moriarty@uw-june (Jeff Meyer) (04/07/84)
OK, the latest batch of reviews... I've been looking over my last few
reviews, and was not overly impressed with them.... not enough specific
criticism, not enough humor; too much saying "that was good" and leaving it
at that. Not any more. You can expect the Professor to be much more
explicit from now on. ESPECIALLY if Marv Wolfman is reading this
furshlugner thing.
OK, on with this week's outpouring....
EVANGILINE (Or, Guns & Nuns Monthly...):
A comic with the spirit of the old west teamed up with sci-fi, soft
sex and lots of gut-shooting violence... (keep thinking of the Limeliter's
old Gunslinger theme). Except here the protaganist is a Nun who makes
Charles Bronson look like your local prison reform official. Points: Very,
VERY good art (if you like Latigo in the funny papers or Rio in Eclipse
Monthly); she has a nice sidekick (maybe more of him later... he could have
been a one-shot); nothing really bad to complain about (after Dire Wraith's,
everything else looks tame, eh?).
ZOT #1:
When I was about 11, I fell in love with Japanese animation;
specifically, Kimba the White Lion, and I still hold a soft spot in my heart
when I hear the Speed Racer theme played (always wanted a VW bug that had a
computerized homing pigeon in it... great for getting rid of dope when the
cops pull you over, I imagine -- why hasn't GM come out with one?). But
Kimba, in particular, had a fresh, innocent air that one associates with
pre-adolescence, being beaten up in Jr. High, and all those other wonderful
moments (Warning, Warning! Cute Overload!!). Zot, I think, has the same
flavor. A little bit of Richie Rich tossed in, with excellent artwork, and
very good characterization in Jenny Weaver, etc. The humor is great (Jenny's
brother is hilarious & accurate), and the artwork is the best "cartoon"
artwork I can remember (not including Barks, etc.). Points: if you're going
to buy only 5 comics this month, buy this one "fer sure". No complaints
whatever (just wait....)
MAGE:
What is Mage? I am sure the artist/writer would call it a "graphic
novel". It sure is graphic, all right. Graphic, graphic, graphic. Except
for one big problem.... the story don't get nowhere. Just another Steve
Gerber/Don McGregor whiny hero who gets powers from one really weird dude.
Points: Lousy story, Very lousy art (though I like the Mage's face and
manner), pretentious. Does the author look like the hero (I'll take odds).
You want a REAL Graphic story.... get this ->
JON SABLE #14:
One of my very favorite series, this does, at times, tend to be
uneven. The MIA story was very interesting, but not riveting, as so many of
the Sable stories are (the cast of characters is beginning to remind me of
the early days of Steve Canyon.... PLEASE, God, let this (and First Comics)
hold out for at least a few more years). His drawings of people are perhaps
the best in the business, since they combine detail with action so well.
The characterizations are excellent.... Modesty Blaise type story with
three-dimensional hero. This is another example of this.... very little
dialogue in this issue; the panels tell the story beautifully. Only one
Point: In the last three pages, Sable pulls out a jet hang-glider from the
bottom of the car and blows up many people with it. It really is a jolt,
because we have gone from a LeCarre/Mission: Impossible storyline (much
deeper than most MI episodes, though) into James Bond/Nick Fury territory.
Where'd he lease this thing, U.N.C.L.E.? Hope he avoids this in the
future... it tends to chip away at the realism of the series. Another one
to get on a budget. The Myke relationship groweth more complex.
JOURNEY #8:
Normal good McCallistre tale, but recaps a lot of previous
storylines. Very nice for people who have been keeping up, as it ties
together the last few issues. I was sorry to see the British Major go, but
I'm sure we'll see more of him later. Several very pleasant characters are
introduced.... Loebs obviously has quite a bit of affection for the people
he chronicles, which is refreshing. Point: Art looks sketch and rushed in
places... can inker be a bit behind (I believe that would be Mrs. Loebs, and
since I am a gentleman of the old school, I cannot find fault there.
Besides, they sent out a great Christmas card).
CEREBUS #60:
I give up. I will pay no more attention to any events before High
Society... I guess we're going to stay in Iest for the next 60 issues. Hey,
but I'm not complaining.... at least 10 laughs per ish ("Chew On THIS, Smart
Boy! HARHARHAR!"), and the best letters page in the biz (I particularly
liked the person criticizing Sim for the fact that Scooby-Doo appears in NOT
ONE ISSUE of Cerebus (good point!).... zanies like this make my day).
Point: Do not ("I say, do not") look for plot, at last until the series is
over with (by which time most of us will be three feet under).
STAR TREK #6:
Hmm... this may be in trouble for people who aren't Trekkies. Me,
any Babel conference is fun, and a pupil of Garth's is great (10 to 1 the
Orion League is the same one in the animated episode who are also pirates).
Art is good, not great. This comic is a blind spot for me, so 'nuff said.
X-MEN #183:
Yah, Yah, OK, I really liked it. Don't quote me though, O.K.? I
couldn't justify this title's reputation with this one (in fact, I could
make a pretty good case that this is a romance comic from this one), but,
well, I liked it (Gene, Roger, I guess we can put this on "Guilty Pleasure
night"). Points: Lots -- do all the Marvel people hang out at this bar?
Wolverine was lots of fun here, and Romita is really improving ("but will he
stay?" Organ music in background). Boy, mutants are loaded... they
apparently feel that they can wreck things as long as they pay for it.
TALES OF THE TEEN TITANS #44:
Marv (if you're listening), Slade's origin wasn't that novel, but
after 25 years of novel origins, one has to perform a minor miracle to get
an original origin these days. This is apparently not a happy family.
Robins choice went well, and I think I like Jericho (but another lousy
power). Hope the conclusion is interesting.... because we all KNOW who's
gonna buy it (now that we've kicked sand in your face, metaphorically....).
THE ALPHA-RALPHA ROULETTE:
THE PITS. What is this, a death in the tradition of THE RIGHT
STUFF? I expected to see Chuck Yeager come out and say something about how
testing jet planes and running super-hero suits are risky business. Byrne
had to fill up several pages of classic Marvel "heroes arguing and fighting
among themselves"; I begin to automatically substitute Three Stooges fight
scenes for these to make it more interesting. Diamond Lil's method of
garotting was particularly bizarre. Folks, nothing in this issue was worth
the price. Oh, one cute thing.... the head of Roxxon is Julie D'Angelo's
pop (from FF.... Johnny's flakey girlfriend). Not even a cent down for that
one.
FF #268:
Wait a minute, Wilbur! Everyone says Doom died in FF #260. Who is
this dude in Secret Wars? Huh? well? great cover, slow story, nice art.
Cover could have been a movie poster, of that quality.
MARVEL FANFARE #15:
THIS is what fanfare was meant to do.... publish mainstream Marvel
characters in different, non-standard situations and by different people than
who would normally do the characters. Also, an air of carnival.... of
special events. In other words, read Windsor-smith's Thing story.
GGOOOOOOODD! Point: The Daredevil story at the end is such a blatant Eisner
Rip-off that even I was surprised. Sand Saref is spinning in her grave ("I'm
not dead yet!").
SUN-RUNNERS #3:
Fun story with no surprises and a few better-than-average lines. I
still read it, though, for Mike Mahogany. Roger and Mike are so much better
than these lazy, watered-down Mike Hammers on the tube ("They had it COMIN',
kid. Every last stinkin' bit of it" -- from a dummy -- and it works!). Try
it, you just might like it.
STAR WARS #85:
Talk about uneven. But this one has about the most careful
choreography (choreography?) of any comic I've seen... I was sure that we
were going to see the classic Warner Bros. cartoon chase scene where
everyone chases everyone else through a whole bunch of doors. Very funny...
Mary Joe Duffy is back, and she captures the spirit of the movie better than
anyone, including Goodwin. A very good ear for dialogue.
ECLIPSE MONTHLY #6:
Just the Masked Man... as long as it's silly, it's OK with me.
This is silly. Very, very silly.
******* AND *********
We still haven't gotten Cameolot 3000 #11. ARRGH!!!
Thanks, everybody, for the Capital comics report.... hope all three titles
can be reinstated elsewhere (though Whisper and Badger without Butler seems
unlikely).
Since I don't read any really "BAD" comics (the worst are just really
mediocre), I can't really get too angry about any comics. Except those
little bible comics you find in the Greyhound station. But that should go
on net.flame (also known as net.religion.futile-arguing).
"DANGER is my BUSINESS"| Currently residing in
| UUCP:
MORIARTY | {ihnp4|decvax|tektronix}!uw-beaver!uw-june!moriarty
| ARPANET:
AKA -jwm- | moriarty@washington