moriarty@fluke.UUCP (The Napoleon of Crime) (09/21/85)
Reviewed in this issue:
X-MEN AND ALPHA FLIGHT NEW MUTANTS SPECIAL EDITION
X-MEN #200 NEW MUTANTS #35 HEROES FOR HOPE
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"There *are* standards. If you can't see one, you *make* one and stick to
it come Hell or high water -- until you see a BETTER one."
-John Gaunt
"Well, if you can't believe what you read in a comic book, what *can*
you believe?!"
-Bullwinkle J. Moose
****************************************************************************
|==>A< One of the best of the year. Example: ZOT #8 |
|==>B< A very good issue, one of the best of the month (usually 6/month) |
|==>C< A well done, entertaining issue. Satisfying. Example: Jon Sable |
|==>D< Boring, but with a few good points. Example: SQUADRON SUPREME |
|==>F< Boring AND stupid or childish. Example: Secret Wars. |
|==>Z< Actually offensive. Example: Several of Haney's UNKNOWN SOLDIERs |
****************************************************************************
X-MEN & ALPHA FLIGHT #1 [B-]:
Like a breath of fresh air -- this reminds me of the days when
Claremont would tell a story with just enough subplots to keep it
interesting. And he does a very nice job here, indeed (Loki's
interest in this is suitably mysterious). Paul Smith has always
been one of my three favorite artists, and quite possibly the
favorite; and his work here is excellent, though Wiacek's inks make
it a bit sketchy for my tastes. His faces are wonderful --
Wolverine, Scott, Illayana, Kurt and Rachael are expressive in a
way that brings back old memories of Japanese cartoons -- is that
what he based much of his work on? Very good indeed; if
Claremont's failings (except for the Windsor-Smith/Ororo issue,
which was great) were due to his work elsewhere, I'd feel a lot
better...
NEW MUTANTS SPECIAL EDITION #1 [B+]:
Claremont's redeeming himself in one lump sum these days, isn't
he? I must agree with Jerry -- the best New Mutants story ever;
and the Arthur Adams art is tremendous -- utterly magical. Will
he be doing the art for the conclusion in X-Men Annual?
A few comments and questions: LOVED the in-jokes. Mr. Steele,
Miss Holt. Somehow, you KNEW Terry Austin was inking when you
saw the Vikings, didn't you ("Arf! Arf! Arf!")? Warlock/Longshot
and Hela -- nice routine. And I need help here: obviously one of
the giants is Ed Grimley ("It certainly is a decent reindeer, I must
say!"); but the other two? I assume the red-haired one is generic,
but the other one looks a little like Fred Flintstone, or that Harvey
Comics Giant. And 'Berto's run-in with Volstagg had me rolling. I
agree that Asgard's Weight-Loss Clinic is rather stringent compared
to our standards, but in a magical realm... Why must Illayanna
always be tied up and possessed? I know Claremont has this thing
about sorceresses and evil (and by Gum, doesn't Amora look
good?), but the Enchantress hasn't been that rotten in other stories
-- think he got her mixed up with the White Queen. Anyway,
imagine what Dave Sim's counter-part will do with her! Make her
read Mike Bannon letters! Have her pose nude for the CEREBUS
letter page! The potential is endless...
X-MEN #200 [B]:
What a 200 issue should be. A milestone. And a damn fine one.
Thanks, Chris (but can we start easing up on the anti-mutant
tensions, pleeeeeeease?).
NEW MUTANTS #35 [C-]:
OK, just exactly *who* is doing the art for this book? Bill
Sienkiewicz is back doing inks, and thus has possessed the spirit of
this book once again. Nice to see Magneto as head of the place, and
this is probably going back on my list of titles to buy... his approach
may be much better that Xavier's at this point. It will certainly be
more interesting to watch.
HEROES FOR HOPE [As a comic story: D; Under autopsy by comics
fan: B]
Worth the money, but (face it) not as a comic book story. I don't
think there's much of a problem with the fragmention of the
writing styles -- these hold together pretty well (the shift in artists
takes a little getting used to, though); but the plot did not move me,
either as an X-Men story or as something dealing with the
problems currently in Africa. However, the donation is made when
you buy the comic, and for comic fans, this is a very interesting
animal, allowing you to see talent teamed in unlikely combinations.
A few individual comments:
Stan Lee's writing style has changed some, but it still pretty obvious
which pages he scripted.
Damn, but it's nice to see John Byrne and Terry Austin drawing the
X-Men!
After this, I want to see Stephen King script a SWAMP THING story.
"Good Food... Good Meat.... Good God... LET'S EAT!" I've always
respected King more for his writing style than his ability with horror,
but this just how talented he is at both. And, of course, no one can
illustrate King like Wrightson.
I didn't think Mantlo could write this well -- I was very surprised
when I read the credits afterwards...
Alan Moore's writing, though, was easy to spot (good stuff -- what'd ya
expect?), and Corben's art surprised me -- his sequence looks like he
ran through the complete X-Men archives, which I just have a hard time
seeing with Corben.
Frank Miller and Bill Sienkiewicz, together? Man, they must have had
to send out for the India ink to do this sucker! Before reading this
book, I kept thinking it might be 15 black panels with little eyes
sticking out of them and word balloons pasted over. Not my favorite
sequence by any means, and Ellison's writing is not very steady in this
sequence.
I really like Brian Bolland's art, but apparently he can only do one
woman's face; Ororo looks pretty generic Bolland.
Paul Gulacy + Bob Layton = Dave Cockrum.
And finally, I was amazed that was Chaykin pencilling the last few
pages. Simonsin's inks totally overpower his pencils.
"I can tell a Moriarty when I see one. This crime is from
London, not America."
Moriarty, aka Jeff Meyer
ARPA: fluke!moriarty@uw-beaver.ARPA
UUCP: {uw-beaver, sun, allegra, sb6, lbl-csam}!fluke!moriarty
<*> DISCLAIMER: Do what you want with me, but leave my employers alone! <*>moriarty@fluke.UUCP (The Napoleon of Crime) (09/22/85)
In This Article, Reviews Of:
THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN MEGATON MAN NEW TEEN TITANS
SHATTER CROSSFIRE NATHANIEL DUSK II
GREYLORE HULK BLACK DRAGON NIGHTCRAWLER
THOR BATMAN AND THE OUTSIDERS
------------------------------------------------
"There *are* standards. If you can't see one, you *make* one and stick to
it come Hell or high water -- until you see a BETTER one."
-John Gaunt
"Well, if you can't believe what you read in a comic book, what *can*
you believe?!"
-Bullwinkle J. Moose
****************************************************************************
|==>A< One of the best of the year. Example: ZOT #8 |
|==>B< A very good issue, one of the best of the month (usually 6/month) |
|==>C< A well done, entertaining issue. Satisfying. Example: Jon Sable |
|==>D< Boring, but with a few good points. Example: SQUADRON SUPREME |
|==>F< Boring AND stupid or childish. Example: Secret Wars. |
|==>Z< Actually offensive. Example: Several of Haney's UNKNOWN SOLDIERs |
****************************************************************************
THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN #106-108 [C - A-]:
Every six months, the net in general (and Jerry Boyajian in
particular) is due a big thank-you from me, and here it is: THANK
YOU! for pointing me to this comic. After reading #106, I was
thinking that Peter David reminded me of a mature David Michilline
when he was writing IRON MAN; after reading #107 - #108, the
first two episodes of the "Death of Jean DeWolfe", I'm considering
the possibility (very strongly) that he's much more than that. The
last two issues have some of the best writing I've seen in a Marvel
comics in years -- David has got his characterizations down
perfectly. His writing is on a par with Miller's during his initial
DD's (which is a complement -- I think he went somewhat stale
after Elektra's death). What impresses me the most is that 95% of
the rest of Marvel's writers would just have lived off Jean's death
-- you know, two episodes of Peter swearing vengeance, etc.
David has taken this on, ripped off the usual "Superhero X gets
mad" overplot, and added on some amazing plot elements: Jean's
past, the Atlanta child murder case, Matt Murdock having qualms
about putting his secret ID before justice, and a bona-fide Real
Mystery (I haven't a clue, though I seem to remember an old
Claremont reference that Jean and Nick Fury were close at one
time, and he has been hinted at -- anybody else remember?) -- I
cannot emphasize how excellent this is, and how well the
characters are handled. This is not the sounding attempts of a new
writer -- this is someone who knows exactly what he's doing. I
really don't remember a talent surprise like this since Alan Moore
appeared on the scene (though this is not up to SWAMP THING's
standards). Rich Buckler's art, too, is surprisingly good, though it
may be due to a host of good inkers who seem to be combining on
this project. All in all, the BEST Spider-Man stories since
Claremont & Byrne were writing for MARVEL TEAM-UP. Moriarty
says definitely check it out.
MEGATON MAN #5 [C]:
Not up to previous issues, but still pretty good. I think Simpson is
trying to toss something at us between the humor, but frankly, I
stick with the masses and follow it for the humor.
NEW TEEN TITANS #15 [D+]:
I assume the monster that the man in the boat describes to Arella
is the Swamp Thing.
SHATTER #1 [B]:
I take back what I've said about SHATTER before -- the art has
improved *incredibly*. Not surprisingly, as MacDraw 1.7 is
(virtually) bug free now, and Apple donated the SHATTER people a
LaserWriter -- Free! Well, it shows, and while the writing tends
to be somewhat coarse, it is worth reading for the graphics alone
-- I'd guess that Saenz has been inspired by _Blade_Runner_ and
_A_Clockwork_Orange_. I really am getting curious as to how this
ends.
CROSSFIRE #14 [B]:
Great characters, *excellent* story on several levels (I've been
watching that "Crime in America" special on TV, and the
assassination of the Hugh Hefner character seems much more
plausible after watching that). But the characters in this book -- I
can't think of a couple in comics that I like better than Rainbow
and Jay. Very nice, slowly-done, well-crafted relationship here,
with characters much more human than the norm. Also, the best
credits/title page of the month.
NATHANIEL DUSK II #3 [B-]:
Yah, I know who the bad guy is, too, but it's not THAT obvious, and
besides, with art and colors like this, it could be Mike Hammer for
all I care...
GREYLORE #1 [F]:
'Nuff said, except the blurb on the inside back cover has to win for
most hyperbole seen in recent times: "It's probably the funniest
story you'll read this year. And probably the best drawn." Gosh,
it'll make me forget all about Ambush Bug, eh? And Miller's
Batman Trilogy is due out pretty soon (right?) -- this must be
some comic!
HULK #314 [C]:
OK, OK, stop snickering! I'm hooked...
THE BLACK DRAGON #6 [D-]:
Yet another Marvel/Epic Mini-series that started out very well and
ended up a failure. One of the most confusing endings in quite a
while -- looks like Chris couldn't come up with anything really
original.
NIGHTCRAWLER #2 [C-]:
Cotton Candy.
THOR #362 [C+]:
Not quite a Dennis Nayland-Smith "nobly-fallen pawn", but a really
well-written episode. I don't really care if Simonsin leaves the
art chores of THOR -- I just want him to continue on the writing.
In fact (though I may be tossed to the wolves for it), I find his
previous art much superior to his THOR work, particularly in
BATTLESTAR GALACTICA (one of the few comics superior (in this
case, much superior) to their TV source). His Tolkien-like plot
here is quite good.
BATMAN AND THE OUTSIDERS #28 [B-]:
OK, another addition to the Alan Davis fan club -- the art here is
*great*! Good dialogue and good-to-middlin' story by Barr; and I
really do like to see The Batman portrayed as kind of a crazed
vigilante in this book -- it's an interesting change from his other
appearances, continuity or no continuity. And a nice turn-around
gutsy play -- The Batman says "Go ahead -- make my DAY" (with an
incredible face by Davis) to a guy holding a gun on *him*. Try that,
Clint.
"But like the Good Books says... There's BIGGER DEALS to come!"
Moriarty, aka Jeff Meyer
ARPA: fluke!moriarty@uw-beaver.ARPA
UUCP: {uw-beaver, sun, allegra, sb6, lbl-csam}!fluke!moriarty
<*> DISCLAIMER: Do what you want with me, but leave my employers alone! <*>