|
|
Post by Batflunkie on Sept 9, 2023 18:57:27 GMT -5
Enigma #1-#8
So I heard about this from reading the intro to the book "Marvel Comics In The 70's: The World Inside Your Head" and thought "huh, that sounds interesting.." and went and read it. So a guy gets his brain eaten this guy called "The Head" and almost dies, then gets brought back to life and realizes that the events and people that are suddenly appearing/happening sound awfully like this three issue, largely forgotten comic book called "Enigma", so he tracks down the original writer and they set off on a journey of self
I liked it, I liked it a lot actually, though my one grievance is that the ending felt rushed. There's no great final battle, just the three of them (Enigma, the main character, and the comic writer) leaping into death's gaping maw, but with the story playing out how it did, I kind of think that's the point
|
|
shaxper
CCF Site Custodian
Posts: 22,847
|
Post by shaxper on Sept 10, 2023 20:46:48 GMT -5
Just read American Honda Presents Supergirl #1 (1984) and #2 (1986). While the 1986 issue was exactly what you'd expect it to be, the 1984 issue was surprisingly...good? The whole thing is a PSA for buckling your seatbelt, and while the second issue finds the laziest and arguably dumbest ways to drive this message home, the 1984 issue sees Linda Danvers' boyfriend end up in a coma after taking his little sister for a drive and arguing with her that she doesn't need a seatbelt. Supergirl ends up using some whacky Fortress of Solitude device to enter her boyfriend's dreams in an effort to get him to wake-up, but the guilt and shame of potentially killing his young sister has sent him into a spiral. Meanwhile, his mind keeps concocting these truly fun new takes on classic films, only the boyfriend is always the protagonist, and it always ends with his little sister getting into the car and the two getting struck while Supergirl is powerless to watch. It's way waaaaay better than it has any right to be, and the 1984 baxter paper really helps. Artist Angelo Torres cannot draw faces to save his life, but his arrangements and inks are truly powerful at times, and Joe Orlando's colors do not disappoint in those moments either.  |
|
|
|
Post by MDG on Sept 11, 2023 10:13:58 GMT -5
... Artist Angelo Torres cannot draw faces to save his life, but his arrangements and inks are truly powerful at times, and Joe Orlando's colors do not disappoint in those moments either. Well, there's a phrase that stopped me dead in my tracks. Then I looked up the book and wondered if at this time Torres had been doing his Drucker-ish satires in MAD so long that it crept into this story... If this is all you know of Torres, I'd advise you to look at his work for Warren in the 60s and four-color work in the 50s, because he was just as skilled as the other Fleagles*.  * And if you don't know what this means, don't talk to me! |
|
shaxper
CCF Site Custodian
Posts: 22,847
|
Post by shaxper on Sept 11, 2023 12:43:36 GMT -5
Then I looked up the book and wondered if at this time Torres had been doing his Drucker-ish satires in MAD so long that it crept into this story... [/div] [/quote] That would explain a lot. It's just extremely jarring to have him draw some of the most poignant moody panels and pages and then give us those...faces. |
|
|
|
Post by spoon on Sept 15, 2023 23:36:57 GMT -5
I read Legion of Super-Heroes (1989) #15-17, continuing where I left off last year with the 5 Years Later Legion. I was trying to remember where the plot threads were when I left off. The Roxxas plotline seems like it's done, as these issues center around an invasion by the Khunds against the U.P. worlds. Keith Giffen seems to only be drawing a handful of pages in each of these issues, with Brandon Peterson drawing most of it. Tom and Mary Bierbaum continue scripting. The plot credits are weird, because the Bierbaums and Giffen don't share equal credit. Rather either the Bierbaums or Giffen are credited with "plot" in a given issue with the other credited with "plot assist." Given that these issues are part of the same arc rather than standalones, it feels odd that the primary plotter would change from issue to issue.
The Khund invasion story is pretty suspenseful, although a bit of the suspense comes from the United Planets leadership making what seems to be an unnecessarily risky strategic blunder. We get appearances from Bouncing Boy and Duo Damsel, which I think is their first in the 5YL era. The creative team seems to treat established and new characters the same. By that I mean that characters I don't recall from previous eras are casually inserted without the need for introductions, descriptions of their powers (if any), etc.
I also read Justice League of America #135-137. I've been reading some issues from this JLA Omnibus without posting in this thread. It's ironic because the issues I didn't post about were actually a significant improvement over the earlier issues that I did post about. Anyway, these 3 issues are another annual JLA/JSA, this time also featuring heroes from Earth-S. It's pretty good by the low bar of the earlier issues in this volume. There are more heroes per team than I recall from earlier team-ups. The main villain is King Kull from Earth-S (I guess the Robert E. Howard Estate didn't have a trademark on the name). His minions comes from various Earths, including the Earth-2 Joker and an uninspiring Earth-S villain called the Weeper. The Marvel Family is on the sidelines for most of the arc, as the Earth-S representation comes from obscure heroes such as Mister Scarlet and Pinky and Ibis the Invincible. If you stick out that assemblage of weirdos, the Marvel Family payoff is pretty good.
|
|
|
|
Post by Batflunkie on Sept 17, 2023 8:06:02 GMT -5
Amazing Spider-Man Annual 1 and #17-#19
Been picking back up on my read-through of Spidey. The annual was pretty good, had Spidey facing off against every one of his villains (minus the Chameleon and The Mad Tinkerer) in order to save Aunt May and Betty and of course we get the trope where he loses his powers!
#17-#19 were a real treat. So Flash organizes a Spider-Man club and Peter begrudgingly decides to show up as both himself and Spidey. But also Green Goblin appears to ruin the fun. Spidey ducks out midway through the fight because he hears about Aunt May being sick and everyone (and I mean everyone, ESPECIALLY J.J.) labels him a coward. The only one that comes to his defense is Flash who even dresses up like Spidey to fight a group of hoods. Peter ducks out of the limelight for a while to take care of May, but the funds are running out, so he tries selling his likeness to a trading card company and tries to sell the formula to his web fluid, but nobody is interested
Eventually May tells Peter to stop worrying so much and that everything will be okay that prompts him to dig his Spidey suit out of the trash can and go fight evil
|
|
|
|
Post by kirby101 on Sept 17, 2023 8:24:26 GMT -5
I just read those in my Big Taschen book. I agree they were good, I especially liked in the annual how Ditko gave every villain a splash page during the fights. And we also see the beginning of the May Otto romance.
|
|
|
|
Post by Batflunkie on Sept 17, 2023 8:30:59 GMT -5
And we also see the beginning of the May Otto romance. Which is still so bizarre to me. I mean I get how May actively distrusts Spider-Man from reading J.J's columns in the Bugle, but why would she fawn over a clear bad guy Octavius? IDK, guess love is strange and all that |
|
|
|
Post by Hoosier X on Sept 17, 2023 9:28:21 GMT -5
And we also see the beginning of the May Otto romance. Which is still so bizarre to me. I mean I get how May actively distrusts Spider-Man from reading J.J's columns in the Bugle, but why would she fawn over a clear bad guy Octavius? IDK, guess love is strange and all that May Parker is a freak! I suspect she’s having a very late mid-life crisis that lasted for 15 years. I also sometimes wonder if she ate the wrong brownies at the Coffee Bean. |
|
|
|
Post by Hoosier X on Sept 17, 2023 9:35:07 GMT -5
(I’ve been listening to The Velvet Underground and Nico, and now I’m imagining May listening to it after Mary Jane left it at the Parker house. And later that day, she’s humming Venus in Furs at the grocery.)
|
|
|
|
Post by Hoosier X on Sept 17, 2023 15:22:18 GMT -5
|
|
|
|
Post by berkley on Sept 17, 2023 16:18:10 GMT -5
(I’ve been listening to The Velvet Underground and Nico, and now I’m imagining May listening to it after Mary Jane left it at the Parker house. And later that day, she’s humming Venus in Furs at the grocery.)
Mary Jane and Nico were pretty close friends back in the day, I hear.
|
|
|
|
Post by Cei-U! on Sept 17, 2023 18:13:51 GMT -5
I especially liked in the annual how Ditko gave every villain a splash page during the fights. Years ago when Rob Allen and I attended a symposium on comic book art at Oregon State University, we got to see the original page from the annual of Spidey decking Electro. I considered stealing it but was pretty sure I'd get caught.
Cei-U! I summon the up-close-and-personal masterpiece!
|
|
|
|
Post by kirby101 on Sept 17, 2023 19:19:55 GMT -5
I especially liked in the annual how Ditko gave every villain a splash page during the fights. Years ago when Rob Allen and I attended a symposium on comic book art at Oregon State University, we got to see the original page from the annual of Spidey decking Electro. I considered stealing it but was pretty sure I'd get caught.
Cei-U! I summon the up-close-and-personal masterpiece!
That is so cool.  |
|
|
|
Post by driver1980 on Sept 19, 2023 6:02:11 GMT -5
On sale 45 years ago today:  This was reprinted in the UK when I was a kid (in black and white!). I remember the story so well. Some modern stories - not all - leave no lasting impression on me, yet I’m remembering a comic I probably read around 1988/89. This story had a reveal I didn’t see coming. In fact, a couple of the Marvel Scooby-Doo comics did that (I was pretty good at guessing who the “monster” or “ghost” was in the cartoons, but some comic stories surprised me). I will not be offended if anyone here ever buys me Marvel Comics’ Scooby-Doo run!  |
|
