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Post by Prince Hal on Apr 28, 2017 18:01:48 GMT -5
It seems that there's an intergalactic byway that passes right by Earth with the number of aliens we've seen so far. Years later, they established that there is, in fact, a space warp in our solar system that many alien races have used in interplanetary and even intergalactic travel since before life evolved on Earth. That warp is the reason so many aliens want to control our planet, much like the wormhole in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine was the bone of contention between the Federation and the Cardassians. Cei-U! I summon the Route 66 of outer space! Wait. Even the Federation has to keep up with the Cardassians? |
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Post by Farrar on May 2, 2017 20:20:47 GMT -5
Fantastic Four #10 “The Return of Doctor Doom” Written by Stan Lee Pencils by Jack Kirby Inks by Dick Ayers This gives Reed a chance to escape, in a reasonably clever manner...though it depends on Doom leaving him pure oxygen to breath, not air...which doesn't make a lot of sense. Reed/Doom goes to Alicia's apartment where he's knocked out by Sue and then captured by Ben. But Alicia “senses” goodness in him and Ben can't bring himself to pulverize him for...reasons...sensing something. Nice review, Slam. I first read #10 as a reprint in a Marvel Collectors' Item Classics comic, which I bought as a back issue a few years after its publication. Until I read this story, I'd had no idea that Alicia had ever been drawn with long hair; I was so used to her with the shorter hair styles she sported in the then-current FF comics. She looks adorable here! Later on Kirby would give this hairdo to Crystal.    I also liked how Kirby had Sue remain invisible when she was speaking with Alicia.  |
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Post by Slam_Bradley on May 2, 2017 22:59:04 GMT -5
Strange Tales 105 (Human Torch story) “The Return of the Wizard” Plot by Stan Lee Script by Larry Lieber Pencils by Jack Kirby Inks by Dick Ayers  Cover: This is, to me, one of the stronger covers in a while. There's a sense of action and a bit of menace. It's detracted by the dull coloring and the multi-color (and too many) word balloons. But overall much better than usual. The Story: The Wizard, having been imprisoned after his defeat by The Torch is a model prisoner. So of course they make him a trustee and assign him to the prison hospital where he has access to tons of chemicals (for some reason). Using them he makes a “serum” that will burn through the strongest substance. He escapes from prison (in a way that can't possibly work) and naturally heads back to his hideout, where the police will be looking for him so he can challenge the Torch. Because there's nothing better for him to do than take on a hero who has already beaten him...like maybe make money off a serum that will burn through anything. Or maybe not go back to prison. Of course there's a handy-dandy force field around the hideout to keep the cops out...but that also keeps The Wizard in. So he's essentially traded one prison for another. The Wizard challenges Johnny, who is up for the fight. But Sue decides the FF don't get into fights to satisfy their pride, so the police should handle it. Apparently they also don't think it's important to capture super-villains. Johnny tricks her with a flaming duplicate for a bit...so she tattles to Reed, who doesn't care, because he and Ben are busy eating cake and can't help out. No really. When Johnny arrives the Wizard lets him in, and then tries to shoot him but the big bullet melts. He then tries to use a trapdoor on him, apparently forgetting he can fly. He then throws gas at him, but Johnny makes a flame bubble to keep it out.  An alarm shows that Invisible Girl has entered with Johnny. This is actually a good deduction by Wizard, which is terribly out of character. Luckily he has a “special spray” that makes her visible and turns her into a hostage...as usual. The Wizard puts a bomb in the room he's holding Sue in and gets Johnny to go inside. Sheer hokum ensues including a “flaming catapult” that launches a bomb through the roof. Johnny then uses water to capture the Wizard...almost. But when a gun is pulled on him he makes a flaming saw to cut through the ceiling and drop it on The Wizards head. I guess it would be too easy to melt the gun. The Wizard goes back to prison and Sue give Johnny a tongue-lashing for “not following orders.” Thoughts… What's with the mad-scientist labs in doctor's offices/hospitals? We saw Don Blake with a bunch of chemicals and beakers and now the prison hospital has an entire chemistry lab at its disposal. No...that doesn't happen. And no way The Wizard escapes the way that's shown. Even if the guards leave his cell door open, there are still multiple checkpoints he has to get through before he's out of the prison. The Wizard's only motivation seems to be to kill Johnny Storm. Guy has issues. It seems that The Torch's flame doesn't actually burn oxygen. Or maybe he doesn't need to breathe. Or maybe it's magic.  Johnny says he's making a catapult. It's not a catapult. It's a mortar. And there's no propulsion mechanism to shoot out the bomb...and...it's just stupid. And...again we have new powers. Now Johnny is the Green Lantern of flame-heads, whipping up catapults and saws and doubles and all kinds of wacky stuff that mostly makes zero sense. Last issue Johnny's flame wore out about three times. This time he goes the entire issue and a ton of shenanigans and it is just getting low at the end of the story. Because...reasons. Let's talk about Sue. Honestly...she's useless. She's really nothing more than a soap opera interest between Reed and Subby. Otherwise she's a plot device to be captured. The Story. This one is pretty awful. It really can't even fit in the so bad it's good category like Paste-Pot Pete. It's just bad. The Art: For whatever reason...and I don't know what it is, Kirby/Ayers is always better on The Human Torch than it is on contemporaneous issues of Fantastic Four. The toll: Not really much, caused by the heroes. Some definite damage to The Wizard's hideout...but that's his fault. Grade for historic importance: D +. Other than establishing that The Wizard will be one of Johnny's main baddies there isn't much here. Story – D. This one reeks. Art – B-
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Post by Slam_Bradley on May 2, 2017 23:04:28 GMT -5
Fantastic Four #10 “The Return of Doctor Doom” Written by Stan Lee Pencils by Jack Kirby Inks by Dick Ayers This gives Reed a chance to escape, in a reasonably clever manner...though it depends on Doom leaving him pure oxygen to breath, not air...which doesn't make a lot of sense. Reed/Doom goes to Alicia's apartment where he's knocked out by Sue and then captured by Ben. But Alicia “senses” goodness in him and Ben can't bring himself to pulverize him for...reasons...sensing something. Nice review, Slam. I first read #10 as a reprint in a Marvel Collectors' Item Classics comic, which I bought as a back issue a few years after its publication. Until I read this story, I'd had no idea that Alicia had ever been drawn with long hair; I was so used to her with the shorter hair styles she sported in the then-current FF comics. She looks adorable here! Later on Kirby would give this hairdo to Crystal. I also liked how Kirby had Sue remain invisible when she was speaking with Alicia. Maybe that's why Johnny fell for Alicia when Ben was on Battleworld. He was still pining for Crystal. |
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Post by Ish Kabbible on May 3, 2017 6:54:44 GMT -5
Kudos to Slam for plowing his way through these early Marvel tales. But for me, life's too short to revisit those Larry Lieber stories
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Post by Slam_Bradley on May 4, 2017 22:47:52 GMT -5
Journey Into Mystery #89 (Thor story) “The Thunder God and the Thug” Plot by Stan Lee Script by Larry Lieber Pencils by Jack Kirby Inks by Dick Ayers  Cover: (Kirby/Ayers) This cover is interesting. Not the pose. It's pretty much a pin-up of Thor. But the fact that it gives no hint about anything in the issue. Very unusual at the time. This very typical of a modern cover but atypical for early Marvel. The Story: Thor is returning to Dr. Blake's office. But he had to whip up a mannequin or people may notice he's Blake...or see him change...or something. We then get the obligatory Blake, “I can't have Jane because I'm lame” and the Jane “Why won't he care about me.” And a...probably unintentionally, hilarious daydream that Jane has of being with Thor that simply hits nearly every sexist trope you can come up with. Meanwhile, outside Blake's window Thug Thatcher, the mob boss, is being sprung from police custody. Thor can't stop this from happening because he can't change identities without Jane finding out...and he can't walk into the other room. But Thug is wounded by police fire and two of his mob kidnap Blake to take him to treat Thug. And he can't change to Thor because people will find out his identity. Meanwhile they tie up Jane and leave her in the office.  Blake treats Thug Thatcher at his hideout after which Thug orders him to be killed. Blake can't change to Thor because the mobsters have his cane. So he prays to Odin who shocks the mobster holding the cane, allowing Blake to get it...and change to Thor. Because he now can do it but he couldn't earlier even though he's changed in front of people in other issues and the light made it so they couldn’t figure out he was Blake...or something. Thor takes out the whole mob...and uses his super breath again. But somehow, the wounded Thatcher and his moll escape.  Thatcher's plan is to go to Dr. Blake's office because he “read somewhere that Thor and that creep Blake are always seen at the same place and the same time.” Thor heads back to the office to free Jane, but Thug is there...and makes Thor toss down his hammer or else he'll plug Jane. So Thor does it...no hurricane breath or lightning or anything like that. But he distracts Thug with Super-Ventriloquism! Thor then grabs his hammer, but instead of capturing Thug he allows him to escape while performing a needlessly complex rescue of Jane. Except instead of escaping, Thug climbs up on a building that's under construction and use lightning to melt steel and put onlookers in danger and...yeah...he does finally catch him after way way too long. Thoughts… The Don Blake secret identity still makes no sense. I know it will be explained (eventually) but at this point it's a pointless vestige of old-school super-hero comics. Donald Blake is the appendix of secret identities. It really does nothing but provide for the odd useless plot device. “I have to throw a mannequin or someone may find out my secret identity. Or you could change in the alley, ya dumbass. Which leads to another stupid plot device. I can't change to Thor or people will discover my identity. Except he's done it a number of times before. And he can't do it in this issue...but then he does. And the explanation for why Thor is there and the doctor is gone is lamer that an toddler's excuse. “I tossed him to safety.” Ummmm...the doors and window are intact. Where did you toss Dr. Blake...Dr. Blake. Idiocy. We get 2/3 of a page recap of Thor's origin. We haven't had one for a while, so I suppose it's excusable. It certainly saves on having to actually write a story. Thatcher “read somewhere that Thor and that creep Blake are always seen at the same place and the same time.” Holy Crap!! Thor has his very own Lois Lane. Next thing we know Thug will be hatching wacky schemes to marry Thor. Super Ventriloquism!!! I've said it before and I'll say it again. Thor at this point is a bad copy of Superman. Honestly, this entire story could have been done in about three pages including all the “character development stuff. It should have take a God about two panels to take care of Thug Thatcher and his entire mob. The Story. This is just awful. Honestly there's no redeeming value here at all. A waste of wood-pulp. The Art: Another decent outing. Still nothing terribly exciting. But passable. The toll: One mannequin and Thor costume thrown in the ocean. At least six innocent trees. The elevator and at least one steel girder on the building under construction. Lord knows how many bystanders hurt by red hot rivets that Thor allows to fall from the building.
Grade for historic importance: D-. Apparently Simonson felt it necessary to bring back Thug Thatcher. I have no idea why. Story – F. This is just awful. Art – B -
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Post by Deleted on May 5, 2017 7:42:51 GMT -5
Slam_BradleyI got suckered into buying that Comic (it was the Cover) Book and as soon that I got home after paying a dime on it back in 1966 or 67 and I just could not believe how bad the story was. The Thug Thatcher really have no bearing on this book either. I just could not believe Stan Lee and Larry Lieber put this book together. Couple years later I return the book to the store and never, ever bother it again. About 15 years later, my LCS at the time did an informal poll which Thor Story that you considered one of the worst stories of all time; pretty much everyone at the store that I went to said that Journey into Mystery #89 was in the top 5 worst stories of all time. I remembered that vividly and I just can't recall the worst one ever. FYI.
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Post by Rob Allen on May 5, 2017 14:07:15 GMT -5
It's likely that the Thor story drawn by Al Hartley was voted the worst ever. He was great on Patsy Walker and later on Archie but superheroes were not his genre. Slam will be getting to that story shortly.
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Post by Roquefort Raider on May 8, 2017 14:00:45 GMT -5
Dear Lord, she's polishing his hammer... Naughty, naughty Stan and Jack! Trying to see what you can get by the comics code?
The bit about Blake not daring to ask Jane out is interesting, though. If I'm not mistaken, at this point in his life, he's still unaware that he really is Thor, ad that Don Blake is a fake identity. His thinking that a lame leg disqualifies him as a boyfriend is of course ridiculous, but I wonder if that's not a self-imposed limit (or one that proceeds from Odin's spell). Don Blake was created to teach Thor humility, so his artificial mind-set might be one of exaggerated humility and even self-hatred.
Odin is really a $#@.
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Post by Slam_Bradley on May 8, 2017 14:31:19 GMT -5
Dear Lord, she's polishing his hammer... Naughty, naughty Stan and Jack! Trying to see what you can get by the comics code? The bit about Blake not daring to ask Jane out is interesting, though. If I'm not mistaken, at this point in his life, he's still unaware that he really is Thor, ad that Don Blake is a fake identity. His thinking that a lame leg disqualifies him as a boyfriend is of course ridiculous, but I wonder if that's not a self-imposed limit (or one that proceeds from Odin's spell). Don Blake was created to teach Thor humility, so his artificial mind-set might be one of exaggerated humility and even self-hatred. Odin is really a $#@. But at this point there's not a hint that Odin has imposed anything on Thor/Blake. Thor and Blake seem to share a mind and Blake can call on Odin for help. Thor also seems to be able to come and go from Asgard as he pleases. If I'm remembering and researching right we don't get an explanation of the Blake/Thor dichotomy until Thor 159 in 1968. I don't think for a second that Kirby or Lee had that end-game thought out five plus years in advance. Blake is just Clark Kent with a bum leg instead of glasses and losing his mallet instead of Kryptonite and magic. |
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Post by Slam_Bradley on May 8, 2017 21:01:03 GMT -5
Tales to Astonish 40 (Ant Man story) “The Day That Ant-Man Failed” Plot by Stan Lee Script by Larry Lieber Pencils by Jack Kirby Inks by Sol Brodsky  Cover: (Kirby/?) This is a cool cover. It's not super exciting. But it really does show how Ant-Man can be used differently than your run of the mill super-hero. And he actually pops against the dull background. The Story: We open with Hank making a gas mask of unstable molecules. Meanwhile The Hijacker is stealing payrolls from armored cars. The owner of the armored car company wishes Ant-Man would help, which is overheard by the ants and relayed to Hank. Hank then spends two pages going to meet with him and they set up a plan to announce a payroll delivery to lure out the Hijacker. But when the delivery is getting started Ant-Man is suddenly overcome by appendicitis and can't go on. But the Owner orders the delivery go ahead even without Ant-Man riding shotgun. The delivery, of course, is hit by The Hijacker, who has a giant magic magnet. But Ant-Man is really there, having used a really weird and roundabout way of getting onto the truck instead of just getting on stealthily because he's the size of an ant (to be fair that would use a lot less panels of the comic). The Hijacker then chases Ant-Man around the armored car where Hank conveniently remembers and then forgets and then remembers again that he has his human strength until he pulls the gas-mask off the Hijacker and puts him to sleep (Hank is wearing his new spiffy gas-mask). The Hijacker, of course, is Old Man Jenkins...I mean the armored car owner, Howard Mitchell, who had been losing customers and having money trouble. Hank, of course, knew this because he saw Incan primitive art in Mitchell's office and the Incans used sleep gas.  Thoughts… The opening panel needs to come with a warning that kids shouldn't put plastic bags over their heads. I'm almost willing to accept that the ants can understand a keyword like “Ant-Man” (I can't really), but they can also tell who needs the help. Magic ants. Hank again lands on a “soft pile” of ants. Ants have an exo-skeleton. I don't think this really works the way someone thinks it works. I really need to stop complaining about it, because it's not going to stop...but it's really really stupid. Why he doesn't use the little airplane he uses later in the story makes no sense.  If the payroll delivery was a ruse to lure out the Hijacker, why did they have to use real money? Sigh. Another giant magic magnet. Maybe The Hijacker's business would be better and he'd have more money if he wasn't spending it all on giant magnets. This is, I believe, the third time a villain has called in Ant-Man to stop him and throw suspicion off himself. They should be learning this doesn't work. He'd have gotten away with it too if it weren't for those meddling ants. Yet another Scooby-Doo ending. The Story. Another crappy story with another crappy Scooby-Doo ending. The Art: The art here was quite good. Kirby is usually at his best on Ant-Man at this point. The toll: The villain's gas mask. And that's pretty much it. Grade for historic importance: D Apparently someone decided in the 70s and 80s that The Hijacker should return. I don't know why either. Story – D (Because I don't feel like giving two F's in a row.) Art – B
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Post by Ish Kabbible on May 8, 2017 21:07:54 GMT -5
Whenever I see that cover, I think it's a story of Hank Pym's car breaking down in the city. Hank shrinks down to Ant-Man size to fix the car's motor. And as the cover states, Ant-Man fails and has to call AAA for a tow.
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Post by Slam_Bradley on May 8, 2017 21:16:42 GMT -5
Whenever I see that cover, I think it's a story of Hank Pym's car breaking down in the city. Hank shrinks down to Ant-Man size to fix the car's motor. And as the cover states, Ant-Man fails and has to call AAA for a tow. That would have been significantly more interesting than the tired retread (or retread tires) story that we got. |
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Post by Ish Kabbible on May 8, 2017 21:22:33 GMT -5
Whenever I see that cover, I think it's a story of Hank Pym's car breaking down in the city. Hank shrinks down to Ant-Man size to fix the car's motor. And as the cover states, Ant-Man fails and has to call AAA for a tow. That would have been significantly more interesting than the tired retread (or retread tires) story that we got. While he waits for AAA to show up, he spends his time jumping into soft piles of ants. Hank enjoyed his little ant orgies until Janet Van Dyne showed up and put her foot down (squashing those ants) |
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Post by Slam_Bradley on May 8, 2017 21:26:57 GMT -5
That would have been significantly more interesting than the tired retread (or retread tires) story that we got. While he waits for AAA to show up, he spends his time jumping into soft piles of ants. Hank enjoyed his little ant orgies until Janet Van Dyne showed up and put her foot down (squashing those ants) I've almost convinced myself not to complain about the cushy pile of ants. Almost. But damn that bugs me every time. It makes me...antsy. |
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