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Post by The Captain on Jan 6, 2017 14:23:03 GMT -5
I've started on one of my resolutions for 2017, getting into the original Hero for Hire title. Right now, I'm four issues in and they managed to not only show the origin of Luke's power in issue #1, but they've recapped it twice in the next three issues. Overall, it's not bad, although the villains in the third and fourth issues are pretty lame.
I also like how the Netflix TV series are mining books like this for content. Reva Conner was involved with Luke before she died and was Luke's reason for wanting revenge on Diamondback, and Claire Temple makes her debut in issue #2 as a partner in a clinic with the doctor who gave Luke his powers at Seagate.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 6, 2017 14:49:43 GMT -5
I've started on one of my resolutions for 2017, getting into the original Hero for Hire title. Right now, I'm four issues in and they managed to not only show the origin of Luke's power in issue #1, but they've recapped it twice in the next three issues. Overall, it's not bad, although the villains in the third and fourth issues are pretty lame. I also like how the Netflix TV series are mining books like this for content. Reva Conner was involved with Luke before she died and was Luke's reason for wanting revenge on Diamondback, and Claire Temple makes her debut in issue #2 as a partner in a clinic with the doctor who gave Luke his powers at Seagate. I read Hero For Hire/Power Man up through #47 last year (48 starts the 3 parter original team up with Iron Fist that leads to the title changing again w/#50) and overall it was a fun ride but had a lot of hiccups (which was par for the course with deadline issues Marvel had all through the 70s). I read the solo Iron Fist stuff i Marvel Premiere and his own series leading into PM & IF too, and on balance I thik I like the Cage stuff slightly better, but there both fun reads. Overall is a decent run with some really good stories and some stinkers too. Power Man and Iron Fist is on my reading radar for this year. -M
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Post by Hoosier X on Jan 6, 2017 17:19:14 GMT -5
There is an early "Hero for Hire" issue with Dr. Doom that is one of my favorite Dr. Doom appearances ever. It think it's #8.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 6, 2017 23:13:20 GMT -5
There is an early "Hero for Hire" issue with Dr. Doom that is one of my favorite Dr. Doom appearances ever. It think it's #8. The Doom story was a 2 parter in #8 & #9 I had #8 as a kid and read it til it was dogeared, my first exposure to Luke Cage. I hadn't read the 2nd part until last year when I did the read through of the series. -M
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Post by Hoosier X on Jan 6, 2017 23:57:57 GMT -5
I have #9 but I've never read #8. It looks great.
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Post by hondobrode on Jan 7, 2017 0:48:45 GMT -5
Though I've long respected Erik Larsen and his Savage Dragon, it seemed a little...sophmoric, for my tastes. it was kind of silly but I grew to appreciate it more and picked up the first 50 issues on sale I had read the mini and liked it so I thought I'd give this a stab. I read # 0 (the origin issue released years later) and # 1 and like it for what it is : kind of a tongue-in-cheek over-the-top, not parody, but sort of its own thing. Anytime there's been a Savage Dragon crossover (which I'm a sucker for anyway), I've enjoyed them. It's a quick read, but enjoyable. Looking forward to the rest of Dragon. I know some big things happen down the road, and respect Larsen for retaining his artistic integrity and not selling out. That more than anything attracted me to come back and give this another shot.
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Jan 7, 2017 10:34:27 GMT -5
Astonishing tales #1, featuring Ka-Zar and Dr. Doom!
Those were glorious years. Such a wonderful blend of high adventure, gorgeous art and utter silliness.
Ka-Zar!
The first story is about Kraven the hunter stating that the only animal left for him to hunt is Zabu, Ka-Zar's sabretooth tiger. He will therefore learn all he can about the tiger and Ka-Zar's jungle, and go for this unique prize!
Setting an elaborate trap, Kraven manages to rneder Ka-Zar unconscious and abduct Zabu. He then departs for New York with the big cat, but Ka-zar follows closely... To be continued!
I thoroughly enjoyed this Stran Lee-scripted, Jack Kirby-drawn story. But oh boy, so many holes in that plot would make it suitable to strain pasta!!!
Kraven states that there is nothing left for him to hunt apart from Zabu. Well, what about all the dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals that dwell in Ka-Zar's lost jungle? He also says that Zabu is "the only such beast to walk the Earth in a million years." Come again? If Zabu is alive today, I think it's a safe bet that the tiger's ancestors were very much alive during the last million years.
Kraven's motivation is clearly his desire to show his prowess as a hunter. But how does he demonstrate said prowess? He downs Zabu with nets, stun beams and gas, something anyone could have done. Not much satisfaction in that, I would say.
Having captured the tiger, Kraven and his army of goons fly away woith it in a helicopter. Ka-Zar, who had been trapped in a pit, escapes and follows them by swimming down a river! Yes, Ka-Zar, mightier than a mastodon, apparently swims as fast as a helicopter flies.
The chopper reaches the sea and lends on a boat, and Ka-Zar swims all the way to it! But wait... isn't the Savage Land hidden away in Antarctica? Since when does it have a tropical seashore?
Ka-Zar is downed by a tranquilizer spray and thrown overboard, just as NATO planes fly overhead, causing Kraven's ship to sail away in a hurry. Why would NATO planes be there at all? Why are they a problem, apart from the general concept that NATO is the good guys and Kraven is a bad guy?
The fighter planes drop an inflatable raft fir K-Zar to use (fighter planes can do that?) and the lord of the jungle finds himself in New York a few days later.
As I said, there is a lot of silliness in the story... but it's a lot, really a lot of zany fun!!!
Dr. Doom!
Script by Roy Thomas, artwork by Wally Wood. (Kirby and Wood in a single comic costing 15 cents. Such a time to be a comic-book reader!)
Apollo 11, on the moon, find a clearly artificial globe the size of a bowling ball. Brought back to Earth, the object turns out to be a device built and teleported to the moon by Dr. Doom, and it delivers a message to the president of the United States : "your rockets are nothing compared to my scientific genius!" Great way to establish that a villain is a serious bad ass.
Doom' reign in Latveria is challenged by a resistance movement led by Prince Rudolpho, who claims he's the righteous heir to the throne. (I remember that back in the day, I viewed Rudolpho as an important character... oh, well). The resistance's plan involves a young woman who looks like Valeria, Doom's erstwhile heartthrob.
But the wily dictator was not born yesterday: using a hypno-probe, he quickly discovers that the lady is a fake. This had actually been expected by Rudolpho, who gambled on Doom being soft enough on her as not to execute her fortwith. She therefore has time to damage the electrical panel of Doom's castle, allowing the rebels to attack the place.
Meanwhile, Doom had been working on a cosmic-powered golem meant as an ultimate weapon. The creature escapes during the attack, which Doom brings an end to with his miraculous technology. The rebels are all captured by a hypno-ray, and the superpowered android escapes.
Wow! That's a lot of story for ten pages!!!
Fifteen cents. The mind reels.
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Post by hondobrode on Jan 7, 2017 12:53:01 GMT -5
Sometime I'm going to get those same issues. I remember back in the 80's Marvel reprinted those Wally Wood Dr Doom stories in a thin hardback. Gonna land me a copy someday. Reprints Astonishing Tales # 1-3 and Tower of Shadows # 5-8.
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Jan 9, 2017 14:12:42 GMT -5
ASTONISHING TALES #11, featuring Ka-Zar This is one of my favourite classic comics. I think it's the first time we're told Ka-Zar's origin in detail, as written by Roy Thomas and drawn by Gil Kane and Frank Giacoia. It's dynamic, it's straightforward, it's engaging, and it brings in plenty of material begging to be developed in the future; it's a perfect origin issue. I'm just no exactly sure what Vibranium is supposed to be, though. A few issues ago it was said to be so unstable that it could explode if you just shook it a little hard; here it's an "anti-metal" that supposedly can destroy other metals, and in future comics it will become a near indestructible metal capable of absorbing sound. Here it's also described as a new element the existence of which only Ka-Zar's father had predicted, something that just couldn't happen in real life... but anyway. This is in the same league as Marvel Premiere #1, which coincidentally enough is also a Thomas/Kane production!
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Post by Gene on Jan 9, 2017 16:15:48 GMT -5
I just finished Star Wars #39-44, the Marvel adaptation of Empire Strikes Back. I remember not really caring for it the first time I read it, but I liked it a lot more this time.
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Post by Icctrombone on Jan 9, 2017 22:38:55 GMT -5
Though I've long respected Erik Larsen and his Savage Dragon, it seemed a little...sophmoric, for my tastes. it was kind of silly but I grew to appreciate it more and picked up the first 50 issues on sale I had read the mini and liked it so I thought I'd give this a stab. I read # 0 (the origin issue released years later) and # 1 and like it for what it is : kind of a tongue-in-cheek over-the-top, not parody, but sort of its own thing. Anytime there's been a Savage Dragon crossover (which I'm a sucker for anyway), I've enjoyed them. It's a quick read, but enjoyable. Looking forward to the rest of Dragon. I know some big things happen down the road, and respect Larsen for retaining his artistic integrity and not selling out. That more than anything attracted me to come back and give this another shot. I have the entire series from 1-218 and its the most unpredictable book on the market. He kills off major characters and even replaced the lead with his son.
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Post by Rob Allen on Jan 9, 2017 22:58:49 GMT -5
A few years ago, Tom Orzechowski started lettering Savage Dragon. He said it took him two or three issues to realize that "Dragon" was the character's name.
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Post by pinkfloydsound17 on Jan 9, 2017 22:59:51 GMT -5
Isn't there a villain named Flo that has powers during a certain um time of the month?
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Confessor
CCF Mod Squad
Not Bucky O'Hare!
Posts: 10,069
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Post by Confessor on Jan 9, 2017 23:06:01 GMT -5
I just finished Star Wars #39-44, the Marvel adaptation of Empire Strikes Back. I remember not really caring for it the first time I read it, but I liked it a lot more this time. It's a masterpiece. Best comic adaptation of a movie bar none, as far I'm concerned.
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Post by Gene on Jan 9, 2017 23:22:01 GMT -5
I just finished Star Wars #39-44, the Marvel adaptation of Empire Strikes Back. I remember not really caring for it the first time I read it, but I liked it a lot more this time. It's a masterpiece. Best comic adaptation of a movie bar none, as far I'm concerned. I think I'm conflating it in my memory with the adaptation of RotJ, which I'm currently reading. The ESB issues were pretty great.
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