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Post by tolworthy on Jul 26, 2016 14:53:25 GMT -5
And he was in a storyline in several issues running up to #250 in 1976. Here's the cover to #250: Look at that Kirby/Sinnott cover. One of the many things I love about Kirby is his ability to draw large headed powerful creatures. They look like oxen or rhinos, so strong! Feel the power! But most artists can't do it. They have to shrink the heads to get any feeling of strength. Shrunken Head Syndrome just looks silly IMO.
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Post by brutalis on Jul 29, 2016 13:01:20 GMT -5
There is just nobody better than King Kirby in making the big and biggest even larger than life! His canvas for drawing the humongous and gigantic is spectacular and many of his designs remain to this day. For providing a visually impressive character in respect to size and stature and power Kirby could always be counted on coming up with insanely brilliant designs. Things that just seem to fit and look as if that is naturally how they should be. Other artists have a hard time with this, even when or if they are attempting to duplicate Kirby. Galactus anyone? Even his designs for mechanical apparatus and vehicles carried a depth and weight to them unsurpassed by other artists.
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Jul 29, 2016 13:51:04 GMT -5
An alternate Earth Mangog appeared in 1982's Marvel Fanfare # 51 Then in 2000 Mangog returned in Thor Vol 2 # 20-25 as a partner with Thanos This must be what I had a vague recollection of. He really went 18 years without being used? Fascinating. In the "unstoppable giant that brings about doomsday" category, Marvel pretty much replaced Mangog by Surtur after Walt Simonson gave him a more active role in his great run. I don't dislike Surtur, but I loved Mangog!
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Post by tolworthy on Jul 29, 2016 18:11:24 GMT -5
Even his designs for mechanical apparatus and vehicles carried a depth and weight to them unsurpassed by other artists. I think that's because he had an insatiable interest in the real world. Every now and then I find some weird Kirby detail (that I thought was just wacky) turns out to be based on how things really have to be in the real world. Here are two examples: 1. I used to think those weird lines he drew on viewfinders were just some crazy styling. Nope, turns out that these are actually needed for referencing what you see. They use them on cameras, jet fighters, etc. 2. I used to think his crazy headgear was just something he liked. But now I realise that all major civilisations use them (at least until they discover mass communication, and even then maybe the old ways will come back?) Whether it's Aztecs, Chinese, Catholics, or Egyptians, your top guy always needs a gigantic hat of some kind. Kirby knows best.
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Post by Nowhere Man on Jul 30, 2016 3:32:40 GMT -5
That's really fascinating, tolworthy. I reasoned that his headgear was based on historical images. I think those are my favorite Kirby designs, particularly Galactus, Hela and many of the other Asgardian characters.
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Post by Nowhere Man on Aug 19, 2016 8:59:45 GMT -5
Tales to Astonish #48
Story Title: “Ant-Man and the Wasp Defy the Porcupine!” Cover Date: October, 1963 CreditsScript: Stan Lee (plot); Ernie Hart [as H.E. Huntley] (script) Pencils: Don Heck Inks: Don Heck Colors: Stan Goldberg Letters: Sam Rosen Cover Art: Jack Kirby (pencils); Sol Brodsky (inks) Synopsis: Our story opens with Ant-Man and the Wasp flying over an army ordinance plant. Unbeknownst to our heroes, one of the plants top research scientists, Alex Gentry, is ruminating on another of his inventions being turned over to the defense department leaving him with little to show for it. Having designed a high-tech suit based on the natural weaponry of the porcupine, Gentry decides to use the plant as his base of operations and start his career as a master criminal. After reading a newspaper article about a burglar-proof security system designed by Hank Pym, Gentry shows up to the grand opening in his porcupine suit and manages to incapacitate the security and attendees and make off with five million dollars. However, Hank and Jan were in attendance, and after transforming into Ant-Man and the Wasp, they realize that the Porcupine has escaped. Jan having a mild case of the flu, Hank takes her back to his apartment and tells her to stay in bed until the doctor arrives. The next morning Hank learns from his ants that the Porcupine’s hide out is the army ordinance plant and sets off for the final confrontation. The Porcupine manages to trap Ant-Man with some of his gadgets, and after removing his equipment, drops him into a tub of water and departs. Jan wakes up and realizing that Hank has probably gone without her to take on the Porcupine, learns Hank’s location from the ants. The Wasp and the ants arrive, and after rescuing Ant-Man, they manage to defeat the Porcupine by stopping up his quills with his own liquid cement. The Porcupine escapes when Ant-Man flings him out a window, using his suits jets to make a hasty retreat. The story ends with Hank ordering Jan to go home and take the antibiotics he purchased for her, to Jan’s annoyance. Character Appearances: Ant-Man [Henry Pym]; Wasp [Janet Van Dyne]; The Porcupine [Alex Gentry] (introduction, origin) Comments: The more I read stories involving disgruntled government employed scientists turning into super-villains the more I’m glad that scientists don’t try to pull this stuff in real life. I’ve long thought that the “world outside your window” thing only goes so far, since the basic psychology of people in the Marvel Universe (and other superhero universes for that matter) is so different when it comes to megalomania. If the top minds at MIT every decided to go rogue, what could we do? I hope we never find out. As villains go, Porcupine is kinda goofy, but I’ve always sort of liked the character. I first encountered him waaay back around 1988 or so when I first read Iron Man: Demon in the Bottle when he was one of Justin Hammer’s many super-powered goons. If his look was re-purposed for a horror monster I think it would be surprisingly effective. I think Heck’s art is pretty solid in this issue, though I feel being overworked has still prevented him from fully displaying what he can do as an artist. The dialog by Huntley continues to be mediocre, though he’s making a valiant effort to build up the relationship between Jan and Hank. Character Development: On that subject, Jan is still being characterized as a materialistic, man obsessed tart. I can’t help but like her all the same. Sure, this stuff is incredibly sexist (Like REALLY sexist, not just regressive left overreaction sexist) but her fiery spirit, for lack of a better term, makes her likable and fun to read. Hank continues to be clueless and dense when it comes to Jan’s advances. The first signs of his mental instability? Would you turn down Jan Van Dyne? Personal Rating: 6. A slightly above average issue but really par for the course for Ant-Man’s stories so far. If it wasn’t for Jan making things fun, the stories would easily be the worst of the early Marvel Age. Historical Rating: 6. While Porcupine is hardly a major threat, he's still one of those Marvel Age villains that will have a surprisingly long shelf-life.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 19, 2016 10:44:25 GMT -5
Tales to Astonish #48
Story Title: “Ant-Man and the Wasp Defy the Porcupine!” Cover Date: October, 1963 CreditsScript: Stan Lee (plot); Ernie Hart [as H.E. Huntley] (script) Pencils: Don Heck Inks: Don Heck Colors: Stan Goldberg Letters: Sam Rosen Cover Art: Jack Kirby (pencils); Sol Brodsky (inks) Comments: As villains go, Porcupine is kinda goofy, but I’ve always sort of liked the character. I first encountered him waaay back around 1988 or so when I first read Iron Man: Demon in the Bottle when he was one of Justin Hammer’s many super-powered goons. If his look was re-purposed for a horror monster I think it would be surprisingly effective. I think Heck’s art is pretty solid in this issue, though I feel being overworked has still prevented him from fully displaying what he can do as an artist. The dialog by Huntley continues to be mediocre, though he’s making a valiant effort to build up the relationship between Jan and Hank. Personal Rating: 6. A slightly above average issue but really par for the course for Ant-Man’s stories so far. If it wasn’t for Jan making things fun, the stories would easily be the worst of the early Marvel Age.
Historical Rating: 6. While Porcupine is hardly a major threat, he's still one of those Marvel Age villains that will have a surprisingly long shelf-life.
Robert, to me he is the goofiest Marvel Character of all time - I read that issue here and I was chuckling along when I was reading it. But, Robert this is an unique character that they were battling and I was stunned how long this character had a shelf life and it's continues to baffled me even today. Don Heck's Art was excellent and that's was one of the major selling point of me buying this issue and I still have it today because of his art in this comic book. And, last and not least ... The Wasp / Jan and what Ernie did with the script making Jan ... a fun character in this issue made it bearable to read. I totally agree with your assessment that this could had been the worst stories in the early days of Marvel Comics. Great Review and nicely done ...
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Post by Farrar on Aug 19, 2016 11:30:40 GMT -5
Robert, great commentary. ...her fiery spirit, for lack of a better term, makes her likable and fun to read... I agree. Jan had a healthy interest in the opposite sex and wasn't shy about it; in that way she more like, say, the outgoing Johnny Storm (as he was back then) and less like the introverted Peter Parker. IMO her youthful teenage exuberance contrasted nicely with Hank's stodginess and gave the series an interesting dynamic. In addition, in battle she was resourceful and fearless and if memory serves, she saved Hank's butt more than once in those old TtA stories (as in this story you've reviewed). Count me in as a Heck fan. He drew a striking Jan and a handsome if stuffy-looking Hank--which totally fit these stories.
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Post by Nowhere Man on Aug 20, 2016 2:22:13 GMT -5
Robert, to me he is the goofiest Marvel Character of all time - I read that issue here and I was chuckling along when I was reading it. But, Robert this is an unique character that they were battling and I was stunned how long this character had a shelf life and it's continues to baffled me even today. Don Heck's Art was excellent and that's was one of the major selling point of me buying this issue and I still have it today because of his art in this comic book. And, last and not least ... The Wasp / Jan and what Ernie did with the script making Jan ... a fun character in this issue made it bearable to read. I totally agree with your assessment that this could had been the worst stories in the early days of Marvel Comics. Great Review and nicely done ... He certainly is goofy looking, isn't he? Ha. But like I said, there is something a little frightening about his appearance. Porcupine strikes me as a visual that would have made a great "monster of the month" alien on the original Star Trek series. The redesigned his look years later, but nothing beats the original:
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Post by Nowhere Man on Aug 20, 2016 2:24:34 GMT -5
Robert, great commentary. ...her fiery spirit, for lack of a better term, makes her likable and fun to read... I agree. Jan had a healthy interest in the opposite sex and wasn't shy about it; in that way she more like, say, the outgoing Johnny Storm (as he was back then) and less like the introverted Peter Parker. IMO her youthful teenage exuberance contrasted nicely with Hank's stodginess and gave the series an interesting dynamic. In addition, in battle she was resourceful and fearless and if memory serves, she saved Hank's butt more than once in those old TtA stories (as in this story you've reviewed). Count me in as a Heck fan. He drew a striking Jan and a handsome if stuffy-looking Hank--which totally fit these stories. She certainly does come off a lot better than Sue Richards in her early appearances. I think Stan learned a lesson from those early "Sue's useless" letters and he's slowly catching on that giving female characters spunk and personality, just like the male characters, makes everything better.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 20, 2016 9:51:27 GMT -5
Robert, to me he is the goofiest Marvel Character of all time - I read that issue here and I was chuckling along when I was reading it. But, Robert this is an unique character that they were battling and I was stunned how long this character had a shelf life and it's continues to baffled me even today. Don Heck's Art was excellent and that's was one of the major selling point of me buying this issue and I still have it today because of his art in this comic book. And, last and not least ... The Wasp / Jan and what Ernie did with the script making Jan ... a fun character in this issue made it bearable to read. I totally agree with your assessment that this could had been the worst stories in the early days of Marvel Comics. Great Review and nicely done ... He certainly is goofy looking, isn't he? Ha. But like I said, there is something a little frightening about his appearance. Porcupine strikes me as a visual that would have made a great "monster of the month" alien on the original Star Trek series. The redesigned his look years later, but nothing beats the original: I totally agree with you ... the original look is more frightening than that look in Yellow. Looking at them side by side there's no comparison neither! .... Case Closed!
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Post by Hoosier X on Aug 20, 2016 17:13:48 GMT -5
Tales to Astonish #48 contains one of my all-time favorite SUPER-GOOFY Silver Age comic-book moments. When Porcupine takes off Ant-Man's helmet with tweezers and plops him into a bathtub half-full of water! The sides are slippery and he can't get out! And he can't contact the ants because the Porcupine took his helmet!
He's too little to get out of a bathtub!
Porcupine almost killed Hank Pym by drowning him in a bathtub!
There's one scene with the Atom that always cracks me up almost as much. Tiny Ray Palmer jumps into a car to ride along unseen and find out where the generic fedora-wearing bad guy is going. He's kind of tired, so the Atom takes a nap on the floor of the backseat. And he gets captured because the generic bad guy hears his snoring! I don't know what issue that was. I think I saw it in a reprint, very possibly in an issue of The Brave and the Bold.
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Post by Nowhere Man on Aug 23, 2016 2:57:06 GMT -5
Amazing Spider-Man #6
Story Title: “Face-to-Face With…the Lizard!” Cover Date: November, 1963 CreditsScript: Stan Lee Pencils: Steve Ditko Inks: Steve Ditko Colors: Stan Goldberg Letters: Art Simek Cover Art: Steve Ditko (pencils & inks) Synopsis: Our story opens as we witness the Lizard terrorizing the Florida Everglades. The news of this new menace reaches as far as New York, with Spider-Man learning of it by way of a challenge from the Daily Bugle: “The Bugle Challenges Spider-Man to Defeat the Lizard!” Switching to his civilian clothes, Parker pays a visit to J.J. Jameson in hopes of earning the assignment, only to learn that Jameson doesn’t believe the Lizard exists and only printed the headline to sell newspapers. The next day Parker is attending an exhibit on dinosaurs along with classmates Flash Thompson and Liz Allen. Peter’s Spider-Sense detects two crooks who had just stolen a precious ruby, but while he’s changing into his Spider-Man garb, the two crooks take Liz hostage. Spider-Man easily trounces the crooks, and after flirting a bit with Liz, he makes a flashy exit. Overhearing a radio report about Spider-Man not accepting the challenge, Parker makes up his mind to force Jameson to give him the assignment as Spider-Man. Spidey pays Jameson a visit, and after stringing him up with some webbing to get him to listen to reason, Spidey tells Jonah that he’s going to accept the challenge and that if he wants to see what he can do, he’d better send a photographer to Florida to cover the story. After Jameson comes crashing down after the webbing wears off, he sends for Parker and lets him know that he’s going along with him on this one since it’s so important. Peter is less than enthused but he squares thing with his Aunt May and he and Jameson fly to Florida. Upon arriving, Parker manages to ditch Jameson by telling him that he’s going to buy some supplies. Changing to Spider-Man, he sets off for the Everglades and a run in with the Lizard. While searching for the Lizard, Spidey is grabbed and pulled under the water by the creature, but manages to escape by slamming mud into his face. The two face off, but Spidey is taken out of action after he’s slung half a mile away by the lizard’s tail. Spidey spies a home off in the distance, which he suspects is the home of Dr. Curt Connors, a local reptile expert that he learned about while reading on his flight. Arriving at the Connors home he meets his wife who’s visibly upset. She relates to Spidey that Conner’s is actually the Lizard, having turned himself into the creature while experimenting on himself with a formula he hoped would be able to restore his missing arm. Just then Billy, Connor’s son, cries out and Spidey leaps into action. The Lizard is pursuing the boy, but he still recognizes him as his son and means him no harm. Billy runs into a large snake but is rescued by Spidey and taken back to the Connors home. There, Spider-Man attempts to formulate an antidote that he hopes to use on the Lizard to turn him back into Connors. Right as he finishes the formula, the Lizard attacks, and seemingly leaves Spidey unconscious under some debris. He quickly recovers and sets off, with the formula, for the final confrontation with the Lizard. Tracking him to an old abandoned Spanish fort, Spidey manages to elude the Lizard and his crocodile minions long enough to trap the Lizard in room and after a struggle succeeds in pouring the formula down the Lizards throat. The formula works, and Spider-Man and Connors return to his family. Connors burns his notes and is regretful over what he did as the Lizard. Spidey tells him that he hadn’t committed any crime and that nobody need know of his secret. Parker returns to a flabbergasted Jameson, who has reported the boy missing, and hands him his pictures of the Lizard. Jameson tears up the pics, thinking that Parker simply bought them as fakes. On the flight back to New York Jameson tells Parker that he refuses to play him, and if anything, he owes him for the trip! While relaxing at home, Parker calls Liz in hopes that she will go on a date with him. He learns to his surprise that she’s waiting on Spider-Man to call her; apparently she thinks that the hero has an interest in her after flirting with her at the museum. Our story ends when Jameson receives a letter from Spider-Man. Liz seems amused to read the poem to the visibly irritated Jameson: “Roses are red, violets are blue, I’m still at large, so phooey to you!” Character Appearances: Spider-Man [Peter Parker]; Lizard [Curt Connors] (introduction, origin); J. Jonah Jameson; Flash Thompson; Aunt May Parker; Betty Brant; Liz Allen; Martha Connors; Billy Connors; Vulture [Adrian Toomes] (cameo) Comments: Yet another fantastic installment by Lee/Ditko team. The Lizard is an interesting villain for the simple fact that he really isn’t a villain at all. In fact, his very origin came about because of Connors altruistic desire not only to regrow his own limb, but to help others who’ve suffered similar injuries. There are similarities to the Hulk of course. Connors loses his humanity the longer he stays in his lizard form and his confusion makes him lash out at humanity. The one weak point of the story to me was the Lizard’s somewhat silly desire to mutate his fellow reptiles and take over the world, but hey, that’s a classic Silver Age motivation if I’ve ever read one. One thing I can say is that Connors motivations certainly look favorable when compared to Banner’s, who initially seemed to have little problem developing weapons of mass destruction for the military. The true strength of this story for me is the hilarious interplay between Spider-Man and J.J. Jameson. This is the most Jameson has been featured so far and it only makes the story that much better. For my money, Jameson is the greatest supporting character in the history of comics (yes, even above the great Lois Lane for me) and the fact that Lee claims that he based him, in part, on his own editorial style makes it that much more amusing. I’ll let my favorite page from the story speak for itself: Character Development: Spidey pulls his first real “prank” on Jameson which illustrates that Parker is getting more proactive when Jameson’s stubbornness becomes intolerable. Betty continues to support Peter when Jameson berates me, adding one more little layer to this developing relationship. The hilarious developments between Liz and Spider-Man are a welcome development, as it not only gives Spider-Man his first female devotee, it drags Flash into the mix. Flash is a fan of Spidey…but how can he compete with him when it comes to women? The plot thickens… Personal Rating: 8. A very good issue and one of the better early Spider-Man stories of the Lee/Ditko era. My only real knock on otherwise excellent formative issues like this one is that the characters haven’t yet developed quite enough when you compare it to the even more classic issues that aren’t too far away in the future. Just how I see it. Historical Rating: 9. This is certainly another very important issue, primarily for the introduction of the Lizard, who is of course one of Spider-Man’s classic villains. The reason I give it a 9 instead of a 10 is because the Lizard, while very important, isn’t quite on the level of a Doc Ock or Green Goblin.
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Post by Nowhere Man on Sept 14, 2016 8:42:08 GMT -5
Avengers #2
Story Title: “The Avengers Battle the Space Phantom” Cover Date: November, 1963 CreditsScript: Stan Lee Pencils: Jack Kirby Inks: Paul Reinman Colors: Stan Goldberg Letters: Artie Simek Cover Art: Jack Kirby (pencils); Sol Brodsky or Frank Giacoia (inks) Synopsis: As the Avengers hold their first meeting at Stark’s mansion, an alien known as the Space Phantom arrives on Earth and attempts to destroy the Avengers by using his power to take the form of any living being he sees (This has the additional effect of sending the being in question into a realm called "Limbo" until he takes another form.). He begins by impersonating the Hulk, and after causing some destruction in the Hulk’s powerful form, he proceeds to battle the rest of the Avengers, taking the forms of Iron Man and Giant-Man in the process. However, he’s defeated when he attempts to take Thor’s form. Since Thor is a god, his power backfires and the Space Phantom is sent to the realm of Limbo, apparently forever. Finally, feeling hurt and ill-used by the way the other Avengers reacted when they thought he’d gone rogue, the Hulk quits the team. Character Appearances: The Avengers [Hulk [Bruce Banner]; Thor [Don Blake]; Iron Man [Tony Stark]; The Wasp [Janet Van Dyne]; Ant-Man/Giant-Man [Henry Pym]]; The Space Phantom (villain, introduction); Rick Jones; The Teen Brigade Comments: Reading the opening page of Avengers #2 got me to thinking that a lot of the trouble between the Hulk and the Avengers, and really the Hulk and the Marvel Universe in general, could have been avoided if Thor wasn’t such a jerk. Case in point: Thor and the Hulk, being the Avengers two alpha-males, were going to butt heads eventually, but Thor’s attitude seems unnecessary here. It’s amusing as hell, but why would Thor care what the Hulk chose to wear? Shouldn’t he be thankful that Hulk was clothed at all? You’d think that as many half-naked frost giants that he’s killed over the years, the sight of a giant green man wearing purple trunks wouldn’t irk him this much. This level of intolerance and disrespect gives credence to the Hulk’s comments at the end of the story. The Avengers come off as “the popular kids” in high school that grudgingly let the loner in for a time, but ultimately reject him. The Hulk’s imperfections and rough edges are one of the main reasons he’s my favorite Marvel character and this story has made it hard for me to warm up to the Avengers in the same way that I can with the FF or the X-Men. I love the classic Avengers in many ways, but they do tend to come off as the “jocks” of the Marvel Universe at times. The Space Phantom has a fascinating power, though how he duplicates clothing and even Iron Man’s armor is anyone’s guess. The added facet of sending someone to “Limbo” is interesting, but I would have liked some scenes of the various Avengers reactions to being in this mysterious realm. The Space Phantom’s first interaction with the Avengers ends in a panel that has always made me laugh. Something about these powerful heroes getting into a fist fight over an insult that sounds like something Moe would have said to Larry in a Three Stooges episode amuses the hell out of me: Another "highlight" of the issues is when Stan makes yet another naming goof when he has Rick Jones refer to the Hulk’s secret identity as “Doctor Don Blake.” The art in this issue was uneven, though the second half of the issue improves, at least to my eyes, on the first half. It seems like Kirby did mere layouts and Reinman’s inks simply aren’t capable of doing the King justice in most panels. That said, I really like this panel near the end of the story of Thor and the Wasp whisking off to take on the Space Phantom: In the final page of the issue, we see the Hulk quit the team. As I mentioned above, you can’t help but feel for the Hulk here. Sure, it was all a big misunderstanding, but the final scenes set in motion the status quo for the Hulk for decades to come, making him perhaps the most tragic “hero” in the Marvel Universe. Character Development: The Hulk and Thor are clearly at odds from the get go. Like I mentioned above, Thor comes off as intolerant towards the Hulk, seemingly because of his appearance and brutishness. The Hulk comes off as being hotheaded, gruff and perhaps potentially dangerous, but he’s still obviously willing to give the superhero team thing a try, so I’m still of the opinion that Thor is a jerk here and should have been more understanding. The Hulk’s closing statements almost make it seem like he’s hurt by his teammates perceived opinion of him. I like to think that he was hurt by this and his closing bit of bravado was meant to mask his true feelings. I think there is some merit to this given how the Hulk will later pine for friendship. Personal Rating: 6. The reason I only give this issue an above average score is because of the uneven art. This is something that will plague the early Avengers issues, and to be honest, I don’t think the art clicked on the series until the great John Buscema comes on board later. Kirby just never had the time to do the series justice in the same way that he was able to with FF and Thor. Historical Rating: 9. The main reason I give it such a high score here is because of the significance of Hulk leaving the team. He’s the first member to quit the Avengers and this decision will have profound consequences for the Marvel Universe as it develops.
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Post by Nowhere Man on Sept 14, 2016 11:19:17 GMT -5
I wanted to add that since I have the DVD ROM's for: Amazing Spider-Man, Incredible Hulk, Iron Man, Captain America, Avengers, Fantastic Four and X-Men, I'm going to be adding images to all of my reviews involving those titles. I converted them all to CBZ files and it's easy to save pages while reading them in CDisplay.
I liked how using multiple images spiced up my review of Superman vs Spider-Man and I'll be using them as frequently as possible. Those titles being the most important Marvel titles, they'll warrant the most visual attention anyway. That said, when I feel one of the shorter series (like Dr. Strange or Nick Fury) warrant an image or two, I'll do my best to find the images online.
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