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Post by hondobrode on Aug 6, 2014 21:32:31 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Aug 7, 2014 1:36:33 GMT -5
Another cool design touch in this series-it was present in #1 but I didn't really notice it until reading #5, and that is the written language of the Microverse seen in inscriptions and other designs on the Homeworld, particularly Karza's throne room. It was designed by Tom Orzechowski and based off of Sanskrit. It was later featured in a letters page with a "decoder" correspondence chart...  and here you can see it on play in this page from #5  there on the lower left bottom border... Little details like this on sci-fi/fantasy series showing thought put into world-building and design just fascinate me. Add to that, that I think Sanskrit is one of the most beautiful looking written scripts in human history and I absolutely adore this design decision on the part of the creative team. -M |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 7, 2014 2:02:55 GMT -5
As I mentioned, I just read #5 and will be working on he review shortly, but first I want to talk about the letters page in #5, featuring reactions to #1.
There were two letters that particularly caught my eye-one who wrote in to ask why the main character of the book was not female or non-white. This has been a touchy subject of late in a lot of modern comics and message boards have been clogged with chatter over this the last while, while some dismiss it as modern PC bs, but it's not really a new argument. It was a question being asked even as far back as 1979 by comics fans. The editorial answer her e(I assume by Al Milgrom as he was editing the book) was that there was no main character for this book, it was an ensemble cast and each Micronaut was equal-male female, human, alien, white and non-white. Not a bad answer even if a bit evasive. The same letter wirter went on to complain about the extensive borrowing going on in the Micronauts-I've noted the Star Wars moments here and there, but he also pointed out that the scene in #1 where Commander Rann returns/reappears on Homeworld borrows heavily from the scene in Close Encounters of the Third Kind when the WWII soldiers emerge form the UFOs atop the mountain. He also points to Karza resemblance not only of Vader form Star Wars but Darkseid, and Bug's similarity to the Forager and Bugs in the Fourth World saga. He tries to suggest that the use of dog soldiers for Karza's troops is a borrowing of Hyborain terms, but that one, at least is way off, not so much with the same critique for the use of Shadow Priests though, which does have a certain Stygian ring to it.
Milgrom's response is pretty much, yeah the Kirby homage in Bug is intentional, Karza however was designed by the toy company not them, that Golden was a huge fan of Close Encounters and that dog soldiers is pretty much a trope for foot soldiers going way way back.
It all ties into a conversation my old thesis adviser and I used to have about studying human civilizations and their accomplishments concerning the question of what is innovation? Is it creating something completely new and original? If so, then there are a frighteningly small number of innovative civilizations. Or can innovation be taking something pre-existing and using it in a new way? Synthesizing diverse elements into something new? We would go back and forth on this a lot but we both usually came down on the same side of it-that synthesis into something new qualifies as innovation, as completely original things are few and far between, almost as rare as ex nihilo creation itself. If you look at the Micronauts in these terms, there is a lot that is not original here, but the series as whole is very innovative. It is taking things that seem familiar and synthesizing something new here, something that has warts for sure as some of those familiar elements stand out way too much, but also something that feels fresh and exciting.
The second letter of note, is from cat yronwode, she of the Lesser Book of the Vishanti fame that I posted about here before, and who was a prominent editor in many of the indy books of the 80s (and 90s). She expresses her initial reaction to hearing about the book was that a book based on plastic toys was just tacky, but goes on to say she was glasd she tried it because it is a beautiful book with an intriguing concept with amazingly polished art and lettering. She does go on however to voice the idea that this must be separate from the main Marvel Universe because of the concepts involved (paraphrase-I trust we won't see the Micronauts alongside Spidey in Marvel Team-Up)-she does this in the context of discussing Mantlo' writing saying she likes when he is doing original concepts moreso than when he is adding to an existing mythos-again a discussion that presages a lot of the creator-owned vs. mainstream corporate comics discussions fans are having today too (I guess the more things change and all that with us comics fans....). Milgrom responds that this is a mainstream MArvel U title and the Microverse is part of the MU...timing here is everything as #6 will see our first guest star from the MU too.
-M
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Post by Deleted on Aug 7, 2014 2:37:40 GMT -5
Issue #5  Cover Date: May 1979
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Writer: Bill Mantlo
Penciller/co-plotter: Michael Golden
Inker: Josef Rubinstein
Letterer: Jim Novak
Colorist: D.R. Martin (a pseudonym referencing Doc Martin paints/pigments, which are commonly used in hand coloring comics I am guessing since the GCD notes various colorists worked on this-I am assuming the jam was a Dreaded Deadline Doom evasion tactic).
Cover: Golden/Rubinstein
Editor: Al MilgromThe Prometheus Pit! (color; 17 pages) Synopsis: The Micronauts arrive at Cape Canaveral/H.E.L.L. but have to bust through an electric fence to get in because the Astrolab hovercraft's maximum altitude/lift is not high enough to get over the fence I kid you not, it's explicitly stated in the exposition and is a bit of a wtf moment-almost as if Golden drew Acoyer ripping the fence and Mantlo had to figure out why they didn't just fly over it-one to chalk up to the Marvel method I guess). Biotron meanwhile affects repairs on the Endeavor, but draws the attention of the Coffin's hungry cat. Once inside the fence, the Micronauts are tracking Bug's brainwaves and come across the Coffin's truck, with Muffin the dog inside. They fee Muffin form the backseat (with a missile mind you) and Princess Mari goes riding off on the panicked dog hoping it can lead them to its masters and Bug whle Rann, Acoyer and Microtron try to follow in the Astrolab. The guards open the doors when they hear the do whining, and Muffins gets inside the base, but the rest of the Micronauts are trapped outside and are forced to find an alternate means of entrance. Inside the lab, Prometheus reveals he has prior knowledge of the Microverse and desires its secrets. When Steve mentions he interacted with live specimens from the Microverse, Prometheus loses it, revealing his villainous nature (big surprise considering the sledgehammer foreshadowing we got last issue-the computers on Skylab replaced his damaged tissue with mechanics and he wants the secrets of the Microverse to shed the last vestiges of his humanity and become a Machine God-shades of Karza as Bug and Mari note, and also shades of Korvac who just featured prominently in the Avengers a year or so before this. The mad professor has built a Prometheus Pit which is designed to breach the barrier to the Microverse. Prometheus attacks Steve to force him to answer questions about the Micronauts, and when Steve's dad tries to intervene-the guards are revealed to be robots under Prometheus' command. Bug attacks Promethus to defend Steve as the other Micronauts arrive to aid. Battle ensues and Prometheus and Steve's dad fall into the Pit, leaving the robots to try to follow their last instruction and capture the Micronauts. Back on Homewolrd, the rebel prisoners are being processed when Prince Argon attacks, and we see he has been turned into a centaur like being by Karza, bonded to the horse that he was using to escape in issue 1. Slug cries out as Argon is subdued and gains Karza's attention, and he decides she has the body and spirit to provide a new body for one of his noble benefactors to whom he had promised Princess Mari's body as her new body. Ratings:Story: 8/10 Art: 9/10 Overall: 8/10 Commentary: While there are lots of interesting story bits in this issue, there are just a few too many head scratcher/wtf moments in the script and this drags it down a bit from the heights of the previous issue. The character development is still moving along nicely, as is the story as a whole, but there are those Mantlo moments that just drag it down a bit. It's moments like those you wish Al Milgrom took a stronger editorial hand and just said Bill wtf really? Think this through man! But considering the monthly grind and how many books Mantlo was probably doing (and law school a this point I think) it's more surprising how much qulity there is than how many plot silliness or MST3K moments there are in the script. Golden's art and design work here continues to shine though and I am still digging the hell out of this so far. -M |
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Aug 7, 2014 6:10:32 GMT -5
Issue #4
Is that the issue in which Slug hides a weapon in an unmentionable place? I was surprised that the editors let it pass at the time. The comics code would have had a heart attack, had it known. |
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Post by hondobrode on Aug 7, 2014 7:45:59 GMT -5
It's amazing how companies like Marvel, or the original Valiant, take licensed properties and built a world around them enough to somewhat carry on in that vein later, even without the original licensed characters.
The Microns have shown up here and there post-Micronauts and I suspect may be later fleshed out.
Look at VEI, Valiant Entertainment, despite not having access to the Gold Key characters that were the cornerstones that built the company, they've done a tremendous job of building out that universe.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 7, 2014 11:46:40 GMT -5
]Is that the issue in which Slug hides a weapon in an unmentionable place? I was surprised that the editors let it pass at the time. The comics code would have had a heart attack, had it known. If it was, I did not notice it in the art and nothing in the text drew attention to it. -M |
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Aug 7, 2014 12:32:24 GMT -5
]Is that the issue in which Slug hides a weapon in an unmentionable place? I was surprised that the editors let it pass at the time. The comics code would have had a heart attack, had it known. If it was, I did not notice it in the art and nothing in the text drew attention to it. -M It's in the scene where Slug burns a hole in the wall of Argon's cell. As the prisoners were all naked when brought into the Body Banks, Argon asks how she managed to hide a weapon from the guards, to which she replies something like "there are places even dog soldiers forget to check".  |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 7, 2014 12:34:12 GMT -5
Nope not yet then. She has only seen Argon when he burst into attack Karza in #5, hasn't gotten to his cell yet.
-M
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Post by Deleted on Aug 10, 2014 0:45:39 GMT -5
Issue #6  Cover Date: June 1979 Publisher: Marvel Comics Writer: Bill Mantlo Penciller/co-plotter: Michael Golden Inker: Josef Rubinstein Letterer: John Costanza Colors: Roger Slifer (isn't he usually a writer?) Editor: Al Milgrom
(17 pages; color) Synopsis: The Micronauts and Steve Coffin escape from Prometheus' lab and the NASA facility at Canaveral and return to the Coffin residence where they find Biotron dealing with the cat, and then finish repairs to the Endeavor. Ray Coffin and Phillip Prometheus fall through the Prometheus Pit, Ray is teleported away and encounters the Time Traveler. Prometheus is detected by a small craft who report the encounter to the Shadow Priests on Homweworld. The Priests then inform Karza what they wish of the info and he sends a fleet to retrieve the visitor from beyond the Spacewall. Slug breaks into the dungeons and rescues Prince Argon. The Micronauts aboard the repaired Endeavor and Steve Coffin in hi dad's truck head towards the Coffin's cabin inthe Everglades, but are pursued by local police who have an APB on the truck. The Micronauts discourage pursuit and they head to the Everglades, where the Man-Thing is shown to be lurking and waiting in the swamps. RatingsStory: 7/10 Art: 9/10 Nostalgia Factor: 10/10 (not figured in overall rating) Overall Rating: 8/10 Commentary: This was the first issue of Micronauts I ever had as a kid. I've probably read this issue a few hundred times. The scene RR asked about in this issue, and despite having read this so many times it never stood out to me before he mentioned it. I must have been a a very naive child  This issue's letter pages has 2 items of interest. The translation key to the Micronauts language is given on the page, and one of the fan letters is form some guy named Kurt Busiek who may have written a few comics folks around here seem to like. Lots of interesting bits happen this issue, but the story does not move forward all that much, just things getting set up and a lot of chase scenes, but it's still a fun issue overall. -M |
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Aug 10, 2014 5:55:17 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?) |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 14, 2014 2:12:03 GMT -5
Just finished #7 and am prepping the review, but I had to share this...just because it was so freaking disturbing an image. I know it will haunt my nightmares...the letters page begins a meet the Micro-Makers feature, and the first spotlights Bill Mantlo...with this caricature of Bill at the head...  shudder. The legs emerging from the jawline just gives me the willies. Ugh! It's like something out of Plop! gone to the dark side. -M |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 14, 2014 2:43:43 GMT -5
Issue #7  Cover Date: July 1979
Publisher: Marvel
Writer: Bill Mantlo
Co-plotter/penciller: Michael Golden
Inker: Josek Rubinstein
Letterer: John Costanza
Colors: Carl Gafford
Cover: Michael Golden & Neal Adams
Editor: Al MilgromAdventure into Fear! (17 pages; color) Synopsis: Steve Coffin and the Micronauts rest and recuperate in the Coffin family cottage in the Everglades while Microtron scans the television for news of events at the H.E.L.L. facility, and gets absorbed in Star Trek reruns. Commander Rann sleeps fitfully and Biotron uses a machine to show Princess Mari his dreams. The dreams serve as a recap of his story, his leaving Homeworld on his journey (providing us with our first glimpse of Karza before the armor and body modifications), his journey, how Biotron gained human emotions, and the ultimate frustration of their journey learning that warp drive was developed making their journey pointless and enabling Karza to conquer all the worlds they visited. Meanwhile Karza and his minions examine Philip Prometheus and find a way for Karza to transfer his consciousness into the giant-sized boy to aid him in his conquest of Earth. Also meanwhile, The Time Traveller converses with Ray Coffin and discovers he has the heart of a hero and asks him if he will aid the fight against Karza to save earth...Again Meanwhile, Slug and Prince Argon find a resistance cell, but they don't believe the Prince and rebel leader are authentic, until their leader, a Shadow Priest vouches for them, and takes them into hiding. Back at the cottage, the Man-Thing observes the Micronauts and is drawn by the emotions. When Steve sees the muck monster he is afraid, drawing the Man-Thing in and endangering Steve-for whatever knows fear burns at the Man-Thing's touch. The Micronauts vainly try to defend Steve and drive off the creature, but cannot. Seeing his friends in danger, Steve finds the courage to help them, he climbs in the swamp buggy (an airboat) and uses the blades to tear apart the Man-Thing (who allows himself to be "destroyed" because of the presence of the courage he felt, a new sensation to him. The Micronauts gather themselves, observed by the Man-Thing who then shuffles off. On the last page we see a full size Karza climbing out of the Prometheus Pit onto Earth. RatingsStory: 9/10 Art: 10/10 Overall: 9/10 Commentary: A lot of things, first it was fun to see one of the toys I used to have-the hydrocopter appear in this issue. It was a water toy that would move through the water with paddles if the batteries were in it, but looked like a helicopter with a giant bubble for a cockpit. You could open the bubble to put a Micronaut inside to "pilot" it, and seal it back up. It was a favorite bath time toy when I was like 9. It was also disconcerting to see a house as for this issue on the pages of the issue. Usually house ads change and don't appear int he books they advertise, but this time not so much... The house ad...  This may be my favorite issue so far. We definitely see the stakes raised with Karza coming to Earth, we get a better sense of the backstory involved here, we move the story forward, we get to see the friendships forming among the Micronauts, we get the series firmly placed in the MU, we get hints of things to come with Ray Coffin, the Shadow Priest helping the rebels, etc. The letter page is the first time we get told that this is a 12 issue epic, and after that we will gets spotlights on some characters and a guest appearance by the Fantastic Four, and we are told Milgrom, Mantlo and Golden plotted out the 12 issue story before the first issue was published, so it was always the plan. Neal Adams inking Golden on the cover is simply gorgeous. It's a stunning cover all the way around too, great layout, great storytelling with a single image, dynamic, gets you excited about the issue and its contents-all the things missing form modern comic covers really.I also love that the story title homages the mag that Man-Thing was first featured in as a series. And the next issue blurb-the hero we are foreshadowed is coming...Captain Universe! -M |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 16, 2014 7:35:36 GMT -5
Another House Ad, this time for the Al Milgrom edited books as drawn by Fred Hembeck. I like the Mirconauts under the magnifying glass, and Karza in the chorus line between the monkey and Hellcat!  -M |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 16, 2014 8:42:41 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 |
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