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Post by fanboystranger on Jul 28, 2015 9:40:30 GMT -5
. I am hoping to get some of the few early Deathlok issues I am missing (2-5) so I can read the rest (6-20). I have had them for some time, but I am feeling the early issues are too much to miss to enjoy the rest of the series that I have, and then decide if I want to move on from there. I was never wowed by the art, from the covers (or reading #1, which I have had for many years) but I have heard good things about this series and found the chunk of them I have for $1 each in the last 6 months or so. He was one of the first names I started to recognize, as he was doing a lot at that time. He was also on an interview with several other writers (I'll have to watch it again) on two promotional VHS tapes of the X-Men cartoon that I got from Pizza Hut back then. And he did seem to have a passion for comics, in writing them, and in their popularity. In hindsight, he seems like a writer's version of McFarlane, in that while he may not be regarded as the best in that craft, he certainly had the passion, and his contributions to the industry, especially Marvel, might have made the company different than it is now, if it hadn't been for him. But that could just be my own perception. There is a tpb of the first 16 issues of Deathlok called The Souls of Cyberfolk if finding those issues is difficult.
Regarding Nicieza, I think most fans divide his work into his "pre-Acclaim" and "post-Acclaim" periods. (Fabian himself does this, too.) Before he became Editor-in-Chief of Acclaim, most of Fabian's work was decent with the occasional great issue here or there. After he left Acclaim, his work has been almost always very solid. Fabian says that while the job aspect of Acclaim was often a nightmare, it made him a better writer because he was getting scripts from Priest, Jamie Delano, and a few others, who wrote in completely different ways from his own work. He would study their scripts, figure out what was working, and apply it to his own writing.
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Post by adamwarlock2099 on Jul 28, 2015 10:10:53 GMT -5
There is a tpb of the first 16 issues of Deathlok called The Souls of Cyberfolk if finding those issues is difficult .Regarding Nicieza, I think most fans divide his work into his "pre-Acclaim" and "post-Acclaim" periods. (Fabian himself does this, too.) Before he became Editor-in-Chief of Acclaim, most of Fabian's work was decent with the occasional great issue here or there. After he left Acclaim, his work has been almost always very solid. Fabian says that while the job aspect of Acclaim was often a nightmare, it made him a better writer because he was getting scripts from Priest, Jamie Delano, and a few others, who wrote in completely different ways from his own work. He would study their scripts, figure out what was working, and apply it to his own writing. I have to admit Acclaim was totally off my radar back then. It wasn't as easy to find out about new characters, except word of mouth. And I never had friends that read comic books. So I usually stuck with characters I knew and then characters I learned about from characters that I knew. Acclaim never fit into that category, and so even now I've only random issues of Bloodshot, Turok, X-0 or Ninjak. So I never knew Nicieza had such a career at Acclaim. It is someday going to be something I try to look into, one title at a time. But I'll admit, it still being all new characters, and a whole new universe, still keeps it on the back burner for all the other stuff I do know I want for sure, that I still haven't gotten. Thanks for the history though. It's something I rarely research myself, but interesting to hear when I encounter it. |
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Post by fanboystranger on Jul 28, 2015 13:50:01 GMT -5
There is a tpb of the first 16 issues of Deathlok called The Souls of Cyberfolk if finding those issues is difficult .Regarding Nicieza, I think most fans divide his work into his "pre-Acclaim" and "post-Acclaim" periods. (Fabian himself does this, too.) Before he became Editor-in-Chief of Acclaim, most of Fabian's work was decent with the occasional great issue here or there. After he left Acclaim, his work has been almost always very solid. Fabian says that while the job aspect of Acclaim was often a nightmare, it made him a better writer because he was getting scripts from Priest, Jamie Delano, and a few others, who wrote in completely different ways from his own work. He would study their scripts, figure out what was working, and apply it to his own writing. I have to admit Acclaim was totally off my radar back then. It wasn't as easy to find out about new characters, except word of mouth. And I never had friends that read comic books. So I usually stuck with characters I knew and then characters I learned about from characters that I knew. Acclaim never fit into that category, and so even now I've only random issues of Bloodshot, Turok, X-0 or Ninjak. So I never knew Nicieza had such a career at Acclaim. It is someday going to be something I try to look into, one title at a time. But I'll admit, it still being all new characters, and a whole new universe, still keeps it on the back burner for all the other stuff I do know I want for sure, that I still haven't gotten. Thanks for the history though. It's something I rarely research myself, but interesting to hear when I encounter it. With the exception of Quantum and Woody and Shadowman, you're probably better off exploring the original Valiant era stuff first. ( Q&W first appeared from Acclaim, and Shadowman was essentially a new character and concept.) |
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Post by coke & comics on Sept 5, 2015 17:28:55 GMT -5
Spider-Man #4 (November, 1990) by Todd McFarlane  Last issue ended with Spider-Man confronting Kraven the Hunter. Who seems to be back from the dead. Or is he? Kraven's Last Hunt was the first truly dark Spider-Man comic, and does quite well in many polls of Spider-Man comics to this day. I think it's a great story, but it's doesn't capture what I'm looking for in a Spider-Man story. However, it proved Spider-Man is bigger than any one take or tone. McFarlane is clearly aiming more for the type of story we see in Kraven's Last Hunt than he is for a traditional story. He sticks religiously to the format of the opening 3 pages. Vertical panels, 2-page splash, the phrase "Rise above it all"... Lots of detail in the art. Blood and sweat and chaotic scenes. By this point in the series, it should be clear to everyone that the villain is Calypso, an ally and lover of Kraven's we have seen twice before.
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Post by coke & comics on Sept 5, 2015 21:41:16 GMT -5
New Warriors #5 (November, 1990) by Fabian Nicieza, Mark Bagley and Larry Mahlstedt  This Star Thief appears to bear no relation to the villain from Warlock or the one from Defenders. This character isn't actually stealing stars, but trying to prevent mankind from reaching them by sabotaging space exploration. Seems overkill, especially for the early '90s. Space exploration seemed to have haulted all on its own. Rather than resorting to sabotage, he could have gone on TV and talked about taxes. This is also one of those issues that should probably be different in the superhero world, where space travel just is a reality, and the FF and Avengers make it seem pretty easy. As before, Bagley seems born to draw superhero comics. With better printing and crisper inking in the future, his art will shine. This issue focuses a bit more on interpersonal drama. The soap opera of it all is what I remember most these years later. But it hasn't really kicked into high gear yet. Here we see Marvel Boy and Namorita come to the same investigation from opposite ends. Marvel Boy is trying to ensure space travel operations are successful, and Namorita wants to stop companies like Stane using space travel to do bad things such as dumping hazardous and poisonous waste on the moon. Ooh, Mandroids. All around, a fine superhero comic. And an interlude sets up the White Queen.
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