boyajian@akov68.DEC (Jerry Boyajian) (07/12/84)
FANTASTIC FOUR #271
Some of you, if you're an oldtimer like me, may remember the old days of
Marvel before the advent of the FF, Spider-Man, Hulk, Thor, etc. The assorted
horror/sf titles, JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY, STRANGE TALES, TALES OF SUSPENSE, TALES
TO ASTONISH, etc. featured wonderfully hoary stories of alien monsters with
names like Tim Boo Bah, Fin Fang Foom, and the like. Usually, these monsters
came from outer space to destroy the Earth, or take it over, or simply eat man-
kind, and some intrepid scientist would find its weakness and destroy it or
drive it away. Well, in this issue of the FF, John Byrne gives a tribute to
those old stories, as Reed Richards recounts his pre-FF encounter with the alien
monster Gormuu. The hommage is perfect, right down to the imitation Jack Kirby/
Dick Ayers style of artwork, including the cover. Younger readers may think it
silly, but to us veterans: what a comic!
MARVEL GRAPHIC NOVEL #11 (Void Indigo)
This is the prologue, if you will, of Steve Gerber and Val Mayerick's
new series for Epic Comics. I really don't have much to say about it. It isn't
particularly original in concept, nor earth-shaking in execution. If anything,
it's somewhat disappointing as I expected more from the team that gave us Howard
the Duck.
*******>>>>> CAVEAT EMPTOR: While the Epic Comic will carry a "Recommended for
Mature Readers" or somesuch, the Graphic Novel carries no such warning, and it
should. There is a fair amount of nudity (though certainly no more than in HEAVY
METAL or EPIC ILLUSTRATED), and a lot of graphic (very graphic, almost a bit
much for me) violence.
PETER PARKER, THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN ANNUAL #4
I don't normally pick up the Spider-Man books, but this looked interest-
ing, so I thought I'd give it a whirl. I was very pleasantly surprised. Bill
Mantlo turned in a very nice, bittersweet love story. The basic plot is that
Aunt May has started getting letters from an old flame, a man she was very much
in love with. The trouble is that this guy was a hood (back then, she was so
blinded by love that she didn't believe he was a hood until it came out in the
open), and has been in prison since then, and only recently has been parolled.
He never stopped loving her, though, and now wants to pick up where they left
off all those years ago. The only problem with this book is that the cover gives
the false "if he can't have her, no one can" impression, and it's not like that
at all.
One unusual aspect to it is that Spider-Man hardly appears at all in the
book --- it's all May's story, and helps define her character more than anything
else I can remember reading. And even more of a pleasant surprise is that, as
she is drawn here (hell, I can't remember who did the art --- I think it was
Kerry Gammill and Sal Buscema), the young May Reilly was quite a beauty.
I recommend this comic highly.
ACTION COMICS #560
Forget the Superman story; it's really blah. What makes this issue worth
picking up is the advent of the back-up series starring the ever-whacko Ambush
Bug. If you're in the mood for a story with fruit flies, "Crazy Eddie" commer-
cials, a Buick being brought to justice, and the amazing Ginsu ("A typewriter
may be the tool of your trade, Kent, but three years later you still can't cook
a chicken on it!"), this is for you.
(Is that enough of a recommendation, Jeff? I can't recall actual issue numbers
--- I'll look them up --- but the Bug has previously appeared in a DC COMICS
PRESENTS with the ("new") Doom Patrol, in another DCCP with the Legion of Sub-
stitute Heroes (one of the funniest comics I'd read in years!) and a recent
issue of SUPERGIRL.)
*****
Before I go, a correction to my previous posting: WARRIOR #19, not #20 came out
the other week.
--- jayembee (Jerry Boyajian, DEC, Maynard, MA)
UUCP: {decvax|ihnp4|allegra|ucbvax|...}!decwrl!dec-rhea!dec-akov68!boyajian
ARPA: boyajian%akov68.DEC@DECWRL.ARPAmoriarty@fluke.UUCP (Jeff Meyer) (08/25/84)
Actually, I read these about two weeks ago, but I haven't had a chance yet to review 'em.... sorry for the delay! ------ **************************************************************************** |==>A< One of the best of the year. Example: Byrne/Claremont's Starlord | |==>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< Rather boring, or a few good spots mixed with more bad ones. Ex:Mars| |==>E< Boring AND stupid or childish. Example: Secret Wars. | |==>F< Actually offensive. Example: Several of Haney's UNKNOWN SOLDIERs | **************************************************************************** First, an oldie but Goodie... DC PRESENTS #59 (Ambush Bug & Legion of Subs) [C]: Very pleasant, but not up to the fast-paced humor exhibited in the present mini-series. Giffen's portrayal of the 1930s - 40s Man of Steel is excellent. Kept expecting him to say "Lois is in trouble" :-). "Maybe a crane?" "His head would snap off! Keep thinking!" AMERICAN FLAGG #14 [C+]: Still has that fill-in flavor. Not a trilogy; just tying up (and starting) some subplots. Standard excellent writing. I'm sure when Chaykin returns to art duties that this will go back to 'B' status. TEEN TITANS #3 [B-]: The reason for the 'B' grade is the art... Perez lifts it into an "art of despair" -- I'd like to see him attempt Dante sometime. But the art really gives you a depressed, hopeless feeling. Who's the cavalry here? I don't think they've got a chance (unless, of course, we fall back on the old plotline about how demons are not really that powerful, they just look that way). Good dialogue, and the "worst fears" bit is carried out well. Actually, I wouldn't have noticed the "bedroom scene" if it hadn't been mentioned on the net. TALES OF THE TEEN TITANS #48 [B-]: Well, I LIKED Rude's version; though I almost thought the first two pages had been done by Gulacy. Fill-in in the back a better story, methinks... you can see that Perez contributes much more than just the art. Some of the lines in the RECOMbatants story were out-of-character; Korey saying "kiss your boo-boo" to Vic seems very poorly scripted. JON SABLE #18 [C]: Art always makes this worthwhile, but the terrorist seemed rather boring (I figured out the plot twist last issue); however, I enjoyed the characters he meets in Idaho, including "Pappy" Boyantin (Sp? Does he really look like Robert Conrad? "Knock this missile off my shoulder, Jon..."). BLUE DEVIL #? (Ah Forgot) [B-]: Lots of fun at beginning and end (no, I'm NOT referring to the MATCHBOX atrocity), but the middle tended to slow some. Norm is great fun. The Blue Devil and Cameraman, indeed. Holy Dynammic Duo! ZOT #4 [B+, maybe A-]: Interesting, engrossing origin. This looks like the best new comics series of the year, folks, hands down (SWAMP THING is a revitalized old series :-) ). The scene at the end is excellent (I suggest playing the theme to "A Little Romance" in the background). Also good is the scene with Max leading Jenny out of the room Deco has collapsed in... "Someday, my dear.. you're going to make a fine actress." It's really unusual to see a talent for humor and humanity in one artist/writer. NORMALMAN #4 [D]: This is getting tres obvious tres quick. Satire should be pointed and current, and this is neither. I think I'll stick to old FANDOM CONFIDENTIALS. CEREBUS #64 [C-]: Better (as The Big C is in it), but still, everyone is always yelling... funny ending; weird back up; great letters page, as usual (I rather look forward to AV's "SWORDS of MIKE BANNON" ). JOURNEY #12 [B+]: No stereotypes here, folks... just a lot of interesting characters done with love. This is DANIEL BOONE done for adults, but evoking the same feelings I got as a kid. I give it a "+" just because I'm delighted with it in all respects. SWAMP THING #? [A-]: Can you say HORROR, kiddies? GRRRRRRAHHHHHG! WOW! Stephen King looks like Judy Bloom next to Moore & Bisset... the scenes with the people and animals were very frightening. The characters are very human. THIS is *better* than most EC horror comics I've read; it has HEART (all over the floor :-) :-| :-( ). Wonder if Abby is really dead. KITTY & WOLVERINE #1 [C]: Well, *I* liked it... no great shakes, but give it some time. DNAgents #13 [C]: Good solid entertainment, just what the 'C' grade was set up for... "BABA LOO'S GETTING MARRIED -- WHAT YOU SAY --" "Raul!!" Moriarty, aka Jeff Meyer John Fluke Mfg. Co., Inc. UUCP: {cornell,decvax,ihnp4,sdcsvax,tektronix,utcsrgv}!uw-beaver \ {allegra,gatech!sb1,hplabs!lbl-csam,decwrl!sun,ssc-vax} -- !fluke!moriarty ARPA: fluke!moriarty@uw-beaver.ARPA
boyajian@akov68.DEC (Jerry Boyajian) (10/08/84)
Ratings for the comics reviewed are as according to the Moriarty Scale, shame- lessly, and without one single shred of remorse or guilt, stolen out from under the very nose of the Napolean of Crime. Nyah-ah-ah!! But wait! What if this scale were to be changed?! Modified by an unscrupulous modifier of rating systems, whose business it is to make this type of system palatable to the teenage, delinquent, mother-my-dog instinct! Why, then, it would be the Mad Armenian Scale.... ******************************************************************************** |=>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 #39: "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 | ******************************************************************************** DALGODA [LAD, A DOG] (Dalgoda) C- (Grimwood's Daughter) C+ Jeff had it pegged right. It certainly was entertaining, but somehow managed to miss the standard set by the first issue. Now, "Grimwood's Daughter", that's something else. I'll be frank and say that this isn't my cup of tea, and the writing is reasonably good, though not great. But the art.... Kevin Nowlan, if he is known at all, is known mostly for his work on MOON KNIGHT, which was nothing extraordinary. But here, he shines. His elves have a distinctly humanoid though non-human, appearance, and display a strength and mystery. And Nowlan has good storytelling technique, evident by the fact that the story is easily under- standable without reading a single word, just following the art. Nowlan is a *major* talent. TIMESPIRITS #1 C Very enjoyable. Steve Perry's script is nothing special, but it works just fine. It reminds me of some of the better issues of DC's old TOMAHAWK book. The Tom Yeates art suits the story perfectly. I prefer his art here to the work he did for SAGA OF THE SWAMP THING way back when. The Teacher uncomfortably reminds me somewhat of Dr. Who, but we'll see how it develops. This looks like a very promising book. I urge you to give it a try. AMETHYST #1 D+ After giving the maxi-series a second chance, I found that I rather en- joyed it, despite my initial reservations. And the Annual that came out late in the spring was surprisingly good. I wish I could say the same for this. The art, Ric Estrada pencils and Ernie Colon inks, is not as good as Colon's solo work on the maxi-series, but the inks here are strong enough to give Estrada's pencils, which I normally wouldn't like at all, a polished look. My biggest problem with this issue is that too much seems to be happen- ing, making for a confusing script. This should work itself out after a few more issues are done, so I will overlook it for now. If you didn't like the maxi-ser- ies, you probably won't like this either. If you liked the former, though, you will want to at least give this comic a good trial period. DC COMICS PRESENTS #77 [Superman & The Forgotten Heroes] D Let's get one thing straight from the beginning. I came into this comic with a biased eye. The Forgotten Heroes herein are that same set of characters that Marv Wolfman dredged up from DC's past some months back in ACTION COMICS -- those characters from the various sf/"mystery" titles of the early 60's, such as STRANGE ADVENTURES, RIP HUNTER TIME MASTER, TALES OF THE UNEXPECTED, etc. Those titles and characters always occupied a soft spot in my heart and in my collec- tion. One of my colelcting interests is to acquire sets of all of those wonder- fully skiffy comics from my youth. So, if Wolfman was able to pull this off, he would have my undying admiration. If not.... Unfortunately, he wan't able to bring it off, which didn't surprise me in the least, since he wasn't able to bring it off in those ACTION issues. Like the ACTION story, the gimmick of bringing together these disparate heroes just doesn't work. Unfortunately, it *is* just a gimmick, a nostalgic gimmick. Nos- talgia is fine, I have nothing against it, but nostalgia for its own sake just isn't enough, and the story here isn't strong enough to support the gimmick. I'll read the next issue, which concludes this story, but I'm sure I won't like it any better. NEW GODS #6 D+ At last, we have the long-awaited conclusion to Kirby's New Gods saga of 12 or so years ago. Was it worth the wait? No, not really, but it wasn't actively bad, either, like a lot of Kirby's recent work. Back when, I was quite a fan of the "Fourth World" comics, as they were called, and I was sorry that they met their premature death. It's good to see the material reprinted, though I wish they had done the Forever People, Mister Miracle, and Jimmy Olsen stuff, too. As for the artwork, well, Kirby manages quite well to give it the same look that it had 12 years ago, even though his recent work hasn't been nearly as good as that older material. Artisticly, the seems are invisible --- you can go from the reprint, which occupies the first third of the book, to the new story, which fills up the rest, without really noticing the difference. What *is* not- icible, however, is the difference in how Kirby handles his characters. His non- involvement with them over the years has taken away his familiarity with them, and they almost seem to act like totally different characters than they were 12 years ago. As I said, it wasn't actively bad, but it was a great disappointment. NEW TALENT SHOWCASE #13 "Found and Lost": D+ "Theta: Just Another Day" C "Bob Cat: After the Ball" C+ "21st Sentry A.D.: The Beast Within" D- Overall, this is probably the most satisfying issue of NTS yet. From the bottom to the top: "21st Sentry A.D." has nothing to recommend itself. The story isn't particularly well written, nor is it particularly original. And the art, while better than some supposedly-professional art, leaves a lot to be desired. The layouts are unimaginative, and the figures are awkward. "Found and Lost" is an enigma. The art, by Eric Shanower, is rather nicely done. The figures are well-drawn, and the story flows smoothly. Shanower has a promising career ahead of him. Mindy Newell, who wrote the interesting "Jenesis" serial for the last few issues, as well as providing dialogue for some recent issues of the Mando LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES, writes well. Her dialogue is far from clumsy, and her characters are well-deliniated, if a tad stereotyped. The real stumbling block in this story is the plot; I may be obtuse, but I just don't see the point of the whole thing. The ending leaves it all up in the air, which may mean a sequel is planned for a future issue, but even so, the story just seems to stop rather than end. Quite unsatisfying. If it wasn't for the quality of the scripting and art, this would have rated a D-. "Theta" is the surprise of the issue. It's a vignette, really, only taking up three pages, but I found it a very satisfying three pages. Theta is a divorced, working mother who also happens to be a superhero, and she has to juggle all three of those jobs as best she can. Of course, given the shortness of the story, we aren't given a whole lot of background, but this feels like it should be just a teaser of more to come. David Marchman, the writer, is no Byrne or Claremont, but despite some stiffness of dialogue and/or captions, he manages to bring this story off. He seems to be bound to get better with more practice. The real treat, though, is the artwork by Norm Breyfogle. This guy is *good*, and I hope to see more of his work in the future. He's already good enough to be at home doing one of DC's main titles. "Bobcat" is a satisfying sequel to a story by the same team, Mike Tief- enbacher and Stan Woch, that appeared in an earlier isue of NTS. Nothing earth- shaking here, just solid writing and artwork. It's very reminiscent of POWER PACK in that it presents us with very believable pre-teens, one of whom is the non-super-powered-hero, Bobcat. "Bobcat" is muhc more low-key than POWER PACK, which doesn't make it quite as satisfying for me, but this story alone makes reading this comic worthwhile. Jerry-Bob says check it out. SPANNER'S GALAXY #1 & #2 D I'm sorry to say that, contrary to others' reactions, I wasn't all that impressed with this comic. The art is competent, though not particularly inspir- ational. The same could be said of Nick Cuti's script. Some of the concepts are trite, such as Spanner's childhood friend (for a brief moment, anyway) becoming one of his chief adversaries (I'll bet anything that they end up together at the end), and please, can anyone tell me why, in the second issue, would they make an autopsy machine out of the supposedly hardest alloy known to man? This is the kind of silly little details that cn ruin a story like this for me. There are enough interesting elements here to keep me reading for the next four issues, but I'll not exactly be looking forward to them. ********** A brief editorial ********** For some reason, the comic companies seem to have been taken by the idea of basing comics on toys, and with notable exceptions, they just don't work. Why? Well, my guess is that the concepts behind the toys are poor to begin with, and any comic based on them has to be *really* good to overcome this basic handicap. The ones that have worked usual do so because of a strong creative team. THE MICRONAUTS works because of the rich detail that Bill Mantlo and Mike Golden (and later artists) put into the workings of the Microverse. The only other one that I can think of off hand that worked was a late-60's DC comic, CAPTAIN ACTION, which had the advantage of having such people as Wally Wood and Gil Kane working on it. Among those toys-into-comics that try my suspension of disbelief the most are of the Giant Robot variety. Such is my bias against them that under ordinary circumstances, I wouldn't even give them a first glance. And so it was with such luminaries as SHOGUN WARRIORS, THE TRANSFORMERS, and MANTECH ROBOT WARRIORS. Unfortunately, however, two new Giant Robot comics have entered the arena that have something about them that made me want to give them a try. THE STARRIORS #1 D What made me want to give this one a try is the fact that it's written by Louise Simonson, whose work on POWER PACK is terrific. Of course, she *did* bomb once, with this year's MARVEL TEAM-UP ANNUAL, but she wrote a good story for AMAZING HIGH ADVENTURE, so I figure that that makes her even. Of course, the fact that artists Mike Chen, Ian Akin, and Brian Garvey are reasonably good didn't hurt. STARRIORS certainly isn't *bad*, but Lord, it isn't good, either. Well, no, I shouldn't say that. It's well produced, I'll grant, and Simonson gives it her all, but she just isn't a good enough writer to bring the basic concept of this book out of the mire of mundanity that it starts off in. This comic, like most toy-based comics, is obviously aimed primarily at the children's market, and as an example of such, I'll will aver that STARRIORS probably sets a good example for this type of book, but I don't personally find it the least bit exciting. ROBOTECH DEFENDERS D- Only one thing saves this book from being a total loss, and it's the reason I pciked it up in the first place --- the artwork by Judith (EVANGELINE) Hunt and Murphy Anderson. But even that is "sabotaged" by poor printing, the colors tend- ing to bleed and blur, and they are printed rather garishly (much worse than the Baxter books are). The artwork is weak in spots, and Hunt, to her detriment, seems bound to squeeze as much art onto each page as she possibly can, most likely due to the fact that she has to fit the story into three issues. Hunt otherwise does a good job, though not quite good enough to make this comic worth buying. ********** A short note ********** THE OMEGA MEN #22 mentions that the next issue will be Doug Moench's last. The issue after that will be by Marv Wolfman and Kevin (NEMESIS) O'Neill. After that, who knows? I think that unless they put someone *relly* good on the book with #25, I'll most likely stop with the Wolfman/O'Neill issue. I'm just not enjoying this comic terribly much. ********** That's all for now. I hope to have more reviews within the next day or two. --- jayembee (Jerry Boyajian, DEC, Maynard, MA) UUCP: {decvax|ihnp4|allegra|ucbvax|...}!decwrl!dec-rhea!dec-akov68!boyajian ARPA: boyajian%akov68.DEC@DECWRL.ARPA
eric@milo.UUCP (10/09/84)
> NEW GODS #6 D+ > > At last, we have the long-awaited conclusion to Kirby's New Gods saga of 12 or > so years ago. Was it worth the wait? No, not really, but it wasn't actively bad, > either, like a lot of Kirby's recent work. I'll go a step farther, I was disappointed by the ending. I realize that there is a graphic novel coming out, but I really did want to see all the loose ends tied up. Orion's death (?) served no purpose. Does this mean evil wins? Or is Orion destined to come back? (I would be very disappointed at such a cheap trick.) Kirby really should have wrapped it all up, since I don't think anyone is planning a comeback for the series. I do realize there are some continuity problems with Legion of Super-Heroes, but who cares? I would have loved a final confrontation between father and son that meant something. -- eric ...!seismo!umcp-cs!aplvax!milo!eric
boyajian@akov68.DEC (Jerry Boyajian) (10/22/84)
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 Napolean of Crime. Nyah-ah-ah!! ******************************************************************************** |=>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 #39: "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 | ******************************************************************************** FANTASTIC FOUR #274 Story: D+ Art: C+ I won't bother talking about the story. The bulk of it is a continuation of the story from THING #19, the opening sequences are basicly just a set-up for future issues, and the ending sequence is a set-up for future SPIDER-MAN's. What is unusual about this issue is the art. Byrne's pencil's are inked here by Al Gordon, and I rather like the mixture of styles. Gordon manages a difficult feat in keeping the art looking like Byrne, while making it look different from the Byrne art one may see elsewhere. I hope he is a permanent addition to the book. MARVEL SUPER HEROES SECRET WARS #10 D Gee, it managed to rise above its own class! At last, things seem to be happening. There will never be hope for this book, but maybe *something* can be salvaged. Of course, there are still a number of things wrong with it, to wit (a couple of these have been mentioned by others in net.comics already): (1) How was Doom able to contain all of Galactus' power when he wasn't able to hold the Silver Surfer's power in times past? (2) How was Doom able to stand up to the Beyonder using Galactus' power when in issue #1, the Beyonder swatted Galactus back like a fly? (3) How was Galactus able to feed upon his own worldship when it's been maintained that he needs the energy from a *natural biosphere*? (4) Wolverine to Cap: "I used to have some respect for you..." (p. 9) Wolverine (Issue #1): "Wait a minute! He's [Cap] the *least* of us! He can't do anything! I won't follow him--!" (p. 17) Shooter can't even be consistent with his own lousy characteriza- tions. NEW MUTANTS #24 C This has been one of the better issues of late. First of all, I must be getting used to Sienkiewicz's art, because I rather liked it here, even if I still have some reservations about its belonging in this book. The subplot with Magneto and Lee Forrester is getting real interesting, as is the sequence with Peter in the Shadow. There may be hope for the schmuck yet. Another good scene was the bit with Charley castigating Sam for his "Lila" tank-top, while Rogue compliments him on it. And then there is Illyana's screwing things up, which is very interesting, considering that she usually has been the one to haul every- one's ashes out of the fire. THE THING #20 Lettering: F "Deminish"? (p. 7) "...with two little fuss"? (p. 11) Sheesh!! ^ ^^^ THOR #351 B+ Ya know, I've really been getting complacent lately. For the last year or so, THOR has been soooo good, that I've been taking its quality for granted. Then, Simonson goes and does an issue like this one to knock my socks off all over again. Boy, I can't wait till the next issue! SAGA OF THE SWAMP THING #32 B+ Talk about complacence. Here I figure that I know just what to expect from Alan Moore: bone-chilling horror that would make Stephen King turn green with envy. So what happens? He pulls an issue like this which has no horror in it to speak of, but is still a cut above anything else. First, it's a hommage to Pogo --- no spoiler here; anyone who can't guess this on the first page should not be allowed to tie his own shoelaces. As such, it's only middlin'. It was nice, but frankly, I thought Moore overdid the Pogo-ish mode of expression. It tended to obfuscate more than it should have. The strong point of this story was that it was one of the saddest, most tear-jerking stories I have read in some time. A two-hanky comic, but well worth it. ACTION COMICS #563 Ambush Bug: B Superman: D Jimmy Olsen: D+ The Superman story, featuring the return of Mr. Mxyzptlk, was a real loss. The Jimmy Olsen story really tried --- I'll have to give it that. It felt nicely nostalgic, hearkening back to those good ol' Mort Weisinger days when every month, something weird would happen to the various characters of the Superman family. This story, however, just didn't manage to capture the naive charm of those stories from 20 years ago. Now as for Ambush, that's a bug of a different color! (literally!) I almost collapsed on the floor from laughing! "Why *this* bug?! I never went *near* the Secret Wars!!" hee hee "Why, *Hello*, Willllburrrr." hah hah AMERICA VS. THE JUSTICE SOCIETY #1 D+ Not really too bad, art- and script-wise. However, there are a couple of points that need to be mentioned: (1) The various heroes in the JSA have been as highly esteemed as the Batman. Why are so many people willing to take the word of the lat- ter against the reputations of the former so quickly? (2) If the handcuffs are basicly symbolic, why do they find it necessary to use Kryptonite handcuffs on Superman, considering how deadly they should be to him? (3) Was there a woman officer there to handcuff Wonder Woman? Would she allow a man to bind her for whatever reason? (4) I still can't believe anybody's swallowing this whole thing! Look: some guy shows up at Clark Kent's office with Batman's diary, which implicates the JSA in all sorts of bad things. This guy *mentions* that he's used hypnosis on Bruce Wayne for certain reasons. Wouldn't it be reasonable to think right off the bat that this might have some bearing on the case? Sheesh! CONQUEROR #1 D This is the first real issue from a new British comic company, Harrier Comics. Quite frankly, it bodes ill. The basic concept is the adventures of a heavy cruiser of the Commonwealth [basicly Britain] Space Navy, H.M.S. Conqueror 500 years in the future. Sounds a bit STAR TREKish, though in this issue, it's more of a war comic in space than the exploration of strange new worlds. The story here is that some alien invaders attack a Commonwealth star system. Their ships seem invincible, and they are defeated only by what pretty much amounts to luck. The scripting is adequate at best. The art is very stiff, the layouts unimaginitive. And last, but not least, the characters are strictly cardboard. You could do worse than to buy this, but you could do a lot better. I suppose one shouldn't expect everything coming out of Britain to be a gem any more than everything in this country, but it's a shame that the same country that brought us "V for Vendetta", "Judge Dredd", "Captain Britain", "Pressbut- ton", "Robohunter", et al. hould produce something so lackluster. BIOTECH COMIX [#1] C- I gave this a try due to the recommendation in net.comics some weeks ago, and I'm glad I did. The feminist-oriented message is somewhat blunt, and the art style is a bit too undergroundish, but I found this comic to be both amusing and entertaining, well worth the time invested. And after all, isn't that why we buy comics in the first place --- to be amused and entertained? This comic certainly won't be to everyone's taste, but if you like the unusual and different, give this one a try. CAPTAIN PHIL AND THE INTERGALACTIC SPACE PALS #1 Biased: C- Unbiased: D+ This one is difficult for me to review, because the publishers/editors at Steeldragon Press, Will Shetterly and Emma Bull are dear friends of mine. After publishing three issues of REAL HEP! COMICS, an undergroundish, odd-for- mat comic ("Captain Phil" appeared in the first issue), they ventured into "reg- ular" comics with an anthology, STEELDRAGON STORIES, which was an uneven bunch of stories. Well, now they are embarking on two "real" regular comics, CAPTAIN PHIL being the first (the second is OMAHA, THE CAT DANCER, by Reed Waller, which has had previous stories appear in two issues of Dennis Kitchen's underground, BIZARRE SEX). Anyway, CAPTAIN PHIL is written and drawn by Greg Guler, who's done work for Americomics. His art there didn't grab me, though here he does well. It's perhaps due to the cartoony style of the artwork; Guler might well be better suited to this type of art. The writing is adequate overall, and quite funny in spots. On the whole, this reminds me of a good Saturday morning cartoon. If anything fails in this comic, it's that there's nothing new. The characters are all familiar, and there is no different sort of treatment of either them or the equally familiar plot. The biased side of me tells me to recommend this wholeheartedly; the unbiased side says to give this first issue a try, and then decide for yourself. On the other hand, anyone who could come up with the name "Malevoloids" for the nasty aliens has got *something* going for him. --- 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 (Jerry Boyajian) (12/13/84)
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 Napolean of Crime. Nyah-ah-ah!! ******************************************************************************** |=>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 #39: "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 | ******************************************************************************** ACTION COMICS #565 [Ambush Bug "story": C] This isn't really a story, so much as an extended "ad", in which our hero(?) asks Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman if they would make guest appearances in his forthcoming mini-series. It doesn't have quite the utter lunacy of the previous AB stories, which is why it only gets a "C", but it's still got some hilarious moments. This "review" is more or less just a notice that the Bug is back again (he seems to be popping up in every other issue of ACTION. If you've never encountered the Bug before, give him a try. He makes Moon Roach/Wolverroach/etc. in CEREBUS look like the very pillar of sanity. Oh, and there's a Superman story as the lead feature, but I gave up on it after just a few pages. This is one the few times in living memory that a comic was worth the full price just for the back-up (the only other time I can think of off-hand is when the Huntress was being done by Levitz and Staton in the back of WONDER WOMAN). BATMAN AND THE OUTSIDERS #19 [D+] Enh. It was better than the last couple of issues, but still not all that great. The fight between Geo-Force and Superman was fairly well-done, except that Barr blew it --- Supes' invulnerability is *not* determined by the gravitational pull of the Earth. GF's localized gravitational increase should have affected Supes' strength, all right, and his flying ability, but *not* his invulnerability. This renders the whole rest of the fight invalid. DETECTIVE COMICS #548 [C-] I think that I'm a member of a very elite few (I'm in the pleasant company of Don Thompson of CBG, though). I have been, to put it kindly, less than impressed with Doug Moench's work on the Batman. After his work on Moon Knight and Shang Chi, I was waiting with breathless anticipation for his debut on Batman. Instead, I find the stories to be bland, and the writing to be terribly self-indulgent, what with the This-of-Night, the That-of-Night, and the Other-Thing-Over-There-of-Night. And Nocturna gets a big fat zero in my book. God, was I glad to see that whole story over and done with. Anyways, sometime in the last two weeks since BATMAN #380, it seems to me that Moench has become, well, er, "chemically enhanced". This issue of DETECTIVE was completely off-the-wall (well, as off-the-wall as a Batman story could get, anyway. All the characters are delightfully out of character. Vicki and Julia, instead of being catty rivals, engage in a subtley humorous rapport. Robin's acting a bit clownish, and even Alfred let his hair down a little: Jason: "Alfred, why is it that Bruce always falls for the dark and dangerous dames?" Alfred:"I'm quite sure I don't know, Master Jason, particularly with two fine women like Vicki Vale and my daughter Julia eager to...er, 'jump his bones,' as it were." It's been a while since I've enjoyed a Batman comic this much. STAR TREK #12 [C] This is improving with each issue (though I *still* wish I liked the Sutton/Villagran artwork better). If nothing else, this issue was worth it for the ranting and raving of the mirror-Kirk, as he remotely starts the destruct sequence on the mirror-Enterprise (which the "real" Kirk has taken over): "Good! My counterpart was foolish enough to think he could defeat *me* in a contest of strategy--the weakling! He's merciful, like his 'Fed- eration'--and just as soft! He'd never think of activating his destruct sequence by remote control...never consider destroying his own ship just to rid himself of a foe!" (Heh, heh, heh) FANTASTIC FOUR #276 [C+] Byrne's really been doing wonders with this book; it's *never* been a top flight book, in my opinion, until the last couple of years. The romance between Johnny and Alicia is growing stronger, and what's more, it feels *real*. The real treat of the issue, however, is the collection of Reed and Sue's neighbors: Hi & Lois, Jiggs, Blondie, Joe Palooka, Dick Tracy, Dennis the Menace's father, and a couple of other comic strip characters that I can recognize, but not place (one of them is, I think, from "Gasoline Alley". And the art! This time, it's Jerry Ordway who's doing the inking honor's, and while I think I still prefer Al Gordon, JO does a really top- notch job (the page 4, panel 2 shot of She-Hulk especially stands out as a nicely rendered drawing). IRON MAN #192 [D] The long awaited clash between Rhodey in the latest IM armor and Tony Stark in a vastly inferior "old" IM armor. I'm not sure what I expected from this, but I certainly didn't get it. The resolution seems like the only fair solution, but I still didn't care for it. And the fight wasn't all that exciting, either. On the other hand, it's not quite over yet, as a future cover proof I've seen would indicate. ROM #64 [D] The latest in a series of strange inking jobs over Ditko pencils --- this time from Craig Russell (as will next issue). Though I greatly admire Russell's talents, this is probably the least successful result; Russell's style and Ditko's just do not work together. As for the story, well, as can be expected, it sucked. Well, next issue wraps up this whole Wraith War business. Then we'll be ffrrreeeeeee!!! WEB OF SPIDER-MAN #1 [C-] Ho hum. Just another Spider-Man comic. Spidey has his final confron- tation with the black costume. Louise Simonson's writing (which prompted me to pick this up, otherwise, I might not have bothered) is competent, but not extraordinary. It was nice to see Jim Mooney (inker) again; I've always had a fondness for his work. I'm afraid that there just wasn't a whole lot of excitement to the plot for me. And the art on the last page left it unclear (maybe I'm just being obtuse?) just what did happen with the costume. I'll probably buy the next two issues for Simonson's writing (I get the feeling that her heart just wasn't in this story, having to wrap up someone else's story). Maybe once she gets the chance to do her own stuff in the next two issues, it'll be better. STARSTRUCK #1 [C-] The same gorgeous Kaluta art as the graphic novel, and a slightly more coherent script, though it still has parts that are quite confusing. But certainly no more confusing than the first few issues of AZTEC ACE. If this continues on like this, I might well take a real liking to it. It's rather nicely bizarre. And the art *does* make it more palatable. And there's a really nice photo of Galatia 9 (Elaine Lee??) on the inside front cover. Quite pretty. normalman #6 [C] I won't extoll on the virtues of this comic. It's either your style of humor (it is mine) or it isn't your style of humor. If you aren't aware by now, each issue, as it tells the latest installment of Normy's on-going story, parodies some other comic, such as ELFQUEST, RICHY RICH, Weisinger- period DC comics, whatever. This time, it's the Spirit's turn. Actually, as with last issues Richy Rich schtick, isn't quite a parody. so much as an emulation of the style. The front cover is done in the style of the front page of a Spirit Section, and each page in the story has the legend "normal- man by Valentino" hidden Eisneresquely somewhere in the artwork. And there is usually a panel filled with the likenesses of other comic characters. Here we have a collection of "dead" characters on page 15: Nighthawk, Ferro Lad, Mar-vell, Terra, Spider-Woman, Mr. Terrific, Phoenix, Manhunter, the Earth-2 Batman, and Warlock, among others. And page 13 has a "pin-up" of the Agents of S.C.H.M.U.C.K.*, including the Flaming Carrot, Al (or is it Al?) from the Space Gophers, Inc., Herbie, Dick Tracey, Bozo the Clown, and Boris Badenov(?). I always get a kick out of normalman. * stands for nothing in particular ALIEN WORLDS #8 [D+] This is the first of the final two issues, published by Eclipse in the wake of Pacific's demise. Like most issues of this title, it's a rather uneven collection of stories. There are two gems, however. A rather humdrum William F. Nolan story is accompanied by some very nice Al Williamson art. Man, that guy can draw when he wants to! The second is a rather humdrum Ken Steacy art job accompanying a delightful story about a kid who is determined to get a full set of "Venus Invades" bubble gum cards. Any collector should get a kick out of this one. "Number 14: 'Roasting the Family Cat'", indeed. SOMERSET HOLMES #5 [B+] Boy, am I glad that Eclipse picked this one up. Of all the Pacific titles, this is the one that I couldn't have lived without (except for the Rocketeer, that this). This book has probably Bruce Jones' best work ever (yes, even counting KA-ZAR --- KA-ZAR was more entertaining, but this is a much more strongly plotted and written book). Here, we finally learn what Somerset's background is, and how she got into her predicament. Of course, there is still a resolution to come, one that I'm eagerly anticipating. This is one limited series that deserves to be collected into a graphic novel format. Hell, it *is* a graphic novel, in the true sense of the word, and one of the best ones, to boot. And Brent Anderson's no slouch in the art department, either. This comes highly recommended. OMAHA THE CAT DANCER #1 [C] This is another biased review, since, like CAPTAIN PHIL AND HIS INTERGALACTIC SPACE PALS, this comic is published by two friends of mine as Steeldragon Press, and is written and drawn by another friend, Reed Waller. Anyways, this is definitely an ADULTS ONLY comic, so if you don't care for undergrounds, you can skip this review. The Omaha story started out as a full-length story in Dennis Kitchen's BIZARRE SEX #9, and was followed by a short sequel in BIZARRE SEX #10. Just recently, a prequel of sorts showed up in Kitchen's DOPE COMIX #5. Now Steeldragon Press is starting off with a regular comic, picking up where the BS #10 story left off. The two protagonists are Chuck and Omaha, two humanoid felines (in this milieu, the world is inhabited solely by humanoid "animals", who seem to get along rather well (by which I mean, you don't have each species sticking to its own kind and being antagonistic to other species, like you get in most humanoid-animals-in-control-of-the-world type stories)). In the first Omaha story, Chuck and Omaha get innocently stuck in the middle of a scandal of large proportions, involving an underground "entertainment club" (where Omaha was an exotic dancer) and numerous "men" of high social and political standing. They flee their home town of Mipple City (Minneapolis, where Reed Waller lives), and trek to San Francisco, hoping to keep a low profile until things blow over. Unfortunately, one of the hometown gang bosses would rather see them dead, and in this issue, we see Chuck and Omaha, arrive in Frisco and deal with a thug of Andre de Roc's, who's out to get them. Waller's storytelling is quite good, and his characters very likeable --- or very unlikeable, in the case of the villains. And the artwork is much better than most underground artwork is (though don't expect another Byrne, Perez, or Adams). A rather nice, erotic comic book. I repeat, though: this comic has some quite explicit sex scenes in it, though I wouldn't say that they were in bad taste. Keep that in mind if you're tempted to look at this comic, but are turned off by sexual matter. --- jayembee (Jerry Boyajian, DEC, Maynard, MA) UUCP: {decvax|ihnp4|allegra|ucbvax|...}!decwrl!dec-rhea!dec-akov68!boyajian ARPA: boyajian%akov68.DEC@DECWRL.ARPA
gino@sdchema.UUCP (Eugene G. Youngerman) (12/14/84)
In article <251@decwrl.UUCP> boyajian@akov68.DEC (Jerry Boyajian) writes: >DETECTIVE COMICS #548 [C-] > > I think that I'm a member of a very elite few (I'm in the pleasant >company of Don Thompson of CBG, though). I have been, to put it kindly, less >than impressed with Doug Moench's work on the Batman. After his work on Moon >Knight and Shang Chi, I was waiting with breathless anticipation for his >debut on Batman. Instead, I find the stories to be bland, and the writing to >be terribly self-indulgent, what with the This-of-Night, the That-of-Night, >and the Other-Thing-Over-There-of-Night. And Nocturna gets a big fat zero in >my book. God, was I glad to see that whole story over and done with. > Anyways, sometime in the last two weeks since BATMAN #380, it seems >to me that Moench has become, well, er, "chemically enhanced". This issue of >DETECTIVE was completely off-the-wall (well, as off-the-wall as a Batman >story could get, anyway. All the characters are delightfully out of character. >Vicki and Julia, instead of being catty rivals, engage in a subtley humorous >rapport. Robin's acting a bit clownish, and even Alfred let his hair down a >little: > Jason: "Alfred, why is it that Bruce always falls for the dark > and dangerous dames?" > Alfred:"I'm quite sure I don't know, Master Jason, particularly > with two fine women like Vicki Vale and my daughter > Julia eager to...er, 'jump his bones,' as it were." > > It's been a while since I've enjoyed a Batman comic this much. > I'd just like to comment on the art. To me, Pat Broderick's art has seemed to be repetitive. Always pretty, ( remember his Marionette), but with so much background that I always felt that I was losing the story in the glitz. His women are always formed the same, Marionette and Red Sonja, if you can believe that. So I was real worried when I saw his name on the cover. I was PLEASANTLY surprised. I guess it must be Bob Smith's inking, because the faces don't look at all ( well not much) like a standard Broderick face. There were a couple of panels that I could have sworn came right out of Don Newton's sketch book. I liked the art. (If you hadn't guessed.) GINO