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Post by rberman on Jun 11, 2020 15:07:02 GMT -5
During the COVID-19 lockdown, Mile High Comics ran an advertisement on Facebook for various random comics bundles. 30 random titles, 30 Marvel Comics, and so on. One of the the choices was “30 All-Ages Comics for $30.” I got this bundle for my son’s eighth birthday and was curious to see what was deemed “all-ages.” Here’s what the bundle contained. I’ll look at some individual issues with respect to quality and “all ages” appropriateness. Action Comics #686 (Funeral for a Friend #6, February 1993) Action Comics #874 (Origins & Omens, April 2009) The Adventures of Superman Annual #3 (1991) DC/Marvel All Access starring Jubilee and Robin #2 (January 1997) Alpha Flight #120 (May 1993) Amalgam Comics: Assassins #1 (April 1996) Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld #3 (March 1985) Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes #1 of 8 (January 2005) The Avengers: United They Stand #2 (December 1999) Avengers Unplugged (October 1995) Adventures of Superman #647 (February 2006) Batman #479 (June 1992) Batman #499 (September 1993) Batman: Gotham Knights #67 (September 2005) Batman: Gotham Nights #2 (April 1992) Bishop: Xavier Security Enforcera #3 (March 1998) The Black Hood #2 (Impact Comics, January 1992) Blue Devil #10 (March 1985) DC Superhero Girls #1 Free Comic Book Day 2016 Excalibur #15 (November 1989) The Incredible Hulk #312 (October 1985) Justice League International #56 (October 1993) Legion of Super-Heroes #305 (November 1983) Marc Spector: Moon Knight #49 (April 1993) Marvel Comics Presents: Wolverine #39 (January 1990) Night Thrasher: Four Control #1 (October 1992) The Secret Defenders #1 (March 1993) Shadow of the Bat #0 (October 1994) Silver Sable and the Wild Pack #3 (August 1992) Amazing Spider-Man Annual #24 (1990) Spider-Man #6 and 7 (January-February 1991) Star Trek #43 (February 1985) Star Wars Episode 1 “The Phantom Menace” (Dark Horse TPB) What If #12 (April 1990) Adventures of the X-Men #9 (April 1996) X-Men Adventures #7 (May 1993) X-Man #5 "The Man Who Fell to Earth" (July 1995) |
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Post by rberman on Jun 11, 2020 15:25:35 GMT -5
Star Wars Episode 1 “The Phantom Menace” (Dark Horse TPB, 1999) Quality: A Kid-appropriate: very Let's start things off with a bang. Dark Horse Comics serialized Star Wars: The Phantom Menace in four issues penciled by Rodolpho Dimaggio and inked by the amazing Al Williamson, who did Marvel's Star Wars movie adaptations in the 1980s. As such, the art is great for both action scenes and talky ones.   Disclaimer: I'm firmly in the camp which believes Lucas hopelessly botched the prequel trilogy by trying to write it himself. But as a comic book for kids, this product is great value even at the $12.95 cover price, moreso when included in the batch I got. So, points to Mile High for an inclusion that went beyond what I expected.
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Post by rberman on Jun 11, 2020 16:06:10 GMT -5
Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld #3 “Rebellion!” (March 1985) Quality:B Kid-appropriate: Sorta Amethyst was originally one of DC’s first 12-issue Maxi-series, a girl-aimed princess fantasy with story by Dan Mishkin and Gary Cohn, and art by Ernie Colon; see review thread here. It must have sold well enough to justify an ongoing series, which ran for another sixteen issues. Mishkin and Cohn returned to write the ongoing saga, but art passed to Ric Estrada and Romeo Tanghal. So for those of you who wondered what Tanghal looked like on top of a penciler other than George Perez, here you go. I haven’t read the first two issues of the series, but the villain is a mystery woman named Fire Jade. She has convinced the cruel Lord Aquamarine’s peasants to rise up against him in the titular “rebellion.” Amethyst and her allies intervene when the peasants prepare to extend their socially-based frustrations into general pillaging. Is that a thing that happens? Apparently so. Anyway, the issue is almost entirely a big fight scene, and the peasant leader eventually decides that slaughtering Aquamarine’s wife and baby isn’t a great idea after all. Amethyst gets bloodlust herself along the way until her allies calm her down.  In a brief B-plot, Fire Jade has bewitched Amethyst’s erstwhile boyfriend Prince Topaz first to fall in love with Princess Sapphire, and then to kill her. He doesn’t go through with the killing, though. Sapphire was more of a warrior-princess in the original maxi-series, but that’s not evident here.  The “sorta” kiddie rating comes from sex and violence. There’s no actual sex, but Fire Jade’s skintight costume falls firmly into the “needlessly sexy” super-villainess camp and clashes with the general medieval setting.  I also wonder whether it inspired the BDSM “Malice” costume that John Byrne saddled Sue Storm with in Fantastic Four later that year. Hey, Kids!! Comics!  On the “violence” side of an issue that’s wall-to-wall action, there’s one graphic impaling with a scimitar.  I wouldn’t mind seeing where Mishkin and Cohn are going with this story. Is Fire Jade as dead as she seems?
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Post by berkley on Jun 11, 2020 16:40:59 GMT -5
Never read Amethyst but the fantasy-premise appeals to me and I've always liked Ernie Colon's artwork so I might have a look for this one of these days. While acknowledging the "needless sexiness" of Jade's costume, the only thing I really don't like about it is that dumb-looking mask/headdress. If they ever did bring the character back, I hope they fixed that.
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Post by Prince Hal on Jun 11, 2020 17:17:34 GMT -5
At first I didn't think this was a thread about comics.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 11, 2020 17:19:52 GMT -5
At first I didn't think was a thread about comics. I had the same thought.
LOL. . but his son is only 8   |
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Post by Prince Hal on Jun 11, 2020 17:25:36 GMT -5
At first I didn't think was a thread about comics. I had the same thought.
LOL. . but his son is only 8 Kids grow up fast these days. |
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Post by rberman on Jun 11, 2020 17:30:40 GMT -5
Marvel Comics Presents #39 (January 1990) Apparently this series consisted of four eight page features each month: #1: Wolverine “Black Shadow/White Shadow part two: The Shadows StrikeWriter: Marv Wolfman Pencils: John Buscema Inks: Phil Felix Quality: B- Kid-appropriate: Yes. Wolverine’s name on the cover eclipses the actual title of the series, and his form fills the cover as well, a reminder of how insanely popular the character was circa 1990. Logan is in Hong Kong in his “Patch” persona, since the X-Men are presumed dead right now. I’m sure everyone believes he’s not Wolverine, just some guy with Wolverine’s powers, claws, and speech patterns. He fights a giant monster of darkness similar to Raven’s soul-bird or Cloak. Kurt Busiek had a very similar looking character, Living Nightmare, in Astro City. A Wolfman/Buscema team ought to be something to cheer about, but this is just OK, even Milgrom-esque.  Wonder Man “Stardust Miseries part two: Tonight’s the Night”Writer: Michael Higgins Pencils: Javier Saltares Inks: Ken Lopez Quality: B+ Kid-appropriate: Not even The story’s title and subtitle come from pop songs. Wonder Man gets a starring role in an action movie about the original Human Torch, and he’s got an appearance scheduled on the Johnny Carson show, where some goons show up to attack him. But he’s clearly under the spell of an actress who calls herself “Amora Lorelei.” He slept at her place last night and is eager to get back in bed with her as soon as possible. But weren’t Amora the Enchantress and Lorelei two different characters in Walt Simonson’s run on Thor? Maybe the rest of the story makes it clear.  Hercules: All in the Family part one: Mother’s DayWriter/Art: Bob Layton Quality: A- Kid-appropriate: Yes. Bob Layton had a lot of fun with two “Hercules… in space!!!” mini-series in the early 80s. He continues the light-hearted action hijinks here, as an old flame prepares to off our hero and stage a coup.  Spider-Man: With Liberty and Justice for AllWriter: Bill Mumy Pencils: Aaron Lopresti Inks: Sam Grainger Quality: B- Kid-appropriate: Yes. Spider-Man (with ropy Golden/McFarlane webs) catches some college kids stealing experimental animals from a lab to take them to a farm. After hearing their case, he pretends to get knocked out so they can get away.  It’s a socially conscious done-in-one explaining the evils of animal testing, claiming that simulated animals are just as good. That’s a nice idea, but actual scientists know that living things are complex, and the only way to really know what a substance does to the whole organism is to test it on a whole organism. Grant Morrison had covered similar ground in a less preachy (but still kinda preachy) manner a year prior in Animal Man. Bill Mumy was the child actor who played Will Robinson on “Lost in Space” in the 1960s. By the 1980s he was part of the novelty song duo Barnes and Barnes. In the 1990s he had a major role as Lennier on TV space opera “Babylon 5.” He had a cameo in the recent “Lost in Space” reboot.
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Post by rberman on Jun 11, 2020 17:32:12 GMT -5
Never read Amethyst but the fantasy-premise appeals to me and I've always liked Ernie Colon's artwork so I might have a look for this one of these days. While acknowledging the "needless sexiness" of Jade's costume, the only thing I really don't like about it is that dumb-looking mask/headdress. If they ever did bring the character back, I hope they fixed that. Colon did nice work on the original Amethyst series in 1983-1984, but this is a follow up with the same title which began in 1985, so be careful which one you grab. The original series was re-released in a B&W phone book, but the story is very much about colors, so you'll want to get the actual issues. It's never been released in a color omnibus, sadly. |
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Post by rberman on Jun 11, 2020 17:32:46 GMT -5
At first I didn't think this was a thread about comics. See what I did there? |
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Post by Deleted on Jun 11, 2020 19:07:38 GMT -5
At first I didn't think this was a thread about comics. See what I did there? You made that purchase just so you could make a thread with this title, didn't you? |
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Post by Batflunkie on Jun 11, 2020 19:35:32 GMT -5
You made that purchase just so you could make a thread with this title, didn't you?  |
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Post by The Captain on Jun 11, 2020 20:02:05 GMT -5
Wonder Man “Stardust Miseries part two: Tonight’s the Night”Writer: Michael Higgins Pencils: Javier Saltares Inks: Ken Lopez Quality: B+ Kid-appropriate: Not even The story’s title and subtitle come from pop songs. Wonder Man gets a starring role in an action movie about the original Human Torch, and he’s got an appearance scheduled on the Johnny Carson show, where some goons show up to attack him. But he’s clearly under the spell of an actress who calls herself “Amora Lorelei.” He slept at her place last night and is eager to get back in bed with her as soon as possible. But weren’t Amora the Enchantress and Lorelei two different characters in Walt Simonson’s run on Thor? Maybe the rest of the story makes it clear. IRT the bolded part, Amora the Enchantress is Lorelei's older sister. Lorelei is usually portrayed as a red-head in the comics, whereas this woman is blonde, but having never read the story myself, I can't say for certain why the name "Amora Lorelei' was used here. |
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Post by Prince Hal on Jun 11, 2020 21:56:32 GMT -5
At first I didn't think this was a thread about comics. See what I did there? Captain Clickbait. |
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Post by rberman on Jun 11, 2020 23:57:50 GMT -5
Wonder Man “Stardust Miseries part two: Tonight’s the Night”Writer: Michael Higgins Pencils: Javier Saltares Inks: Ken Lopez Quality: B+ Kid-appropriate: Not even The story’s title and subtitle come from pop songs. Wonder Man gets a starring role in an action movie about the original Human Torch, and he’s got an appearance scheduled on the Johnny Carson show, where some goons show up to attack him. But he’s clearly under the spell of an actress who calls herself “Amora Lorelei.” He slept at her place last night and is eager to get back in bed with her as soon as possible. But weren’t Amora the Enchantress and Lorelei two different characters in Walt Simonson’s run on Thor? Maybe the rest of the story makes it clear. IRT the bolded part, Amora the Enchantress is Lorelei's older sister. Lorelei is usually portrayed as a red-head in the comics, whereas this woman is blonde, but having never read the story myself, I can't say for certain why the name "Amora Lorelei' was used here. I don't know where this Wonder Man story was going, but it seems to be drawing from a story that Walt Simonson spun out over the years 1983-1985 in Thor. Lorelei used first a love potion and then magic perfume to make Thor her lover. But then her sister Amora cast a spell so that Lorelei also seduced Loki, leading to a confrontation between the ever-feuding brothers.  Saltares likes drawing Wonder Man with an authentic bodybuilder physique including thick neck and sloping trapezius muscles. |
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