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Post by tonebone on May 2, 2024 15:16:07 GMT -5
I reread this last night: I’m not going to get into the history of the series (check out a great thread on the series, posted by codystarbuck ). I’m gonna presume a knowledge of the series. Secret agent Alice Drake gets shipwrecked on the shores of the Village, twenty years after the events of the TV show’s final episode. An aged Number Six is there, being rather cryptic and sporting a beard. Number Two (the Leo McKern version) is also there. Back in London, an intelligence agency - unnamed - has its own concerns about the Village. This is a good story, but it doesn’t answer any more questions than “Fall Out” - the show’s final episode - did, although, well, spoilers ahead. Still here? One more chance. Check out the rocket. And when asked who Number One may be, Number Six replies, “Does the presence of Number Two require the existence of Number One?” So it is at least thought-provoking. As the show was. I own the series on Blu-ray, and even today, I’m wondering about the Village, Number One, the “general” mentioned in the episode “The Schizoid Man”, etc. And while the Village is out there (near to Morocco, wasn’t it?) in the episode “Many Happy Returns”, “Fall Out” shows a Village not too far from London. The show wasn’t meant to provide answers, I guess. And that’s good (although it can be frustrating - in a good way). The fact we’re still talking about numerous aspects is rewarding, from who Number One was, whether there was a Number One, whether Number Six was “testing the security” of the Village, etc. With all that in mind, I never expected or necessarily desired that this graphic novel would answer all my questions. Life itself doesn’t answer all questions. Overall, it’s a solid tale, and one I will return to again. I read this BEFORE seeing a single frame of the series... Made no sense. But AFTER I had seen a number of great episodes... well, then I realized just how good it was.
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Post by tonebone on May 2, 2024 15:17:54 GMT -5
I was absolutely livid over the disrespect Wolfman showed to Englehart's run at the time. It still leaves a bad taste in my mouth and his remains my least favorite run on the book. It isn't worth reading again (in my opinion, natch) until Roger Stern takes over as writer (though there's a lot of good art between Englehart and Stern). Cei-U! I summon the sorcerous slump! That's because with very limited exceptions, mostly Tomb of Dracula, Wolfman isn't a very good writer. I really enjoyed New Teen Titans, and Night Force. His Superman wasn't bad, either.
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Post by spoon on May 4, 2024 13:01:49 GMT -5
I finished the rest of Essential Defenders vol. 4, reading Defenders #69-91. Aside from two earlier issues co-written with David Anthony Kraft, this constitutes the entirety of Ed Hannigan's run as writer. I had been more familiar with Hannigan as an artist, particularly of covers.
A number of the plotlines take up plotlines from other titles. I had found Lunitak's previous appearances dissatisfying, as a weirdo wielding a staff was able to hold the Defenders at bay. Hannigan salvages it by tying Lunatik's origins to some off-the-wall aspects of Man-Wolf stories I haven't read. It looks like the publication dates don't line up, so this may have been retooled explanation rather the intended plan at the time of Lunatik's introduction. We also get introduced to a realm called Tunnel World. The Defenders team up with a cool-looking wizard ally named Xhoohx.
Then, there's an arc that brings over plot threads from Omega the Unknown (which I also haven't read). First, Foolkiller II shows up. He's like a less annoying version of Lunatik. Then, Omega shows up who is dead, but not dead, but dead again. Along the way, we meet his supporting cast. It's hard to follow who's who, as I think there was an additional woman in the supporting cast who I didn't notice at first. Moondragon shows up to sort of help, but eventually condescend and criticize in her inimitable style. Along the way, I learn that Moondragon trained Hellcat in psychic power and Hellcat owns a magic cloak. I've actually read the Avengers and Defenders stories where both of those things apparently happened, but couldn't remember those events for the left of me. Nighthawk temporarily quits the Defenders while this is happening, the Wasp temporarily joins, and the Hulk is off somewhere. Which means for a bit we have an all-female roster. Yellowjacket follows Jan, but it's unclear whether he's considered to have rejoined. But it's a non-team.
I wonder if the sales figures were flagging for the current roster, because the original team of Doctor Strange, Hulk, and Sub-Mariner are back for their own arc in Tunnel World that runs parallel to the arc of the newer members on Earth. In these issues, the originals are featured on the cover even when the newbies may have a higher page count.
I know that being the strange & ridiculous team title is sometimes a distinguishing characteristic of the Defenders, but during the early part of the Hannigan run (and the end of the Kraft run before) it goes a little overboard. The team is inept at times and Nighthawk is a peevish annoying guy. Nighthawk is under an investigation by various government entities. It's totally confusing what the factual underpinnings of what the charges were supposed to be. My most charitable theory is that it's supposed to be Kafkaesque mess with no real explanation plus a pretext to write Nighthawk in and out of the team's battles as needed. One issue focuses on a surreal investigation into the Defenders. I'm not sure if an explanation was planned by Hannigan, but it doesn't get resolved in his run. Mandrill is also brought in as a villain with his icky "only in 70s" power of mesmerizing women in his scent. Although I have to admit that the equivalent is sometimes done with the Enchantress, for example. Among Mandrill's minions is Mutant Force, the revival of the all-new, totally cheesy version of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants introduced during Kirby's mid-70s return to Captain America.
One brief arc features a war/misunderstanding between Atlantis and Wakanda that seems to prefigure the conflict of the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever movie. That also spawns a story/PSA where Hulk stands up for the whales against overfishing; it's actually kind of good.
With Nighthawk's property impounded, the team relocates to a home Patsy Walker (Hellcat) inherited from her mom in Montclair, New Jersey! As a New Jersey resident whose sister went to Montclair State, I find it pretty cool. Not particularly recognizable though.
Hannigan's run ends will the resumption of Mandrill's machinations. It's not quite as icky as the earlier run. Matt Murdock is also brought in as a lawyer for Nighthawk and previous enemy of Mandrill. Hannigan actually comes up with an aspect of Mandrill's revenger plot that makes him a little interesting.
Hannigan's run ends with a message of thanks to the fans and a moment between Valkyrie and Hellcat. Those two are really the heart of his run in terms of story involvement. But his treatment of the characters is off more about vibes and personality then building up the personal lives and history. Having started Defenders from the beginning after not reading it when I was young, I never realized Hellcat was a member for this long (and still going as of #91).
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Post by berkley on May 4, 2024 22:26:25 GMT -5
I finished the rest of Essential Defenders vol. 4, reading Defenders #69-91. Aside from two earlier issues co-written with David Anthony Kraft, this constitutes the entirety of Ed Hannigan's run as writer. I had been more familiar with Hannigan as an artist, particularly of covers. A number of the plotlines take up plotlines from other titles. I had found Lunitak's previous appearances dissatisfying, as a weirdo wielding a staff was able to hold the Defenders at bay. Hannigan salvages it by tying Lunatik's origins to some off-the-wall aspects of Man-Wolf stories I haven't read. It looks like the publication dates don't line up, so this may have been retooled explanation rather the intended plan at the time of Lunatik's introduction. We also get introduced to a realm called Tunnel World. The Defenders team up with a cool-looking wizard ally named Xhoohx. Then, there's an arc that brings over plot threads from Omega the Unknown (which I also haven't read). First, Foolkiller II shows up. He's like a less annoying version of Lunatik. Then, Omega shows up who is dead, but not dead, but dead again. Along the way, we meet his supporting cast. It's hard to follow who's who, as I think there was an additional woman in the supporting cast who I didn't notice at first. Moondragon shows up to sort of help, but eventually condescend and criticize in her inimitable style. Along the way, I learn that Moondragon trained Hellcat in psychic power and Hellcat owns a magic cloak. I've actually read the Avengers and Defenders stories where both of those things apparently happened, but couldn't remember those events for the left of me. Nighthawk temporarily quits the Defenders while this is happening, the Wasp temporarily joins, and the Hulk is off somewhere. Which means for a bit we have an all-female roster. Yellowjacket follows Jan, but it's unclear whether he's considered to have rejoined. But it's a non-team. I wonder if the sales figures were flagging for the current roster, because the original team of Doctor Strange, Hulk, and Sub-Mariner are back for their own arc in Tunnel World that runs parallel to the arc of the newer members on Earth. In these issues, the originals are featured on the cover even when the newbies may have a higher page count. I know that being the strange & ridiculous team title is sometimes a distinguishing characteristic of the Defenders, but during the early part of the Hannigan run (and the end of the Kraft run before) it goes a little overboard. The team is inept at times and Nighthawk is a peevish annoying guy. Nighthawk is under an investigation by various government entities. It's totally confusing what the factual underpinnings of what the charges were supposed to be. My most charitable theory is that it's supposed to be Kafkaesque mess with no real explanation plus a pretext to write Nighthawk in and out of the team's battles as needed. One issue focuses on a surreal investigation into the Defenders. I'm not sure if an explanation was planned by Hannigan, but it doesn't get resolved in his run. Mandrill is also brought in as a villain with his icky "only in 70s" power of mesmerizing women in his scent. Although I have to admit that the equivalent is sometimes done with the Enchantress, for example. Among Mandrill's minions is Mutant Force, the revival of the all-new, totally cheesy version of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants introduced during Kirby's mid-70s return to Captain America. One brief arc features a war/misunderstanding between Atlantis and Wakanda that seems to prefigure the conflict of the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever movie. That also spawns a story/PSA where Hulk stands up for the whales against overfishing; it's actually kind of good. With Nighthawk's property impounded, the team relocates to a home Patsy Walker (Hellcat) inherited from her mom in Montclair, New Jersey! As a New Jersey resident whose sister went to Montclair State, I find it pretty cool. Not particularly recognizable though. Hannigan's run ends will the resumption of Mandrill's machinations. It's not quite as icky as the earlier run. Matt Murdock is also brought in as a lawyer for Nighthawk and previous enemy of Mandrill. Hannigan actually comes up with an aspect of Mandrill's revenger plot that makes him a little interesting. Hannigan's run ends with a message of thanks to the fans and a moment between Valkyrie and Hellcat. Those two are really the heart of his run in terms of story involvement. But his treatment of the characters is off more about vibes and personality then building up the personal lives and history. Having started Defenders from the beginning after not reading it when I was young, I never realized Hellcat was a member for this long (and still going as of #91).
From memory, I didn't mind the earlier part of Ed Hannigan's run as writer: at the time, it felt like a pretty decent continuation of Kraft's run, which I had enjoyed for the most part. On the other hand, it was somewhere during Hannigan's run that I dropped the book, though I can't recall exactly what brought about that decision now, apart from my general waning of interest in almost all the Marvel titles I had been following around that time. It might have been the Asgardian storyline or Lunatik ... I suppose I'll have to wait until I re-read them to find out. I know there were some especially bad distribution problems in my region with this series at the time so I missed a lot of issues, maybe that had something to do with it too. It was probably a combination of all these factors plus perhaps some I'm forgetting.
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Post by spoon on May 7, 2024 22:21:25 GMT -5
I read Excalibur #61-67. These are Alan Davis's last few issue as writer/artist, after his previous stint where he teamed with Claremont. I've just skipped over and didn't bother buying two fill-in issues in #59-60.
I've read that editor Terry Kavanaugh just let Alan Davis do whatever he wanted. That really seems to be the case for good and ill. On the good side, Davis is art is so great. He can draw so beautifully when he's being self-indulgent, like drawing a showdown between Galactus and Rachel/Phoenix. He also draws perfect Sentinels. In some respects, I like his rendition of Nightcrawler, but during this period he tends to draw him standing erect. I feel like the traditional Nightcrawler posture is a big part of his visual identity. Ironically, as great as the interior art is, some of the covers are stinkers. Also, on the plus side, he really tries to do different things. The reveal of Widget's origin is some freaky body horror stuff. After the roster was largely unchanged during Claremont's run and under the other writers who briefly followed, Davis took the initiative to introduce new team members when he took the reins. Those characters are still around at this point.
On the other hand, I think the stories might have benefited from a co-plotter or a bit more hands-on editing. Aside from subplots, these issues contain two main arcs. There's a story about a government agency called R.C.X. mainly in #62-65, with #61 as sort of a transitional, table-setting issues for that arc. Then, there's another Days of Future Past spinoff/Sentinel story in #66-67. I would reverse the lengths of these stories. The R.C.X. story should be shorter and the future story longer. The villain in the R.C.X. story (which in my limited reading experience I think draws on backstory from Marvel UK Captain Britain material) comes across as shady from the get-go. It takes too long to cut to the chase. Also, Excalibur has its hands full with a menagerie of monstrous superhuman that are churned out in great numbers. Davis meta-fictionally basically admits that they don't get the attention of even interesting codenames, getting names like Cabbage pinned on them. Davis does try to explore Nightcrawler's ability to merge into shadows. It was a power that came up several times during his early appearances before being largely ignored.
I know lots of people think Days of Future Past has been beaten to death, but Davis does a good job of coming up with a new story that draws upon elements of the story that brought Rachel to the past as well as Days of Future Present. Also, as the concept of the multiverse is a recurring Excalibur theme, he presents the ominous threat of the Sentinels trying to spread their reign of terror on parallel worlds. The story also features characters from the Marvel UK line that Marvel decided to bring to the US in the early 90s, although they don't get much character development here. But this story needs more room to breathe. It could be a great epic, but it's squeezed into two issues. Maybe Davis had his date certain to depart and wrapped things up fast.
An ongoing subplots has Phoenix being written back into the fold over the course of these 7 issues, after Davis wrote her out of the book in #50. These a neat scene where Davis show various visual embodiments of Death. There's an explanation of some of the cosmic underpinnings of the Phoenix that I don't feel were explained that well or that I really bought into. Some lore about Phoenix costume colors quite amusingly gets tossed aside, because Rachel just has her own fashion preferences.
I have to say a bit more about the characters Davis introduced to the team during his writing stint: Cerise, Kylun, and Feron (plus Micromax as an ally). I do like that Davis shook things up and created some characters with very different backgrounds. On the other hand, the cast of characters got overstuffed and I'm not sure he knew what to do with them. If I remember correctly Kylun got written out and then back in during some prior issues. At times, Feron didn't have anything to do. Also, in these issues Davis starts a romance between Nightcrawler and Cerise. It feels very sudden and forced. I feel like a co-written could've helped to realize more potential out of that development. It seems almost like a consolation prize Davis gave to Kurt after the way he ended the love triangle subplot with Kurt, Meggan, and Captain Britain. Throughout so much of the series, Captain Britain hasn't seemed like all that great or interesting of a guy. Previous writers (including Claremont IIRC) had Kurt and Meggan drawn together. It had the potential to be a very explosive story and a satisfying pairing. But Davis seemed to want to redeem Captain Britain as closer to an idealized hero type, so that intrigued subplot got quashed. It seems like these characters Davis introduced mostly got written out of the series shortly after Davis himself left. They also, as far as I know, haven't built up many appearances over the last three decades. It's a shame because I think they had potential. The size of the cast and the draw of focusing on the original core roster were probably obstacles. Davis created some interesting issues of Excalibur issues. It seems like the X-books generally haven't tapped into that part of the lore enough, although I'm out of the loop on much of more recent X-book history.
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Post by EdoBosnar on May 9, 2024 13:20:30 GMT -5
Batman: Hong Kongscript: Doug Moench, art: Tony Wong; 2003 In Gotham City, a small time criminal is gruesomely killed by being hung upside down with a venomous snake released on his legs – and the whole thing is broadcast via live feed on the internet. Not long after, a hacker who gained access to the feed is also killed in the same fashion after he reported what he saw to the police – and Batman was unable to save him. Then Commisioner Gordon learns that the exact same type of murder was committed in Hong Kong. So Batman travels half-way across the world to uncover who is organizing these macabre killings. While there gains a new ally, an avenging hero called Night Dragon who was in fact inspired by Batman, and who has connections in both law enforcement and the underworld (i.e., one of his uncles is the chief of police and another uncle is the chief of the city’s most powerful triad). That’s an oversimplified capsule summary of the story, which is solid but nothing spectacular. I think it was mainly written simply to have Tony Wong (also known as Wong Yuk-long), a popular Chinese manhua artist, draw a Batman story. And speaking of, I found the art mostly good, although Wong has some odd stylistic quirks, like the way he draws Batman’s cape so that it’s not only impossibly long, a la Todd MacFarlane, but also kind of flayed into strips, so it looks like he’s dragging streamers around with him: Night Dragon has a pretty cool look, though.
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Post by spoon on May 9, 2024 22:23:36 GMT -5
I read Flash (1987) #1-6 by Mike Baron, Jackson Guice, and Larry Mahlstedt (with guest inker Jack Torrance in one issue). This is a run that I remember as a kid. I think my older brother was usually the one who bought it, but I read his issues (except I don't think he had #2).
There's an effort to place tangible efforts on Wally West's power rather than the near limitless quality of Barry Allen running at the speed of light. After some condition that had put limits on his speed, as the series starts he tops out around 710 MPH (a bit short of Mach 1). He also has to eat a lot and sleep a lot to fuel his bursts of speed.
As a little kid reading these issues, I remember them being edgy, a bit scary, and almost verboten. Re-reading I can see where that comes from. Whether it's Vandal Savage (#1-2), Kilg%re (#3-4), or Speed Demon (#5-6), the villains all seem bizarre and genuinely dangerous. Vandal doesn't seem like he has limits and he does something particularly disturbing in removing a human body part. The Speed Demon (Jerry McGee) reminded me of my father who had anger issues (and really still does) in several ways. I think my brothers and I may have talked about how my dad resembled this character and he flipped out. Guice makes all the villains creepy.
Also, Wally is not your standard straight-arrow hero. He asked for his expenses to be paid in exchange for his super-heroics in #1. He wins the lottery and becomes a profligate spender. He speeds (in actual car) at well over 100 MPH. Wally is still with his pre-Crisis girlfriend Francis Kane (or Francine depending on the panel, but never Frances). But after she dumps him, Wally meets nutritionist Dr. Tina McGee in #3. Wally very quickly shoots his shot even though Tina is a married woman. Tina is depicted as separated or not so separate depending on the issue, although that may have been Baron intentionally having Tina misrepresented whether she's actually separated. Jerry gets roided up and gains super-speed. He beats up Tina and it's real-life scary, creepy villainy. The violence throughout these issues feels visceral.
I had forgotten how often the Titans show up in these issues, but I guess Wally was still a member at this point. We get appearances by Victor, Donna, and Gar.
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Post by Batflunkie on May 10, 2024 10:16:04 GMT -5
I read Flash (1987) #1-6 by Mike Baron, Jackson Guice, and Larry Mahlstedt (with guest inker Jack Torrance in one issue). This is a run that I remember as a kid. I think my older brother was usually the one who bought it, but I read his issues (except I don't think he had #2). There's an effort to place tangible efforts on Wally West's power rather than the near limitless quality of Barry Allen running at the speed of light. After some condition that had put limits on his speed, as the series starts he tops out around 710 MPH (a bit short of Mach 1). He also has to eat a lot and sleep a lot to fuel his bursts of speed. As a little kid reading these issues, I remember them being edgy, a bit scary, and almost verboten. Re-reading I can see where that comes from. Whether it's Vandal Savage (#1-2), Kilg%re (#3-4), or Speed Demon (#5-6), the villains all seem bizarre and genuinely dangerous. Vandal doesn't seem like he has limits and he does something particularly disturbing in removing a human body part. The Speed Demon (Jerry McGee) reminded me of my father who had anger issues (and really still does) in several ways. I think my brothers and I may have talked about how my dad resembled this character and he flipped out. Guice makes all the villains creepy. Also, Wally is not your standard straight-arrow hero. He asked for his expenses to be paid in exchange for his super-heroics in #1. He wins the lottery and becomes a profligate spender. He speeds (in actual car) at well over 100 MPH. Wally is still with his pre-Crisis girlfriend Francis Kane (or Francine depending on the panel, but never Frances). But after she dumps him, Wally meets nutritionist Dr. Tina McGee in #3. Wally very quickly shoots his shot even though Tina is a married woman. Tina is depicted as separated or not so separate depending on the issue, although that may have been Baron intentionally having Tina misrepresented whether she's actually separated. Jerry gets roided up and gains super-speed. He beats up Tina and it's real-life scary, creepy villainy. The violence throughout these issues feels visceral. I had forgotten how often the Titans show up in these issues, but I guess Wally was still a member at this point. We get appearances by Victor, Donna, and Gar. I really need to give that era a re-read. Everyone kind of uses Waid's tenure as the standard-bearer for the Flash, but 87 Flash is kind of refreshingly realistic
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Confessor
CCF Mod Squad
Not Bucky O'Hare!
Posts: 10,069
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Post by Confessor on May 11, 2024 12:15:32 GMT -5
I re-read the first Elfquest TPB this week, "Fire & Flight", which collects these five issues… I like Elfquest a whole lot, but I probably haven't read any of these comics for close to 10 years. This first volume introduces us to a tribe of elves called the Wolfriders and almost immediately we see them driven from their forest home by savage humans, betrayed by conniving trolls, and stranded in a parched desert. After many days arduous trek across the wasteland, the Wolfriders stumble upon a hitherto unknown second tribe of elves called the Sun Folk. The Wolfriders are welcomed into the Sun Folk's village and the two communities join together and adventures ensue. The characters here are all really strong and it's a mark of Wendy and Richard Pini's talents that the different Elves are all very easy to remember and differentiate from each other. The Wolfriders' chieftain Cutter is a good protagonist and his close friends Skywise, Strongbow, Redlance, Nightfall, and Treestump are also enjoyable characters, all with very distinct personalities. Cutter's love interest is a Sun Folk healer named Leetah, and she is also a very well-rounded and a fairly strong, independent female character. In the first issue (originally published in Fantasy Quarterly #1), Wendy Pini's artwork is decent, but it does look a little bit amateurish and marks this out as very much an indie comic. By the second instalment, which was originally published in Elfquest #2, there's already a marked improvement in how accomplished the art looks. Wendy's art continues to improve throughout the rest of this first collection. The series is a very easy read. It sucks you in and bowls along nicely in a "can't put this down" manner. It is sometimes a product of its time (the late '70s): Cutter's flared trousers are a dead giveaway, for example, and the female characters are not especially strong from a modern viewpoint. That said, Elfquest does feel like something of a feminist comic, just by dint of it being co-created and drawn by a woman, at a time when women in the comics industry were still a rarity. Plus, the female characters are, for their era, unusually independent—especially Leetah. With its elves, trolls, wolves and human characters, along with the medieval-like setting, you can totally see why this comic resonated with the late '70s fantasy paperback, Tolkien, and Dungeons & Dragons crowd. I really enjoyed re-visiting Elfquest and I can't wait to get stuck into the next volume.
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Post by Batflunkie on May 11, 2024 12:35:04 GMT -5
I re-read the first Elfquest TPB this week, "Fire & Flight", which collects these five issues… I like Elfquest a whole lot, but I probably haven't read any of these comics for close to 10 years. This first volume introduces us to a tribe of elves called the Wolfriders and almost immediately we see them driven from their forest home by savage humans, betrayed by conniving trolls, and stranded in a parched desert. After many days arduous trek across the wasteland, the Wolfriders stumble upon a hitherto unknown second tribe of elves called the Sun Folk. The Wolfriders are welcomed into the Sun Folk's village and the two communities join together and adventures ensue. The characters here are all really strong and it's a mark of Wendy and Richard Pini's talents that the different Elves are all very easy to remember and differentiate from each other. The Wolfriders' chieftain Cutter is a good protagonist and his close friends Skywise, Strongbow, Redlance, Nightfall, and Treestump are also enjoyable characters, all with very distinct personalities. Cutter's love interest is a Sun Folk healer named Leetah, and she is also a very well-rounded and a fairly strong, independent female character. In the first issue (originally published in Fantasy Quarterly #1), Wendy Pini's artwork is decent, but it does look a little bit amateurish and marks this out as very much an indie comic. By the second instalment, which was originally published in Elfquest #2, there's already a marked improvement in how accomplished the art looks. Wendy's art continues to improve throughout the rest of this first collection. The series is a very easy read. It sucks you in and bowls along nicely in a "can't put this down" manner. It is sometimes a product of its time (the late '70s): Cutter's flared trousers are a dead giveaway, for example, and the female characters are not especially strong from a modern viewpoint. That said, Elfquest does feel like something of a feminist comic, just by dint of it being co-created and drawn by a woman, at a time when women in the comics industry were still a rarity. Plus, the female characters are, for their era, unusually independent—especially Leetah. With its elves, trolls, wolves and human characters, along with the medieval-like setting, you can totally see why this comic resonated with the late '70s fantasy paperback, Tolkien, and Dungeons & Dragons crowd. I really enjoyed re-visiting Elfquest and I can't wait to get stuck into the next volume. I think what's amazing about Elfquest is that it's pretty much Wendi and Richard's first true work (I know Wendi dabbled in some writing here and there when she was still actively cosplaying as Red Sonja) and it doesn't come off as such. The artwork is also fairly timeless looking
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Post by spoon on May 12, 2024 12:44:30 GMT -5
I read Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Ultimate Collection vol. 2 reprinting Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #8-11 and the Michaelangelo #1, Donatello #1, and Leonardo #1. I'm pretty sure I read Leonardo #1 and TMNT #10-11 years ago from a different TPB that one of my brothers owned.
It has a range of story, from more down-to-earth brutal combat to some human (or turtle) interest to fantasy. The three micro-series (a much more fun name than one-shot) all feel very different. Michaelangelo adopts a stray cat he names Klunk in his micro-series. We get a guest appearance from Cerebus in #8 via a collaboration between Eastman & Laird and Sim & Gerhard. Donatello #1 is a tribute to Jack Kirby that has a few Kirby style flourishes. TMNT #9 is actually a flashback issue to an earlier stage in the lives of the Turtles. There are a couple indications here and there that it occurs in the past, but I'm not sure why that setting in time was chosen. It doesn't seem essential.
Leonardo #1 and TMNT #10-11 are a three-parter that bring back the seemingly dead Shredder as well as the Foot Clan. It also sees the Turtles, Splinter, April O'Neill, and Casey Jones fleeing from NYC to Northampton, Massachusetts. TMNT #11, which is narrated by April and focuses and the Turtles regaining their bearings, is probably the highlight of the book.
The formatting is very nice. It's over-sized, but it sounds like the original issues were as well. These issues also had very high page counts. At the end of each issue, there are short essays by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird, as well as annotations by Eastman. There are insights on each issue, like how the Cerebus guest appearance came together and how they came to do a Kirby tribute. We get background on the Eastman and Laird collaboration, how Mirage Studios worked as a very small business, and about the creative relationship beginning to fray. I also learned that the flight of the Turtles to Northampton was motivated by Eastman and Laird deciding it would be cool to draw a setting they were actually more familiar with.
I may continue with vol. 3, but I'm also thinking about other reprint formats. After this Eastman and Laird started alternating issues. It appears that they also had guest creators on a bunch of issues, and it appears the Ultimate Collection series skips over those issues. I'm trying to decide whether those are worth checking out.
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Post by Batflunkie on May 12, 2024 18:09:49 GMT -5
I read Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Ultimate Collection vol. 2 reprinting Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #8-11 and the Michaelangelo #1, Donatello #1, and Leonardo #1. I'm pretty sure I read Leonardo #1 and TMNT #10-11 years ago from a different TPB that one of my brothers owned. It has a range of story, from more down-to-earth brutal combat to some human (or turtle) interest to fantasy. The three micro-series (a much more fun name than one-shot) all feel very different. Michaelangelo adopts a stray cat he names Klunk in his micro-series. We get a guest appearance from Cerebus in #8 via a collaboration between Eastman & Laird and Sim & Gerhard. Donatello #1 is a tribute to Jack Kirby that has a few Kirby style flourishes. TMNT #9 is actually a flashback issue to an earlier stage in the lives of the Turtles. There are a couple indications here and there that it occurs in the past, but I'm not sure why that setting in time was chosen. It doesn't seem essential. Leonardo #1 and TMNT #10-11 are a three-parter that bring back the seemingly dead Shredder as well as the Foot Clan. It also sees the Turtles, Splinter, April O'Neill, and Casey Jones fleeing from NYC to Northampton, Massachusetts. TMNT #11, which is narrated by April and focuses and the Turtles regaining their bearings, is probably the highlight of the book. The formatting is very nice. It's over-sized, but it sounds like the original issues were as well. These issues also had very high page counts. At the end of each issue, there are short essays by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird, as well as annotations by Eastman. There are insights on each issue, like how the Cerebus guest appearance came together and how they came to do a Kirby tribute. We get background on the Eastman and Laird collaboration, how Mirage Studios worked as a very small business, and about the creative relationship beginning to fray. I also learned that the flight of the Turtles to Northampton was motivated by Eastman and Laird deciding it would be cool to draw a setting they were actually more familiar with. I may continue with vol. 3, but I'm also thinking about other reprint formats. After this Eastman and Laird started alternating issues. It appears that they also had guest creators on a bunch of issues, and it appears the Ultimate Collection series skips over those issues. I'm trying to decide whether those are worth checking out. I feel like I should read (or at the very least try and read) more of the Mirage Turtles, but I always end up losing interest once the boys get warped to another galaxy after their encounter at TCRI with the Ultroms. IDK, the tonal shift is a little bit more jarring than it probably should be. Didn't have this issue with the IDW series and that one is more all over the place than the original
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Post by wildfire2099 on May 13, 2024 21:00:47 GMT -5
I have the Ultimate ones... they follow the main story thread and skip over all the guests and random side adventures. After the main story (which is...5 volumes I think).. the collect the other stuff in 6 and 7
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Post by spoon on May 13, 2024 22:54:41 GMT -5
I have the Ultimate ones... they follow the main story thread and skip over all the guests and random side adventures. After the main story (which is...5 volumes I think).. the collect the other stuff in 6 and 7 Have you read much of what's skipped over by the Ultimate Collection volumes? If so, what do you think of those issues?
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Post by wildfire2099 on May 14, 2024 6:41:15 GMT -5
I didn't.. I read the 1st 5 and then I swapped over to the more recent IDW ones. But I definitely didn't feel like anything was missing when I read them
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