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Post by Myke Gee on Mar 5, 2023 20:39:34 GMT -5
Was there a reason why you skipped this one? I've never read it myself, but the creative teams involved were reasonably promising: Conway/Colan/Palmer, Thomas/Weiss/Giordano and Gerber/Buckler/Marcos. I didn't read any of the DRACULA LIVES series and, honestly, considering how much I was enjoying the TOMB OF DRACULA series, I have no idea why I skipped it. |
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Post by Myke Gee on Mar 5, 2023 21:38:31 GMT -5
*** ORIGINALLY POSTED ON FACEBOOK ON OCTOBER 17, 2020 *** JUNE 1973 (Cover Date: September 1973)
Good morning, everyone! This marks the completion of the first half of the 1973 books. Getting closer to my era, but some of these I’ve read or owned. Here’s what I thought of them.
On sale June 5, 1973
DAREDEVIL AND THE BLACK WIDOW #103. “...Then Came Ramrod!” - Written by Steve Gerber, pencils by Don Heck, inks by Sal Trapani. Cover pencils by Don Heck, inks by John Romita Sr. Peter Parker arrives on the west coast to interview DD and the Widow for the Daily Bugle. Ramrod attacks and steals a pack of papers that have been given to DD for safekeeping. Spidey, DD, and the Widow retrieve the papers and take Ramrod down. My first exposure to Ramrod was issue #105. That story was one of those issues that I got from my dad and it helped make me an even bigger fan of comics. However, his first appearance didn’t have the same effect. A good distraction, but nothing more. Grade: 7.0
INCREDIBLE HULK #167. “To Destroy the Monster” - Written by Steve Englehart, pencils by Herb Trimpe, inks by Jack Abel. Cover art by Herb Trimpe. This is it! The long-awaited reunion between Bruce and Betty. Betty’s mourning the recent death of her husband, Glenn Talbot. But why is she blaming the Hulk for his demise? M.O.D.O.K. lays the groundwork for his next, sinister plot…all contingent on Betty! The story continues from DEFENDERS #11 and MARVEL FEATURE #11. I’ve always liked M.O.D.O.K. Marvel used him a great deal in the late 60s, but despite that, I still find him to be an enjoyable character. Honestly, I don’t remember if he’s met the Hulk before, but this meeting is....passably memorable. I guess I was expecting more from the fight, but M.O.D.O.K.’s “exoskeleton” makes him just another RBR (Really Big Robot), which the Hulk has had for lunch on several occasions. Grade: 7.5
IRON MAN #62. "Whiplash Returns!" - Written by Mike Friedrich. Art by Craig Russell, Mike Esposito, and Frank Giacoia. Tony Stark's business trip with Pepper Hogan continues in Cincinnati. Tony is touring the Queen City plant when Whiplash interrupts! Whiplash quickly disables Shell-head's repulsor rays, so Iron Man must find another way to win. One of those “a hero is more than just his/her powers/weapons” stories. Fortunately/unfortunately, Iron Man is facing Whiplash (whom I’d completely forgotten about, at this point). Hardly the type of villain that will make a hero’s rep. Yet, thanks to the Michelinie/Romita Jr/Layton era, he’s a villain that I’ve grown to like. He’ll never be Dr. Doom, but he’s still fun in his own way. Grade: 8.0
TALES OF THE ZOMBIE #2. "Voodoo Island" and "Night of the Spider” - Written by Steve Gerber and art by Pablo Marcos. Simon Garth dies but is brought back to life as a zombie and doomed to walk the earth as one of the living dead. Garth's daughter travels to an island hoping to solve the mystery of his disappearance and her father, as the Zombie, follows. Issue also has "Voodoo Unto Others" (Script by Tony Isabella and art by Winslow Mortimer), "Acid Test" (Script by Stan Lee and art by George Tuska), an article about Brother Voodoo ("Marvel's most mysterious superhero"), "Twin Burial" (Script by Chuck Robinson and art by Ralph Reese), "From Out of the Grave" (Script by Stan Lee and art by Gene Colan), and an article about voodoo. All stories are in black and white. Two for two with this series! TALES OF THE ZOMBIE is yet another horror-based series that is really taking me by surprise. “So, why don’t you read the other horror books like VAULT OF EVIL or CHAMBER OF CHILLS or even the backup stories in the B&W mags?”, you may ask. My only answer is that I like the series that are connected to the Marvel Universe. All of those other books are reprinted material from the 50s. They were still being printed when I started FF #1 and they did nothing for me. Anyway, this was really cool. The Zombie is shaping up to be a very interesting character. Grade: 8.5
• CONAN THE BARBARIAN ANNUAL #1 (Reprinted material)
• KID COLT, OUTLAW #174
• MARVEL SPECTACULAR #2
• MARVEL SUPERHEROES #38
• MIGHTY MARVEL WESTERN #28
• MILLIE THE MODEL #204
• MONSTERS ON THE PROWL #25
• WESTERN GUNFIGHTERS #17
• WHERE MONSTERS DWELL #23
• WORLDS UNKNOWN #3
On sale June 12, 1973
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #124. "The Mark of the Man-Wolf" - Written by Gerry Conway. Pencils by Gil Kane. Inks by John Romita and Tony Mortellaro. Cover by John Romita. Peter is frustrated by Spider-Man’s unfair treatment in the press, particularly in connection to Norman Osborn’s death. Plus, Man-Wolf’s first appearance! Why is Man-Wolf targeting J. Jonah Jameson? And what are the mysterious forces behind his transformation? I can only laugh when I think about the group members that say that this book has lost its luster. Sure, the stories are not on the level of the classic Lee/Ditko or Lee/Romita days, but some pretty good stuff is still printed in these pages. 124 issues in and I’m still enjoying this book. Grade: 8.5
CAPTAIN AMERICA AND THE FALCON #165. "The Yellow Claw Strikes” - Written by Steve Englehart, pencils by Sal Buscema, inks by Frank McLaughlin. Cover by Sal Buscema. After defeating Deadly Nightshade, Queen of the Werewolves, the Star-Spangled Avengers uncovers the identity of Nightshade's hidden leader…The Yellow Claw! As a die-hard fan of MASTER OF KUNG FU (debuting later this year), I couldn’t help but notice the similarities between the Yellow Claw and Fu Manchu (or, at least, Marvel’s comic book version of him). My only exposure to the Claw was a “future” issue of the AVENGERS. I’m sure that his appearance was supposed to be something of a big deal since he used to have his own book, but all of those battles between Shang Chi and Fu Manchu make the Claw seem like a low-rate rip-off. That doesn’t mean that I didn’t enjoy this issue, though. This book has been top-notch for a couple of years, now, and nothing has changed in this issue. Grade: 7.5
MONSTER OF FRANKENSTEIN #5. “The Monster Walks Among Us!" - Written by Gary Friedrich, pencils by Mike Ploog, inks by John Verpoorten. Ploog cover. Our tale continues in Scandinavia! The Monster rescues a young woman from death, discovering he shares more in common with her than any other being. Who is Lenore? Could she be the cure to the Monster’s overwhelming loneliness? Wow! Not one bad issue, so far! In fact, the book has been exceptional. Even though this was a little bit predictable (I didn’t guess Lenore’s secret, but I knew something was odd), I once again thoroughly enjoyed the story. Easily the biggest surprise series for me. Grade: 9.0
SUB-MARINER #65. "The Cry of the She-Beast!" - Written by Steve Gerber, pencils by Don Heck, inks by Don Perlin. Cover by John Romita. Namor is led into the arena where he confronts his opponent, Virago the warrior queen. She calls upon some mystical force and is transformed into a raging She-Beast! She attacks Namor and he does his best against her, but Virago proves to be too much for him. She then leads a scout ship across the dimensions and attacks Atlantis. Tales of Atlantis backup story, "The Lurker in the Ruins!", Written by Steve Gerber, pencils by Jim Mooney, inks by Frank Chiaramonte. Virago turns out to be more than Namor could handle and that’s pretty cool. Reading this, it occurred to me that Namor was the “Steven Seagal” of the superhero set. Arrogant as hell and unbeatable (at least in Seagal’s movies). Good to see him take a few lumps here and there instead of handing out “Imperius Wrecks” to everyone. Grade: 8.0
THOR #215. "The God in the Jewel” - Written by Gerry Conway, pencils by John Buscema (layouts) and Jim Mooney (finished art), inks by Jim Mooney. Cover pencils by John Buscema, inks by Joe Sinnott and Frank Giacoia. Thor and Mercurio join forces to free Karnilla and Sif from their imprisonment in a giant jewel. They are opposed by Xorr, the God-Jewel. Sif and Karnilla are privy to Xorr's origin story. Will the Thunder God be able to free his lady love from the God-Jewel…without spelling her demise? As always since he took over the book, Gerry Conway tries to write epic, Lee/Kirby-esque-type stories but falls short. The current story is more of the same, but still enjoyable. I’m really starting to like Mercurio. Grade: 8.0
• BEWARE #4
• CHAMBER OF CHILLS #6
• CRYPT OF SHADOWS #5
• FANTASTIC FOUR ANNUAL #10 (Reprint of FF Annual #3)
• MARVEL TRIPLE ACTION #13
• MARVEL’S GREATEST COMICS #44
• SPECIAL MARVEL EDITION #12
• TWO-GUN KID #112
• VAULT OF EVIL #5
On sale June 19, 1973
AMAZING ADVENTURES #20. "The Warlord Strikes!" - Written by Marv Wolfman, pencils by Herb Trimpe, inks by Frank Giacoia. Cover by Herb Trimpe. Having freed himself from the Martian’s gladiatorial pits, Killraven and his “Freemen” stage an attack on LaGuardia airport! I wish that I could explain why I enjoy this more than CONAN THE BARBARIAN because, essentially, it’s somewhat of the same book. A barbarian/gladiator roams the land entering into one battle after another. An oversimplification, maybe, but there are similarities, in my opinion. The sword and sorcery stuff has just been replaced with ray guns and sci-fi. At any rate, Wolfman gives us a more than satisfying story. The pre-McGregor era has its moments. Also, Killraven gets rid of his Sean Connery outfit for the more recognizable attire that he is known for. Grade: 7.5
AVENGERS #115. "Below Us, the Battle!" - Written by Steve Englehart. Pencils by Bob Brown. Inks by Mike Esposito. Cover by John Romita and Mike Esposito. Avengers-Defenders crossover. The Avengers fly to Great Britain to visit their fellow avenger, the Black Knight! But when the team approaches Garrett Castle, an invisible barrier repulses them! While Earth's Mightiest Heroes are devising a way to pierce the mystical barrier, a group of troglodytes attack! Where did these grotesque creatures come from? Surprisingly, the cave-dwellers get the best of the Avengers and throw them into a deep underground pit! Surrounded by complete darkness and with the troglodytes moving in for the kill, Earth's Mightiest Heroes turn to the Black Panther to save the day! Can T'Challa single-handedly lead the charge to victory? This issue felt a little bit like a fill-in issue; an inventory story. It seems like a flimsy excuse to prologue the upcoming Avengers/Defenders Clash. It was enjoyable to some extent, however. So, I’m not gonna completely dump on it. Grade: 7.0
FEAR #16. “Cry of the Native!" - Written by Steve Gerber, pencils by Val Mayerik, inks by Sal Trapani. Cover art by Frank Brunner. When overreaching industrialist F.A. Schist starts tearing up the swamps, the Man-Thing emerges. Developers plan to drain and build over the swamp. But this doesn't sit well with the Native Americans who live there - or the Man-Thing! The letters page features a scientific explanation of Man-Thing's burning ability. A bit better-than-average story made a bit more enjoyable due to the great artwork of Mayerik. I got to the Mayerik party extremely late in his career. Skimming through pages of SUPERNATURAL THRILLERS, I was stunned to see that he was once an incredible artist. Very much looking forward to seeing more of his work. Grade: 8.0
GHOST RIDER VOL. 2, #1. "A Woman Possessed!" - Written by Gary Friedrich. Art by Tom Sutton and Syd Shores. Cover by Gil Kane. This issue picks up after the events in MARVEL SPOTLIGHT #11. Johnny Blaze races against the clock to save a woman from a fate worse than death. Featuring the evil of Mephisto (as Satan). First appearance of Daimon Hellstrom (Son of Satan). One of the things that this issue reveals or maybe even confirms (since the thought has been in my head for a while) is how...limited a character the Ghost Rider is; especially without his motorcycle which he didn’t have in this story. Yet, I sense that Friedrich is setting up the changes that come later. Like getting rid of the nightly change to GR and the ability to create the flaming bike. A decent start to the series, but nothing more special than his run in SPOTLIGHT. Grade: 7.0
LUKE CAGE: HERO FOR HIRE #13. "The Claws of Lion-Fang!" - Written by Steve Englehart. Art by Billy Graham. When a man is mauled to death by abnormally intelligent felines, the mayor of the city hires Luke Cage to investigate the crime! Cage follows a lead and gets attacked by wild cats. With their claws and fangs coated in poison, will the Hero for Hire survive this encounter to solve the mystery? The new villain in town, Lion-Fang, is gunning for the Hero for Hire with his pride in big cats. A good story, but this book feels like it’s starting to....wander, for lack of a better word. It feels just a bit directionless. Hopefully, it will get back on course. Grade: 7.5
MARVEL FEATURE #11. “Cry: Monster!" - Written by Len Wein, pencils by Jim Starlin, inks by Joe Sinnott. Cover inks by John Romita. The Hulk and the Thing are transported to a ghost town in the New Mexico desert to be pitted against one another in combat by the Leader and Kurrgo. After reading this, I can see why Marvel decided to give the Thing his own team-up book. This was a heck of a lot of fun. And I don’t usually say that about any book that has the Leader in it. Classic team-up fun! Grade: 8.5
RED WOLF #9. “A Legend Reborn!” - Written by Mike Friedrich. Pencils by Dick Ayers. Inks by Vince Colletta. Cover by Ron Wilson. The final issue of the series. This issue, we learn that the modern-day Red Wolf is really Thomas Thunderhead. We, also, learn some of his origins and that this version has the power to summon his coup stick and his pet wolf, Lobo, from thin air! AND....we learn that Lobo has ghost-like abilities that allow him to survive a point-blank shotgun blast! Where was all of this cool stuff during the series?!! They could have, at least, given these abilities to them when the series shifted to “modern-day”. Unfortunately, the most interesting developments in the series come too little, too late. This series had some enjoyable moments, none more than this last issue, but overall, it’s another one that deserved its cancellation. Grade: 8.5
TOMB OF DRACULA #12. "Night of the Screaming House!" - Written by Marv Wolfman. Art by Gene Colan and Tom Palmer. Cover by Frank Brunner and Tom Palmer. Blade returns! But even with the Daywalker's help, Drake, Harker, and the rest of Dracula's enemies are rocked to their core when one of their own falls to the curse of the Lord of Vampires! This book has been much better than I expected. 12 issues in, the characters are really beginning to be fleshed out and less one-dimensional. The only problem I have with this series (and it’s a very minor one) is Dracula could easily end the lives of each and every character that’s pursuing him, yet he doesn’t. That makes this whole story hard to swallow, at times. Otherwise, another really good issue. Good to see Blade again. Although his original incarnation is so different from the modern interpretation, it’s somewhat jarring. Grade: 8.0
• AMAZING SPIDER-MAN ANNUAL #9 (Reprinted material)
• CONAN THE BARBARIAN #30
• DRACULA LIVES #3
• MARVEL TALES #45
• RAWHIDE KID #115
• RINGO KID #22
• WAR IS HELL #5
On sale June 26, 1973
CAPTAIN MARVEL #28. "When Titans Collide!" - Written by Jim Starlin (plot and script chapter 2) and Mike Friedrich (script chapters 1 and 3). Pencils by Starlin and inks by Dan Green. (Splash page art retouches by John Romita Sr.). Captain Marvel battles the Controller. Thanos defeats Drax the Destroyer and obtains the Cosmic Cube--and that can't be a good thing! The Avengers (Captain America, Iron Man, the Scarlet Witch, the Vision, and the Black Panther) guest star. First appearance of Eon. Here’s how you know that a story is great: when you find yourself, nearly, rushing through the pages because what you’re reading is so good, you almost can’t wait to get to the next page! Mar-Vell is here, Thanos is here, the Avengers are here, the Destroyer is here, and the Controller is here!!! How can you not be excited about this?!! Grade: 10.0
DEFENDERS #8. "If Atlantis Should Fall!" - Written by Steve Englehart. Pencils by Sal Buscema. Inks by Frank McLaughlin. Cover by Sal Buscema. With Hawkeye, Valkyrie, and the Sub-Mariner as their mind-slaves, the Red Ghost and Attuma begin their quest to conquer Atlantis! The two super-villains' assault on the underwater citadel is progressing as planned until Doctor Strange and the Silver Surfer get wind of the attack! The key to victory is knocking out the Red Ghost! But how can the Master of the Mystic Arts and the cosmic sky-rider do that? Simple, just block all the cosmic rays from outer space from entering the Earth's atmosphere! Wow, it's good that these two Defenders are among the most powerful heroes on the planet! Second story: "Deception!" Avengers/Defenders Clash Part 2 of 8. The story continues from AVENGERS #115. Dr. Strange has a new plan for turning the Black Knight (from a stone statue) back into his normal self. The Master of the Mystic Arts magically contacts Dane Whitman's soul floating in the dark realm. The stranded Black Knight responds to Dr. Strange's message, but the knight's reply is intercepted and transposed by the Dread Dormammu and his new ally, Loki! What is the fateful message that eventually reaches the Defenders?: "Go find the Evil Eye." The story continues in AVENGERS #116. So, now the prologue to the Avengers/Defenders Clash is set. The Attuma/Red Ghost team-up of the first 3/4 of the book was an entertaining story. But the main entree was about the upcoming clash of the two supergroups. Can’t wait for the next issue! Grade: 7.5
FANTASTIC FOUR #138. "Madness is the Miracle Man!" - Written by Gerry Conway. Art by John Buscema (breakdowns) and Joe Sinnott (finishes). Cover by John Buscema and Joe Sinnott. The Miracle Man is back! Where has he been since FANTASTIC FOUR #3? How about up to no good on the Keewazi Indian Reservation? However, the FF knows someone from the Keewazi tribe...Wyatt Wingfoot! And when Wyatt receives a distress call from a tribal elder, Ben, Johnny, and Medusa travel to Oklahoma to investigate! Will the Miracle Man be happy or sad to see his old adversaries? Either way, the Thing and the torch expect an easy victory, but not so fast! This is the new and improved Miracle Man! This is about the most badass that I’ve ever seen the Miracle Man! Usually, if I saw him on a cover, I bought the book despite that! I can’t wait to read the next part. I’ll bet that his newfound powers aren’t what they seem, lol!! So, I’ll take this fun issue. Here’s to hoping that the next issue is not a letdown. Grade: 8.5
JUNGLE ACTION #6. "Panther's Rage" - Written by Don McGregor, pencils by Rich Buckler, inks by Klaus Janson. Cover pencils by Rich Buckler, inks by Frank Giacoia. New Black Panther stories begin. On his return to Wakanda, the Panther learns that one of the mountain villages is in revolt, led by a man calling himself Erik Killmonger (first appearance). The Panther confronts Killmonger at Warrior Falls, where the Panther is defeated and thrown from the top of the falls. Map of the Land of the Wakanda by Don McGregor. I’m gonna be really honest, here: I was, somewhat, dreading reading McGregor’s excessively wordy take on T’Challa. I’ve read this before and remember liking it a great deal. However, as I progressed through this project, I’ve found that I like more dialogue than narration; especially when the narration is overly melodramatic. This issue is pretty straightforward and enjoyable, however. I must commend Buckler and Janson on a fine job artistically. Grade: 8.0
MARVEL PREMIERE #10. “Finally, Shuma-Gorath!” - Written by Steve Englehart (co-plot; script) and Frank Brunner (co-plot), pencils by Frank Brunner, inks by Neal Adams' Continuity Studios (as The Singing Sons of the Crusty Bunkers). Cover art by Frank Brunner. Strange enters Ancient One's mind, and battles Shuma-Gorath for mankind's Soul. To destroy Shuma-Gorath, who feeds on the mind of the Ancient One, Strange must kill the Ancient One! First, let me say that this was an absolutely beautifully drawn issue! Stunning!! While the issues that led to this were hit or miss, the storyline had a near-classic ending! Grade: 9.0
MARVEL TEAM-UP #13. "The Granite Sky!" - Written by Len Wein. Pencils by Gil Kane. Inks by Frank Giacoia and Dave Hunt. Cover by Gil Kane and John Romita. The Amazing Spider-Man and Captain America battle A.I.M. and the Grey Gargoyle. Cameo appearances by Nick Fury and Dum Dum Dugan. I can’t think of one story that features Spidey and Cap that was mind-blowing. They’ve had team-ups that were good, but not great. Same thing here. I wanted to love this one, too, because of the Gargoyle. But alas..... Grade: 7.5
STRANGE TALES #169. "Brother Voodoo" - Written by Len Wein, pencils by Gene Colan, inks by Dan Adkins. Cover art by John Romita. Part one of the origin of Brother Voodoo, who is the union of Daniel Drumm's spirit with twin brother Jericho Drumm's body. Drumm returns to Haiti to find his brother dying from the curse of Damballah. The first appearance of the Haitian Witch Doctor, Brother Voodoo! I’ve never read a solo Brother Voodoo story ever. I vaguely remember his appearance in MARVEL TWO-IN-ONE. Yet, he has always fascinated me, for some reason. This first appearance is pretty good. A shame that he’ll be around for only a few issues. I like where this is going already. Grade: 8.0
WEREWOLF BY NIGHT #9. “Terror Beneath the Earth!” - Written by Gerry Conway, art by Tom Sutton. Cover pencils by Tom Sutton, inks by Frank Giacoia. Jack is kidnapped by Tatterdemalion, a criminal affiliated with The Committee! My fascination with this series has waned, somewhat, since I first started reading it, but this issue kept me engaged. Mainly because of Tatterdemalion, whom I first saw in an issue of MTU. I have an affinity for odd, obscure characters if they’re interesting enough. However, his part was relatively small compared to another villain called Sarnak. While I didn’t learn much about Tat’s origin as I’d hoped, Sarnak was good enough to make this issue enjoyable. Grade: 8.0
• CREATURES ON THE LOOSE #25
• KULL THE CONQUEROR #10
• MY LOVE #25
• SAVAGE TALES #2
• SGT. FURY #114
So, this completes another month. Some good scores, some disappointments, a good debut and a fond farewell, and a 10.0-point classic all in one month. Not gonna make this any longer than it already is. Thanks for the support and I’ll see you all next Saturday morning. Take care, everyone.
Grading Chart:
• 10.0 = Classic (rarely given)
• 9.0 – 9.5 = Excellent
• 8.0 – 8.5 = Great
• 7.0 – 7.5 = Good
• 6.0 – 6.5 = Above Average
• 5.0 – 5.5 = Average
• 4.0 – 4.5 = Below Average
• 3.0 – 3.5 = Poor
• 2.0 – 2.5 = Very Poor
• 1.0 – 1.5 = Utter Shite
• 0.0 – 0.5 = Not worth the paper it’s printed on
Top 5 Books of the Month:
1. CAPTAIN MARVEL #28
2. MONSTER OF FRANKENSTEIN #5
3. MARVEL PREMIERE #10
4. TALES OF THE ZOMBIE #2
5. AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #124
Top 5 Covers of the Month:
1. CONAN THE BARBARIAN ANNUAL #1
2. CONAN THE BARBARIAN #30
3. CAPTAIN MARVEL #28
4. MARVEL PREMIERE #10
5. AVENGERS #115     |
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Post by chaykinstevens on Mar 6, 2023 3:13:05 GMT -5
TALES OF THE ZOMBIE #1. "Alter of the Damned" - Written by Steve Gerber and Roy Thomas and art by John Buscema and Tom Palmer. Simon Garth dies but is brought back to life as a zombie and doomed to walk the earth as one of the living dead. “Zombie" - Written by Stan Lee and art by Bill Everett. “Night of the Walking Dead" - Written by Steve Gerber and art by John Buscema and Syd Shores. A former employee's revenge seals Garth's fate into becoming a zombie but he still fights to protect his daughter. This issue also has "Iron Head” - Written by Stan Lee, art by Dick Ayers. An article about the zombie in the movies, "The Thing from the Bog" - Written by Kit Pearson and Marv Wolfman and art by Pablos Marcos, and "Mastermind" - Written and art by Tom Sutton. This was really cool. In life, Garth was not a nice man. It will be interesting to see how much of his living personality influences his afterlife. Artistically, Buscema and Palmer do their usual bang-up job. The second story seems to be a reprint of an earlier story by Stan and much better artwork from Ditko than he ever did on AMAZING SPIDER-MAN or STRANGE TALES. The third part capped off the opening Zombie tale nicely. Shores is no Tom Palmer, but he complimented Buscema more than well enough. I read the “Iron Head” story which didn’t do much for me and, honestly, I just skimmed through the rest of the stuff. The Zombie is the main attraction here although, reading this, it has a Man-Thing vibe going. Maybe it’s just me. At any rate, I’m eagerly awaiting the next issue. Grade: 8.5. Not sure what you mean about Ditko. Wasn't the 50s reprint incorporated into the Zombie story drawn by Bill Everett? |
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Post by chaykinstevens on Mar 8, 2023 3:51:40 GMT -5
Speaking of “great”, in the ratings, I’ve changed the 8.0 and 8.5 from “Very Good” to “Great”. The VG seemed a little redundant, lol! The entire grading chart could be considered a little redundant, as most people would intuitively understand what a mark out of ten means, but I think very good fits better between good and excellent than great does, as it might be debatable whether excellence is preferable to greatness. |
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Post by chaykinstevens on Mar 8, 2023 4:18:46 GMT -5
VAMPIRE TALES #1. “The Vampyre” - Written by Robert Goulart. Art by Win Mortimer. I think you mean Ron Goulart. CAPTAIN AMERICA AND THE FALCON #164. "Queen of the Werewolves!" - Written by Steve Englehart, art by Alan Weiss. (Many of Cap's heads were retouched by John Romita Sr., creating quite a clash of styles!) I wish they'd left the artwork alone - Weiss's facial expressions were probably the best thing about his art. |
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Post by Myke Gee on Mar 8, 2023 14:12:15 GMT -5
TALES OF THE ZOMBIE #1. "Alter of the Damned" - Written by Steve Gerber and Roy Thomas and art by John Buscema and Tom Palmer. Simon Garth dies but is brought back to life as a zombie and doomed to walk the earth as one of the living dead. “Zombie" - Written by Stan Lee and art by Bill Everett. “Night of the Walking Dead" - Written by Steve Gerber and art by John Buscema and Syd Shores. A former employee's revenge seals Garth's fate into becoming a zombie but he still fights to protect his daughter. This issue also has "Iron Head” - Written by Stan Lee, art by Dick Ayers. An article about the zombie in the movies, "The Thing from the Bog" - Written by Kit Pearson and Marv Wolfman and art by Pablos Marcos, and "Mastermind" - Written and art by Tom Sutton. This was really cool. In life, Garth was not a nice man. It will be interesting to see how much of his living personality influences his afterlife. Artistically, Buscema and Palmer do their usual bang-up job. The second story seems to be a reprint of an earlier story by Stan and much better artwork from Ditko than he ever did on AMAZING SPIDER-MAN or STRANGE TALES. The third part capped off the opening Zombie tale nicely. Shores is no Tom Palmer, but he complimented Buscema more than well enough. I read the “Iron Head” story which didn’t do much for me and, honestly, I just skimmed through the rest of the stuff. The Zombie is the main attraction here although, reading this, it has a Man-Thing vibe going. Maybe it’s just me. At any rate, I’m eagerly awaiting the next issue. Grade: 8.5. Not sure what you mean about Ditko. Wasn't the 50s reprint incorporated into the Zombie story drawn by Bill Everett? Simply that I prefer Ditko’s art in this issue to what he did in ASM and in ST. |
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Post by Myke Gee on Mar 8, 2023 14:19:01 GMT -5
Speaking of “great”, in the ratings, I’ve changed the 8.0 and 8.5 from “Very Good” to “Great”. The VG seemed a little redundant, lol! The entire grading chart could be considered a little redundant, as most people would intuitively understand what a mark out of ten means, but I think very good fits better between good and excellent than great does, as it might be debatable whether excellence is preferable to greatness. The grading chart is another thing that I revised a couple of times or more. It’s interesting that you mentioned or intimated that the definitions of the scores really aren’t necessary because I’ve been thinking along those lines, as well. Maybe I’ll leave it out for future posts. |
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Post by Myke Gee on Mar 8, 2023 14:26:28 GMT -5
VAMPIRE TALES #1. “The Vampyre” - Written by Robert Goulart. Art by Win Mortimer. I think you mean Ron Goulart. CAPTAIN AMERICA AND THE FALCON #164. "Queen of the Werewolves!" - Written by Steve Englehart, art by Alan Weiss. (Many of Cap's heads were retouched by John Romita Sr., creating quite a clash of styles!) I wish they'd left the artwork alone - Weiss's facial expressions were probably the best thing about his art. The description of the issues are mostly cut and paste jobs. More than likely, wherever I clipped that from, the name “Robert“ came from there. Since I never heard of him, I didn’t catch it. I’ll make the edit. |
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Post by EdoBosnar on Mar 10, 2023 5:50:38 GMT -5
(...)
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #124. "The Mark of the Man-Wolf" - Written by Gerry Conway. Pencils by Gil Kane. Inks by John Romita and Tony Mortellaro. Cover by John Romita. Peter is frustrated by Spider-Man’s unfair treatment in the press, particularly in connection to Norman Osborn’s death. Plus, Man-Wolf’s first appearance! Why is Man-Wolf targeting J. Jonah Jameson? And what are the mysterious forces behind his transformation? I can only laugh when I think about the group members that say that this book has lost its luster. Sure, the stories are not on the level of the classic Lee/Ditko or Lee/Romita days, but some pretty good stuff is still printed in these pages. 124 issues in and I’m still enjoying this book. Grade: 8.5
(...)
This is something that surprised me ever since I started to frequent comics blogs and forums like this one in the mid-'00s, i.e., a very commonly held view that '70s Spider-man wasn't that good. I came into comics in the mid-'70s and read most of Conway's ASM run in reprints in Marvel Tales and thought it was all quite good; I'm also pretty fond of Len Wein's run that immediately followed. |
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Post by EdoBosnar on Mar 10, 2023 5:59:56 GMT -5
I think you mean Ron Goulart. I wish they'd left the artwork alone - Weiss's facial expressions were probably the best thing about his art. The description of the issues are mostly cut and paste jobs. More than likely, wherever I clipped that from, the name “Robert“ came from there. Since I never heard of him, I didn’t catch it. I’ll make the edit. Otherwise, I'm a bit behind in reading through these, but I have to say this caught my eye. Never heard of Ron Goulart? The guy was like one of the patron saints of all things geeky in the late 20th century - he was a prolific writer of SF and fantasy (often with a humorous bent), he scripted comics (including the wonderful Starhawks newspaper strip that was drawn by Gil Kane) and he wrote a bunch of non-fiction reference books and histories dedicated to comics and pulp magazines. |
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Post by Myke Gee on Mar 12, 2023 11:08:11 GMT -5
Simply that I prefer Ditko’s art in this issue to what he did in ASM and in ST. But did Ditko draw anything in the issue? The reprinted stories from the 50s were credited to Bill Everett and Dick Ayers. LOL!!! Oh boy!!! So...I had to go back and really read what you were saying, then I looked up the credits again (even though they're right there in my review, lol!!) and all I can say is that, in those days, I was working the midnight shift and most of these were written after I got home from work and before I crashed for the day. Basically, I have no idea why I mentioned Ditko. I'll have to edit that review, but I don't remember a thing about that story and I really don't want to go back and read it again, if I'm being honest. Alas, that's what I'll need to do. So, an edit is coming...but not today, lol!!! |
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Post by Myke Gee on Mar 12, 2023 11:11:59 GMT -5
The description of the issues are mostly cut and paste jobs. More than likely, wherever I clipped that from, the name “Robert“ came from there. Since I never heard of him, I didn’t catch it. I’ll make the edit. Otherwise, I'm a bit behind in reading through these, but I have to say this caught my eye. Never heard of Ron Goulart? The guy was like one of the patron saints of all things geeky in the late 20th century - he was a prolific writer of SF and fantasy (often with a humorous bent), he scripted comics (including the wonderful Starhawks newspaper strip that was drawn by Gil Kane) and he wrote a bunch of non-fiction reference books and histories dedicated to comics and pulp magazines. One thing about me is that read comics for superheroes. Sci-fi and fantasy books just weren't for me. (It's funny saying that because that just what superheroes are, lol, but I'm sure that you got what I meant, lol) |
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