boyajian@akov68.DEC (JERRY BOYAJIAN) (11/01/85)
Reviewed this time around: ALPHA FLIGHT #31 LEGIONNAIRES THREE #1 WORLD'S FINEST THE BOZZ CHRONICLES #1 normalman #11 COMICS #323 DOC STEARN...MR. MONSTER #3 POWER PACK #19 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 | ******************************************************************************** ALPHA FLIGHT #31 [Marvel, $.75] D- Well, I think I'm just about to give up on this one. I think it's the "clever" reference to Puck having used a soul-stealing black blade before (don't tell me that he's another Elric incarnation) that did it. I may vomit. THE BOZZ CHRONICLES #1 [Marvel/Epic, $1.50] C- An alien who gets bored *very* easily crash lands during the late 1800's in England and meets up with that extremely popular cliche' --- the Hooker with a Heart of Gold. In order to keep Bozz's mind active (so that he won't commit suicide out of boredom), they form a consulting detective agency so that he may solve puzzling crimes. Oddly enough, although he looks only vaguely humanoid, no one seems to think he's anything more than slightly odd. It's nicely enough written and drawn, but it seems to me that David Michelinie and Bret Blevins could have done as well (more likely better) if they just decided to adapt some fo the Sherlock Holmes short stories to comics form. Of course, we all know the reason why they didn't, don't we --- no one would buy a detective comic, but lots of people will buy a comic with an alien in it. Bah. DOC STEARN...MR. MONSTER #3 [Eclipse, $1.75] C- Now *this* is more like it. Alan Moore wrote this story about Doc fighting (rather a little *too* enthusiasticly, to the chagrin of the city) a garbage monster. It's funny, and not *too* weird. It's not really up to snuff for Moore, but that still makes it better than a lot of comics. Plus, there are a couple of monster story reprints, one by Basil Wolverton. LEGIONNAIRES THREE #1 [DC, mini-series, $.75] C This mini-series spin-off of Guess What? features the three charter (and now semi-retired) members of the LSH --- Saturn Girl, Lightning Lad, and Cosmic Boy in a fight against a nicely malevolent Time Trapper. There's nothing particular new here, but it seems to be nicely plotted (by Keith Giffen) and suspenseful. My feelings about this are roughly equivalent to those on BALDER THE BRAVE (even though the latter is better) --- if you like the parent comic, you'll probably like this, too. If you don't like the parent comic, you probably won't like this. normalman #11 [Renegade, maxi-series, $2.00] C- This is worth looking at for two reasons. First, it's a marvelous parody (in style) of not only AMERICAN FLAGG!, but of First Comics as a whole, right down to the silly comment in the indicia! And secondly, it contains the fight between the JLA and Avengers that we've all been anxious over. :-) [Seriously! Check out page 10!] POWER PACK #19 [Marvel, $1.25] C+ A very touching Thanksgiving story in which Katie invites a number of friends --- including Beta Ray Bill, Cloak & Dagger, Wolverine, Shadowcat, and a couple of Morlocks --- for a special Thanksgiving dinner, while the Power Kids' mother is in the emergency ward of the hospital. And of course, things don't go quite as they should. This is one of Marvel's better books, not because it has flashy art or stupendous writing, but because it has an sincere, from-the-heart writing by Louise Simonson that I really like. I'd say that it's currently my favorite comic from Marvel. Don't pass it by just because it's a "kid's book". WORLD'S FINEST COMICS #323 [DC, last issue, $.75] F- I doubt that this book *ever* deserved its name, but I can't imagine that it ever deserved it less than with this issue. If this is a sample of what it's been like for the last couple of years, than it deserved to be canned. Joey Cavalieri is probably the worst writer DC has, and this is a new low for him. The story was silly, and the reasons behind the greatly bally- hooed splitting up of the Superman/Batman partnership were both unconvincing and ridiculous. This has to be one of the worst comics I've read in a long time. --- 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