boyajian@akov68.DEC (Jerry Boyajian) (06/27/84)
Getting Old Business Out of the Way:
Nays: JLA #228-230; ATARI FORCE #10; MARVEL TEAM-UP ANNUAL #7
Yeas: SIX FROM SIRIUS #1; MACHINE MAN #1; RONIN #1-6
JLA #228-230
In getting the latest JLA, the first part of the latest JLA/JSA cross-
over, I decided to pick up the previous 3 issues that involved the Earth-Mars
war. I'd realized that I'd read all of the previous stories about the Martians
leaving Mars and settling on New Mars, so I figured I might as well catch the
end(?) of it. Frankly, these issues were prime dogmeat. The writing was clumsy
(especially the synopsis in #229 --- yuccchhho) and the characterization awk-
ward. And did anyone else notice that Conway was a whole month off in his date
for the Eagle landing (he mentioned it as being 20 June 1969)? These issues make
me feel better about not buying JLA on a regular basis.
ATARI FORCE #10
This is the first issue of this title that gives me pause. Part of it
was Conway's use of the term "mainframe computer" in an inappropriate place (it
felt like he thought "mainframe" was a good buzzword, and that readers would
think, "Gee, this isn't any old *ordinary* computer!"). The rest of it was the
scene in which the Dark Destroyer goes into an antimatter universe to get some
antimatter to use as a weapon. Why on earth he has his men (I use the term
loosely) remove the "antimatter core" from an asteroid is beyond me; the whole
damn asteroid should be antimatter!
MARVEL TEAM-UP ANNUAL #7
This was truly dreadful. I find it hard to believe that the woman who
writes POWER PACK could come up with this bilge. Spider-Man and Alpha Flight
team-up to fight the Collector, who's up to his old tricks. This time, he's try-
ing to collect members of the Plodex race, which Marrina is. Of course, Puck,
Sasquatch, Aurora, and Northstar are not going to allow this, and so they try to
rescue her. Spider-Man gets involved when the Collector nabs him because he
found him an "interesting speciman" (it's done in such a way that one suspects
that it's Spidey's costume that he's interested in, not Spidey himself --- it's
beginning to look more and more like the new suit *is* a living being in its own
right). Then comes page after page of silly fights, involving hypnotic snakes,
flying carpets, geniis, giant clams, et al. (sounds like an ADVENTURE game). The
Alpha Flight members don't act like themselves (shades of SECRET WARS!), and
there is just too much unamusing silliness. I think that Louise Simonson was
trying to make it a "fun" comic, sort of like BLUE DEVIL, only she didn't pull
it off; it ends up being just a dreary mess.
SIX FROM SIRIUS #1
Sounds like a "western in space" from the title, and doesn't seem much
more than that from the plot, but it's done with style. Doug Moench seems in
top form with this one, and Paul Gulacy's art is the best he's done in years.
So far, what's happened is this A-Team sort of group has to bust this woman out
of an impregnable space prison in order to prevent some nasty politicking from
going on. Of course, the rub is that when they finally manage to get through
all of the defenses and guards (trained, as usual, at the Cylon Sharpshooters
Academy), they find out that the prisoner wants to stay. It all sounds cliched,
but it's so well done, you don't care. Definitely worth picking up.
MACHINE MAN #1
With a Tom DeFalco script, I wasn't prepared to like this much. With
Herb Trimpe pencils, I was prepared to like it even less. I figured that the
only saving grace was going to be the Barry Windsor-Smith inks. Well, golllllly!
Surprise, surprise! The art was terrific! Despite the credits (Herb Trimpe: lay-
outs, Barry Windsor-Smith: finishes), it looks like pure BWS. Loveitloveitloveit
And the script isn't half-bad, either. Basicly, not much happens in this first
issue, but the stage is set, the characters introduced. Machine Man finds him-
self resurrected in the year 2020, some of his enemies are still up and about,
and a familiar face from THE AVENGERS makes an appearance. and from what I un-
derstand, *another* familar face will make an appearance, too. The game's afoot!
And I'll be here to watch it. I recommend that you all do, too.
RONIN #1-6
I put off reading RONIN #6 until I had the chance to sit and read the
whole series at once. My first impressions of the series was that the first
issue was really interesting and the rest went slowly downhill. My final impres-
sion is that the series as a whole is a work of art. The story, when read piece-
meal over the course of a year, seemed very confused, but read all at once, it's
fairly easy to keep track of everything as it happens. It seems that most people
complained about the art. Well, yeah, it looked a tad sloppy (first 2 issues
were good, #3 & #4 were bleah, but #5 & #6 picked up again), but then, I've
never been all that enamored of Miller's actual drawing, even in DAREDEVIL. Mil-
ler's strength has always been in his storytelling layout and his page and
panel composition, and in RONIN, he excels at those. He borrows heavily from
the Japanese school of comic storytelling, and it works to great effect. The
test of this is to try reading the comic by only following the art, and not
reading the captions or dialogue. It works! And I find his page and panel to be
top notch.
It's to easy to dismiss a work like this by thinking that it's nothing
like his DAREDEVIL work. Well, sure it isn't, but it wasn't meant to be! Miller
has tried to do something different, and maybe it didn't turn out perfectly
(I'll warrant that it could have been a lot better), but I think the flaws of
this work are far outweighed by the virtues. Now, *this* is what a graphic
novel should be!
********************
Coming soon to a node near you:
More Comic Reviews!
Featuring:
CAPTAIN QUICK AND A FOOZLE #1, DALGODA #1, HULK #300, SUPERMAN #400, THE UNCANNY
X-MEN AT THE STATE FAIR OF TEXAS (!) and a host of others.
Be there or be square!
--- jayembee (Jerry Boyajian, DEC Maynard, MA)
UUCP: {decvax|ihnp4|allegra|ucbvax|...}!decwrl!dec-rhea!dec-akov68!boyajian
ARPA: boyajian%akov68.DEC@DECWRL.ARPAciaraldi@rochester.UUCP (Mike Ciaraldi) (07/01/84)
As someone who just reread all of Ronin in one gulp (i.e. the previous correspondent), maybe you can answer this: Was the whole Ronin thing, the story from ancient Japan, the demon, the reincarnation, totally a story made up by the computer? That seems to be what the computer admits at the end, but then how does Billy acquire all his powers? Just endowed by the computer with superhuman fighting skill? It seems like a cop-out to me, like saying, "And then I woke up, and it was all a dream!" Mike Ciaraldi ciaraldi@rochester
moriarty@fluke.UUCP (Jeff Meyer) (07/05/84)
Is Ronin #6 the last issue? I thought it was a 10-issue series...
Just another garden-variety Communist dupe...
Moriarty, aka Jeff Meyer
John Fluke Mfg. Co., Inc.
{cornell,decvax,ihnp4,sdcsvax,tektronix,utcsrgv}!uw-beaver \
{allegra,gatech!sb1,hplabs!lbl-csam,decwrl!sun,ssc-vax} -- !fluke!moriartyboyajian@akov68.DEC (Jerry Boyajian) (12/13/84)
A few words before I delve into comments: (1) If any of you have wondered what has happened to parts 3 & 4 of my series of articles on British comics, I *do* plan on doing them soon. I was waiting for a big shipment of British Marvels from England before doing the article on Marvel-UK. I have received them, but haven't had the time to go through them for information for the article. (2) The next issue of the fan-press magazine, AMAZING HEROES (#62 --- 1 January 1985), is something that you all should be on the lookout for. It's their special 1985 Preview issue. As with their Preview issue for 1984, it'll contain an alphabetical listing of extant and planned comics for 1985, with information garnered from the creative teams of those books on what their plans are for the coming year. Not only is this a chance to get an idea of what's ahead for your favorite comics, but it's also a chance to see what other comics that you don't normally read are all about, so that you may decide to give one a try. Specificly, I'm thinking of those people who may only read one company's product, but may be interested in trying others'. Last year's (their first Preview) was chock full of info, and I suspect that there'll be even more this time. I definitely recommend it. Now, on with the show... > From: CS-Mordred!Pucc-H:Pucc-I:Pucc-K:afo (Laurie Sefton) > X-Men #191: This was *awful*. I mean dreadful. Words don't > describe how ***bad*** this issue was. Where did Warlock pop in > from? And the ending... oh GLOS, how contrived. Really, really > bad. I have to agree, it was pretty bad. The ending wasn't exactly a surprise for me though --- when they start killing off major characters, you *know* that the whole thing is going to be made to un-happen. As for Warlock, he *was* in the previous issue, but ran away to fight again another day, which he, of course, does in this issue. > Dr fate #3: Nice reprint. Are they ever going to come up with new > materiel, or is this it? There is talk of at least doing a mini-series. > From: sdcc7!ma155abl (Nick Flor, posting for Roberto Nararra) > Why do we even read comics anymore with the crap that comes out, like > secret wars (crappy story) or the new mutants (shitty artwork), or overall > dumb characters like cerebus. Why do we assume it makes sense to buy a comic > that use to be good and is now mediocre (the X-MEN). Could it be that each of us decides which comics are crap and which are not, and read those we think are good, avoiding the ones we think are crap? To pick apart your specific examples: I can't argue with SECRET WARS, but I certainly don't begrudge Marvel's publishing it. It's obvious that *someone* likes it. That the artwork in NEW MUTANTS is "shitty" is a matter of personal taste --- I like it a lot, even though I'm still not convinced that it's right for the NM. Cerebus is far from being a dumb character --- he is, in fact, one of the better characters around. But again, this is a matter of personal taste. As for the X-MEN, well, I like the answer given by a previous netter: Why desert a sick friend? As a specific argument, I thought that issues #179 & 180 were among the worst issues of the entire run, but if I gave up on the book because of them, I would have missed #183 & 186, which were among the best. Sure, there's a lot of crap, but there is a lot of *great* stuff out there, too. I never imagined that there could ever be a time when there would be *20* *excellent* comics on the market (and *then* add the "very good" ones...). > From: fluke!moriarty (Jeff Meyer) > Eclipse is now handing out a newsheet, much like DC, and anyone reading it > this month will be startled to see that the number of titles this month has > DOUBLED. Admittedly, several of these are one-shots; but most of these are > continuing comics. This causes a great deal of worry on my part: Eclipse > seems to be suddenly tossing a number of new titles into a market which is > already saturated to a new all-time zenith. Can they afford the financial > burden if these titles don't sell? Many of these titles were picked up from > the recently-defunct Pacific; one would hope that a lesson had been seen > here. I particularly worry because several of Eclipse's older titles, > particlarly ZOT!, would be affected by an Eclipse financial setback; and I > don't want to see these titles to disappear from the comics scene due to > entrepreneurial whiz-kids on a rampage. If they can afford to do it, fine; > but I just hope they are looking at the market, and taking this into account. I really don't think you have much to worry about, Jeff. You yourself note that the bulk of their Pacific hand-me-downs are one-or-two- shots (to be specific, GROO SPECIAL, ROCKETEER SPECIAL, ALIEN WORLDS, TWISTED TALES, SOMERSET HOLMES, SUNRUNNERS, and MR. MONSTER). The only new titles from Pacific that they are continuing on an indefin- ite basis are the British reprint books: STRANGE DAYS, PRESSBUTTON, CHALLENGER, and MARVELMAN. Reprints are much easier and cheaper to produce. Of course, it's true that they plan on releasing some other new books, but their line-up isn't all that extensive. By my count, they will have about a dozen regular titles, plus the British reprints, plus a handful of mini-series and one-shots. That doesn't seem like too much to me. And remember, ECLIPSE MONTHLY was folded to make room for THE MASKED MAN, and CAP'N QUICK was "demoted" to a mini-series (I wonder why? :-) Is Marshall Rogers trying to be another Neal Adams?). > From: fluke!moriarty (Jeff Meyer) > TALES OF THE TEEN TITANS #51: [C] > > Raises the question of just how much the government knows about the Titans. > Any guesses? Even worse, it raised the question to me of just how much the feds know about *all* of the various superheroes. I mean, do you suppose they might know Superman's or Batman's identities? > From: orca!davidl (David D. Levine) > [In-jokes, anyone?] > > In a recent "Tales of the JLA" (the one with Magpie... I'm afraid I > can't recall the number), the first panel of the backup story has Sun > Boy in a bar. Over on the right side of the page, a bald-headed man > who looks exactly like our friend Dr. Xavier is introducing himself > as "Charles" to a comely wench who replies that she's "Kitty Storm." > Excuse me, that's not "Tales of the Justice League of America", it's "Tales > of the Legion of Super Heroes." Oops. Mea culpa. Actually, this kind of in-joke has been going on for at least 10-12 years. Every once in a while, you'd have a Marvel character make an off-hand reference to a DC character, or vice-versa. Or you might see the Phantom Stranger lurking in the background of a panel in a Marvel comic, or something like that. The latest issue of AMAZING HEROES has an article about that sort of thing going on (the author makes a much more significant case out of it than he should, though, claiming that it indicates that the Marvel & DC Universes are actually the same). The most outrageous example of this happening is the sub- plot crossover that went from AMAZING ADVENTURES (featuring the Beast) to THOR to JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA, occurring at the annual Hallo- ween festivities in Rutland, Vermont. If any of you out there missed this (it happened about 10 years ago), and want to know the details of the plot crossover, send me mail. If there are enough requests, I'll post it in an article. If not, I'll answer those requests I do get via mail. --- jayembee (Jerry Boyajian, DEC, Maynard, MA) UUCP: {decvax|ihnp4|allegra|ucbvax|...}!decwrl!dec-rhea!dec-akov68!boyajian ARPA: boyajian%akov68.DEC@DECWRL.ARPA
boyajian@akov68.DEC (03/29/85)
> From: rayssd!m1b (Joe Barone) > Marvel is definitely canning 'The New Defenders' with #152 or > #153 and 'The Thing', 'Dazzler', 'Rom', 'Power Man/Iron Fist', > 'Micronauts', and 'Captain America' are rumored for cancellation. > The article further states that any cancelled title will be "replaced > with new series or new concepts of the existing characters." > > From Marvel's recent track record, this can be seen as a scam. > I suspect Marvel cancelled 'Marvel Team Up' and started 'Web of Spider-Man' > for the sole purpose a creating a new first issue. The proliferation of > 'Limited Series' and 'Mini' and 'Maxi Series' (and 'Mega Series') can be > attributed to the fact that first issues are usually hot items. Marvel, > in particular, seems to rely on speculation to make an even larger profit. In the case of THE DEFENDERS, it's not a scam. It's been known for a while that Marvel was planning a new title for this summer called THE X-FACTOR, which will re-team the old X-Men. Since three of the five original members (and one of the other two is dead --- maybe) are Defenders, it's not all that surprising that Marvel will cancel that book rather than try out a new line-up. One never knows, though, they may well start THE DEFENDERS over again with #1 with a new team. We shall see. As for DAZZLER, it would seem that they put Archie Goodwin on it in order to try and salvage the comic. If he can't save it, it'll probably be gone for good. If Marvel had it in mind to start this one over again with #1, I would've thought they'd do it now, and have Goodwin write the first few issues of the new series. Who knows? > From: rochester!ciaraldi (Mike Ciaraldi) > If you have been wanting to read MAGE from Comico > (which I recommend you do), but can't find the > back issues, you are in luck. > Comico has just released Magebook, Volume I, which > reprints the first 4 issues, including the original > letter columns and ads. Funny thing, that. Do you know why the original letter columns and ads are there? Notice the difference in the paper and printing from the early part of the book to the later? Apparently, Comico has just taken all their excess copies of MAGE, stripped off the covers, and bound them into a square-bound volume. Not that this is illegal, immoral, or fattening, but what it does is: (1) reduces the number of copies of the original comics that exist, and (2) limits the number of copies of MAGEBOOK that they can issue. Collectors note. Fortunately, I managed to find all of the original comics before MAGEBOOK came out. > From: ihlpg!ealee (Liz Scheller) > "MYTH ADVENTURES" Pencilled by Phil Toglio Inked by Tim Sale I realize that it's probably a typo, but that's "Foglio", not "Toglio". > "COYOTE" Issues 1-5 Artist is Steve Leialoha > Colorist is Steve Leialoha and Steve Oliff > > Issues 5-11 Inker is Frank Springer > Penciler is Chas Truog > Colorist is Petra Scotese > Not quite. The credits for #1-5 that you have are only for #1-2. Penciller/ Inker/Colorist for #3 was Butch Guice/Bob Wiacek/Christie Scheele. Charles Truog pencilled #4 on, with the inkers being Bob Wiacek (#4-8), Richard Howell (#9-10), and Frank Springer (#11). Colorists on those issues were Bob Sharen (#4), Steve Oliff (#5-6), and Petra Scotese (#7-11). Sorry to be picky, but I believe that if you're going to include this information, you should get it right. > This comic started out really good. Nice art work, coloring good, and > not a half bad story. Then they (Epic) changed everyone dealing with > this comic and everything went to sh*t. The art work could be done by > my little cousin (age 14 months) with crayons. The story is absolutly > stupid. I'm going to hang on for about 2 more issues and then sell > everything. "They (Epic)" didn't change "everyone dealing with this comic". Steve Englehart created the character with Marshall Rogers for Eclipse Magazine (look for the graphic novel I AM COYOTE, which reprints this original series), and he has been writing Epic's COYOTE since the beginning. As far as the art goes, it wasn't Epic's decision at all. Steve Leialoha left of his own free will, when he couldn't put in the time necessary to get it out on time. Put- ting Truog on the art wasn't Epic's decision, it was Englehart's. He *likes* Truog's art, so it's not likely that he'll find another artist. As for the comic itself, I basicly have to agree. I really liked the first three issues (though Guice's work on #3 was sub-standard for him), and even #4 wasn't too bad, but things started to slowly slide. The last couple of issues have been pretty bad. I don't know what has happened to Englehart. He was one of *the* top comics writers of the 70's. Now, he isn't turning out much that I consider at all worthwhile. > From: aecom!yudelson (Larry Yudelson) > At the beginning of COIE 4, there are only 4 earths left, > including Earth 1 & Earth 2. If we assume Earth Prime is still around, > is that remaining Earth the future home of DC comics? No, Earth-Prime is us. What will be happening, I gather, in future issues of CRISIS is that a single Earth (Universe, actually) will be constructed which will house all of the characters that are to survive the Crisis. So it's not so much that only one Earth will be left undestroyed, but that there will only be one Earth by the end of the series. As for Earth-Prime, I would guess that that's considered as being outside the DC Multiverse, and will be totally ignored (after all, it was only used a couple of times for some rather silly Cary Bates stories). > Also, has Earth 6 shown up before? What was it? No. --- jayembee (Jerry Boyajian, DEC, Maynard, MA) UUCP: {decvax|ihnp4|allegra|ucbvax|...}!decwrl!dec-rhea!dec-akov68!boyajian ARPA: boyajian%akov68.DEC@DECWRL.ARPA