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Post by codystarbuck on Oct 2, 2020 21:36:53 GMT -5
I made it to #5 of Micronauts Vol. 2 I think. I think Jones shows inexperience sometimes as in that one Acroyear figure, but he seemed to be trying to maintain Guice's style (and he was trying to keep to some of Golden's original designs for the microverse generally). I don't know why I never bought even one issue of Swashbucklers, maybe I missed #1 or something... There was a Bug solo comic circa 1997, no idea what it was like. They do show up in the Peter David Captain Marvel series...    I read it and recall it being pretty fun. |
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Post by brianf on Oct 3, 2020 0:37:11 GMT -5
I LOVE that Bug special!
Funny stuff.
I got most of the Mircons stuff - in Cable, Alpha Flight, a few Hulks and a funky Venom/Scarlet Spider story.
I don't have the Earth X or GOTG stuff - I read em from the library years ago though.
I haven't read the recent run in the Spider-Man/Deadpool comic....
I'll figure it out as I go along - whee!
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Post by dbutler69 on Oct 3, 2020 12:13:52 GMT -5
Seeing the Micronauts assault that police car, I am reminded of the matter of their diminutive size. I suppose that the original idea in having the Micronauts be tiny in our world was inspired by the actual size of the toys. It also harkened to the days of the Land of giants TV show, which Bill Mantlo doubtless saw as a kid (because we all did!) en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Land_of_the_GiantsNow, how is it that they are so tiny? After all Psycho-man, the Fantastic Four nemesis who also hails from a subatomic universe, isn't five inches tall when he visits our Earth. My opinion at the time was that the Micronauts are five inches tall, even in their own universe. We don't realize in the scenes set on Homeworld because their entire civilization is naturally built to scale. That means that whenever a Micronaut travels to Earth they will seem to be leprechauns, and whenever an Earthling travels to the Microverse they will appear to be giants. The only way to change that is if the travellers don't simply cross the Spacewall but use a McGuffin like Pym particles to adopt whatever size they want. Now why are the "microns" who currently run around the Marvel Universe are normal sized, I do not know. That's anyway less of an enigma than their being alive, considering they all sacrificed themselves to bring life back to the Microverse at the end of their second series. (Perhaps a grateful Enigma Force gave them a second lease on life, giant-sized, away from the microverse?) Yes, I believe this is correct. It's mentioned in one of these early issues that Micronauts and humans both retain their relative size when they go between the earth and the Microverse. and indeed, when Ray Coffin and Professor Prometheus travel to the Microverse, that are giants there. |
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Post by dbutler69 on Oct 3, 2020 12:21:39 GMT -5
Issue #8  Cover Date: August 1979
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Writer: Bill Mantlo
Penciller/co-plotter: Michael Golden
Inker: Bob McLeod
Letterer: Diana Albers
Colorist: Carl Gafford
Cover: Michael Golden
Editor: Al MilgromThe Earth Wars! (17 pages; color) Synopsis: Steve Coffin and the Micronauts arrive at the H.E.L.L. labs to find Karza has taken control of he Prometheus androids and is currently battling the military forces at the base, and soundly defeating them. Lots of recap of the first 7 issues follow as the Micornauts join the fray. Back on Homewolrd, Slug and Price Argon are reunited with the rebels and we learn the secret of the Shaodw Priests-they were founded by the Time Travelers, who are the embodiment of the Enigma Force, to infiltrate Karza's regime by serving him but whose purpose was to foment rebellion and wait for the return of the promised champion-Arcturus Rand. They give Prince Argon the ceremonial armor of Prince Dallon (Rann's father) and becomes Force Commander, to lead the rebellion's forces in an uprising while Karza is off-world. The Time Travelers give Ray Coffinthe power of the Enigma Force and he becomes their champion, Captain Universe, to oppose Karza on Earth. He arrives as Karza soundly defeating the Micronauts and turns the tide of battle. During the battle Princess Mari professes her love for Arcturus Rand before she and Rann are struck down by Karza. Rann recovers, and we learn he carries all the secrets of the Enigma Force within him, but Mari is injured and Rann decides this is a hopeless fight. The only way to beat Karza is to get him to return to the Microverse, so the Micronauts all board the Endeavor and fly into the Prometheus Pit. Karza and Captain Universe are evenly matched and fighting to a stalemate, but Karza realizes that Rann intends to seal the Prometheus Pit cutting him off from the Microverse forever and stranding him on Earth, so he reverses the mind transference, abandoning Prometheus' body and flees back to the Microverse before the Pit closes. The Time Travelers reclaim the power of the Enigma Force form Ray Coffin, who is Captain Universe no more, but he is reunited with Steve (they have a happy ending for now) and Prometheus is taken into custody. Ratings: Story: 9/10 Art: 8/10 Overall: 9/10 Commentary: McLeod replaces Rubinstein as finisher on this issue and it is a jarring change rather than a smooth transition. The first few pages look really awkward as it seems like McLeod is trying to impose Kirby-esque elements onto Golden's art while spotting black all over the place making everything seem blocky and murky, hiding all the faces in blotchy shadows. Then when he does show the faces, they are exaggerated and cartoony expressions of shock on the soldier's faces that just take the flow of the story to a screeching halt, especially when combined with the massive amounts of recap mixed in on those first few pages, it makes for a very rough start to the issue. However, McLeod and Golden's stuff seems to come together a bit more a few pages into the issue (the page/panel where we see Argon and Slug with the rebels is the first where it starts to come together, not sure if McLeod finally found the right touch to work with Golden's pencils or if editorial stepped in after seeing the first few pages and recommended some changes, but there is a sharp uptick in the quality of the art after that rough start. It's also that point where the story itself kicked into high gear and caught me up in the flow of it, and that may have colored my perception of the art from that point on. There's a panel where Karza smacks down the diminutive Acroyear and he hits the ground hard and his flight pack pops off and the wings break off of it. I almost wonder if Golden did research by throwing Acroyear figures down on the ground, because the same exact thing happened to my Acroyear figure when I was playing with it and it slipped out of my hand as a kid. Crashed to the ground, the wings broke and the pack popped off from the force. Seeing that panel brought back flashbacks of the childhood toy trauma. Mantlo is really digging in and building the mythology of the Microverse in this issue, and building connective tissue through it all. Not sure how much is pure Mantlo and how much comes from Golden though, as they are co-plotters on this. But we get all of the following this issue: Argon reveals the Time Travelers appeared to the royal family predicting their fall and that they would rise again before Karza turned on them. We see flashbacks of Arcturus' parents standing up to Karza, and Karza coming to power on Homeworld. WE learn the nature of the Time Travelers (the living embodiments of the Enigma Force), the secrets of the Shadow Priests and why they appeared to serve Karza but aided the rebellion, we learn Rann was the champion prophesied by the Enigma Force to return to end Karza's rule and that the nature of his threat to Karza lies in the secrets of the Enigma Force he unknowingly carries. We see Karza realize this and decide he must capture Rann rather than destroy him to learn those secrets so he can overcome the Enigma Force. It's a lot of backstory, but its packed throughout the issue coming out through the action and not done as a pure exposition info dump, so kudos to Mantlo and Golden for that narrative choice. So we have moved far beyond a toy tie-in story and homages to Star Wars and other sci-fi properties, and have started building a fascinating mythos in its own right within the span of a few issues, and this issue it all comes together and we start to see the big picture of how it all fits together, and for me at least, it leaves me wanting more, more, more. The excursion to earth was a nice touch, allowing the events on Homeworld to percolate, but I am glad they are returning the the Microverse so we can get back to the meat of the matter. One other note though-the revelation of Mari's love for Rann-it feels a bit clunky. It doesn't quite come out of nowhere, in that Mantlo & Golden have been building up the romantic tension for the previous handful of issues, but we were left with the impression last time it was addressed on page that the robots recognized what was happening but Mari and Rann were either in denial or oblivious to the cause of the tension between them. It's not surprising that Mari would realize her feelings for Rann in a moment of stress when they were in real danger, but her pronouncement feels clunky because in a medium where we can be privy to the inner thoughts of the characters, we never see her realize it, we just go from that last impression from the previous issue to them fighting side by side and her suddenly pronouncing her love for him and refusing to leave his side when he tries to send her off to protect her. It's a moment that should be a huge payoff for what was building up, but it falls flat in the context of the issue because of the way it was executed. Sadly I think, a single thought balloon somewhere earlier in the issue, or a panel where we get a close up of Mari looking at Rann and thinking or whispering the moment of realization of her feelings to herself would have made that moment of her pronouncement so much more impactful when we see Rann's startled reaction and having it play into his decision to retreat to the Microverse the way he did. That missing step in the narrative process where Mari's realization occurs before the pronouncement just robbed the scene of some of it's emotional impact because instead of cheering or saying finally or other positive audience reactions, it was more of a huh when-where-how did that happen moment instead, and you felt like you missed something rather than that you just witnessed a key turning point in the whole deal, and it was a key moment, because it was what fueled Rann's fateful decision and turned the tide of the whole issue. -M I agree, I didn't like the are in this issue as much as the previous ones. I actually didn't like the story quite a much, either. Maybe it was some of the kinda cheesy dialogue. I agree that Rann & Mari's romance does seem clunky at this point, and I think maybe it goes back to the aforementioned dialogue. The Time Traveller stuff is cool and interesting, though. |
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Post by beccabear67 on Oct 3, 2020 13:10:18 GMT -5
I am remembering some kind of scene with Psycho-Man running micronaut-sized out of his large oversized body which was a construct... perhaps that was in one of those Peter David Captain Marvels?
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Post by profh0011 on Oct 3, 2020 15:55:03 GMT -5
The Jackson Guice run of "MICRONAUTS" started out-- and ended, completely devastating. You started out with a mass-murder... shocking for what was no doubt initially perceived as a "kids" book (based on a toy line, after all). Then things got interesting... and deep... and depressing... and the "X-MEN" 4-part cross-over (which came out at the same time as 4 issues of the regular book, but were obviously meant to be read in one go in between 2 of those issues) seemed to serve no purpose other than a last-moment marketing gimmick.
And then you had the finale. OH... MY... #58 made #50 look like a kiddie book by comparison.
As said by others, it seems like Bill Mantlo wrote himself into a corner with Baron Karza. He defeated him... but then, wound up finding a sneaky way to bring him back. But then he seemed defeated again... except, things just kept getting worse and worse and worse... and then, it turned out, Karza was never really "gone". And when he came back again, whatever initial ambitions of power he had seemed just forgotten and swept away in favor of revenge, killing, and more and more and MORE killing. Until there was nobody left to kill anymore. Oy.
I guess that was the perfect time for Mantlo & Guice to move on, and leave it go at that.
But obviously, somebody wanted it to go on......
When I first heard of "THE NEW VOYAGES", I thought, hey, maybe this time we'll finally see something other than endless Karza and more Karza, and The Micronauts will begin exploring their universe in a more positive light.
IT DIDN'T HAPPEN.
And, to this day, my opinion of Kelly Jones hasn't changed. I LOVED his inks. But his pencils started out STIFF, and LIFELESS, and excessively-detailed to no real purpose. And that was before he got just plain WEIRD.
I recall one issue of John Ostrander's run of "THE SPECTRE" where Jones filled in INKING over Jim Aparo, who was also filling in as penciller. And it blew my mind (in a good way). I hadn't seen Jones' inks since MICRONAUTS #58, and damn! --he was STILL a great inker. I have just never, ever liked his pencils.
And as for Peter Gillis... I doubt anything could ever inspire me to want to re-read his stories. Here, on DEFENDERS, DR. STRANGE or The Black Flame. All of it was just too single-mindedly depressing.
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Post by rom on Oct 3, 2020 18:26:38 GMT -5
I only read the Mike Golden Micronauts issues many years ago, but do remember it was an excellent book. Whenever threads like this get bumped it's a sad reminder that this amazing series still hasn't been reprinted; too bad rights issues are a problem here.
I would definitely be all for a set of Omnibuses (or even color Trades) reprinting the entire series, mini-series, Annuals, etc. Even though I haven't read the later issues, I would definitely be onboard for these reprints - just based on the great scans & the praise Micronauts has received over the years.
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Post by brianf on Oct 3, 2020 22:03:36 GMT -5
 Micronauts The New Voyages #1 (1984) Writer - Peter Gillis Pencils - Kelley Jones Inks - Bruce Patterson Editor - Macchio Cover Art - Michael Golden Going into a re-read I had low expectations, and overall I think this issue is... fine. Basic plot is the Micronauts head off to visit a planet Rann discovered during his thousand year journey but while in hyperspace a malfunction causes the ship to shoot way beyond its target and coming out of hyperspace (after Rann gets his hand cut off) our crew find themselves in uncharted space in a crippled ship. They are scanned by a strange object that has some level of intelligence, when a nearby pulsing star sends out bursts of deadly radiation as the issue ends. Not as bad as I remember, but I have noticed in the past when I have a sour memory of a book that I've forgotten the details about I tend to enjoy it more, since my expectations were so low. So yeah, now I wanna read the next issue, so there's that. Faint praise, engaged!   |
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Post by dbutler69 on Oct 5, 2020 11:36:20 GMT -5
Issue #9  Cover Date: September 1979 Publisher: Marvel Comics Writer: Bill Mantlo Penciller/co-plotter: Michael Golden Inker/Editor: Al Migrom Letterer: Joe Rosen Colorist: Carl Gafford Cover: Michael Golden Home is Where the Heart Is! (color; 18 pages) Synopsis: The Micronauts return to the Microverse and emerge near Spartak, the Acoyear homeworld, where the Acroyear fleet take them into custody. They are taken planetside, but Acroyear does not know what type of reception they will receive, and they prepare for the fight of their lives. Karza returns as well, and rendezvous with his fleet, and learns where the Micronauts are, ordering the battle fleet to Spartak. On Homeworld, Force Commander and Slug lead the rebel forces on an attack against the Body Banks, aided by the Shaodwpriests. Back on Spartak, the Acroyear people swear allegiance to Priince Acroyear, who is reunited with his love and learns his brother is in captivity and the thoughtwash has ended. Karza's fleet arrives and bombards Spartak. The Micronauts aid in the defense while Acroyear enters a crystal chamber to activate the Spartak world mind a sis the role of the King of his people. Karza's forces are winning and it appears Rann's ship is destroyed in battle when it crashes into Karza's force shields. Acroyear activates the world mind uniting the minds of all his people, and we learn how Acroyears people came to the world and settled it... RatingsStory: 8/10 Art: 8/10 Overall: 8/10 Comments: Milgrom's inks do not do Golden's art any favors. Milgrom has a heavy line and it looks liek there is a lot more spotted blacks, obscuring faces and other details, and while not quite wreaking havoc with Golden's aork, it does drag it down, and make it feel stiffer and less dynamic. The war machines of the Microverse look much more toy-like and out of place this issue than in any issue since the debut issue, and I think a lot of that can be laid at the feet of Milgrom. Storywise, it's good but mostly set up for the final act of this opening saga, moving it into the next phase. Lots of exposition, reveals about Acroyear and Spartak, and lots of little cliffhanger,s but very little resolution of anything this issue, so it feels a bit unsatisfying as a chapter in the saga in and of itself. A couple of good character moments-Rann and Mari's reaction to Acroyer and his love Cicilia's reunion, and Mari's reaction to Rann's apparent death are the highlights, and Bug is sliding into the role of comic relief more and more, with Microtron his aide-de-camp in such. Bug gets played as a buffoon though, and his antics are not quite funny, but his devotion to Acroyear is a saving grace for the character at this point, giving him some appeal despite the buffoonery. The Spartek world mind though just seemed ripped form the pages of Kirby's Eternals, with the added element of a semi-sentient planet thrown in. Apparently Spartek was once home to another people, who left for the stars, and when the nomadic Aroyears fond it in their diaspora, the world adopted them, but remade them in the image of warriors to be able to survive its harsh environment. In return, it offered the ritual of the worldmind, given tot he rightful kings to unite the people in times of trial and tribulation. The concept of it uniting the consciousness of all Acroyer of all generations into a hive-like mind fugue just seems a blatant rip off of the Eternals Uni-Mind, but the collective consciousness of a people is a sci-fi trope, so it's not so out of place, just a little too on the nose swiping for my taste. All in all, a decent issue, but a notch below what had come before. -M I don't know, I enjoyed this issue quite a bit. Milgrom's inks aren't as good as Rubensein's but I did like them better than the Bob McLeod issue. |
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Post by dbutler69 on Oct 5, 2020 11:38:19 GMT -5
Issue #10  Cover Date: October 1979 Publisher: Marvel Comics Writer: Bill Mantlo Penciller/Co-plotter: Michael Golden Inker/Editor: Al Milgrom Letters: D. Albers Colors: Carl Gafford Defeat! (17 pages; color) Synopsis: Karza has captured Rann and soon defeats Mari, returning to Homewlrd to pry the secret of the Enigma Force from Rann. Bug is apparently killed in the battle over the Acroyear Homeworld. Finally Acroyear activates the worldmind and the planet helps the Acroyear people defeat the invasion fleet. On Homeworld, the rebellion led by Force Commander has taken the bodybanks and set them aflame, but Karza returns and rallies the dog soldiers. Acoyear prepares ot lead his people against Karza, know the battle for his homeworld is but one small fight in the war. RatingsStory: 8/10 Art: 8/10 Overall: 8/10 Commentary: Milgrom's inks look much better over Golden's pencils this issue. Maybe they found their groove, maybe last issue was a rush job, or maybe Golden altered things to fit Milgrom's style knowing he had a different inker. While most of the issue is all-out action as the war is waged on multiple fronts, Mantlo still fits in lots of character moments. Mari expressing her love for Rann cradling his fallen form Microtron's devotion and ferocity, Biotron's despondent melancholy, the conflict faces by Acoyear and the weight of the crown he wears, the class struggles on Homeworld, all get little moments to shine despite the action raging around them, and it makes the action scenes seem much more important became Mantlo lets us see why they matter. That seems to be Mantlo's strength in this series-to give clear character portraits and develop character growth in the small quiet moments between the big action scenes that dominate the book. No easy task that, especially in mainstream comics. -M I've read that it takes a while for an inker to get used to a penciller, so maybe that's what happened. I again enjoyed this issue, and to me, the character moments are at least as important as the action. |
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Post by dbutler69 on Oct 5, 2020 11:43:12 GMT -5
Issue #11  Cover Date: November 1979 Publisher: Marvel Comics Writer: Bill Mantlo Penciller/Co-plotter: Michael Golden Inker/Editor: Al Milgrom Letters: Joe Rosen Colors: Carl Gafford We Are the Enigma Force! (color 18 pages) Synopsis: Karza has returned to Homeworld with Rann and Mari his prisoners. He challenges Force Commander who loses to him in one-to-one combat. All seems lost when the Shadow Priests exclaim the Enigma Force is there and reveal they are each an aspect of the Time Traveler, as is Commander Rann, a collective being embodying the Enigma force born of their experiences over the 1000 years of Rann's travels in the Microverse. Rann and Karza battle, but Rann/Time Traveler clearly have the upper hand. Karza tries to unleash a mindblast that will destroy himself as well as the Homeworld in vengeance, but he is struck down by the Mindworld of the Acroyear who arrive and enter the fray. The Acroyers decimate Karza's remaining forces and Karza's energy form is hurled into the fire pits and is apparently consumed. The war is over. RatingsStory: 10/10 Art: 8/10 Overall Impression: 9/10 Commentary: Many comic book sagas, even the best of them, have endings that wind up falling short of the build up. Part of it in the nature of the ongoing serial, as things can never truly end, but this one avoids that trap and delivers a satisfying ending for a truly great comic saga. The series continues, and I know in hindsight that this is not the end of Karza, but man what a rush in that moment he is struck down. The epic battle between Karza and Time Traveler, the arrival of the Acroyer, all of it is hitting on all cylinders, and Mantlo still works his magic to give us tiny little character moments-Slug realizing she loves Prince Argon and is now reluctant to lie down her life because she wants a life with him, Biotron's despair when he realizes his telepathic bond with Rann is gone once Rann becomes Time Traveler, Mari's strength defying Karza even when things seem hopeless, her hope shining through even as he brother despairs, Karza's overconfidence and true shock when he learns his ace in the hole isn't what he thought it would be, etc. etc. And I want to give a shout out to Joe Rosen, the letterer. He lettered quite a bit of the saga, and you never notice a ltterer's work until it's gone. Issue 10 had Diane Albers letter and it was competent, but Joe returned for #11 and the differenc eis startling, right form the title page onwards. He weaves the lettering into the tapestry of the art so it is part of the package, not a necessary add-on to make it readable as more pedestrian lettering can be. Great stuff on all levels this issue, but Golden pulls out all the stops here too. Milgrom's inks are better but still pull the art down a bit, but the layouts and page designs here are magnificent. -M You're very right. More often than not, I think, big epic sagas have disappointing endings (the Kree-Skrull War jumps immediately to mind) but this one did not disappoint. Interestingly, I remember in the letter column to #7 they stated that the war with Baron Karza would reach its climax in #12, yet it actually happened in #11. I wonder what happened to change that? As far as the lettering, I'll admit I don't much notice it, but I did take notice of how good the lettering was on #11, so I guess Joe Rosen must have been doing a great job. |
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Oct 5, 2020 13:08:19 GMT -5
Micronauts The New Voyages #1 (1984) I have mixed feelings about that series. On the positive front, it was different. It was not another version of the rebellion against Baron Karza. In overall tone, I though it evoked 2001 or Jack Kirby's Eternals more than Star Wars. It developed truly cosmic concepts, which is good for a SF series. On the negative side, I generally didn't like the inking. Kelley Jones' art demands a very slick ink line, and not a scitchy-scratchy approach. Jones was not yet Kelley Jones (this is his first pencilling job, I think?) but he already showed great talent; I just wish the technology he drew had been more technical-looking, less amorphous. But that's small potatoes. It's the constant negativity that was the biggest problem with this second volume. Sure, heroes are supposed to face problems; but constant pain and despair makes for gloomy reading. Rann loses a hand. Huntarr is turned into a more hideous monster. Rann recovers his hand and is turned into a crippled old man. Mari is revealed to hide a terrible secret that basically makes her a huge hypocrite. Acroyear is once again separated from his people who hate him even more than before. Then everybody dies! Despite the moments of brilliance, this was overall a feel-bad comic, and I think that its huge potential was not fulfilled because of it. Kudos to Peter Gillis for trying something original, though. There was a lot of creativity in this volume. |
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Post by dbutler69 on Oct 5, 2020 14:16:41 GMT -5
Micronauts The New Voyages #1 (1984) I have mixed feelings about that series. On the positive front, it was different. It was not another version of the rebellion against Baron Karza. In overall tone, I though it evoked 2001 or Jack Kirby's Eternals more than Star Wars. It developed truly cosmic concepts, which is good for a SF series. On the negative side, I generally didn't like the inking. Kelley Jones' art demands a very slick ink line, and not a scitchy-scratchy approach. Jones was not yet Kelley Jones (this is his first pencilling job, I think?) but he already showed great talent; I just wish the technology he drew had been more technical-looking, less amorphous. But that's small potatoes. It's the constant negativity that was the biggest problem with this second volume. Sure, heroes are supposed to face problems; but constant pain and despair makes for gloomy reading. Rann loses a hand. Huntarr is turned into a more hideous monster. Rann recovers his hand and is turned into a crippled old man. Mari is revealed to hide a terrible secret that basically makes her a huge hypocrite. Acroyear is once again separated from his people who hate him even more than before. Then everybody dies! Despite the moments of brilliance, this was overall a feel-bad comic, and I think that its huge potential was not fulfilled because of it. Kudos to Peter Gillis for trying something original, though. There was a lot of creativity in this volume. I enjoyed this series. It was very different. The original series was a great action series, this one was more cerebral and thought provoking. Very different than the original series. |
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Post by brutalis on Oct 5, 2020 15:14:24 GMT -5
Original Micronauts was pure Star Wars. New Voyages Micronauts was Star Trek.
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Post by beccabear67 on Oct 5, 2020 15:24:09 GMT -5
Those Golden covers on #59 and Vol. 2 #1 are worth the cover price just there. I looked ahead and I should've stuck it out at least to #6.
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