moriarty@fluke.UUCP (The Napoleon of Crime) (10/18/84)
Well, I'm in the process of trimming down quite a few of the comics I read... not so much cost, but just that there a some hanger-ons I've been reading for a while that have always been in the 'D' area. Also, I'm not reviewing EVERY comic I read... some are so consistent, there just isn't anything to say about it. **************************************************************************** |==>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| |==>F< Boring AND stupid or childish. Example: Secret Wars. | |==>Z< Actually offensive. Example: Several of Haney's UNKNOWN SOLDIERs | **************************************************************************** SECRET WARS #10 [F+]: Hmm, I wonder what Jerry Fallwell has to say about this... Frankly, I don't think he should worry... the Beyonder shows all the intelligence of a 2AM TV wrestler, and I doubt anyone will associate him with "The Lord" (as his/her/its friends call him/her/it). Also, Jimbo worked in the hokey Doom costume. I bet Mike Zeck feels like, like... a good German. ======================== CEREBUS #66 [?]: All I can say about this is that I liked it. Some. On one hand, we have several psuedo-realistic character portrayals -- ones where the character isn't built for slapstick or big yuks (examples of comic characters would be Elrod, Sonya's mother, and the Sim-like guard). Theresa and Weisshaupts garden scene feels "real" in terms of, say, a political documentary -- or when discussing politics with someone; how many people do you know who read allegory into everything? Quite a few with me... Cerebus himself also has a two-and-a-half dimensional feel to me... we've seen some of the inside of his mind, and feel sympathetic towards him -- the Jaka incident, and his charge towards what he assumes to be a hostile army single-handed. Seems like there is some depth to the character. And then he throws a baby into the crowd. Now, I gotta admit, this is pretty funny in many ways; I'm sure if one of Cerb's barbarians had done it I would have been rolling. But the laughter is checked, for me, by some flinching, as Cerebus is not a plot device here. He is complex, driven by various motivations, and not patterned after a moral or comic viewpoint. And it *shows*! Sim is that good of a writer. But it also means that it makes me uncomfortable, somewhat; I happen to like a character, but this character is also a murderer, and a fairly realistic one. Arcade I have no problem enjoying; he is too fantastic to take offense against. But Cerebus has the potential to be a truly frightening dictator (he is being that now); and I am having problems laughing at a character who (skipping the fact that he is an aardvark :-) ) could almost exist in real life. What I'm trying to get down to is that there is such a sense of realism (e.g. complexity, real emotions, personality), that I am getting uncomfortable with it! No complaints, just a note... On the other hand, as pure entertainment, it is just too episodic; I think the best way to read this is in ten-issue stretches. I won't even get into the allegorical possibilities... :-) ======================== SWAMP THING #32 [A-]: Sorry, folks, but Moore is actually a GREAT (i.e. one who will go down in history) writer; perhaps the first one in 4 or 5 years. Every adjective I can think of is either inadequate, or I've used it before for lesser talents. Walt Kelly would be very, very pleased. "For we have met the enemy, and he is us...." ======================== NORMALMAN #5 [C-]: Well, better than average; Mickey Money's humor was sharp enough to get funny. Rest is still a bit too bland for my tastes. ======================== JOURNEY #14 [B+]: Anyone notice that Messner-Loeb's art and (especially) his graphic composition are getting to be very class acts on their own merits. It's not slick, but it's gooooood.... ======================== NEIL THE HORSE #9 [B]: Hey, it's OK with ME if Arn does fill-in work every three issues (e.g. #8), just as long as he keeps producing things like this. Take your average issue of GROO and square the laffs... good stuff. Also, Arn's "Eureka Street" work is O.K. -- low-key Sylvia. Also, "Break it to make it" is fun (well, this whole book is *fun*). ======================== JON SABLE #10 [B]: Easily the best Sable in a year. This story finally lived up to the potential I saw outlined in the first few issues, and hinted at in the last year; the last few issues have been rather lackluster -- smooth, but without a great deal of feeling underneath. The ending is a kicker (remember the Winters' kid's birthday party?). Guess everyone knows what a marshmellow Jon really is... ======================== TALES OF THE LEGION #319[C] & LEGION #6[D]: "One of these things is not like the other, One of these things just does not belong..." In other words, a good artist is needed for a title like this; the above grades reflect that. ======================== SPANNER'S GALAXY [C]: Good, solid writing -- a roast beef sandwich of a comic. The dialogue is especially good, which is what I would expect from Cuti (Glad to hear he'll be back on E-MAN!). ======================== ACTION #563 [Ambush Bug: B; everything else: D-]: Alert! Alert! Ambush Bug 8 pager!! "Chuckles the Clown is dead." "I never went NEAR the Secret Wars!" If Keith Giffen keeps this up, he can STUFF the Legion! ======================== BLUE DEVIL #8 [B]: Mucho fun. "Bob's Bank", eh... in a trailer? Someone must be a Prairie Home Companion fan... And the "no superhero battles" sign on the beach... ======================== SOUTHERN KNIGHTS #7 [D+]: The world's most casual superhero magazine... ======================== DR. WHO #4 [D+]: Gibbons goes crazy... it is nice to see him unrestrained after his too-restrained art in GREEN LANTERN. He has a lot of absurd art... but I find the comic to have the same flaws that the TV series has (for me): just too monotonous. And the Daleks are overused... ======================== COYOTE #9 [Coyote: D ; Djinn: D+] I really am reading this for the Djinn... Englehart does a very nice Sax Rohmer. Plus, I WANT A DJINN LUNCHBOX!! (Mondo Bondage and a thermos!) ======================== MARVEL FANFARE #18 [C]: A good Cap story... reminds me why I loved Miller on DD. Story is somewhat corny (and Cap is a bit too "above-the-law" in his search for answers, for my tastes), but the art certainly makes it. The Ken Nowlan portfolio: Ken seems to draw all women's faces alike... they look like a composite photo taken from VOGUE models (tho' I agree with Jerry -- his GRIMWOOD'S DAUGHTER seems to "hit the spot"; hope he isn't forced to draw elves all his life (Wendy Pini would sympathize...)). And if you think I'M going to criticize Terry Austin, fella/ma'am, your brains are squirrel mush (I really enjoyed the Thor sketch!). P.S. Why do Doom's guard dogs/wolves look like the U. of Washington's mascots? I didn't know THAT was the college where his experiment went wrong... (maybe he was that guy who was always working with ADA...). ======================== DD #215 [C-]: Speaking of DareDevil, this is a nice solo issue; it is a bit predictable at times, but the art is *very* good, and the ending has a nice ring to it (Rod Serling walking out at the end would have been perfect...). ======================== FF #274 [D+ -- but take a look anyway]: Story is no great shakes (seems to be a promo for the THING -- next month's FF shows more promise). However, Al Gordon's inks on Byrne's pencils make one of the most remarkable versions of the Thing I've ever seen. Rather like Byrne crossed with RONIN-style Miller. Get it for the art. Oh, yes, Forrest J. Ackerman (sp?) makes his 293rd appearance in a comic; I was hoping he'd quit after THE HOWLING.... ======================== DNAgents #15 [B-]: The "Funniest Panel I've Seen in Months" award goes to this magazine: Because, around about 1947 (give or take a decade), L. W. Cadwallder woke up. "What the Hell-" Amber does seem to bring out the best in people... ======================== ICEMAN #1 [C] & #2 [D-]: Nice start & nice art... but it has dwindled into "Marvel Kvetching" time... ======================== NEW TALENT SHOWCASE #13 [Bobcat: C; Just Another Day: C-]: Took up Jerry on this; Bobcat IS nicely done -- a very low-key style (even more so than POWER PACK), and it is one of the few stories that really seems to capture kid's in an accurate light. I'd like to see more of Theta before I make a decision; the story is just too short, but the offbeat humor (e.g. the mad scientist) is pleasant. Oh, the other two stories are worthless. ======================== KITTY & WOLVERINE #3 [D]: I like Yukio, but anyone who has been reading Claremont for the last 10 years could predict the final panel halfway through the book.... ======================== NEW MUTIES #24 [D-]: Sienkiewicz is WRONG for this book. The cover makes it look like the NM's are being menaced by something out of a pest exterminator commercial (look at the title box panel in the upper-left hand corner of the cover... you can just see Roberto yelling "RAID!"). ======================== DREADSTAR #15 [D+]: Well, I'll be chucked... Vanth isn't dead after all! Sure had me fooled... You can just see this as a setup for a "kick-some-ass" issue next time. Also, it sounds like Vanth's got the equivalent of Lily Tomlin inside his bod... ======================== CAPTAIN PHIL AND THE INTERGALACTIC SPACE PALS [F]: Uh-uh, fellas. Don't touch this turkey with a 23-foot battle lance... ======================== A DISTANT SOIL #3 [C+]: Very intriguing & entertaining. I love Arthurian legend in all forms (will be delighted when CAMELOT:2000 comes out next decade :-)) and this issue keeps the plot moving, and interesting. The opening sequence outlines the alien's sadism better than any other sequence I could think of (and it's frightening because they are ignorant of it...) Well, that's all for now... BULLWINKLE: "You just leave that to my pal. He's the brains of the outfit." GENERAL: "What does that make YOU?" BULLWINKLE: "What else? An executive..." 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