boyajian@akov68.DEC (JERRY BOYAJIAN) (12/24/85)
Reviewed this time around: BLOOD OF THE INNOCENT #1-4 DAZZLER #42 DEADMAN #1 THE NEW MUTANTS #37-38 FIRESTAR #1 THE PUNISHER #4 SIX FROM SIRIUS 2 #1 SECRET WARS II #9 Ratings for the comics reviewed are as according to the Mad Armenian Scale, a shameless rip-off of the Moriarty Scale, stolen out from under the very nose of the Napoleon of Crime. Nyah-ah-ah!! "For a critic, it's better to have wrong standards than none at all." -- Elmer Allyn Craft ******************************************************************************** |=>A+< A veritable Classic. One of the best of All Time. Example: THE SPIRIT | |==>A< One of the best of the year. Ex: TEEN TITANS #38: "Who Is Donna Troy?" | |==>B< A very good issue, one of the best of the month. Example: CEREBUS | |==>C< A well done, entertaining issue. Satisfying. Example: JON SABLE | |==>D< Rather boring, or a few good spots mixed with more bad ones. Ex: ROM | |==>F< Boring AND stupid or childish. Example: MARVEL SUPERHEROES SECRET WARS | |==>Z< Actually offensive. Example: DAZZLER --- THE MOVIE GRAPHIC NOVEL #12 | ******************************************************************************** BLOOD OF THE INNOCENT #1-4 [WaRP, mini-series, $1.50] D+ This series is both WaRP's first color comic and the first American weekly comic. It's plot is about a visit by Dracula to England two years before that chronicled in Stoker's novel, a visit in which he encounters the infamous Jack the Ripper. An interesting idea, if you're not too tired of the relatively recent spate of cross-over stories that have infested the bookstores and cinemas in the last 10 or so years (although admittedly, most of these involve Sherlock Holmes as one of the principals). Unfortunately, this interesting idea is undone by weak plotting. The biggest flaw is that there seems to be no reason for Dracula to be in the story at all, as he serves little purpose. Writer Rankin, in attempting to be true to the history and specualtions of the Ripper murders, gives us a Dracula who ends up doing nothing, since obviously the prime suspect for the identity of the Ripper (the one the Rankin uses, at any rate) lived on for a few years after he killing spree. Aside from this, the story was just plain deadly dull, except for the last issue, where the tension pick up considerably. I can't really comment on the Hempel/Wheatley art. Their style is rather unique, and it's not necessarily to everyone's taste. I like it some- what, but I'm not totally taken with it. DAZZLER #42 [Marvel, $.75] C- Because we demanded it! This is the last issue of this comic (that blurb on the cover indicates to me that there's still hope for Marvel). In a way, it's a mercy killing, in a way, it's a damn shame. Archie Goodwin, who's been writing this comic for the last 5 issues, really showed the potential of the character, and he did it well. DAZZLER under his hands still wasn't a *great* comic, but it wasn't a reasonably good one. Of course, I'm sure that Goodwin could not have kept going with the title, if the decision to kill it hadn't been made, and under lesser hands, it probably would've slid back into the depths. So it's just as well that the comic is no more. DEADMAN #1 [DC, mini-series, $.75] B- As explained in the text page in this issue, the original Deadman series in STRANGE ADVENTURES (recently reprinted in DC's series of Deluxe reprints) came to a rather abrupt end, and was hurriedly wrapped up in BRAVE AND THE BOLD #86. Writer Andy Helfer and artist Jose Garcia Lopez here attempt to create a fuller, proper ending to that story. As such, they have had to ignore some of the stories that came after the Neal Adams stories (at the end of the series, Helfer promises to list which of the other Deadman stories will remain as part of the continuity, and which won't). This is fine by be, as Helfer seems to be taking the character in an interesting direction. Garcia Lopez is one of comics' more under-rated artists, and I've always enjoyed his work. Here, he pulls off a difficult task --- he infuses the art with the feel of Neal Adams (as is proper for Deadman), while still maintaining his own style throughout. This series is definitely recommended. FIRESTAR #1 [Marvel, mini-series, $.75] C- Some, probably most, people will look at this and say, "Oh no, not *another* mutant/X-Men spin-off comic! This is the last thing we need." Me? As far as I'm concerned, a good comic is its own justification, regardless of what it's about. FIRESTAR won't give Alan Moore sleepless nights, but it's a competent, readable comic. Angelica Jones finds herself an outcast in her new school, and the pressures brought on by such instigate the awakening of her mutant powers, which comes to the attention of both Charles Xavier and Emma Frost. Of course, it should come as no surprise to those who've been reading X-MEN that it's Frost who gets to her first. And that's where this issue leaves off. It's fairly clear that by the time we get to the end of this mini-series, Firestar will reject the corruption of Frost and the Hellions/Hellfire Club, but it's getting to that point that is the thrust of the series. If there's any flaw to FIRESTAR, it's that it seems a tad "written down", as if aimed at a younger audience (no doubt trying to capture the cartoon viewers) without quite maintaining a level that would make it equally enjoyable to an adult audience (as, for example, POWER PACK is). But unless you're tired of the Marvel Mutant Marching Society, you might want to give this a try. THE NEW MUTANTS #37-38 [Marvel, $.75] C- People have been denigrating issue #37 because the Beyonder kills off the Newties when everyone knows that he'll make them good as new again by the next issue. Those people obviously don't get the point that Claremont's trying to bring across by this tie-in to SECRET WARS II --- one of the better tie-ins, to my mind, because it does just what the whole tie-in business was "intended" (if you believe the press hype) for: it uses the tie-in as a springboard to tell its own story. Issue #37 was about Dani Moonstar and her conversion into one of the Valkyrior. Dealing with this is not easy anyways, but here we see her dis- tress as her new power shows her the imminent deaths of her and her companions, deaths that she is powerless to prevent. I don't think that Claremont was entirely successful, but at least he's on the right track with this. I find myself very interested in how Dani will be dealing with her newfound "job". Issue #38, again not entirely successful, shows us how the Newties deal with the memory of having been killed and resurrected. The problem is that we only see the problem from outside their heads, from Magneto's point of view (it's certainly valid, though, to suggest that the point of the story is not in the Newties dealing with their trauma, but in how Magneto deals with it). I'd have been much more interested in what is going on in the heads of the Newties themselves. Oh, and best of all, #38 has an absolutely *beautiful* Arthur Adams cover. Worth the cost of the comic by itself. THE PUNISHER #4 [Marvel, mini-series, $.75] D+ After getting off to a promising start, I find this series beginning to fumble around in the dark. I didn't particularly enjoy the last couple of issues. Interesting note, though: the cover proclaims that this is "#4 in a four-issue limited series", and yet, when you get to the last page, you find a to-be- continued blurb that says: "next: Finale!". It seems to be a growing trend for publishers to change their minds about how long a mini-series will go after it has already started. SECRET WARS II #9 [Marvel, maxi-series, $1.25] D Hip hip hooray! It's finally over. And all-in-all, I have to say that it really wasn't as bad as it started out to be (and not as bad as the first series) --- certainly better than gargling rusty razor-blades. I have to admit that there was one thing I liked about this series --- the growth of the Molecule Man character. By the end of this series, I actually got to like the little twerp. But that still doesn't justify the existence of SECRET WARS, and I sincerely hope that this is the end. SIX FROM SIRIUS 2 #1 [Marvel/Epic, mini-series, $1.50] This sequel to the original SIX FROM SIRIUS mini-series is again from the team of Moench and Gulacy. In comparison to the first series, I'm afraid I found this just a tad wanting, but not too wanting. Moench starts us off with a suitable mystery for the Six to get involved in. Of course, added to this is the complication of the Six being fugitives from the Sirius Hub as well. But the high point of this comic, as well as the first series, is the truly wonderful Paul Gulacy artwork, which is enhanced all the more by the deluxe paper and color. Even in this, though, the current series doesn't quite match up to the original. If nothing else, we don't yet get a nice close-up shot of my heartthrob LaMasque's beautiful deep-green eyes. If you didn't care for the first series, you probably won't find any- thing of interest here. Otherwise, give this one a look-see. --- jayembee (Jerry Boyajian, DEC, Acton-Nagog, MA) UUCP: {decvax|ihnp4|allegra|ucbvax|...} !decwrl!dec-rhea!dec-akov68!boyajian ARPA: boyajian%akov68.DEC@DECWRL.DEC.COM