD5tDOtPnawqKTA8BNW9bd5hsCwxqyvfbhsKP0l3x8KdozNFWtjq_W90DCWn-QE/s1600/Warlock_and_the_Infinity_Watch_Vol_1_7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Warlock Infinity Watch 7" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1dwpWXREIjniYi-pmF7z0hFiSAPajkiommWf75zJx4bmA8mtNi8sqEKmVsbNowDNInFYp0moYzT7ErJD5tDOtPnawqKTA8BNW9bd5hsCwxqyvfbhsKP0l3x8KdozNFWtjq_W90DCWn-QE/s1600/Warlock_and_the_Infinity_Watch_Vol_1_7.jpg" height="400" title="" width="260" /></a></div>
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<a name='more'></a>Proving that time is a flat circle, the early 90’s saw a revival of several failed “cosmic” heroes from the 70’s, including Adam Warlock, a Lee/Kirby creation that hadn’t been seen since his psychedelic Jim Starlin series was canceled in the late 70’s. In the wake of the Infinity Gauntlet series of 1991, Warlock returned, and was given a series that teamed him up with a few cosmic oddball characters, including Gamorra, an assassin raised by Thanos, Drax, a hulking muscle-dude created to kill Thanos, Pip, a wise-cracking troll creature, and Moondragon, a bald psychic known for being extremely abrasive. Sounds pretty familiar in 2015, doesn’t it?<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg908TsxcIDyhq2ZiONUYnUiDoqnaN9Jk6LDgfSMGLBV1rOTYMbAWC2XanbK94oQG-MFoWe0MyLxG-rQxCA2TIwqCZ1KWI7UZqsbdplJtwx7gDPNFzmSlT3VhaBH6SWUp6WvIGupZFUou9P/s1600/Warlock+7+pt+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img alt="Moondragon Drax Infinity Watch" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg908TsxcIDyhq2ZiONUYnUiDoqnaN9Jk6LDgfSMGLBV1rOTYMbAWC2XanbK94oQG-MFoWe0MyLxG-rQxCA2TIwqCZ1KWI7UZqsbdplJtwx7gDPNFzmSlT3VhaBH6SWUp6WvIGupZFUou9P/s1600/Warlock+7+pt+2.jpg" height="302" title="" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Hudson family is pretty dysfunctional.</td></tr>
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The team is on an island, having recently dealt with Warlock’s old enemy the Man-Beast. Warlock has a nightmare of the Magus, while Moondragon tries to re-connect with Drax, a man who had her father’s brainwaves that she apparently killed once. For her, “re-connecting” means dropping a big rock on him for fun. The group’s reverie is interrupted by giant monsters, as the team realizes they’re on “Monster Island,” the home of some of Marvel’s old monster comics characters, including “Vandroom” and “Tricephalous” (sometimes it’s incredible the lengths Marvel’s editorial went through to fold these crazy stories into continuity, but Groot is one of those old monsters, so I guess it all worked out).<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6bGzzvLXkUU7Fi6DBd9rNK8toFIDO_8vFuHp6ej5A0DrwApvsOE1sPvfVB3_GWjO2GUwSRa6j0Gk2aslWX_2_M4VGsgZBtil-25tEqg3c-zZBfCvxcrbPENr6bllGGKbL2XhVYGmri48K/s1600/Warlock+7+pt+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img alt="Moondragon Drax beach" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6bGzzvLXkUU7Fi6DBd9rNK8toFIDO_8vFuHp6ej5A0DrwApvsOE1sPvfVB3_GWjO2GUwSRa6j0Gk2aslWX_2_M4VGsgZBtil-25tEqg3c-zZBfCvxcrbPENr6bllGGKbL2XhVYGmri48K/s1600/Warlock+7+pt+1.jpg" height="400" title="" width="388" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">To be fair to Moondragon, she is appropriately dressed for the beach.</td></tr>
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They quickly realize the giant monsters aren't there to fight them, but to lead them to a spooky castle, where they find Pip, who collapses over a goblet of wine. The Mole Man appears, and explains that he offered some wine to the troll, who proceeded to down four bottles. Mole Man invites the team to a feast, where he sells them on the idea of using Monster Island as a permanent base. Moondragon tells Warlock that Mole Man has a reputation as a loser, causing the Mole Man to brag about his underground achievements, and explain that he’s made powerful enemies and could use friends. He offers the team Monster Island as a sort of headquarters, complete with monster guards. Warlock seems intrigued, while Gamorra opposes the idea. The group agrees in principle to work with Mole Man, when Warlock senses an intruder. In comes Thanos, who says he’s come for Warlock’s help. TO BE CONTINUED!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzbSvFQSHOvk0Q6gLVddHHRyDGaEn8Teji7KgnDLyHxKb0QbursnHv4Bd2mRXJlFbIb76tqU5bADynlF4gwp_F2gUo8IbF7ZIsh0GXupJtLVBIWEXymfEIysm8InSepm3_frlx6JG1eADA/s1600/Warlock+7+pt+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img alt="Infinity Watch 7 Monster Island" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzbSvFQSHOvk0Q6gLVddHHRyDGaEn8Teji7KgnDLyHxKb0QbursnHv4Bd2mRXJlFbIb76tqU5bADynlF4gwp_F2gUo8IbF7ZIsh0GXupJtLVBIWEXymfEIysm8InSepm3_frlx6JG1eADA/s1600/Warlock+7+pt+3.jpg" height="400" title="" width="256" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"I wish we were going to Candy Apple Island!"<br />"Why, whatta they got there?"<br />"Monsters. But they're not so big."</td></tr>
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<br />
<b>Review:</b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimOTZgb9OE4CXbuED8pGWzoU_mvYn8Qt91bd0xDXcHsmDg7d0IU2kDJT5hkuiWo340QAYo75ShxBfxwHzihYjHBDimpQ9H9TzyYZ4WdUBKLi4KAXNEzmYh6d8DleLNcBFqUgdMPG3rbAgG/s1600/Warlock+7+pt+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img alt="Pip Warlock Infinity Watch" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimOTZgb9OE4CXbuED8pGWzoU_mvYn8Qt91bd0xDXcHsmDg7d0IU2kDJT5hkuiWo340QAYo75ShxBfxwHzihYjHBDimpQ9H9TzyYZ4WdUBKLi4KAXNEzmYh6d8DleLNcBFqUgdMPG3rbAgG/s1600/Warlock+7+pt+4.jpg" height="231" title="" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pip gets alcohol poisoning.</td></tr>
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I hadn’t read much Warlock beyond the 70’s series and the Infinity Gauntlet, in part because I find him to be extremely dull as a protagonist. I guess I hadn’t counted on how entertaining his team is. In just this issue, we get that Drax is a dangerous but loveable goof; Pip is the funny guy, Moondragon is a conflicted but pretty irritating powerhouse; and Gamorra is… also pretty boring, but three out of five ain’t bad. Starlin has always had a soft-spot for these characters, and does a solid job getting the humor across throughout, from Moondragon and Drax’s interactions to Pip’s fake-out being poisoned, to Mole Man’s delusions of grandeur (he says that Warlock and he would be “fellow potentates”), the book is consistently funny.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ1uQKwnZu3msX5kclAzJZ92IcSTjeI4GzSZrBZXLrHlVwKkP3tN_3zdS2RcyE9LOiBcsyIJglKyaNBuDFPHxHBLPcMK7YgQCEV6o6GqA6QF2lsNDf6f5tijHiAggEcxDNzhlN0qqmGT1e/s1600/Warlock+7+pt+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img alt="Pip Infinity Watch Gamorra coffee" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ1uQKwnZu3msX5kclAzJZ92IcSTjeI4GzSZrBZXLrHlVwKkP3tN_3zdS2RcyE9LOiBcsyIJglKyaNBuDFPHxHBLPcMK7YgQCEV6o6GqA6QF2lsNDf6f5tijHiAggEcxDNzhlN0qqmGT1e/s1600/Warlock+7+pt+5.jpg" height="292" title="" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Where is the Mole Man getting his coffee?</td></tr>
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The art is maybe a bit too cartoonish. There’s a lot of facial expressions, but there’s also a lot of ridiculous anatomy, and Moondragon’s costume is just beyond bizarre. I don’t have a problem with Namorita fighting evil in a swimsuit, but why is a character with only mental powers wearing a swimsuit that someone cut pieces out of? Tom Raney does a nice job doing a version of some classic Kirby monsters, and some of the panels have nice detail. Then again, quite a few panels have no backgrounds at all, while a few have the trendy-at-the-time “colored lines” in the background. The close-up of Thanos’s ugly mug that ends the issue is pretty memorable though, and feels like something Starlin set up in design if not execution.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeIJ_4CIS_ltuBhGnRARz5Q0TKDhI0gBnoMrR9qT2MhdLy2NT0kG6LOfp97yTTB-qzHdZI7WlTjGAhxrD81w6xTkZw4OMC4NlQ0pqCQidDV0BgbtnLsyVgWemekd-kdO9WRLX4Zx6yi9CB/s1600/Warlock+7+pt+6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img alt="Thanos Infinity Watch 7 Ending" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeIJ_4CIS_ltuBhGnRARz5Q0TKDhI0gBnoMrR9qT2MhdLy2NT0kG6LOfp97yTTB-qzHdZI7WlTjGAhxrD81w6xTkZw4OMC4NlQ0pqCQidDV0BgbtnLsyVgWemekd-kdO9WRLX4Zx6yi9CB/s1600/Warlock+7+pt+6.jpg" height="320" title="" width="217" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thanos shows up late and doesn't bring anything to Mole Man's BBQ.</td></tr>
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All in all, it turns out WatIW is a fun little comic. Its art hasn’t aged particularly well, but the writing is sharp and the characters are interesting.Dobsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08884152078310514684noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1497388721455949749.post-64722582715838880862015-02-16T08:39:00.001-06:002015-02-16T08:40:07.564-06:00Review: Fantastic Force #15<b>Fantastic Force #15, Cover Date January 1996</b><br />
Written by Tom Brevoort & Mike Kanterovich, Penciled by Dante Bastianoni, Inked by Steve Montano<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAsa6fLjDkmhQUpeoXX5VofkKa7qtHNDt4N_uZrz_Lx5aNJa2SdZJgzWoomTsYaupS-ZAuty2osqOJqUCwJc_6YV_XAufccGMe558wWuVUXtZkC1NPjUSSEmNsfPS0qzWMFpO3kLJQFSZf/s1600/FF15+Cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Fantastic Force 15 Cover Vibraxas" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAsa6fLjDkmhQUpeoXX5VofkKa7qtHNDt4N_uZrz_Lx5aNJa2SdZJgzWoomTsYaupS-ZAuty2osqOJqUCwJc_6YV_XAufccGMe558wWuVUXtZkC1NPjUSSEmNsfPS0qzWMFpO3kLJQFSZf/s1600/FF15+Cover.jpg" height="400" title="" width="261" /></a></div>
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Some time ago, I reviewed <a href="http://thepouchfiles.blogspot.com/2013/09/review-fantastic-force-1.html">Fantastic Force #1</a>, and found it to be almost as mediocre as you’d expect a Fantastic Four spin-off circa 1994. Well, because it was the 90’s, the book has lasted all the way to issue #15, a mark that would be the equivalent of 2-3 trade paperbacks in today’s market, aka more than twice as long as a series like this would/should last. Let’s check in on all our favorites: Psi-Lord, Devlor, Vibraxas, and the rest, and see what exciting new adventures they’re up to this month!<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNNL1iDCUY9JBXLT1a4Xw-qPbRl3qfEDUVa0sSvj5oZINnxtojFXGPaTB3fCzPywCKYCG3l5kiELFAnj7wrk3Zxs4S6PSSvFPvNTutPt2VfVXqLxCanpxPRkXIt1S3T2cbNf86GD_g7T1t/s1600/FF15+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Fantastic Force 15, She-Hulk, Human Torch, Vibravore" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNNL1iDCUY9JBXLT1a4Xw-qPbRl3qfEDUVa0sSvj5oZINnxtojFXGPaTB3fCzPywCKYCG3l5kiELFAnj7wrk3Zxs4S6PSSvFPvNTutPt2VfVXqLxCanpxPRkXIt1S3T2cbNf86GD_g7T1t/s1600/FF15+1.jpg" height="400" title="" width="286" /></a></div>
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We begin as the team (and Black Panther, She-Hulk and Wyatt Wingfoot) reacts to waves of sound by having weird distorted anatomy, as they are bombarded by a “relentless vibrational barrage.” A one-hundred foot tall monster formed out of Wakanda’s vibranium mound is shouting down buildings in the Panther’s Wakandan home. “Councilman N’Kano” says that the mount is the “fruits of our vibrasurge” research, and Vibraxas realizes that there are people, potentially including his mother, caught in the creature, which he calls the “Vibravore,” because of his rash actions.<br />
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Team member(?) Human Torch jumps into the fray, saying he doesn’t care why the monster is around, just so long as he stops it. Black Panther calls in the Wakandan air force, but the Vibravore (a name everyone immediately starts using) shrugs off Johnny’s attacks and those of the air force, zapping them out of the sky with a sound roar. Johnny and Franklin save the pilots, but aren’t able to damage the monster.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkLc7zyJ2-zJ6BThT0Pud4S3hPRP5iLCsAaM2bhvKd2Jd-KA7CGlMQhcgX4q87scz3IgmNlssQEf6Pb2M7VFEqPrsDeXBbOOZ9o6J5idhMYQdinZohnZ5OsHFKhjyEQMX9YYMeyij1Nc5o/s1600/FF15+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img alt="FF15 She-Hulk Devlor" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkLc7zyJ2-zJ6BThT0Pud4S3hPRP5iLCsAaM2bhvKd2Jd-KA7CGlMQhcgX4q87scz3IgmNlssQEf6Pb2M7VFEqPrsDeXBbOOZ9o6J5idhMYQdinZohnZ5OsHFKhjyEQMX9YYMeyij1Nc5o/s1600/FF15+2.jpg" height="361" title="" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">How is this any faster?</td></tr>
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Meanwhile, She-Hulk sees the Wakandan Consulate collapsing, and, reasoning that “they don’t have time to make it there on foot,” throws Devlor at the problem. Uh, why not, like, jump, She-Hulk? We get incredibly overwrought narration as Devlor holds on: “A heart rumbles piteously within a heaving bosom as limits of endurance are reached . . . and surpassed!” Come on, now. Fortunately, She-Hulk shows up to help Devlor before the building falls over. While the two of them hold onto the building, Wyatt Wingfoot (it would really help if these characters were named at some point in the issue) saves some kids. Devlor shows he’s the height of 90’s wit by saying he’s “fine . . . not!” after the building collapses.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh92mDHiYU7K03D5PAVxuIea6zeKbgFIaq9s6L8Qj-BvZglHXmhVnUAw8Hca1n1e6pcVa7tsAQTId8dbRBYvg_Hm3A9J7KVELie90soKEd0dxM079FUKTUQKKeERQ0_CSgbvYw3E379xHnq/s1600/FF15+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh92mDHiYU7K03D5PAVxuIea6zeKbgFIaq9s6L8Qj-BvZglHXmhVnUAw8Hca1n1e6pcVa7tsAQTId8dbRBYvg_Hm3A9J7KVELie90soKEd0dxM079FUKTUQKKeERQ0_CSgbvYw3E379xHnq/s1600/FF15+3.jpg" height="287" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">What are you even talking about, Fantastic Force?</td></tr>
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Vibraxas tries to free someone from the Vibravore, but they get sucked back in. Psi-Lord thinks the process that created the monster “might not be irreversible.” I guess in Psi-Lord’s dimension nobody told him not to use double negatives. Human Torch tries to blast the monster, but seems to fuel it. The Councilman says Black Panther has to do whatever it takes to destroy the monster, but Vibraxas says he won’t lose his mother a second time. Panther ignores his snotty little buddy, and authorizes lethal force.<br />
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Franklin, however, has other ideas. He links up the team, using She-Hulk as a semi-conductor, then links Vibraxas up to an amplification tower, finally having the Human Torch blast the creature at a frequency that’s synced up to Vibraxas. The resulting explosion reduces the creature to rocks and surprisingly buff people, but Vibraxas’s mom is dead. Vibraxas wonders if this is what it means to be a “hero.”<br />
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Later, Vibraxas is cleared by a tribunal for murder charges (for what, I have no idea), but Wakanda decides to pull the plug on financing Fantastic Force. Vibraxas predictably throws a fit, calling the tribunal “sanctimonious hypocrites.” The Councilman says Vibraxas was partially at fault for the monster that recently rampaged around town, but Vibraxas says that was an accident, and responds to the ruling by literally tearing a big piece off his green shirt, as he’s so disgusted by Wakandan colors he doesn’t want to wear them. Meanwhile Devlor starts freaking out, as stegosaurus spikes grow out of his back. To be continued?!<br />
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<b>Review:</b><br />
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Wow, sometimes a book like this will unexpectedly find its footing after a year or so and figure out what the artist enjoys and what sorts of stories these characters fit into. This book has gotten a lot worse. From the odd pacing to the bad dialogue to the forgettable characters to the forgetting to explain what’s going on to the bad art, this book is awful in basically every way.<br />
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Keep in mind that in late 1995, a fan reading this book is not given access to Wikipedia or any other source explaining who these unnamed characters are, or what’s going on, or why. You want to know what made the “Vibravore”? Check out last month’s issue, on sale now! Readers today tend to scoff at the levels of exposition classic comics dedicated to explaining where they were in a story, but they did that because sometimes a reader picks a book up off the rack because it has a cool cover, and that reader needs a minimum amount of information (my favorite part about those old recaps is they gave artists a chance to be creative in visually conveying old information). That’s generally done today by first page recaps, and additional information isn’t hard to find, but a 1995 reader that isn’t a big FF fan had to be pretty lost. As an adult I know who Wyatt Wingfoot is and why he’s hanging around She-Hulk, but in 1995 I had no idea: I hadn’t read any of her solo series, and didn’t really follow any of the Hulk titles, and no one ever uses his full name. Even if I had read Kirby/Lee Fantastic Four and had seen Wyatt Wingfoot, I don’t know that I’d recognize him. This is the sort of thing Bill Jemas was talking about when he said he had an Ivy League education and couldn’t follow monthly comics; only an obsessive Fantastic Force superfan knows what the heck is going on. The Marvel Appendix says that Vibraxas was tried for the inadvertent murder of a gang member who tried to shoot him way back in FF#6, with his second trial in Wakanda being what brought him back to his homeland in the first place. Wait, what? That’s an awful story idea, and why are we paying off the storyline NINE issues later? And I guess Human Torch is on the team and Huntara is gone? I guess it’s good that there’s no permanent status quo, but I am so lost.<br />
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The writing is generally terrible. While the idea of fighting a big monster ain’t so bad, we’re really not told enough about the monster for it to be anything but a generic thing for the team to easily defeat. Throughout, we’re given incredibly overwritten, thesaurus-y dialogue and captions from the teen cast that is just not in keeping with how anyone has ever spoken. I’m not really given any insight into anyone except Vibraxas, the least likeable character in the book, and it’s not like his characterization is all that great. Also the name “Vibravore” is so stupid and terrible. Does it eat vibrations?<br />
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Art-wise, the book has taken a major step backwards. I was on record as enjoying Dante Bastianoni’s pencils, as he had clean lines and looked like a fill-in Conan artist, which I think is a compliment. Here, I’m not sure if it’s the inker, or the art assist from Pino Rinaldi, but this book is full of oddly posed, impossibly proportioned monsters, and I don’t mean just the Vibravore. Part of it is that Marvel’s house style at the time is truly fugly art, as the old Sal Buscema by way of Jack Kirby house style has been replaced with cartoonishly absurd muscle-men that look like a bad version of Erik Larsen. I’m not sure why this was the accepted house-style in 1996, but I guess it’s no worse than the lazy manga style that became increasingly popular in the late 90’s.<br />
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In all, this is a pretty dreadful book by this point. I remember my local comic shop had plenty of issues of the last few months of Fantastic Force, and I hope they were eventually able to find a quarter bin home. Honestly, a quarter might've been asking too much.Dobsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08884152078310514684noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1497388721455949749.post-53571077540856769612014-11-10T09:00:00.000-06:002014-11-10T09:00:09.380-06:00Review: Ms. Tree Quarterly #8<b>Ms. Tree Quarterly, "Maternity Leave," Cover Date Summer, 1992</b><br />
Written by Max Allan Collins, Penciled and Inked by Terry Beatty<br />
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"Who or what is Ms. Tree?" was my reaction when I saw this cover. I've always been more of a Marvel Zombie, but I thought I knew most of DC's books during this time, and I had never heard of any "Ms. Tree." Fortunately, wikipedia exists, and I was able to discover that Ms. Tree is a detective in the classic pulp tradition, who inherited her husband's business after he was murdered by gangsters. By his own admission, Max Allan Collins conceived of the series as a sort of "what if" Mike Hammer married his secretary, Velda, and then was killed?<br />
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First published by Eclipse Comics, then by Dave Sim's Aardvark-Vanaheimthen, then Dave's ex-wife Deni Loubert following her divorce from Sims, and finally, DC Comics. The character starred in 10 specials for DC, lasting until 1993. In 2007, Collins wrote a Ms. Tree novel, "Deadly Beloved," published by Juno founder Charles Ardai and his "Hard Case Crime" imprint.<br />
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Having read Ms. Tree quarterly, here were my reactions, in no order. 1) “Ms. Tree is great!” I quickly looked around to see if more Ms. Tree stuff was available, and downloaded a sample of Max Collins’ 2007 novel. 2) “Ms. Tree is a maniac!” Maybe that’s intrinsically related to #1, but I love the idea of a classic noir private eye woman who may or may not be a completely kill-crazy lunatic.<br />
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The issue begins, en media res, with Ms. Tree, very pregnant, and in the rain wearing cowboy boots, shooting into the rain, then grinning as she hears a crash and an “arrgghhh” off camera. Perhaps to assuage her guilt over murdering someone, she reflects on several sayings in a word soup, common to noir protagonists and people who have suffered mild brain damage, before collapsing in the street, holding her belly.<br />
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We flash back to earlier, where the rest of Ms. Tree’s detective agency calls an emergency meeting/intervention to tell her to take her maternity leave. She calls the meeting a “goddamn mutiny,” but they convince her that maybe she should take a few weeks off to actually have her baby. As she’s leaving, one of her co-workers points out that she never did announce who the father was. The other male co-worker says “I think we both know who the father is,” but it’s quickly explained to the reader, who has no idea. Apparently a high school friend seduced her as part of a master plan to get her to kill his wife. The plan worked, but it ended up with him dead, too.<br />
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At lunch, Ms. Tree opens up to her receptionist about why she decided to keep the baby: namely, that she had previously gotten an abortion during her marriage to dead husband Mike, because she’s closing in on 40, and because she feels a little bad about taking another life (the wife's), after the presumably hundreds she’s already taken. After lunch, Ms. Tree is nearly hit by a speeding car with obscured license plates.<br />
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After a heart-to-heart with her step-son Mike, she nearly loses her balance on a staircase, where he notices someone has adjusted the screws so that the railing would fall apart when she put pressure on it.<br />
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Ms. Tree meets with old enemy Donnie Muerta, she learns that there’s actually an order of protection for her and her family, since Mike is engaged to Donnie’s daughter. Ms. Tree calls a meeting, and someone finally figures out that whoever is after her is apparently just trying to kill the baby, not her. This leads them to suspect someone in the father’s family. Ms. Tree goes to visit the head of the Powers family in a country estate, and while at first the old man is hostile to the woman who indirectly caused his son’s death, he hugs her when he learns she’s carrying William’s child. The old man’s butler makes a phone call, and snitches on his boss to his heir-apparent boss.<br />
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Ms. Tree heads to a house in upstate New York, previously owned by Mike’s wife that is apparently empty and furnished. She’s followed by two goons, and we see that their plan is to wait for her to be alone to stage an accident in the house. The next night, her secretary goes out to pick up some groceries (and a pizza), while Ms. Tree takes a nap. One goon breaks in a basement window, sneaks up on the sleeping pregnant lady… and then unwraps some duct tape right behind her, waking her up. He overpowers her and duct tapes her wrists and ankles, and mouth, but as he drags her towards the basement, she recovers and shoulders him down the basement stairs, where he apparently breaks his neck. Renowned maniac Ms. Tree grins through her gag.<br />
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Then, instead of calling the town sheriff (who she knows), she knocks on the car door, and after the goon mistakes a pregnant woman for his friend, she pulls a gun on him. Then, as he’s driving away down a city street, she shoots him in the back, causing him to crash his car. I get that the other guy tried to kill you and all, Ms. Tree, but shooting people as they are leaving with their back to you is generally called “murder.” Her smug, post-murder smile is interrupted as she grabs her stomach and falls to the ground, as we’re all caught up with the story’s beginning.<br />
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Elsewhere, the Powers heir meets with Muerta. He complains that the freelance muscle he hired hasn’t been doing the job. Muerta tells him two men were found dead, the latest victims of the pregnant serial killer on the loose. Muerta isn’t concerned about the dead men though, he’s mad because Graves didn’t bother to tell him his target was Ms. Tree. Annoyed, Muerta has his goons kill Powers. Back at the hospital, Ms. Tree has a baby girl. She says she’s going to call her “Melodie,” after Billy Powers’s dead wife, as a memorial to the one person she wishes she hadn’t killed.<br />
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Also, in a King Faraday short, King Faraday runs across a man with a harlequin mask who seemingly hates intelligence agents and kidnaps a Money Penny type named “Carol” before she can complete what should be a simple field mission. Pretty forgettable, except for some 90’s Carmine Infantino art.<br />
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<b>Review:</b><br />
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It’s probably clear from my early turn from “who” to seeking out more information about the character, but I really enjoyed this story. Wikipedia says that Ms. Tree was a book that dealt with “issues” without taking easy answers, and giving birth to a man you killed’s baby because of remorse you killed the man’s wife isn’t exactly Saturday morning cartoon material. The story gets a bit too “we all love each other” for my tastes, with multiple "hug it out" type scenes, but this is also discovering the character at the end of her adventures: she had a regular comic for a few years in the 80’s, then 10 specials before disappearing in 1993.<br />
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Of course, the story getting a bit sentimental is balanced by her murdering two guys in cold blood. Again, one is self-defense, no sweat, but it’s not like the other guy was driving off with her stereo (a perfectly acceptable reason to shoot someone until they are dead).<br />
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Part of the reason this book is surprisingly good is the talent involved. It’s not a huge surprise, considering the gangsters in this series, but Max Allan Collins is perhaps best known for his comic “Road to Perdition” (he's known to CSI novelization readers as the writer of several of those). Terry Beatty clearly has pulp art roots, as he went from this series to inking the “animated” style Batman comics, to working as the artist for Sunday comic strips like “The Phantom” and “Rex Morgan, M.D.” I have no idea who reads those comics, but good for Beatty, whose work here is solid. The action is limited but looks great, and he does an excellent job conveying facial emotions. Ms. Tree’s satisfied smirk under duct tape while looking at a mangled corpse is a highlight. There’s also some good framing where the bottom right panel of a page centers around a goon’s cigarette as he mentions burning Ms. Tree’s house, then a top left panel of steam rising out of a tea kettle in a similar position. It’s certainly not a new trick in 1992, but it’s still good storytelling, more Will Eisner than Apartment 3-G.<br />
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Overall, this was a surprisingly fun read. I know DC bought up a lot of properties in the 80’s, but it’s nice to see that with books like this they really didn’t get in the creators way. If you like the Rocketeer's 90's take of 40's/50's nostalgia, check out Ms. Tree. It's kind of the same, but with a stone-cold killer instead of Bettie Page.Dobsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08884152078310514684noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1497388721455949749.post-40006872194148832452014-10-28T21:18:00.002-05:002014-10-28T21:18:14.332-05:00Review: Thunderstrike #4<b>Thunderstrike #4, “Evil Woman,” Cover Date January 1994</b><br />
Written by Tom DeFalco, Penciled by Ron Frenz, Inked by Al Milgrom<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV_gG3x_RxUojbElD0d8UoSqb5LWXzeim-380-vrNm90XI_-XFbahgZZcb6WkXsSWhLv2BI4iFXR_PtvdgWojmHY9TKdcrx4vH1drrZ11dgLTyMo6Wztf-xTij8tm_cT3Np7GXzasBwhTd/s1600/Thunderstrike+4+Cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="Thunderstrike 4 Cover" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV_gG3x_RxUojbElD0d8UoSqb5LWXzeim-380-vrNm90XI_-XFbahgZZcb6WkXsSWhLv2BI4iFXR_PtvdgWojmHY9TKdcrx4vH1drrZ11dgLTyMo6Wztf-xTij8tm_cT3Np7GXzasBwhTd/s1600/Thunderstrike+4+Cover.jpg" height="400" title="" width="267" /></a></div>
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In my previous Thor review, I comp’ed to never having been a big fan of the character’s solo series, emphasizing how at his worst, the character can be a little too similar to Superman with a funny accent. As such, I haven’t read much of Thunderstrike, so a lot of this information is second-hand.<br />
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Thunderstrike is Eric Masterson, an architect merged with Thor early in DeFalco’s run, echoing the “Dr. Donald Blake” alter ego of the silver age. Unlike other alter egos (except Captain Mar-Vell), Masterson kept his own personality, including an ex-wife and young son. For a time period, he served as Thor on his own, while Thor was exiled for killing Loki. After Thor came back, Odin created a new mace for Masterson. He debuted as “Thunderstrike,” a slightly less powerful 90’s version of Thor that got his own series in the 90’s.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Breaking: Captain America considers the American public to be "rubes."</td></tr>
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We begin our story at Avengers Mansion, where Captain America casually uses the term “rubes,” perhaps showing that he’s spending too much time around carnies like Hawkeye and the Swordsman, as he mops the floor with Thunderstrike in a training session. An annoyed ‘Strike tosses his hammer away, and picks up a magical axe he had confiscated from an earlier enemy. Temporarily mad with rage, he goes to decapitate Cap when he reverts back into his human form, as 60 seconds have apparently passed. A quickly recovered Cap helps Eric to his feet, and gives him some friendly advice, as Eric wonders if he was influenced by the axe, or just an incredibly angry weirdo. As ‘Strike leaves, Cap takes off his mask, revealing he’s drenched in sweat, as he wonders what’s wrong with him (of course, we know. His super soldier serum is running out, forcing him to become armor Cap in the near future).<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidHWoEY1uN5-ZV8IAoLCX5LRRlhAM4it3nhkFC77tYWN51F9i-YsrmMCnf5QTQVk46aLNh8jM7c_694t6_V8G5K6xi51O77zpNg5W5Ixtr3hH87q5ArD1zbSTF5X_diVtNhPOCqIQ2E8xI/s1600/Thunderstrike+4+pt+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img alt="Thunderstrike 4" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidHWoEY1uN5-ZV8IAoLCX5LRRlhAM4it3nhkFC77tYWN51F9i-YsrmMCnf5QTQVk46aLNh8jM7c_694t6_V8G5K6xi51O77zpNg5W5Ixtr3hH87q5ArD1zbSTF5X_diVtNhPOCqIQ2E8xI/s1600/Thunderstrike+4+pt+3.jpg" height="400" title="" width="397" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Continuity!</td></tr>
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Across town, at a posh health club called “Salon Steele,” a mysterious figure thinks it’s almost time to move on, but that she has time to enjoy “one last morsel.” She opens the door to the executive hot tub and finds a muscular black man named Gardner. She introduces herself as “Pandara” and says people mispronounce her name a lot. Predictably, her next move is to pull out her box. She opens it, and he goes all “Raiders of the Lost Arc.” Later, Panda runs into her boss, who introduces her to a potential new member, a certain “Mary Jane Parker.” Mary Jane asks to wait for her always-late husband, and Panda suggests a soothing hot tub soak.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitJSHF06UICRGRpCGsdSY5kWw-64P29iWJdbe2vTKp_z2d_E92s2PmPVnnmzUy9IUMca7RCrT66OxBlVknDADxWuNdHICtKQJ5Yz1ehVf2i3GwYUlAprs7EtIEchWpBv7_XmRu0xniQu76/s1600/Thunderstrike+4+pt+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img alt="Thunderstrike 4 Pandara Spider-Man" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitJSHF06UICRGRpCGsdSY5kWw-64P29iWJdbe2vTKp_z2d_E92s2PmPVnnmzUy9IUMca7RCrT66OxBlVknDADxWuNdHICtKQJ5Yz1ehVf2i3GwYUlAprs7EtIEchWpBv7_XmRu0xniQu76/s1600/Thunderstrike+4+pt+2.jpg" height="307" title="" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Inside my box is... digital music files.</td></tr>
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Nearby, Spider-Man himself makes his way to meet Mary Jane, when he gets a sudden warning of danger behind him. He’s able to contort himself out of the way of Thunderstrike, who’s zipping past, and manages to stammer an entire paragraph while Spidey berates his poor super-heroing etiquette. Turning back into Eric, Masterson goes towards Salon Steele to meet with his ex about his son. In the shadows, a man who looks like Jake the Snake Roberts watches, considering Eric’s arrival “proof” that Eric is competing with him for Marcy’s affection, and thinks how he’s going to strike at Eric’s son. Eric meets with his wife, who turns out to be Panda’s boss, as she says her husband still hasn’t been coming home (probably too busy skulking in alleys). </div>
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At the gym, Peter cracks wise about the muscleheads, and wonders what the members would do if they knew he can do one-arm push-ups on top of buildings. Suddenly sensing trouble, Peter smashes through the hot tub door, finding Pandara about to show Mary Jane her box. Recognizing he’s not some ordinary rube, Pandara transforms into her true form, which features spiked shoulder pads and a flowing, metallic cape. Two monsters come out of the box, and Spider-Man dodges one, then slams the other through a wall.<br />
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Across the health club, Marcy explains she wants Thunderstrike to endorse her club. What, was She-Hulk too busy endorsing Bally’s or something? The commercial opportunity is interrupted by commotion outside, where a human being is leaping around the ceiling, chased by demons. Thunderstrike recognizes Spidey, and tells his ex to call Code: Blue. Marcy thinks it’s odd that Eric would instinctively think of them… or is it?!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj9c8a8hOtWYx6GTbjqUJnO1Uj1Qpi_2FwmcyVRPMfIGKWhVRZqW_d5OdMfvKuBvyBxR7jDxG2m409luGhrwC93FLqskpMDSvmcvm-GtHLKfxAzLT3mT6SNNKfbyMmK6rKWtDqftRGD_qs/s1600/Thunderstrike+4+pt+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img alt="Thunderstrike 4 Pandara" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj9c8a8hOtWYx6GTbjqUJnO1Uj1Qpi_2FwmcyVRPMfIGKWhVRZqW_d5OdMfvKuBvyBxR7jDxG2m409luGhrwC93FLqskpMDSvmcvm-GtHLKfxAzLT3mT6SNNKfbyMmK6rKWtDqftRGD_qs/s1600/Thunderstrike+4+pt+4.jpg" height="400" title="" width="398" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Marvel drama at its finest!</td></tr>
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Pandara is dragging Mary Jane, complaining about how mad Lord Tantalus will be at her, when Thunderstrike appears. She asks if he’s a minion of Blackwulf. Pandara then blasts Thunderstrike across the gym, into the pool area. Spidey and MJ reunite, but MJ tells him they can’t leave, as a “blonde guy with a hammer” is in trouble. Even as Thunderstrike is being blasted, yet another shadowy figure watches from a nearby rooftop. How many people are stalking this guy? Thunderstrike recovers and blasts Pandara, worrying he’s killed her. She’s playing possum, though, and knocks him back, causing his hammer to fall into the nearby pool. And not just any part of the pool, but the deep end! Spidey swings over to help, but Pandara unleashes more monsters out of her box. Spidey tells ‘Strike to feel free to jump in at any time, as ‘Strike thinks back to Cap’s advice from earlier, as he thinks he’d better get his mace back, or he’ll cheat Cap out of an “I told you so.” To be continued!<br />
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<b>Review</b><br />
<br />
I don’t know if I’ve gone on record as saying this before, but I actually love a lot of things about Thunderstrike, War Machine, et al. getting solo series. It felt like progress in a medium known for stagnation, and it meant there wasn’t a dense backstory to follow (except when there was). Thunderstrike as a concept works better than Thor, because he’s just a rookie regular guy figuring out how to deal with enchanted mystical powers in a world where evil fitness instructors run rampant. Even though Masterson shares the stage with Captain America and Peter Parker, who curiously enough, both get internal thought bubbles, Masterson has enough personality that the book never stops focusing on him.<br />
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That said, I can’t even begin to care even a little about Pandara. Just a dreadful idea for a character that’s dull in execution. Can we please have a moratorium on Pandora’s Box in comics?<br />
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The creative team is DeFalco and Frenz, who I talked about in my previous review of Thor. I still really like Frenz’s art, especially when he draws Spidey. Al Milgrom’s not known as a great artist, particularly since he juggled art chores with editorial duties and therefore had a tendency to seem rushed, but he’s not distractingly awful here. This is worse than Frenz's work on Thor three years earlier, and really Milgrom is the biggest change. DeFalco’s still channeling Stan Lee, from the over-writing to the plot twists where Marcy wants to meet Thunderstrike. It’s not quite Aunt May marrying Doctor Octopus, but it’s the same sort of bizarre crossover between the hero’s public and private sphere that Lee relied on.<br />
<br />
Overall, Thunderstrike is a fun, light read that comes across as a slightly more down to earth, more accessible version of the Thor we all know and enjoy. Like the earlier issue of Thor I reviewed, this feels far more at home in the 60's than the 90's.<br />
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<b>90's Fashion</b>s: Pandara has huge 80's hair and workout gear, including short-shorts. In her "real" form, she wears spiked underwear and a cape, and points out that this fashion is now in vogue.Dobsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08884152078310514684noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1497388721455949749.post-74252104505966716242014-10-04T08:27:00.001-05:002014-10-04T08:27:24.209-05:00Review: NFL Superpro #7<b>NFL Superpro #7, "All Abuzz," Cover Date April, 1992</b><br />
Written by Evan Skolnik, Penciled by Jose Delbo, Inked by Mike De Carlo<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh21q5EJuCxcvMxZEzIowqww5lHcfmoTCCAmwHr0K1JJhLNj2b2p8COSpxYxW7hDCTqETM9UbfLqSVif5-JtjtAa9RfgrjAFPnxTjlbsv3T3tn_UkVGWonW-tqgyATO0Oukrie7hWzm1Qgn/s1600/Superpro7+Cover+.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="NFL Superpro 7 Cover" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh21q5EJuCxcvMxZEzIowqww5lHcfmoTCCAmwHr0K1JJhLNj2b2p8COSpxYxW7hDCTqETM9UbfLqSVif5-JtjtAa9RfgrjAFPnxTjlbsv3T3tn_UkVGWonW-tqgyATO0Oukrie7hWzm1Qgn/s1600/Superpro7+Cover+.jpg" height="400" title="" width="260" /></a></div>
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<br />
As anyone that even casually follows sports can tell you, it’s been a rough few months for the NFL. In the wake of video footage of Ray Rice knocking out his fiancée, the NFL and Commissioner Roger Goodell have found themselves under increased media scrutiny, not helped by the fact that players continue to make headlines for beating their children, getting repeated DUIs, receiving drug suspensions and promptly losing thirty pounds, and otherwise behaving as less than ideal role models for children everywhere. Perhaps it’s time for the NFL to turn back to one hero they can always count on: NFL SuperPro!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHRj_cpSMx2uDRHA3v9PU02cVWiQLZ8dhyphenhyphen3yFym_ysJRcEHvUvEZFzTIiOM9ZuLl8kLWGcKrLBv1tYMrJvEYLfMAVcD94zCkgjoUdus3yVPaFmy8yvFX_cVw1eM_31O-o13rO5lpPNo_MI/s1600/Superpro+7+pt+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHRj_cpSMx2uDRHA3v9PU02cVWiQLZ8dhyphenhyphen3yFym_ysJRcEHvUvEZFzTIiOM9ZuLl8kLWGcKrLBv1tYMrJvEYLfMAVcD94zCkgjoUdus3yVPaFmy8yvFX_cVw1eM_31O-o13rO5lpPNo_MI/s1600/Superpro+7+pt+4.jpg" height="400" width="261" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"What if Judge Dredd looked like a huge dork?" -NFL Superpro designer, probably.</td></tr>
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For those that don’t know, Phil Grayfield was a sports journalist after his promising career ended when he suffered a major knee injury; not on the field of course, but saving a child’s life. During an interview with a scientist/superfan, criminals rob the scientist’s home, making off with a van full of purloined bobbleheads and signed jerseys, and set the building on fire. Grayfield, as a result of an indestructible experimental football uniform, the fire, and “experimental chemicals” that the scientist just leaves lying around his house, is transformed into SuperPro, the corporate mascot that walks like a man! Because it was launched in 1991, this comic got 12 issues!<br />
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We begin our story in the Brazilian rainforest, where a “strike team” for “the Protectors of the Rainforest” spikes trees in an effort to injure lumberjacks. Their morally questionable activity is interrupted by a mystery man who tells them that “nails are for coffins.”<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9WI2txtP7zg32_gf8m0Sf0BxM8ip38z8rFDIO0B2gm4t5moih26B4C5QakFDSV90SB12W9qf5sPu3VQdW5niaeXkiAf54sOG2Vu-X1mdd5o9KCygBhwVeXU0syoFBfpAaGTR1gAAnR3wx/s1600/Superpro+7+pt+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img alt="Superpro 7 Ripsaw spiking trees" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9WI2txtP7zg32_gf8m0Sf0BxM8ip38z8rFDIO0B2gm4t5moih26B4C5QakFDSV90SB12W9qf5sPu3VQdW5niaeXkiAf54sOG2Vu-X1mdd5o9KCygBhwVeXU0syoFBfpAaGTR1gAAnR3wx/s1600/Superpro+7+pt+5.jpg" height="365" title="" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nails are for many things, Ripsaw. Also that is an unfortunately placed saw on your abdomen.</td></tr>
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Significantly south of that, we join an exciting contest between Argentina and Brazil, as we see “Juarez,” “Brazil’s greatest soccer star since Pele,” as he hits a bicycle kick highlight reel goal. Phil’s cameraman Ken thinks it’ll make good coverage for a story on Juarez, but Phil worries about a riot breaking out in the crowd. NFL Superpro heroically leaps onto the scene, eliciting a “it’s… it’s… who is that?” from a confused football fan. He gets between the two groups, who call each other “Argies” and “Brazil Nuts,” presumably both in Portuguese? An annoyed Superpro runs towards a brick wall, dislodges it, and throws it between the two groups of fans. Uh, he is not a very good superhero.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6JgP4EkmtS1R7U5P9ReDVt6qGdGqM2uhNZJ2vHAbiinq2MV6AyVFVOQo4YfNiAtFCLSTNKSyLcpwReq8X9R87LVPTxpsa3A3MZyvbBgj54giu1JpUIWNNQeoPYiWD2qc8VdFL0m4ai6DV/s1600/Superpro7+pt+1+.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img alt="Superpro 7 soccer" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6JgP4EkmtS1R7U5P9ReDVt6qGdGqM2uhNZJ2vHAbiinq2MV6AyVFVOQo4YfNiAtFCLSTNKSyLcpwReq8X9R87LVPTxpsa3A3MZyvbBgj54giu1JpUIWNNQeoPYiWD2qc8VdFL0m4ai6DV/s1600/Superpro7+pt+1+.jpg" height="152" title="" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Superpro does not know the rules of soccer.</td></tr>
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The fight over, we see a rich fat-cat tell the mystery man from earlier he should be even more persuasive when it comes to dealing with the protectors. Phil and Ken are on a plane headed north, as they wonder why Juarez insisted on meeting them in the Amazon region, instead of at the stadium after the game. Juarez meets with the Americans, and introduces them to Felicita, a red-headed “co-conspirator,” who drives the foursome towards the rainforest. Phil tries to explain that “Sports Inside” maybe isn’t the best venue for this, but Juarez insists that Americans changing their behavior slightly can save the rainforest.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8V7Bm0dt6ddphXU_gD23ZC9hPybsqjFzyYGP4_RdD7vbjp3nlgLFAeAKmmMTk5__bnjd5Jp6KG-LTtZu8WkfyJ-4Zd55e6uZHVWy_WpuuW5mpiKu9oGlll-KFzr_OJxUW-_Ea34_9BjSp/s1600/Superpro+7+pt+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img alt="NFL Superpro 7 Draw the Line" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8V7Bm0dt6ddphXU_gD23ZC9hPybsqjFzyYGP4_RdD7vbjp3nlgLFAeAKmmMTk5__bnjd5Jp6KG-LTtZu8WkfyJ-4Zd55e6uZHVWy_WpuuW5mpiKu9oGlll-KFzr_OJxUW-_Ea34_9BjSp/s1600/Superpro+7+pt+2.jpg" height="396" title="" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Draw what line? What are you talking about, Superpro?</td></tr>
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Juarez takes the group to an area where the Protectors are chained to trees, and insists on doing the interview with them in the shot. What a diva! Before Ken can set up his meter reading, he hears some kind of sawing noise. On cue, a purple-costumed man with saws flies into frame, as the Protectors who aren’t chained to trees make a run for it. He identifies himself as “Ripsaw,” then noticing the camera, saws at it with his forearm saw.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBeR_vnhDB3MsH0KAGhzH07x_8tfTbYycZLAXXOo9celYleb6-IVZVpDvqzvr7YUcuUvJdyBl9294CaYq6zUhYNgyXZXMNEO1ot0_pR0Vt-0h1jIorwd8HaGtgzWVyZfUHAR96dkJt4rgE/s1600/Superpro+7+pt+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img alt="NFL Superpro 7 Letter" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBeR_vnhDB3MsH0KAGhzH07x_8tfTbYycZLAXXOo9celYleb6-IVZVpDvqzvr7YUcuUvJdyBl9294CaYq6zUhYNgyXZXMNEO1ot0_pR0Vt-0h1jIorwd8HaGtgzWVyZfUHAR96dkJt4rgE/s1600/Superpro+7+pt+3.jpg" height="286" title="" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I've got some bad news, Chris.</td></tr>
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Juarez is told to get into a waiting van, but worries over leaving Ken and Phil behind. Fortunately, Phil’s armor falls out of the van as they leave, allowing him to change into his ridiculous outfit. He rescues his camera man, and then makes awful football puns while fighting Ripsaw.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ5vKJ2nYAzthMJf1eOkWWMb9iHUzZ6gi7chPVZURVBoGwPrA9_nyR6r1C99xf7HDSm2YDV9qkHWCpAYmt1AiMB2HzeE2OZipbd8ixPOSLas_ytbWwmyghQmsKN8gt8xoQH1HqglOqXv0L/s1600/Superpro+7+pt+6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img alt="NFL Superpro 7 no clipping" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ5vKJ2nYAzthMJf1eOkWWMb9iHUzZ6gi7chPVZURVBoGwPrA9_nyR6r1C99xf7HDSm2YDV9qkHWCpAYmt1AiMB2HzeE2OZipbd8ixPOSLas_ytbWwmyghQmsKN8gt8xoQH1HqglOqXv0L/s1600/Superpro+7+pt+6.jpg" height="242" title="" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cut it out, Superpro.</td></tr>
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Once Ripsaw is suitably pummeled, Ken laments his camera, as Juarez talks about how great “NFL Man” was. Phil apologizes for missing it, an<span style="text-align: center;">d wonders if that’s the end of their story on Juarez. On cue, Juarez pulls out a portable camcorder they use to record their protests!</span><br />
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<b>Review:</b><br />
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Reading this took me back to my old review of <a href="http://thepouchfiles.blogspot.com/2013/08/review-world-championship-wrestling-10.html">WCW #10</a>, as we're once again in the middle of an ill-fitting "license" book. This is at least better than that, as Jose Delbo's pencils are half-decent. Delbo by this point was on his way out of the business, but he had been a solid hand through the 70's, doing plenty of work for DC, mostly on secondary books. He does some nice layouts, and the figures are consistent and not nearly as blocky and hideous as those in WCW. Unfortunately the rest of the artwork, especially Marie Javins coloring, isn't doing him any favors, muddying what might've been pretty good stuff at one point.<br />
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The story is your basic "save the rainforest" episode of Captain Planet. The villain is poorly defined and his boss is even less well defined, as a twenty minute cartoon tends to give you a bit more time to develop characters than 20 pages. Skolnick isn't dreadful, and Marvel would eventually reward him with a run on New Warriors that was the first Marvel series I subscribed to (because it wasn't carried in my LCS and I liked team books). Skolnick's <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evan_Skolnick">wikipedia page</a>, which reads like he wrote it or at least helped develop, says he's now at LucasArts, so good for him.<br />
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In all, Superpro's maybe not quite as bad as I'd hope, but is still such a crazy premise it's hard to believe it was ever created.Dobsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08884152078310514684noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1497388721455949749.post-84299275447020789642014-09-18T15:56:00.002-05:002014-09-18T15:56:39.869-05:00Review: Thor #428<b>Thor #428, "If this be Juggernaut," Cover Date January, 1991</b><br />
Written by Tom DeFalco and Ron Frenz (plot), Penciled by Ron Frenz, Inked by Joe Sinnott<br />
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Thor is one of those ongoing series ideas that I never really understood. A perfectly acceptable supporting character in the Avengers, he's kind of limited by being a pretty hugely boring character who speaks in a strange accent. He's had an on-going series on-and-off for nearly fifty years, and outside of Walt Simonson's run, in which recognized Thor's blandness by focusing on a diverse supporting cast and less on Thor, the series has more or less been pretty forgettable for the majority of that time. That said, one of the better forgettable runs on the book probably belong to Tom DeFalco and Ron Frenz, formerly of Amazing Spider-Man. The duo are perhaps best-remembered for their all-time classic Spidey story "the kid who collects Spider-Man," a story that could've so easily turned treacly, but managed to avoid it just long enough to bring on the waterworks for most Spidey fans. After leaving that book, the team stayed together elsewhere, moving to Thor post-Simonson, where their attempt to get around the "Thor is boring" problem was to introduce a new, untrained character into the Thor mythos. DeFalco and Frenz would later collaborate on an issue of "What If?" that featured Peter Parker's daughter, Spider-Girl, who would go on to have a pretty successful hundred issue run through the late 90's and 2000's that was a throwback to early Spider-Man stories, but with a bizarre influx of DeFalco's 90's Spider-Man work.<br />
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But enough preamble, let's get to the smiting!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvjO3ro4qhYeNklxXLZHw0EalnmMfF6TLKBAS8RL4Wnxz_moGXkUdxem_AdNiudMF6yTTgLyRBJ5QGL08-Znrp1cFjI9DsrOPcddQ0h9iRhuTbqNS2kO2BHuBNqamy3hS-tuXQECtY0mgX/s1600/Thor+428+pt+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img alt="Thor 428 splash Juggernaut Shadowcat" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvjO3ro4qhYeNklxXLZHw0EalnmMfF6TLKBAS8RL4Wnxz_moGXkUdxem_AdNiudMF6yTTgLyRBJ5QGL08-Znrp1cFjI9DsrOPcddQ0h9iRhuTbqNS2kO2BHuBNqamy3hS-tuXQECtY0mgX/s1600/Thor+428+pt+1.jpg" height="400" title="" width="290" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I wish a giant ice cream cone was in Juggernaut's hand.</td></tr>
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Thor 428 begins with a nice little variation on the artist trick, honed to a science in today's digital art medium, of drawing the same thing twice: first we see Juggernaut, trapped in the middle of a piece of concrete, apparently by the nearby Shadowcat, as we're told how Excalibur thought they were hunting down Juggernaut, a fugitive from British justice (is that really Excalibur's job, in New York City?). But then in the second panel, instead of the Juggernaut, we see it's really Thor that's been trapped. Oh no, Excalibur has been ensorcelled! We see that in addition to Excalibur, the battle has been joined by the Wrecking Crew, and Code: Blue, Marvel's answer to the Metropolis SCU that debuted a few years earlier in the Superman relaunch. Fortunately, Thunderball is a keen reader of the <a href="http://www.marvunapp.com/Appendix/codeblue.htm">Appendix to the Handbook to the Marvel Universe</a>, so he immediately recognizes the elite unit.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrZq_1ZIgoHMrJzh5tjofQjOJOJswapvLZpBZXLSxEXzr7PXYcHf9qwgTdy7VVoRboTqi0PLG1DBWGcPcHygMbK583BNpRzKuhxWUgSgKPodctr8lXKJ-NPQU-LiaqWuhN1QsmQF416uP9/s1600/Thor+428+pt+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrZq_1ZIgoHMrJzh5tjofQjOJOJswapvLZpBZXLSxEXzr7PXYcHf9qwgTdy7VVoRboTqi0PLG1DBWGcPcHygMbK583BNpRzKuhxWUgSgKPodctr8lXKJ-NPQU-LiaqWuhN1QsmQF416uP9/s1600/Thor+428+pt+2.jpg" height="208" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kitty Pryde, creepy teenager.</td></tr>
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Nearby, Ulik and the Enchantress gloat about tricking Excalibur, but the Enchantress reminds Ulik that they're invisible, not immune from observation. She then promptly fires a blast at the Wrecker, who is so stupid that he just assumes someone from Excalibur shot at him, and directs a blast of mystical energy at Captain Britain, who this story has apparently forgotten starts losing his strength when he's off British soil. Unlike his friend, Piledriver hasn't heard of Nightcrawler, so he thinks knocking some boxes will KO the blue mutant, and is shocked when he disappears, only to punch him hard enough to send him flying. Kitty admires the "buns" of one of the Code: Blue cops, but then drags him through the dock and leaves him to drop into the water below, but, while bragging, he vaults himself to safety.<br />
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Meanwhile, a very pained Thor swings his hammer around, creating some sort of magical vortex that blasts through the cement his body had merged with, freeing himself. Kitty recognizes that something's seriously wrong, but Phoenix says Juggernaut is "still vulnerable to a psychic attack," and then projectile fire shoots out of her hands(???). Thor responds with a blast from his hammer that further confuses Excalibur as Nightcrawler saves an unconscious Phoenix from a drop into the water. In the meantime, a very buff woman shoots Bulldozer with a "super taser," but Thunderball makes the save, destroying the taser with his ball and chain.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeewgSlvfstvjbzW9eBQW7hI94bpOF0BnxLrQk2ATtpsG7m7_o9I4tYQUFa7BTxsdRbgqRCufP9RRdy6l_X4LTJoAdkAVIu6JZwi9mXXsVwHRZGCl38TCavCuwGBw0b3jYYXAKbzfBlXtf/s1600/Thor+428+pt+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img alt="Thor 428 Bulldozer" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeewgSlvfstvjbzW9eBQW7hI94bpOF0BnxLrQk2ATtpsG7m7_o9I4tYQUFa7BTxsdRbgqRCufP9RRdy6l_X4LTJoAdkAVIu6JZwi9mXXsVwHRZGCl38TCavCuwGBw0b3jYYXAKbzfBlXtf/s1600/Thor+428+pt+3.jpg" height="373" title="" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bulldozer gets knocked out.</td></tr>
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A frustrated Enchantress and Ulik, on a nearby rooftop, are concerned that Wrecker continues to stand, so Enchantress magicks up some stones over his hands and feet, immobilizing him. Lockheed makes some deductive noises as he looks at the seemingly empty roof, and after Ulik stupidly says that the creature can detect them, gets dragon-fired for his stupidity.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtJ4Un42xVvwycfmXAB-2cTcTLgMmq_wDsb6r8_d6_dYv-H5K0ixPHoVxOVXIbXTfnfLdA2TZwfDbvEog3UDl2q5XNhvYCdjwbKg37g8EW4_YPmlQ_wy1StcOh4s6WoAquLBJy7isN6mDj/s1600/Thor+428+pt+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img alt="Thor 428 Juggernaut Frenz splash" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtJ4Un42xVvwycfmXAB-2cTcTLgMmq_wDsb6r8_d6_dYv-H5K0ixPHoVxOVXIbXTfnfLdA2TZwfDbvEog3UDl2q5XNhvYCdjwbKg37g8EW4_YPmlQ_wy1StcOh4s6WoAquLBJy7isN6mDj/s1600/Thor+428+pt+4.jpg" height="400" title="" width="262" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I can't help but hear Juggernaut's voice from the X-Men cartoon where he sounds like Pete from Mickey Mouse.</td></tr>
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While Thor and Captain Britain trade punches, Thor notices Bulldozer trying to sneak up on Shadowcat. He warns her, and tosses his hammer in her general direction. A confused Shadowcat phases underground, and Thor's hammer knocks Bulldozer out cold. Wrecker, seeing the tide turning, zaps away with his conscious friends. As he leaves, Excalibur finally realize that they've been dealing with Thor the whole time. Bulldozer gets arrested by Code: Blue, and Thor talks about leaving Juggernaut on an asteroid the last time they met. He agrees to take the team there, but after appearing, the group get attacked by a mysterious group of aliens that lock the team and Thor into "unbreakable priso-spheres." The revived team is brought to a citadel, booed by the masses, as they meet the apparent king of this civilization: the Juggernaut! To be continued!<br />
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<b>Review:</b><br />
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I know Tom DeFalco's 2nd generation Stan Lee style isn't for everyone, but for me, this is the kind of stuff I grew up with, so I have to say I found this issue really fun, even if the character development was basically non-existent in order to plot a busy fight scene that lasts 17 pages. Frenz, known for his time on Spider-Man for his ability to mimic Ditko's style, here channels Kirby for some great splash pages (and the cover), and there's even a few shots of the Wrecker that I wouldn't be surprised if they were referenced directly from old Kirby works. But Kirby's work on Thor is some of his weakest (many blame Vince Colletta, an inker known for erasing and re-drawing entire backgrounds), so I'd actually put this ahead of most of Kirby's work on the book. Somehow the story opens and closes in equally dramatic cliffhangers without a feeling of "well, what was the point of that?" that sometimes accompanies "middle chapters" like this that are mostly fight scenes (for an example of how to do this poorly, read Secret Invasion issues 2 on). I still find Thor pretty dull as a character, but if this is any indication, I need to read more of Frenz's work on the book, because it's energetic and fun, simple storytelling.<br />
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<b>90's Fashion:</b><br />
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Almost none, as Thor rocks his classic outfit, Shadowcat wears her hideous 80's puffy shirt/tights outfit that makes her look like a henchwoman of a pirate-themed Batman villain, and most everybody else has pretty old-school designs. The lone concession is a member of Code: Blue who wears his hair out and down to his shoulders, covering it with a backwards baseball cap.Dobsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08884152078310514684noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1497388721455949749.post-78366646536411098692014-08-20T20:48:00.002-05:002014-08-20T21:01:57.151-05:00Review: Deathblow #16<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b>Deathblow #16, "Wildstorm Rising Chapter 16," Cover Date May 1995</b></div>
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Written by Steven Seagle, Penciled by Trevor Scott with Mel Rubi and Tom Raney, Inked by Trevor Scott, Rick Maygar, and Tom Rangy</div>
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I’ve expressed in the past that it’s more than a little unfair to reduce an entire decade, a decade that produced plenty of exceptional work, to its worst excesses. As easy as it is to mock the Death of Superman or X-Force, I really believe there is plenty of value to be mined reviewing these comics, and that most of the comics I review are worth a closer look.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNw6gUTNDpfLlgAiuXviGeT4ZXIcnvkbL-0Efm2r1u4RCj9mPQkvOj7e3wq6cnteVoHXSFlBygyj8Zkj_mxxxjBpf_yoEmvbwkf9H6se5lI17_LkM7vSTwqcemGz5aJjuROsWXJImki9W5/s1600/Deathblow+16.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; line-height: normal; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="Deathblow 16 Cover Barry Windsor Smith" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNw6gUTNDpfLlgAiuXviGeT4ZXIcnvkbL-0Efm2r1u4RCj9mPQkvOj7e3wq6cnteVoHXSFlBygyj8Zkj_mxxxjBpf_yoEmvbwkf9H6se5lI17_LkM7vSTwqcemGz5aJjuROsWXJImki9W5/s1600/Deathblow+16.jpg" height="400" title="" width="252" /></a></div>
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And then there’s Deathblow #16, which sounds like a joke every time I write it. And the comic is about as good as you’d expect from the sixteenth issue of a title called “Deathblow.”<br />
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For those of you who aren't familiar with the smash hit "Deathblow," it's the nom-de-guerre of Michael Cray, one of the few guys in the Wildstorm Universe that isn't part of a stupid immortal angels vs. immortal demons with a sci-fi twist. He's more like the Punisher, but without a family or a cool van.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikSqe_EppmB8VdovcEy5x085vs3yy3GctMYN9TUQKRELlZF968MlNiFmiI-M77i2CyCU3vUl58BVtUqOBjLQbEndQOg-fL7dKKGg6Pepbin_Yjkzd4A30MmK4ifC_I5ucKNgSZwz43HU4A/s1600/Deathblow+16+pt+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; white-space: normal;"><img alt="Deathblow 16 one liner" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikSqe_EppmB8VdovcEy5x085vs3yy3GctMYN9TUQKRELlZF968MlNiFmiI-M77i2CyCU3vUl58BVtUqOBjLQbEndQOg-fL7dKKGg6Pepbin_Yjkzd4A30MmK4ifC_I5ucKNgSZwz43HU4A/s1600/Deathblow+16+pt+3.jpg" height="192" title="" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Oh, I'll help you. Help you DIE!</td></tr>
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The issue begins with a recap, and even though this is part six, apparently all I've missed is Union realizing Mr. Majestic wasn't a bad guy and teaming up, and Grifter getting shot by some alien guys after calling his old buddy Deathblow. That's an entire issue of this crossover where apparently nothing of note happened, and that's being awfully charitable to the two plots described above. Deathblow responds to Grifter's call by booby-trapping his own home like some sort of Rambo/Kill Crazy type Vietnam vet, while an internal monologue adds a ton of "hilarious" unnecessary captions about how he's "expecting guests." It really is a great illustration of how a generation of writers took all the wrong lessons from Watchmen.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvYKtP_zeJThcPRrPhOSI7PGc_0D5cKzZpWNkZhr5swNszUZUaj9lprstq4dDg6m87wPdHJ7xQHBd_tiVDiJ68VwsZEeYZ1K_jJmy1f5Zy-B8quJVYOvhCutTN2QVLSexqrqZe0elRRlQY/s1600/Deathblow+16+pt+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; white-space: normal;"><img alt="Deathblow 16 missile launcher" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvYKtP_zeJThcPRrPhOSI7PGc_0D5cKzZpWNkZhr5swNszUZUaj9lprstq4dDg6m87wPdHJ7xQHBd_tiVDiJ68VwsZEeYZ1K_jJmy1f5Zy-B8quJVYOvhCutTN2QVLSexqrqZe0elRRlQY/s1600/Deathblow+16+pt+2.jpg" height="316" title="" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"It's really more of a metal casing used to launch projectiles at high velocity."</td></tr>
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Deathblow shoots a missile at the Daemonite crew heading towards him while monologuing about "welcome wagons" in his head, then when some aliens try to corner him, he leads them to a tarp they run directly over, where they fall into a pit full of sharp spikes that impale them. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcRlz5cTHjqhPDSCOSFuqlR5tWXaD7EUpnK7AGtu22sdLwmynV3MVZ9lvi_thyphenhyphenr28uuc-DN4bDnBxa8twfsNs4oJgt36Bk-sgSmgXQ9Ob13gHFuu_jEIZHyjzmr1q5OPgfkzOfbJqoDPUw/s1600/Deathblow+16+pt+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img alt="Deathblow 16 spike pit" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcRlz5cTHjqhPDSCOSFuqlR5tWXaD7EUpnK7AGtu22sdLwmynV3MVZ9lvi_thyphenhyphenr28uuc-DN4bDnBxa8twfsNs4oJgt36Bk-sgSmgXQ9Ob13gHFuu_jEIZHyjzmr1q5OPgfkzOfbJqoDPUw/s1600/Deathblow+16+pt+1.jpg" height="350" title="" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I'm not sure why I find this so funny.</td></tr>
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Meanwhile, there's dissension in the ranks, as Mr. White questions "Harka" in his leadership and/or people skills. Deathblow maneuvers more aliens into his garden, which is actually a literal garden, not some sort of exploding distraction garden. It does explode though, blowing up Deathblow's prize-winning beets. Deathblow kills more aliens with witty repartee: an alien says something like "spread out!" and Deathblow responds "You'll spread, all right! Spread your <b>blood</b> around!" It's a good thing Deathblow is better at traps than one-liners.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf3QE-3jr7QOi6dcNS0mO4OGNlKj1F5uwg_XVhdr2KpwMoxgpXwBmYrZUIHxvV-jZLSYtUsn5juxEnriSjeoiV2BMqOH8m8z1AOvUmVKmFMIWhW_ovPlJpRxlkhHeSpFN9HCLfQ3jlGr9T/s1600/Deathblow+16+pt+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img alt="Deathblow 16 Grifter" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf3QE-3jr7QOi6dcNS0mO4OGNlKj1F5uwg_XVhdr2KpwMoxgpXwBmYrZUIHxvV-jZLSYtUsn5juxEnriSjeoiV2BMqOH8m8z1AOvUmVKmFMIWhW_ovPlJpRxlkhHeSpFN9HCLfQ3jlGr9T/s1600/Deathblow+16+pt+5.jpg" height="303" title="" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You can hardly tell this isn't the art team from earlier, can you?</td></tr>
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After all of his work murdering aliens and destroying his own house, Deathblow hands over the key when Grifter arrives, but something's a little off: Grifter is being somewhat polite and complimentary! Some amount of time later, the real Grifter appears, and asks where the key is. Deathblow in his internal monologue talks about how he's not surprised, but... he looks pretty surprised. Maybe it's that he has no eyes? I don't know.<br />
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<span style="text-align: center;">Review:</span><br />
<span style="text-align: center;"><br /></span>
<span style="text-align: center;">I don't think I've hidden my feelings towards this comic, and note that the above is a pretty thorough synopsis of 25 pages of material. It's a completely unoriginal premise, as the fact that the grunt soldiers are aliens isn't brought up in any meaningful way: it's just one super-elite bad-ass beating up a bunch of hilariously dumb scrubs for an entire issue, then getting tricked by the villain to progress the plot for the next part of this crossover. </span><br />
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Steven Seagle received most of his acclaim from his work on fringe books like Sandman Mystery Theatre, House of Secrets, and American Virgin, but he's best known to Marvel 90's zombies as the writer of an incredibly forgettable year of Uncanny X-Men, notable mostly for the story he <a href="http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2012/04/06/comic-book-legends-revealed-361/">wasn't allowed to do</a>, along with an Alpha Flight run that produced Big Hero 6, this year's big Disney movie! He's shown he can do good work, but this reads like clumsy aping of a Frank Miller style, except without any social commentary or satire behind the over-the-top violence (aka Frank Miller post 2001 or so). Deathblow is a completely nothing character, as only Grifter and Mr. White seem even marginally interesting, and the two of them are in maybe 5 pages of this 25 page story.<br />
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Mel Rubi's art is decent for the pages he does, but by the end of the book he's disappeared and the quality nose-dives. It's all big, bombastic action, and he does a decent enough job, but he apparently lost a memo regarding Mr. White's design, because I don't recognize him here. He looks like he's aged about 50 years, he's lost his glasses his fashionable beret. Maybe that's what happened in the issue of this crossover that's unaccounted for.<br />
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All in all, as not great as part 2 of a Wildstorm-wide crossover sounded, part 6 is significantly worse. I just don't see the appeal of any of this. Granted, I didn't see the appeal in late 80's/early 90's Punisher, either, so this clearly wasn't a book I was going to enjoy, even if it wasn't a goofy mess.Dobsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08884152078310514684noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1497388721455949749.post-46818432296460035002014-08-07T13:04:00.000-05:002014-08-07T13:04:02.724-05:00Review: WildC.A.T.s #20<b>WildC.A.T.s #20, "Wildstorm Rising, Part 2," Cover Date May 1995</b><br />
Written by James Robinson, Penciled by Travis Charest, Cover by Barry Windsor Smith, Inked by Troy Hubbs<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW2hKHQqLRFaPjC_J_PpnaQhDdskcgQS7fWaM0O47ECUv43wYOow4KAInB-pobU6jpYnSTmoKvcJNT7-JEUyu9dWRVLWl19hVc6wBHuVKvoHqP38vEeOGDuNEDR0iWQGEGG7zi5hVf9QlR/s1600/WildCATs+20+Cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="WildC.A.T.s 20 Cover Barry Windsor Smith" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW2hKHQqLRFaPjC_J_PpnaQhDdskcgQS7fWaM0O47ECUv43wYOow4KAInB-pobU6jpYnSTmoKvcJNT7-JEUyu9dWRVLWl19hVc6wBHuVKvoHqP38vEeOGDuNEDR0iWQGEGG7zi5hVf9QlR/s1600/WildCATs+20+Cover.jpg" height="400" title="" width="253" /></a></div>
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It's been awhile since I've added a review here, mostly because I recently moved and start a new job on Monday, but if you want to hear my dulcet tones, remember to check out <a href="http://www.yourstupidminds.com/">Your Stupid Minds</a> for our bi-weekly podcast, which goes on regardless of my exciting life changes.<br />
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To celebrate my reduced schedule, here is a review of WildC.A.T.S., the poster comic for reduced scheduling! This issue is part 2 of Wildstorm's first company-wide crossover, and I'm sure it won't be an incomprehensible mess from the word "go," right? So let's get to it!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI8uEu_y2V8V7pL59cwzJ-ooxw3Z5oylnqBGLxldHXZmAdAhYnQKvl_U7shXYwvh2CETv2OfISMi1hAm1uI4wXapA1jDKPzFnRWZooQzIRe2gOC5U-t-vK2K64E_AaooFhcNIKFpaZ59rA/s1600/Wildstorm+20.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img alt="WildC.A.T.s 20 Zealot exposition" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI8uEu_y2V8V7pL59cwzJ-ooxw3Z5oylnqBGLxldHXZmAdAhYnQKvl_U7shXYwvh2CETv2OfISMi1hAm1uI4wXapA1jDKPzFnRWZooQzIRe2gOC5U-t-vK2K64E_AaooFhcNIKFpaZ59rA/s1600/Wildstorm+20.jpg" height="400" title="" width="162" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Oh, right, now I remember all that exposition I forgot earlier."</td></tr>
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We begin in the middle of a battle, as we learn background information about Hightower, who as an immortal Daemonite is apparently this world's Genghis Khan, and, confusingly, its King John, as the text says John "created the Magna Carta," to reign in England's knights and beginning the "rebirth of Merry Olde England." Whaaaa? Even if I wasn't a History major I can tell you that's a pretty crazy re-interpretation of those events! Being a History nerd, I can tell you that Genghis Khan was born in the 1160's and King John was born in 1166, so they've already lost me on page 1. Hightower just wants to have a chat, but the WildC.A.T.s are mad at him for manipulating them into fighting Stormwatch, apparently in part 1 of this crossover. Hightower shapeshifts and grabs Marlowe/Emp, the Cable-like immortal leader of the 'Cats, and explains that he's not behind the team's recent actions, saying it's another Daemonite named "Defile." Hightower wants Daemonite "Keys of Command" in order to get him off the planet and to earn some cred among his evil alien buddies, and Marlowe decides that it's in the team's interests to help him.<br />
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Loose cannon(TM) Grifter is understandably upset by this team-up, as the last time he met Hightower, he was tortured by the alien. Marlowe says if he disobeys his orders, he'll get "bounced" from the team, to which Grifter replies "let's see how you bounce, shorty," and open-hand slaps the cigar and the taste out of Marlowe's mouth. Grifter calls his teammates "half-breeds" and aliens, and formally quits, presumably mailing his ID badge at a later date. His sometimes romantic partner Zealot responds to the news to looking sadly at her chest.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs3ycc7up5H1gl4GqQk87e_gfYwko3M_sE9IyXjKIaiBH8uGij95IKrKum4ZSJcVWGnycFKHA6liuEJzmp7uN4At_NCuT8LGegFn4TWXINa-PHnpVg2JCL_ucZDIxdezKiZqcNy4b7xeKk/s1600/Wildstorm+20+pt+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img alt="WildC.A.T.s 20 Grifter quits" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs3ycc7up5H1gl4GqQk87e_gfYwko3M_sE9IyXjKIaiBH8uGij95IKrKum4ZSJcVWGnycFKHA6liuEJzmp7uN4At_NCuT8LGegFn4TWXINa-PHnpVg2JCL_ucZDIxdezKiZqcNy4b7xeKk/s1600/Wildstorm+20+pt+2.jpg" height="400" title="" width="258" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Grifter walks into the vanishing point.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
We then cut to Zealot's daughter Savant (this is not explained), who, a few minutes earlier, tries to phone the Cats in the middle of their big fight with Hightower. She refers to a member of the team as her "sister," in a <i>Chinatown</i> moment, before trying another super team. She's got all the super-teams on speed dial! Phones have dials! Savant gets in touch with "Synergy," the Oracle of Wildstorm, who wonders who she should call, considering Stormwatch was beaten up in Wildstorm Rising. We don't see her choice, but she apparently has the "perfect" agent. Before Savant can do anything else, a bunch of villainous goons led by a "Mr. White" break through a nearby window.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9YPGxwwTQTZZ4yUuSVyOUOkQsSfnmyuO3YzxnJcVGHmvPc9D8ALMAravuTJxbjJ2xWeXF3hAU0-0yeMGrtejtWRpWKJp23JJiQL-LuL2UvXngufDPf1peozfh9oXJcyIjdfuYpnJ2kc7Z/s1600/Wildstorm+20+pt+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img alt="WildC.A.T.s 20 Mr. White James Robinson Dialogue" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9YPGxwwTQTZZ4yUuSVyOUOkQsSfnmyuO3YzxnJcVGHmvPc9D8ALMAravuTJxbjJ2xWeXF3hAU0-0yeMGrtejtWRpWKJp23JJiQL-LuL2UvXngufDPf1peozfh9oXJcyIjdfuYpnJ2kc7Z/s1600/Wildstorm+20+pt+3.jpg" height="400" title="" width="246" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mr. White needs exact directions.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Meanwhile, Grifter awakens in a "$5 room," with cigarettes and whiskey all around him. After some hugely over-written flashbacks, Grifter decides he's gotta help... after he gets some coffee.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj49sPnXv1Ep9zQHktLcpjvJePo3nWp5NJ9tMhfww03ssJtVyowDKlGnl1Nu1EecOkdlY-ljE7cQHiXXNtdlk8kH03FJfGJOttYCkLzQLKih0IwuRUAUpd2l4zGPPT6EhbH7JKg1oF3Y90P/s1600/Wildstorm+20+pt+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img alt="WildC.A.T.s 20 Mr. White James Robinson dialogue" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj49sPnXv1Ep9zQHktLcpjvJePo3nWp5NJ9tMhfww03ssJtVyowDKlGnl1Nu1EecOkdlY-ljE7cQHiXXNtdlk8kH03FJfGJOttYCkLzQLKih0IwuRUAUpd2l4zGPPT6EhbH7JKg1oF3Y90P/s1600/Wildstorm+20+pt+4.jpg" height="400" title="" width="153" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stop, taking unnecessary pauses, everyone!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Back at Savant's, her archaeologist friend is being tortured by Mr. White for not giving him "exact coordinates" to his discovery. Somebody should tell him you catch more flies with honey! White laughs off Savant's offer to torture her "invulnerable body," saying it would take an "artist's flair," but on cue, Mr. Majestic (Wildstorm's Superman) shows up and tells White to "grab a brush." He beats up White's goons, and White disappears in some smoke. Then, confusingly, another voice tells Majestic to "unhand" Savant, when they're clearly not touching, and challenges Majestic to a fight. It's the garishly dressed "Union"! To be continued!<br />
<br />
<b>Review:</b><br />
<br />
I should probably admit that just reading the WildC.A.T.s wikipedia page, it doesn't look like the sort of thing that would appeal to me at all. I've complained in the past about my apathy for "angels vs. demons" plots featuring ageless near-immortals, so this is exactly the sort of set-up I hate. When one side is the "Daemonites" and the other is the "Kherubim," you're not exactly hiding your sources.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSBD2g9_-DKm7OqpK4HUP-irqXGdYAl7F2O4nexzmBXKgumn4clYsCN6y4WSrvxR5am57TiySt1BuPaWyGqIdhyphenhyphenLhbeumUJA_KOU5s8adCuTf6GExuLOA6HRFCxEcbXJaSS5w_TDnPNDS3/s1600/Wildstorm+20+pt+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img alt="WildC.A.T.s 20 Majestic Savant" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSBD2g9_-DKm7OqpK4HUP-irqXGdYAl7F2O4nexzmBXKgumn4clYsCN6y4WSrvxR5am57TiySt1BuPaWyGqIdhyphenhyphenLhbeumUJA_KOU5s8adCuTf6GExuLOA6HRFCxEcbXJaSS5w_TDnPNDS3/s1600/Wildstorm+20+pt+5.jpg" height="400" title="" width="236" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Uh, okay?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Beyond that, making your team functionally immortal seems like it's going to kill suspense and storytelling opportunities. It's an underrated strength of the X-Men that as strong as Storm, Cyclops, et al. are, they also have "glass jaws" that mean they can be taken out of a fight with relative ease if a villain knows what they're doing. Is it even possible to stop Zealot or Maul? I also think it hurts a reader's ability to relate to the material, since very few of us are immortal vampires/highlanders/whatever, so being "thousands of years old" is really more of a villainous thing to be (see: Vandal Savage, Apocalypse, Galactus, etc.).<br />
<br />
Beyond style issues, I have to confess that James Robinson's dialogue here is wooden and generally terrible. I've heard his Starman is beloved by all loyal DC fans, but his dialogue here is so incredibly ponderous it fills every page with unnecessary, poorly written prose. Some samples:<br />
<br />
"Maybe you're right. Yeah. Maybe you are. But we have to look at the bigger picture, here."<br />
<br />
"All that talk. Such grand boasts. And this is the best you can muster? You're a joke, White. And not a very funny one." -Mr. Majestic, talking to a guy who hasn't boasted at all.<br />
<br />
And as chatty as everybody is, we still don't get dialogue or narrrative exposition for most of it, so this comic really presumes I'm a much bigger fan of WildC.A.T.s than I actually am: what if I just like Stormwatch or BWS covers? The comic doesn't bother to name all of the heroes, let alone the completely disposable villains. It's just a total mess from everything except a basic plotting standpoint, where it at least seems to flow from this part into the next, and does tell us who the bad guy is going to be without making us read 10 parts (looking at you, The Crossing).<br />
<br />
On the other hand, Charest's art is nice; he's still essentially a Jim Lee clone at this point, but he's at least a pretty good Jim Lee clone, and despite his hilarious sense of design, I've always liked Lee's art. His drawings of Savant reminded me of "Bucky" from the Heroes Reborn storyline, maybe because he did a fill-in after Marvel fired Liefeld for missing deadlines and drawing hideous freakshow Captain America pin-ups.<br />
<br />
<b>90's Fashion:</b> In addition to his Cyclops style ammo belt, Spartan has a lower-thigh... buckle? Voodoo is wearing Jean Grey's Jim Lee costume. "Warblade," whose codename I don't think I ever read during the issue, has like, knife-fingers, you know? And a pony tail. Grifter wears a tattered t-shirt, but he accessorizes it with a Cyclops-style ammo belt and a mid-thigh pouch. Savant wears an aviator jacket and goggles on her head. Mr. White wears a red beret and a "Hush" style trenchcoat (reminder: Jim Lee is responsible for Hush's design). White's simian henchman wears spiked shoulder pads and a wrestler helmet.Dobsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08884152078310514684noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1497388721455949749.post-45320534924694874262014-07-18T11:33:00.000-05:002014-07-18T11:33:28.927-05:00Quasar #18<b>Quasar #18, "The Bearable Lightness of Being," Cover Date January 1991</b><br />
Written by Mark Gruenwald, Penciled by Greg Capullo, Inked by Keith Williams<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZpdBWaSTMRsovknaEilEEAmH5_xT4g3NmBcIQRPobQqsCr-Cbq2kjydShu9kdP-fenmxtqjzU_Hdp75JClMLM-NmZHXMCNMe6-GGtUbFAHP2-KqfA8d_757fwxIXb-wiSYScxWuS1Lywq/s1600/Quasar+18+Cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="Quasar 18 Cover" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZpdBWaSTMRsovknaEilEEAmH5_xT4g3NmBcIQRPobQqsCr-Cbq2kjydShu9kdP-fenmxtqjzU_Hdp75JClMLM-NmZHXMCNMe6-GGtUbFAHP2-KqfA8d_757fwxIXb-wiSYScxWuS1Lywq/s1600/Quasar+18+Cover.jpg" height="400" title="" width="257" /></a></div>
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<br />
One of the traps of writing about a decade of comics is to reduce a huge amount of work to a specific set of common tropes, and to make exceptions for "everything else" that doesn't fit into that narrative of what defines a decade. In reality, 10 years in most any media is a long time that sees more than one trend, and for comics in particular it was a time of rapid change. For Marvel in 1991, they were putting out more books than they ever had, but unlike their expansion later in the decade, there was such a huge new talent pool that Marvel was putting out some legitimately great books, and quite a few more that at the very least had a very talented artist working on them. In late 1990, you had Art Adams penciling Simonson scripts on a classic run of Fantastic Four, Jim Lee working with Claremont on X-Men, Todd McFarlane drawing long, flowing Hobgoblin capes on Spider-Man and Erik Larsen doing his best Steve Ditko impression on Amazing Spider-Man, while on Marvel's "second tier" of sellers you still had newcomer Mark Bagley working on New Warriors, JRJR penciling Iron Man (a natural fit since he didn't have to draw as many faces), Jim Valentino on Guardians of the Galaxy, a young Brian Hitch on Sensational She-Hulk, and Ron Frentz doing great work on Thor. In short, there was actually so much artistic talent that it didn't seem like such a bad idea to have 50 books a month being published. Unfortunately, within 2 years we'd see even more new titles as many of these artists abandoned Marvel to head for Image.<br />
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All of that is to say that Quasar, probably a third tier title in terms of sales, still managed to have talented artists working on the book. It was debuted with Paul Ryan, a solid hand who'd go on to have an extended run with Fantastic Four, but as he left the book, he was replaced by Greg Capullo, who'd go on to make a name for himself as a Spawn and then Batman artist. But enough preamble, let's review Quasar #18!<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3GYQTrTCa1REkGaRLHr8ofH0c2ppEhxZ3Z4qsatzm4vH0eCrrCerJ1yZS7SwgIS3taJWa1YZK1b76iMl2MpUChba8bPUH8XbIOKK0QIjgEYviV9I0nAMY5-1lCbcBUE6g42pMRadsSXXg/s1600/Quasar+18+pt+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img alt="Quasar 18 Bad Trip" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3GYQTrTCa1REkGaRLHr8ofH0c2ppEhxZ3Z4qsatzm4vH0eCrrCerJ1yZS7SwgIS3taJWa1YZK1b76iMl2MpUChba8bPUH8XbIOKK0QIjgEYviV9I0nAMY5-1lCbcBUE6g42pMRadsSXXg/s1600/Quasar+18+pt+1.jpg" height="273" title="" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">If you don't do drugs, how do you know what a bad trip feels like, smart guy?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br />
Wendell Vaughn, wearing a tie, finds himself in his hometown without remembering exactly what he's doing there. He goes home and visits his mother and sister, who are excited to see him, but he's unnerved by not knowing what he's doing there or how he got there. He calls his secretary and finds his appointment book is blank for the day. A confused Wendell says he doesn't do drugs, so why does he feel like he's come off a "bad trip"? He has a dream of flying with his Quantum Bands, but his sister wakes him up. He goes down to have dinner, and his mom mentions that a certain 10 year old boy idolizes Wendell for making good and moving to the big city, where super heroes live. Whoah, slow down, comic, there's too much action!<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFrFv9wlUBZUbwCvdAGK2mbNUh-WG5x0edEUhhMTjhSzIxNcLwQ4mxSwxXLfPsQdGZLBdnNAtGzutteP1CG-ytGbpvvfcMr1bb_sITpbj58e3dbtpbbAu92I8XvcOgn3wcKSyNhvsFXNjk/s1600/Quasar+18+pt+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img alt="Quasar 18 Great Lakes Avengers" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFrFv9wlUBZUbwCvdAGK2mbNUh-WG5x0edEUhhMTjhSzIxNcLwQ4mxSwxXLfPsQdGZLBdnNAtGzutteP1CG-ytGbpvvfcMr1bb_sITpbj58e3dbtpbbAu92I8XvcOgn3wcKSyNhvsFXNjk/s1600/Quasar+18+pt+2.jpg" height="152" title="" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Some of my creations are a bit lame..."</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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The 10 year old, Billy, comes over, but immediately talks Wendell into following him back to his house, where he has a clubhouse in the garage. Wendell finds the place covered in drawings of superheroes and full of comics, as Billy confesses that he's not a 10 year old, but an ancient cosmic being locked in a struggle with another cosmic being. Wendell asks if he reads anything other than comic books, and tells Wendell that he's really Quasar. Wendell asks about Thor and cosmic characters, but the kid has answers, namely that he planted subconscious suggestions for cosmic characters to go to earth, so that they'd become super heroes later on. Billy tells Wendell how he got to Oshkosh: he received a fax telling him a cosmic menace was there, flew out as Quasar, and, following an energy trail to a nursing home, suddenly had himself erased from existence by the "Unbeing." Billy explains that the Unbeing lives in the midwest, and erases superheroes she comes across, although somehow she missed the GLA, who we see in a drawing. Billy says the only way to solve the problem is to kill the Unbeing's current form, an old lady. Wendell hesitates, but Billy insists that if he doesn't, she/it will wipe out all the heroes and villains. He gives Wendell a glimpse of his "true form," which is a very God-like image. Wendell walks home, after promising to help, and wonders why a creative force is asking him to kill somebody. He goes back home, where Billy's mother mentions that he gets his artistic ability from his grandmother, causing Wendell to wonder whether Billy's grandmother is the one in the nursing home.<br />
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The next day, Wendell picks up Billy and takes him to the nursing home. Everything appears to be on the up and up, but Billy "powers up" Quasar, who's now in costume and wearing his bands. He covers his grandmother's nose and mouth, and tells Quasar to "shoot her." Quasar thinks "please let this be the right thing" as he blasts... Billy?!?<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2RyGALZd8ToNRbW8aNhaG6NtT70lDQT_kDeTm3AtO50MmrG56-uWbNDSjUik-IHumnSYgoxHCHiwXdPOiTqA5dqpQPdbyuugeRtOt8krX8_z8L1g-kdl60dfIO2OXbOWNxU_rK93ajDtf/s1600/Quasar+18+pt+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img alt="Quasar 18 Unbeing revealed" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2RyGALZd8ToNRbW8aNhaG6NtT70lDQT_kDeTm3AtO50MmrG56-uWbNDSjUik-IHumnSYgoxHCHiwXdPOiTqA5dqpQPdbyuugeRtOt8krX8_z8L1g-kdl60dfIO2OXbOWNxU_rK93ajDtf/s1600/Quasar+18+pt+4.jpg" height="400" title="" width="260" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Never trust anyone in bootleg Simpsons shirts.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Billy explodes into a weird pink creature and calls Quasar an "insipid traitor," then dissipates. The old lady explains that she's the real Origin, and he was the Unbeing, and Quasar says it was just a gut feeling that the kid was a bit too bloodthirsty that led to him shooting the kid. Origin says that Quasar's costume isn't as cool as she hoped when she'd designed it, so she gives him a new look that's more Captain Marvel-y. She also calls him "the most extraordinary hero she's ever created," which is just flattery, lady, we all know he isn't the best. As Quasar flies back to visit his family, vague cloud-like forms chide the Unbeing for failing, but he insists that he at least kept Quasar from sensing the arrival of a "great pawn," and that this could still result in "Death and Oblivion" taking things over.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5VasxD1k-0kiu0WuLzh8h5KbF86v2Lg8zQCZXOZLkzayLhRU-VOinvvJzIRXZHEHMU2jNKkkJALxingDChyphenhypheneOu-nd8ozXsPPu5phh0bDeVa2nyqloFrc4-nxYxmKnNRmf3bytcUcgXUjy/s1600/Quasar+18+pt+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img alt="Quasar 18 new costume" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5VasxD1k-0kiu0WuLzh8h5KbF86v2Lg8zQCZXOZLkzayLhRU-VOinvvJzIRXZHEHMU2jNKkkJALxingDChyphenhypheneOu-nd8ozXsPPu5phh0bDeVa2nyqloFrc4-nxYxmKnNRmf3bytcUcgXUjy/s1600/Quasar+18+pt+5.jpg" height="400" title="" width="168" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Whoops you still look like a huge dork."</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br />
<b>Review:</b><br />
<br />
I'm not always a fan of these "meta" stories where some outside force creates superheroes or whatever, but at least in this story, the force is in their world, not outside of it, so there's a bit less looking through the fourth wall type stuff. The story's competently built around the big twist of Quasar blasting a 10 year old Twilight Zone kid, which I saw coming as an adult reader, but would probably be at least a bit surprising to a less cynical audience. I complained about Darkhawk not putting the hero in costume and introducing too much family drama, but even though this issue on its surface has those same issues, it's a lot more palatable because 1) Quasar's confusion echoes the reader's own, and 2) this book doesn't require a bunch of previous reading of the series to explain what's going on: all the information you need is given within this story. So while the actual story revolving around cosmic creator/destroyer figures that make super heroes is a bit divorced from what I like in superhero comics, at the very least it's a well told little one and done story.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFTrvs-ZqCHxYvHxliGIhgYnxmcgY93vdxp4N5u_0GmFo8r4HZmIKTlZ9KymdmdNg4cYf3LGqR_uqHVApBX3HiSARrfMBvZx2FnftOU-JC3XDaQOv9XR9ndahLFIm6ZyvTxpQzKyTI1nET/s1600/Quasar+18+pt+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img alt="Quasar 18 Origin lies" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFTrvs-ZqCHxYvHxliGIhgYnxmcgY93vdxp4N5u_0GmFo8r4HZmIKTlZ9KymdmdNg4cYf3LGqR_uqHVApBX3HiSARrfMBvZx2FnftOU-JC3XDaQOv9XR9ndahLFIm6ZyvTxpQzKyTI1nET/s1600/Quasar+18+pt+3.jpg" height="180" title="" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I know he just saved your life, lady, but that's objectively false.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Greg Capullo at the time was a pretty unknown, having only done a few What If stories and an Avengers Spotlight for Marvel, but he becomes the new regular penciler of Quasar as of this issue. His line work here is very clean and simple, and outside of a few slightly exaggerated shots of "Billy"'s head, I don't really see much of Todd McFarlane in his work at this point. He leaves out a few backgrounds, especially later in the issue, but all in all his work is way better than what I would expect for a book that Marvel never put any effort into promoting.<br />
<br />
<b>90's Fashion:</b> Very little to see here. Quasar dresses like a Mormon out of costume, first wearing a suit, then wearing a high school t-shirt tucked into his jeans with penny loafers. Billy does wear a purple T-shirt with Bart Simpson on it, which is definitely a 90's relic. Both Quasar's old costume and new look are extremely retro, with nary a pouch in sight!Dobsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08884152078310514684noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1497388721455949749.post-13850219871847918352014-07-09T09:55:00.001-05:002014-07-09T09:56:24.675-05:00Review: Backlash #1Backlash #1, "Issue Number One," Cover Date November 1994<br />
Written by Sean Ruffner, Jeff Mariotte, and Brett Booth, Penciled by Brett Booth, Inked by four people with an assist from a fifth<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjyDmzW8OsDQwJZ3cb-sddQJXM4Av3eVLXE3I1lR4XQvHu9NcLddSIwHnGjbwASwQ0yuhOcrZfLXXyn1e4KYXwCq8dHfopJa8boSY2nKcrXxj4pfmQQZVQGKjS4gJfCgQ8WZYgTIYr97Wm/s1600/Backlash+1+Cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="Backlash 1 Cover" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjyDmzW8OsDQwJZ3cb-sddQJXM4Av3eVLXE3I1lR4XQvHu9NcLddSIwHnGjbwASwQ0yuhOcrZfLXXyn1e4KYXwCq8dHfopJa8boSY2nKcrXxj4pfmQQZVQGKjS4gJfCgQ8WZYgTIYr97Wm/s1600/Backlash+1+Cover.jpg" height="400" title="" width="257" /></a></div>
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Backlash is a spin-off character of Stormwatch, one of the earliest outputs from Jim Lee's Wildstorm Universe. Very briefly, Backlash is a three thousand year old alien-human hybrid who is a martial arts master and has various other super powers, and served as a sort of drill sergeant for Stormwatch, Wildstorm's Justice League (their base was an orbiting space station called Skywatch). After almost 20 issues of the "core" title, which was able to meet deadlines in part because Jim Lee stopped doing even covers for the book almost immediately, Backlash got his own book, which would run 32 issues.<br />
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We begin with our hero as his internal monologue tells us he's breaking into a prison for super-powered beings. He hears guards approaching and turns to mist, Dracula-style, to avoid them, but one of the guards notices the mist going into a vent, instead of out, and says "I know a break when I see one!" Obviously you don't, guard. Backlash mists himself deeper into the complex, and interrupts another pair of guards's conversation by blasting them with an electrified lash. He knocks out another set of guards as one flirts with a female guard (whose gender-ized armor is not quite as dumb as the armor worn by the Guardsman in my <a href="http://thepouchfiles.blogspot.com/2013/10/review-avengers-unplugged-1.html">Avengers: Unplugged review</a>). Yet more guards show up and announce that they know how to deal with "his kind," and announce via radio that the thread is neutralized. Annoyed, Backlash uses his energy lash to cause a guard's energy gun to backfire, knocking both men out. Backlash feels a bit of remorse for beating up "brave" men and women doing their jobs who just got in his way. Backlash enters the maximum security area where previous enemies shout threats at him, but he more or less ignores them until he finds Amanda Reed, aka Taboo, and offers to let her out if she'll help him.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8Zyp97fp-S5AjuEy8_0b_gxC44eJUAf3aV8pmnjJmN5GDnvCB7jM-mNCqKXpFcU1IrLHoYk9HWznpB-ov8O-588VoUAXd41zIp3yGPiIlcMOgpksh99LCHyATg7lOq8u2xjEzeJDz-mJJ/s1600/Backlash+1+pt+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Backlash 1 Pike Daemonite Mr. Sinister Deadpool" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8Zyp97fp-S5AjuEy8_0b_gxC44eJUAf3aV8pmnjJmN5GDnvCB7jM-mNCqKXpFcU1IrLHoYk9HWznpB-ov8O-588VoUAXd41zIp3yGPiIlcMOgpksh99LCHyATg7lOq8u2xjEzeJDz-mJJ/s1600/Backlash+1+pt+1.jpg" height="400" title="" width="335" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">C'mon, Image, you're not even trying.</td></tr>
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Backlash flashes back to what brought him here, a meeting 3 days prior in central park with Stormwatch member Diva. Diva tells Marc that his girlfriend is in a coma as a result of alien attack, and Backlash vows to get his hands on the alien who did this. The two have an emotional hug, as Backlash says Diva's special and that Stormwatch needs her more than he does. We cut to a medical institute, where Marc, in a hoodie and ripped jeans that a three thousand year old man is too old to be wearing dispatches of a few orderlies, thinking to himself that Stormwatch should've hired better security for his comatose girlfriend. He waxes emotional after seeing her, and then finds her chart, where her doctors have pretty pessimistically said that she has two months, max to live. Pretty specific diagnosis, doc. We get two pages of flashback (without a note directing us to an issue of Stormwatch) that explain that Diane was possessed by a Daemonite, and Backlash separated it from her, but possibly at the cost of her "soul."<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhck8NFAso8yDvcPGPnQQBgjFtAh-Z9HU34xu8P0uGJyWIGkQjjZd1tthM4l1gQfnYqXOI_t0VC9k6v8hDzO0m0yHqwsV7CsvPlY1UXW6j2NA5gQhcWrqd1iW-J_KZ7dOUL8K0oURH4t2iT/s1600/Backlash+1+pt+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img alt="Backlash 1 Pike impale" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhck8NFAso8yDvcPGPnQQBgjFtAh-Z9HU34xu8P0uGJyWIGkQjjZd1tthM4l1gQfnYqXOI_t0VC9k6v8hDzO0m0yHqwsV7CsvPlY1UXW6j2NA5gQhcWrqd1iW-J_KZ7dOUL8K0oURH4t2iT/s1600/Backlash+1+pt+2.jpg" height="400" title="" width="280" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Don't worry, Backlash walks this off.</td></tr>
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Backlash is interrupted in his flashbacks as Mr. Sinister and Deadpool show up! Mr. Sinister is apparently possessed by the Daemonite, but before Backlash can deal with him, "Pike," the Deadpool analogue, starts fighting him. Marc takes Pike down, but before he can have a big showdown with the Daemonite, Pike shoves an energy pike through Backlash's back, Frank Miller style, causing it to comically protrude through his torso (I say comically because Elektra was killed in a comics approved format without blood, this is an Image comic and Backlash isn't even hurt). The cops arrive and the bad guys disappear, so Backlash mists away again.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij9NTfnQJxpoVpRGKequ-JOxN-ihRIKLggNOzZYXSMbJD5FghnOD8GWnLfap81IvAMwg4Lj_9SmDLiuQNNtQvD7NACSOcq12g0Lu1kQu1xURBHbWfLl9PeUiBxcmXVGf0pQbtNAPESel-7/s1600/Backlash+1+pt+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img alt="Backlash 1 Taboo sailor" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij9NTfnQJxpoVpRGKequ-JOxN-ihRIKLggNOzZYXSMbJD5FghnOD8GWnLfap81IvAMwg4Lj_9SmDLiuQNNtQvD7NACSOcq12g0Lu1kQu1xURBHbWfLl9PeUiBxcmXVGf0pQbtNAPESel-7/s1600/Backlash+1+pt+4.jpg" height="326" title="" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Uhh I didn't call you 'sailor'?"</td></tr>
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Back in the present, Taboo, looking very Black Widow-like, tells Backlash to come back to earth from his prison break daydream. Backlash inexplicably says "don't call me sailor," even though she didn't, as a giant mech guard shows up to fight him. He quickly dispatches the guard, as Taboo cracks a joke, causing Backlash to glower. She tells him to lighten up and puts a hand on his shoulder, prompting a "don't. Touch. Me!" response. What a 3,000 year old baby.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Maybe the anatomy isn't perfect, but I think this is still pretty dynamic art.</td></tr>
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The duo escape to the outside, where they're in the arctic for some reason, and they fight a few more guardsman. Backlash releases Taboo's power inhibitor, so she powers up and causes a few guards to crash into each other. He tells her not to kill anybody, but she insists with all their armor, the guards will be fine in a few years. More guards surround the two, but they drop under the ice, where they're picked up by a waiting ship, piloted by "Cyberjack." Backlash tells Cyberjack to shut up and drive, and we're out!<br />
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<b>Review:</b><br />
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Prison break storylines are not exactly uncommon, but this issue does do a pretty solid job of using the prison break to show Backlash's powers, his motivations, and manages to do a decent job of introducing Taboo (who debuts here). The simple story allows the focus to be on Brett Booth's pencils, which are about as Jim Lee as you can get without actually being Jim Lee. To Booth's credit, he does a nice job capturing emotion on Backlash's unmasked face in the flashback, so that it's not just a gruff mercenary guy busting a murderer out of jail to fight aliens, it's a gruff hero busting a murderer out of jail to <i>save the woman he loves</i>. As first issues go, this is pretty solid. It's not heavy on characterization, but the action is fun, and the tone is established as a sort of espionage/action vehicle that's going to see Backlash fight aliens and a Deadpool look-alike. Booth's pencils are solid, and while the scripting isn't re-inventing the wheel, it's doing the job, as this ends up being a pretty fun introduction to an ongoing book.<br />
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<b>90's Fashion:</b><br />
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Backlash's costume is definitely an early 90's Jim Lee design, with a mark over one eye of his mask, mid-thigh pouches, a Cyclops-style strap around his chest, and pouch belts around one mid-thigh but not the other. His low-profile out of costume attire includes jeans full of rips that look like he made them himself to try to look cool. Taboo (everyone has dumb 90's names) has a costume that reminds me of a less fan-service-y Witchblade (which hadn't come out yet), as an alien symbiote thing wraps around her as soon as her inhibitor collar is off. I still can't get over what a rip-off of Deadpool and Mr. Sinister that image is, though. I mean, Image creators aren't shy about letting you know what they're referencing, are they?Dobsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08884152078310514684noreply@blogger.com0