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Post by Roquefort Raider on Mar 23, 2016 8:31:30 GMT -5
Annihilation : Silver Surfer (four issue mini-series).
Story by Keith Giffen, art by Renato Arlem.
Annihilation was a great way to throw an "event". Instead of monopolizing the Marvel universe for a few months, it had its own limited series (as is standard practice) expanded by four-issue titles featuring a distinct character who didn't have a book at the time : Drax, Nova, Silver Surfer, the Super-Skrull and Ronan the accuser. The whole thing featured significant happenings that fully qualified for the term "event", and it had lasting repercussions... but repercussions in the good sense, with new story opportunities. (Many "events" do have short-lived repercussions that I dislike, usually the death of major characters who must then be resurrected... they're not events, they're stunts).
In this series we see Annihilus hunt down all of Galactus's herald, in the hope of understanding what makes the power cosmic click and appropriating it. Helping him is none other than Thanos, uncharacteristically in civilian clothes (a look I quite like for him). Thanos isn't very active here; he seems content top merely observe events as they proceed. One would be tempted to think he has gained wisdom after his earlier setbacks. New characters are introduced, older ones are laid to rest (I didn't know who the female Beyonder was, though; I had to google it up) and for once, certain numbers actually make sense! Billions are said to have been killed after a planet was destroyed, which is as it should be. (Casualty figures in cosmic comics always seem to be based on earthly ones, dealing in thousands or sometimes millions when billions or even trillions would be more appropriate).
The art looks very, very good. The only thing that irritated me (and increasingly so as pages went by) is that Arlem copies and pastes images repeatedly. See this face of the Surfer looking sad? You're going to see exactly the same one half a dozen time again, sometimes flipped horizontally thanks to Photoshop. See Thanos looking over his shoulder? Same deal. See this beautifully rendered spaceship? A whole fleet consists of the very same image, pasted and pasted and pasted again.
I don't mind repeated images in certain contexts : for example, when two people aren't moving much when they're having a conversation. It's even an effective storytelling device, because it really gives an impression of immobility. However, the same image seen again and again pages apart just looks odd.
Annihilus also meets Thanos in what seems to be the second Death Star's throne room.
Nevertheless, overall the art is excellent and realistic (a hard thing to achieve with science-fiction images) and it gives the tale a welcome sense of urgency.
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Post by dbutler69 on Mar 23, 2016 10:08:56 GMT -5
Thor #182-183 Thor encounters a young woman protesting outside the Latverian embassy, and rescues her from a mob. Thor takes her to Dr. Donald Blake (wink wink) whom she tells that she's protesting because she and her father were kidnapped by Dr. Doom to force her father to design missiles for him. She is freed by the Latverian underground, and makes her way to America. Dr. Blake tell her he'll get Thor to free her father. Thor decides that he can't invade a foreign country, so he lets it be known that he's devised a way to fix any face. A hopeful Dr. Doom kidnaps him in order to force him to perform his magic on his own face, and goes into a rage when Blake says that he can't help him. There's a Thor-Doom battle which is a bit of a letdown in terms of action, but does contain some clever bits. Thor finally gets his opportunity to free the girl's father, only to find that he doesn't want to be freed! He cares only for the riches Doom promised him, not for his daughter. He of course accidentally dies by his own hand, and Thor tells the girl a half truth about her father's death in order to spare her feelings. All in all, a pretty good two parter, though the father is a bit over the top in his proclaiming his love for money, and Mjolnir serves once again as a bit of a dues ex machina in getting Thor out of a jam with Doom's missile. Also sets up the next story with Odin about to send Thor off on some dangerous, but unknown (to us) mission.
Daredevil #100-101 Featuring the debut of Angar the Screamer! We start off with Daredevil (flying a Quinjet?!) getting dropped off by the Black Widow, who is apparently dumping him to join the Avengers. DD's feet literally don't touch the ground before he has to break up a robbery in progress! Ah, the life of a superhero. DD then suffers a hallucination, and when he gets invited into the offices of Rolling Stone magazine, finds that mass hallucinations have been happening throughout San Francisco, with the also odd fact that people forget the hallucinations afterwards. DD, however, is the only one who does remember the hallucinations. Finally, on the last page of #100, he meets Angar, and finds that he's the one responsible for the hallucinations, and he challenges DD to a fight. DD is defeated, then goes back to Black Widow's apartment. Ivan shows up, and both are surprised when the Black Widow herself shows up, apparently deciding not to join the Avengers after all. DD and Black Widow ultimately defeat Angar, who escapes. I have to say, Angar is basically an angry hippy here. He keeps saying that he wants peace and love, but he's being manipulated by "The Man" into doing his bidding. We don't find out who The Man is (a mystery for another day, I suppose) and I really could have used some more explanation or motivation for why Angar is doing his dirty work for him, aside from the fact that The Man is the one who gave him his powers. Still, a decent tale, though I'd rate it a little behind the Thor two pater, though I did dig the Rich Buckler art, as always.
Master of Kung Fu #17 I'm finally getting a chance to read one of the first Master of of Kung Fu stories. I hadn't realized that Sir Denis had started out the series by trying to kill Shang Chi. Perhaps that changes at the end of this issue. Even though there's no Doug Moench or Paul Gulacy, I thought this was a good issue. Steve Englehart has some pretty good Shang Chi philosophizing, and Jim Starlin's art is good, though one thing I don't love about it is Shang Chi's face.
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Post by Bronze Age Brian on Mar 23, 2016 12:33:48 GMT -5
Read The Warlord (1st Series) #1-10, 12 by Mike Grell.
The first dozen or so issues of The Warlord (#11 is a flashback) were a fun read. It follows the story of Lt. Colonel Travis Morgan of the USAF, who is shot down by the Russians during a recon mission, ejects over the Arctic, goes through a giant hole and ends up at the center of the Earth, where a new world called Skartaris awaits.
In Skartaris everything old is new again: Dinosaurs, ancient civilizations and scantily-clad barbarian women are the norm here. Morgan saves one of those women named Tara from a Dinosaur, and is able to use his gun to show the savages he doesn't mess around. The next few issues show Morgan rise up through the ranks to become the Warlord and save the savages from slavery.
Things take an interesting turn in issue #5, when Morgan and Tara stumble into a cave with a giant computer center. They find out that it is from the remains of Atlantis after it sank beneath the Atlantic Ocean, and the evil sorcerer Deimos was not actually using black magic to take power, but an Atlantis Technical Operations Manual titled "B-100-D", a sort of hologram projector. From there they find an underground train, which Morgan gets trapped in, and it takes him through the tunnel and outside back to Earth.
Morgan meets up with some archaeologists nearby where he discovers he has been in Skartaris for eight years. After an adventure in some nearby ruins, he finds out the government is coming for him. He decides to head back into Skartaris and a female scientist named Mariah decides to go with him. But by the time they get back it's been several years again and Tara is nowhere to be found.
Issue #7 has Morgan and Mariah searching for Tara. Morgan meets up with old friends as Mariah adapts to barbarian culture. The next few issues take Warlord and friends on various adventures, with issue #10 as my favorite. They must ascend the Tower of Fear, and Morgan and Mariah make a bet for who will get to the top first. As you might have guessed, Mariah wins.
Fun read but I admit I got a bit burnt out after Issue #12. I do like Mike Grell's art, and his splash pages are top notch. Some of the stories are hit and miss, but with so many fantasy-style stories of that era, it must have been hard to stand out.
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Post by chaykinstevens on Mar 23, 2016 13:17:37 GMT -5
Master of Kung Fu #17 I'm finally getting a chance to read one of the first Master of of Kung Fu stories. I hadn't realized that Sir Denis had started out the series by trying to kill Shang Chi. Perhaps that changes at the end of this issue. Even though there's no Doug Moench or Paul Gulacy, I thought this was a good issue. Steve Englehart has some pretty good Shang Chi philosophizing, and Jim Starlin's art is good, though one thing I don't love about it is Shang Chi's face. According to Marvel Comics: The Untold Story by Sean Howe, Starlin drew Shang-Chi with a Chinese face in his original character designs, but with a generic face when sketching possible costumes, and Stan Lee insisted they should keep the generic face. Link
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Post by dbutler69 on Mar 23, 2016 14:30:31 GMT -5
Master of Kung Fu #17 I'm finally getting a chance to read one of the first Master of of Kung Fu stories. I hadn't realized that Sir Denis had started out the series by trying to kill Shang Chi. Perhaps that changes at the end of this issue. Even though there's no Doug Moench or Paul Gulacy, I thought this was a good issue. Steve Englehart has some pretty good Shang Chi philosophizing, and Jim Starlin's art is good, though one thing I don't love about it is Shang Chi's face. According to Marvel Comics: The Untold Story by Sean Howe, Starlin drew Shang-Chi with a Chinese face in his original character designs, but with a generic face when sketching possible costumes, and Stan Lee insisted they should keep the generic face. LinkDarn that Stan Lee guy!
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Mar 23, 2016 15:34:09 GMT -5
Read The Warlord (1st Series) #1-10, 12 by Mike Grell. The first dozen or so issues of The Warlord (#11 is a flashback) were a fun read. It follows the story of Lt. Colonel Travis Morgan of the USAF, who is shot down by the Russians during a recon mission, ejects over the Arctic, goes through a giant hole and ends up at the center of the Earth, where a new world called Skartaris awaits. In Skartaris everything old is new again: Dinosaurs, ancient civilizations and scantily-clad barbarian women are the norm here. Morgan saves one of those women named Tara from a Dinosaur, and is able to use his gun to show the savages he doesn't mess around. The next few issues show Morgan rise up through the ranks to become the Warlord and save the savages from slavery. Things take an interesting turn in issue #5, when Morgan and Tara stumble into a cave with a giant computer center. They find out that it is from the remains of Atlantis after it sank beneath the Atlantic Ocean, and the evil sorcerer Deimos was not actually using black magic to take power, but an Atlantis Technical Operations Manual titled "B-100-D", a sort of hologram projector. From there they find an underground train, which Morgan gets trapped in, and it takes him through the tunnel and outside back to Earth. Morgan meets up with some archaeologists nearby where he discovers he has been in Skartaris for eight years. After an adventure in some nearby ruins, he finds out the government is coming for him. He decides to head back into Skartaris and a female scientist named Mariah decides to go with him. But by the time they get back it's been several years again and Tara is nowhere to be found. Issue #7 has Morgan and Mariah searching for Tara. Morgan meets up with old friends as Mariah adapts to barbarian culture. The next few issues take Warlord and friends on various adventures, with issue #10 as my favorite. They must ascend the Tower of Fear, and Morgan and Mariah make a bet for who will get to the top first. As you might have guessed, Mariah wins. Fun read but I admit I got a bit burnt out after Issue #12. I do like Mike Grell's art, and his splash pages are top notch. Some of the stories are hit and miss, but with so many fantasy-style stories of that era, it must have been hard to stand out. I'm a huge fan of Grell's Warlord, what with his Edgar Rice Burroughs feel and the fantastic double splash pages. You're right about the stories being hit and miss; some of them were pretty standard (find monster, kill monster) but overall that run is one of my favourites from the era. Something I meant to start a thread about is how Grell often had one memorable line in each of his Warlord books; I think that became more apparent when he stopped drawing it (not an entirely good trade-off, I admit).
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Mar 23, 2016 15:39:49 GMT -5
Master of Kung Fu #17 I'm finally getting a chance to read one of the first Master of of Kung Fu stories. I hadn't realized that Sir Denis had started out the series by trying to kill Shang Chi. Perhaps that changes at the end of this issue. Even though there's no Doug Moench or Paul Gulacy, I thought this was a good issue. Steve Englehart has some pretty good Shang Chi philosophizing, and Jim Starlin's art is good, though one thing I don't love about it is Shang Chi's face. According to Marvel Comics: The Untold Story by Sean Howe, Starlin drew Shang-Chi with a Chinese face in his original character designs, but with a generic face when sketching possible costumes, and Stan Lee insisted they should keep the generic face. LinkVery interesting link, chaykinstevens! Thanks! Shang-Chi not looking overly oriental comes as no surprise when we consider he's caucasian on his mother's side. As for the wall-to-wall violence apparently demanded by Stan and that would have caused Steve Englehart to walk away... I honestly didn't notice the change back then. If anything, the book became even more philosophical (much to my delight).
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Post by pinkfloydsound17 on Mar 23, 2016 17:57:14 GMT -5
I picked up DD #292 for a toonie over the weekend and read it. I was in the mood for some Punisher/DD action what with the release of season two. Nice surprise seeing Taskmaster in it as well. Decent story, nothing special. Need to find the conclusion, #293 now...
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Post by dbutler69 on Mar 24, 2016 7:26:36 GMT -5
According to Marvel Comics: The Untold Story by Sean Howe, Starlin drew Shang-Chi with a Chinese face in his original character designs, but with a generic face when sketching possible costumes, and Stan Lee insisted they should keep the generic face. LinkVery interesting link, chaykinstevens! Thanks! Shang-Chi not looking overly oriental comes as no surprise when we consider he's caucasian on his mother's side. As for the wall-to-wall violence apparently demanded by Stan and that would have caused Steve Englehart to walk away... I honestly didn't notice the change back then. If anything, the book became even more philosophical (much to my delight). Yeah, I hadn't realized that Shang-Chi was half American until yesterday, when I read a writeup on Special Marvel Edition #15 on supermegamonkey.net!
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Post by Batflunkie on Mar 24, 2016 8:57:43 GMT -5
Been dual-reading The Demon and Doctor Fate. The Demon is pretty fun and engaging and it's also kind of interesting to see Kirby's take on topics of the occult because I don't think he's often touched on them before. Doctor Fate is also pretty good and certainly less confusing after I read his revised Secret Origins history
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Post by spoon on Mar 26, 2016 17:23:37 GMT -5
I finished Essential Amazing Spider-Man vol. 11, which ends with Amazing Spider-Man #248 and Annual #17. Since that's not really a natural ending point, I continued on to read Marvel Tales #259-261, which reprints Amazing Spider-Man #249-251. That takes me up to Secret Wars. It's essentially the end of the Stern/Romita Jr. run, although I guess Stern is credited as plotter of #252 (like #251). Romita Jr. has a wide variety of inkers through this issues, so there's a lot of diversity in how the art appears. The issues inked by Romita Sr. or Frank Giacoia have a classic Silver Age look, but aren't particularly dynamic. Bob Layton does a good job on one of the Vulture issues. I particularly the inks by Dan Green, who I'm familiar with as Romita's inker on X-Men. There are some issues by inkers I'm unfamiliar with, like Kevin Dzuban. And of course, Klaus Janson brings a very distinctive style.
The Hobgoblin issues are great. Roger Stern does a great at pacing out the mystery and not rushing things. Supposedly, Stern was going to do his Hobgoblin reveal in the 260s if he had stayed with the title. The various clues could be taken any number of ways. DeFalco ended up going in another direction. DeFalco's dialogue in #251 is really over-the-top. In that issue, Ron Frenz also very heavily apes Ditko.
I also like the way Mary Jane Watson is worked back into the series. Stern handles the ambivalence of the relationship due to their break-up years before.
At some point, I'm going to have do a re-read that hops between the Spider titles. A lot of the developments regarding the Black Cat and Hobgoblin come in Spectacular Spider-Man, but I haven't read the two titles together in this particular period. I've just tackled them separately.
I think this is a good place to take a break from Amazing Spider-Man, and read some others runs.
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Post by pinkfloydsound17 on Mar 26, 2016 18:55:20 GMT -5
I am re-reading Kravens last hunt. The original issues are all over the place price wise nowadays. Makes me glad I spent 10 bucks a decade ago to get them all. It really is one of the must read Spider-Man stories.
Also read Werewolf by Night 35. Good issue I think come Halloween time when I tend to go after some horror books I will make a point of trying to add a few more of the earlier issues. That or Frankenstein.... Ploogs art is really fantastic.
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Post by spoon on Mar 26, 2016 20:13:13 GMT -5
I am re-reading Kravens last hunt. The original issues are all over the place price wise nowadays. Makes me glad I spent 10 bucks a decade ago to get them all. It really is one of the must read Spider-Man stories. Also read Werewolf by Night 35. Good issue I think come Halloween time when I tend to go after some horror books I will make a point of trying to add a few more of the earlier issues. That or Frankenstein.... Ploogs art is really fantastic. I definitely agree about Kraven's Last Hunt. I'm reluctant to declare any story a must-read, because people have differing tastes, but it's a pretty good pick for that status. I read it about a month ago. It's a story that can be re-read without getting boring. As far as the pricing issue, I wish I had picked up a set of Legends my LCS was selling for about $1 an issue a year ago. Now, because of the Suicide Squad movie, one of the issues is ridiculously expensive.
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Post by spoon on Mar 26, 2016 23:16:08 GMT -5
I read Sandman Mystery Theatre: The Tarantula, the TPB that reprints #1-4 of the series. It's my first time reading any of Sandman Mystery Theatre. The art is a little different, but I warmed up to it over the four issues.
I've got so many unread TPBs and runs, I'm thinking of starting a "Help Your Fellow Poster Decide What to Tackle Off Their Unread Pile" thread.
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Mar 26, 2016 23:18:31 GMT -5
I read Sandman Mystery Theatre: The Tarantula, the TPB that reprints #1-4 of the series. It's my first time reading any of Sandman Mystery Theatre. The art is a little different, but I warmed up to it over the four issues. I've got so many unread TPBs and runs, I'm thinking of starting a "Help Your Fellow Poster Decide What to Tackle Off Their Unread Pile" thread. I love Sandman Mystery Theatre soooo damn much!!!
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