REVIEW: Showcase #61

Story: Gardner Fox
Art: Murphy Anderson
Review: Will Dubbeld

Okay, this didn’t come out of a dollar box.
It was more like a $7.99 box, but sue me. The Spectre is a favorite of mine, and I’ve always loved that cover.
What’s not to love about The Spectre walloping a big, fat, red Satan in the gut whilst being himself bonked over the head with the Earth?

I’ll wait...

In any case, Silver Age DC books run the gamut of quality. On one hand you’ve got Rainbow Batman fighting flying saucers over Gotham City and on the other books like Weird War Tales and Swamp Thing.
Rainbow Batman is cool and all, but also holds the dubious honor of being what I like to call Goofy as Shit.
All things to all men, I suppose, but I prefer my Batman a little less technicolor.

Silver Agers like Weird War Tales and Swamp Thing, though, are fantastic in an all-different way.
Along with books like House of Mystery and numerous horror books, DC blazed a trail in somewhat higher-brow sophisticate horror and supernatural fiction.
Like Haunted Tank...
In the midst of it all, The Spectre straddled the line between Silver Age superhero and the above mentioned horror comic.       

REVIEW: Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham #1

Story: Steve Skeates
Pencils: Mark Armstrong
Inks: Joe Albelo
Colors: Steve Mellor
Review: Madman

I was lucky enough to score the first 9 issues of Peter Porker, The Spectacular Spider-Ham from one of the many dollar boxes I pawed through at this year’s Kokomo-Con. I’ve always been a fan of Peter Porker books for a couple of reasons; the most obvious being his life mirrors a certain other spectacular super-hero. The other reason being the stories are always light, funny, and overall entertaining.

If you’ve never read a Peter Porker book you might not know that, rather than normal human beings, all the characters are cartoonish anthropomorphs. It probably goes without saying that Peter Porker is a pig, but we’ve J. Jonah Jackal, editor in chief of the Daily Beagle, as…you guessed it…a jackal. The two actually face off against the big bad Ducktor Doom on his secret bad guy island, complete with an army of giant kangaroos and a “fowl” army of evil duck henchmen. I found the evil duck version of Dr. Doom quite amusing and would go so far as to say the he is now my favorite Porker villain.
Ducktor Doom’s dastardly plot was pretty ingenious, if I say so myself. Doom has been using his “tractor beam”, a.k.a. a giant magnet, to capture aircraft passing over his island in order to use them for his “experiments”.       

REVIEW: The Punisher vol. 2 #1

Writer: Christopher Golden and Tom Sniegoshi
Pencils: Bernie Wrightson
Inks:  Jimmy Polmioth
Colors: Brian Haberlin
Letters: Richard Starhings and ComicraftEM
Review: Art Bee

A few weeks ago I made the comment about being a fanboy of Heaven vs Hell storylines, and this treat was waiting for me in the back of a back issue box at my LCS. Finding surprises in boxes at Comics Cubed is one of my favorite things.

This miniseries is titled, “Purgatory”. Frank Castle is back from the dead to find retribution for his many…many sins, a.k.a. vigilante justice. The Punisher finds himself in an earthly war with the forces of Hell. One of the fallen angels, Oliver, was banished from Hell for his crimes against the other fallen and has been killing angels. Killing them and feeding on their divine energy to attain more power and take over Hell. Castle has been given a chance to turn the tides against Oliver as a way to avoid damnation.

This issue is all about setting up the series plot and does a great job of it. We instantly find The Punisher hard at work with a new type of arsenal from page one. His coat seems to produce whatever weapon he needs when he needs it.
That is some vigilante mayhem in leather! The path Castle takes through the issue is one a person would expect to walk if one could return from the dead.
Confusion leads the way and we are along for the ride. This tactic is common in a story like this, and it works well. The part that had me sold was Oliver’s introduction and the part he plays. He is an easy villain to hate. 

REVIEW: Uncanny X-Men #304

Writer: Scott Lobdell
Pencilers: John Romita Jr, Jae Lee, Chris Sprouse, Brandon Peterson, Paul Smith
Inkers: Dan Green, Dan Panosian, Terry Austin, Tom Palmer, Keith Williams
Colorist: Mike Thomas
Letterer: Chris Eliopoulos
Review: Will "Identity Crisis" Dubbeld

Fatal Attractions, pt. 3 of 6

The sweet, sweet 1990s...
EARLY 1990s, mind you. ‘90-‘93, roughly. In the thick of it, the heyday, before hordes of speculators popped the bubble...
The 1990s nearly killed comics for me as a whole, however. Death and Return of Superman, Knightfall, Image’s lackluster titles, and clones, clones, clones soured the medium.
I still kept up with the industry via dearly departed Wizard Magazine and Grant Morrison’s New X-Men drew me back to the hobby.

But all that’s for another time.
Let’s refocus on Fatal Attractions...
Batman probably holds the title for my favorite character, but the Children of the Atom frequently edge out the Dark Knight.
Jean-Paul Valley may have turned me away from Gotham City, but I periodically would check in on Graymalkin Lane. Semi-frequent writing foibles aside, the X-Men are just incredibly fuckin’ cool, and they’re rarely cooler than when Magneto is about. Regardless of what side of the coin he’s on at the time, the Master of Magnetism takes the limelight whenever he shows up.
Jim Lee and Chris Claremont came out of the gate swinging with the relaunched X-Men #1, selling several trillion copies and setting the stage for Fatal Attractions.   

REVIEW: What If…? Vol 2, #9

“What if the X-Men died on their first mission?”

Writer: Roy Tomas
Pencils: Rich Buckler
Inks: Sam Delarosa
Colorist: Evelyn Stein
Review: Madman

Man, I do love me some Volume One What If..? comics, but Volume 2 and beyond are always hit-n-miss. This issue was particularly miss on all fronts. It was a struggle just to actually finish reading the damn thing. I literally nodded off at least twice, somewhere between the Konami Ninja Turtle game ad and the Clearasil DoubleClear pad ad, and that’s a true story.

Granted there could be a couple other factors in play such as the minimal amount of sleep I’ve gotten in the last week, the fact that my wife and dog are both contagiously snoring away on the couch next to me, or the fact that my fish tank needs some water added, since it’s making this sort of babbling brook kind of white noise in the background… Or it could just be the fact that this comic was about as exciting as visiting grandma at the nursing home on a Friday night.
Just kidding; I don’t visit my Grandma, let alone on a Friday night.     

REVIEW: Spawn #50

Story: Todd McFarlane
Pencils: Greg Capullo (part 2) & Todd McFarlane (part 1)
Inks: Todd McFarlane & Danny Miki
Colors: Brian Haberlin, Dan Kemp, and Todd Broeker
Letters: Tom Orzechowski
Review: Art Bee

Recently the realization of my negligence in unintentionally avoiding reviewing an issue of The Darkness has driven me to the irresistible urge to review an old issue of Spawn. This series has graced comic shelves since 1991 and my eyes have been along for most of the ride.

Spawn #50 is one of my favorites in the series mostly for the cover, which is fantastic. The border around the art elevates the cover to another level. At first glance the border looks fancy, but if you look directly at it, you will find the Spawn emblem and the number 50 repeating over and over. The subtlety of it is what enthralls me. Aside from the border, the cover contains my absolute favorite depiction of Spawn to date.

Another reason for my love of this issue is that we get a double dose of Spawn in the double size issue.
Double the pleasure, double the taste, double mint…wait, that is a gum thing. Oops!     

REVIEW: Daredevil #125

Writer: Marv Wolfman
Artists: Bob Brown & Klaus Janson
Colorist: Klaus Janson
Letterer: John Costanza
Review: Art Bee

My last visit to my LCS allowed me to dig up this little treasure out of a back issue box, and I must be very frank with you all as I say this: it was well worth the purchase. Daredevil has really never been a favorite of mine, but the story is familiar to me. Daredevil #125 is packed with amazement from cover to cover.

This issue is the culmination of the previous one in which a new villain, a self-proclaimed hero named Copperhead, has begun a murder spree targeting criminals all over Manhattan. The book begins with Daredevil laying supine on the ground having been shot with a deadly dart from Copperhead’s gun. It is revealed Daredevil is playing possum in order to tail this deadly new lisping villain…hero…crazy guy in a suit of copper armor.

The story is completely gripping even without having read the previous issue. That is one of my favorite qualities of Marvel during this era; they cared about the story. If they care, we can’t help but follow suit. When a person can pick up a random issue in a series and enjoy it without having read any other issues, a quality product exists.
Once I started reading this issue, the world around me figuratively fell away and nothing else seemed to exist. Each page built excitement for the next, and I didn’t feel pulled along or force fed.   

REVIEW: Marvel Team-Up Staring Spider-Man and the X-Men Vol 1 #150

Writer: Louise Simonson
Penciller: Greg LaRocque
Inker: Mike Esposito
Letterer: Janice Chiang
Colorist: Bob Sharen
Review: Madman

When I was younger I was big into the Marvel Team-Up books. During the 90’s I remember gobbling up whatever volume it was and always was super excited to see the Team-Ups in my folder each month. I mean, back then I didn’t judge the comics I read on quality, I legitimately thought they were all awesome, especially if Spider-Man was involved.  I would’ve stood on a soapbox and professed with utmost convection that "Maximum Carnage" was the best arc to ever grace the pages of a comic book simply because of the quantity of heroes and villains crammed into every issue. Nowadays I know better, or at least I think I do. I am still a Marvel Zombie and tend to snatch up just about every gimmicky dumbass book they publish, at least for one issue. Within the last year I have passed on more Marvel books then have been purchased. The wheels have all but fallen off recently, with all the reboots, mega-events, and what-have-yous. I suppose in my stingier cynical middle-agedness I don’t care how many heroes they can fit between the covers.
 If the quality isn’t there I don’t see the point.   

REVIEW: Doorway to Nightmare #2

Writer: Gerry Conway
Artist: Vicente Alcazar
Review: The Notorious Ghostwriter

Pre-Crisis, Post-Silver Age DC books are some of the best the company had to offer. Honestly, most of the comics DC put on shelves from 1970 to about 1991-92 were pretty great.
In any case, I’ve quite the soft spot for these older DC comics. As was common for many companies in the ‘70s and ‘80s, DC was graduating away from the, “gee whiz!”, sensibilities of the Silver Age. Untested writing voices led to more mature storylines and shaped comics into an adult genre as well as one for children.
....and by mature storylines I’m not necessarily referring to Dark Knight or Watchmen-levels of maturity. Rather, the scripts had been elevated, generally speaking, to a more serious level.
Perhaps it was the sobering attitude of the post-Vietnam era.

In addition to the elevation of superhero comics, horror books saw quite the resurgence in the Bronze Age. Tomb of Dracula, House of Secrets, Werewolf by Night, and (amongst many others) Doorway to Nightmare all came prowling onto the scene.
I’d never read Doorway to Nightmare before, due to lack of exposure. DC had dozens, it seems, of horror comics, some long-lived and some destined to be canceled. Having stumbled upon a lone issue residing in a back issue longbox prompted me to open the Door.   

REVIEW: The Darkness vol. 1 #1

Story: Garth Ennis
Pencils: Marc Silvestri
Inks: Batt
Colors:  Steve Firchow
Letters: Dennis Heisler
Review: Art Bee

The shame  you only wish to see on my face is present only because I’ve realized in my time with HCB there is only one review of any Darkness title bearing my name (and at all). This will now be remedied. In December, 1996, my feet carried me into DNC Comics in Kokomo (it has long since closed down), and my eyes beheld an intoxicating title on the shelves. For me The Darkness #1 was like the first shot of heroin...purely addictive. The book had many features that grabbed my attention from the start.

This first issue kicked off a long-term intellectual property Silvestri had been sitting on for a long time. With Image well on its way to success, this issue unveiled that vision. The focal character of the series is the main attraction for me. Jackie Estacado is an enforcer for a large mafia family headed by Don Franchetti. Jackie is a cool, collected badass with little to fear. Here is one of my favorite exchanges in all of comicdom:

Bartender: “Mm. You know, this being the late twentieth century and all, taking advantage of the mentally retarded is generally frowned upon…”
Jackie: “She’s not retarded--!”
Bartender: “Jackie, I just heard you promise to get her a walk on part on the Simpsons.”   

REVIEW: Cloak and Dagger #1

Writer: Bill Mantlo
Penciller: Rick Leonardi
Inker: Terry Austin
Letterer: Ken Bruzenak
Colorist: Glynis Oliver
Review: Will Dubbeld, a.k.a. Identity Crisis

I've always thought Cloak & Dagger were under appreciated characters in the Mighty Marvel roster. Understandably, from a certain point of view. A couple of superpowered teen runaways are certainly not as dynamic as Iron Man or the X-Men, and I'm not sure the book ever found its target audience. They're great characters though. Underutilized, to say the least.

There was, however, a sweet spot in the '80s that afforded Cloak & Dagger a taste of the limelight. Whether it was capitalization on the War on Drugs movement or some other opportunistic move, the duo enjoyed a miniseries and subsequent ongoing book.
Short lived though it may have been...

The premier issue opens with the pair rescuing teen girls from...
I'm unsure how to eloquently put this...
A Times Square sex shop?
You know the type. That 1970s-80s, seedy, red light district type of establishment that fits right into Taxi Driver.
"XXX GIRLS GIRLS GIRLS!", and the like.
The kind of place where you drop 50 cents into a slot and raise a curtain to reveal an undulating lady...
It's really quite cringe-worthy but not in that lowball sleaze way. In a way that forces the reality upon you of such places existing in the real world. It's a fantastic open, full of harsh reality and populated with lowlife scumbags who'd fit right in to a Frank Miller book.
I was astounded at the approach, to be honest. Mantlo makes no bones about the fact that these are underage girls working in the sex industry, not with innuendo or oblique references, but flat-out telling you they're in pornography.
I don't know if the angle was public awareness, but I'm surprised this was approved by the Comics Code Authority. In any case, kudos to the creative team.   

REVIEW: What If…? Vol 1, #30

“What if Spider-Man’s clone lived?”

Writer: Bill Flanagan
Artists: Rich Buckler, Jim Mooney, Pablo Marcos
Colorist: Roussos
Review: Madman

I don’t know why I do this to myself. I’ve been over the clone thing for, ohhhh, give or take 25 years, but that doesn’t matter because Marvel likes to milk the clone-cow to death…
Way past death in some cases. As in the cow shuffled off its mortal coil in the mid-90s and they’re still squeezing that mummified udder. In fact, for some great reason Marvel decided that Ben Riley needs not only make a triumphant return to the funnybooks, but he needs his own title…
Fantastic Four doesn’t get a book but Marvel decided the Earth would cease to spin if there were no Ben Riley books. I haven’t glanced at the series at all. Total boycott. A line has been drawn, and I will ignore that book until long after I’m dead.

I knew this comic would just end up making me turn green and rip my favorite corduroys, but none the less it is a What If…? book.  It did involve Spider-man, and plus! There was an untold tale of the Inhumans inside…
Ok, I didn’t really care so much about that last point but to be honest I just felt, petrified udder or not, this is something I definitely “needed” in my collection.  That “need”, no matter how dirty it made me feel, made it ok...just this once.          

REVIEW: X-Men #32

Writer: Fabian Nicieza
Pencils: Andy Kubert
Inks: Matt Ryan
Colors: Kevin Somers/ Digital Chameleon
Letters: Bill Oakley
Review: Art Bee

Upon looking through the posts on this site it was abundantly clear there is a lack of X-Men reviews, so it’s my pleasure to rectify this oversight. While digging through my box of said comic issues one of my favorite X-Men covers glistened in my eyes with one of my favorite mutant characters, Psylocke (shown at left). This issue is the second of two installments in the “Soul Possession” story arc. If any of you know anything about this amazing character, she actually gets exciting AFTER this issue, but this issue concludes the why.

Prior to this issue, Psylocke, Elizabeth “Betsy” Braddock, was just a strong telepath with the unique ability to form a blade consisting of psychic energy capable of disrupting the nervous system and accessing memories. Mojo and Spiral have always had a particular interest in Miss Braddock and, at one time, they hijacked the young telepath and fitted her with robotic eyes to spy on mutants. Without going into a lot of details, Psylocke washed up on the shore of The Hand’s secret island without her memories. The Hand’s leader, Matsu’o, wanted to restore his brain-dead girlfriend, Kwannon (ninja assassin), so he made a reckless deal with Spiral. The two were taken to Spiral’s Body Shoppe for restoration. Spiral fused the pair into a shared mind, body, and powers but separate personas. Spiral then sent Psylocke to Matsu’o and Kwannon, now Revanche, to the X-Men.
Wasn’t she so nice?    

REVIEW: What If…? Vol. 1, #14

"What if Sgt. Fury had fought World War2 in outer space?"

Plot: Gary Friedrich
Script: Don Glut
Art: Herb Trimpe
Inks: Pablo Marcos
Colors: D.R. Martin
Review: Madman

My LCS got in a few issues of What If…? the other day with a collection they purchased, and I managed to snag a few, including this gem. The first thing that grabbed my attention was the nifty cover with Sgt. Fury and the Howling Commandos battling it out with some aliens in outer space. Then I noticed the title… who in their right mind would be wondering what if Fury had fought WW2 in outer space? How does that even pop into someone’s brain-box?
...but now that you mention it I definitely need this hypothetical question answered. I need to know so I can go about the rest of my existence without feeling deprived of knowing how Fury smokes his cigar in space.

I had pretty high hopes for this book as far as entertainment value goes, but honestly I found reading this book more of a chore than a score. The writing was pretty meh, and I really had to focus to stay moderately interested in Don Glut’s contribution with the writing. That being said I was a wee bit more into the artwork, but not by much, as both the artwork and colors came off as pretty flat and muddled.
Now granted this book is from 1979, but people were doing some pretty nifty artwork in the 70’s, and it just didn’t come together here.              

REVIEW: Strange Sports Stories #5

Review: Will Dubbeld

So, everyone enjoys some variety of sports. Baseball is the correct answer, but all manner of folks follow football, racing (car, horse, dog...), jai alai, and the like.
Hell, keeping tabs on a Magic: the Gathering tournament could be, in the loosest terms, considered sports.
Very loose...

DC Comics realized this and thus was born Strange Sports Stories.
That's actually pure speculation on my part. It's just as likely this comic was born of the same logic that brought us Space Cabbie. Throw it against the wall and see if it sticks.
Evidently Strange Sports Stories stuck, for awhile anyway.

Come along, dear reader, and see how strange we can get.

"Hockey-Mask of Death!"

Story by: Frank Robbins
Art by: John Rosenberger

So, this story could very well have appeared in Haunt of Vault of Ghostly Fear in the Castle of Horror, but it landed in Strange Sports Stories.
Thank. God.

This is essentially a mystery/revenge story centered around a French-Canadian lumberjack named Jacques Le Duc and a phantom hockey goalie. Not even kidding.
Jacques is known as "Beeg Jacques", mostly because this comic was written when it was still acceptable practice to take full advantage of accents and pidgin English attributed to foreigners.

Chris Claremont would beam with pride at the flagrant, "oui!", "sacre bleu!", and (of course) "mon dieu!", that runs rampant through the story.            

REVIEW: Awesome Holiday Special vol. 1 #1

Fighting American
Writer: Alan Moore
Pencils: Steve Skroce
Inks: Larry Stucker
Colors: Awesome Color

The Coven
Writer: Joph Loeb
Pencils: Jeff Matsuda
Inks: Jonathan Sibal
Colors: Donald Skinner
Review: Art Bee

Last year I wrote a review on the series, The Coven, which was produced by Awesome Comics. Awesome Holiday Special double issue was an intriguing buy at the time. I bought it for The Coven portion which turned out to be lame. This entire comic book is a much like a Hostess Snowball. Some people like the coconut marshmallow outside, others savor the cake inside, but very few seem to like the whole thing. I guess that is why it’s made to come apart so easily.

The Fighting American portion of the comic book looks like a rip-off of Marvel, but it is a slap in the face to Marvel. Fighting American was first published in 1954 by the writer-artist team of Joe Simon and Jack Kirby for Prize Comics and has resurfaced on and off since. Rob Liefeld restarted the series shortly after leaving Image Comics and starting Awesome Comics. Marvel brought a lawsuit against him for infringement of their Captain America property, which failed. This “Merry Christmas” story was just that from Liefeld to Marvel. This can be seen at the end of the story where Fighting American and “The Thunder God” are shown and deliberately drawn and dialoged to impersonate Captain America and Thor. In my opinion, this was an asshole move on Liefeld’s part, and I have no love for the man.            

REVIEW: The Amazing Spider-Man #35

Script & Editing: Stan Lee
Plot & Artwork: Steve Ditko
Letting & Loitering: Art Simek
Review: Madman

I’m going to let you in on one of the solid facts of life I have discovered to be truth. During my journey around The Sun it doesn’t matter how crappy my day has been or just how deep my case of the “blahs”…I can’t read a Lee/Ditko team-up and not smile.
There’s just something about that golden era of comics that melts your cares away and takes you to that happy place. It’s akin to chugging whiskey backstage at a Guns & Roses show surrounded by chicks with 6 ft bangs, but all ages...like Grandma’s house.
You just can’t go wrong with a Lee and Ditko book in my opinion; it just can’t happen in real life. It’s up there with gravity as far as shit that keeps the world turning. That being said, here comes Molten Man!

The issue is dressed up with a pretty rad action scene featuring Spidey and Molten Man. Molten Man is charging forward through Spidey’s classic “fear inspiring” Spider-Light. As far as Spider-villains go Molten Man is definitely near the bottom of the list when it comes to my favorite. He just couldn’t compete with Venom, Kraven, or Doc Ock in my humble beginnings, and I never really fell in love with the character. After a few more trips around The Sun, however, I realized there was much more to the character and the significance he played in the early days of Spider-Man.              

REVIEW: Spawn, The Dark Ages #1 - 2

Story: Brian Holguin
Art: Liam McCormack-Sharp
Lettering: Richard Starkings and Comicraft’s Oscar Gongora
Review: Art Bee

Brand names. We all have some sort of weakness to a brand name due to superstition, loyalty, etc. Creators and executives use this to their advantage all of the time. One of the best examples is Crystal Pepsi, released while I was in high school. At the time I preferred Pepsi over Coke and thought, “ooooh new Pepsi”. Much to my surprise, this was not soda pop but liquefied, bleached shit in a can. It was horrid! Don’t get me started on New Coke. As much as a diehard fan of Spawn as I am, not all things Spawn are worthy of a read (most are, though).

The artwork in these issues is the best thing about them. Almost all of the panels are good enough to blow up and frame. There are a few panels that stand out and look like they were done by someone else. Much of the art is dark and centered on death, but there are some other types of scenes depicted. Most of my favorites are featured in firelight. Liam possesses a real talent for using color to depict natural firelight, a rare talent indeed. The only reservation I have with the artwork is the lack of flow through these issues. With the turning of each page, the issues feel like an art montage rather than a comic book.              

REVIEW: Chili #1

By Stan Lee & Stan G.
Review: Will Dubbeld

Ah, the swingin' '60s...
I, uh, I have no memory of this decade.
Not because I turned on, tuned in, and dropped out.
It's because I wasn't even a twinkle in Daddy Dubbeld's eye, much less the counterculture icon I am today...

Anyway, the 1960s were arguably the Big Bang for comics. DC was (and still is...) firmly anchored in the '50s, but the Marvel Universe as we know it was birthed in the Swinging Sixties. X-Men, Fantastic Four, Iron Man, your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, et cetera, et al, came out of the gate swinging and haven't stopped yet.
Granted, they don't always get on base, but they're at least swinging for the fences.

Amongst all of these monolithic superhero titles, Marvel offered some more subdued choices. I'm not sure if the powers that be were unsure if these hero books were the way of the future-past or what, but they were publishing Westerns, War Comics, and humor funny books alongside Earth's Mightiest Heroes and The Strangest Teens of All.
Amongst these was Chili.
Millie's. Red-Headed. Rival.          

REVIEW: Aquaman Time and Tide #1

Writer: Peter David
Penciler: Kirk Jarvinen
Inks: Brad Vancata
Review: Madman

I have never once in my life opened the cover of an Aquaman book…ever. In fact, I think I readily avoided them. So this is my Aquaman “cherry popping” (as they say) party. Let’s face it, and as previously stated, I don’t have a “pot to piss in” when it comes to Aquaman factoids. Going into this voyage, an unknown frontier, everything I know about Aquaman can be summed up in one sentence… He talks to fish. I don’t think I know even a single Aguaman fan. If I do know anyone who is a fan of the Ocean King, they are way back in the closet and not saying a word to anyone…they admit nothing. Or maybe I’m a deaf, dumb, and blind guy that sucks at pinball. Maybe there is a demand for a superhero that talks to fish…
I mean, Marvel has Namor, not that I read any of his books either, but he’s there.

I remember when my buddy, Dustin, and I used to get our action figure on. It usually depended on whose house we were at as to determine exactly what those action figures would be. My house was where we’d fight for freedom where ever there’s trouble, ‘cause G.I. Joe was there. At Dustin’s house it was always He-Man and JLA. And without fail Aquaman was always the last picked…every damn time. In fact, if Aquaman was on your team you pretty much had to loose UNLESS you were battling in the bathtub…
If you were in the bathtub you still had a chance. It was slim, but it was your only hope. That’s just it, he’s lame.          

REVIEW: Deathstroke #20

Writer:  James Bonny
Artist:  Paolo Pantalena
Colorist:  Arif Prianto
Letterer:  Dave Sharpe
Review:  Art Bee

On the last trip to the LCS my daughter looked through the boxes of back issues and chose Deathstroke #20 for me to review. The first thought that came to my brain was, “I know very little about this guy.” Granted, I am just this side of ignorant in the DC world.
Please, no pointing and laughing…

This comic was very surprising from the start, and by the start, I mean the cover. It’s wickedly brilliant and screams action. We see Ra’s Al Ghul standing over Deathstroke, dealing a death stroke. The cover just portrays the contents very well.

The exceptional artistry continues on every page of the book. My favorite is page two with a full spread of Slade Wilson and Ra’s with swords pressed together in combat. The detail on this page and every other is very intricate and detailed. Here on page two, Pantalena had the presence of mind to tell us which blade was made of harder steel by showing it biting into the other sword. Prianto’s colors and shading playfully tease the mind and add so much more to all of the details. These two artists were strategically paired.        

REVIEW: Ghostrider

By Stern, Budiansky, Simone, Albers, Sharen, DeFalco, & Shooter
(That's pretty much how the credits are listed, no first names or indication of who did what.
But c'mon. You know who some of these folks are...)
Review: Will Dubbeld

Ghost Rider is the best carnie ever.
And I mean Johnny Blaze.
I'm a Blaze purist. It took years for me to not hate Danny Ketch simply, because he wasn't Johnny Blaze.
Also, he wasn't as well written a character...
Don't get me started on the kid with the muscle car.
Ghost Rider 2099 was alright I guess...

Aaaaaaanyway, the original and best Ghost Rider had an amazing run of supernatural hero/horror stories in the early '70s through the early '80s. I'm sure you're all familiar with the tragedy of Johnny Blaze and his Faustian pact with Mephisto.
No?
Well, it's pretty much that. Johnny makes a deal with the devil and is bound to a hellish spirit called Zarathos.
Zarathos is pissed off pretty much all the time, detests humanity, and tear-asses around on a motorcycle made from hellfire.
And he's a skeleton with a fiery head.
He's pretty much the most rad character ever.        

REVIEW: What If? #1 vol. 1: Spider-Man joined the Fantastic Four

Writer:  Roy Thomas
Pencils: Jim Craig
Inks: Pablo Marcos
Colors: Janice Cohen
Review: Cody "Madman" Miller

I’m not sure how many of Marvels’ “What If…?” books I’ve already reviewed for the HCB, but it’s more than a few. What can I say, I totally love them. I can say with utmost certainty that I have greedily purchased every single issue that has crossed my path since my humble beginnings as a Marvel fanboy,

It wasn’t until a few weeks ago, in a random used bookstore in Indianapolis, that I finally crossed paths with the holy grail of What Ifs. Not only does this gem of a book obviously contain the FF and Spidey, but this also is Patient Zero. This is where it all began…the origin of What If?, the very first issue.
And boy is it fantastically amazing, or is it spectacularly fantastic? I’ll let you decide, but I did indeed let out a primal, “Hell yeah”, when I pulled this book from the long box of obscurity.

The book's title question is kind of moot at this point in time. Spider-Man did indeed join the Fantastic Four after the Human Torch’s death about six years ago when they did the whole rebranding as the Future Foundation. It only took 50 or so years for it to actually happen but, hey, better late then never I guess. It was, in fact, in Amazing Spider-Man #1 (1963) when Peter Parker, a broke ass high school student, tried to join up with the Fantastic Four in the hopes of making a buck or two.          

REVIEW: Avenging Spider-Man #12

Writer: Kevin Shinick
Art: Aaron Kuder
Color Art: Matt Hollingsworth
Letterer: VC’s Joe Caramagna
Review: Art Bee

We all love Spider-man…but not always. A couple of years ago I caught the Spiderbug from Madman and began reading Superior Spider-Man. Then Marvel killed my interest with Spiderverse but I still like the one-line spittin’ web-slinger. So while at my LCS, thumbing through boxes, I found a couple issues of Avenging Spider-Man from 2012 and thought to myself, “oooooo…before the screw up AND Deadpool…SOLD!”

This issue proves that Marvel is having creative issues. They are completely out of interesting, original ideas, so they start writing ideas in mustard on pickle slices, throw them at the wall, and let them race for the win. This issues winning pickle: the movie Inception.
Great movie if you can wrap your mind around the science of it. The movie is based on a dream with layers, so the plot has layers.
This issue is about Peter Parker’s dream with layers, and the plot…not so much.              

REVIEW: Captain America #387

Story: Mark Gruenwald Pencils: Rik Levins Inks: Danny Bulanadi Letters: Joe Rosen Colors: Christie Scheele Review: Will Dubbeld

The Superia Stratagem, pt. 1 O Captain, my captain... Back once more in the halcyon days, days when The Star-Spangled Avenger was a character to be admired and not a vehicle for a hack writer/failed politico's ham-fisted commentary. Because what better way to celebrate Jack Kirby's centenary than turning Captain America into a Nazi? But let's disembark from that hate-train for a bit and get on with the task at hand... The year was 1991, the month: July. The first of a six-part story that fell somewhere in the CapWolf and Streets of Poison era of Mark Gruenwald's epic 10-year run behind the shield. The Lee/Claremont X-Men was nigh and the West Coast Avengers were tussling with the Overlords of the Pacific Rim. These were great days. Marvel was still riding that 1980s wave before grim and gritty took over; before the Image exodus and before chains were every goddamn where. One of the last shining points in comic history of the Big Two.

REVIEW: Thunderbolt #57

Artist/Writer: P.A.M.
Review: Madman

Yet another random haul from another dirt mall my wife and I recently visited. I was so excited to find this comic in the dollar bin but not because I’m a die-hard Thunderbolt fan. In fact I’d never heard of this particular superhero until now, but because the cover is oh so rad with its glorious oriental-style dragon intertwined around our mysterious masked marvel, Peter Cannon aka Thunderbolt…fantastic. Peter totally looks like a Hanna-Barbera rip-off, you know, how HB’s characters all looked relatively the same…? Well, P.A.M. has captured that very same boring-ass generic feel here with both his artwork and plot.

As soon as I cracked the cover of this bad boy I was confused almost instantly…
Who the hell or what is P.A.M?
...and who actually published this comic? Google provided little to no information on Modern Comics and from what I can tell they just mostly reprinted various titles in the 70s. The comic was originally published in 1967 as Thunderbolt #57 and this here reprint is from 1978. Now for P.A.M…    

REVIEW: The Deadly Hands of Kung Fu #15

By: Steve Englehart, Jim Starlin, Al Milgrom, Len Wein, Larry Hama, Dick Giordano & Paul Gulacy
Review: Will Dubbeld

Ah, the 1970s kung fu craze...
I'm not sure why the world turned its eye to chopsockey in the '70s, but I'm glad it did.
From grindhouse theaters to Carl Douglas' anthemic fight song, we all were kung fu fighting.
...I mean, not me. I hadn't been born yet, but I'd've stepped right in line.

Marvel has been opportunistic since the days of Cap socking Hitler in the jaw, and it comes as no surprise they capitalized when martial arts came a-knockin'. Iron Fist, Sons of the Tiger, Daughters of the Dragon, and (my favorite) Shang-Chi all kicked down the door, brandishing tropes and cliches and battling their way through a myriad number of comics and magazines.

DHoKF was chief among these titles and was a portmanteau of traditional comics and archetypal karate magazines.  Featuring serialized adventures of Marvel's martial arts-based characters as well as articles about relevant films and books, Deadly Hands provided crossover appeal between two groups of fandom. It's a brilliant angle, and I'm hesitant to name a contemporary publication duplicating that feat.          

REVIEW: Splitting Image #1

Story, art, and lettering: Don Simpson
Colors: Brian Murray
Review: Art Bee

A few weeks ago I ordered a back issue I was missing (Reborn #4) from eBay. The seller sent me an interesting pull as a freebie, Splitting Image #1. Once before, I covered the founding of Image Comics in a review but this comic book details it in a cute parody. Don Simpson, who is known for doing comic parodies created this one-shot to help tell the story of the split.

The comic introduces all of the seven parody characters of the Image Comics founders:

   1. Lotus Jee (Jim Lee)
   2. Godd McFarthing (Todd McFarlane)
   3. Brat Lifeguard (Rob Liefeld)
   4.  -Name Withheld- (Eric Larsen)
   5. Val J. Tazmania (Jim Valentino)
   6 Sly Virility (Marc Silvestri)
   7. Wilt What’ziz’name (Whilce Portacio)

The likeness of each individual is very good, even Name Withheld, whose head is just a crystal ball. Seriously, Google Eric Larsen! At the start of the book, the “Marginal Seven” meet for an unfriendly game of Monopoly and to talk about their work. The griefs offered are some of the same issues that drove these men from Marvel Comics; just amplified for humor. After the first few pages the parody begins to smooth out.    

REVIEW: Kong the Untamed #3

Plot: Jack Oleck
Script: Gerry Conway
Art: Alfredo Alcala
Review: Madman

My wife and I were exploring some flea markets this weekend, and I rescued this little gem. I initially snatched it from a box of Bloodstrike and Youngblood comics where it had no business being because of the kick-ass cover. It had cavemen, T-Rex, and spears for starters, and then I noticed Gerry Conway credited for the script. I became extremely intrigued, because perhaps it would actually be a good read as well. Mr. Conway, if you didn’t know, is the co-creator of one Frank Castle, a.k.a. the Punisher, and on a more personal note Conway was the guy who offed Gwen Stacy during his tenure on The Amazing Spider-Man. That reason alone probably paved his way into the comicdom hall of fame…
He wrote JLA for many, many years too, but I don’t really know anything about his run on it as I don’t read JLA books unless at gun point. Another interesting fact about Mr. Conway’s catalog is he actually wrote the first intercompany crossover pitting Krypton’s prodigal son, Superman, vs. the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. Admittedly I’ve never read it, and to be honest I never knew that little tidbit until I asked Mr. Wiki for more information on Conway…the more you know.
I guess my life has new purpose now as it can’t be complete until I own said crossover...
Truth.          

REVIEW: Centipede

Review: Will Dubbeld

A preview is a cruel mistress. I was perfectly content buying Marvel Previews for quite some time, preordering my X-Men and Spider-Man book without a second glance at any other publisher. I'd devoured books from all manner of Press in the past but the cruel '90s had ruined comics for me with Clone Sagas and Knightfalls and all manner of Unity.

Comics and I broke up.

For over a decade (or thereabouts) I sought only the comfort of back-issues and the periodic X-Men book from the local drugstore.
Because yes, Hook's Drugstore still had a comics section in with the magazines.

I eventually was drawn back. A buddy of mine wanted a shotgun rider to the comic shop, I lingered over an X-Men comic, and there I was: like a junkie sticking a spike in his arm after a successful stint in rehab.
But select Marvel comics only! I swore off indies and DC for awhile, but then I remembered I really like Batman.
So select Marvel titles and Batman.
But only those comics!
Then Steve, my friendly LCS employee, says, "Hey, if you buy Previews you get Marvel Previews free and you can browse all these other books I've been recommending!"        

REVIEW: The Amazing X-Men #1 + 2

Writer: Fabian Nicieza
Penciler: Andy Kubert
Inker: Matt Ryan
Colorist: Kevin Somers
Review: Art Bee

Who doesn’t love a good X-Men story? Personally, I would like to believe everyone loves them. As a kid, X-Men was one of my staple comics, but in the 90s Marvel started getting greedy. They began multiplying the same story into various teams and groups of X-men. As a youngster my funds were very limited, so X-Men hit the chopping block. If I could not have them all; I would have none at all. Now in my adulthood I have a targeted approach to gathering some of the X-Men comics of old, especially those including Apocalypse.

These two issues are part of the opening of the “The Age of Apocalypse” event. The book focuses on a team of X-men featuring:  Storm, Banshee, Exodus, Iceman, Dazzler, and Quicksilver. The majority of North America is under the control of Apocalypse and his Horsemen, most of the humans are enslaved, and mutant-kind must either kneel to Apocalypse or die. Storm and her companions are sent to the coast of Maine to protect a large group of humans during their evacuation to the refuge shores of Europe.  

REVIEW: What If? Vol. 1 #37

Review: Madman

“What If The Thing Had Continued To Mutate?”

Scripter: Tom DeFalco
Finish Artist: Sam De La Rosa
Colorist: Dave Billman

Oh, yeah, that 35 year old comic smell. Ya just can’t beat it…except maybe with a 35-year old What If? comic. The cover alone is worth the crumpled up Washington I forked over for the book, with the super beastly Beast, bulked up Thing, and the Silver Surfer with a crotch so shiny that it should probably be illegal…
I guess the smell was free…

The first little story involves the Thing and what occurred when he was infected with a newly developed highly  radioactive strain of virus as seen in Marvel Two-In-One #81. The 2nd page really delivers with the renegade A.I.M. scientist that we know and love as M.O.D.O.K. holding the Thing prisoner and infecting him with his mysterious Virus X. Giant-Man eventually uses some sort of Anti-Radiation gun to cure Ben of the virus but “What If?” it didn’t go down like that. In this alternate reality the Thing is mutated even further by the virus into an even uglier, rockier, two fingered rock beast and…crashes his scooter. With the help of Captain America and Giant-Man, the Fantastic Four get Ben back to the Baxter Building just as the virus’ effects reach critical mass, and Ben explodes in a green radiation fog. Instead of him being blown into a million little pebbles, the explosion burns all the radiation out of his body. This included the original cosmic radiation that had infected him that fateful day when the Fantastic Four were originally irradiated. Ben is 100% radiation-free and reverts back to his uncool human self. I’m so glad this didn’t really go down, because I’m a big fan of the orange rock dude.  

REVIEW: Michael Turner's Fathom vol 1 #1

Story: Bill O’Neal
Pencils: Michael Turner
Inks: Joe Weems V & Victor Llamas
Colors: Jonathan D. Smith
Letters: Dennis Heisler
Review: Art Bee

It’s time for another sanctioned dive into the ol’ dusty boxes. Usually this involves some thumbing and some serious thinking; this time around was an exception. Toward the front of one of my boxes I found the 1998 issues of Michael Turner’s Fathom, vol.1. Michael Turner is one of my favorite artists of all time. His work across Marvel and DC are great, but my favorite exists within the covers of Witchblade and Fathom comics.

This first issue of Fathom is one of Turner’s greatest. He created the story’s framework and, much like Todd McFarlane, contracts out the writing. Artists draw; authors write. I feel like I am working with watercolors here.

The first issue is about as well-sculpted as comics come. It provided just the right amount of background to put the reader in the know while setting several plot hooks ensuring your return. What kept me buying at the time was the artwork. I bought several of the first issues just to flip the pages and stare at the pictures…and those didn’t even include any nudity. Even the lettering seems to be something special. Honestly I think the inkers had the easiest job of all but the most stress. Don’t muck up the lines!        

REVIEW: Fana, the Jungle Girl #1

All contents: Butch Burcham
Review: Will Dubbeld

Curse you, siren call of the Jungle Girl stock character...
Here I am again, staring down the barrel of another musty independent comic from yesteryear featuring a scantily-clad woman on the cover.
I'm not sure what to blame. My own R. Crumb-esque frantic fingernail-biting over Jungle Girls stems from some deep psychological neurosis, though. Perhaps it was Jane from the old Johnny Weissmuller Tarzan pictures I watched as a youngster. Maybe it was still photography of Betty Page in a leopard print bikini. Might've been Shanna the She-Devil.
Anyway, here I am, greedily gobbling up another selection from the discount bin:
Butch Burcham's Fana the Jungle Girl no. 1.

We don't waste too much time on backstory or exposition in Fana, instead leaping almost immediately into sweaty Jungle Action.  The book is divided into 2 short stories separated by some pinups of our titular heroine sitting coquettishly or stretching languidly about some jungle backdrop.        

REVIEW: Rogue #1

Story: Howard Mackie
Art: Mike Wieringo and Terry Austin
Colors: Dana Moreshead and Mike Thomas
Review: Art Bee

For the longest time X-Men and Fantastic Four were my comics of choice. They offered a much younger me so much: hope, creativity, morals, and (most of all) escape. It pains me to see what the modern execs at Marvel have done to these creations. Fortunately the teams I grew up with still exist in the pages of comic books to be relived over and over. Each member of the X-Men has a unique and elaborate background and they are brought together by two factors, Charles Xavier and the mutant X gene.

In January, 1995 many X-Men fans rejoiced as Rogue #1 graced comic book shelves. This comic is a must-read for every X-Men fan. Issue #1 brings the reader up close and personal with the character Anna Marie, a.k.a. Rogue. The book does an amazing job unifying three core elements of Rogue in this story.

The first element is Rogue’s background. The past is the greatest villain Anna Marie ever faces. When her powers manifested, she put her boyfriend at the time, Cody Robbins, into a coma. Meanwhile, she lives her life with the memories and consciousness of Cody every day. Once a year she travels to visit him in his coma. This is very important to her character. She is not just plagued by her own conscience, but the conscience of every victim of her power.        

REVIEW: Stone, the Awakening #1 - 4

Words: Brian Haberlin
Pencils: Whilce Portacio
Inks: Gerry Alanguilan
Colors: Dan Kemp
Review: Art Bee

Stone, the Awakening was first published in 1998 through Avalon Studios (a branch of Image Comics) as a mini-series to introduce the main character, mythos, and story before the launch of the main ongoing series. This story was created by Haberlin and Portacio, but the namesake of the main character was Gerry Alanguilan, a.k.a. Komikero, who has done extensive work all over comicdom. His work is known to me, but I never made the connection to this series, which has been living a happy life in one of my comic boxes for almost two decades.
It’s almost like finding buried treasure . . . sort of.

This story is based on a multiverse theory consisting of an infinite number of realities. Stone introduces the idea of magical stones called Agimats, existing in a finite number (50), able to bridge between the various realities and grant the bearer unique abilities. The bearers of the Agimats battle one another to gain honor and control of more stones. The creators have done an exquisite job of fleshing out and layering the storyline of this series. In actuality this entire story seems to picture schizophrenia.    

REVIEW: Kabuki: Circle of Blood #4

Writer/Artist/Creator: David Mack
Review: Will Dubbeld

Kabuki was always a bit of a mystery to me. I'd known about it for years but had seen nought aside from ethereal, watercolor advertising. Mack's work was familiar to me, having seen his splendid art in Daredevil, but his creator-owned Kabuki was a mystery. There was almost a Dave McKean-like quality to the book's art and that prompted me to seek out Kabuki.

NOT a common book in my neck of the woods, however. As fortune had it, I did manage to luck into 3 random issues in the good ol' dollar box at the LCS.

Expecting a collage of form and color, I instead discovered the first Kabuki series was a traditionally rendered black & white indie book. Not what I expected, but by no means disappointing. The pencils and inks are sharp in these pages, offering a crisp and detailed story with some good uses of negative space.  Mack offers some extremely clever nuances of symbolism and you certainly can see touches of where his future art was headed.        

REVIEW: X-Men: Manifest Destiny Trade

Writers: Jason Aaron, James Asmos, Mike Carey, Frank Tieri
Artists: Stephen Segovia, Paco Diaz Luque, Noah Salonga, Jorge Molina, Adrian Syaf, Victor Olazaba, John Rauch, Michael Ryan, Chris Burnham, Nathan Fairbairn, Takeshi Miyazawa, Christina Strain, Ben Oliver
Review: Art Bee

A couple of years ago at Kokomo Con, an amazing deal resulted in this trade following me home. Since then my eyes have been blessed with its contents a few times. The price point along with X-Men plastered across the cover made the book too tempting . Even though I truly enjoy this book, I have a few qualms.

This volume collects ten issues and three shorts all branded with the title “Manifest Destiny”, which is defined as a policy of imperialism rationalized as inevitable. The title really does not make sense given the content included in this collection. The Manifest Destiny story arc is just entailing the move of the X-Men headquarters from Westchester, New York to San Francisco, California. The title is a bad choice for the story, since it implies the X-Men taking over the nation moving westward.

The book opens with Wolverine: Manifest Destiny #1-4. This mini-series is very exciting and full of action. Does anyone out there not like Wolverine tearing through ranks of enemies?
Anyone . . . I thought not.        

REVIEW: Nomad vol2 #1

Writer: Fabian Nicieza
Penciler: S. Clarke Hawbaker
Inker: Mark McKenna
Colorist: Joe Rosas
Review: Madman

Jack Monroe. A failed super soldier. A fallen superhero. A reluctant “father.” Wandering the highways and byways of this vast land, Monroe tries to discover himself by discovering America. Stan Lee presents…a steaming pile of early ‘90s horseshit sandwiched between a classic ‘90’s gimmick fold-out wanted poster for Nomad and an advertisement for Galoob’s Game Genie. I’ve witnessed countless issues of Nomad dying a slow death in various dollar boxes, and now I totally understand why.

Even for a comic book the writing up in this trash heap is absolutely absurd, stiff, and lumbering. Not to mention boring as Hell. I kept asking myself if I was reading it in my early teens, if I would have even liked this book and/or character way back, and I can say with certainty that I would not. I find it hard to believe anyone actually did. Now, I’m not a Fabian Nicieza super-fan by any means. Thank you for your run on New Warriors. Thank you for being a part of the birth of Deadpool. Other than that I judge Mr. Nicieza on this book alone and, well…    

REVIEW: Blackmoon #1

Created, written, & illustrated by: James C. Hallett
Review: Will Dubbeld

The 1980s were a hotbed of small-press publishers making a grab for that four-color pie in the sky.  I'm not sure what their numbers were, dozens, hundreds, perhaps, but I do know they have always been a cheap purchase. Perhaps not necessarily on the newsstand, as indie books are often more expensive in order to recoup cost, but certainly in back-issue bins. Few were the issues that appreciated in value, leaving a glut of comics that dealers (presumably) had difficulty turning over.
For every Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles there were several Cold Blooded Chameleon Commandos.
You've never heard of Cold Blooded Chameleon Commandos?
Look 'em up. It's a thing.
They were almost on par with Geriatric Gangrene Jujitsu Gerbils, but nowhere near as amazing as Adolescent Radioactive Black Belt Hamsters.

Also both real comic books I may or may not own.

I do...      

REVIEW: Undertaker #1 & #2

Writer: Beau Smith
Illustrator: Manny Clark
Inker: SanduFloria
Colorist: Jason Jensen
Review: Art Bee

Since I reviewed WWE #1 a couple of weeks ago, I thought I would evaluate an older comic book inspired by the same corporation. The professional wrestling arena has inspired many floppy-books and other media over the years. Some are worthwhile, while others...not so much. So where does this one fall? That is not an easy question to answer, but I will try.

Within the realm of the professional wrestling circuits each wrestler portrays a certain persona based on a combination of real personality, backstory, and created character traits. Sometimes these personas are well crafted and deeply designed; other times they are shallow and fickle.
The reason Chaos! Comics chose the Undertaker as the central character was because he had the fastest growing popularity, deepest backstory, and most solid character traits.      

REVIEW: Iron Man vol 1 #207

Writer: Denny O’Neil
Penciler: Mark Bright
Inker: Akin & Garvey
Colorist: Bob Sharen
Letterer: Rick Parker
Review: Madman

I can count on one hand the number of Iron Man comics I’ve purchased. I never really jumped on the Iron Man train until after his first movie came out as my youthful self was way more interested in web slinging, pumpkin bombs, and waiting for Ben Riley to die…not some jackass drunk in a fancy shiny red and silver suit of armor. I never really gave him a second thought until after the first movie, no matter how bad the last two were…
Sorry, no offence, Mr. Rourke.
Anyway, yeah, after seeing that movie I started to care…a little.

I had a friend growing up that always tagged along with me to the LCS, and it didn’t take long for him to dip his big toe into the house that Kirby and Lee built. I remember he bought a decent sized stack of Ghost Rider books and all was right in the world until his preacher father saw said Ghost Rider books, no doubt covered in flaming skulls and all kinds of cool stuff…
Clearly his son had been possessed by Satan himself, and I was taking him on a road straight to Hell. The next weekend my buddy’s father drove us back to the comic shop and made him take them back. I can still picture him explaining to the store owner that he needed to return this stack of comics, because his dad said, “They were of the Devil”. Reluctantly the shop owner gave him store credit, much to the displeasure of the preacher. On the way back home we tried reasoning with this man about how comics can’t literally damn you to Hell, why it wasn’t fair, etc, etc.      

REVIEW: American Century #1

Written by Howard Chaykin & David Tischman
Penciled by Marc Laming
Review by Will Dubbeld

I’ve discovered a strange predilection for picking up Howard Chaykin comics.  I bought, on the cheap, a good chunk of American Flagg after having read but 2 or so issues.  Satellite Sam? Preordered. Blackhawk, Shadow, Century West, Midnight of the Soul, etcetera etcetera.
All of ‘em. Either preordered or gleaned from the nation’s Dollar Boxes.
The odd thing is, I’m not entirely sure why.
His early work was technically adept, but his art certainly seems to have degraded a bit over the years and his writing, while always pushing the envelope, always shoehorns in lurid sex and racial slurs almost to excess.

Whatever issues I have with Howard Chaykin’s writing and art certainly doesn’t dissuade me from picking up a 14-or so issue run of his American Century series.
For example…
Just to pluck something random out of the aether…  

REVIEW: Weird Western Tales starring Scalphunter #46

Wordsmith: Gerry Conway

Illustrators: Dick Ayers & Geo Evans

Letterer: Shelly Leferman

Colorist: Allen Milgrom

Review: Madman

I’m not going to lie, I totally bought this book solely because of the cover. I mean, who could refuse, what the with the very white man-looking Indian about to skewer a dandy cowboy, with a flower in his hat, and some dude in a white suit and top hat hiding in the bushes with a Gatling gun taking aim at a formation of US soldiers, Scalphunter…sold.

I had no clue what I was getting into with this book. I expected I would be let down but I also knew I was going to buy it. There are so many things wrong with just the title alone, and I’m sure there will be riots…. urm…protests about it. I don’t imagine either of the Big 2 would be putting out a title such as this in the present day with all the political correctness going around…except maybe if Ennis were writing it, but maybe not even then. I mean, isn’t ‘Merica past such stereotypes?

Personally, I don’t care, I just wish my Redman was a little more red. Granted, this comic was printed in 1978, one year and four months before I was born, and I don’t exactly remember the status quo in the late 70s, but it’s hard to believe DC was that insensitive towards conquered peoples…

’Merica.        

REVIEW: Catwoman #1 of 4

Story:  Mindy Newell
Pencils:  J. J. Birch
Inks:  Michael Bair
Colors:  Adrienne Roy
Letter:  Agustin Mas
Review:  Art Bee

In my youth I was all about Marvel superheroes (Fantastic Four and X-Men mostly), Star Wars, and Batman. Batman himself was not my interest in the DC comics; his adversaries were. All of his villains, with only a couple of exceptions, pique my interest. They all form a lattice through the city of Gotham, and it’s their personality quirks that elevate Batman’s qualities. At the heart of this group of baddies is Selina Kyle, a.k.a Catwoman.

Catwoman #1 is the first of a four-issue miniseries published in 1988 and was aimed to provide a backstory for the longtime ally/villain/love of Bruce Wayne (if for some weird reason you need that spelled out, that’s Batman). Catwoman is the one person that seems to always strike some of the deepest blows to our caped crusader.

So how does this story kick off Selina’s story?
…as a hooker…beaten and left for dead next to a dumpster behind a Catholic church.
This is how a woman writer wants to portray Catwoman…really?

REVIEW: Darkhawk #7

Well, readers, it was a tough call this week. Diving into a longbox produced two candidates for today's review:

1979s Fantastic Four #209, 1st appearance of fan-favorite HERBIE, wherein the FF pal around with the Champions of Xandar and seek out the World Eater, Galactus! All while Skrull treachery is afoot...

The other choice was 1991s Darkhawk #7, wherein the titular crimefighter busts up some drug dealers or something.

Sorry, everyone...

Writer: Danny Fingeroth
Breakdowns: Mike Manley
Finishes: Ricardo Villagran
Review: Will Dubbeld

Hoo, boy. Darkhawk, huh?
I'm not exactly sure why I collected this book, but I'm sure it's because it was the new hotness at its premiere. I can understand why I collected Sleepwalker.
It was rad as hell. That's why I collected Sleepwalker.
Darkhawk on the other hand was somewhat less than rad, but for some reason or another I have the first 25 or so issues of this nonsense. However long it took for a foil cover to pop up...

I didn't really refresh my memory on the Darkhawk series before diving into this issue. I remember he was a teenager who found a MYSTERIOUS AMULET that enabled him to transform into a black-clad, cable-clawed agent of justice and at some point in the series Tombstone ripped out his heart.
Okay, THAT was rad.
Other than that I was almost going in a cold read with this issue. Nuggets of Darkhawk that were lodged in the ol' memory banks reappeared as I read on. His legal-eagle mother, younger twin brothers, etc. Darkhawk really fell into that early-mid '90s trope of a late-teens/early 20s white male thrust into mysterious power. Danny Ketch, Rick Sheridan, Chris Powell, 30% of the New Warriors...

REVIEW: The Comet #2

Plot/pencils: Tom Lyle
Script: Mark Waid
Review: Will Dubbeld

Damn right, Impact Comics.
Laugh it up if you’d like, but I’ve many fond memories of Impact Comics.  I’ve never looked into whose vanity project Impact was at DC, but I’m glad they were indulged.
In the early ‘90s, during my larval stage of comic nerdery, I bought the even lovin’ bejeezus out of these Impact books.
Why?
Initially because of price point. These bad dads could be bought fresh off the spinner for one American dollar, which was .25, .50, .75 cents cheaper than their peers.

And the stories weren’t terrible either.
The whole line was a reboot of Golden Age superheroes first appearing in books published by Archie Comics and featured the adventures of what have evolved into archetypical hero tropes. The Fly was a Spider-Mannish teen, The Web was a superspy organization akin to SHIELD or Checkmate, The Shield was a patriotic hero similar to Captain America.  These characters predated my examples, of course, but my young nerd-brain placed connective tissue where I pleased.

REVIEW: Marvel Team-Up #133: Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four

Writer: J.M. De Matteis
Artists: Sal Buscema and Mike Esposito
Colorist: Bob Sharen
Letterer: Diana Albers
Review: Art Bee

Here we are within the pages of a tale of comicdom from yesteryear. Since Madman delved into the pages of a Marvel Team-Up book last week, I figured I would copy from his test. This brought me to Marvel Team-Up #133, and it had me all over the place. It reminded me of a young lady, who had no opinions or preferences, I dated in my high school days. That date was long and awkward.

This issue was not bad per se, but the way the story is told makes it hard to follow the first time through. It starts with Reed Richards (a.k.a. Mr. Fantastic) in a bit of a rage over his family and friends being missing. Luckily, our friendly neighborhood Spider-Man is there to lend a hand. The duo sets out to find Reed’s family and team all the while Spider-Man is throwing some wicked curveballs. He is not using his web shooters, being clumsy, and not using his spider-sense correctly. That’s right; it’s not Spider-Man.

So is this really a Team-Up? My answer is no.