All Comments #5 mikrolikFebruary 24, 2016 5:10 PM Amazing Spider-Man #39-40 kveto: I guess I can see your point about immediate dramatic impact vs. long term ramifications. To that end, JJJ or Ned probably would have been more shocking than Norman. But I still think long term, Norman was the best choice, as far as if you HAD to make the reveal as of issue #39. If I wanted to make Ned the Green Goblin, I would have delayed the reveal to later after having Ned make a few more appearances; sure Ned and Pete have met and interacted, but Ned (at this point) doesn't have much of a character beyond "competing love interest for Betty Brant". Even though Norman wasn't formally introduced to readers until #37 (unless you count his appearances as JJJ's co-club member in 23, 25, 26-27), he had a lot of character development in 37 and 38. Plus, I still maintain the real impact of his reveal was that he was the father of Harry Osborn, Peter's classmate, who appeared in 31, and a handful of times since then. I won't argue with anyone about their opinions regarding the expository dialogue, but it never bothered me too much personally; it's just Stan's writing style as far as I'm concerned. RobertFebruary 24, 2016 4:58 PM Fear #24 LOL you say that and yet this year fnord's currently on (1992) will see Morbius get his own ongoing as well as his own Marvel Tales-type series reprinting the old stories. To say nothing of all that Midnight Sons mess to come. Plus, as I recall, he had a larger-than-deserved presence on the '90s Spider-Man cartoon. kvetoFebruary 24, 2016 4:43 PM Fear #24 "Hey, great! Morbius!" said nobody, ever. Thanos6February 24, 2016 4:39 PM Hulk annual #18 Aside from the "young man" line, Mentallo's accomplice also calls him "sir," which I don't think the Fixer would do, given how long a partnership they've had. The Fixer's son, maybe? Fixer II: Electric Boogaloo? Miscommunication between the writer and artist? kvetoFebruary 24, 2016 4:24 PM Defenders #15-16 Agreed on Nighthawk. He really is a pointless character. kvetoFebruary 24, 2016 3:46 PM Amazing Spider-Man #39-40 milkrolik, I'm not saying JJJ would have been a good idea long term (or even short term), but it would have at least had a dramatic impact on the reader. Revealing GG as a character only named a few issues earlier must have been a huge letdown. I mean, Pete and Norman hadn't even had any interaction before. Ned Leeds at least was a supporting charactyer and knew Pete. As pointed out above, the fact that Pete and Norman hadn't met led to some awful expository dialouge. I know its hard to look at it through the lens of time, as we've all grown up after the reveal. For us, Norman always was the goblin. But what a huge letdown it would have been for readers in real time. It would be interesting to get the opinion of someone who read it real time. RobertFebruary 24, 2016 3:41 PM Dr. Strange annual #2 Really cool seeing Die Fledermaus again, even if a Dr. Strange annual is an odd place for it. MortificatorFebruary 24, 2016 3:23 PM Dr. Strange annual #2 Hey Johnny, what '90s Marvel annual are you rebelling against? Whadda you got? AFFebruary 24, 2016 1:42 PM Nomad #1 Yeah, Nicieza genuinely seemed to have a fondness for Nomad (for whatever reason). He seemed a bit stung that Brubaker killed the character and how he did it in the intro piece for Thunderbolts: From the Vault. But all the while wearing a smile and trying not to outright say he hated it. AFFebruary 24, 2016 1:36 PM Silver Surfer annual #5 Now we're entering the period where Nebula goes from being one of the most interesting and readable female villains into being a crazed bald cyborg. And they chose the latter for the movie. AFFebruary 24, 2016 1:29 PM Hulk #370-371 That Tribunal story that ruined the Elf with the Gun was lousy but revealing it was all a hoax makes it even worse in my opinion. The original story doesn't really serve any purpose now and could easily be overturned or altered with some creativity but instead we get Peter David's typical style of quick invalidation (which again follows the trend of him seemingly being told by an editor about something, deciding he doesn't want to read it and instead saying it just doesn't count without even ironing out the kinks of that). And Doctor Strange comes off looking incredibly selfish and nothing else here. But also at this point the Defenders had basically reunited in all but name plenty of times already. They were all present for the final confrontation with the Beyonder in Secret Wars II and they were all there for the Infinity Gauntlet. I'm sure there's more cases as well... Ben HermanFebruary 24, 2016 1:29 PM Uncanny X-Men annual #16 Okay, this is very early work by Jae Lee. He has obviously improved a great deal in the two decades since this annual was published. Even so, you can see a definite potential in his pencils from the early 1990s. I had completely forgotten that Herb Trimpe had penciled a back-up story in this annual. To a certain degree his style is overwhelmed by Tom Palmer, who can be a very heavy inker. Still, it is a nice collaboration, and I enjoy seeing their depictions of Storm and Bishop. Certainly there is some very solid layouts & storytelling by Trimpe in his pencils here, and you can see why for over 20 years he was one of Marvel's go-to guys when deadlines hit. Ben HermanFebruary 24, 2016 1:23 PM Nomad #1 Count me as another reader who enjoyed Fabian Nicieza's writing on Nomad, New Warriors, the Adventures of Captain America miniseries, Thunderbolts, and X-Force beginning in the second year once Rob Liefeld was gone. Nicieza was, in my opinion, one of the best writers at Marvel in the 1990s The only book where I really did not like Nicieza's work was X-Men, and I really do believe that is down to Bob Harras' very heavy editing and his numerous edicts, things that in those pre-Facebook, pre-social media days most of us readers were unaware of. Given a much freer hand, Nicieza did good work. His two year run on Nomad is among my all time favorite writing of his. If you've ever read an interview with Nicieza or met him in person, when he speaks of his work on the character of Jack Monroe, it's pretty obvious that it was something of a labor of love on his part. Nicieza clearly put a lot into this series. MortificatorFebruary 24, 2016 1:21 PM Hulk annual #18 Concentrating on arm wrestling and not defending themselves should make anyone more susceptible to attacks, not less. Of course, it's all in service of a joke, and shouldn't be taken seriously. Mark BlackFebruary 24, 2016 12:15 PM Nomad #1 I like Nicieza's stuff on Nomad and New Warriors and he wasn't terrible when he was on the x-books. While he isn't brilliant, his stuff is solid and he did do a good job of finding voices for characters that heretofore were a little one-note - i.e. Nova, Nomad, Speedball, even Marvel Boy. None of these characters became top-tier characters necessarily, but I would definitely say that Nicieza brought them (and Firestar) to the forefront (with varying results - most of them good. BUFebruary 24, 2016 11:25 AM Nomad #1 I suspect that around the offices he was considered very good for how fast he must have been, considering how much he wrote, and reliable. -He appears to have been a go-to guy when writers abruptly left, too. AFFebruary 24, 2016 11:11 AM Nomad #1 Are you baffled by the concept that you're not the only reader? Plenty of people (myself included) like Nicieza. And two ongoing X-Books, New Warriors, Nomad and occasional fill-ins or spin-off miniseries are the bulk of the company's output? BobFebruary 24, 2016 10:59 AM Nomad #1 Fabian Nicieza, writes a million books, and none of them well. It still baffles me how such a lackluster creator ended up in control of the bulk of the company's output for the better part of the decade. BUFebruary 24, 2016 10:47 AM X-Men annual #1 I go all the way back to the Longshot miniseries, and Mojo's finest moment was on the cartoon ("I'm making money just thinking about it!") It was the only time I ever found him funny -I never found him even faintly scary- and you could just tell they had an indecent amount of fun making that episode... Luis DantasFebruary 24, 2016 9:42 AM Black Axe #1-3 Black Axe looks so much like Valiant's Gilad the Eternal Warrior that debuted roughly a year earlier that I wonder if this series began as a proposal for Valiant. Luke BlanchardFebruary 24, 2016 9:37 AM Fantastic Four #28 In the panel from the climactic fight the android is much larger than it should be. Ben seems not tall enough to reach its waist. Austin GortonFebruary 24, 2016 9:03 AM X-Factor annual #7 As Michael says, the most frustrating part about this issue is that it's the (abrupt) end to this whole Arize/Mojoworld rebellion plot. The X-FORCE annual jumps ahead in time, and while it kinda fills in what happens after that, we never actually see it or get much in the way of direct information, which is just...bizarre. And unsatisfying. I'm not sure what's worse - this story, which doesn't have any crossover amongst its characters, to its detriment, or "Kings of the Pain" the previous year, which added new characters every chapter until, by the end, there was like forty different characters hanging around with nothing to do. Austin GortonFebruary 24, 2016 8:49 AM Uncanny X-Men annual #16 It's loud and messy and chaotic (and everyone always seems to be arghing), but I kinda like the Jae Lee art in places. That mostly black-and-white page you posted introducing the Death Sponsors stands out (ignoring the subject matter) and I like the intensity Lee brings to the Apocalypse Danger Room fight. The biggest problem is that everything is always dialed to 11, so there's no contrast, but when the scene calls for 11, it works. Ataru320February 24, 2016 8:47 AM Fantastic Four #15 I think the opening splash page of the Thinker here really defines him, more or less emulating the statue without any real idea regarding who he will eventually become later. Though I do think Stan goes a little crazy calling Andy "neither animal, vegetable or mineral"...but that's just flourishments. Luis DantasFebruary 24, 2016 8:44 AM Nomad #1 In hindsight it feels just odd. They seemed maniac, desperate, and relying a whole lot more on marketing over contents than any sane person would advise. Ataru320February 24, 2016 8:38 AM Hulk #184-186 OMAC (the classic character) was created at DC in 1974 by Kirby; he actually is one of the more notable creations the King created during this period alongside Darkseid, the New Gods and Kamandi. fnord12February 24, 2016 8:31 AM X-Men annual #1 Ben, you're right. I've added that credit. Thanks. I guess that means he's responsible for that panel that i think is very old school Kirby-esque. fnord12February 24, 2016 8:29 AM X-Force annual #1 Interestingly, though, Arize and Spiral aren't actually in the "flashback". It's only said that he "sought to combine" the X-Men and Longshot. so maybe the implication is that they are behind the scenes, having somehow arranged for Longshot and the X-Men to come together again? I've added a scan. fnord12February 24, 2016 8:13 AM Nomad #1 Thanks AF. What's interesting is that so far i haven't noticed any indication in the actual issues that they are meant to be part of a line or seen any mention of the "Big Guns" brand (i.e. not on the covers, or in the bullpen pages or lettercols). And as Cullen notes, the inclusion of Death's Head II is especially odd. The mini-series, at least, actually included a number of promotional pages advertising the UK sub-universe as opposed to the Big Guns. I do see that DHII wasn't included on the poster, so maybe they weren't too committed to him being a part of it (although Terror wasn't included either). (I think the depiction of the Punisher is a nod to the bulky JRJR version.) @Morgan, the question is more why Nomad as opposed to any number of other characters, like ones that have had books in the past (e.g. Ka-Zar) or popular characters that had never been tried out in solo books (e.g. Storm). But to your point, there were just a ton of new books being added at this time, and if FabNic was advocating for it, and if the mini-series did reasonably well, then i guess Marvel was willing to go with it. And as Cecil notes, the book did have its appeal. fnord12February 24, 2016 8:03 AM Uncanny X-Men annual #16 Andrew, i'm pretty sure this is her only appearance, so nothing more comes of it. She also takes the form of Cyclops and Beast during this story, which is explained this way: "This young woman has the ability to permanently absorb not only our powers, but our minds. And with the metamorphic powers she absorbed from... well, it's not important who she got them from... only that she can re-create us, body and soul". This is during the Mutant Massacre scene, and the implication is that she's going to absorb Angel next. But then she uses the power of Destiny to scan the future, and she realizes it's not time for Angel yet. When she appears in the present during the Mandroid scene, she talks to Angel, who was injured by the Mandroids. But Angel passes out, and when he wakes up, he hears that the leader of the Mandroids, who was a mutant, has died. *shrug* Erik BeckFebruary 24, 2016 7:21 AM Iron Man #278 English aside, I think the filmmakers of Independence Day get a pass if an Earth computer system here can just hook up to an alien computer system this easily - clearly the filmmakers didn't come up with the idea first. Cecil DisharoonFebruary 24, 2016 6:22 AM Nomad #1 My wife found this quite memorable, as she has always adored babies. Sensitive tough guy/ eye candy plus baby seems clearly to be an appeal to female readers, or indeed anyone who might enjoy such things. She read every Nomad issue we had! The disposal of Baby May and, at the time, MJ, put an end to her ongoing readership of superhero comics. At least we still had Promethea and the Vertigo line. TuomasFebruary 24, 2016 6:04 AM Amazing Spider-Man #39-40 I don't mind exposition when it's in narration boxes, or footnotes, because that's their primary function. But when the clunky exposition is spoken by the characters, it always feels like the writer speaking, not the character, and that tends to break the immersion for me. BerendFebruary 24, 2016 5:32 AM Black Axe #1-3 I always like immortal characters who lived through most of history, but this... terrible art, terrible plot, terrible character design... Yogi deadheadFebruary 24, 2016 4:30 AM Amazing Spider-Man #39-40 I'm a big fan of the "every comic is someone's first" rule. I prefer the extraneous, clunky exposition. Especially nowadays, when artists switch do often, I'm sometimes scratching my head saying, "that kinda looks like so-and-so, but I'm not sure". I guess I prefer the certainty and clarity to brevity too. I think otherwise I tend to just flip through the pages at the speed of the reading. "No more dialogue; flip page". But with the expository explosion, my eyes stay glued on the page longer. Having my eyes locked on the page longer seems to help me comprehend what happens better, perhaps through osmosis even. AFFebruary 24, 2016 4:03 AM Nomad #1 Also was there a Punisher arc in 1992 where he piled on the pounds like that cover suggests? AFFebruary 24, 2016 4:01 AM Nomad #1 Marvel Quarterly Report 1992 (on the flipside of the poster) TuomasFebruary 24, 2016 3:27 AM Amazing Spider-Man #39-40 While the idea that "every comic is someone's first" is a good thing in general, as we know it can lead to some awfully contrived exposition, and Peter's comment upon learning the Green Goblin's identity is a good example of that. "Of course -- You're related to my own classmate! You're Harry Osborn's father!" simply doesn't sound like something a person would say in situation like that... The "related to my classmate" bit in particular sounds okay when put to writing, but feels completely unnatural for someone to shout out in spoken language, especially in a state of shock. In a more modern comic, Peter would simply say, "you're Harry's dad!", or, "you're Norman Osborn!". But here of course the Stan Lee had to make sure that even a reader whose first Spider-Man comic this was would understand what the revelation meant, hence the artificial language. TuomasFebruary 24, 2016 1:58 AM X-Factor annual #7 I haven't read these issues, but couldn't Nicieza simply have intended him to be the son of Longshot and Rita? D09February 24, 2016 1:46 AM X-Men #9 About Maddie, she looks a lot like Jean, she lives in the Arctic like the Summers family, and she has a job flying planes like Corsair did. One coincidence is more than enough, three gives you the impression that something's rotten in Denmark. Ben HermanFebruary 23, 2016 11:32 PM X-Men annual #1 It's been a long time since I've looked at this annual, but I recall that Jim Lee was credited as providing "layouts" for the entire book. They were probably very loose breakdowns, since there doesn't seem to be much of his style on display, other than some of the poses and the positioning of characters in certain action sequences. MichaelFebruary 23, 2016 11:31 PM X-Force annual #1 The scene can't be a reference to "our" reality's version of X-Men 10-11, since Arize and Spiral weren't present for the fight. Cecil DisharoonFebruary 23, 2016 10:01 PM X-Men annual #1 The depiction of the X-Men's arrival in Afghanistan could only be Adam Hughes, a guy who loves a good facial expression (and a knack for pretty, well-drawn women), as seen in Justice League. fnord12February 23, 2016 9:19 PM Nomad #1 AF, what are the scans from? Marvel Age? Morgan WickFebruary 23, 2016 9:16 PM Nomad #1 Wasn't this in Marvel's "flood the market" stage, too? fnord12February 23, 2016 9:14 PM X-Men annual #1 Fixed it. Thanks. (I do prefer that you raise this sort of thing in the forum, but i recognize the ambiguity.) Morgan WickFebruary 23, 2016 9:02 PM X-Men annual #1 Some of the scans seem to appear an image later than the text would indicate, namely from "Gambit is an X-Man 'more by default than desire'" (which, for example, seems to refer to the image that follows "here come the rest of the X-Men", which in turn makes more sense referring to the image after that) through Cyclops preventing the team from going to the Mojoverse. Yeah, yeah, I should probably post this on the forum, but this happens sometimes and it's never quite clear how intentional it is; I only bring it up here because it's fairly blatant and extended. cullenFebruary 23, 2016 8:46 PM Nomad #1 Weird they included Death's Head II in that promo, considering the completely one-sided way the UK titles interacted with the US Marvel-verse. I don't think any were ever included in line-wide, let alone company-wide, crossovers. MichaelFebruary 23, 2016 8:45 PM X-Factor annual #7 The non-resolution of the story was just frustrating. Spiral and Arize return to Mojoworld but we never find out what happened to them. They're not even mentioned in X-Men 10-11. And most annoyingly, the dialogue implies that "our" Rita has not been turned into Spiral yet by Arize but that Spiral and Arize are going to rescue her. So what happened to "our" Rita? AFFebruary 23, 2016 8:42 PM Hulk #393 David Gallaher (thanks, couldn't for the life of me remember his first name, I was thinking Michael) will also ignore that Skrull reveal completely when he uses Igor Drenkov in that Winter Guard one-shot that reprints this issue. It's all come full circle. AFFebruary 23, 2016 8:36 PM Nomad #1 More on Big Guns: AFFebruary 23, 2016 8:33 PM Nomad #1 Close, Joe, it was Big Guns: https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/5d/d4/6b/5dd46bfa69ffe9261e1855cc26ffdbec.jpg MichaelFebruary 23, 2016 8:20 PM X-Men annual #1 Jeff, this wasn't the "official" beginning of Fabian's run- this story was done before the Image crew left. (And Fabian didn't script either X-Man title at this point- that was Lobdell. He did do the Muir Island Saga though.) AndrewFebruary 23, 2016 8:03 PM Uncanny X-Men annual #16 "Amalgam" seems like an alternate future amalgamation of Rogue and Mystique. Anything ever come of that? MichaelFebruary 23, 2016 7:57 PM Avengers West Coast #80 Erik, we do see the one that he wore on his back in Thor 445 and it gets destroyed in that story. Although that does raise the question of why Simon couldn't use it this story. AndrewFebruary 23, 2016 7:38 PM Hulk #393 I read an interview with Trimpe in a human interest story in a non-comics magazine at the time (I think it was the Parade magazine that comes with so many newspapers) and it was pretty clear that he had realized he had to adapt or die, like an analog man learning to use computers. He may have internalized the idea, but he wasn't really given any choice. I respect the guy for trying, even if he couldn't really make it work. david banesFebruary 23, 2016 7:17 PM Hulk #184-186 I remember seeing an episode of Batman The Brave and the Bold where a clumsy man was powered up by a satellite and turned into a super strong hero called Omac. I think the first Omac came from Jack Kirby in 1974 so not super impossible? I mean someone powered up by a satellite is still kind of uncommon I think. Piotr WFebruary 23, 2016 7:07 PM X-Factor annual #7 Man, I do love Spiral. She's such a tragic - while crazy - character... Piotr WFebruary 23, 2016 7:06 PM X-Men annual #1 Hey, some cool art in some of the scans! BTW. It's interesting that you say you only like Mojo as a satirical character. I prefer him as a horror character - some of his stories are quite dark and creepy... Yogi deadheadFebruary 23, 2016 5:51 PM Hulk #184-186 Banner says, "Welcome to the monkey house". Most likely a reference to the title of the amazing book of short stories by Vonnegut. david banesFebruary 23, 2016 4:52 PM Fantastic Four #15 I think I like the Mad Thinker looking more normalish here before growing his hair out to look a little 'madder.' That's actually what I really liked about him looking so normal and boring: all his powers really of his mind. I could see someone using him like DC's Suicide Squad, like the animated version where the Clock King was the planner/mission control. Kind of looks like an evil and smarter Ben Grimm now that I think about it. mikrolikFebruary 23, 2016 4:47 PM Amazing Spider-Man #39-40 kveto: If the Green Goblin was Ned Leeds, maybe that could have worked. Maybe. If JJJ was behind the mask, I think that would have been an unmitigated disaster. JJJ was an ideal foil for Spider-Man; someone who openly criticized the masked vigilante in public. Plus, it was cool how Peter exploited Jameson by selling him the Spider-Man photos, which Jameson might not have been as keen to buy if he wasn't so anti-Spidey. GG being JJJ would have ruined JJJ beyond repair. Suddenly, JJJ is an enemy Spider-Man can punch. Also, Spidey's income goes out the window. What happens to the Daily Bugle once the secret is out? Yeah, Norman Osborn's reveal isn't without its faults, but I think he was the best choice (as of #39; if the reveal was delayed to some issues later, they could have set up another character). It wasn't so much that he was a background character as much as that he was Harry Osborn's father, who by this point was a much more established character. This way, he has some connection to Peter, but not too much. JeffFebruary 23, 2016 4:45 PM X-Men annual #1 Interesting that Fabian's run as writer on this title officially begins in an annual (after scripting a few issues in both X-Men titles here and there the last few months). Not just an annual -- but a pretty disposable one at that. Also, of note, Fabian's first two "real" X-Men stories are crossovers -- this and "X-Cutioner's Song." Sad thing is, we really don't see his X-Men "voice" until issue 17 because of the crossovers. As a kid I preferred what Lobdell and David were doing on "Uncanny" and "X-Factor" at this time ... but re-reading it, during the issues Fabian is uninterrupted by crossovers, there is some decent stuff. Not here though. This story is garbage. But wait for it. Andrew FFebruary 23, 2016 4:27 PM Uncanny X-Men annual #16 Timeslot had the amazing power to always be depicted in profile JoeFebruary 23, 2016 4:03 PM Nomad #1 I remember this was launched as part of the Heavy Hitters line, which I believe included Silver Sable's book and Punisher War Zone (and likely some more). Whatever happened to S. Clarke Hawbaker? I really liked his art, but he only did 3.5 issues of Nomad and not much else to my knowledge. gfsdf gfbdFebruary 23, 2016 3:47 PM X-Men annual #1 "He's a 'spineless' television executive" ... oooooooooooooh. Thanks Fnord clydeFebruary 23, 2016 3:36 PM Fantastic Four #28 "Reed continues to claim that the Thinker's Awesome Android was actually created by him, but that's really stretching it." Well, if anyone were to "stretch" the truth, it would be Mr. Fantastic. ;) kvetoFebruary 23, 2016 3:23 PM Amazing Spider-Man #39-40 I dont really buy the "distinctive hairstyle" idea. That Osborn hair was a pretty common style for Ditko to use. Sandman, for example. He used it with a number of his 50s characters. kvetoFebruary 23, 2016 3:20 PM Amazing Spider-Man #39-40 Imagine how much more dramatic impact it would have had if say JJ Jameson had been the face revealed when GG takes off his mask. Or even Ned Leeds, Peter's rival. Now it wouldnt have helped the characters in the long term, but im sure they didnt imagine we'd still be talking about it years later. Red CometFebruary 23, 2016 2:53 PM Uncanny X-Men annual #16 The Bishop story also made me think of the Byrne issue where Colossus heroically battles a tree stump for 2 pages. fnord12February 23, 2016 2:24 PM Werewolf By Night #3-5 That scan is from issue #5, with Ploog inking himself. Max_SpiderFebruary 23, 2016 2:23 PM NFL Superpro #8 " I'm sure Jarvis was not instructed to wave the guy through if he ever did show up for that workout." Jarvis never lets ANYONE in! I can't count the number of times I've seen Jarvis turn someone away from Avengers Mansion or hang up the phone on some poor guy asking for help. It doesn't matter if you're a superhero or not, Spider-Man's fallen victim to this before. I'm pretty sure I remember him slamming the door on Gravity in the Sanctum Sanctorum once of all places. Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if Jarvis has tried to stop the Avengers getting in their own base before. RobertFebruary 23, 2016 2:21 PM Nomad #1 Mark, that's where they're headed in the next few years where the different "families" of books all have their own thing going on. Not coincidentally it's also right around the time Marvel completely goes to shit. I don't think Nomad (title, not character) survives to see it though. JeffFebruary 23, 2016 2:19 PM Werewolf By Night #3-5 I will say the art and layout of that Judson page ("here doggie doggie") is pretty cool. Is tha Ploog inking himself or is that Chiaramonte? Ataru320February 23, 2016 1:31 PM X-Force annual #1 Its weird that there's a back-up about Artie, Leech and Whiz Kid in this book of all places. I doubt Liefeld's fans would have wanted to see some quirkier characters from before their time sad to say. Mark BlackFebruary 23, 2016 1:29 PM Nomad #1 fnord, you make a good point about how Nomad ended up with his own regular series. I wonder if this didn't come as a suggestion from marketing (maybe Michael or Mark Drummond might have more insight) with the idea that groups of titles or families of titles are a lot easier to sell, market, and have crossovers than individual series. It's shortly after this time that Midnight Sons was introduced, the X family of books was doing quite well, the Avengers had their niche, Spider-man as well, and then possibly this was a way to give street level heroes like Moon Knight, Punisher, and Daredevil their own family or bloc of titles. The Dead Man's Hand crossover will take place in a few issues time and that crossover, while not including Moon Knight, deals with a lot of Moon Knight concepts like the Secret Empire. Marvel seemed to be driven by marketing at this time and while I'm not any sort of strategist, it does seem like it's easier to sell blocs of titles that tie in to each other rather than individual isolated adventures. Ben HermanFebruary 23, 2016 1:25 PM NFL Superpro #8 Issue #8 was the second issue of NLF Superpro that I got. I also bought a copy of issue #1 because, um, well, sometimes I don't have the best judgment when it comes to comic books. What can I say? It was the 1990s. Anyway, even though the first issue was a dud, I got this one when it came out because at the time I was a huge fan of Captain America, so I wanted this for Cap and Crossbones. This was actually Crossbones' first ever appearance outside of the pages of Cap's title. Yeah, I know, not exactly an auspicious way to branch out into the wider Marvel universe. Still, it was entertaining enough, since Crossbones basically spends the entire story beating up and mocking Superpro. Herb Trimpe actually drew a pretty sinister version of Crossbones. Some of his other art for this issue, though, was really odd. That spokesman at the anti-drug press conference has a ridiculously long & narrow head. And I can unfortunately never un-see the sight of Cap sucking poison out of Superpro's leg. Yea, that's the great thing about comics, the total break from reality. JC, I'm sure that if this series had somehow managed to continue longer, eventually there would have been a story revolving around the NFL's earnest efforts to combat instances of domestic violence and sexual assault among their players, and soon after that another story about the League's passionate mission to significantly reduce brain injuries on the field. Ben HermanFebruary 23, 2016 1:03 PM Hulk #393 This really was a great issue. All these years later it still holds up very well. It's definitely one of the high points in Peter David's looooong run on Incredible Hulk. Nice back-up by Herb Trimpe, as well, demonstrating why he remains one of the definitive Hulk artists. I would have to check with David Gallaher, the writer of the Winter Guard miniseries. But I believe that he did indeed have this issue in mind, with Fantasma's unseen "true appearance" that shocks the hell out of Atalanta, when he devised the reveal of Fantasma as a Dire Wraith. I don't know if PAD has ever revealed what he originally intended with this. Seven years later, in the Hulk '99 Annual, John Byrne did a "Chapter One" story where he rather pointlessly "updated" the origin of the Hulk, much as he did with Spider-Man: Chapter One. Among the retcons and changes to the Hulk's origin was revealing that Igor was, in fact, a Skrull. PAD was obviously less than thrilled with this, since not only was it a pointless and stupid change, but it also totally invalidated the events in Incredible Hulk #293. So a year later, in an issue of Captain Marvel, PAD wrote an amusing scene with Rick Jones at a comic book store reading a copy of the Hulk '99 Annual and reacting with hysterical disbelief... "Bwaaahahaha! Man, where do they GET this stuff anyway? Skrulls? Yeeesh!" You can see it over at Comic Book Resources... mikrolikFebruary 23, 2016 11:51 AM Amazing Spider-Man #249-251 I think JJJ's involvement with the Spider-Slayers is public knowledge at this point; when a robot runs around town with your face and voice, people tend to notice. At the very least, people at the Bugle would know about it. Erik BeckFebruary 23, 2016 11:29 AM Avengers West Coast #80 That new outfit for Lightning is hideous. As for the jetpack, it makes it seem like it's impossible for Simon to get a new one. What about the one that hung on his back from his horrible green costume some 60 issues back? mikrolikFebruary 23, 2016 11:24 AM Amazing Spider-Man #39-40 This link is probably the best resource I've found regarding Stan, Steve, Norman and the Goblin: http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2013/01/04/comic-book-legends-revealed-400-part-1/ Steve said at one point that when he left, Stan wouldn't talk to him. In response to that, Stan brought up his own terrible memory, but then said he doesn't see why he wouldn't have talked to Steve: "'I wouldn't talk to him?' Can you believe that? I talk to everybody. Most people wish I would shut the hell up!" JeffFebruary 23, 2016 9:51 AM Marvel Spotlight #2 It's sheer coincidence that I read this entry yesterday... because today there is an interview with the scripter of this issue, Gerry Conway, talking about how this was one of his favorite books and he is revisiting the Darkhold in the new, ongoing "Carnage" series he's writing. I had to come back this morning and share that -- http://www.comicbookresources.com/article/conway-explains-supernatural-carnage-twist-becoming-more-than-a-serial-killer Ataru320February 23, 2016 8:24 AM Uncanny X-Men #3 Yeah, it was Loeb but somehow whenever I think of the Ultimate Universe I tend to only think of Bendis these days. Sorry. CecilFebruary 22, 2016 11:51 PM Uncanny X-Men #3 Cannibal Blob was written Loeb; I just double checked it---from Ultimatum. MichaelFebruary 22, 2016 11:19 PM Uncanny X-Men #3 Ataru, are you referring to his canibalism? I thought that was Loeb's idea. Luis DantasFebruary 22, 2016 10:09 PM Uncanny X-Men #288 I find this art actually above average for the time period. It is certainly better at storytelling than most that we had from Jim Lee, Whilce Portacio or, going back a little, Todd McFarlanne or even Erik Larsen. And it can't even be compared to Rob Liefeld's work. MichaelFebruary 22, 2016 9:46 PM Hulk #393 That's interesting, since Trimpe claimed in 2009 that Image-izing his style was his own idea: Mark DrummondFebruary 22, 2016 9:40 PM Hulk #393 Actually, a recent issue of Alter Ego mentioned that editor Mike Rockwitz bragged about forcing Trimpe to Image-ize his art style or risk getting fired. Didn't stop Marvel from dumping him anyway... MichaelFebruary 22, 2016 8:36 PM NFL Superpro #8 What is Crossbones supposed to be doing in those last two panels? It looks like he's telekinetically throwing debris at Phil? SFebruary 22, 2016 7:58 PM Amazing Spider-Man #39-40 Ditko's version isn't that he wanted Osborn and Stan wanted somebody else. Ditko's version is that he wanted Osborn, and so that's not "why he left". MichaelFebruary 22, 2016 7:57 PM Uncanny X-Men #288 I was confused by this issue since I originally thought the battle with Styglut was supposed to be a Danger Room simulation- we see Bishop ending a Danger Room simulation on the next page and I thought that meant the battle never took place- it was only a Danger Room simulation. Apparently, it was real, since Bishop says in the first issue of the Bishop limited series Bishop says that of all the mutants Fitzroy brought with him, only Bantam and Mountjoy remain alive, so unless Styglut got hit by a bus... david banesFebruary 22, 2016 7:06 PM Uncanny X-Men #288 I think an alien is trying to burst out of Scott's chest in the first scan. fnord12February 22, 2016 6:51 PM Iron Man #55 Nice find, AF. I've added a scan and some notes in the Considerations. Robert February 22, 2016 6:14 PM Fantastic Four #48-50 @david banes, that was John Byrne's unpublished ending for his "The Last Galactus Story " in Epic Illustrated. david banesFebruary 22, 2016 5:50 PM Fantastic Four #48-50 My own head-cannon is what I heard another writer suggest somewhere in the comments: Galactus' body will eventually explode and create the next universe. AFFebruary 22, 2016 5:37 PM Iron Man #55 Randau the Space Parasite appears as part of Thanos army briefly in Captain Marvel #27. Page 14, panel 2. There's a better pic of him on the cover, albeit miscolored, but costume design-wise it makes it clear it's Randau and not a generic Space Parasite. cullenFebruary 22, 2016 4:16 PM Punisher War Journal #42 Thanks for the 'Cullens' scan, fnord! I won't forget this! TCPFebruary 22, 2016 3:36 PM Fantastic Four #48-50 I look at the big "G" symbol as more of a symbol of infinity, reflecting the cycle of life, death, and renewal. That would fit well with Galactus' cosmic nature and his role in the universe at large. cullenFebruary 22, 2016 2:55 PM Ghost Rider #27 Luckily it's the Marvel U, the tunnels were probably built by Galileo or the Badoon. JeffFebruary 22, 2016 1:46 PM Uncanny X-Men #281-286 As an 11/12 year old in 1991 and 1992, these were "my X-Men" (sort of -- I had read Dark Phoenix reprints earlier than this) -- but really when I reread these, "Uncanny" 281-287 and "X-Men" 4-13 are just sort of treading water, biding my time until Lobdell and Niceiza take over the two titles. Really though, these issues are the worst ... we're introduced to Storm's new squad with no footnote, considering last issue ended with a completely different team, the originals still on X-Factor, etc. If you were only reading "Uncanny" at this time and not "X-Factor" or the new "X-Men," you'd have no idea what was happening. At least Claremont OVERused footnotes. Part of this is probably the behind-the-scenes scripting difficulties/shifts. I feel like Lobdell was thrown into the deep end of someone else's plots here. Also, count me in on team "Portacio's art is terrible." Just ... no. Ugh. At least when Lobdell is fully in charge with the Morlock story in a few issues, we'll be back to a singular voice, whether you like his run or not. Ataru320February 22, 2016 1:02 PM Uncanny X-Men #3 I like how simple and effective a design the Blob here in his first appearance: he's just a big guy who happens to be immoveable. And considering how Xavier's troop acted like jerks, its no wonder he fell into villainy. (and later growing a cylinder head and zillions of teeth thanks to Liefeld...and later still his infamous incident in the Ultimate line courtesy of Bendis) Its sad where you can be treated like a hero despite looking like a monster, but not when you just look like some overweight guy in this period. BUFebruary 22, 2016 12:37 PM Uncanny X-Men #288 I've never cared for Sienkiewicz. Period. AndrewFebruary 22, 2016 12:29 PM Ms. Marvel #9-10 Anyone else think Deathbird's real name, Cal'syee, sounds a lot like Khaleesi, from Game of Thrones? BUFebruary 22, 2016 12:26 PM She-Hulk #38-39 I'm with you guys on not liking the duo-shade, fwiw. Red CometFebruary 22, 2016 12:22 PM Uncanny X-Men #288 I've never cared for Sienkiewicz as an inker on certain artists. Andy Kubert's pencils only look right to me when the inking is cleaner looking. JeffFebruary 22, 2016 12:14 PM X-Men #8 This was the second X-Men comic I bought in real time after a few years of buying only "X-Men Classic" (for the record, "Uncanny" 287 and 288 were the first and third ones I bought) and I always thought that 288 footnote was bungled as well, fnord. We're now into the period of X-Men I have pretty much memorized, from here until the launch of "X-Treme X-Men," so I look forward to weighing in on these :D One thing about at least the X-Men's chronology at this point we're now in a stretch of several years where "Uncanny" is released the first week of the month and "X-Men" is released the third. A lot of people take this to mean the chronology weaves in-and-out of both books every other issue, but that's not really the case. Despite the three (editorially mandated) crossovers we're about to encounter, the two books do have long stretches of 6-8 issues at a time of existing independently from each other, even when sharing and trading characters. The two really don't officially become an "every other issue" deal until Alan Davis' run ... after which Claremont separates them again. clydeFebruary 22, 2016 11:17 AM NFL Superpro #8 "I think it's kind of funny that the selling point of this issue, at least by the cover, is a team-up with Captain America" Just to play Devil's Advocate, all it says on the cover is "Guest Starring". That only implies an appearance by Cap, not any kind of real Team-Up. Although, the poison sucking is certainly a meaningful interaction for Superpro. JCFebruary 22, 2016 10:40 AM Uncanny X-Men #288 Cyclops have a third leg in that first panel? JCFebruary 22, 2016 10:24 AM NFL Superpro #8 NFL anti-drug campaign HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Yea, that's the great thing about comics, the total break from reality. Red CometFebruary 22, 2016 10:04 AM Ghost Rider #27 @Austin Errors like that can be common among comics writers. As Paul O'Brien (House to Astonish, X-Axis) has noted, anything outside of New York and Los Angeles tended to be written in caricature. mikrolikFebruary 22, 2016 9:34 AM Amazing Spider-Man #28 Chris: Yeah, you're right. Sandman became a Fantastic Four villain as part of the Frightful Four; Scorpion appeared in a Lee-scripted Captain America issue (122), the Enforcers mostly disappeared, but Ox appeared in some Daredevil issues. Doc Ock, Vulture, Electro, Mysterio, Kraven, Chameleon, and Spencer Smythe all appeared again, but at the same time, non-Ditko villains like Rhino, Shocker and Kingpin started showing up. Looter has become something of a novelty; occasionally he appears as a kitschy character every now and again, writer playing up the "part time nut" angle. The Cat appeared to be a one-timer; heck he was caught by the cops, not Spidey. Stern brought him back as Prowler 2, but I don't think he did much, if anything, after that. Stromm died, so Lee had a good excuse to not bring him back. Joe Smith was no longer a villain at the end of his story. Austin GortonFebruary 22, 2016 9:07 AM Ghost Rider #27 I'm certainly not the first one to point this out, but it's worth mentioning that much of this story, rather comically, takes place in the tunnels/catacombs of New Orleans - a city rather well known for being below sea level and not really having much in the way of an underground for the burial of bodies, let alone for superhero/alien battles. MichaelFebruary 22, 2016 7:52 AM X-Men #9 @ChrisW- Maybe I didn't explain what happened clearly enough. Harras wanted the wedding to happen and used the wedding in the Animated Series to get DeFalco to agree: fnord12February 22, 2016 7:43 AM She-Hulk #38-39 We are in the minority at least compared to the people writing in to both Namor and She-Hulk. All the letters i saw about the duo-shade were positive. fnord12February 22, 2016 7:40 AM Untold Tales of Spider-Man #3 I agree this issue (and therefore ASM #7) needed to be moved after TOS #48. Thanks Bill (do you want to be Uncanny Bill or Spectacular Bill?). AndrewFebruary 22, 2016 7:06 AM X-Men #9 This thread has gone pretty far afield, but my two cents is I always felt that Scott with the girl who looked like his dead girlfriend was creepy, Alfred-Hitcock-type territory. It was never going to end well. And, Chris, I highly recommend both Morrison's New X-Men and Whedon's Astonishing X-Men. In context, Scott's relationship with Emma makes a lot of sense; a repressed guy like him needs a girl who's a little crazy to balance him out. Erik BeckFebruary 22, 2016 7:04 AM Uncanny X-Men #125-128 Hasan - That would mean that either Nocenti wrote herself in as a character in fetish gear who's being humiliated and then is lectured by Emma, or the penciller decided to draw that character deliberately to look like her. Seems an odd decision. Erik BeckFebruary 22, 2016 7:02 AM She-Hulk #38-39 "I may be in the minority in this, but i much prefer the cleaner looking regular inks to the duo-shade." Yeah, I don't know that you are in the minority on that, fnord. If you are, then I'm in it with you, complete with not liking it in Namor but actually liking how it makes the Thing work. Totally agree with you about footnotes as well. Interesting that Renee would say it's Marvel Policy at the same time it's kind of being phased out through most of Marvel. In terms of selling back issues - well, on one level Marvel has no incentive to sell back issues. Like with anything used (books, cd's, etc), nothing actually gets paid back to the original source. So Marvel doesn't actually make any money from back issues - only the comic shop does. ChrisWFebruary 22, 2016 3:44 AM X-Men #9 Robert, I'm less concerned about editorial interference in the marriages than the fact that none of them worked for more than a few years. These are three of the most classic couples in comics. Reed and Sue are the only ones in their league, and they were engaged from the start and married by their creators. [I do have a fondness for Ralph and Sue Dibny, but they are DC characters and I understand their marriage... didn't end well.] You probably know more than I do about all of these characters currently. Scott got his happy ending with Madelyne, and marrying Jean is (dare I say it?) just a failed attempt at cloning the process. It's not the editorial fiat I'm complaining about (specifically) and certainly not in Scott and Jean's case. Getting them married, yes, as Michael said above, the company and the cartoon people are to blame for that. Fine. And I have no problem with Scott and Jean being together finally after all their trials and tribulations, and Scott's first wife can be easily forgotten. But becoming a bumbling idiot because Betsy looks at him? Going on to cheat on Jean with Emma Frost [which I know only by reputation, I've never read the actual comics]? This is not the Cyclops that we've known for so long. It's like he's been replaced by an alien energy space form. Peter/MJ and Clark/Lois are fine as far as they go, I was just using them as examples in my shock about learning that Scott and Jean married because the cartoon show wanted it. All three couples, it's not a bad idea. If they were real people, I'd wish them well, and *tsk tsk* when it doesn't work out. Such is life. Robert, based on your comment, I'm pretty sure you know much more than I do how all of those marriages worked issue-to-issue. I'm not disagreeing with you about any of that. In fact, I don't think I'm disagreeing with you in general. But Scott Summers is mentally (if not physically) cheating on his wife with one of the X-Men's greatest enemies, who wears an S&M outfit. That's not a happy marriage. Scott and Jean could spend the next fifty years together, that will still be a problem they haven't dealt with. I'm not complaining about how the marriages began or ended. Fictional characters owned by vast corporations, they'll marry whoever they're told to marry. But three of the greatest couples in comics get married because of those vast corporation, with no regard for what it does to them as characters? That offends me. Britney Spears had a better reason to get married. She was drunk in Vegas. End of story. [There actually is a good self-published comic where a Superman rip-off married a Wonder Woman rip-off after a drunken weekend in Vegas, and the story is about their respective supporting casts (and the Justice League rip-off) dealing with it. And Terry Moore had his main characters in "Strangers In Paradise" doing exactly the same thing. Maybe it was just in the air at the time.] RobertFebruary 22, 2016 2:38 AM X-Men #9 Oh wait, none of the above marriages had any lasting quality. Never mind. ChrisW, I think I understand how you meant that but I do want to respond because it struck a nerve (mainly due to my irritation with how at least a couple of those marriages were ended). I always find these discussions are tricky to get into because all it takes is one side pointing out what one or two shitty writers did as "evidence" that something isn't working, but here I go nonetheless. I think the Peter/MJ marriage worked up until the point that the Spider titles in general stopped working and then it became a convenient scapegoat for many. The Clark/Lois marriage sure-as-hell worked until the company higher-ups decided to muck with them for reasons that had jack to do with quality or fans clamoring for it to end. Both of these relationships began and ended due to sales gimmicks and publicity stunts. But I would argue that both were natural progessions of their romances and, in the Clark & Lois case, they were long overdue for some progression on a formula that had grown stale decades before. As for Jean/Scott, they're the couple I'm least interested in of the three but there was history to back up the idea and, correct me if I'm wrong, they are the only one to not have their marriage dissolved by editorial bullshit. I am assuming on that because my knowledge of post-Heroes Reborn Marvel is spotty. There are other entries here I know that go into more detail on the Peter/MJ debate and this is probably not the place for the DC debate, so I'll leave it at me chiming in with my two cents unless you ask a question or something that requires additional comment. JonathanFebruary 22, 2016 2:16 AM Hulk #393 Well I guess the Russians must have been waiting for Gruenwald to do another Marvel Handbook update. :) ChrisWFebruary 22, 2016 2:05 AM X-Men #9 Really? There is something wrong when comic book characters get married because other mediums demand it. Stan Lee wanted Peter and MJ to marry for the newspaper strip. The producers of "Lois and Clark" wanted Superman to get married, a couple of years after Superman died. And now Scott and Jean get married to match up with the cartoon series? #*@&$^(!!!! Britney f*cking Spears had a better reason to get married than that. She was getting plastered with some guy in Las Vegas, that's all the excuse they need. Producers of similar work in a different medium wanted a marriage and the comic book characters just jump through the hoops? Yeah, that'll be a happy marriage Oh wait, none of the above marriages had any lasting quality. Never mind. ChrisWFebruary 22, 2016 1:49 AM X-Factor #78 Maybe it's just that good writing is in such short supply during this era. ChrisWFebruary 22, 2016 1:16 AM X-Factor #78 You're both right, it's the most obvious conclusion, and again, I know when I'm outvoted. Wouldn't surprise me if Peter David wrote the story for the most obvious conclusion, it's just that I like the way it was so nuanced to allow for different conclusions. It's a rare skill. Tempo's "personal involvement" could be because she went to the clinic (before or after she started working for Stryfe, doesn't really matter except for future stories.) Stryfe knew about it and that's why he mentions it. Dr. Tucker recognizes her voice because it sticks out. I'm not good with faces or people who change looks regularly, but a voice, that I can remember. Getting a random call about an incoming threat would be jarring, but I suspect Dr. Tucker would recognize his daughter's voice on the phone, as opposed to nieces or whoever that he may rarely see. I've lost the argument and am not remotely trying to convince anybody that I'm right. I won't even claim that I am right. I'm just using this as an excuse to enthuse about the story. We're talking about Rob Liefeld characters and can basically count their appearances on one hand, but suddenly there are nuances that make Madelyne Pryor or Hank Pym look two-dimensional and unbelievable. This is what good writing is, people. Sparky RyanFebruary 22, 2016 1:11 AM Thor #308 A really solid issue. I enjoyed the scenes of the snow plow guy losing it. Thor works best when interacting with regular folk. Pollard's art really makes this issue for me though. An entertaining enough read, but nothing spectacular. Great cover though. ChrisWFebruary 22, 2016 1:02 AM Uncanny X-Men #118-119 You're quite right. As pointed out above, there were many ways for the X-Men to figure out Jean and Hank were alive and vice-versa. One of Claremont's worst tendencies is to have people think the main characters are dead, whether over a few pages or for several years of publishing time. But, especially by the time this issue of "Classic X-Men" was reprinted, it's even worse how willingly his characters sell their souls. Moses Magnum joins Cylla and Lady Deathstrike as people who will drop everything to deal with the devil in exchange for a short-term 'power-up' to achieve their short-term goals. Even if it works out well for the heroes. Rachel with Spiral, Storm with Dr. Doom to save Kitty, Kitty with Callisto and Caliban to save the X-Men, much of Illyana's time in Limbo [depending on your perspective] Wolverine with Yukio, Havoc with Magneto joining the X-Men, Storm and Magneto joining the Hellfire Club, Doug and Warlock merging constantly, Wolverine going berserk, Mojo, fer cryin'... It's always a regular theme, join the Dark Side to win in the short-term. Whether it's analagous to an addictive drug or a deal with the devil, don't hesitate to say 'yes.' BillFebruary 21, 2016 10:30 PM Untold Tales of Spider-Man #3 And the above post from Bill is not from me, the original Bill :) BillFebruary 21, 2016 10:07 PM Untold Tales of Spider-Man #3 Should this go after Tales Of Suspense #48, as Iron Man is shown above in his newer armor? ChrisFebruary 21, 2016 10:05 PM Hulk #393 Strange that the People's Protectorate didn't know the Pantheon members. Although we, the readers, met them less than two years prior, they are supposed to be a faction known to SHIELD and Nick Fury. If so, Moscow would have known of them, and it doesn't make sense that Russia's own government super team would not have been debriefed. These aren't private sector heroes. They are government goons. Moscow would make sure they were informed about whom they might need to fight. The Titanium Man had access to a Handbook style encyclopedia in Thor #356. In 1993 Russia was in chaos. If the Pantheon was a brand spanking new team that just appeared, I could buy the PP not knowing who they were. But David made sure to tell us readers that the Pantheon had been around a while and that Fury knew about them. You can't have it both ways. JCFebruary 21, 2016 8:55 PM Hulk #393 Durrr. Everyone knows it means old and busted. BillFebruary 21, 2016 8:52 PM Hulk #393 The second story was drawn by Trimpe?? It looks good; real solid. This is the style he should have "updated" to, not the Liefeld knockoff dreck he tried his hand at. HasanFebruary 21, 2016 8:02 PM Uncanny X-Men #125-128 That unnamed waitress is totally Ann Nocenti herself, though drawn much taller than the real life version. The dark hair, the whole feminist screed, etc. Not that I dislike the feminist discussion here, I absolutely love this story. hasanFebruary 21, 2016 8:00 PM Uncanny X-Men #118-119 I always found the “X-Men think Phoenix and Beast are dead and vice versa” ridiculous, unbelievable, and contrived, at least from after the X-men returned from the Savage Land. Beast was an Avenger for god’s sake! Did the X-men never see or hear a news broadcast during this time? Or read a newspaper? Or contact the Avengers about hank as Chaim Shraga points out? And conversely, as seen in these issues, the X-Men tend to make some news as well. I just roll my eyes every time I read those sequences. AndrewFebruary 21, 2016 7:51 PM Hulk #393 Yeah, that's not what the word "classic" means.... StevenFebruary 21, 2016 7:26 PM Hulk #393 Herb Trimpe may have done a lot of issues, but Sal Buscema, Dale Keown, and Gary Frank were all better Hulk artists. I consider their issues more classic than Trimpe's. RobertFebruary 21, 2016 6:36 PM Tales To Astonish #78-81 Puppet Master is still in his Uncle Fester form here, I see. Love the Hulk/Herc fight, imperfect art and all. The Colan art is saving the Subby stories as the initially interesting underwater kingdom drama begins to wear a little thin (for me, at least). RobertFebruary 21, 2016 6:24 PM Hulk #393 Regarding the second story, i want to note that Herb Trimpe had what i think was the longest run as a Hulk artist (i haven't counted, and it's possible Sal Buscema's run was actually longer, but Trimpe was certainly the definitive Hulk artist for a long time). Yeah Buscema's was longer. I don't have the actual numbers in front of me but Sal did over 110 issues while Trimpe did something like 88. Both very impressive. kvetoFebruary 21, 2016 4:17 PM Marvel Team-Up #5-6 gotta love the kung fu kick the puppet master uses to take out the Vision. Who knew? JonathanFebruary 21, 2016 4:14 PM Alpha Flight #107 "How could Alpha Flight put up with an arrogant, obnoxious speedster who's overprotective of his sister" ...HIs sister, who John Byrne made mentally ill. Wow, they really are similar. mikrolikFebruary 21, 2016 3:35 PM Daredevil #82-83 kveto: Looks like Daredevil #84 revealed them to be robots. Also, the real Scorpion and Mr. Hyde showed up in Captain America 151-152, also written by Gerry Conway, where the revealed Mr. Kline captured them, but they escaped. So as far as I can tell, yes, they were always meant to be robots. (Unless Gerry meant for them to be real in DD 82-83, then immediately changed in mind for DD 84.) kvetoFebruary 21, 2016 3:19 PM Daredevil #82-83 Were these intended to be robots or the real things? kvetoFebruary 21, 2016 3:05 PM Daredevil #78-79 Don't worry. I'm sure Matt was just imagining that was a poster of Karen. In reality he was probably fingering a Burger Chef ad. kvetoFebruary 21, 2016 2:47 PM Daredevil #75-76 Had Roy Thomas been consulted, he probably could have tied el Condor to El Gaucho from the golden age. http://www.reocities.com/jjnevins/avenger.html AFFebruary 21, 2016 2:44 PM Hulk #393 Reason for it being reprinted was Drenkov figured in the new story. In it Presence transforms him into a giant gamma monster that the Winter Guard fight. Darkstar II defeats him by absorbing him into her Darkforce body which then causes her to experience Drenkov's memories (a.k.a. a full reprint of the story here). But I'm most curious if the writer saw this reprint and picked on that Fantasma bit and saw that it never had been resolved so came up with the Dire Wraith idea or if it just happened to coincide with his already formed idea. AFFebruary 21, 2016 2:38 PM Hulk #393 It's reprinted in Hulk: Winter Guard one-shot. (or rather the main story is - with a new framing sequence that ends up being a whole issue long story unto itself) MikeCheyneFebruary 21, 2016 1:43 PM Hulk #393 Mission Impossible did this plot all the time, where the team would abduct someone and make him believe they had gone back in time or to the future or in some in between fantasy. Mark DrummondFebruary 21, 2016 12:23 PM Marvel Team-Up #48-51 Another problem: during #51,Jameson yells about paying Peter Parker's salary, but Parker is supposed to be a freelancer. MichaelFebruary 21, 2016 12:13 PM Alpha Flight #107 But that could have been kind of funny: MichaelFebruary 21, 2016 12:09 PM Hulk #393 Note that the "case file" makes it clear that the reason why Banner became the Hulk again in Samson's first appearance after Samson cured him was because the Hulk's personality was subconsciously influencing him. MichaelFebruary 21, 2016 12:02 PM Amazing Spider-Man #39-40 But clearly Ditko liked the idea of making a background character in the crowd the main villain since he did the same thing with Nathan Boder in the Speedball series. Mark DrummondFebruary 21, 2016 11:51 AM Marvel Team-Up #48-51 I agree with Andrew that Will Eisner's Spirit was probably a starting point for this--Phillip DeWolff looks very much like a better groomed Commissioner Dolan, and Jean DeWolff could sort of pass for Ellen Dolan. Unfortunately, that could leave Bill Mantlo open to a 2nd plagiarism charge in the same story; I think it was around this time that Michael T. Gilbert introduced a funny-animal version of the Spirit called "The Wraith" in Quack, a title published by Mike Friedrich's Star Reach. No way would Mantlo have not known about anything Friedrich published at that time; nearly every fanzine was covering him. kvetoFebruary 21, 2016 11:35 AM Silver Surfer #4 I've always liked the paper/scissors/stone effect of Marvel's big three power heroes. Hulk beats Thor fnord12February 21, 2016 10:52 AM X-Factor #78 He does recognize her voice enough to know that he recognizes her voice, so to speak. I assume they were estranged and haven't spoken since she manifested mutant abilities at adolescence. fnord12February 21, 2016 10:47 AM New Mutants annual #7 Thanks Vin. I got the credits for that part mixed up with the main story. Fixed it. fnord12February 21, 2016 10:44 AM Amazing Spider-Man #17 He also appeared in Untold Tales #10. I've added a tag for him. Thanks kveto and Rick. fnord12February 21, 2016 10:31 AM Thor annual #7 Virako and the other Eternals and related characters in this story only appear in a flashback that took place "an Earthly millennium ago", which is why they aren't tagged. (I did for some reason have Makkari, who doesn't even appear in the FB aside from a conceptual panel, tagged in this entry. I've removed him.) AFFebruary 21, 2016 9:41 AM Thor annual #7 Actually turns out he'll show up even sooner than that. Erik BeckFebruary 21, 2016 8:55 AM Alpha Flight #107 "Poor Pietro. Not only does he get left out of most the team shots, he also gets left out of their crossover appearances!" Do you really need Pietro when you have Northstar to cover the "arrogant, obnoxious, tactless speedster" role? RickFebruary 21, 2016 8:54 AM Amazing Spider-Man #17 Liz's father appeared at least one other time in #28. kvetoFebruary 21, 2016 6:14 AM Amazing Spider-Man #39-40 i remember picking up the reprints of 39 and getting shocked at the huge upswing in quality in the art. that panel where Pete dodges the blast is awesome. I've never been comfortable with Ditko's version of the GG identity, that he wanted Osborn and Stan wanted somebody else. Why then would Stan instantly reveal GG as Norman as soon as Ditko leaves? JonathanFebruary 21, 2016 5:48 AM Tales Of Suspense #51 Clearly in the Silver Age, there was a thin line separating you helping someone catch a thief and you becoming an evil Commie traitor to your country. JonathanFebruary 21, 2016 5:28 AM Tales Of Suspense #51 Decides he'd make a great thief, so gets himself a scarecrow suit out of a costume shop, steals his partner's trained crows, becomes a supervillain, decides to defect to Cuba as an enemy of America... well, that escalated quickly. TuomasFebruary 21, 2016 5:24 AM X-Factor #78 the only things I'm really disagreeing on are that the two main black characters are obviously related, even though there's nothing in the story to show that. Just because they're black? There is nothing in the story that explicitly confirms that they are a father and daughter, but since Stryfe's "personal involvement" comment confirms Tempo did know Dr. Tucker personally, and given that the story is about human parents not wanting to have mutant children, and that Tucker clearly has a strong personal opinion on the matter, it would be the most obvious conclusion. If she was just a patient at the clinic, would she defy Stryfe to warn Dr. Tucker? I agree that him not recognizing her is a bit strange, but maybe she altered her voice while talking on the phone? Comics don't have sound, so we can't tell... And when the MLF faces Tucker, she doesn't talk to him and her face is hidden by her mask. It's a bit dodgy, but hey, this is superhero comics, where even a domino mask is enough to hide your identity from friends and loved ones. kvetoFebruary 21, 2016 5:14 AM Amazing Spider-Man #23 don't think they ever explain how the Goblin can catch and manipulate spidey's webs like that. You'd think he'd use that trick more often. kvetoFebruary 21, 2016 4:02 AM Tales Of Suspense #51 Sometimes it felt like the random villain created each month was not created for a specific hero but for whichever book needed a villain. thats actually realistic, as I like the underpowered Scarecrow meeting IM first. kvetoFebruary 21, 2016 3:58 AM Tales To Astonish #52 (Giant-Man/Wasp) @ Chris, Yugoslavia,(the largest balkan nation) which all the countries you mention share a border with, was not behind the Iron Curtain, so not so strange, even at the time. ChrisWFebruary 21, 2016 3:41 AM X-Factor #78 That makes perfect sense, I won't deny that. At this point, the only things I'm really disagreeing on are that the two main black characters are obviously related, even though there's nothing in the story to show that. Just because they're black? And also, parents generally know more about their kids than their kids realize, so I have a hard time thinking Tempo could fool Dr. Tucker with her voice. Not saying you're wrong. Established Marvel continuity apparently says you're right. It's just that I never read it that way, and only the scan fnord added really puts any weight on that interpretation (to me, your mileage may vary.) Peter David was such a perfect fit for the mutant titles, and Bob Harras' mutant titles were so wrong for Peter David. At least we got a handful of issues out of him. Fine, Tempo is Dr. Tucker's daughter. I can see reasons that doesn't work, but I know when I'm outvoted. Niece, second cousin? Those might work. But I still prefer my own reading, which is fully-consistent with the comic as we see it. A very morally-ambiguous story which works very well no matter what your perspective on the subject matter. One of my favorite experiences in all of fiction, regardless of medium or genre. I love stories where every reader has their own viewpoint which is entirely sustainable based on the information provided in the story itself. At his best, Peter David was very good at those stories. There was also the [blanking on her name, Crazy 8?] story over in "Hulk" about capital punishment. Excellent story which raised as many moral questions on all sides of the issue as possible, didn't take any particular side, and didn't provide a satisfying ending for anyone who wanted their particular viewpoint justified. It's not supposed to be satisfying, it's supposed to be a good story, and it was. If nothing else, this story is what happens when you let Peter David write Rob Liefeld characters. The horror, the horror... PeterAFebruary 21, 2016 2:56 AM Ghost Rider #25 Mackie has a pattern on every one of his series though that it seems like he is making it up on the fly. And shouldn't he be getting constructive feedback and plotting sessions from and with his editor? I guess they haven't been doing that since Shooter left? Vin the Comics GuyFebruary 21, 2016 12:17 AM New Mutants annual #7 The first chapter is penciled by Kirk Jarvinen...couldn't place the style, at first. I wish Guang Yap was that good. Ben HermanFebruary 20, 2016 9:40 PM Ghost Rider #25 @Chris... It's just possible that, yes, Howard Mackie actually did not know what to do with the Ghost Rider series at this point. There is an interview with Mackie in which he states that when he was pitching the Ghost Rider revival, various people at Marvel fully expected it to be a massive flop and attempted to stop the book from ever getting off the ground. Of course, as we now know, the new Ghost Rider book was a gigantic success. This apparently took everyone at Marvel completely off-guard. I would not be surprised if Mackie himself was totally unprepared for Ghost Rider's insane popularity. Initially he may have only planned out a year or so worth of stories, believing that was probably the most time that he'd have before the series got cancelled. So by the time this issue rolled around, it's possible Mackie had no idea where he should go next and was just making stuff up on the fly. Anyway, here is a link to that interview... RobertFebruary 20, 2016 6:40 PM Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD #4 Frank Springer is no Jim Steranko but he does an admirable job trying here. Anyway, ho-hum story but I did enjoy an ad in the book called "Pete Duncan - Dropout." It's about a guy getting his high school diploma via correspondence school so he can get a better job to support his family. It probably speaks more to my low interest in Fury and SHIELD than anything else but I really wanted to see where Pete's life went from there. RobertFebruary 20, 2016 6:33 PM Strange Tales #130-144 (Dr. Strange) An Englishman named Baskerville living on the foggy moors...cute, Stan. kvetoFebruary 20, 2016 6:28 PM Amazing Spider-Man #17 I wonder if this is the only appearance of Liz's father? With Molten man later being revealed as her step-brother, his history becomes more complex. JeffFebruary 20, 2016 6:03 PM Werewolf By Night #31 Another pain in the butt about narration saying it's been "a month" between issues is Marvel time, which after Franklin Richards birth is approx four calendar years for one Marvel year ... late teen Topaz very clearly turns 21 in late 1980s Dr. Strange, almoat a decade of publishing time later. The whole "one month later" wrecks havoc on my Marvel anal retentiveness Omar KarinduFebruary 20, 2016 5:50 PM Tales Of Suspense #68 (Iron Man) Part of why you don't see "serious" mobsters much in early Silver Age comics is apparently because the Mafia controlled a lot of the distributors, and the publishers didn't want to tick them off. AFFebruary 20, 2016 5:48 PM Thor annual #7 Virako returns some 34 years later, so probably should be tagged. MichaelFebruary 20, 2016 3:20 PM Marvel Team-Up #32 To be fair, the latter thing is pretty common- in Doctor Strange 51 and Defenders 102, which were published like two months apart, Clea saved the day in both issues by using spells to channel or awaken love. I guess Stephen had her studying love spells at the time. Mark DrummondFebruary 20, 2016 3:02 PM Marvel Team-Up #32 Steve Gerber and Gerry Conway seemed to have little communication with each other. Conway had Wingfoot identified with his usual tribe, the Keewazi in Oklahoma, but Gerber identified him as a Konohoti in the further Southwest. Even worse, editor Len Wein didn't seem to notice that Wyatt was being mind-controlled twice in stories a week apart. Erik BeckFebruary 20, 2016 2:13 PM Alpha Flight #106 Bringing this thread back to the comic at hand, this comic is thoroughly disappointing for such an important issue. This may seem hypocritical, as I like Roy Thomas' work on Invaders and love his similar DC work on All-Star Squadron, but Major Mapleleaf is just a pathetic joke. Banshee was making a joke about the costume and now we have a character dressed like a mountie with a stupid name? And regardless of the quality of the art, to have the serious issues at hand here discussed in an issue when all the characters are just shouting at each other just shows had badly designed it all was. It almost felt like Marvel was just like, hey, well no one reads Alpha Flight anyway, so why not deal with it all there. True, Northstar's sexuality made it the right place to deal with it, but still, it just reeked of shoving it to the side. RobertFebruary 20, 2016 2:06 PM Amazing Spider-Man #29 Peter is wearing an orange vest over a navy blue shirt this issue. Possibly now that he's out of high school he's dressing differently. It's yellow isn't it? Anyway, yeah I've noticed a few commenters here mention before that Ditko dressed Peter and his teenage friends like Young Republicans. I assume they had gotten letters with similar comments so they were starting to change that. Peter stopped wearing a tie a couple of issues back I think and now he's wearing whatever this is. There's some awkward scripting in the opening panels of Peter changing and going to a bank and then walking down the street with his new duds. The words match the action (sort of) but there's still something off about it. RobertFebruary 20, 2016 1:54 PM X-Men #8 Thx, Michael. I had checked and saw 256 was released with a Late Dec date and the others were back to normal but the first one is probably why I thought it was still on biweekly. Plus the issues after that didn't even feature Betsy so yeah there was enough time to get some fan reaction before they were done. MichaelFebruary 20, 2016 1:43 PM X-Men #8 It was back to regular monthly then- according to dcindexes Uncanny X-Men 256 came out on 10/3 and issue 258 came out on 12/5. According to Gruenwald back then finished books were SUPPOSED to be sent to the printers 8 weeks in advance but could still be done in as little as 3 weeks. Considering Lee had a reputation for lateness, I wouldn't be surprised if it was 3 weeks. RobertFebruary 20, 2016 1:25 PM X-Men #8 Oh to have an edit button. Anyway, my grammatical gymnastics aside, what I'm saying is that by the time the first Asian Psylocke issue would have hit stands they should have been finished with that arc and onto the next, right? Unless they were really cutting it close with deadlines then. And, like I said, she was introduced during a period they were biweekly. So was the time a book was finished to the time it hit stands really less than a month then? RobertFebruary 20, 2016 1:20 PM X-Men #8 Doesn't that mean the first Asian Psylocke issue would have hit stands before they were even finished with the arc during a period UXM was biweekly? Doesn't seem right to me that they would have been finishing the books that close to shipping dates. I guess anything is possible given how notorious the Image guys were for cutting it close on deadlines or flat-out not being able to meet them. I'm sure her staying a hot Asian ninja chick was because it struck a chord with horny teenage boys, but it seems to me Claremont might be misremembering the timeline on when they started getting fan response and a decision was made to keep her that way. MichaelFebruary 20, 2016 12:51 PM X-Men #8 @Ben-According to Claremont, it was his idea and was originally supposed to be short-term temporary, like a 3-issue arc, but the fans liked it so much it became permanent: Ben HermanFebruary 20, 2016 10:48 AM Avengers #114 According to Steve Englehart, the costume & visual look for Mantis that are first seen in this issue were designed by John Romita. JeffFebruary 20, 2016 10:32 AM Uncanny X-Men #148 By-the-by that full-page image of Magneto is one of the best Magneto pics of the '80s and probably my favorite Cockrum drawing (as I think a lot of Cockrum drawings are usually too heavily inked, this one, not so much). JeffFebruary 20, 2016 10:27 AM Spider-Woman #37-38 Ok that's pretty sound logic. I think I originally missed the "weeks later" line. Got it! :) JeffFebruary 20, 2016 10:25 AM Tales To Astonish #38 (Ant-Man) Stan keeps using that term "Bowery flophouse" in these '60s Marvel stories... that term to me reeks of old-fashioned-ness (my mind goes to the movie Bowery Boys) but I guess that part of the city is where the bums all headed back in the '60s? Len Wein used that later on too in his "Bowery Derelict" storyline in ASM that re-introduced Doc Ock. MichaelFebruary 20, 2016 9:30 AM X-Men #9 @fnord- Harras claimed that the original trigger for Scott and Jean getting married was a story in the animated series in 1993- he had been asking for years to get them married and DeFalco kept saying no. TuomasFebruary 20, 2016 6:31 AM X-Factor #78 Based on this story alone, I would assume Dr. Tucker is Tempo's dad. Having had a mutant daughter himself would explain why he's so personally invested in the research, right down to facing the MLF and making that "if your parents had known they were getting a vomitous freak" comment, even though they might kill him for it. It would also make Tempo's story more tragic: she's trying to save her dad, even though he thinks his own daughter is a freak. TuomasFebruary 20, 2016 4:57 AM Amazing Spider-Man #28 Oh, sorry Robert, I misunderstood your comment. Vincent ValentiFebruary 20, 2016 12:12 AM X-Men #8 Funny that both Bishop and Belladonna independently reveal Gambit's last name to be LeBeau in this issue. ChrisWFebruary 19, 2016 11:35 PM X-Factor #78 Fnord, the scan you added does weigh rather heavily on the side that they actually know each other personally, and I assume the retcon that Tempo was related to Dr. Tucker wasn't actually a retcon and was intended from the beginning with this story. That's fair. I may not agree, but it's a rational viewpoint which, admittedly, has more evidence to support it than my own reading. That said, (1) I'm skeptical that they're father/daughter, because he'd probably recognize his daughter's voice and (2) when I read the series, I assumed that she was a patient at the clinic. If I recall, Tempo was introduced as having a badly-written southern accent, so her voice would have stood out to him, even if he couldn't place it. She went to the clinic for reasons that wouldn't pass the standards of Marvel editors, never mind the Comics Code, and at the very least, is ambivalent about it afterwards to the point where she'll sabotage her own team's mission to kill Dr. Tucker. Maybe I'm just reading too much into things, but Peter David is just that good a writer. david banesFebruary 19, 2016 10:56 PM Amazing Spider-Man #28 Joe...is one of the Ditko era villains that was improved by another writer much later and not one of a Bryne/Stern/Claremont/Simonson caliber either. That's just how plain Joe is. JonathanFebruary 19, 2016 9:47 PM X-Men #9 I must be misremembering, I only read the Kwannon storyline once but I'd remembered the explanation being that the Kwannon side of Betsy had been tampering with Scott's mind. To be honest that's the only explanation that makes sense to me. Scott completely loses the power of speech in both this issue and the last, and it does go past a comedy "tongue tied by hot girl" to him seeming brain damaged. It just felt like a re-run of Moondragon making Angel and Iceman lust after her in the Defenders. As I'm sure others have pointed out, I always thought it was dumb that Scott suddenly found her attractive when she came out the water last issue in a swimsuit, since it doesn't really reveal any more of her than the ninja swimsuit she wears the whole time. ChrisFebruary 19, 2016 8:49 PM Amazing Spider-Man #28 I wonder how forgettable the Looter would be if 1) Stan had scripted the issue as if he were a threat rather than a joke (I suspect Stan was being a bit passive-aggressive here, upset about Ditko's personal interaction with him), and 2) Ditko had stayed longer with the book and possibly used him again (even the Molten Man comes back again before Ditko leaves). As written, the Looter is one of the more generic villains with typical powers and non-exotic look. His only real distinction is his own inventive prowess (dazzle gun and balloon pack). It's amazing how many Ditko villains Stan Lee did not use in Amazing Spider-Man after Ditko left (although he used some in other books). The Molten Man and the Looter certainly weren't the only ones. RobertFebruary 19, 2016 8:12 PM Amazing Spider-Man #28 Tuomas, I meant forgettable for the rest of this run not forever. Obviously many other great villains would come later. TuomasFebruary 19, 2016 8:01 PM Amazing Spider-Man #28 Whereas Molten Man obviously became such an unforgettable villain that, after the Ditko run, he appeared in three Spider-Man stories in the 1970s, and in one in the 1980s. TuomasFebruary 19, 2016 7:50 PM Amazing Spider-Man #28 Rhino, Kingpin, Morbius, Black Cat, Punisher, Hopgoblin, Rose, Silver Sable, Venom- you think they're all forgettable? RobertFebruary 19, 2016 6:59 PM Amazing Spider-Man #28 Molten Man is the last significant Spidey villain created during the Ditko/Lee run, which gave us the best rogues gallery for any Marvel hero. After this it's just returning villains plus forgettable characters like the Looter. Ben HermanFebruary 19, 2016 3:33 PM What If? #35-39 One of my favorite What If issues from the 1990s was "What if the Fantastic Four fought Doctor Doom before they got their powers?" It had an interesting twist ending. Reed Richards fixes the flaws in Doom's calculations and is able to rescue Doom's mother from Mephisto's netherworld. However, even with his mother back in his life, Doom *still* goes bad, because his monumental ego cannot deal with the fact that Richards solved a problem that thwarted him. Ben HermanFebruary 19, 2016 3:13 PM X-Men #8 Zzzzzzzz... every single time the Thieves' Guild and Assassins' Guild have been mentioned over they years, starting from their very first appearance in this issue, I just get so totally bored to tears. The minute they pop up in a story, I mentally tune out, and the dialogue just becomes like one of Charlie Brown's teachers going "Wah wah wah." That literally just happened when I tried to read the excerpt from the Gambit entry from Wikipedia that clyde posted here. It's why every single time Gambit has gotten a solo series I have avoided it like the plague, because sooner or later those damn Guilds show up. *Sigh!* I wish that the X-Men titles had stuck with Claremont's backstory for Gambit as a creation of Mister Sinister. It would have been much more preferable than this nonsense. By the way, I am very much convinced that Jim Lee talked Claremont into turning Psylocke into a half-naked big-breasted ninja babe so that he'd have yet another sexy character to draw in fetishistic cheesecake poses. This issue just seems to confirm it. Ben HermanFebruary 19, 2016 1:51 PM X-Factor #78 Tempo's name is subsequently revealed to be Heather Tucker, so it seems very likely that she is closely related to Doctor Tucker. I think that this is one of those stories where attempting to have mutants serve as an allegory for real-life minorities falls apart. In the Marvel universe, some mutations are amazing, giving people almost god-like abilities. But other mutations are, well, a real curse, resulting in uncontrollable powers or horrific deformities. What if removing the mutant gene meant that you would no longer have to worry about death rays shooting uncontrollably out of your eyes (Cyclops), or that touching another person would cause their life energy to be sucked out(Rogue), or that you would no longer be morbidly obese (Blob), or have bones protruding uncontrollably our of your body (Marrow), and so on? Hell, even with someone like Magneto, his powers are a blessing *and* a curse: he controls a fundamental force of nature, but his powers cause him to exhibit extreme mental instability. Honestly, in some cases, mutants who felt that they were more cursed than blessed would be relieved to have their mutant gene removed. fnord12February 19, 2016 1:40 PM X-Factor #78 Oh, you're right. Thanks Stevie G. Removed that. JC, X-Factor does make fun of Val's outfit in this issue, for what it's worth. Stevie GFebruary 19, 2016 1:29 PM X-Factor #78 When did Wolfsbane become a Catholic? In New Mutants, her religious background was always Presbyterian. JCFebruary 19, 2016 11:26 AM X-Factor #78 WTF is Val Cooper wearing? Ataru320February 19, 2016 10:38 AM Avengers #217 @Erik Beck: I think I made a similar point like this when they eventually bring back Hawkeye and bring in She-Hulk with this squad: its basically a classic Avengers squad, only with Shulkie replacing her cousin and one of the early recruits (Hawkeye) added in as well. The dynamics combined with Jan as the chairman really does make it both classic and different simultaneously. Oliver_CFebruary 19, 2016 10:12 AM X-Factor #78 Oh for the days when Wolfsbane's intermediate human-wolf form was actually depicted as, you know, an intermediate human-wolf form, rather than this Bride-of-Frankenstein-meets-The-Wolfman appearance. Omar KarinduFebruary 19, 2016 9:55 AM Iron Man #154 For all intents and purposes, this is the last time anyone really tells a story *about* the original Unicorn; he may or may not be one of the guys showing up in later stories, but whatever the case the Unicorn identity becomes a cipher. This story also creates a minor continuity problem: if Blacklash's damage to the cryo-labs caused power failures and freed the Unicorn, what happened to Jason Beere (From Avengers #168 and Iron Man #115) and the planet-destreoying bomb attached to his heart? fnord12February 19, 2016 9:21 AM Ghost Rider #27 @Michael, thanks, i've added Julien as a character appearing. Interesting that in terms of this story (i.e. not the flashback where Gambit 'killed' him), he only appears in the Ghost Rider portions. fnord12February 19, 2016 9:16 AM X-Men #9 I thought Scott/Betsy thing, to the degree that there was any thought behind it, was a clumsy effort at putting Scott in a situation where he was tempted by another woman before ultimately deciding that Jean was his one true love, leading to their engagement in UX #308. Jean and Scott's marriage was a topic at the end of Simonson's X-Factor run but then it was said in the lettercol that it had been delayed, so this seemed like a bad way of inserting some drama into their relationship while stretching things out. fnord12February 19, 2016 9:10 AM X-Factor #78 ChrisW, even beyond Stryfe's intimation, which would be a pretty weird line for PAD to put in from a storytelling perspective if it didn't mean something, the opening scene where Tempo is giving the warning makes it pretty clear that the two seem to know each other without actually hitting us over the head with it. I've added a scan of that scene at the top of the page. Michael, regarding why i think "father" as opposed to some other relationship, the fact that he calls her "young lady" makes that the most likely option to me. It's establishing an age distinction that makes, say, brother, or ex-lover, less likely. And if we accept Stryfe's intimation at the end, it should be someone close enough for the relationship to have real emotional impact, so, like, not an old college professor. But on both points, PAD doesn't explicitly say, so it can be open to interpretation. clydeFebruary 19, 2016 8:36 AM X-Men #8 From the Wiki entry on Gambit - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gambit_(comics) "Remy Etienne LeBeau[13] was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. He was kidnapped from the hospital where he was born, then raised by the LeBeau Clan Thieves' Guild, and given to the Antiquary as a tribute. They referred to the child as "Le Diable Blanc" ("the White Devil") and believed he was prophesied to unite the warring Thieves' and Assassins' Guilds. Soon after, Remy was placed in the care of Fagan's Mob, a gang of street thieves who raised the child and taught him the ways of thievery. After living as an orphan on the streets, a 10-year-old Remy attempted to pick the pocket of Jean-Luc LeBeau, then patriarch of the Thieves' Guild. Jean-Luc took the boy off the streets and adopted him into his own family." MichaelFebruary 19, 2016 8:19 AM X-Men #8 The X-Traitor storyline is basically forgotten about for a couple of years after this issue. Portacio has said that they didn't have a particular character in mind as the X-Traitor but they did consider the idea that it was Bishop in a self-fulfilling prophecy: Erik BeckFebruary 19, 2016 6:59 AM Excalibur #46-50 This stretch sums up the strengths of Excalibur (almost entirely Davis), but also the marketing problem. I say marketing, because it's not a problem with the book, per se, but its image. Marvel did want you to think of it as an "X-book", and it just really wasn't. But, since it used three former X-Men, people (including me), really wanted it to be an X-book. But really what it is, is an extension of the all the Marvel UK stuff (which of course, most American readers were unfamiliar with, as it had never at that time been printed in the US). It's good stuff, if you know what to expect. But, for those of us who just wanted Kitty and Kurt (probably Rachel as well, but I suspect far more X-fans were like me and were mainly reading it for Kitty and Kurt) to be back in the X-books. ChrisWFebruary 19, 2016 3:54 AM Dazzler: The Movie (Marvel Graphic Novel #12) I'm not pretending I can draw or letter a comic, but I have finally figured out how to put my Dazzler comic online. Here is the link to Page 1, keep moving the cursor to the left, and I will put the remaining two-thirds online soon. And I'm providing commentary. Max_SpiderFebruary 19, 2016 3:29 AM Ghost Rider #27 It should be noted that they didn't exactly leave the idea that the magic shotgun would kill the Brood queen to chance. What Fnord didn't show was that the X-Men all took turns attacking her decapitated skull with their powers afterwards. Can't really blame them after they saw her skin being removed as being useless. TuomasFebruary 19, 2016 1:29 AM Ghost Rider #26 Yeah, I agree. But it kinda summarizes this is whole era in superhero comics: they probably just thought, "a Brood Ghost Rider, that sounds cool!" without thinking whether it makes any sense. JCFebruary 19, 2016 12:24 AM Amazing Spider-Man #30 Holy who would've thunk the BeastCharming posts here. I'd figure he be too busy reading his own works to spend time one someone else's. Let me add to the sentiment and say tank yew for your work. There are a lot of hard to find books I never would've been able to read without you. Not just that but your quality speaks for itself. Good job sir. I mean not that I read scans or anything... cuz that would be wrong *snicker*. ChrisWFebruary 19, 2016 12:20 AM X-Men #8 And in #240, the X-Men were obviously really bored in Australia, so that doesn't count. :P ChrisWFebruary 19, 2016 12:17 AM X-Men #8 I said I'd probably forgotten a few examples, sheesh. She also dressed skimpy in the Savage Land where she didn't have any humans or mutants to run into. We're talking about a character with over 100 appearances in a single title, never mind cross-overs ["Secret Wars," etc.] in the onslaught of exploitative pin-up poses. Compared to Storm, Betsy, Ali, Mary Jane, Sue Richards, etc, Rogue was remarkably consistent for a long time. And then threw it all away to go on a picnic with Gambit. ChrisWFebruary 18, 2016 11:58 PM Amazing Spider-Man #30 Brian, I've never seen the "In Search of Steve Ditko" documentary. I'm watching it now on Youtube. Thoughts: #1: How did I know that was cat yronwode? I don't think I've ever seen a picture of cat, and if I have, it must be twenty years out of date, but before she introduced herself or the subtitles, I knew that was cat yronwode. #2: Not sure when the documentary was made, and too lazy to check, but they seem to be leaning a little heavy on the "Green Goblin's identity" as the reason Ditko left Spider-Man. Although I know that's been the rumor for decades, and it's quite possible this documentary was what led Ditko to set the record straight. For that alone, it performs a great service. #3: Ditko thinking that if Peter graduates high school, he can't be a boy who keeps making mistakes. That actually fits in with what I've always seen as a strange shift in personality once Peter goes to college. Standing up to Flash and saying 'if you damaged this profile, half the girls at ESU would be heartbroken and we can't let that happen.' Gwen's the only girl at ESU he knows even slightly, and it's such an out-of-character thing for him to say. And Gwen starts showing more interest in him. I always wondered what was going on there, but now it makes a bit of sense. #4: I think Ayn Rand's views are summarized fairly, and will admit to being fascinated by the only known recording of Ditko's voice. #5: I like the way they point out that it's not fair if Stan is given all the credit. Ditko was looking at those pages all day every day. It's very fair to him as a comics fanboy, that he's spent his life doing exactly what I wanted to do. And although I'm a bit wary of Alan Moore quoting his "Mr. A" song, I think it's hilarious anyway. I know where my interests in the Velvet Underground are, and it's not with Lou Reed. #6: I'm very glad that they got Stan Lee's contribution. If nothing else, it's nice to see Stan as forthcoming as it's possible for him to be. He is The Man, and this is a good example of that. He firmly believes that whoever has the original idea for a "Spider-Man" strip is the creator. He's willing to go as far as possible out of his way to "consider" Ditko the co-creator. He's not trying to take anybody's rights. But he believes that the guy with the orginal idea is the creator, and considering how many contracts he's signed with Marvel over the decades, he's not legally capable of giving Ditko any more credit than he's already giving. He can't say Ditko created various characters or stories, all he can say is that Ditko was just bringing in pages and Stan had to script them after-the-fact. Safe to assume Ditko created Gwen Stacy, Harry Osbourne and Eternity, but Stan can't say that. It's definitely not fair to Stan, but he's enjoyed a rich, full life, that he's totally earned, and an unfairness like this is comparable to what us mere mortals have to undergo. I'm glad he was given a chance to have his say. #7: I liked the way the climax to the "Master Planner" trilogy was given its place. I don't think Gaiman is right about it being in the top two or three superhero scenes, but I've had a grin pasted on my face since seeing that sequence again, so if he's wrong, it's not by much. #8: Perfect ending. "The first rule of Ditko is that you don't talk about Ditko." Several years ago, Dave Sim had a blog (tough to do when you don't have internet access, but he managed) and he had a commission to draw "Cerebus" characters as Dr. Strange and a Ditko-background. He used the experience to read a ton of Ditko comics, and wrote extensively about Ditko's work and art, to the point where Ditko contacted him. They corresponded, and Sim even met Ditko personally. Considering how... verbose Sim has always been about every other contact he's ever had in the comics field, I've always wondered why he's never shared that Ditko correspondence, or described the meeting. The closest he ever got was saying Ditko dressed in a way that made Will Eisner look like a slob, and anybody who knew Eisner (which Sim did, but I didn't, so I don't know what he's talking about) always dressed very well. "Ok, but what did you talk about???" You don't talk about Steve Ditko. How very true. MichaelFebruary 18, 2016 11:28 PM X-Men #8 Rogue was also dressed skimpy in X-Men 240, when she was flirting with Longshot. HaywerthFebruary 18, 2016 11:11 PM X-Men #9 Thanks, Michael! :-) Erik RobbinsFebruary 18, 2016 10:05 PM X-Men #9 I believe Jubilee does eventually join the New Warriors, but it is a very different Jubilee and a very different New Warriors (thanks to M-Day and Stamford) MichaelFebruary 18, 2016 10:04 PM Ghost Rider #27 The assassin is clearly intended to be Julien Boudreaux, Bella Donna's brother, who later appears in the Gambit limited series. Look at the cover of Gambit 3: Erik RobbinsFebruary 18, 2016 9:57 PM Ghost Rider #26 It always seemed weird to me that the Ghost Rider could be infected by the Brood. It's not like he has any biology. gfsdf gfbdFebruary 18, 2016 9:52 PM Amazing Spider-Man #30 Haha, honestly I'm fine doing things by the books and I have easily gotten my money's worth with Marvel Unlimited the past 2 years. But gaps definitely do exist in their library... ;) ChrisWFebruary 18, 2016 9:51 PM X-Men #8 Just compare her skin color with Gambit's. By all rights, her skin should be pasty white in comparison. Heck, she's the same color as everybody but Storm and Bishop (and Betsy, but it's hardly noticeable.) ChrisWFebruary 18, 2016 9:44 PM X-Men #8 The baseball game, right? I'm not saying it's 100% consistent (and I did say I'd probably forgotten a few examples) but wasn't she playing outfield? Especially with Peter up to bat, not really a big chance that someone's going to slide into her. [Can't think of a better way to put that.] I'd like to think she'd have changed clothes when it was her turn at bat. I think it's totally believable that she would take every chance to let her skin feel the sun and the wind that she's so often denied (didn't Carol describe her as a hothouse flower, made for sultry nights and warm temperatures?) but for her own sanity, I think she'd work to minimize the dangers. Or the other X-Men would do it for her. What if Pick-a-villain shows up all of a sudden and throws Whoever right at Rogue, and Whoever is wearing equally skimpy clothing? Bam, two X-Men potentially neutralized just as Pick-a-villain is embarking on an evil scheme. Rogue could have been the same pin-up with jeans and a frilly long-sleeved shirt. This is idiotic. MichaelFebruary 18, 2016 9:37 PM X-Men #9 @Haywerth- they eventually explained that Betsy was attracted to Scott but would have never acted on it if not for Kwannon's personality influencing her to take what she wanted. That doesn't explain Scott's attraction, though. ChrisWFebruary 18, 2016 9:29 PM X-Factor #78 I would disagree. I don't recall anything in the comic suggesting Tempo was related to Tucker. I always saw it as a part of Peter David's morally-ambiguous story, that Tempo was bothered personally by the implications of what the MLF were doing in a parallel to the way Rhane, Lorna and Pietro had differing viewpoints about the exact same thing. And Sinister understands that. He's not a raving lunatic who demands complete obedience to his every whim. And neither are (some) of his henchmen. MichaelFebruary 18, 2016 9:11 PM X-Men #8 Re:Rogue wearing next to nothing- she also dressed skimpily in Uncanny X-Men 201. fnord12February 18, 2016 8:53 PM X-Factor #78 Well, i mean, it's not her second cousin twice removed. But you're right that the comic doesn't explicitly say that it's her father. MichaelFebruary 18, 2016 8:42 PM X-Factor #78 This issue was rewritten to eliminate all references to the possibility of using the tests to abort mutants. Instead, it was stated that the doctor could develop genetic engineering to eliminate the mutant gene and turn the babies into humans. According to PAD, it was a result of the backlash over Northstar coming out: ChrisWFebruary 18, 2016 7:29 PM X-Men #9 He tried with Lee and Maddie, I guess he knows what he wants. "Boobs, personality, common interests may be enough for some men, but I need a telepath to really be attracted." Doesn't explain why he never put the moves on Rachel. It's not like they're related or anything. Notice that Betsy never really says or does anything to indicate what he would be attracted to, and never has at any time they've been on-screen together. She's showing off her assets to the reader, not to Scott. Going back to their first meeting in "Inferno," they've never had any interaction to indicate that her mere presence turns him into a tongue-tied teenager. Purely speculation, but I would guess that this was editorially-driven. Bob Harras decided they were selling these books to tongue-tied teenagers, and mandated Lee and Lobdell to do a storyline just like that. Betsy's the obvious choice for the female lead, Scott's the most-likely candidate for the male lead. Founding X-Man, the leader, and Harras had probably internalized Claremont's points that the guy ditched his wife and baby, he's a complete dick. So why not turn him into a babbling idiot by the mere presence of large Asian boobs? Which led to Scott becoming the character that he is today, which I know almost-entirely by reputation. Lee and Kirby's creation deserved better than that. AndrewFebruary 18, 2016 7:11 PM Avengers #111 Not that you actually could control minds by controlling blood flow in the brain, but the way the iron in your blood fuses with the hemoglobin negates its magnetic properties. Which is why you don't explode when getting an MRI. BobFebruary 18, 2016 6:57 PM X-Men #8 So Rogue, whose touch knocks people out, goes out wearing next to nothing and then just casually hangs off Gambit without a thought? BillFebruary 18, 2016 6:56 PM X-Men #9 I never understood the Cyclops/Psylocke thing. Can Cyclops be attracted to a non-telepath? I always thought this attraction out of nowhere thing made him look weak willed; like he's too easily manipulated by any female telepath. ChrisWFebruary 18, 2016 6:54 PM X-Men #8 Bill, you do know Ororo has her powers back, right? ;) ChrisWFebruary 18, 2016 6:53 PM X-Men #8 Rogue is awfully willing to throw her bare skin right next to Gambit's bare skin. I get that her clothes are always being blown off in battle (which didn't happen nearly as often to Storm, Betsy, Ali, etc, talk about fetish fuel) but it's never made the slightest amount of sense why she would willfully show off so much skin for any reason whatsoever. Rogue almost always wore her costume, which has gloves, full sleeves and leggings. I'm probably forgetting a couple, but I can only think of few times she actually wore normal clothes. Two of those times Carol was in charge (the shopping trip and then the Siege/Master Mold/Nimrod issues) where Carol had the sense to bundle up and put on gloves. In #210, Rogue played dress-up and stayed fairly-well covered, and in "FF vs. X-men" she treated herself to a shopping trip in Latveria, again staying fully covered (until Doom's robots blew her clothes off anyway.) She did wear a string bikini in #185, but she was actively hiding from everyone and didn't think there'd be much danger of accidental touching. The following issue, she was in civvies without gloves, but she intended to steal Val Cooper's mind and find out what had happened to Storm. Rogue has one of the most original superpowers in comics history, and it's to Claremont's credit that it was so traumatic for her, a teenage girl who can't touch anybody. Kurt's practically the only person in the mansion she can relate to as far as not being able to turn her power off - I'm talking the main Claremont run, not including Beast or Archangel - and at least Kurt hides behind a flamboyant attitude, and has a girlfriend he can share a hot tub with. I'm aware that I'm in the minority for liking the third "X-Men" movie, but one of the things I liked was how they used Rogue through the whole trilogy as an example of a mutant who very believably wanted to be cured. As fetish fuel, Betsy's bad enough, but to add the complete negation of Rogue's personality and history just to become a pin-up, me no like. At the time, I was in puberty so a Jim Lee pin-up was a good-enough excuse. Heck, they probably kept me buying the series because I was rapidly getting tired of these unrecognizable characters and ridiculous storylines. Now, not impressed. That Betsy/Scott thing for instance. Even in puberty I thought that was incredibly stupid. Jean had every right to dump his ass right then and there, and Xavier would have every right to remove him as leader of the X-Men for such bumbling behavior. The X-Men should not be led by someone who can be defeated by a group of evil, flirtatious strippers. BillFebruary 18, 2016 6:47 PM X-Men #8 Wait...isn't Mardi Gras normally in February or March? If so, where was this summertime picnic?? Certainly not around the X-mansion in upstate New York. ChrisWFebruary 18, 2016 6:02 PM Fantastic Four #48-50 That text was great, but I was more blown away by reading the actual trilogy and discovering Busiek didn't make up the headline itself, it's right there in the original. PeterAFebruary 18, 2016 4:14 PM Amazing Spider-Man #30 You're most welcome. Although current digital versions put out by the publishers put my youthful pastime to shame. But it was a blast nonetheless to have been part of the early efforts to scan all comics. And I am glad they were and are enjoyed 😊 HaywerthFebruary 18, 2016 4:10 PM X-Men #9 OK, the thing with Psylocke and Cyclops, I was confused back then and still confused now. Can someone clear this up for me, because Scott's attraction to Betsy seems to come out of nowhere. gfsdf gfbdFebruary 18, 2016 3:58 PM Amazing Spider-Man #30 Wait a minute.. THE BeastCharming!? Thanks for all the scans, dude! EnchloreFebruary 18, 2016 3:48 PM Ghost Rider #26 For some reason I found the car scene funny. Also, Wolverine's claws look really long. I hate it when artists draw them like they'd come out of his elbows when retracted. And why does he have fangs? Piotr WFebruary 18, 2016 3:43 PM Ghost Rider #27 Ugh. I didn't really like the storyline. Gambit's wife (who appears out of nothing and, then, is conveniently killed off for no reason), the Guilds (who *are* like something transplanted from a D&D session), the usual GR badness (and how the heck did the Brood infect him?)... The *only* thing I liked about this story was that mysterious Assasin, because he had a genuinely creepy design. And he doesn't appear ever again... :( minFebruary 18, 2016 3:29 PM Wolverine #58-59 attaching a sonar tech's ear shouldn't give him sonar locating abilities!! it prolly shouldn't even give him really good hearing. it might give him tinnitus. i am now regretting reading this instead of working on the d&d recap like i'm supposed to be doing...:P TCPFebruary 18, 2016 2:58 PM X-Men #9 I remember well that image of Wolverine as he leaps toward the Brood -- it was used on the X-Men Tiger Electronics handheld game that I played a lot as a kid. They took his claws out of the image for some reason, though. clydeFebruary 18, 2016 2:53 PM X-Men #9 "Jubilee wants to join the New Warriors. I wouldn't be against that." She would. Especially later on when she "changes teams". That's why I was surprised she would say this, even in jest. RobertFebruary 18, 2016 2:53 PM X-Men #9 The dialogue in this is just classic '90s garbage. All that mangled Southern accent crap and my personal favorite "That information will not be forthcoming!" But hey at least the art is better than average for the time. Red CometFebruary 18, 2016 2:51 PM X-Men #8 @AF To be fair, Chris Claremont was actually the one who created Psylocke. clydeFebruary 18, 2016 2:23 PM X-Men #8 "Speaking of which, someone just found out about a recently launched series, which means a new book for him to guest star in." AFFebruary 18, 2016 1:48 PM X-Men #8 Psylocke as a creation is pretty much nothing but fetish fuel. I have a hard time seeing this and accepting it is the same character that Alan Moore wrote in Captain Britain. But hey that's what Chris Claremont does to characters. Honestly, had Jim Lee left the X-Men series at the same time as Claremont, I definitely could've seen Psylocke being shunted off into retirement (or at the least having the body swap thing undone). But Jim Lee cemented the character and this became her status quo; stuck as a exploitative cheesecake (slightly racist) pin-up forever. AFFebruary 18, 2016 12:46 PM Warlock and the Infinity Watch #3-4 Oops, ready Superhuman Class as tons. But never-the-less, there's a post-Gauntlet entry for you. AFFebruary 18, 2016 12:45 PM Warlock and the Infinity Watch #3-4 They upped that to 50 tons closer to this series: MortificatorFebruary 18, 2016 12:13 PM Fantastic Four #48-50 I like how we see much of the text of Jameson's editorial in Marvels, and J.J. uses the big "G" as evidence that Reed fabricated the whole thing. MortificatorFebruary 18, 2016 11:34 AM Warlock and the Infinity Watch #3-4 On Warlock's strength, the Deluxe handbook says it's normally 4 tons, which feels right to me. It adds that he can temporarily increase it to 40 tons, which would explain how he's been able to put up at least a little fight against Thor before being pulverized. But this was written pre-Infinity Gauntlet, so it could have changed when he came back to life. EnchloreFebruary 18, 2016 11:26 AM NFL Superpro #7 Considering how a lot of Brazilians go to soccer matches dressed as superheroes, now I want to see if anyone went as Superpro once... Matthew BradleyFebruary 18, 2016 11:16 AM Hulk #218 With all due respect to Mark, I think the title refers to the somewhat obscure 1963 Tennessee Williams play THE MILK TRAIN DOESN'T STOP HERE ANYMORE. (It was disastrously filmed by Joseph Losey in 1968 as BOOM!, with Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton.) He may be conflating that with Martin Scorsese's 1974 film ALICE DOESN'T LIVE HERE ANYMORE, the basis for the popular sitcom ALICE. AFFebruary 18, 2016 8:25 AM Ghost Rider #25 That is a pretty sucky pop-up. Like the art was done first and they went "damn, we need another gimmick... let's make it a pop-out". fnord12February 18, 2016 7:19 AM NFL Superpro #7 Added Repulsor! Thanks Michael. david banesFebruary 18, 2016 4:06 AM NFL Superpro #7 Really I should have been more general 'it isn't a real football game until a fight breaks out.' I've heard from a distant family member how rowdy football can get in the UK. Y'know, like it isn't a true hockey game until a fight starts. ChrisWFebruary 18, 2016 1:55 AM X-Factor #77 I think I'm on safer ground saying that the Mutant Liberation Front gets more characterization in this series than almost any other characters created by Rob Liefeld. Also, I like Larry Stroman's art. It can be difficult to get through, and I'm not sure he was right for this book, but even looking at these pages, there's a sense of 'quality' which we aren't getting from the other X-books (or, increasingly, Marvel in general) at the time. I think it's his overall design sense. It doesn't work for a superhero book, it doesn't work for Marvel superheroes, and the comics field had not created a niche where his particular style would work. PAD tried here, and I quite like Stroman's attempt. It's just not successful overall. Luis DantasFebruary 18, 2016 1:48 AM Ghost Rider #25 Wasn't it just last issue that a goon with a reason to want revenge on Deathwatch and little reason to act in good faith towards Ghost Rider simply went all "hey, GR, it is totally OK to make an exception of your vow not to take human life when it comes to Deathwatch because he is not human. Honest. You have my word. I am totally not using you to attain my revenge on him. Except that I obviously am, but never mind that"? Howard Mackie hardly ever denies a character a chance to commit a ridiculously violent and over-the-top act if he can find half an excuse to make it sound remotely believable. Red CometFebruary 17, 2016 11:45 PM Uncanny X-Men #287 The Bishop/X-Traitor storyline had a lot of exposure thanks to the 90s X-men cartoon. Bishop was a recurring character and his first appearance was a hybrid storyline that combined elements of the X-Traitor plot and Days of Future Past. MichaelFebruary 17, 2016 11:19 PM NFL Superpro #7 Claudio appears again as Repulsor in issue 12. MichaelFebruary 17, 2016 9:34 PM Punisher #60-62 Mark is right. Personally, I think that fnord is being too critical of the "superpredators" scenes, which WERE a reflection of concerns about inner city crime. But the "superpredators" scenes reflect real occurences, even if exaggerated for dramatic effect. There were no real white men being turned into black men in the early '90s. If the writers wanted to depict racism by police, for example, they could have used actual black characters, instead of turning Frank black. JonathanFebruary 17, 2016 9:28 PM Avengers Spotlight #26 I also like the idea of Molten Man trying to help and getting shot. It's even in character for Tony of the time, a reckless sort of decisive. That said, the guy looks like he's meant to be about 10 feet tall? No idea who that would be, though. ChrisWFebruary 17, 2016 6:23 PM New Mutants #98-100 PAD/George Perez' Hulk "Future Imperfect" must have been well underway by this point as well. Like I say, future evil versions were in the air. ChrisWFebruary 17, 2016 6:22 PM New Mutants #98-100 Ben, I think 'evil future version' was probably one of the few places where Liefeld really did have a clue where he was going. Such time travel things were already part of the X-titles (Rachel and Nimrod) and Portacio/Lee had already sent Nate Summers into the future. They also brought Bishop back in time. Bob Harras was also part of that 'Days of Future Present" series of annuals which suggested Cable might grow up to be Ahab. "Terminator 2" was only a few months from release - I understand James Cameron wrote the first "Terminator" after reading "Days of Futures Past," so how's that for a time loop? - and the evil future concept would have been in the air anyway. Don't hurt yourself trying to overthink how this would actually work. We're talking about Liefeld/Lee/Portacio comics that are trying to be in line with Chris Claremont comics. I could never do what fnord is doing. ChrisWFebruary 17, 2016 6:05 PM X-Factor #77 I'm kind of regretting what I posted above, in case it looks like I'm trying to push people's buttons. It might have been Larry Stroman's decision to make parents and doctor black in the first place. My compliment to PAD's willingness to write morally-challenging comics notwithstanding - I love the problems he's giving Rhane in this series - I might be reading too much into things. fnordFebruary 17, 2016 5:39 PM Avengers #65 Thanks AF. I've added Barney and pushed this back in publication time. Piotr WFebruary 17, 2016 5:24 PM Ghost Rider #25 Well, Rogue is / was nigh-invulnerable, too... and she need(ed) to eat and drink (I think?). As for Blackout, the Lilin could still be killed, right? In any case: even if Stern is literally immortal and Blackout's Lilin background made him immune to starvation, Ghost Rider had no way of knowing this. Blackout wasn't known as half-demon at this point and nothing in Stern suggested he could survive without food. Maybe Mackie felt that throwing these two guys into a coffin wouldn't harm them and wrote this into the story (because it was cool), but... from in-story perspective, it looked like GR basically sentenced these two men to die horribly. Or was just too stupid to think of the possible consequences of his actions... Which is one of sings of the GR book becoming horrible at this point. Although, scarily enough, it will become even worse in the future issues... kvetoFebruary 17, 2016 4:58 PM Amazing Spider-Man annual #5 milkrolik, take it up with Omar who wrote the page. sorry, I really don't care anymore. It was an offhand comment from a year ago and it's FICTION. I'm not looking to prosecute spidey or anything. mikrolikFebruary 17, 2016 4:36 PM Fantastic Four #48-50 One thing I find fascinating about Galactus' first appearance is the letter "G" on his chest. In subsequent appearances this is dropped, because it was decided it was nonsensical for an alien to have a "G" on his costume. But oddly enough, when a John Byrne story established that different alien races see Galactus differently and in their own image, the "G" might have then made more sense! kvetoFebruary 17, 2016 4:32 PM Avengers Spotlight #26 Oh, man, I love the idea that the Molten man was coming to ask for help and got blasted by Iron man. RobertFebruary 17, 2016 4:25 PM Journey Into Mystery #120-125 / Thor #126-127 The design for the "Demon" bears a passing similarity to Kirby's later creation Kalibak. These are just phenomenal issues that are lots of fun to read. Kirby is clearly having a field day creatively and even Stan's scripting seems improved over where it was even a year before. Of course cutting back on the melodrama with Jane and focusing more on Asgard has a lot to do with that. fnord12February 17, 2016 3:34 PM New Avengers: Illuminati #3 Thanks Thanos6. I did mention a similar possibility in the Considerations as an alternate. You note some problems with that idea, though, and i think ultimately it doesn't matter much because no matter what we're saying that what was revealed here wasn't true and that the characters have to have been mind-wiped before and/or after this encounter, and basically the whole thing is a wash. So i might as well leave it where i've got it. But it is telling that even the Marvel handbook basically had to hand-wave the story. fnord12February 17, 2016 3:23 PM Uncanny X-Men #287 AF - i think the points for Bishop are wrapped into his first appearance, since it's the entry right before this one and the immediate reason Bishop is significant is because he became an X-Men. Max_Spider - correct. I don't count characters in flashbacks (even flashbacks from the future!). cullenFebruary 17, 2016 2:18 PM New Mutants #98-100 Deadpool's neverending array of ephemera and gag props makes him probably the one case where the pouch trope was legit justified, even if it was well after-the-fact. Max_SpiderFebruary 17, 2016 2:11 PM Uncanny X-Men #287 Too early for a "Witness" tag, right? Since he's only seen in the future? Ben HermanFebruary 17, 2016 1:53 PM New Mutants #98-100 By the way, Fnord, regarding those innumerable pouches that Liefeld gives his characters, many years later in the Death of Wolverine: Deadpool & Captain America special, we DO get to see some of the stuff that Deadpool keeps in his... -house key Ben HermanFebruary 17, 2016 1:45 PM New Mutants #98-100 Over the years I have heard a couple of possible explanations for what Liefeld might have intended with the last page reveal of Stryfe unmasked in New Mutants #100. Possibility #1 - Liefeld wanted to end the issue on a shocking cliffhanger. When h decided to unmask Stryfe to show he looked exactly like Cable, he didn't actually have an explanation for why they were identical. He just decided to do something that he thought was cool, and decided that he'd come up with some sort of explanation later. I can certainly believe that, since during the year that Liefeld, Lee and Portacio were running the X-Men books, that's what they did quite a bit, toss out cool stuff without any thought as to where it was all supposed to end up. Possibility #2 - Liefeld decided to make Stryfe an future version of Cable who at some point goes bad and travels back in time to become his own arch enemy. I can *also* believe this. A couple of years later at Image, in the Prophet series, Liefeld introduced a mysterious villain named Crypt who was eventually unmasked and revealed to be (Shock! Horror!) a future version of Prophet who had turned evil and traveled back in time to become his own arch enemy. So obviously Liefeld had a fondness for this particular plot. It may even be that both possibilities are correct. Liefeld unmasked Stryfe to look like Cable purely for a dramatic scene, and then subsequently came up with the "evil future version" to explain it. Mind you, I'm glad that Marvel decided not to go with that. The whole concept never seems to make sense to me. If you are going back in time to fight your younger self, how could you possibly lose, since you already know what you previously did before? Unless you are not able to alter time, in which case why even bother going back to fight yourself in the first place, since you're inevitably going to lose? Besides, Stryfe unmasked doesn't look any older than Cable. But, then again, who can really tell from Liefeld's art? Besides, the whole "fighting your evil future self" was already done years before with Adam Warlock and the Magnus. A variation also appeared in Avengers, with Rama Tut and Immortus being semi-reformed future incarnations of Kang the Conqueror. Of course, the way Marvel eventually went with Stryfe, namely "evil clone," is even more clichéd. But I guess they were stuck with coming up with some sort of explanation with what Liefeld had left behind. AFFebruary 17, 2016 1:44 PM Guardians of the Galaxy annual #1 I don't know that Korvac was being butchered just to spite Shooter. The character was created by Gerber and Starlin and most of the Korvac Saga was only plotted by Shooter whereas Star Brand and Beyonder were basically wholly his and largely seen as meant to be inserts of himself. And Star Brand and Beyonder were both trashed pretty quickly upon Shooter's departure whereas this was a fair bit after. I WANT to think DeFalco and co. would be above just running down a list of different Shooter "characters" to screw over, especially to still be doing it years after... Plus most of the names attached to Korvac Quest (other than DeFalco on Thor) are not the usual culprits for the anti-Shooter agendas. Did Marz and Valentino even do any Marvel work under Shooter's reign? I think it's just a consistent desire to recreate the success of Korvac Saga. Korvac is one character who should NEVER have been used again but every idiot thinks they are the ONE writer who can finally do it. Korvac is also brought back in the next Guardians annual and that time it has even WORSE Herb Trimpe art than the Thor annual from this story. The retcon that Korvac revenge killed Carina is absolutely dreadful though and the story that spins out of that is fittingly poor (although the Silver Surfer issue is the closest to something quality, mostly due to Ron Lim's art). Ataru320February 17, 2016 12:45 PM Guardians of the Galaxy annual #1 I think the continued meddling of Korvac is just a sad element of what happens to a good story when its popular and notable, like the Phoenix Saga with the X-Books. Korvac as a character was complete: a weird concept who by the right circumstances becomes a "God" and tries to use his powers to make a better universe only to fail. This is really just picking it apart both at the expense of Korvac as well as Shooter who made him what he became in the classic story. Its like there is this eternal grudge just because Shooter did what he did to make Marvel as successful creatively and financial as it was in the 80s that no one wants to let go of...and Korvac's the whipping boy among other things. Mark BlackFebruary 17, 2016 12:34 PM Punisher #60-62 @Yogi deadhead - I can see how "cinematic art" like Taxi Driver or Superfly can be viewed as offensive through a modern prism, but still shed light on problems and/or have an important commentary, but I find it harder to see how something like the Punisher getting his skin pigment changed and briefly living as a black man sheds light on anything. The writing is bad, racism is barely tackled (and when it is it's in a very surface cursory way), and it just doesn't add anything new to the discussion of racial politics of that time. I was 13 when this came out and lived on an island. There wasn't a local comic book store, the internet wasn't in wide use, and my experience with racism was very limited. I think there had to be discussion about how this was offensive in 1992. I don't want things to be inoffensive, but I would like if things were interesting. I don't think I'm in the minority in thinking that the Punisher's days as Rook were uninteresting and that the writer's/writers' take on that wasn't very nuanced. AFFebruary 17, 2016 11:42 AM Guardians of the Galaxy annual #1 It's a shame this is the issue that fnord will read because the Korvac Quest storyline sucks. And the 3 issues during Infinity War with bad Liefeld-inspired Herb Trimpe art that bring the team to 616 briefly (and then 1 or 2 issues after by the next writer). Valentino's Guardians of the Galaxy is surprisingly a treat. Consistently good and readable (bar any time Korvac is a plot point). I really enjoyed the trades of the run and this is after slogging through their 70s appearances and failing to ever really feel any interest for the characters or stories (and even Roger Stern for 3 issues was underwhelming). He probably spends a bit too much time doing "What happens to Popular Mainstream Marvel Hero XXXX over a 1000 years later?", but Valentino really adds voices and characters to these formerly flat and bland characters. Although most of his villains are unfortunately named or the exact sort of cardboard characters the Guardians used to be, he definitely brings the stars to life. I've only read the one issue of the next run wrapping up the Infinity War story that's in the trades, so I have no idea if the follow-up writer keeps the book alive. It's cancelled 30 issues later which might be an indication but at the same time it's hardly like Guardians of the Galaxy could sustain a longer book back then. And at the rate Marvel continue to relaunch their titles, they apparently can't now either. Yogi deadheadFebruary 17, 2016 11:40 AM Punisher #60-62 Right. But it's offensive now. At the time, people were attuned to the trouble in the inner cities. Pretty much any art shining light on what was happening in the inner cities, at the time, sounds offensive now. Listen to music pertaining to these issues from the day. The violence, misogyny, homophobia, and racist terms are a bit more shocking and offensive now. Creating art about an abhorrent problem doesn't tend to be pretty, especially decades removed. My point is that there was a lot of art created back then that focused on this issue. Most of said art is viewed as offensive through our modern prism. BUFebruary 17, 2016 10:21 AM Tales To Astonish #70-76 (Sub-Mariner) ...It's hard to put a finger on, but there was something DC, in a bad way, about those early Ant Man/Giant Man features... TuomasFebruary 17, 2016 10:19 AM Punisher #60-62 Er, I don't think the depiction of drug trade violence is what people find offensive about these issues... Austin GortonFebruary 17, 2016 9:17 AM Uncanny X-Men #287 It's a little rough here (mostly due to the bevy of inkers, most likely), but I really love JRjr's blockier style. I love his older work as well, but the blockier style, once he becomes the book's regular artist w/issue #300, seems like the perfect blend of the stylization and energy of the Image guys with basic fundamentals of how to tell a story, lay out a page, construct a figure, etc. It's far from realistic, but it is grounded in solid technique. Ataru320February 17, 2016 8:52 AM Strange Tales #134 (Human Torch & Thing) The Torch book was an interesting experiment, more or less riding on the success of Spider-Man's initial popularity with the idea that there could be two teen heroes running around. But of course what made Spider-Man the success it was isn't just that he was a teenager but because of the Lee/Ditko collaborations that gave him dramas and angst. Johnny didn't have any of that and was just "a teen hero fighting things in some town that may or may not remember he's a F4 member too". The only advantage that this series (compared to, say, Speedball) has is that it was early enough in Marvel where it wasn't a bad idea to try things even if they weren't successful; that and it probably was good for the development of some early and key characters on the villain side, namely the two future Frightening Four members (Wizard and Paste-Pot Pete), as well as the Beetle (who at least was strong enough a concept to be taken up by other heroes as a threat before becoming a Thunderbolt) and, surprisingly, Plantman. AFFebruary 17, 2016 8:30 AM Wonder Man #5-6 Sadly wasn't that great. MichaelFebruary 17, 2016 7:53 AM Ghost Rider #25 It's possible neither of them need to eat, drink or breathe like a normal human- Stern is virtually invulnerable while Blackout is a descendant of Lilith. Erik BeckFebruary 17, 2016 7:16 AM Wonder Man #5-6 I think part of the problem with Simon is that he was such a great character on the Avengers when he hung out with Hank. There's been a lot of character development since then, but almost all to the detriment of Simon's personality. This issue, with Hank back, just highlights that. A series with Simon and Hank would be fantastic... ... if, someone else drew it. The opening Liefeld Pose #1 would have actually looked better if drawn by Liefeld and that's saying something. JSfanFebruary 17, 2016 6:06 AM NFL Superpro #7 Everyone knows it isn't a real football game in Brazil until a riot breaks out. David Banes, that's true. I think it's a lot worse than even the dark days of football matches over here in the UK back in the 70s & 80s. Yogi deadheadFebruary 17, 2016 5:30 AM Punisher #60-62 I like that people just want art to be inoffensive these days. People seemingly look at art and ask themselves, "whom might this offend"? In defense of the artists, I think it's pertinent to look back at the time this was created. The drug trade in inner cities had caused a historic rise in murder and violence. To give you some idea... Last year NYC had 352 murders. In 1990 and 1991 it had 2245 and 2154 murders, respectively. I just think at times, art needs to offend in order to shed light on issues. Although, I'm not even sure how offensive these issues actually are. I just wanted to put the context of the times out there. Piotr WFebruary 17, 2016 5:05 AM Ghost Rider #25 Michael, you really don't need to rationalize Mackie. :) It's clear from his writing that, usually, he had no plan and kept changing things as it fit him. BTW. One thing I don't understand about this issue is how casually GR imprisons Blackout and Stern in that coffin. Shouldn't he be worried that they might starve or suffocate..? MormelFebruary 17, 2016 3:46 AM X-Factor #77 Testing specifically for Down syndrome has been in the news again lately here in the Netherlands. The government is considering greenlighting the so called NIPT test into full access for all pregnant women, where now it is only accessible in restricted form. AFFebruary 17, 2016 3:16 AM Avengers #65 Barney Barton's corpse appears on page 8. (which might also affect placement, since it suggests basically not much time has past between issues) ChrisWFebruary 17, 2016 1:14 AM X-Factor #77 Notice that both the pregnant couple and the doctor who has developed the cure are black. Abortion kills more blacks than even black-on-black violence. I'm not joking when I say kudos to Peter David for making a morally-complex comic book. There's lots of places to disagree without dehumanizing people who think differently. Unless you're a blork. ChrisWFebruary 17, 2016 1:11 AM X-Factor #77 Gender-selective abortions are becoming more popular all over the planet. The gender being aborted are always female, but people who support abortions are fine with fewer females being born. Problems with an overabundance of males in society don't worry them. Kudos to Peter David for introducing the question of whether or not women should give birth to mutants or have an abortion. JasonFebruary 17, 2016 12:56 AM Fantastic Four #52-53 Definitely a ground-breaking superhero. One of the most important intros in the Silver Age. This is the first appearance as a character and as a major black, mainstream superhero. MichaelFebruary 16, 2016 10:39 PM Ghost Rider #25 Mackie would later suggest that the Firm had been created by Centurious and he was using it to further his schemes against Ghost Rider. This is clearly not what Mackie had in mind when he wrote this issue, since the Firm clearly significantly predates the Danny Ketch Ghost Rider. Although, since Centurious has engaged in all kinds of sin during his immortal life, it's possible that he created the Firm sometime prior to his imprisonment in the Soul Crystal in Ghost Rider 81 and just took over shortly before this story to resume his campaign against Ghost Rider. Walter LawsonFebruary 16, 2016 10:29 PM Uncanny X-Men #287 The fact that Gambit is still alive in this far-flung future--though just how far-flung it is I don't think they say; something like 2287?--is perhaps a suggestion that Gambit was still being considered a clone of the long-lived Mr. Sinister at this point. MichaelFebruary 16, 2016 10:07 PM X-Factor #77 Fnord, as we'll find out later, Sam was right- Rahne had been brainwashed by the Genoshans into being Alex's love-slave. The dumb thing is this- Lorna objects to Sam taking Rahne with him in part because X-Force are outlaws, okay, but she also objects because Rahne doesn't want to go. But here's the dumb part- the only reason Rahne doesn't want to go is because she's brainwashed. Sam was just taking her so he could de-brainwash her and let her go. Saying that it's Rahne's decision not to get de-brainwashed is ridiculous. And Lorna doesn't offer to de-brainwash Rahne herself. Nobody seems to question whether Rahne should be on the team if she's not in her right mind. Rather dumbly, nobody on X-Factor seems to consider that Rahne's obsessive crush on Alex is due to her brainwashing. They finally realize it in the late 80s and start looking for a cure for Rahne. So all Lorna did was to delay the search for a cure for Rahne by months. I'm not sure what PAD's point was- Lorna's an idiot? Thanos6February 16, 2016 9:20 PM New Avengers: Illuminati #3 fnord, I don't know if this affects how you do things, but the SECRET WARS Handbook by Marvel says this happens quite a bit earlier; in fact, it says it happens *before* Beyonder turns the building to gold! It says Beyonder was looking into his future a little bit. I don't think that makes sense, because at that point he was still in his "look exactly like Steve Rogers phase," but in this story he's clearly in his iconic dark-haired look. Also, it says Beyonder pulled the whole "mutant Inhuman" idea from Black Bolt's mind and went along with it, just to get the Illuminati out of his hair (whatever color it was). Again, this causes problems for me, because at this point in his growth it seems like he barely even comprehended the concept of lying and falsehoods. MichaelFebruary 16, 2016 8:58 PM Warlock and the Infinity Watch #3-4 Regarding the effects of the Infinity Gauntlet being reversed, we saw that beings that were outside the universe proper were sometimes unaffected by Nebula's reversal (e.g. the Chain Gang and the Marvel Boy doppleganger). Although sometimes they were, like the Asgardians. So it's possible that Counter Earth was unaffected by the reversal because it was outside the universe. ChrisFebruary 16, 2016 8:53 PM Ghost Rider #25 It's hard to believe this is the same writer of the book as it was in the beginning. The quality is just so bad. It's like Mackie just didn't know what to do after issue # 8. Ben HermanFebruary 16, 2016 8:43 PM Wolverine #58-59 Chichester was obviously very fond of Terror. He was something of a pet character, popping up in various series that Chichester worked on in the early 1990s. I really didn't mind, though, since Chichester gave him such a wonderfully deadpan, macabre sense of humor. MichaelFebruary 16, 2016 8:32 PM Wolverine #58-59 I'm not liking the suggestion that Xavier might not have helped rescue the girl if Logan hadn't gotten involved. The X-Men have been helping save normal humans from non-mutant threats as late as X-Men 229, when they saved Jessan Hoan from the Reavers. As late as X-Men 235, we saw Maddie helping with the Flying Doctors Service. Besides, the rationale about keeping the X-Men's secret is ridiculous- the only person that needs to know about a connection between Xavier and the girl's rescuers is the girl's father and he already suspects. AFFebruary 16, 2016 8:21 PM Warlock and the Infinity Watch #3-4 If you think this art isn't good, wait til we get to the Tom Grindberg issues... AFFebruary 16, 2016 8:13 PM Uncanny X-Men #287 Not bumping significance for Bishop joining the team? RobertFebruary 16, 2016 8:07 PM NFL Superpro #7 "How does Razor Fist go to the bathroom?", Very carefully. Wocka Wocka! Ben HermanFebruary 16, 2016 8:00 PM X-Factor #77 LOL! I forgot how genuinely hysterical PAD's X-Factor was, as well as how he also made a genuine effort to offer nuanced debate on controversial topics. It was a genuine shame that his storylines kept getting interrupted for crossovers (there was one issue of X-Factor during "X-Cutioner's Song" that ended up having NONE of the regular cast in it, which was infuriating) so much so that he finally left the series. As soon as PAD was gone my interest in X-Factor plummeted, and I dropped it from my pull list maybe two months later. I don't think the series ever recovered from his departure. At least years later PAD finally had the opportunity to return to the characters, and to put together a long run. Ben HermanFebruary 16, 2016 7:48 PM NFL Superpro #7 Piotr W, that question is right up there with "How does Razor Fist go to the bathroom?" Ben HermanFebruary 16, 2016 7:39 PM Punisher #60-62 Mark Black, at the time that "Black Punisher" came out it didn't seem offensive to me, just pointless and poorly thought out. The Punisher turns black for three issues, and then suddenly he's white again... why even bother? It just seemed symptomatic of the overall problem the Punisher had at this time, namely he was in three ongoing series, plus various miniseries and specials. With that amount of overexposure, you very quickly you run out of really interesting stuff to do with the character, especially when his entire shtick is going around shooting criminals. So you fall back on really silly gimmicks like turning him black for a few months before hitting the reset button. Of course, back in 1992 I was a teenager in high school. With the benefit of hindsight and maturity, I can see that not only was it silly, but there were problematic aspects to it. And I can certainly understand if there were African Americans who did get offended. Stevie GFebruary 16, 2016 7:29 PM X-Factor #77 I'm pretty sure they were on the same team for at least some of the time between Havok's introduction and Giant Size X-Men 1. Also in X-Men the Hidden Years. It's possible that that period was the only time, though. Piotr WFebruary 16, 2016 7:16 PM Uncanny X-Men #287 And so, the nightmare begins... the nightmare of Bishop on the X-Men. Also, the nightmare of Romita Jr.. I know he's a talented artist, but I hate his 90s X-Men work. Way too blocky... BTW. Where did these future mutants get all these sci-fi guns..? Piotr WFebruary 16, 2016 7:14 PM NFL Superpro #7 How the heck did Ripsaw manage not to cut his arms off with this kind of costume? Andrew FFebruary 16, 2016 7:06 PM Uncanny X-Men #287 Yes, we get to see Jean Grey record the message in 'Onslaught: X-Men'. With the blanks filled in, the message is pretty different. It's a fun moment. david banesFebruary 16, 2016 6:52 PM NFL Superpro #7 Everyone knows it isn't a real football game in Brazil until a riot breaks out. david banesFebruary 16, 2016 6:49 PM Warlock and the Infinity Watch #3-4 I take it that Warlock's steathly approach was supposed to be a nod towards his stealthy attack back when he met Pip during the Magus storyline. Except this time it goes south right away. RobertFebruary 16, 2016 4:46 PM Strange Tales #134 (Human Torch & Thing) I did like the cover to this one, though: BobFebruary 16, 2016 4:46 PM Ghost Rider #25 Wonder how much that pop-up jacked up the price over the previous issue? BobFebruary 16, 2016 4:44 PM Warlock and the Infinity Watch #3-4 Leonardi is one of the most wildly inconsistent artists. mikrolikFebruary 16, 2016 4:41 PM Amazing Spider-Man annual #5 Just want to reiterate- I'm not saying Spidey's actions didn't cause the Finisher's death- I'm just saying Spidey didn't deliberately set out to kill him. But again, it was the Finisher's own missile involved. To me, it's like saying Spidey killed Green Goblin in ASM 122 because he dodged the glider. BobFebruary 16, 2016 4:40 PM Uncanny X-Men #287 Jr Jr doing an impression of the much inferior Portacio. Harras ordered this drek to be the house style. RobertFebruary 16, 2016 4:37 PM Strange Tales #134 (Human Torch & Thing) I agree the Torch (and later Torch/Thing) stories were not good. I think there were a few that were entertaining in one way or another but nothing on the level of the better Marvel books at the time. The art was flat and the writing uninspired. It reads like it was aimed at a pre-teen audience (and maybe it was, IDK). Still, on the whole I don't think it was as hard to get through as the Pym stuff or early DD (which, as I currently try to get through, I am trying my hardest not to dub Boredevil). mikrolikFebruary 16, 2016 4:37 PM Amazing Spider-Man annual #5 Don't care what that page says, Finisher's death wasn't deliberate on Spidey's part. Stopping the car before it could fire more missiles was. EnchloreFebruary 16, 2016 4:35 PM Uncanny X-Men #287 Doesn't the traitor end up being Onslaught? JSfanFebruary 16, 2016 4:29 PM NFL Superpro #7 Two great things about this issue: NFL Man (sic) is an Eagles fan and the Brazil football team (not the real one) are in it. Huff said. RobertFebruary 16, 2016 4:29 PM Strange Tales #133 (Human Torch) I'm guessing Stan added the plastic surgery remark to cover for Powell's Puppet Master being rather off-model. kvetoFebruary 16, 2016 4:29 PM NFL Superpro #7 You know, there probably was a market for a loser, moron hero who gets beat up by villains. You could root against him every month. I'm surprised that the NFL would even allow acknowledgement that another "football"exists (even if it is one where you actually use your foot to move the ball) AndrewFebruary 16, 2016 4:29 PM What If? #35-39 On a nerdier note, the Whisperer's mark to John Fury, "....to you shattering body go..." is a typically Thomasian appropriation of the title of the Philip José Farmer novel, "To Your Scattered Bodies Go", which is itself taken from a John Donne sonnet. RickFebruary 16, 2016 3:58 PM Daredevil annual #1 Someone commissioned John Byrne to do a reimagining of this issue's cover back in 2010. Have a look: kvetoFebruary 16, 2016 3:56 PM NFL Superpro #7 I want a superpro trade. RobertFebruary 16, 2016 3:32 PM NFL Superpro #7 They laughed at him. And then the guy with the afro doesn't even get his name right. How can a comic be both terrible and awesome? Mark BlackFebruary 16, 2016 2:25 PM Punisher #60-62 How bad/offensive did Black Punisher seem when it came out? I remember these issues in real time and I was probably more offended by the lack of a stable art team on Punisher than I was by Frank Castle becoming black. I just didn't really understand how exploitative it was - kind of like reading Black Like Me and not really grasping how problematic that was. Ben HermanFebruary 16, 2016 2:10 PM Cage #1 Erik Berk, when I went to the comic shop last Friday evening, I was certainly surprised to see The Cage trade paperback out, and right when Fnord was covering those issues here. Yes, obviously the TPB is to tie in with Marvel's shows on Netflix, and not this website, but still, that was some nice synchronicity. The Cage TPB also collects the eight page Marvel Comics Presents story that led into it. However it does *not* contain the "Black Punisher" storyline. Yes, I know, it's a shocking and unconscionable omission :P clydeFebruary 16, 2016 2:05 PM X-Factor #77 This is a weird thing to say, but - Havok remembering seeing Mr. Sinister die reminded me that at the time of Inferno, Havok was with the X-Men and Cyclops was on X-Factor. Since then they switched teams. Is there ever a point where they're on the same team? david banesFebruary 16, 2016 1:54 PM Wolverine #58-59 Jesus Christ at Jubilee's "YAAGG!" mouth! You could drive bus through that! RobertFebruary 16, 2016 1:42 PM Tales To Astonish #70-76 (Sub-Mariner) @Steven - I agree they're way better than the Giant-Man stories, which were possibly the worst superhero comics Marvel was putting out at the time (rivaled only by Daredevil IMO). The scripting and art was just pedestrian in every way and the constant bickering between Hank and Jan was intolerable. Nathan AdlerFebruary 16, 2016 1:38 PM Wolverine #58-59 Agreed, Shreck is cool. And I think they should have revealed Deadpool as his son;) Jay DemetrickFebruary 16, 2016 1:08 PM Warlock and the Infinity Watch #3-4 Sorry about that! I refreshed and it's coming up correctly now. fnord12February 16, 2016 12:25 PM Warlock and the Infinity Watch #3-4 The scans look fine to me. I see Moondragon and Gamora, not Pip, in the final scan. But please please please, everyone, report scan problems and typos in the forum or not at all. Jay DemetrickFebruary 16, 2016 12:20 PM Warlock and the Infinity Watch #3-4 The scan with Pip in the Quinjet is posted twice. One of those was meant to be Moondragon & Gamora? Erik BeckFebruary 16, 2016 11:46 AM She-Hulk #36 @Ben Herman - On the other hand, the same thing was being done to him at the same time, with Alicia being written off as a Skrull and all the character work done by Byrne in his years on FF being undone. Of course, that was being undone by the EIC, so Byrne had to take it and he does seem to take it in good humor here. Personally, I don't mind something like this (or the Doombot retcon) if it works and it's done well. Mark BlackFebruary 16, 2016 11:24 AM Wolverine #60-65 @Bob - I thought Tex was mindblowingly great at the age of 11. I didn't realize how much Saltares contributed to that art until later when Tex was inking his own work. I guess getting your start with Power Lords can screw with anyone's idea of anatomy. fnord12February 16, 2016 11:22 AM Warlock and the Infinity Watch #3-4 All of the flashback scenes are colored differently to distinguish them from the present day scenes, which is a common practice, but the colors chosen for the FBs in these issues are definitely odd. I don't know if something went wrong with the process or if the colorist (Ian Laughlin) was just trying for something different (in which case i don't think it worked). BrimstoneFebruary 16, 2016 11:18 AM Warlock and the Infinity Watch #3-4 uhh that flashback of Thanks to the Infinity Gauntlet has him wearing a different colored outfit than what he wore during that storyline BobFebruary 16, 2016 11:14 AM Wolverine #60-65 Tex is great at mood, expression and textures, but his anatomy is just awful. BrimstoneFebruary 16, 2016 11:00 AM Wolverine #58-59 This issues are what its about- Terror is a friggin' awesome character I had no idea he had a series but I remember these issues now. fnord12February 16, 2016 10:31 AM What If? #35-39 Confirming that issue #34 was an all comedy issue. Mark BlackFebruary 16, 2016 10:28 AM What If? #35-39 @AF - totally agreed. The ideas that seemed to have the most gravitas were usually pretty ho-hum. I did love What if the X-Men had lost Inferno. The Ron Lim art was pretty great and the random superheroes and beings that survived and allied together (Baron Mordo, Steve Rogers as the Captain) were somewhat interesting. A fun little series when done right. AFFebruary 16, 2016 10:17 AM What If? #35-39 What If had this weird trend were the good ideas were usually done badly (What If Spider-Man Married Black Cat?, What If Spider-Man Kept his Black Suit) and the uninteresting ideas were usually the good issues (What If The Avengers Were Pawns of Korvac, What If Atlantis Attacks). Mark BlackFebruary 16, 2016 9:41 AM What If? #35-39 The issue (#34) preceding this was the humour issue, is that correct? I lost interest in What If around this point due to the dearth of quality art and the lack of clear storytelling. The points of divergence seemed to be less clear and the stories seemed more like alternate universe/alternate histories rather than divergences. I definitely checked in with the series after this (What if Storm remained a thief and What if the Punisher became Captain America), but this and the Phoenix storyline before it were where I stopped making it a must-buy. I think by the end of 1992, I was only reading Hulk, Guardians of the Galaxy, and the two X-Men titles regularly. What is nuts is that I had a full run of the first ten issues of Stormwatch so my tastes weren't that discerning. fnord12February 16, 2016 8:47 AM Avengers #19-20 Thanks Robert. I've added a little mention on the 1965 category page. TuomasFebruary 16, 2016 8:40 AM What If? #35-39 Also, creating flashy-looking splash pages is not story-telling, it's poster art. Based on the examples seen here and in the Wolverine solo series entry, Pacella isn't very good at the panel-to-panel transitions that are the meat and potatoes of comic book storytelling. The movements in his action sequences are hard to follow, he doesn't care about image-counterimage positioning (for example, on the page where Sinister and Wolverine are talking, Sinister's face should be looking left, not right, to create the effect of the two facing each other), that sideways panel is a sheer nuisance to the reader that breaks rhythm of the page, and so on... fnord12February 16, 2016 8:33 AM Avengers #129-135, Giant-Size Avengers #2-4 I've added Synchro-Staff as a character appearing. Thanks! fnord12February 16, 2016 8:32 AM What If? #35-39 Regarding character appearances: Unless i missed it (and nearly all of the TVA scenes have been included as scans), no one is named Mr. Mobius. I don't know if he is also Mr. Deputy Secretary or something like that. But since we know that the TVA employees can take vacations, i don't want to assume that he's here. Tagging time-travelers like Kang is always problematic since it's not guaranteed that they're appearing chronologically from their perspective. But this is definitely a case where we are in Kang's "past" from the perspective of the character that i usually tag. The MCP is more suited to this sort of thing since they list the appearances from the perspective of each character. If i were to tag Kang here it would look like he reverted to his Nathanial Richards form after his appearance in Fantastic Four #325, and that would be weird. As for the Space Phantoms, i did wonder about tagging the Space Phantom, but a narration panel says "the Space Phantom's people" which i took to mean that the actual Space Phantom wasn't there. All three are tricky, and i can definitely see the argument for listing Mr. Mobius and Space Phantom. At least it wouldn't cause any harm to their character chronologies. But i'd prefer to not do it unless i saw confirmation that they were actually appearing. TuomasFebruary 16, 2016 8:28 AM What If? #35-39 Of course there can be exaggeration in cartooning, but if it goes beyond a certain limit, it doesn't feel like the artist did it for artistic effect anymore, it looks like he was simply too lazy or incompetent to care about how certain body parts work. Superhero comics aren't Looney Tunes cartoons, they still require a certain amount of realism, otherwise the results just look silly. Or do you honestly think Colossus' shrunken head or Wolverine's teeny tiny feet look cool on that splash page? Thanos6February 16, 2016 6:48 AM Avengers #129-135, Giant-Size Avengers #2-4 For all of AVENGERS FOREVER's problems, I think it gave us the definitive Kang characterization, and setup for the definitive Kang storyline in KANG WAR (aka KANG DYNASTY). TuomasFebruary 16, 2016 6:28 AM Thor #320-322 Marvel's Freya situation is further complicated by the fact that the Enchantress (as well as her sister) also take some qualities of the mythical Freya. It seems the writers just can't settle on one Freya! BrimstoneFebruary 16, 2016 6:21 AM What If? #35-39 Ok well if I'm putting on my big boy serious comic nerd hat, let me respond to that with a sincere kinda wondering why and where all comic fans demanded completely realistic art complete with perfect anatomy? this is a comic book, bruh. it's cartooning. they can take some liberties with how muscles look, aint ANY of it realistic LOL! the point is, the set up of the page, the dynamic STORYTELLIG that Pacella is a master of, the way the characters are leaping out at the reader- that is what I am talking about. I don't think any comic artists do perfect anatomy and wouldn't that be kinda flat and bland? I thought comics were supposed to be over the top TuomasFebruary 16, 2016 6:16 AM What If? #35-39 The splash page looks ridiculous! Look at the tiny pointed feet on Wolverine and Colossus! And both of their heads appear to be shrunken, because they're not in proportion to their bodies. And Iceman's ice bridge seems to originate from Colossus back, because it doesn't continue on his left side like it should. And Rogue's waist is smaller than her breasts, and so on... Still, that splash is better than the second one by Pacella that Fnord posted, where Colossus' head is even more ridiculously tiny, Wolverine's legs are missing below his thighs, Colossus foot is conveniently obscured by brown mist so Pacella doesn't have to draw it, etc. I'm not the biggest fan of Kirby's art, but he would never have drawn splash pages as lazy and amateurish as these. Nathan AdlerFebruary 16, 2016 5:40 AM Avengers #129-135, Giant-Size Avengers #2-4 @AF: Don't worry you aren't the only one who thinks Avengers Forever is an absolutely terrible indulgent narcissistic vanity project! BrimstoneFebruary 16, 2016 5:21 AM What If? #35-39 Dude, that Mark Pacella art is FAN-TASTIC. Day-umm, I need to get some What If?s!!!! That splash page is totally a direct descendent of the Kirby approach the way the X-Men are leaping out of the page... dude, not trying to fan flames but only a snob or something could deny that? This storyline looks epic I didn't know Roy Thomas had it in him because those West Coast Avengers look kinda hit and miss.. I had no idea Wolverine was ever Lord of the Vampires and probably would never had known so I am very glad you posted this fnord!!!! Luis DantasFebruary 16, 2016 4:48 AM Wolverine #60-65 Wolverine is definitely not a character that appeals to me. And I now realize that Larry Hama's writing is not helping any, either. Back in the day I was wondering if they had any hope of convincing me that the solo book was worth a try. Almost 25 years later I still wonder. Nothing there sounds like I might want to read more. How come Marvel even suspected such disjointed, aimless stories would sell? I have no idea. AFFebruary 16, 2016 4:14 AM Thor #320-322 Farbauti is the name of Loki's real mother (in mythology, Laufey is his mother, Farbauti his father). She's introduced in the out-of-continuity Loki series from 2004 and alluded to in Kieron Gillen's crap. I'm surprised they managed to last all the way until 2004 before introducing her. (I was mostly just searching to see if she had actually appeared before, I was certain that Roy Thomas would've done it, but apparently not) AFFebruary 16, 2016 4:02 AM Avengers #129-135, Giant-Size Avengers #2-4 I cannot believe I am suggesting this... in (groan) Avengers Forever #8, the Synchro-Staff is revealed to be (groan) a Space Phantom. And that Space Phantom sits us down and gives us a lecture from Busiek and Brevoort about how crap the 90s were and how everything from as far back as Lee/Kirby has been all smoke and mirrors and Space Phantoms. So shouldn't Synchro-Staff (Space Phantom) be treat as a character appearing? (At times I feel I am the only person who genuinely thinks Avengers Forever is an absolutely terrible indulgent narcissistic vanity project.) AFFebruary 16, 2016 3:57 AM What If? #35-39 Also possibly Space Phantom? AFFebruary 16, 2016 3:08 AM What If? #35-39 Not sure how you'd even want to tackle it but wouldn't the Nathaniel Richards appearance count as a Kang/Rama-Tut appearance? RobertFebruary 16, 2016 1:44 AM Avengers #19-20 I don't know if you've mentioned it on any of the entries from this period but I've noticed that, starting around August/September of this year, Marvel started putting "Pop Art Productions" in the corner box. I think it only lasted through the end of 1965 though. accordion321February 16, 2016 12:28 AM Marvel Spotlight #6-11 Motorcyle stuntmen and Satanic paranoia -- two great 70s fads. kvetoFebruary 15, 2016 11:18 PM Amazing Spider-Man annual #5 milkrolik: Ty vole. http://www.spiderfan.org/faq/killed.html Thanos6February 15, 2016 10:29 PM What If? #35-39 The one thing that always makes my brain hurt about this story: You'd think the one thing the TVA wouldn't be able to know the future of is themselves. Thanos6February 15, 2016 10:25 PM What If? #35-39 fnord, was Mr. Mobius one of the TVA staffers in this story? If so, he should be tagged? RobertFebruary 15, 2016 8:30 PM Tales Of Suspense #73-78 (Iron Man) Now that Gene Colan is on this title, it suddenly becomes a whole lot more interesting. Still not a top tier book but much better than it was before. It was a tough slog for me to get through all the Heck issues but I breezed through these. MichaelFebruary 15, 2016 8:26 PM What If? #35-39 Peter Sanderson didn't like the idea that Nathaniel didn't know who the alt-FF were since he had watched history-holograms of them, so he suggested Nathaniel was deceiving them and really knew who they were in Citizen Kang. MichaelFebruary 15, 2016 8:15 PM Wolverine #60-65 Jubilee is said to be dyscalculic in this story. This is never mentioned again. Vin the Comics GuyFebruary 15, 2016 7:31 PM Wolverine #60-65 Note the tribute to Mike Zeck by Dave Hoover above. TeX was great on this book. Pacella does a decent Jim Lee swipe with that Sabertooth pounce. RobertFebruary 15, 2016 7:22 PM Tales Of Suspense #72-74 (Captain America) You have to love the goofy, bulky nature of this robot. I really do. Oldskool robots were the coolest. I'm surprised they never made a toy of it, actually. It would have been a cool Build-A-Figure for the Hasbro line. Build-A-Nazi-Robot probably had limited sales potential. RobertFebruary 15, 2016 7:10 PM Tales Of Suspense #69-71 (Iron Man) So he's actually the Ivan Drago of the MU. Most awesome thing I've read all day. david banesFebruary 15, 2016 6:05 PM New Mutants #98-100 Hey this Deadpool sucks and is little like the one in the movie! The one with the shewn shut mouth in X-Men Origins was waaaaaaaay better! Piotr WFebruary 15, 2016 6:05 PM What If? #35-39 "Simonwalt" scale..? Cute ;) mikrolikFebruary 15, 2016 5:45 PM Amazing Spider-Man annual #5 kveto: Spider-Man does not "straight up kills a guy". The missiles came from a car; Spider-man led the second missile back to the car to stop it. It was self defense- he didn't know if anyone was in the car (and the driver was completely unharmed). Still, this issue was published a few years before Spidey's "no killing mantra" was fully formed (it didn't start until after ASM 122), and you can argue he's responsible for the Finisher's death; but it was completely justified self-defense, not deliberate murder. Luke BlanchardFebruary 15, 2016 5:01 PM Astonishing Tales #6-8 Bobbi's "'tis" in her first panel above may indicate she was originally supposed to be Irish. cullenFebruary 15, 2016 2:25 PM Astonishing Tales #6-8 *WITH A FOOTNOTE*, i should add. Yay Marvel bringing back footnotes. Led me right here. cullenFebruary 15, 2016 2:13 PM Astonishing Tales #6-8 Bobbi's psychic powers were explicitly referenced and played on, in order to be lightly retconned as highly sophisticated pattern analysis, in her recent SHIELD special. TCPFebruary 15, 2016 11:55 AM Amazing Spider-Man #2 While it is noted here that The Vulture was eventually given super-strength, "guy with wings" seems to be one of Ditko's go-to villain gimmicks. There was that weird bird villain for the Speedball story in Marvel Comics Presents #14, and a winged-inventor similar to The Vulture would appear in Ditko's graphic novel "The Mocker." It's a nice, simple concept for a villain, though it works a lot better in a world not populated with so many super-powered beings. AFFebruary 15, 2016 11:02 AM Quasar #13-16 Nice little house ad for #16: https://36.media.tumblr.com/e514ddef001d73f2523fb7fd79662289/tumblr_o2lj7yp06x1tms107o1_1280.jpg TCPFebruary 15, 2016 10:19 AM Amazing Spider-Man #24 @Robert - I think Marvel time was moving a lot quicker in this early period; Peter went from a high school sophomore to a senior in only about two and a half years real time. Mysterio was also retconned into ASM #2 by Roger Stern decades later. RobertFebruary 15, 2016 9:57 AM Amazing Spider-Man #24 When he's doing his Scooby Doo "if not for those darn kids" speech, Mysterio says he's wanted revenge on Spider-Man for years, yet he only appeared 11 months prior in real time and presumably far shorter Marvel time. RobertFebruary 15, 2016 9:41 AM Amazing Spider-Man #23 Peter stopping to call Aunt May during the fight with the gangsters is classic. Love that. fnord12February 15, 2016 8:41 AM Spider-Woman #37-38 My placement is based on the MCP's which is based on the official 1994 Marvel indexes, and i wouldn't want to change that unless there was a definite problem, which doesn't seem to be the case. Looking at issue #148, it doesn't seem to me that Spider-Woman and Siryn travel directly with the X-Men back to the mansion. Nightcrawler is training with Wolverine. Storm and Angel are first seen with Professor X, arguing over Wolverine, and Colossus is working with Banshee on the Blackbird. And according to the end of this arc, it's said that Siryn went back with the X-Men and then "weeks" later Jessica gets a letter from Storm sayings that Siryn is about to be reunited with her father. So it seems that Jessica responds to that letter by traveling to be with the X-Men for #148. Over those "weeks" is when ROM #17-18 and Uncanny X-Men #145-147 can occur. It does seem like the X-Men sat on the news about Siryn for "weeks" (maybe because Siryn was having doubts about meeting her father or Xavier was examining her story or just because Xavier is a manipulative dick). You can probably come up with a different interpretation but it seems like the current placement is on solid enough ground. One thing you are definitely right about was my phrasing about Banshee in #148, and i've updated that. Thanks. Erik BeckFebruary 15, 2016 8:30 AM Cage #1 The release of the trade is almost certainly because of his presence in Jessica Jones and his upcoming series. And I have to say, I never much cared for Luke Cage when I was a kid. But the way they write him in Jessica Jones, I am much more interested in him now. Erik BeckFebruary 15, 2016 8:19 AM Marvel Comics Presents #97 (Bar) Oh, but how can you go wrong when Gorilla Man has a plan that involves the S&L Crisis? fnord12February 15, 2016 8:02 AM Untold Tales of Spider-Man #13 Thanks, Omar. I agree. I've added a scan and added the Melter as a Character Appearing. fnord12February 15, 2016 7:57 AM What's Missing The Giant-Size Dracula #5 back-up seems to be about a man in an insane asylum named Keith Starr that is imagining that he's fighting demons, so it doesn't seem to be in continuity unless he turns out to be related to Trish Starr or something. The Dr. Droom story in Giant-Size Man-Thing #3 is a reprint from Amazing Adventures #6. I don't have that but it falls into the "i don't list every missing pre-FF #1 story" category. For the Giant-Size Chillers stories, i'll wait and see if anything references them. Which is unlikely at this point but there are still other Marvel horror comics like Vampire Tales that i haven't covered. Thanks for pointing them out. It was worth looking into even if they seem to have turned out to be mostly non-canon. JeffFebruary 15, 2016 12:43 AM X-Force #5 Boom Boom looks like 40 in that scan but the character is supposed to be barely what, 15/16? ChrisFebruary 15, 2016 12:42 AM Amazing Spider-Man #22 The Circus of Crime, like the Enforcers, are one of the few villains who operate like many heroic types - ordinary people who nevertheless operate at a level above normal humanity, but yet possess no actual super-powers. Batroc's Brigade is similar. If Batman and similar heroes are allowed to take out super powered villains, there is no reason these villains can't. JeffFebruary 14, 2016 11:14 PM Uncanny X-Men annual #15 Was this Fabian's first time writing the X-Men ... er, the characters appearing in X-Men? Maybe he was just thrown in since Claremont was in the middle of three storylines at once in the monthly (Shi'ar/Skrull, Savage Land, and Muir Island) AND prepping the new book? I'm guessing he didn't do his research and his editors didn't help because the attitude in that era was "who cares about annuals?" RobertFebruary 14, 2016 11:04 PM Amazing Spider-Man #22 I thought it was interesting and very disappointing that Princess Python wasn't made leader of the new group. She's the one who steps forward and makes the call that a new leader is needed. The others follow her in that and it seems like she's about to say she will be the new leader...only to suggest The Clown should be leader. Based on what, I do not know. At any rate she's the only member of the Circus/Masters/Losers that comes out of this leaving any sort of memorable impression. Luke BlanchardFebruary 14, 2016 9:39 PM Marvel Two-In-One #12 Apparently the dialogue was sometimes pasted onto the art. There's a page of the original art from HOWARD THE DUCK #19 at http://www.comicartfans.com/GalleryPiece.asp?Piece=309971&GSub=48241 . It's dialogue-less, and has glue-marks from where the captions and balloons were pasted. I don't have the issue, so I can't check it against what appeared. JeffFebruary 14, 2016 8:49 PM Spider-Woman #37-38 Shouldn't this take place between "Uncanny X-Men" 147 and 148 for the X-Men? If Jessica and Siryn came back directly from this encounter to Xavier's, that is (which seems to be what happens). In your entry for UXM 148 you seem to indicated that Banshee has just arrived at the mansion. But I always read it as he never left the US following the Doom/Arcade incident -- he's clearly been at the mansion for at least several days if not a week or more between 147 and 148. And it seems out of character to me that the X-Men would find out about his daughter BEFORE the Doom business and then sit on it until well AFTER. That's why I feel like these issues come after UXM 147. AndrewFebruary 14, 2016 8:29 PM Fantastic Four #22 Another reason for the high significance rating: this issue is the first time Stan announced a contest with "no prize." RobertFebruary 14, 2016 8:10 PM Marvel Two-In-One #12 Thanks, Michael. After looking at it I remembered the panels in question. Not really surprising that a mistake would be made during an arc that is essentially a disgruntled employee (however justified) taking a dump on the desk before he leaves. RobertFebruary 14, 2016 7:58 PM Untold Tales of Spider-Man '96 I'm not a big fan of Allred on stuff like this but that's because I prefer more traditional comic book artists on superhero books and not cartoonists. I did enjoy his work on Madman and iZOMBIE so I'm certainly not saying he has no talent. It's just a matter of preference. MichaelFebruary 14, 2016 7:58 PM Marvel Two-In-One #12 In Fantastic Four 333, there were a couple of panels that seemed out of order. Fnord noted it in the entry. RobertFebruary 14, 2016 7:48 PM Marvel Two-In-One #12 RE: out-of-order panels and the like, is this strictly a '70s thing or can someone remember examples from later? Because editorial at Marvel in the '70s was a bit of a mess so those kinds of mistakes wouldn't be as surprising to me as something during the Shooter era or even later. Luke BlanchardFebruary 14, 2016 7:27 PM Marvel Two-In-One #12 In the Marvel method the pages were pencilled, scripted from the art, lettered (in ink), then inked. The lettering and inking were done on the same page as the pencils. Sometimes corrections to the art or dialogue were pasted on top of the finished page. In the GIANT-SIZE INVADERS #1-INVADERS #9 comments AF pointed out a case of out-of-order panels in MARVEL PREMIERE #30. His post has links to images of the original art and published page. It looks to me like an editor (Roy Thomas?) decided to move the top tier to the bottom of the page and the other two tiers up, but his instructions were misunderstood. So instead of the tiers abc being rearranged bca they were rearranged cba. There are arrows directing how the tiers should be moved on the left of the original art. So panels might end up out of order due to an editor's decision to make a change. How panels or tiers were moved I don't know. In the MARVEL PREMIERE #30 case they didn't cut up the original page. Maybe they rearranged a photocopy. I've not read a full account of how the letterers were told where to put the dialogue. I suppose there might be cases where dialogue was put into a wrong panel due to a mistake by the scripter, editor or letterer. That could cause the panels to read out of order. But I don't have an example of it happening. EHHFebruary 14, 2016 6:52 PM Avengers #270 "....while Moonstone is formidable on a team, her skills are even more valuable as part of a larger team." Don't you mean "formidable on her own" or something like that? RobertFebruary 14, 2016 5:51 PM Amazing Spider-Man #21 I wouldn't go as far as min and say that I hate Betty but she really does come across as someone in need of psychiatric help. The sad thing is I don't think this is deliberate on the part of Lee & Ditko, just a byproduct of Stan's inability to write women well and Steve's fondness for hysterical facial expressions and, well, 'crazy eyes.' ChrisWFebruary 14, 2016 5:21 PM Hulk #148 As does "Comic Book Profiles" Fall 1999 magazine, focusing on Claremont. RobertFebruary 14, 2016 4:09 PM Amazing Spider-Man #20 Great issue. Love the Scorpion! He's one of my favorite Spidey villains. Also this issue has another example of Spidey getting creative with his webbing, making a very cool web-bat that he uses to distract Gargan. RobertFebruary 14, 2016 3:54 PM Fantastic Four #37-38 #37 features another of Kirby's space photo backgrounds but with a note from Stan pretty much apologizing for the fuzzy picture quality. While I know many don't like these little notes and feel like they were 'shots' from Stan directed at Jack, I think in this case it was justified. I may have mentioned it on here before but I don't care much for Kirby's choices to use the photo backgrounds. Putting aside the debate about the artistic merits of it (whether it's creative experimentation or just laziness), the technology wasn't there yet for it to be effective. So you get fuzzy black & white photos that look unattractive and out of place in a color comic. ChrisWFebruary 14, 2016 3:16 PM Uncanny X-Men #43-45 You can accept that Xavier's funeral and will including Moira or Gabby Haller would be a retcon, although it actually works. Jean knew about Moira and would have told her Xavier wasn't dead so she shouldn't bother showing up. Gabby would have regretted not letting her son meet his father before it was too late - I don't remember Legion's origin well enough to be able to speculate if he would have had his multiple personalities/powers by this point - but otherwise Xavier just an old flame. I doubt they'd seen each other in years. But where's Fred Duncan? And what about other superheroes? Xavier had been invited to the Baxter Building for Reed and Sue's wedding! He's even visible in the 'I now pronounce you man and wife' panel which is an awkward angle. Somebody must have had high regard for him, yet none of them could be bothered to show up at his funeral. Mutant prejudice? RickFebruary 14, 2016 3:02 PM Amazing Spider-Man annual #1 Yes Omar, that's right. This is where they meet for the first time. Electro and Sandman bring Betty and Aunt May to Ock. When they come in Ock says "Ah, Miss Brant! Come in! I've been expecting you! And who is that charming lady with you? Omar KarinduFebruary 14, 2016 2:00 PM Amazing Spider-Man annual #1 Isn't this pretty much where the whole "Ock-May romance/friendship" idea gets rolling? Omar KarinduFebruary 14, 2016 1:54 PM Untold Tales of Spider-Man #13 The other figure dragging away the Black Knight at the end looks like the Melter; the weird shape of his original helmet is just barely visible, and he has a cape as the Melter did. Mark DrummondFebruary 14, 2016 11:34 AM What's Missing Giant-Size Dracula #5 has a backup story that I believe is referred to an MU story, but I can't remember which one or in what time period the story takes place in. Giant-Size Man-Thing #3 apparently reprints a Dr. Droom story that's been altered to say Dr. Druid. The 1975 Giant-Size Chillers series has several new stories in all 3 issues, which is weird because it had been some years since Marvel was doing horror anthology stories(they may have been leftover from cancelled b&w horror mags). It's possible that some stories may have been placed in the MU at some point. Mark DrummondFebruary 14, 2016 11:16 AM Giant-Size Super-Heroes #1 Marvel actually did run a house ad showing this as Giant-Size Super-Stars #2. Mark DrummondFebruary 14, 2016 11:11 AM Marvel Two-In-One #12 I have no idea how the panels got out of order; when I first read about this kind of thing in that one Steve Gerber Daredevil entry, I couldn't guess how it could happen. Even so, the panels make much more sense if you read them that way. Erik BeckFebruary 14, 2016 8:49 AM Code of Honor #4 If we're talking about photos, that last panel of Iron Man looks like a painted over photo of Mego Iron Man from TTT. RobertFebruary 14, 2016 7:38 AM Fantastic Four #35 It's probably just a coloring error but when Diablo first appears in this issue his costume is red with the arms and legs bare. He looks even sillier than he does in the scans above. RobertFebruary 14, 2016 6:17 AM Fantastic Four #34 There is something about Gideon's look and personality that makes me feel like he was modeled after a real-life person. I half-expected to come on and find a comment from Mark Drummond saying who he was based on, but no such luck. He kind of reminds me of G. Gordon Liddy, but he still had a head of hair and no mustache at this point so it's certainly not him. On another note, there is nothing about this issue that is particularly remarkable but it really struck me while reading it how far Kirby's artwork on this title had come in just two years (and still so much more great stuff to come). In particular I was impressed with his backgrounds here. Whereas in a lot of the early FF issues he often would leave the backgrounds blank, here there's only a handful of panels where that's the case. Brian CareyFebruary 14, 2016 5:43 AM Nick Fury Agent of SHIELD #37-41 Celebrity Brimstone, I'm trying to give you the benefit of a doubt today but, Nick Fury is a VERY important and historical character in the Marvel Universe and certainly predates the Sam Jackson incarnation you're so impressed with. Look up Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos, which is a war book done Marvel style and Steranko's influential and historic run in the late 60s'. Then you will make us all proud on the Celebrity Apprentice. Brian CareyFebruary 14, 2016 5:37 AM Amazing Spider-Man #30 It's amazing to me that Brimstone (!) would be the catalyst to provoke further commentary on these issues, even inadvertently. And this isn't a mock-Brimstone post. The more I've read online and looked at his entire history of discourse, I no longer share AF's view that he is purposely provoking or a troll... I really do believe he's just unwittingly oblivious and sincerely believes things like Stan Lee created the entire Marvel Universe. So in that respect, it's been very nice to see you guys chime in with further information and history, and it's been nice to see Brimstone the Celebrity been receptive to it. In that vein, what is everyone's thoughts on the "in search of Steve Ditko" documentary on YouTube? I bring it up because it pertains to specific comments made on this issue and the conversation about who-did-what. Yogi deadheadFebruary 14, 2016 4:39 AM Marvel Two-In-One #12 Hey Mark, how do the panels get out of order? Are they just drawn in the wrong order? Or are the pages sometimes collages? I'm thinking I really don't know how the sausage is made. I thought I did. I had How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way in the early 80s. Just curious if you could enlighten me, rocknrollguitarplayerFebruary 14, 2016 12:12 AM Hulk #180-182 In respect to Hammer and Anvil. It may prove worthy to Resurrect these two characters as members of the"WRECKING CREW" and put some emphasis in development of a High profile Super-Villain Team! This is one of the more prolic groups of Evil-Doers in Comic Book history.. Erik RobbinsFebruary 13, 2016 11:35 PM Fantastic Four #357-360 That's funny, Erik. I've been meaning to write a similar piece. Great Erik minds think alike... Luke BlanchardFebruary 13, 2016 11:05 PM Tales Of Suspense #67 (Iron Man) Perhaps Lee made the Dream Maker Nefaria so he'd have a motive for attacking Iron Man. ChrisFebruary 13, 2016 9:05 PM Amazing Spider-Man #23 Yes, I answered my own question! ChrisFebruary 13, 2016 9:04 PM Amazing Spider-Man #23 Those quotes are from Steve Ditko's 2 page essay ("The Ever Unwilling") in THE COMICS Vol. 20, No. 3 [March 2009], the newsletter of Robin Snyder. MichaelFebruary 13, 2016 8:37 PM Amazing Spider-Man #30 In case anyone's wondering the real reason why there's few comments on the older entries is because there were few commenters when fnord initially put them up. ChrisWFebruary 13, 2016 8:17 PM Amazing Spider-Man #30 I'M A LITTLE RUSTY ON THIS EVIL VILLAIN THING! CAN SOMEONE TELL ME HOW TO TURN OFF THE CAPS LOCK? ChrisWFebruary 13, 2016 8:12 PM Amazing Spider-Man #30 Well, Brimstone may be weird, but we all know that it's fnord's fault there aren't more comments on the Silver Age stories. CRUSH FNORD, MY MINIONS! I'LL FIGURE OUT WHY WE SHOULD CRUSH HIM LATER! WHEN I GET AROUND TO IT! IF THERE ISN'T SOMETHING ELSE I NEED TO DO! YOU KNOW WHAT, I'LL CALL YOU BACK! Omar KarinduFebruary 13, 2016 8:08 PM Amazing Spider-Man #30 I'm not arguing with anything, just joining the conversation. Mark DrummondFebruary 13, 2016 7:11 PM Marvel Two-In-One #19 The end of this issue states that the story in #20 actually begins in "Giant-Size Two-In-One #1", which is weird because Fantastic Four Annual #11--which came out more than 2 months before #19--correctly referred to that book as Marvel Two-In-One Annual #1. JonathanFebruary 13, 2016 7:07 PM Amazing Spider-Man #30 Chris - I think I agree with pretty much everything said by both yourself and Omar, so it isn't really a debate where people are arguing from different opinions, just people offering differing perspectives and facts, but yeah I really enjoyed it anyway. I think Brimstone may be the only person on this site who didn't recognise that both Lee and Ditko were immensely important to making Spider-Man the success he was from the start, and Brimstone's been good enough to take everyone else's comments on board on this point. Anyway, sometimes when I look at some of the Silver Age entries on the site and think it's a shame there aren't more comments on them, but that seems to be solved for this issue at least. :-) MortificatorFebruary 13, 2016 6:51 PM Fantastic Four #66-67 It would have been funny if, after Reed spent all his time duplicating Hamilton's bracelet, he found out it shot energy blasts or something, and walking through walls was just the guy's superpower. Also, that cocoon would have been an amazing reveal to the mystery of the creature's appearance... if it hadn't been plastered on the cover. Luke BlanchardFebruary 13, 2016 6:33 PM Amazing Spider-Man #157-159 The title of the second part was also used on the cover of #130. It's a play on the name of a 1972 movie, HAMMERSMITH IS OUT. Mark DrummondFebruary 13, 2016 6:19 PM Marvel Team-Up #47 Even more poor execution: on page 2, panels 2 and 3 are clearly in the wrong order. I think this is the 4th book so far in which this has happened... ChrisWFebruary 13, 2016 5:55 PM Amazing Spider-Man #30 Omar, I'm not really sure if you're agreeing with me or not, or what your point is. I basically agree with what you're saying, and quite like your comment about Ditko's facial expressions versus Kirby's. We get to talk about comics, who cares if we agree or not? Basically my point is that the post-Kirby/Ditko issues that Stan wrote were built on what Kirby and Ditko had created. Stan was too experienced an editor to not keep the characters going as he knew them. Once he had to keep things going without Kirby and Ditko, he made sure to keep what worked and forbidding what didn't work, and had the experience and position to make it so. And torturing the heroes is a time-honored way to make them work. If the audience cares about them, they are drawn in by the hero's eventual victory. Chris Claremont practically turned this into a science, but where would "Star Wars" or "Indiana Jones" be if we didn't see the heroes put in the worst-possible situations and still triumph? Stan carried on with the 'heroes with problems.' DC had to start copying Marvel. Kirby and Ditko carried on their own ways (without much immediate success) and later Marvel writers were just copying what Stan, Steve and Jack had done. It took Jim Shooter to make everything work. MichaelFebruary 13, 2016 5:34 PM Fantastic Four #233 The exo-suit does appear again- in a Mackie story during the Clone Saga. It's worth noting that during Hammerhead's later appearances in Gerry Conway's gang war storyline, he only manages to go one-on-one with Peter when Peter is weakened by being injected by a virus. JonathanFebruary 13, 2016 5:25 PM Fantastic Four #233 If that was what Byrne was implying, I'm all in favour of it. I always disliked Hammerhead, I could never see the point in a villain whose only power was a very hard top of the skull. In their first fight, Hammerhead tricks Spider-Man into punching the top of his skull, hurting Spider-Man's hand, but as far as I'm concerned the next panel should have been Peter punching him in the gut, and the character should never have had to appear again. (Though I do enjoy this story and his Power Man & Iron Fist appearance.) Not sure if the exo-suit ever appeared again, but it makes sense to me that Byrne might feel the same as Stern that Spider-Man shouldn't have too much trouble with most villains with normal human strength. Omar KarinduFebruary 13, 2016 4:48 PM Amazing Spider-Man #30 Ditko defintiely got more black-and-white in his thinking as time went by. To return to his work on the Charlton version of Captain Atom, the villain Doctor Spectro was actually a good man warped in an accident caused by criminals, resulting in a kind of comic-book "split personality." But Spectro stopped appearing after a while, and the later villains were less sympathetic, to the point that complete ciphers like the Fiery-Icer started showing up towards the end. A villain with a literally colorable personality was gradually phased out. And I agree that Ditko liked torturing his heroes, something enhanced by his moody art and utter mastery of facial expressions and body language. (He's actually better in this regard than Kirby; Kirby tends to let the character designs do a lot of the work. Notice how many of Kirby's iconic characters are defined facially by their unmoving steel masks, their ornate headgear, or stoic granite complexions.) But I think Lee's work on the later Spider-Man is interesting for what happens in it, something you don't see much in Ditko's or Kirby's solo work: the protagonist can be wrong, really wrong, even do the wrong or the careless or the thoughtless thing. Lee's Peter gets angry when he shouldn't, blows off responsibilities to the people in his life without good reasons, and finds out he had people like JJJ and Flash Thompson wrong when he assumed they were one-dimensional "heavies" out to get him. His internal problems cause his screw-ups. Compare the Ditko "Spidey- quits" story to Lee's later iterations. In the Ditko-Lee version, Peter quits because of external factors: Aunt May is sick and needs him all the time, he can't keep risking getting hurt because of it, and so he backs off of being a superhero until she shows that she can in fact get along on her own. In Lee's versions, Peter wants to quite, not because other responsibilities beckon, but rather because he wants to be *free* of the responsibility of being Spider-Man. He wants to marry Gwen, or to get to live a full life, or he feels that Spider-Man is a childish fantasy. His guilt invariably drags him back (well, or growing extra arms, but let's all try to forget that one....and even there, the hallucination sequence ends with him resolving to be Spider-Man again anyway after a vision of George Stacy.) And Lee's Spider-Man also doesn't always win clean or win the right way. He hurts himself taking on the Lizard, the Vulture, and Electro in those later issues. He shouts JJJ into a heart attack in a moment of uncontrolled frustration. His personal problems also become the result of people with flaws, not people just being assholes. Harry Osborn's inferiority complex drives him to drug addiction; Flash Thompson (in a highly metaphorical, distant fashion) is affected by his service in Vietnam; and he and Gwen have a lot of trouble figuring out how to treat each other like adults. Ut's soapy, but the characters are more rounded and there's more of a sense of the real world, with villains like Bullitt and the Prowler reflecting the period's interest in "relevant" storytelling. And while Lee's later tenure sees fewer villains created, the villains are developed across multiple arcs. The Kingpin's family, for example, is built up carefully and slowly, setting up the character dimensions that will later inform the work of people like Frank Miller. It does't have the amazing (!) energy of the Ditko era, but it demonstrates very well what Stan was bringing. I notice the missing creative spark, the lack of dynamism and invention in Lee's post-Ditko and post-Kirby work. But I also notice the retreat into metaphor and fantasy, the loss of grounded humanity, in the later works of Kirby and Ditko. Mark DrummondFebruary 13, 2016 4:47 PM Marvel Two-In-One #15 The Essential b&w reprint of this story reveals that the piece of paper Morbius is standing over in the 2nd-to-last scan says "Patterson" around the edges, so now I wonder if Bruce Patterson had uncredited inks in this. Omar KarinduFebruary 13, 2016 4:20 PM Fantastic Four #233 During their fight scene, Johnny muses that Hammerhead shouldn't be able to trade shots with superhumans, and considers him a "punk who got lucky" and made it to the top in the Maggia. And we never do find out just when Hammerhead started using that disguised exosuit. Is Byrne implying that Hammerhead shouldn't have been able to hang with the likes of Spider-Man and Doc Ock in hand-to-hand combat? Mark DrummondFebruary 13, 2016 3:54 PM Marvel Two-In-One #12 There's another example of out-of-order panels in this issue. On the page after Prester John's single-page intro, the first two panels appear to be in the wrong order. MichaelFebruary 13, 2016 3:42 PM Amazing Spider-Man #30 Oh, yeah, and he did the Phantom 2040 4-issue series in 1995. Mark DrummondFebruary 13, 2016 3:32 PM Marvel Two-In-One #11 There's also a mistake here where the Thing has a thought balloon assigning his orange look to Gamma rays. MichaelFebruary 13, 2016 3:30 PM Amazing Spider-Man #30 Ditko's last color comic was Dark Dominion 0 in 1993- before that he did some work for Valiant. ChrisWFebruary 13, 2016 3:13 PM Amazing Spider-Man #30 Stan at his peak as a scripter was beyond repute, and neither Ditko nor Kirby could come close. He was also the art director and editor and probably had a better sense of what could fit on a page than most others in the time. And I do know he's still creative. A while back I saw a Youtube clip of an interview, and for whatever reason the topic moved to DC characters, and the guy said something about Green Lantern or Batman or whoever and Stan jumped on him, challenging him and riffing on ideas for what sounded to me like a perfectly serviceable story for the characters. It was something clever and so obvious that I'm amazed it hasn't been done, something like 'why doesn't Green Lantern make green kryptonite so he can fight Superman?' I don't remember the actual idea, but it was quite amusing the way an old man embarrassed this bright young kid by quick thinking and spontaneity. Kirby and Ditko blow Stan away for visual imagination, design, layout, pacing, but Stan has always admitted that. He's also said that the second half of Ditko's "Spider-Man" he had no idea what would be in the following issue until the pages were in front of him, and describing his partnership with Kirby (while it was still very much on-going) from memory, "Some guys need more direction than others. Some guys need no direction. I may not say anything more to Jack Kirby than 'let's have the next villain be Dr. Doom,' or I may not even say that, he may tell me, and he goes home and does it. He's so good at plotting, I'm sure he's a million times better than me. Of course sometimes I do give him a plot, but we're both practically the writers." Stan gets all the credit for scripting, keeping the whole operation going, juggling countless balls in the air in ways that few people could do in any field and which he was pioneering in comics. He also gets credit for the initial spark, having said many many times that "Fantastic Four" #1 was the first time he set down to write a comic that he himself would want to read. He's one of the most prolific comics writers in history, but does he have a single noteworthy story prior to that issue? Omar, segueing into what you said from there, I would agree that Stan's input into Spider-Man's conception provided the "soapy, troubled teen" aspect. [I have no evidence whatsoever, but I am convinced Stan's the one who came up with not being able to cash a check made out to "Spider-Man."] He's also said romance comics were the ones he liked writing the most, and his dislike of kid sidekicks probably innovated making the kid into the main hero. Ditko has made so few public statements that I don't have a clue where he said it, but he did once point out the difference between Spider-Man and his later heroes like Mr. A, in that Spider-Man was a teenager, a boy becoming a man, so he makes mistakes and has problems as he matures. I am increasingly convinced that he intended Betty to be Peter's true love (seen in this issue as shown above) and my understanding was that he wanted to focus more on Peter and less on Spider-Man. Stan wanted more Spider-Man, and notice how most of Ditko's later issues were mostly big fights interspersed with a few Peter/Betty/Gwen scenes. He's trying to give the boss what he wants while maintaining control over the characters he spends all day at a drawing board plotting and creating. All of a sudden the villains stop being imaginative. Only the Green Goblin is doing anything interesting. Ditko has also said that he did intend that guy in the background in "Spider-Man" #23 at JJJ's club to be revealed as the Green Goblin, which lines up with what Stan has always said that he and Ditko wanted to do a villain whose identity wasn't revealed for a long time. #23 was the Goblin's third appearance, and Norman would become increasingly-prominent, and clearly hated Spider-Man. [Have I mentioned that I love this site, for letting me look up stuff so conveniently? Thanks, fnord.] If nothing else, Ditko was 40 when he left "Spider-Man" and would not really be interested in continuing to tell stories of troubled teenagers. He's fully-aware that he has nothing in common with the younger generation, so why waste time and energy pretending? I can understand arguments that Ditko's art deteriorated. He clearly made his biggest mark on "Spider-Man" and "Dr. Strange" and it's a good point that his office scenes and clothing look like they're from the 50s. But almost nobody as doing superheroes in motion like he did them, and I think his biggest gift is in visual design. Which he retains for decades. I just flipped through a few of his recent comics before writing this, was struck by his incredible facility to cartoon. It's a very recognizable Steve Ditko-style, but shows versatility light years beyond almost everybody else. May not be everyone's cup of tea, but there's some amazing drawing going on there. And to my knowledge, he hasn't done color comics in decades (probably since "Speedball" or the first appearance of "Squirrel Girl.") That's right, he's accomplished some great cartooning entirely in (wait for it) black and white. kvetoFebruary 13, 2016 2:56 PM Tales Of Suspense #63 (Iron Man) Ugh, modern comics reference. Where's my wooden stake? MichaelFebruary 13, 2016 2:50 PM Tales Of Suspense #63 (Iron Man) That's not too likely as the Phantom was killed off in Iron Age Omega while the Ghost was given a different origin in Thunderbolts. Mark DrummondFebruary 13, 2016 2:19 PM Marvel Two-In-One #8 Wyatt Wingfoot's tribe, the Keewazi, is called the Konohoti here. At one point, the Miracle Man's power doesn't work on Ghost Rider, and Ghost Rider assumes that the power of the "Friend" may be responsible. This is never explained elsewhere, and it isn't mentioned in GR's own book. Mark DrummondFebruary 13, 2016 1:34 PM Amazing Spider-Man #30 The main complaint that I've seen with Ditko is that on the surface, his style seems very dated. He was putting men in suits, ties, and hats long after that style changed. Much older fans have pointed out that there isn't any reason for the Daily Bugle offices in 1965 to look like they're still stuck in 1955. And it has to be said that he would have been the wrong artist to unveil Mary Jane Watson--John Romita made her look like a pin-up, but the few glimpses of her that Ditko did could be described as frumpy at best. But despite all that, Ditko's talents at mood, dynamism, and design consistently won out and the man was practically worshipped in fanzines up until the early 1980s. Just to provide comparisons, Kirby's return to Marvel from 1975-78 was routinely subject to head-scratching and criticism, but when Ditko's Shade series for DC got cancelled after ten issues, there was widespread disappointment. The fact is though that Ditko's art did deteriorate a bit and get much more simplistic starting in the late 1970s(Shade's cancellation tended to get ascribed to younger newsstand buyers being repelled by Ditko's style). You honestly can't blame Brimstone for not getting Ditko's appeal if the first thing he saw was something like Speedball in 1988. Plus, there's the fact that Ditko insisted on writing more of his stuff from about 1978 on, and the reaction to that was...well, there's a reason why Mr. A doesn't quite reach the same plateau as Spider-Man, Dr. Strange, the Question, and Captain Atom. The word "crank" was being thrown around even way back then in response to Ditko's writing, and Witzend co-editor Bill Pearson himself wrote a satire called "Mr. E" by "Steve Diktator" which appeared in Witzend #7 in 1970! fnord12February 13, 2016 11:46 AM Untold Tales of Spider-Man #14 I don't know! I thought the answer was going to be that we see her funeral or something (i do count corpses since you never know who's going to get resurrected), but that's not the case. I've removed the tag. Thanks. fnord12February 13, 2016 11:35 AM Captain America #352-353 Thanks for pointing this out, AF. Since, as you say, she's always been a Dire Wraith, it sounds like i don't have to worry about splitting out the tags, but i think it's good to know a spoiler like this for exactly the reason you say. fnord12February 13, 2016 11:33 AM Quasar #33 Thanks, AF. I've added them. fnord12February 13, 2016 11:31 AM Wolverine #51-53 Regarding Sleepwalker numbers, what i quoted on that entry was from line 10C, which is what i always quote. The total numbers printed from line 10A are 357,300 average and 324,700 most recent. So they are higher than the 10C numbers. I did note on that entry that it was odd to see the SOO numbers so soon, since so far i've only seen them starting the second year. So the idea that they are really the numbers for a different book isn't implausible. I think Red Comet makes the right point, though. We're in the speculator era and the SOO included the numbers for the first issue. PeterAFebruary 13, 2016 11:27 AM Amazing Spider-Man #231-232 I do not understand why the editors would not allow such a genius writer to just do his thing. It seems like he got messed with on ASM, Avengers & cap, at the least. As for popularity and hype, you'd think being Stern would be enough. His work on Superman was also the best thing to happen to that franchise in the past three decades. Boo comics for not putting Stern on the biggest books, or in charge as chief creative envisioner. fnord12February 13, 2016 11:16 AM What's Missing Thanks Mark. I've added issues #12 & #13 to the list. AFFebruary 13, 2016 9:31 AM Quasar #33 Here's those two pages in question: They're both in this top panel: And Vision is next to Captain Marvel on the bottom right of this: JCFebruary 13, 2016 9:02 AM Fantastic Four #357-360 Tldr; Defalco takes a 💩💩💩 Erik BeckFebruary 13, 2016 8:50 AM Fantastic Four #357-360 I wanted to write a long piece about how bad this retcon is, how it destroys what was once the best comic at Marvel but it's so bad I can't do it. I will say, how convenient for this story that they had already undone the "freezing" of all Skrulls in their current form. Lyja would have just been stuck as Alicia forever. And, on a related tangent to fnord's intro to this: That was the joy of all the Earth-2 stories at DC from the early 60's to the mid 80's. It allowed those characters to grow older and deal with aging and a new generation while simultaneously allowing the main DC characters to stay younger and in less of a state of change. JCFebruary 13, 2016 8:13 AM Punisher Summer Special #2 He did have a nice long run with Geoff Johns on Teen Titans, which was a particularly fun, colorful, and energetic book. JonathanFebruary 13, 2016 8:11 AM Amazing Spider-Man #30 Omar - great post with some great points, as usual. I'm not sure the Objectivist black/white thing was completely cemented in Ditko's mind until the very end of his work on Spider-Man, but that's just my personal feeling. Obviously in his later work you can see Ditko being increasingly black/white about everything. In the later issues Spidey issues there is a lot of anger, and it's interesting to see how Stan's scripting lightened some of the scenes (such as the college protests) from how they appear to have been intended. I always remember someone commenting that in the very last few issues of Ditko's Spidey run, everyone could do with a long lie down. This is true, and as a teenager I did love reading the early Romita issues where Peter is suddenly respected and appreciated by Flash, Harry and Gwen, all of whom resented him in the Ditko run. After over 30 issues of Peter being miserable and misunderstood, it meant a lot to me to see him get some happiness, it felt like a ray of sunshine. But as good as the Lee-Romita run is, I feel (with some exceptons) that it mostly plateaus after the first few issues. In the end, I agree with Gerry Conway's statements about Stan's run in "Comics Creators On Spider-Man": "After that early period, everything was fine in Peter's life. He went off to college and met Gwen and everything was good. His biggest crisis was the death of his girlfriend's father. During my formative years as a reader, in the early 1960s, Uncle Ben died, Aunt May was in the hospital all the time, Flash Thompson was always picking on Pete, Betty Brant's brother got shot, the 'Master Planner' storyline dominated events - all these things were happening" ... "Somewhere along the line, after those first thirty or forty issues, Stan started to let up on Peter Parker. Why? I'd say the influence of Steve Ditko can't be overstated when you consider the plotting of those early books. Ditko obviously liked to torture his characters. John Romita, who took over from Ditko, is a loveable guy, and didn't want to hurt Peter." I've heard people saying the same thing about Stan, that he was too nice to want to carry on torturing Peter the way the Lee-Ditko run had. (And for anyone interested, the book also has interviews with both Lee & Romita discussing how the plots came together during this Marvel Method period.) JCFebruary 13, 2016 8:05 AM Untold Tales of Spider-Man #8 Oh well sure, though I doubt many if anyone reading UTOS hadn't alrdy familiarized themselves with that tidbit. kvetoFebruary 13, 2016 8:01 AM Untold Tales of Spider-Man #8 Thats kinda my point. There were no clues in the original stories. All the "clues"are in the UTOS. The UTOS were all written with the knowledge that anyone reading them already knew Norman was the GG, and didn't try to hide the fact. JCFebruary 13, 2016 7:52 AM Untold Tales of Spider-Man #8 everyone would just say "We knew that." Is that strictly true? Assuming you weren't alrdy spoiled, I can't recall anything in those original stories that strictly pointed to it being Norman. Certainly Ditko never intended it to be so, so I can't imagine there were hidden clues or anything of the like. AFFebruary 13, 2016 7:45 AM Untold Tales of Spider-Man #8 This and the other Headsman issue were the only Untold Tales of Spider-Man issues I found myself able to tolerate. Mostly because I bloody loved Thunderbolts: Siege and thought Headsman's story was beautifully tragic. JCFebruary 13, 2016 7:33 AM Untold Tales of Spider-Man #10 I bet that wasn't the only thing getting spilled on Commanda... JCFebruary 13, 2016 7:31 AM Untold Tales of Spider-Man #14 How does Sally Avril appear here if she died the last issue? BRIMSTONEFebruary 13, 2016 7:28 AM Amazing Spider-Man #30 Omar... WHOA. Dude, you are like, miles ahead of me with that stuff bro!!! Holy crap that could have been a thesis on super-hero design LOL That being said I respect everyone liking what they like, I am a comic book hero myself after all lol but here is how I truly see it: Ditko is an average talent he got a lucky break the day Stan Lee decided to give him a chance. from everything I read and hear, Ditko had problems everywhere he went. Well why do you think that is?? it's easy for these fanboys to blame stan all the time. As my man Omal just said above, STAN added the stuff everybody cares about and still talks about. Ditkos action scenes have like NO violence and NO action so I don't see how anyone can take him seriously. I think Stan just felt bad so gave him more credit than he needed. Why did Stan still deliver the goods with Romita then after Ditko left if he was "just the co plotter"? That being said I meant what I said dude, and that is, if people enjoy this stuff and love Ditko then more power to them, we can all respect each other! I just don't "get" Ditko and feel this era of Marvel is overrated though I do give Stan a lot of credit JCFebruary 13, 2016 7:27 AM Amazing Spider-Man #38 It's amazing to think back on all that's going on during the Ditko era. Certainly once Romita Sr takes over art duties, Spidey gets his visual style that will define him for the next quarter century. But the book loses alot in the process. Spidey and the readers never were as challenged then as during the Ditko era. Every issue/story arc was just pop full of energy and excitement. Peter falls for Betty and is rdy to declare his love, only to fail to save her bruh and lose her. Pete gets picked on by Flash and the gang, Pete beats the shit out of Flash in the ring. Spidey starts getting a bit too comfortable in his powers, so the Master Planner is there to take him down a peg. You just always got the sense shit was going down and anything could happen. Once Romita joins in, the book seemingly loses it's edge and focuses moar on the melodramatics of soap opera. kvetoFebruary 13, 2016 7:19 AM Untold Tales of Spider-Man #8 You know UTOS just feels like a missed opportunity. They sometimes get an idea of the right art but screw it up with modern style villains like the Headsman and Scorcher which just pull you out of the nostalgia. It would be interesting if somebody new read the comics in order with the UTOS issues. When they'd get to the big green goblin reveal in ASM #39, everyone would just say "We knew that." (Kinda what kids growing up with Star Wars prequels must say when Vader reveals himself as Luke's father in "Ëmpire".) Brian CareyFebruary 13, 2016 7:07 AM X-Force #6-10 "When i first started posting here, so many other posters started writing me, asking 'is this the REAL Brimstone'..." Really? REALLY?? Thanks for a big laugh before I go to work. kvetoFebruary 13, 2016 7:04 AM Tales Of Suspense #63 (Iron Man) You know, Tony Stark's romantic situation should have been another of the great marvel conundrums. Kind of a mirror image of the Spider-man situation. Whereas Spidey had to maintain a puny Parker persona to hide his identity (and not get the girls. Remember, Liz Allen was in love with Spider-man). I think it is the Marvel Appendix that put forth the Phantom as a possible candidate to be the Ghost later. Similar m.o.s and unmasked looks. I'd be fine with that. JCFebruary 13, 2016 6:59 AM Amazing Spider-Man #231-232 Stern was essentially forced off the book by new incumming Spidey editor, Danny Fingeroth. Agreed that Stern still has it. His Spidey one off specials are as strong as any monthly being written today. I'd guess it has to do with poopularity and hype constantly favoring the next new thing. Omar KarinduFebruary 13, 2016 6:58 AM Amazing Spider-Man #30 Ditko's creativity is well-evidenced in his run of Captain Atom, where villains like the Ghost and Punch and Jewelee seem very much like the kinds of characters he would have created in Spider-Man had he stuck around. (The Ghost, in fact, is essentially Green Goblin 2.0, with a a better name and costume design, as well as a curious motive: he's brilliant and rich thanks to his inventive genius, but his bitterness at growing up poor makes him a power-hungry criminal anyway.) But Ditko gradually loses interest int his sort of thing and moves further and further into playing villains as almost wholly unsympathetic, and then just coming up with a kooky design and little else. And his heroes, likewise, lose more and more of their dimensionality. Compare the utterly earnest Captain Atom and Blue Beetle to Spider-Man's anxiety and insecurity, for example. Even the Creeper is basically putting on his nutty act. Ditko would write teenagers and angsty, insecure types -- Hawk and Dove spring to mine -- but his grownups couldn't be heroes if they suffered from any serious self-doubts or problems of their own making. That's what Stan added: the idea that these things don't go away, and that people aren't as sortable into black and white morality. I think Kirby's work grows more Manichean as it goes on, too, but in a different way where Kirby *knows* he's playing with archetypes and still has room for (classical) comedy amid the "serious" conflicts. Omar KarinduFebruary 13, 2016 6:50 AM Amazing Spider-Man #30 "I was a bit glib about describing Spider-Man as 'Archie Andrews as a superhero,' but Archie has problems that anybody can relate to, boy, girl, man, woman, young, old. And so did Peter Parker. What problems did he have fighting Venom that anybody could understand? Under Ditko, Peter couldn't cash a check because it was made out to "Spider-Man" A girl he'd been lusting after for years suddenly started throwing herself at him, but he was too caught up in his own problems to notice." See, I'd argue that the idea of Peter Parker as a soapy, troubled teen is almost certainly more Stan than Steve. Ditko's solo writing work tends to look more like his later issues of ASM, where the hero is sort of angry and wrapped up in his own, important pursuits. The standard Ditko protagonist (until they devolve into Objectivist mouthpieces) is frustrated by the world around them in some ways, often persecuted in their costumed identity, and misunderstood by people (who are usually portrayed as dopes and whiners). But there's strikingly little soap opera there beyond the "brassy love interest with a sharp tongue" sort of thing. And in some Ditko books, like his Charlton work, you don't even get that; instead, you have a plucky love interest who's almost entirely supportive of the hero. Whenever you do find more of that soap opera sort of thing in Ditko's work, you always find a more Lee-style humanist as co-scripter, such as Denny O'Neil or Steve Skeates. None of this is to say that Ditko was not an incredibly fertile creator and a "More than co-plotter" on ASM past a certain point, though. I think there's a definite shift int he tone of the book once you get to, say, issue #17, and by the time Peter is in his "college phase" we see a lot of Ditko's themes, and notably a tendency to play the villains into weak, greedy men with virtually no sympathetic aspects. By the time Doctor Octopus is doing his Master Planner bit, for example, there's virtually no trace of either his implied mental illness from early on or his ability to play at civility as in ASM Annual #1. And many of the other new villains share a background different than the Stan Lee "you just got powers, now make a moral choice" bit: the Molten Man, Osborn, and the Master Planner version of Ock and others are played either as people who have stolen the work and creations of others; even Stromm and Kraven are played as self-important failures, insisting on their importance and "shoulda-been" success while doing little more than pursuing sad grudges. (The Looter almost feels like Ditko parodying Stan's themes by showing that anyone who'd make the "wrong" moral choice with their powers must have been little more than a self-important failure.) PeterAFebruary 13, 2016 6:45 AM Amazing Spider-Man #231-232 I think Stern/JRjr is probably unparallelled. Why was it so short! And why don't they give Stern a book of his own, he still has it. PeterAFebruary 13, 2016 6:43 AM Amazing Spider-Man #30 I find it interesting, Brimstone, that we have probably very different tastes, because Spawn, Liefeld, Ghost Rider and so on are really not to my likings (I do love the 80s but not the 90s, but then I kind of like the Clone Saga since it got me into comics alongside The Child Within, hence my love for Sal Buscema for instance), but apparently we share the same favorite character, the Beast. So much so my original online handle was BeastCharming ☺ I think that a possible point of proof on ditko'S importance is the lack of new interesting additions to Spidey's rogues gallery. Which seems to indicate Ditko was more the creator and Stan the scripter. But then the scripting was very important to the popularity of the budding MU. So I think it really is the combination of Kirby and Ditko with Lee that did the trick. Kirby's solo writing stuff is clunky, I doubt the Ff would have had as much of an impact originally if he has written them from the start. So I believe one could not have existed without the other, like JJJ is who he is because of Ditko drawing him like such a curmudgeon that Lee knew exactly how to write him, and so on. JCFebruary 13, 2016 6:42 AM Amazing Spider-Man #231-232 A Spidey classic. Continuity wise dere's nothing really going on here dat's important for future reference or that you couldn't otherwise skip. That said Stern puts together a story that hits just about every note a Spidey story should and has a lot of fun in the process. BRIMSTONEFebruary 13, 2016 6:40 AM Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #74-76 Doc Ock's henchmen, reattaching his arms complete in surgical gear just made me think "it's a good thing henchman goons are such good surgeons!!!" lol JCFebruary 13, 2016 6:38 AM Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #74-76 And so ends the Deb Whitman saga, not with a bang but with the usual Mantlo bleh. It's a shame too, I always thought of Deb as maybe THE girlfriend. She's cute but nerdy, smart enuff to figure out Pete's secret but indecisive enuff to trust her judgement. She's essentially a female Peter Parker which Stern has admitted to. I think she had a lot of longterm potential as she's smart and daring enuff that she would've been able to call Peter out on his shit if they had progressed into a LTR and she's pretty but not glamour model level that takes away from Peter's everyman status. Pete's last longterm relationship in Slott's ASM is Carlie Cooper who's almost purrfectly cloned from the Deb Whitman mold, right down to her putting together his secret. BRIMSTONEFebruary 13, 2016 6:37 AM Amazing Spider-Man #20 PeterA that's a great idea, bruh... I think if the Sinister Six had fought that Silver Age version of the Avengers that didn't have Thor and Iron Man...? The one with Cap, and Hawkeye, and Quicksilver & Wanda... that might've been a great story!! Maybe I should pitch writing it to Marvel for an "Untold Tales" issue LOL Omar KarinduFebruary 13, 2016 6:32 AM Amazing Spider-Man #20 The Scorpion vanished from Spider-Man's books and bounced through several issues of Captain America, specifically #122 and #151-152. When Scorpy came back to fight Spidey in ASM #145-146, it was treated like a "long time, no see" situation. (Interestingly, nearly all of Scorpion's 1970s appearances -- robot or otherwise -- were written by Gerry Conway regardless of the book he appeared in.) PeterAFebruary 13, 2016 6:31 AM Amazing Spider-Man #20 What is really insane is that after his second appearance it took over 100 issues before Scorpy was used again in ASM and after that, almost 200! Current Venom is indeed Flash Thompson, Brimstone, but for a few years the symbiote bonded with Gargan. Then I think they split in New Ways To Die and I forget how Flash has him bonded to him now. Does that mean Flash knows Peter is Spidey since the synmbiote does? Mysterio is a foe I wish were used more in other books. And the Sinister Six versus a nice team of Avengers would be fun for a summer event. On the other hand I can see how a lot of Peter's enemies become obsessed with him and so they rarely venture out of his sphere. JonathanFebruary 13, 2016 6:30 AM Daredevil #5 @Robert - Agree that the early run of Daredevil is pretty awful in general. I was amazed how poor it was when I first picked up a Daredevil "Essentials" volume. I will say however that I do think it has the slight edge over Giant Man, because there's the very occasional good story here. I don't think any of Giant Man & Wasp stories are as good as Daredevil 7 (which I have a lot of love for) with Daredevil fighting a losing battle against Namor, definitely an influence on later things like Daredevil's losing battle against the Hulk in Frank Miller's run. I also think the Ani-Men story in 10 & 11 (which Wally Wood wrote some of) stands out a little. And I have some ironic affection for the Mike Murdock plotline, in a so-bad-it's- good way. But yeah, Daredevil for the most part has an awful set of villains for the first few years, and easily some of the worst/blandest stories Stan was involved in during the 60s. BRIMSTONEFebruary 13, 2016 6:27 AM Uncanny X-Men #30 careful Erik you may get a lecture and people quitting bc u don't like the old fashioned art LOL I have to say I am kinda fascinated by these old X-Men because, for ME, the "old" X-Men were the 1977 version I discovered in "CLASSIC X-MEN". I knew of course about the Silver Age stuff but it's just... weird. They look like old timey circus acrobats in those uniforms or something. I think I gotta repay closer attention to Dave Cockrum for redesigning them when I see this stuff... BrimstoneFebruary 13, 2016 6:23 AM Amazing Spider-Man #30 @ Jonathan- thanks for all that bro, I mean it. These are good points. Since you asked me I feel I am not breaking rules by explaining that because I am personally associated with Stan Lee and am a celebrity spokesman for his POW! Entertainment Group I have often spent time with him and I am just in awe of his creative imagination. Dude, just bc we don't see it you have no idea how much he still creates. It just goes into development. I give him respect for being the architect of the Marvel Universe. Its true I didn't read a lot of Silver Age stuff but Stan talked about creating the Silver Surfer and how that was a character he was really high on and I learned on this site (thanks again fnord) that Stan didn't want anyone else to write him, so I don't know how Kirby is the creator. Probably Kirby drew an "extra" and Stan developed him into the icon we know today. Its true I am to blame because I got one of those Essentials Editions but I just couldn't get through it. I am an 80s and 90s guy and that was my era... Secret Wars, X-Men, Wolverine, Venom, the 90s Ghost Rider, Spawn, etc.. that to me is the epitome of comics (even if The Beast remains my favorite character)... I believe it's just the fact I love modern comics is rubbing the regulars wrong because this site really caters to the guys into old obscure stuff. fnord, to his credit, is tryin to cover the ENTIRE Marvel Universe and that means going into the modern years so nobody has a claim on what we can like. I did a quick google search last night when someone said look at Mr. As by Ditko and all I saw was amateur stuff in black in white and the blog that covered it even said how that character was a republican archtype so it just wasn't my thing, I'm sorry, I know Ditko has some talent but the unpopular truth is that he would not have gone far without Stan Lee. Stan has the midas touch and I think he didn't create much after the 70s only because- and again I learn this from fnord's notes- he handed the Editor job to Roy Thomas and went to Hollywood to write movies. Kirby didn't do that, but I know it's more popular to root for the underdog. Or maybe writers aren't popular, I don't know. Anyway I respect you bruh, thanks Jonathan for sharing your thoughts. I like talking about comics and I always learn something and always learning helps me to stay at the top of a brand ambassador for everything I do in the entertainment spectrum: comics, acting, spokesman, etc. So I will think of what you said. I also wonder why it isn't more a big deal that Stan still writes the Spider-Man newspaper strip.. that's gotta be some sort of record because it means hes essentially been writing Spidey since 1962 with no stop BrimstoneFebruary 13, 2016 6:14 AM Amazing Spider-Man #20 Thanks... but I just read it and it says it's a robot so it doesn't count even if it's in continuity... JonathanFebruary 13, 2016 6:12 AM Amazing Spider-Man #30 @Chris/ChrisW - Well said, very good comments. @Brimstone - ChrisW has already answered your belief that Ditko never accomplished anything without Stan Lee, but you may not be aware that many comics fans believe that Stan Lee never created much without Ditko or Kirby, who have both expressed some annoyance that a lot of fans do not recognise they were plotting & drawing whole issues and Stan was just scripting them. That is why your comment on Stan "creating the whole line by himself" will have rubbed some people the wrong way. It's said that Stan's entire plot for Fantastic Four 48 was that the FF should fight God, and Kirby then created Galactus (and a herald, Silver Surfer, who Stan had not thought up) and plotted the whole issue based on that. If you look at all the famous characters created by Stan, check how many of them were co-created by Ditko and Kirby. Once you remove those, you're not left with a lot. (And if you also remove Lee's work with Romita and Buscema, the cupboard gets pretty bare. Stan has not created much since the early 1970s, and no-one thinks Speedball is one of Ditko's great works anymore than they think Solarman, which Stan was writing at a similar time, was one of Stan's best.) Taking Spider-Man as an example, in the Lee-Ditko run, the major villains created include Doctor Octopus, Sandman, Green Goblin, Electro, Scorpion, Kraven, Mysterio, Vulture, plus several more minor villains. In the Lee-Romita era, which went on for much longer, you only really have Kingpin, Rhino, and Shocker. I can see that you have different tastes than a lot of people on this site, and sometimes it's a good thing to hear an alternative point of view. I am a bit puzzled though that you are saying you are a big fan of Stan, but have not read Stab's Spider-Man run. I'd say most people would say Stan's Spider-Man run (along with the middle portion of his Fantastic Four run, and the Lee-Kirby run on Thor) was the best stuff Stan ever did, and some of the best comics anyone ever did. Fnord's site is a great resource but it's not always possible to judge a set of comics you haven't read just on a few scans & a review. Fnord's reviews go into less detail on a lot of the Stan-era comics, because often there is less to say about them. It may be that you just prefer Image art, but I would sincerely suggest you try reading the first 50 or 60 issues of Spider-Man. This is not one of the best issues, but the hit rate is higher than 95% of comics you'll read. You describe them as "corny" above, but if you compare them to the other comics of their era, you will find they were actually radical and innovative. In fact, there are multiple instances where Lee-Ditko intentionally take a different spin on a cliché that they found corny. Stan in fact frequently scripts characters as criticizing something for being corny. I am saying all this as a fan of both Lee and Ditko (and Kirby and Romita etc). They were a team. They did their best work together. Ditko's art may not be to your taste, but his Spider-Man run is full of his ideas and philosophies at least as much as Stan's, and no other artist on Marvel at the time could have co-created the Spider-Man that he did. AFFebruary 13, 2016 6:12 AM Amazing Spider-Man #20 http://www.supermegamonkey.net/chronocomic/entries/daredevil_82-83.shtml BrimstoneFebruary 13, 2016 6:06 AM Amazing Spider-Man #20 My era of Scorpion was when McFarlane improved his design, giving him a superior look with the armor gleam and the spike (yes!!) on the end of his tail. I always took Scorpy as a top-level threat in all the stories I saw him in (the Todd then Larsen eras) and I had no idea he was Venom, I thought Flash Thompson was Venom, day-umm! These entries are really helping me see the early days so once again a big shout out to my boy fnord but I really think these characters evolved into their best forms in the modern era. From what I see on the splash page with this issue it looks like Scorpion's tail is coming out of his back?! I'm curious why Stan never thought to put up Scorpion against characters like Daredevil and Iron Man, seems like Doc Doom etc could jump around the MU but Spideys rogue gallery stayed strictly Spidey. Hmm interesting... AFFebruary 13, 2016 5:14 AM Amazing Spider-Man #20 Scorpion was a member of the Sinister/Insidious Six in Spider-Man: The Animated Series. And he was a member in the awful Spider-Man: Reign (aka The Dark Knight Returns featuring Spider-Man). Only time in canon was in Mark Millar's Spider-Man when he joined Green Goblin's Sinister Twelve but as Venom. There was a Sinister Seven during the Clone Saga that had Scorpia (the female Scorpion wannabe who went nowhere). PeterAFebruary 13, 2016 1:39 AM Amazing Spider-Man #20 The Scorpion as Peter's archenemy fits perfectly thematically, but I think that because he's kind of like a pawn from the start, and he's mainly a bruiser rather than a mastermind like Ock or the various goblins, writers would use him, but rarely as more than a guy who uses his tail, so tear off the tail, story over. Has the Scorpion even ever been part of the Sinister Six? Because he definitely belongs in the enduring Ditko creation gallery of foes. I find it interesting that Millar merged Venom's symbiote with Gargan because now you had two brawlers combined with a real hate for Spidey. But of course once they did that, Venom also became more of a pawn. Anyway, love the opening splash here, great dynamism. I love Ditko on Spider-Man but oddly I never really like much of post Spidey Ditko. Even though when comparing the art it actually is very similar, yet here the faces look just right, and in the 80s they look out of place even when I imagine it is the 60s. My Ditko love started with the Essentials though, so maybe it is the stark black and white beauty versus when it's colored that makes the difference. JCFebruary 13, 2016 1:15 AM Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #100 The old Spider-Man handbook to the TSR Marvel RPG had the symbiote listed as weaker to sonics than it is to fire fwiw. ChrisWFebruary 12, 2016 11:56 PM Amazing Spider-Man #30 Learn what you can. You haven't even touched Dr. Strange, The Question or Mr. A. Ditko has accomplishments that don't rely on Stan Lee. "Lazlo's Hammer" and "Mysterious Suspense" #1 are two of the greatest comic book stories I've ever read and those were pure Ditko. Not to mention his skills as a cartoonist. He was a huge supporter of Wally Wood's "Witzend" which helped start the creators' rights movement. "Speedball" is not where Ditko's work starts and stops. MichaelFebruary 12, 2016 11:55 PM Fantastic Four #48-50 A recurring theme of this site seems to be "scenes cut from fnord's reprints". :) MichaelFebruary 12, 2016 11:53 PM Spider-Man/Fantastic Four #2 This issue came out a few months AFTER Fall of the Hulks Alpha. The MCP assumes that the Intelligencia were talking about healing the symbiote after Web of Spider-Man 1. BrimstoneFebruary 12, 2016 11:40 PM Amazing Spider-Man #30 those are points to consider, Chris. I still think fans getting angry and outraged because other fans don't agree with them is pointless stuff, bruh. Trust me I know a lot of ppl don't like horror comics like I do but it never meant I was talking down to them and giving them lessons and yelling that I;m quitting a site, LOL. You guys spelled out your feelings in an informative manner and I'm all over it dude. I get it. I still think Ditkos simplistic style is why he never accomplished anything without Stan Lee however and I think history bears that out. I don't think anybody cared about SpeedBall the Masked Marvel. But I am re-reading this entry with your words in mine so thank ya bro I am giving you a Brimstone fist bump lol. Always learning from this site! Ataru320February 12, 2016 11:09 PM Daredevil #8 Somehow the concept of Stilt-Man on its own just made it sound like a bunch of comic guys throwing ideas on a dart board and trying to figure out what they hadn't done at this point with heroes/villains considering where they were. Amazingly Stilt-Man has longevity mostly due to its visual and the utter ridiculousness...plus you could perhaps see his tech being used better by others. Considering most of the other turkeys Matt was getting stuck with even at this point (The Matador...nuff said), its lucky Stilt-Man was crazy enough to actually work...even if just in the "Paste-Pot Pete" sort of way. ChrisFebruary 12, 2016 11:07 PM Amazing Spider-Man #30 I think Ditko's work at 1960s Marvel is really first class. His Spidey and Dr Strange are simply the best (after about a year working out the kinks), and I'm saying that even as a huge fan of Kirby's FF/Thor. This issue is not one of the better stories, but this era is classic for a reason. Superhero comics are juvenalia. They are meant for kids. What was astounding about this era, and Ditko's work in particular is that for the first time comics were being read and discussed by college age students and adults. All ages comics are great - it's good to see little kids, teens, and adults get different things out of Claremont's X-Men or Miller's DD. I think Brimstone's tastes are odd, but this is not something to be worked up about. BTW, I don't think Stan Lee was giving any plots to Ditko by this time (even considering some his plots to Kirby are simple "X fights Y" in this era). Ditko's been credited for plotting since issue #25, and he'd been plotting the stories much earlier than that. Lee is doing solely scripting here. ChrisWFebruary 12, 2016 10:28 PM Wolverine #55-57 Michael, the first superhero I ever created [long before Jubilee, or even Boom Boom] had the power of fireworks. It was on or about the 4th of July, so you can guess where I got the idea, but I've never thought Jubilee's powers were useless. Create M100s (or whatever they're called) that's a good superpower. Heck, I never even thought she was annoying, although I can see why other readers would. I'm a fan of Jubilee. Loud and proud. :) [Doing the math, I'm pretty sure "Secret Wars II" #5 had come out whenever I created the character, so I probably was already aware of Boom Boom. I wouldn't cite her as an influence, I just want to keep the record straight.] ChrisWFebruary 12, 2016 10:20 PM Amazing Spider-Man #30 Ditko was doing the vast majority of the work. Stan's gift is in scripting and overall management, because he was running the show. The Marvel Method was a time-saver for him just as much as it was giving Ditko and Kirby free reign. They had to spend all day at their drawing boards figuring out what was going on in every single panel. Stan had to make sure they got paid, and the books were lettered and colored and turned into the printer on time, keep track of the newsstand returns, deal with whatever Martin Goodman decided, run the whole office, etc. There's only 24 hours in the day, and he has to spend some of them asleep and others with Joan. No writer could keep track of so many characters and plotlines while juggling all the rest of the day-to-day business. Brimstone, you're ignoring how many people saw viability in the concepts right from the start. From the original readers, to the original film/tv/cartoon-makers to the people who carried the books through the 1970s, the audience, the creators building on Ditko and Kirby, the people who were trying to make mega-franchises before that was even a word. Carnage couldn't have existed without Venom. Venom couldn't have existed without "Secret Wars" written by an editor-in-chief who was trying to consolidate all that had come before, including the 1970s (where the original Venom idea came from, John Byrne on "Iron Fist") and stay true to the Lee/Kirby/Ditko era, where Spider-Man was Marvel's main mascot just as he is today. I was a bit glib about describing Spider-Man as "Archie Andrews as a superhero," but Archie has problems that anybody can relate to, boy, girl, man, woman, young, old. And so did Peter Parker. What problems did he have fighting Venom that anybody could understand? Under Ditko, Peter couldn't cash a check because it was made out to "Spider-Man" A girl he'd been lusting after for years suddenly started throwing herself at him, but he was too caught up in his own problems to notice. A public figure he'd never met was declaring him a public menace for an obvious act of heroism, saving that public figure's son from crashing in a space capsule. Peter made a huge problem for himself when he convinced JJJ to fund the first Spider-Slayer, at the same time he's having a confrontation with school bullies, and sends both of the girls he's in love with headed to his house where they meet Mary Jane Watson, but Peter doesn't. Spidey wins the day, but he loses his only costume, and it causes him problems next issue. And there was even a wild chase scene, which isn't easy to pull off in the comics medium, because of the lack of movement and all. Did Stan add to it? Of course. Liz joins Flash as he and the 'kids from school' are chasing Peter when they all run into the Spider-Slayer. There's a panel which perfectly shows Stan's gifts for characterization, where Liz thinks that she'll tag along with Flash so that maybe he'll stop being so mean to Poor Petey, and Flash thinks 'the more she defends him, the more I hate him.' That is excellent characterization whether you're in grade school, junior high, high school, college, or any level of adulthood. Stan added that (I assume) but he didn't create that. And meanwhile J. Jonah Jameson's smiling face just relentlessly keeps bearing down on Peter/Spider-Man. Unstoppable. Unbeatable. Genuinely frightening, for reasons that middle-aged adults can relate to. Spidey wins because he has Peter Parker's brilliance. What is there in a Spider-Man versus Venom or Carnage fight that can speak to people on that level? You don't like Ditko? Fine. But without him, Spider-Man would not exist, and Stan Lee would have abandoned comics decades ago. He can run a business anywhere. BrimstoneFebruary 12, 2016 10:05 PM Wolverine #51-53 These issues are bringing back a lot of memories. I also think because the X-Universe uses time travel and the Siege Perilous so much they aren't as beholden to continuity issues as others within the Marvel U. I had these in real time and thought the adamantium skeleton they discovered was suggesting that Wolverine died years ago and we possibly were getting another "Clone Saga" LOL!!! I know I am in the minority here but I liked the Clone Saga and can't wait for fnord to dive into it!!! MichaelFebruary 12, 2016 9:44 PM Wolverine #51-53 Fnord, there's no scene like that in the 1993 Sabretooth series- Wolverine agrees to go on a date with Mystique, she gets attacked by Sabretooth and Logan decides not to date her after finding out she abandoned her son. ChrisWFebruary 12, 2016 9:13 PM Wolverine #51-53 I always liked this story. Couldn't really explain why, but I did. I don't dislike Mojo (or time travel stories) as much as fnord, but it looks to me in hindsight like Hama was trying to keep true to Claremont's overall intentions, as with the upcoming Mariko storyline, whose origins went back to Byrne's run. Not saying Mojo had a lot of great stories in him, but I did like this one. MichaelFebruary 12, 2016 8:52 PM Wolverine #55-57 Marvel's no-footnotes policy caused me confusion when I first got this arc- Matsuo claims that Logan cut off his hand but there's no footnote to say where. It wasn't until I reread X-Men 7 that I realized Logan cut off Matsuo's hand that issue- somehow I must have missed it the first time I read it. MichaelFebruary 12, 2016 7:41 PM Wolverine #51-53 I'm wondering if the numbers that were given were the copies PRINTED and not the copies SOLD. Maybe there was some sort of mixup and the numbers got printed and sold got switched- fnord, did you check to see if the numbers sold were larger than the numbers printed? AFFebruary 12, 2016 7:32 PM Captain America #352-353 (I feel bad about posting that coz it is a major spoiler for that series, but it is something I feel needs to be considered when looking at her appearances) AFFebruary 12, 2016 7:25 PM Captain America #352-353 Darkstar and the Winter Guard (an enormously underrated gem) reveals that Fantasma is and always has been a Dire Wraith sleeper agent. In Hulk #393 (which will be covered very soon), there is a scene where one of the Pantheon sees Fantasma's "real face" and it freaks them out. AFFebruary 12, 2016 7:01 PM Quasar #33 You're missing both Starfox and Vision from the tags. Starfox and Vision can both be seen on the first panel on Page 12 if you squint hard enough. Whereas Vision appears much clearer on the final panel on Page 13 stood next to Captain Marvel. JonathanFebruary 12, 2016 6:43 PM Wolverine #55-57 Also found it interesting that Byrne wasn't entirely convinced on Claremont's idea of "breather" issues... they did some great breather issues, like 122 & 138. AbeLincoln1865February 12, 2016 6:08 PM Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #55 Or maybe it shows just how dumb Civil War was. JonathanFebruary 12, 2016 5:59 PM Wolverine #55-57 @gfsdf - thanks for that link! I don't normally venture on the Byrne forums but the first page of that post was pretty fascinating - a pic of Wolverine drawn by Byrne, and more intriguingly, a list of what Claremont & Byrne had originally planned up to X-Men 150... some of which I've heard before, but some new stuff I'd never expected (Ultron? Dr Strange?) RobertFebruary 12, 2016 5:45 PM Tales To Astonish #65 (Giant-Man/Wasp) That costume is all kinds of terrible. I'm not sure who designed it (Powell or Heck, I would assume) but it looks more DC than Marvel to me. Also, yet another Christian Dior reference from Lee. I had no idea Stan was so fashion-conscious. Then again: http://zak-site.com/Great-American-Novel/images/misc/Stan_Lee_wikipedia.jpg Luke BlanchardFebruary 12, 2016 5:26 PM Wolverine #51-53 The question is what the ordinary title of the time sold. There's a lot of comics sales information at John Jackson Miller's site, www.comichron.com . He doesn't have sales numbers for 1991 and 1992, but he does have Diamond's and Capital City's top sellers for each month, and Diamond's top 100 for 1991 and top 300 for 1992. Diamond and Capital City were leading distributors. No issue of SLEEPWALKER or WOLVERINE topped the month for either distributor. No issue of SLEEPWALKER made Diamond's 1991 top 100 or its 1992 top 300, but issues of WOLVERINE did. Is it possible the Statement of Ownership in SLEEPWALKER #10-11 was for some other title and run in SLEEPWALKER by in mistake? Mark DrummondFebruary 12, 2016 5:04 PM Moon Knight #35-38 Since Nephthys' boob cones appear to have stubbly nipples in her first panel, I'm guessing Garney drew her completely naked and just added the accessories later. Mark DrummondFebruary 12, 2016 4:57 PM Death's Head II #1-4 We have seen the Thing bleed before when the Deathlok robot shot him with a laser in MTIO#54. fnord12February 12, 2016 4:45 PM Wolverine #55-57 Updated the line about Reiko's death. Thanks Don. Don CampbellFebruary 12, 2016 4:21 PM Wolverine #55-57 Actually, Reiko kills herself to atone for the killing of Mariko, someone whom she did not know (until it was too late) was the beloved of someone to whom she owed a debt of honor. She uses Silver Samurai's sword to do it but it's definitely her impaling herself on the blade. Silver Fox anticipated her reaction and thus did not bother to set up any way to extract Reiko. As for why Mariko was killed, I believe that it was partially to get her out of the way so that Silver Samurai could take over Clan Yashida but revenge on Wolverine was the primary motive. It was later revealed that Silver Fox's memories have been significantly altered and she has been made to believe that Logan did something HORRIBLE to her so she REALLY wants revenge!!! Also, I believe that, by manipulating someone whom Wolverine had helped into killing herself, Silver Fox saw that as another way to hurt Wolverine. Two for one. gfsdf gfbdFebruary 12, 2016 3:10 PM Wolverine #55-57 Hey, at least the art's pretty. John Byrne (amazingly) was not a fan of this storyline: http://www.byrnerobotics.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=13985&PN=216&TPN=3 Mark DrummondFebruary 12, 2016 3:08 PM What's Missing The 2nd reprint series of Tales To Astonish has the following new stories: #12--The Vision(according to Marvel Age, the script to this was apparently used to audition new pencillers later on) #13--Nighthawk #14--1 page from the never-finished Shooter/Weiss Sub-Mariner series PeterAFebruary 12, 2016 2:09 PM Wolverine #55-57 I seem to remember Mariko wanting Wolverine dead in the #60s though, does she resurrect or something? And funny that Wolvie, Gambit and Sunfire all ended up as Apocalypse's horsemen. Jubilee didn't, but she became a vampire and hey, Dracula and Pocy are immortal enemies. Or something... Good art, weird story, terrible Sunfire design foisted on Silvestri by Portacio. Faithful to it, but still terrible. Ben HermanFebruary 12, 2016 2:05 PM Cage #3-4 I remember this story because it was one of the earliest instances I could recall of the Punisher actually running into established super-villains. Obviously the main reason why the Punisher almost never meets costumed bad guys is because, well, he would kill them without a second thought, and that would put the damper on other writers subsequently using them. So instead the Punisher ends up fighting an unending succession of disposable mobsters. Which made this story interesting since it actually shows the Punisher really making a concerted effort to gun down costumed villains. Now obviously bullets are not going to kill Nitro, a guy who is capable of blowing himself up and re-forming over and over. But at least the Punisher is definitely shown here giving it his best shot! Ben HermanFebruary 12, 2016 1:50 PM Nick Fury Agent of SHIELD #37-41 M.C. Wyman definitely had a very Silver & Bronze Age style to his work, so it makes sense that he might remind someone of Sal Buscema. I liked Wyman's work in the 1990s. At a time when Marvel was pushing so many new artists to draw like the Image founders, Wyman was one of those who came into the biz with a more traditional approach. Of course, as is always the case, it is all a matter of personal preference, so I can understand if others were not enthusiastic about Wyman. david banesFebruary 12, 2016 1:42 PM Wolverine #55-57 Oh, well on the bright side that explains why Mariko suddenly goes from 'I won't marry Wolverine' to 'I'm going to get powers and kill him.' Ataru320February 12, 2016 1:40 PM Wolverine #55-57 Lady Deathstrike is "Yuriko"; I think you ended up fusing Mariko and Yuriko together. (which I think the X-Men animated series did or something) fnord12February 12, 2016 1:40 PM Wolverine #55-57 Lady Deathstrike is definitely not Mariko. :-) Lady Deathstrike's real name is Yuriko Oyama. I'll let you click through their histories to see who they are, but they're definitely separate characters. david banesFebruary 12, 2016 1:35 PM Wolverine #55-57 Wait, wait, wait I'm getting confused here. Aren't Lady Deathstrike and Mariko the same person? I see two character listings there. Don't tell me Mariko did not become Lady Deathstrike all this time and I was mixed up with yet another character? RobertFebruary 12, 2016 1:14 PM Wolverine #51-53 For the record I'm not suggesting any conspiracy theories about doctored numbers or anything. Obviously Sleepwalker was more popular than I realized at the time. They gave him a holiday special, which I assume means something. Anyway I just find it curious one of the most mega-popular characters of the 80s & 90s was not selling as well as I would have thought. RobertFebruary 12, 2016 1:01 PM Wolverine #51-53 Correction, it's 80k lower but still... RobertFebruary 12, 2016 12:56 PM Wolverine #51-53 Presumably Wolverine's milestone 50th issue is the one that did 320k. The average is over 100k lower, whereas Sleepwalker's most recent issue was only 30k or so below its average. Both of Sleepwalker's numbers are higher than Wolverine's. It's just odd to me since Wolverine was Mr. Popular, guest-starring everywhere, matched only by Punisher and Ghost Rider. Then you have Sleepwalker, a largely forgotten character whose book lasted, what, two years? Luke BlanchardFebruary 12, 2016 12:56 PM Tales of Suspense #16 Reading about Metallo I wondered if the story was the inspiration for Iron Man. There's an even closer resemblance to the Banner's robot story from TALES TO ASTONISH #60-#61. In both tales a no-good gets into the suit by deception and decides to remain in it. (The spy from the Hulk tale gets trapped in it, but doesn't mind.) I think this is an indication the idea for the Hulk story came from Lee rather than Ditko. Red CometFebruary 12, 2016 12:46 PM Wolverine #51-53 @Robert The Sleepwalker numbers posted included the first issue. During the speculator market of the early 90s a first issue would sell crazy numbers almost regardless of subject matter. That probably skewed the overall average. Note that the numbers were comparable (~320k) on the sales of the latest single issue. RobertFebruary 12, 2016 12:12 PM Wolverine #51-53 So...Sleepwalker was outselling Wolverine? That makes the kind of sense that doesn't. EnchloreFebruary 12, 2016 10:59 AM Nick Fury Agent of SHIELD #37-41 You mentioned the Sal Buscema-like mouth, but every scan here looks like it was Sal inspired to me. Maybe he was an influence on MC Wyman? fnord12February 12, 2016 10:54 AM Nick Fury Agent of SHIELD #33-35 @Michael, there are some appearances, like the card game in Wolverine #53, where Fury could just be an agent and not the head of SHIELD. I also think that Fury remains in a position of authority even when he's not the director. But generally i agree and i'll be trying to keep all of his other appearances out of the period where he's not director. fnord12February 12, 2016 10:51 AM Fantastic Four #48-50 Thanks Mortificator. I've got to replace my trade with better reprints one day. I've added tags for Sam and Belle here, and for Whitey here and on #51. BrimstoneFebruary 12, 2016 10:23 AM Amazing Spider-Man #30 Dude, I don't know where the hostility is coming from but I am certainly not trying to troll. I apologize if anyone thinks so. I'll make it easy and just go... cause its obvious youre tryin to instigate and get fnord to ban me by saying all this. Cause bruh, you are making a mountain out of a molehill. We can't disagree?? I'm a troll because I like Liefeld?? Really??! I'm going thru my head and I can't see anything I did to warrant this outburst from you AF but I'm willing to be the bigger man. I'm sorry my personal opinion on Gene Colan.. that a lot of peeps agreed with... offends you personally. I only ask fnord, not you, to look at how I write it when I state I am not a fan of these artists. I always back it up with the WHY, I don't trash anybody. As for "ive been here less than a month and u got under my skin with third comment I read from u"- well, that's your problem not mine. You can dislike someone because they don't think just like you bruh, just ignore them. I'm not trolling anybody and I'm offended to be accused of it. I'm not crazy about Ditko. Simple as that. I'm not crazy about Kirby but I GET Kirby and know WHY hes a big deal. Not so much with Ditko. Sue me. AFFebruary 12, 2016 10:16 AM Amazing Spider-Man #30 The problem is your so blatantly an annoying troll seemingly only here to do two things: to try to rile people up and to throw around your "celebrity" ("my good friend Stan Lee"). All I've ever seen you do on here is insisting old beloved creators like Steve Ditko or Gene Colan aren't very good and nobody likes them and that you've never seen anyone at a con ever with Gene Colan art while simultaneously unconditionally praising an artist that most readers do hate and lamenting his contribution is akin to Jack Kirby. You're entitled to like Rob Liefeld, you're entitled to hate Steve Ditko but you're not entitled to consistently force and preach those viewpoints when they serve no purpose but to derail everything into being about your precious ego. You've been asked to stop by just about everyone at some point. You don't stop. You just come back the next day and keep doing it again and again. You just drove one person away from this site and I'm sure you'll drive other people away again. I've been here less than a month and you got under my skin after like the third comment that I read from you. BrimstoneFebruary 12, 2016 9:47 AM Amazing Spider-Man #30 ?? I don't see the co-relation between Ditko and what Liefeld did because they are clearly different eras. I think maybe I sounded too harsh on Ditko because there is a place for kid's comics and fnord covering Speedball (around the same time as the other 90s' Marvel stuff going on) both shows his style is kind of... simple? But for a young kid, ok, sure, I can see how that might be up their alley. I don't think comparing Ditko's creation rate to Rob's is fair at all or even the same kinda discussion ChrisWFebruary 12, 2016 9:26 AM Uncanny X-Men #281-286 Shinobi was also the name of a popular video game about a ninja who killed a bunch of other ninja terrorists. I think the Upstarts and the Gamemaster are a meta-concept, referring to Lee, Portacio and Liefeld (and Harras) as they worked out their plans for the mutant titles. I don't know if it was conscious or not, but that's the impression I've always had. AFFebruary 12, 2016 9:23 AM Amazing Spider-Man #30 If only Steve Ditko was talented enough to create something as revolutionary as Rob Liefeld's Surf, eh? ChrisWFebruary 12, 2016 9:19 AM Uncanny X-Men #219 Depends, are you looking for a good reason that makes sense, or something that comes down to 'Claremont's gotta Claremont'? I knew nothing about the Fury storyline when I first heard about the original plan for the Morlocks, and I thought it was a great idea, and exactly the sort of thing Nimrod would do. Oliver_CFebruary 12, 2016 9:03 AM Amazing Spider-Man #30 Whatever, "bro". I'm done with this site; I'm outta here. BrimstoneFebruary 12, 2016 8:50 AM Amazing Spider-Man #30 Oliver I'm sorry bro but you're wrong, Stan was giving a chance to Ditko so Ditko could grow but Stan still had to coach him and reign him in. Any success of the Spidey character is TOTALLY Stan Lee and this entry for issue #30 only confirms that in my mind. Look at it this way, if you get a fully drawn story from a plot you gave an artist and then you can be reactive to its pacing and make a coherent story? Then you my friend are a creative genius. I don't think DC writers could do that. this is why theres only one Stan Lee I may be a little biased since I am a celebrity spokesman for Stan's POW! Entertainment lol but that being said, I still think this era is kinda trite and I think I am not alone when I say I prefer the hot Mary Jane who was Peter's wife and the Black Cat over Peter Parker having problems with Gwen Stacy at Science Class! Maybe that's good for young readers, I can accept that, but it's not MY cup of tea ChrisWFebruary 12, 2016 8:46 AM Dazzler: The Movie (Marvel Graphic Novel #12) Because Dazzler is a totally commercial character. I don't really get the point either, but it makes sense for Dazzler, for Marvel at this point in time, and for comics in general that after several years of build-up, she was supposed to be presented in all her glory. And then fade away because this was the result, and she'll never get any further than this. Look at the music charts from your teens and twenties. How many stars can you see who fell from their Number One Songs or successful tours to actually make a career in the long run? Not many of them. Now imagine that any of them were actually Alison Blaire. She's stuck doing superhero things that she really hates doing (but does anyway because she's awesome) and trying to be famous (but only on her own terms because she's awesome) and losing as often as she wins. You're right, this graphic novel makes no sense as far as "Dazzler: The Series" exists. If it came along a few years later, it would be understandable. But incorporated into the regular series by the regular creative team, it's just stupid and pointless. Oliver_CFebruary 12, 2016 8:24 AM Amazing Spider-Man #30 It's interesting you should mention the movie business, Red Comet: what Lee wrote under the 'Marvel Method' would, in cinematic-contractual terms, be described as outlines, proposals, stories, treatments, first drafts and dialog polishes. An impressive list to be sure -- which I'll happily attribute to Lee's undeniable energy and enthusiasm, rather than laziness -- but it still wouldn't entitle a movie writer to claim sole screenplay credit, and nor should it Lee. Ditko's co-plotter credit on 'Spider-Man' was a welcome but rare exception on Marvel's part. Red CometFebruary 12, 2016 7:47 AM Amazing Spider-Man #30 @Oliver_C It's not really fair to label Stan as lazy for the Marvel Method. That method was pretty much the only way he had to write so many books at once while also being an editor and doing other business tasks at early Marvel. In the face of billion dollar films people forget what a small operation Marvel was at the beginning. Oliver_CFebruary 12, 2016 7:28 AM Amazing Spider-Man #30 "My good friend Stan Lee does a good job with what he's given..." By "what he's given" you of course mean The Marvel Method of scripting, all of which Lee chose to 'give' to himself by being too lazy (or busy, as you prefer) to write detailed, panel-by-panel scripts. TCPFebruary 12, 2016 7:17 AM Amazing Spider-Man #30 A lot of the appeal of these early Spider-Man stories is the focus on Peter Parker's personal life and his typical, "everyman" problems. "Biff!" "Pow!" heroics are all well and good, but few other comics of the time could temper those with such real and relatable human drama. Both Stan and Steve, and not just one or the other, deserve credit for this, and personally I think Ditko's very expressive artwork adds a lot to the drama of these early issues. Erik BeckFebruary 12, 2016 6:53 AM Web of Spider-Man #88-89 Oh, what a mess. An embarrassing hanger-on to Last Rites. And then it concludes with one of the more 90's things you could do: a blurb for the hologram cover for the next issue. We're a long way from Simonson's hilarious Thor blurbs. Walter LawsonFebruary 12, 2016 12:30 AM Cage #2 the Hammer goons are just in armor, but all of the references to the Right's smiley-faced troopers in the mutant books suggested they were cyborgs. ChrisWFebruary 12, 2016 12:20 AM X-Force #6-10 I have just regained access to my comics collection in the last two days. And I do own these issues. And as I go through the agonizing process of reorganizing them, I am seriously considering offering fnord a kidney or something (just in case he needs it) for sparing me ever having to look at these books again once I file them. I've reconnected with a lot of awesome comics in the last two days and, wow, these are not remotely among them. tl;dr Fnord, you're taking one for the team. May God have mercy on your soul. Mark BlackFebruary 12, 2016 12:12 AM ChrisWFebruary 12, 2016 12:02 AM Amazing Spider-Man #30 Brimstone, this really does work. Not perfectly because Stan and Steve weren't speaking at the time, but it's still a good Spider-Man story. Peter and Betty are made for each other, and only Spider-Man is keeping them apart. Mary Jane and Gwen are just later complications. Even considering the complications of the 1960s and the Comics Code, this is Archie Andrews as a superhero, and he's already found his Betty (or Veronica, whichever you prefer.) Stan and Steve brought a lot more to this love triangle than comics had ever seen before, and did a lot of cool superhero stories too. JeffFebruary 11, 2016 11:09 PM Tales of Suspense #16 The Metallo story seems like it was written by Stan Lee simply because he calls the suit a "hulk." Stan seemed to love that word hulk. (Something something Inigo Montoya something what you think it means). Luis DantasFebruary 11, 2016 10:31 PM Nick Fury Agent of SHIELD #33-35 The Dugan LMD situation sure reminds me of Captain America #227. http://www.supermegamonkey.net/chronocomic/entries/captain_america_222-223225.shtml MichaelFebruary 11, 2016 8:44 PM Nick Fury Agent of SHIELD #33-35 Regarding Nick's appearances in other titles, the problem is that in many of them even if he's not explicitly stated to be the head of SHIELD, he's clearly in a position of authority over all SHIELD agents present. MortificatorFebruary 11, 2016 8:33 PM Fantastic Four #48-50 Sam & Belle Thorne appear in the tail end of #50. You probably missed tagging them initially because it'd be after the point your trade stops. It looks like Thorne is the original name, before becoming Thorpe for #51 (where he's suddenly gone gray) and #61, then going back to Thorne for the issues in the '70s. I guess you could also make a tag for Whitey Mullins, since he appears in #50 and #51 before fading into obscurity as the varsity football drama subplot is thankfully dropped. MichaelFebruary 11, 2016 8:22 PM Nick Fury Agent of SHIELD #36 Regarding Cage's placement- part of that might be due to the fact that the MCP decided that Cage's reunion with Danny takes place prior to his appearance in Namor 26. Ataru320February 11, 2016 7:53 PM New Mutants annual #5 Brimstone: Liefeld's Spidey annual: http://www.supermegamonkey.net/chronocomic/entries/amazing_spider-man_annual_23.shtml (admittedly the first pic he does of She-Hulk there isn't that bad) BrimstoneFebruary 11, 2016 7:31 PM New Mutants annual #5 AF I just checked out yr tumblr brah and I think it's awesome you are doing such work, it could almost be a companion site for what fnord is doing here but I have a few suggestions, the layout is kinda simple and "sparse" is the word, I would spruce it up and also, it's called Panels of Interest but seems like unrelated story excerpts from different eras. But otherwise very cool my man, it's like leaving one history project and going to another! Love seeing my comic bros spread the gospel! BrimstoneFebruary 11, 2016 7:25 PM New Mutants annual #5 did SURF really only appear one more time? I thought I saw them in New Warriors but maybe it's just because the NAMOR comic wasn't doing well. I know Louise Simonson resented Liefeld's creativity and tried to make things harder for him so maybe it was that but I really just think it's that Liefeld had so many ideas and was creating so many characters that he didn't have the time to commit to them all and didn't want anyone else working on his babies. Maybe time for a reboot of these characters if Marvel is listening..? Underwater stories can be hard but I kinda got the impression that Surf would be leaving Atlantis... AFFebruary 11, 2016 7:05 PM Nick Fury Agent of SHIELD #36 Dan Slott (blergh) and Chris Gage will go even further with making Constrictor sympathetic and make him full-on hero. He'll even start romancing Diamondback. Then Marvel will hit hard reset and just have him be full-on evil again and not bother acknowledging the fact. The idiot writing Captain America now has Constrictor dying of cancer and Diamondback working as a stripper to pay his hospital bills. Marvel: it can ALWAYS get much worse. AFFebruary 11, 2016 6:57 PM New Mutants annual #5 The world just wasn't ready for an exciting concept like Surf. AFFebruary 11, 2016 6:56 PM New Mutants annual #5 Such dynamic and cool new creations like Surf who took the world by storm with their exciting one more appearance. Up there with Cable, definitely. BrimstoneFebruary 11, 2016 6:46 PM New Mutants annual #5 Dude... anybody who thinks Liefeld sabotaged things isn't being honest with themselves, AT ALL. Looking at this issue (which I'm amazed I never had and never knew Rob Liefeld drew), it's just a thousand times better than the earlier New Mutants era. Even in 1989 (!) Liefeld was creating new characters and concepts like SURF. I don't think they are unrealistic because Namor himself picked up culture and slang from the surface world so who is to say other Atlanteans wouldn't do the same thing? This art is dynamic and that's what its all about, telling a dynamic story. I think this shows theres a lot more depth to Liefeld then he gets credit for because you really feel the depth and weight of an underwater world from what I can see from the scans here. As for Atlantis Attacks as a story I can only follow it from fnords posts but I did have a Spider-Man Annual where he fought Abomination and couldn't really follow. I kept wondering why Sub-Mariner wasn't a bigger deal in that storyline. BrimstoneFebruary 11, 2016 6:38 PM Nick Fury Agent of SHIELD #37-41 Wow. I had no idea this series existed... but this is B-A-D. I don't "get" Nick Fury and think he's a waste except when Mark Millar revamped him as Sam L Jackson in THE ULTIMATES. How this made it to issue #40- Wow!! Say what you will about Marvel in the 1990s but the fans were still giving more chances to MORE books... I just think Nick Fury and the agents are boring characters compared to X-Force (which have the similar government/military missions) and we don't need a Nick Fury type personality when we've got Ben Grimm AFFebruary 11, 2016 6:36 PM Nick Fury Agent of SHIELD #33-35 Ah, MC Wyman. As unimpressive as his art is, he really has a knack for consistently being attached to the detritus that never warrants mention. Poor guy. Red CometFebruary 11, 2016 5:39 PM Nick Fury Agent of SHIELD #37-41 That "Yeah, I did. I killed Woodgod" panel feels like it was custom designed for someone's mid-2000s ironic/snarky comics blog. RobertFebruary 11, 2016 3:27 PM Tales Of Suspense #62 (Captain America) Such a ridiculous story but I love it all the more for it! How could Cap get into the prison if the cons couldn't get out of it? Never mind that the best idea they could come up with to get out was to call Cap to come there because they remembered hearing that his shield was magnetic. It's so stupid but also so fun and, as with most of these ToS Cap stories, just an excuse to let Kirby go wild with the action scenes. Best part was the scene of Cap rubbing his junk all over the huddled cons while admonishing them about wasting the bullets taxpayers paid for! RobertFebruary 11, 2016 3:15 PM Daredevil #5 I think I posted on one of the Giant Man stories recently that it was the worst book Marvel was putting out at the time. Well I spoke too soon! I worked my way up to this issue on Daredevil so far and it's borderline unreadable. Joe Orlando and now Wally Wood's art does nothing for me. Stan seemed to be going through the paces, too. As Chris said, he worked best with stronger collaborators. Although I would say that's true of 99% of Marvel comic book writers. I'm sure some could point to a few examples to the contrary but, it seems to me, the Marvel Method only works well if the artist is turning in exciting pages and the scripter is then energized to put forth his best work. You can be bursting with ideas but if someone hands you coloring book artwork your enthusiasm is probably going to go out the window pretty quickly. JonathanFebruary 11, 2016 3:05 PM Amazing Spider-Man #156 I'd guess it's the bit where, after Peter thinks he's beaten all of Mirage's henchmen, the real Mirage ambushes him, kicking him in the head from behind, with Peter saying "Wha--?!?" in the panel (like he's Chief Wiggum or something). To be honest, the whole concept (a visual effects villain against a guy who can tell whether there's a real danger or not) seems a bad use of the Spider-Sense to me. At least Mysterio throws in some real dangers amongst his illusions. I think Peter should be easily able to ignore the illusions and punch out the real Mirage. Mirage's only other appearance before he ends up getting Scourged is in Marvel Two In One, as one of the gang of villains trying to attack the hospitalised Thing. He's seen being punched by Daredevil, which suggests Mirage was no good at finding a hero that visual illusions might actually work on. Who knows, maybe there's an untold story where he fought Shroud too. RobertFebruary 11, 2016 2:58 PM Tales of Suspense #61 (Captain America) The story has a lot wrong with it but the Kirby action scenes are fun. Also it's nice that a person of color appears in a Silver Age story and his race isn't even mentioned. Speaking of which, Jim is colored grey with light brown hair throughout the story but on the cover he's clearly African American. I'll assume we can chalk up the off-coloring inside to a technical error of some kind. fnord12February 11, 2016 2:53 PM Nick Fury Agent of SHIELD #37-41 Thank you D09. But let me just repeat what i put in the General Comments section not too long ago, and what's in the Q&A: typos and scan problems should be reported in the "Thread of Shame" in the forum. Especially for recent entries, it's very likely someone that is willing to use the forum will report the error. So if you don't want to register for the forum, just assume that someone else will report it. I want the comments section to be for substantive discussions*, not typo alerts. Not singling D09 out; i appreciate everyone that wants to help, but i just wanted to take the opportunity to say this again. And a big thanks to those who do use the forum for this stuff. I don't want it to sound like i'm taking you for granted. I appreciate you very very much. *And to promote your brand, of course. D09February 11, 2016 2:39 PM Nick Fury Agent of SHIELD #37-41 I think the images after the Crossfire appearance are broken. JonathanFebruary 11, 2016 2:30 PM Uncanny X-Men #189-191 Midnighter - Good thinking, I like that idea. Coincidentally I only just read one of Bendis' run in the past week, where Illyana visits a past Dr Strange for training and is very specific about not telling him too much about the future, even how far in the future she's from. I'm not a big Bendis fan but that seems as good a fix as you're going to get for why the 1980's Strange isn't training the contemporary her, because he doesn't want to mess with the timeline of the future her. AFFebruary 11, 2016 1:38 PM Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #115-116 "Every Thanos or Mantis or Madrox appearance not written by me isn't the real one!" AFFebruary 11, 2016 1:37 PM Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #115-116 There's not a thing I don't hate about that comment. Sorry. clydeFebruary 11, 2016 12:45 PM Nick Fury Agent of SHIELD #33-35 FNORD - when you write -"Is Dum Dum Dugan's head growing straight out of Angar's arm?" Red CometFebruary 11, 2016 12:09 PM Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #115-116 @D09 Originally, per Chris Claremont, the real Sabretooth wasn't a super-villain per se, but rather a psycho from Wolverine's past (and possibly his father as well) that liked to screw with Wolverine on his birthday every year. The implication here is that Sinister got hold of Sabretooth's DNA and made clones so that he could have his own Wolverine type mutant in the Marauders as the original Sabretooth had no intention of working for him. After Claremont was forced out, the revised status of Sabretooth was that he WAS the costumed super-villain we saw running around the Marvel universe and the one in the Marauders was the clone. Presumably Sinister cloned this super-villain Sabretooth since the original preferred to be freelance rather than working as a Marauder full time. Regardless of which backstory is preferred, the comic book science behind cloning in Marvel generally portrays clones as becoming weak and degraded the more times they are copied and grown from a previous clone. Basically, Sinister probably did not intend to create weak Sabretooth clones but after a while that might have just been the best he could make. Erik BeckFebruary 11, 2016 11:54 AM Daredevil #299-300 All in all, a decent follow-up to Born Again that provides some closure. But what's interesting is how damn long it took to get to this. All that Nocenti babbling for years. I read this just last year for the first time and wouldn't have thought there was a five year gap between the two storylines. Also, kudos to the DA for having the guts to wear her Sox cap while working in Manhattan. D09February 11, 2016 11:38 AM Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #115-116 About the clone thing: why would Sinister make a weaker/imperfect copy of Sabertooth in the first place? Ataru320February 11, 2016 11:03 AM Captain America Comics #1 kveto: I remember that Skull line from the Linkara review: probably one of the best things to come out of the Golden Age. kvetoFebruary 11, 2016 11:02 AM Captain America Comics #3 Well Cap straight up murdered that guy with the dino bone. No war, just a stab. kvetoFebruary 11, 2016 10:55 AM Captain America Comics #1 I would love to be able to leave a room with the line, "I'll be back...with more murder!" fnord12February 11, 2016 10:50 AM What's Missing Thanks Mark. The GCD says that it is mostly a reprint of "Melvin and the Martian" from Amazing Adult Fantasy #12 and that it was originally intended as a back-up for Silver Surfer #8. I've added it to the list. MidnighterFebruary 11, 2016 10:49 AM Spider-Man/Fantastic Four #2 In Fall Of The Hulks Alpha it is shown that the Intelligentia has again released the symbiote. I think it is an attempt to correct the error of this story. Mark DrummondFebruary 11, 2016 10:40 AM Amazing Spider-Man #156 When this story was reprinted in Marvel Tales #133, there was apparently a "special no-prize section" admitting that Spider-Man's Spider-Sense was used incorrectly, and challenged readers to provide an explanation. I have no idea what that was referring to. Mark DrummondFebruary 11, 2016 10:37 AM What's Missing Apparently there is a new Watcher story in Marvel Super-Heroes #23. MidnighterFebruary 11, 2016 9:58 AM Uncanny X-Men #189-191 From what has been seen on Bends' Uncanny X-Men, probably Strange refuses to train Illyana because he has already trained its future version. AFFebruary 11, 2016 9:05 AM Uncanny X-Men #281-286 Magic gun trumps hack material apparently. Ataru320February 11, 2016 8:49 AM Tales Of Suspense #72 (Iron Man) I think what could work for the likes of this villainess (or even "first appearance Black Widow") is the idea that they can manipulate both as chessmasters or using something they have themselves (physical attraction) to control a hero. If we had a female that worked along the lines of Obediah Stane back then, it would have been amazing. (but it probably would end more like Mr. Kline sadly) fnord12February 11, 2016 8:39 AM Uncanny X-Men #281-286 I took Luis' comment to be a data point on the question of whether or not it made sense for Jean to have telekinesis while she was in Emma's body. In the Claremont story, both characters only had access to the powers in their current bodies, which is what i would have expected. There's an argument to be made that a mental power like telekinesis could be taken along with Jean into Emma's mind, but i don't really like it. MichaelFebruary 11, 2016 8:18 AM Uncanny X-Men #281-286 @AF-no the difference is that X-Men 151-152 has standard comic book pseudoscience- a gun that switches personality- while this story has a ridiculous concept where Jean's body is physically killed, she switches her personality into Emma's body and somehow when her mind is returned to her body her body inexplicably heals. kvetoFebruary 11, 2016 7:39 AM Tales Of Suspense #72 (Iron Man) There was something I liked about the countess, not sure exactly what. In some ways similar to the early Black Widow, not a physical challenge but causing trouble with her plotting. The supervillain "moll" was underutilized at marvel, IMO. fnord12February 11, 2016 7:18 AM Cage #3-4 @Michael, i almost mentioned this in entry: don't forget that the Super-Skrull was impersonating Danny for a while before Danny was actually 'resurrected'. It may have been at that point that Luke saw Danny on television, back to running his company without a word to Luke. Luke may have just missed the later reports. Again, Danny will be appearing in the series pretty soon so maybe all of this gets addressed, but that was my first thought. BrimstoneFebruary 11, 2016 7:11 AM Daredevil #10-11 Wow. I had no idea about the Wally Wood-Stan Lee thing until you posted that fnord so I guess Wood was ahead of the curve on the whole blaming Stan thing, huh? The truth is, MAD Magazine is a very different animal from the Marvel Universe... I say, if Stan is so bad, just look at what Wood did after he left Daredevil... I certainly never heard of him on any other top books. I am really grateful for these old scans as I am learning a lot about the Marvel U. It really got a lot better over time, LOL! Brimstone: Wrestler, CelebrityFebruary 11, 2016 7:06 AM Daredevil #8 I read elsewhere on this site that Wood is really revered but his art kind of has a "coloring book" look here to me, like someone is drawing instruction books for putting together model figures or something. I do think what Erik said above is hilarious though lol- I can't wait to see Stilt Man on the big screen!! BrimstoneFebruary 11, 2016 7:04 AM Amazing Spider-Man #30 I admit I don't "get" Ditko and I know were supposed to heap praise and respect on the old-timers but I just don't "get" it and if it weren't for fnords recaps and scans I'd probably never look at this stuff. But I do remember in the 1980s getting a Marvel Tales because it had this border which said "Marvel Collector's Item Classic" and I thought this meant it was more rare or something lol I just think the creators in the 80s and 90s deserve more credit for keeping these concepts alive. The concepts are killer but the Silver Age style is so goofy and corny that you really only see the bare minimum of potential in the idea. For me, Spider-Man didn't become Spider-Man until McFarlane made him a viable character. Seeing this recap just reinforces my feeling about that. I do give Stan all the credit though for making innovative stories while running and creating the whole line by himself... a feat that really wont ever be repeated... Brimstone: Celebrity Mogul February 11, 2016 6:55 AM Cage #3-4 Mike Tyson is a quality guy and I am lucky to have met and hung out with him at a few celebrity events and let me tell you, I wouldn't blame him for not knowing Stan don't draw. This is the same mistake a lot of media peeps make too; they just equate Stan Lee, whom I consider a close personal friend, with comics and think that means "cartoonist". I will say about Tyson that he is a legit comics fan and knew a lot about me and my comics line and series and had a lot of enthusiasm for Marvel Comics. I also feel his demeanor in the ring hurt his general profile because many feel he was railroaded in his trial to make an example. Unlike OJ, Iron Mike did NOT do it! The accuser had actually been exposed a few years before claiming the same thing for extortion with a rich man and it was proven they were never together.. but this is never considered because Mike Tyson is so hated. So yes it's probably just that Mike liked the Animated Series but nothing wrong with that it was the gateway prob for a lot of new Marvelites in the 90s just like Batman: The Animated Series was Luke BlanchardFebruary 11, 2016 6:09 AM Amazing Spider-Man #30 Sorry: that link should be http://nick-caputo.blogspot.com.au/2014/06/the-unknown-art-of-carl-hubbell.html . The background is the pages were dialogued from the pencils, lettered, and then inked. Luke BlanchardFebruary 11, 2016 6:06 AM Amazing Spider-Man #30 I think the figure changed into Spider-Man was a figure of the Looter, in #36. Nick Caputo quotes Roy Thomas on the subject at http://www.supermegamonkey.net/chronocomic/entries/amazing_spiderman_36.shtml . JonathanFebruary 11, 2016 5:19 AM Cage #3-4 I was going to stop talking about Mike Tyson there, as it’s not massively relevant to this issue, but Vin has brought up the subject of bizarre sentences Mike Tyson has said, a very crowded field including making a threat to eat the (actually non-existent) children of an opponent. Where this is relevant to comics is that he recently claimed that one of his famous quotes was actually quoting Apocalypse: “In the postfight interview, I lorded over my opponents. “How dare they challenge me with their primitive skills?” I sneered. I was quoting Apocalypse from the X-Men. I was just a big kid, quoting a comic book.” Thing is, I don’t remember Apocalypse saying that. I initially assumed he had been watching one of the ‘90s X-Men cartoons rather than reading the comics, but apparently his quote comes from 1989, which I think rules out any cartoons. I don’t have all of Apocalypse’s 1989 or previous appearances to hand, but I couldn’t find this quote in the ones I have. Anyone know if he’s getting confused here? Maybe his memory’s playing tricks 25 years later, and he’s thinking of Darkseid or someone. He was apparently a big fan of Apocalypse though, seeing him as an incredibly powerful black supervillain, though I’m not sure how deep his knowledge was: "Jay and I got into a debate about which cartoon character was the toughest. He picked Galactus and I had my man Apocalypse. We went round and round on that topic until Jay said, 'Mike, Galactus eats planets. How can you beat that?'” Some other comics-related Tyson facts: In a dispute with his promoter Don King, he was especially concerned that Don return 3 items to him: “A green Rolls-Royce, a painting that the Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi had given me that was supposed to be worth a lot, and the thing I was worried the most about: a drawing of me in the middle of a bunch of X-Men that Stan Lee had done.” I don’t think I’ve ever heard of Stan being an artist before. Either Mike knows something I don’t, or years of drug & alcohol abuse is not great for the memory. (Maybe Larry Leiber drew it?) Finally, here’s a very brief 1996 interview where Tyson shows off his surprisingly large action figure collection, seeming to be particularly interested in the X-universe: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c71KbzR-UFc (Well, it surprised me how large it was, as I know little about these figures, but then he was a multi-millionaire who was famously impulsive, so I guess expense was not an issue…) Anyway, thus ends my full knowledge of Mike Tyson comics trivia. I found it amusing and/or interesting, so I hope someone else did. Oliver_CFebruary 11, 2016 4:59 AM Uncanny X-Men #281-286 Sunfire's ugly old mask, bug-eyed and dehumanising, looks to me like it was inspired by Japan's famous 'Ultraman' productions. AFFebruary 11, 2016 4:50 AM Cage #3-4 I don't know about saying it's directly Tyson as much as it is inspired by people inspired by Tyson. This cut WAS very popular back then (yes, mostly due to Tyson) and other than that the only other comparison is the skin color. And as said, by this point, taking inspiration straight from Tyson would probably be ill-advised. I don't mind the design for Cage though. The main problem is they got rid of any iconography. And in 2 years time, Blade will be wearing an almost identical costume (+ spikes!). Luke BlanchardFebruary 11, 2016 4:45 AM Fantastic Four #134-135 My apologies; that should be #50. Johnny has borrowed her car. Luke BlanchardFebruary 11, 2016 4:36 AM Fantastic Four #134-135 One of the last mentions of Dorrie was in #51, when Johnny started college. Wyatt graduates college in #138. That suggests it's been three years. AFFebruary 11, 2016 4:30 AM Uncanny X-Men #281-286 The difference being one is written by sacred X-cow Claremont and this one isn't. So this is by default seen as awful, hacky and pathetic whereas Claremont's version is that of "a visionary genius who writes strong female characters". Vin the Comics GuyFebruary 11, 2016 1:08 AM Cage #3-4 I will eat your childwen! Robert February 11, 2016 12:41 AM Amazing Spider-Man #30 I never realized Liz was missing for over a hundred issues after this. I assume the main reason was Gwen's presence meant there wasn't room for two blondes in Peter's life (at least in Stan's eyes). MichaelFebruary 10, 2016 11:04 PM Cage #3-4 I'm not liking Cage's grudge against Iron Fist. It worked with Wolverine and Nightcrawler in Marvel Comics Presents 101-108, because Wolverine actually faked his death. But Danny was KIDNAPPED. And as soon as he was escaped, he told the authorities and the press he was alive and Luke had nothing to do with his disappearance. So Luke's grudge is basically, "I'm not going to call him. Why can't he call me?" It makes Luke look a teenage girl. RobertFebruary 10, 2016 9:31 PM Sleepwalker #10-11 Why do I have the feeling Bob Budiansky has a storage unit full of Sleepwalker comics? fnord12February 10, 2016 9:12 PM Sleepwalker #10-11 Too bad that for all the ways the SOO breaks down the numbers, they lump direct market and newsstand sales together. I can tell you that 200 of the sales were via subscription, but that's it. :-) JonathanFebruary 10, 2016 8:48 PM Sleepwalker #10-11 Wow, I had no idea this was selling that many copies. I think I picked up an issue or two near the start and then forgot all about it. Were these all speculators picking up the early issues hoping for an investment? MichaelFebruary 10, 2016 8:45 PM Sleepwalker #10-11 The statement of ownership numbers are weird- this website has a list of the top 100 comics ordered through Diamond for 1991: JonathanFebruary 10, 2016 8:45 PM Cage #3-4 The very early Hulk does indeed have a high hairline, but not as much as the 80's gray Hulk does (which then extends to the merged Hulk's hairstyle). Whether that was artistic styles changing, or an actual influence of the Mike Tyson "look", I don't know. The hairline came before Tyson, what I was suggesting was an artist drawing that high hairline might have noticed the similarity and decided to strengthen it. I don't think McFarlane was doing that, but I think Purves might have been. It was something I remember thinking when I was reading Hulk comics in the 80's, and I was never sure whether I was imagining it or not. At the time it made sense to me that the sadistic, nasty gray Hulk might be being drawn in a style vaguely influenced by the most famous sadistic, nasty person of that time. I could very well be wrong, just saying that's what I thought at the time. JonathanFebruary 10, 2016 8:26 PM Fantastic Four #134-135 Yeah I was wondering if this was an earlier version of the joke in Byrne's She-Hulk that characters without regular comics aged in real time. Clearly it hasn't been 4 years (plus 9 months) Marvel Time since she last appeared, or at least Johnny hasn't aged that much. MichaelFebruary 10, 2016 8:12 PM Moon Knight #39-40 If the FF refused to do anything about Doom for fear of an international incident while he's committing crimes on American soil, that would probably eliminate about half of the FF-Doom stories. MichaelFebruary 10, 2016 7:57 PM Fantastic Four #134-135 The problem is Buscema's art- Dorrie herself looks like she's 45, but if she was 17 at the time of FF 1, she should only be 29 if she was aging in real time. So I have no problem believing Buscema drew a 2 year old looking like a 4 year old. I don't know what he was smoking when he drew these pages- I'm surprised he didn't draw Franklin with a beard. Brimstone: Wrestler, CelebrityFebruary 10, 2016 7:21 PM Sleepwalker #10-11 These scans are doing Blevin's work justice because I think his Ghost Rider looks fantastic here. I still think Sleepwalker is a misguided book and that Marvel doesn't do supernatural stuff as good as they COULD do... I've had some ideas for Hellstorm for years, some of which I incorporated into my own comic... anyway, Sleepwalker seems like a interesting read if you get it in the bargain bin... I really am impressed with Blevins, his work here earned him a second look from me... Brimstone: Wrestler, CelebrityFebruary 10, 2016 7:12 PM Cage #3-4 jonathan: that can't be possible because that was the Hulk's original hairstyle, if you look at Silver Age Hulk appearances by Kirby, it predates Mike Tyson by a while. The grey Hulk is based on those early Hulk appearances... check out the "Silver Age" section here, bruh RobertFebruary 10, 2016 6:48 PM Untold Tales of Spider-Man '97 Well since Norman (after his return) was pretty much the Marvel version of John Byrne's take on Lex Luthor, it would make sense they would also *borrow* the name of his company, LexCorp. Luis DantasFebruary 10, 2016 6:43 PM Uncanny X-Men #281-286 Emma Frost switched bodies with Storm intentionally back in Uncanny X-Men #153 or so. Both women ended up commanding their host bodies' powers only until the switch was reversed. RobertFebruary 10, 2016 6:36 PM Tales Of Suspense #60 The Iron Man story is meh but the Cap story is fun. Yeah it's basically just Kirby drawing Cap fighting goons, but I fail to see in what way that is a bad thing. RobertFebruary 10, 2016 6:15 PM Untold Tales of Spider-Man #20-22 Yeah a fun series for awhile but once others started helping with the writing (particularly DeFalco) the quality dropped off. One other thing that irritated me is that we get to the point that entire scenes from the original comic are replicated with new dialogue replacing the old. Usually, with this series, we had new material that sort of fit in-between scenes from the original issues but here we get scenes from the original comic repeated but with new dialogue. Stuff like that and the scene between Flash and Spidey at the end of #22 just bugged me. fnord12February 10, 2016 6:11 PM Fantastic Four #134-135 I think Haydn is noting that one of Dorrie's kids may have been born out of wedlock. JonathanFebruary 10, 2016 6:08 PM Fantastic Four #134-135 Gerry seemed to be writing using real time instead of Marvel Time back in the 70s... at the end of the original Clone Saga, the Jackal says Gwen died 2 years ago, which was how long it actually had been. HaydnFebruary 10, 2016 5:51 PM Fantastic Four #134-135 Interesting that Dorrie is shown as being married with two children (who look about 2 and 4 years old), and tells Johnny she has been "hitched" for "oh, about two years." New Math, or a sly circumvention of the Comics Code Authority by Gerry Conway? Luke BlanchardFebruary 10, 2016 4:37 PM Prince Namor, The Sub-Mariner #1-4 Spidey was back in his red and blue outfit in the stories, but the black costume was still being used in the cover corner boxes. One could argue that makes it his official costume at this point. jonathanFebruary 10, 2016 3:54 PM Cage #3-4 Good spot by Ataru, I hadn't noticed the Mike Tyson resemblance before. It's only certain panels though - the first pic of him hitting Tombstone here looks like Tyson, other panels don't particularly. On looking at the other issues Fnord has done so far, it seems the same thing there - an occasional panel looks a bit like Tyson, but most don't. I was a fan of the 70s/80s Luke Cage but this series didn't do anything for me, for the same reasons other commenters have made on previous entries. It's kind of amusing that Cage is being made to resemble Tyson here, as previously some (but not all) artists had made his face resemble Muhammad Ali's highly distinctive looks. A good in-joke, if it was intentional. Speaking of Tyson references, I always thought the gray Hulk's Jack Dempsey-style haircut was based on the 1980's Tyson's use of the same, along with (particularly in the Purves' run) the same short, stocky build. Austin GortonFebruary 10, 2016 2:19 PM Uncanny X-Men #278-279 FWIW the funky armor Xavier wears in #278 is, I believe, the same armor worn by his Skrull doppelganger as the Shi'ar Warlord. Or some small Shi-ar variation on it, at least. Oliver_CFebruary 10, 2016 2:08 PM Cage #3-4 Marvel did Cage no favors by turning him into a Tyson clone, without his garish 70s look to counterbalance the surliness. Cinematically, I'd much rather have seen Richard Roundtree play him, Blaxploitation-style. RobertFebruary 10, 2016 1:50 PM Cage #3-4 Imagine the possibilities if Marvel had had their act together in 1992 with the studios... we could have had real mainstream attention with Mike Tyson playing a semi-major Marvel hero. Given that Tyson was in the headlines for rape and had just started his prison sentence when these issues were out, I think we can cut Marvel some slack for missing that particular "opportunity." Brimstone: Wrestler, CelebrityFebruary 10, 2016 1:43 PM Cage #3-4 Ataru320- good lookin out, Bruh! I agree, it does look like Iron Mike was the model for Cage in this series. Imagine the possibilities if Marvel had had their act together in 1992 with the studios... we could have had real mainstream attention with Mike Tyson playing a semi-major Marvel hero.. I never would have put that together before good work Ataru fnord12February 10, 2016 1:16 PM Cage #3-4 Fixed my intro. Thanks Ataru. Ataru320February 10, 2016 1:12 PM Cage #3-4 The beginning makes it feel like you're in the middle of a thought as if there was something else before it. And is it just me or do all the pics of Luke Cage here look like this is actually a comic where Luke is played by Mike Tyson? clydeFebruary 10, 2016 12:57 PM Moon Knight #39-40 "I guess Doom was available to every Marvel creative team at this point." fnord12February 10, 2016 12:50 PM Avengers West Coast #69 Generally speaking, if a flashback can plausibly take place directly before the main story, i count the appearances as part of the entry. The flashback is just a storytelling device and it's meant to take place in the same timespan as the rest of the comic. This has come up a couple times so i added a note in The Rules. fnord12February 10, 2016 12:49 PM Moon Knight #39-40 @AF, thanks for citing the source. At least i know not to look for any clues in the short term. But i'll still see if i notice any supporting details or seeming contradictions. Brimstone: Wrestler, CelebrityFebruary 10, 2016 12:21 PM Moon Knight #39-40 I don't know why anyone is upset at the use of Doctor Doom I think he brings instant credibility to any story he is in although I prefer the doom 2099 armor and always thought Doom should have spikes and a more aggressive appearance. I never read Moon Knight until Stephen Platt became the artist so these are very weird to see I had no idea Moonie had such a supporting cast but I still think the art is too bland and the scripting is too over done alloydFebruary 10, 2016 11:59 AM Moon Knight #39-40 I guess Doom was available to every Marvel creative team at this point. AFFebruary 10, 2016 11:59 AM Avengers West Coast #69 Aren't all the scenes prior to the fight a flashback and therefore technically Mockingbird and Wonder Man shouldn't be listed as appearing? a.lloydFebruary 10, 2016 11:51 AM Punisher #63 Does anyone know the Punisher's body count at this point? AFFebruary 10, 2016 11:47 AM Moon Knight #39-40 (first established in Moon Knight 2006 series, and re-iterated in places thereafter) It's even identified as such on the Marvel Heroes game: http://marvelheroes.info/item/246/ AFFebruary 10, 2016 11:42 AM Moon Knight #39-40 His armor is meant to (retroactively) be Carbonadium. fnord12February 10, 2016 11:40 AM Moon Knight #39-40 Thanks Clyde. That's a fan edited wiki (which doesn't prove or disprove anything). I'll continue to keep a look out for references to the armor. Seems odd that Moon Knight would specifically mention his adamantium truncheon and then say that his armor can't handle some darts if the armor was also meant to be adamantium, but we'll see. AFFebruary 10, 2016 11:35 AM Marvel Comics Presents #101-108 (Wolverine/Nightcrawler) He just wants attention. clydeFebruary 10, 2016 11:34 AM Moon Knight #39-40 FNORD - you wrote "The line about the armor not being able to withstand the spikes is what gives me hope that it's not made of adamantium." I don't know if you want to take this as a reputable site - "He also donned protective adamantium armor, and upgraded his weaponry." More on Marvel.com: http://marvel.com/universe/Moon_Knight_(Marc_Spector)#ixzz3zmddRHZG Oliver_CFebruary 10, 2016 11:12 AM Marvel Comics Presents #101-108 (Wolverine/Nightcrawler) I'm probably wasting my time even attempting to rebut this, but anyway... Gene Colan wasn't the only great illustrator whose style, heavy with details and darkness, was never quite suited to cheap 4-color printing in general or superheroes in particular. Westerns and musicals were once hugely popular at the box office, but just because Alfred Hitchcock and Stanley Kubrick never directed either doesn't make them bad directors. AFFebruary 10, 2016 11:05 AM Marvel Comics Presents #101-108 (Wolverine/Nightcrawler) Some people really really never learn... Brimstone: Celebrity Mogul February 10, 2016 10:42 AM Marvel Comics Presents #101-108 (Wolverine/Nightcrawler) This artwork is just terrible, sorry. Anyone who says the Image influenced guys got a break need to see that artists like Gene Colan were still getting work and just couldn't deliver the goods for what fans wanted. I make appearances as a celebrity guest at dozens of the top Comic Cons around the country and I NEVER see fans with these books, or any books, with Gene Colan art. It's just the reality of it. This might have been an interesting concept (I'm biased towards demonic storylines- lol) if a better and more dynamic artist like Dan Panosian or someone like Jae Lee got to handle it. MichaelFebruary 10, 2016 7:54 AM Moon Knight #35-38 Remember, Terry Kavanagh was responsible for BOTH the Clone Saga and the Crossing. As Reverend Meteor on comicboard put it put it "Criminal charges should be filed!" fnord12February 10, 2016 7:21 AM Prince Namor, The Sub-Mariner #1-4 It looks to me like the art team deliberately intended to represent the black mask, but as i said, i was willing to ignore it, and i did for placement purposes. If you think it wasn't meant to be the black costume, even better. :-) Erik BeckFebruary 10, 2016 7:19 AM Thor #437-441 "a post-apocalyptic wasteland caused when a slang bomb got detonated, causing everyone to talk like this" I think in one line you just summed up my biggest issue with Whedon's Firefly. fnord12February 10, 2016 7:16 AM Moon Knight #35-38 @PeterA, prepare to be at least half disappointed. Thanos6February 10, 2016 5:57 AM Moon Knight #35-38 @AF: Oh damn, you ain't kidding. When I was growing up, I loved Nate. I spent far too much time re-reaading that issue where he showers with the Fantastic Four. I honestly think he helped me realize I was bi. Oliver_CFebruary 10, 2016 5:46 AM Moon Knight #35-38 'I would like to offer up Terry Kavanagh as a candidate for "Worst Writer in Comics".' I'd happily put him on the shortlist for his Starjammers story alone. AFFebruary 10, 2016 4:27 AM Moon Knight #35-38 And anyone worried about my well being for owning every issue of X-Man... what can I say, I fancy Nate. Total guilty pleasure. Awful writer attached but sexy character is sexy. AFFebruary 10, 2016 4:23 AM Moon Knight #35-38 This is coming from someone who still owns every issue of X-Man, someone who began seriously collecting comics with the Kavanagh/Davis X-Men run and someone whose first comic ever was Web of Spider-Man #125... I would like to offer up Terry Kavanagh as a candidate for "Worst Writer in Comics". PeterAFebruary 10, 2016 2:07 AM Moon Knight #35-38 Ron Garney's art is good on its own but those Palmer inks really elevate it to great. I'm particularly fond of that Doctor Doom entrance, he looks properly imposing. Even if Doom doesn't belong in MK, I hope these guys draw the next arc, looking forward to those scans. accordion321February 9, 2016 11:58 PM Sub-Mariner #60 In compressed Marvel time, how often does Namor lose the throne of Atlantis by coup or abdication? Like every two weeks? Jeff February 9, 2016 10:54 PM Prince Namor, The Sub-Mariner #1-4 Can I ask a dumb question regarding placement (to both you fnord and to Michael from the MCP): Why does the Spider-Man symbol over Peter's head have to mean he's currently either not yet gotten rid of the symbiote or in the black cloth costume? I just took it to be a silhouette of the Spider-Man mask, not necessarily the black costume over the red one. That's all, just my two cents :) david banesFebruary 9, 2016 10:35 PM Moon Knight #35-38 I'm more excited for Fnord tackling Maximum Carnage than Clone Saga down the road. BerendFebruary 9, 2016 9:54 PM Moon Knight #35-38 Moon Knight has always suffered from a lack of focus. I'm sure you should be able to get good stories out of A) A superhero who is haunted by his mercenary past But Moon Knight fluctuates wildly between all four, leaving all underdeveloped. fnord12February 9, 2016 9:46 PM Moon Knight #35-38 @Matt - not in the slightest. ;-) ChrisFebruary 9, 2016 9:03 PM Moon Knight #35-38 I admit to liking Moon Knight for more than I should because I think his potential is up there. He has good pulp roots, and the essential core of his revised origin is awesome. However, I gave up on MK with this. Kavanaugh was just awful, and after reading Moon Knight had adamantium weapons, I remember throwing down the book. "Adamantium" was a hot property for its time, but it has no place in Moon Knight. His weapons don't need it, and it's not explained how he got any of it. It's just lazy writing. The quality of the Marvel Comics at this time was just heading downhill. If I remember correctly, Liefeld had come out with Youngblood, but Image Comics hadn't come out yet. But Valiant Comics were being produced, and I think most of my dwindling number of monthly comics was now going to that. Matt PosnerFebruary 9, 2016 8:27 PM Moon Knight #35-38 You're right, fnord. Moon Knight is an uninteresting character. In the 1990s I didn't get the appeal, and I still don't. By the way, I just realized you might get to the Clone Saga this year. Ready for that? AFFebruary 9, 2016 7:33 PM Cage #2 This is a book very obviously written by an editor. The amount of obscure or random things from continuity that show up borders on the absurd. The whole thing doesn't have much going for it beyond the continuity porn. It's not very well written and the art is completely unspectacular and below average. It's almost like this is the book that everyone seems to think Mark Gruenwald books are. Ben HermanFebruary 9, 2016 4:57 PM X-Force #6-10 Far and away the best artwork out of these five issues was in #8, by Mike Mignola & Bob Wiacek. I remember in early 1992 being very pleasantly surprised to find Mignola's pencils in that issue, since I was already a big fan of his. A number of years later I read an interview with Mignola where he explained why X-Force #8 was the last work he did at Marvel for years afterward. Apparently he was supposed to also draw the cover for the issue, but then Bob Harras or someone else in editorial reneged and had Liefeld draw it. Mignola was understandably upset, especially since by this point Liefeld had one foot out the door on his way to Image Comics and Youngblood. Mignola was insulted that he was getting passed up in favor of Liefeld, who had already handed in his walking papers. It's regrettable that Harras & Co burned that bridge. Mignola became yet another top talent who now wanted nothing to do with Marvel in the 1990s. But in the end it did work out for Mignola, since he soon after created Hellboy. And that was definitely a bigger boon to the comic book medium than seeing him drawing a bunch of X-Men books. RobertFebruary 9, 2016 4:14 PM Tales To Astonish #60 (Hulk) I guess Betty hadn't dyed her hair lately. Who knew she was prematurely grey? RobertFebruary 9, 2016 4:11 PM Tales To Astonish #60 (Giant-Man/Wasp) Pym is so obnoxious I was rooting for the gorillas. RobertFebruary 9, 2016 4:04 PM Amazing Spider-Man #17 Great issue. Really nails that whole 'Charlie Brown' aspect of Spider-Man that makes him so endearing. The poor guy just cannot catch a break. Only negative about the issue is that Betty Brant is so unhinged it's frightening. Brimstone: Wrestler, CelebrityFebruary 9, 2016 3:30 PM X-Force #6-10 Well I first need to chime in to explain that I sorta have to protect my identity being an established celeb figure in the entertainment and comics world... second, I also thought I could promote fnord's site a lil' more by my huge, significant fanbase, asking me all the time "Brim what are u looking at this week" etc and I can point them out to this wonderful site.. just doing my part. When people see the Brimstone Brand, they know it's gonna be explosive Since I really did wanna talk about comics and since everyone has elected me the official Rob Liefeld defender LOL I want to point out what I really think about these issues: and that is, Liefeld once again transcends comic norms and does something innovative. Nah, I'm NOT just saying thing bc u all baited me- hear me out. So Cannonball and Boom Boom's costumes keep changing. I call it "evolving". Think about it- who wears the same outfits all the time? If X-Force is supposed to be this pro activist militia group wouldn't you keep adding accessories to your uniform (NOT costume) as the mission required? this was realism and real cutting edge and is one more thing that changed the game due to Liefeld's forward thinking and innovative approach. Once again I am just mystified at the stuff ppl find to nitpick about. But to each his own of course Luis DantasFebruary 9, 2016 1:57 PM NFL Superpro #6 It is probably a good thing that Dr. Evelyn Necker of the review of Death's Head coming before this one was not a Hopi. Somehow I don't think that thong-bottom with boots outfit she used in the last few panels would be well received. Not that I blame the Hopi,mind you. JonathanFebruary 9, 2016 1:55 PM Death's Head II #1-4 I disliked this series when it came out, as the original Death's Head was a favourite character of mine. I was annoyed that the Death's Head I knew was basically being killed off and replaced by a "new" Death's Head that seemed less interesting, both visually and as a character. The character change I guess is partly due to Simon Furman not writing him anymore, but I still don't understand why they thought they needed to change his face, which was a great distinctive look. At the time the whole thing felt to me like a "Image" remake of Death's Head. That said, some parts of the story were enjoyable, even though I was against the whole idea of it. And this was still better than most of the rest of the US-style Marvel UK stuff at the time, which I thought was pretty dreadful. RobertFebruary 9, 2016 1:20 PM Moon Knight #35-38 Despite those anemic numbers, this book goes on for another two years. It really took a lot for Marvel to cancel anything back then. I remember the book started getting more attention for a minute when Stephen Platt started drawing it but I don't know how much that translated to increased sales. AFFebruary 9, 2016 12:16 PM X-Force #6-10 I think one of the major problems with Liefeld that people don't often highlight is how he seems to get bored of drawing the same design for a character after about the 20th time and just starts drawing them in a different costume. With no mention of the change in the script, it actually makes following the stories quite hard. I think this is like Boom-Boom's 6th or 7th Liefeld costume. Not quite as bad as the 6-issue X-Force series from 2004 where Cable gets through 4 costumes. BillFebruary 9, 2016 11:38 AM X-Force #6-10 Brimy, No one here cares about branding, we come here for the comics reviews and chronological placement. I'm published in the comics field but other than this post you've never seen me make mention of it because it's irrelevant to this site/project. I don't plan on mentioning it again. Let's stick to the purpose of the site and not worry about name dropping or self-promotion as it virtually screams of "look at me" and this whole endeavor isn't about you. Be here as a fan of Marvel Comics. Sorry, fnord, I just had to get that off my chest. I'll be back to normal commenting :) Brimstone: Wrestler, CelebrityFebruary 9, 2016 11:07 AM X-Force #6-10 I don't think there is anything wrong with BRANDING guys and what you need to realize is I don't have a blog or something I am an established entity in the Entertainment world so I have to keep branding myself as my well known persona is my intellectual property. I have to retain protectorship of the Brimstone brand! I never post links to my many, many celebrity signings or anything else and never spammed nobody. Secondly I apologized which I think gets me some credit on this wide world interweb, even though I didn't mean fruity to be bullying (?) because, where I grew up, "fruity" means "goofy" and not a term for Gay/LGBT. "Actin' fruity" is when you start mocking your buddies or something. The guys who had a problem with me or were apparently rubbed the wrong way shoulda just written me and I would have apologized but I was glad to do it publically! Again I feel like all the stuff against me has been blown up because of my celebrity stature and it makes me a target kvetoFebruary 9, 2016 8:05 AM kvetoFebruary 9, 2016 8:04 AM X-Force #6-10 We'll all be good. (Fnord, I sincerely apologise. I don't know what came over me. I've shown restraint all this time. Please accept my apologies.) fnord12February 9, 2016 7:50 AM X-Force #6-10 Brimstone, all i asked in my previous comment to you is that you not reply to that particular comment so as to not derail the thread, and that you watch the borderline bullying. I also said that i've enjoyed your comments on the actual comics, and you are welcome to continue commenting here. I agree that it wasn't necessary for people to continue to reference you after that, but i saw it as inevitable blowing off of steam after you semi-hijacked the site. Moderating these disputes is the most annoying aspect of running this site - i really just want to write about comics - so i'll acknowledge that i should have jumped in. Regarding marketing, it had to be obvious that having such a long user name was not the norm, and it was disruptive and clearly annoyed some other readers. On smaller screens it causes odd line breaks. But i didn't complain about that; i just limited the user name field. Additionally, for what it is worth, it's common on blogs, and it's the case on this one, that all links in the comments section are tagged with a "no follow" attribute, so that search engine crawlers won't find it and it won't improve SEO. So any marketing you are doing is directly to the people that are reading this site, and judging by the reactions you've seen you may realize that it may not have been working the way you hoped. But i leave that to you. I have one more request to everybody: no more poetry! ;-) MortificatorFebruary 9, 2016 5:46 AM X-Force #6-10 I hadn't heard of you before this, Brimstone, yet I have a positive opinion of you from your comments. They've made an entertaining project at least a little more entertaining. Listing all the things I consider my accomplishments after my user name... well, it's not something I would do, but seeing someone else do that is really nothing to get upset about. What's more distasteful to me is picking on a person over such a minor faux pas. Yogi deadheadFebruary 9, 2016 5:39 AM X-Force #6-10 Brimmy, I (mostly) enjoy your posts. As someone that hasn't read new comics since the late 80s. I find your perspective unique; in that apparently these titles were selling but nobody liked it. We all know what branding is. It's just that we all also know that using someone else's site to do our marketing isn't right. Your username was utterly mock-able. Your use of derogatory adjectives pertaining to sexuality are questionable - "fruity" - although I tend to refrain from being offended by those sort of words, unless the people using them are using them with malice. Your usage of them just made me shake my head and think, "huh, people still use fruity that way". At any rate, I like your enthusiasm for the site. And I enjoy the level of engagement you bring to it. I hope you keep the conversation going, but how about if we just know you as Brimstone; not Brimstone: ............. Oliver_CFebruary 9, 2016 4:56 AM X-Force #6-10 Yeah, well, my uncle had a bit part in 'Mad Max 2', but you don't see me going on about that either. Brimstone: Wrestler, CelebrityFebruary 9, 2016 1:05 AM X-Force #6-10 I'm glad I keep getting referenced on the site.. here, under a Machine Man post... I guess it's prompting me to respond now even tho I seem to be the only one actually following fnord's rule system of last words and trolling but I guess if your name isn't Mark Drummond the rules don't apply to you, LOL fnord I would like to request on your mercy to not ban me because I enjoy coming to this site and reliving the 1990s era that I loved but I have to make this last post and then I wont post anymore (as I was already not going to). But the truth is, things and other members of this site are just not fair to me. I think most criticism is all jealousy anyway. I didn't realize until I re-read stuff this afternoon that you guys were mocking my user name. Uhh, have you guys ever heard of something called BRANDING? Guys- lots of you do this. Click on your name and it takes you to your blog, or tumblr, or whatever. That's all I did. I am branding because I am an established, known entity. Did I ever link to my line of award-winning hot sauces? Nope. Did I ever share links of me and my close personal friend Michael Rooker (Guardians of Galaxy, Walking Dead)? Nah, I didn't do any of that. I talked about comics. When I first started posting here, so many other posters wrote me, like "is this THE Brimstone" and "wow I've been a fan of yours for years" etc and I was like, "lets just focus on fnords work here I am keeping a low profile" so yes I am guilty of linking to one of my websites with my screenname why this brought about criticism I have no idea I spent all evening going all over this in my head because I really like the entries here and the project but yes,believe it or not, I have feelings too and the mockery really hurts me because I have lived my life as a champion and am always aware I am a role model for many. I have a softer side I am not ashamed of it and I write poetry and I wrote this tonight with lots of emotion he hid his own pain MichaelFebruary 8, 2016 11:00 PM NFL Superpro #6 @Luis- by 90s standards, it's actually conservative. BillFebruary 8, 2016 10:59 PM Machine Man #16-17 Ben, I guess he got around :) Also in this vein, before becoming beloved by all children of the 80's as the Decepticon leader, Megatron was a human controlled giant robot who fought the Shogun Warriors! LOL BillFebruary 8, 2016 10:45 PM Death's Head II #1-4 The 2020 Avengers accurately predicted Wolverine as having joined the Avengers at some point in the future. That sure would have looked weird back in '92! Also, that 2020 Scarlet Witch costume is pretty accurate to what she wore in the Heroes Reborn debacle, which is about 5 years down the road from this point in time. Erik RobbinsFebruary 8, 2016 10:39 PM NFL Superpro #6 With my UU church growing up, there was an annual trip for the 9th graders of our entire district (covering a large portion of the western states, but most of us from Colorado) to the Hopi and Navajo reservations. Guess which year I went on the trip? The Hopis did not let outsiders visit their dances at that time. The adults on the trip told us that occasionally there would be some stress affecting the tribe when they would not let outsiders to the dances, so it wasn't that this comic book caused an extremely unusual reaction, afaik. (Keep in mind 20+ year old memory and second-hand information.) The other kids in the group did get a hold on this comic to see what the fuss was and we had a melodramatic reading of it. If this is a D comic to start with, imagine a 14-year old girl who was already inclined to hate the story reading it aloud, bringing emphasis to every awful line. Ben HermanFebruary 8, 2016 10:38 PM Machine Man #16-17 Interesting to learn that before he became a "Wrestler, Celebrity" who posted comments on this site, Brimstone was a super-villain who fought Machine Man :) fnord12February 8, 2016 10:25 PM Death's Head II #1-4 Yeah, i'll add a second tag for the present day Evelyn Necker when i get there, similar to a few other time travel characters. EyescreamFebruary 8, 2016 10:10 PM X-Force #6-10 The puckered crotches are killing me. They haunt my dreams. MichaelFebruary 8, 2016 9:15 PM Death's Head II #1-4 Fnord, a question about Evelyn Necker- we see an Evelyn Necker in various AIM stories starting in 2008, and she seems to be intended to be a younger version of the character in this story. Do you want to list them as two different characters or one character? MichaelFebruary 8, 2016 8:27 PM Marvel Comics Presents #101-108 (Wolverine/Nightcrawler) Fnord, there IS a precedent for Kurt's hypocritical behavior regarding the creatures. In X-Men 170, the Morlocks offer Kurt a chance to join them and Kurt refuses because he's spent his life fighting to be judged by his actions rather than his appearance. Then, 3 issues later, Maddie shows up and Lilandra tries to kill her. Look at issue 174 carefully, fnord- Kurt is worried Maddie might be the Phoenix but he's NOT worried that Maddie might not be the Phoenix but Lilandra might kill her by mistake. Even though Maddie had displayed nothing but kindness at that point. Claremont's point seems to have been that even KURT is not immune to judging people by their appearances. (Of course, that was later undermined by Maddie's transformation into the Goblyn Queen.) Thanos6February 8, 2016 7:52 PM Death's Head II #1-4 @Red Comet: I think Mys-Tech Wars had the same name over here. At least, the issue I have is called that. Dunno if I somehow got hold of a UK copy though. fnord12February 8, 2016 6:20 PM Death's Head II #1-4 @S, you're right. I've added Ghost Rider too. The whole scene can probably be written off as conceptual, but if i can fit all the characters i'll treat it as real (which is the case so far). Red CometFebruary 8, 2016 6:10 PM Death's Head II #1-4 Hahaha. The 2020 characters in that panel are possibly the most 1992 bit of comic art ever put to paper. Spider-man has a pony tail coming out the back of his mask for God's sake. All he's missing is the leather jacket and maybe a cyborg arm. Marvel UK put out some stinkers in the 90s. Yeesh. Mys-Tech Wars (note: I think it had a different name in the US) was one of the stupidest comics I ever read. A lot of these were written by Abnett and Lanning too, both of whom would go on to do much higher quality work in the future. All due respect to them, but a lot of their writing during this time period came off as a couple guys who didn't realize all those Pat Mills stories were satire. Piotr WFebruary 8, 2016 6:02 PM NFL Superpro #6 Regarding the diversity: I'm not so certain that we should be complaining about the Hopi's reaction... I mean, a creator can be well-intentioned and still create something offensive. I don't know anything about the Hopi religion, so I won't be saying that this stuff cannot be offensive to them. Have you guys seen "Hellsing"? The way it portrays the Catholic Church is plainly offensive. I'm sure it was *not* intentional: it's simply a manga / anime created by a Japanese author. Who just didn't get the subtleties of Catholicism, Catholic / Protestant relations - and, while trying to use them in a story, ended up with something ridiculous. Who knows, maybe Dixon did something similar here..? SFebruary 8, 2016 6:00 PM Death's Head II #1-4 That looks like Ghost Rider chasing Death's Head in the last panel too. Piotr WFebruary 8, 2016 5:54 PM Uncanny X-Men #281-286 My opinion on these issues is: they are bad. Not because of Portacio's art (whom I liked in my teens and who, despite his flaws, *is* better than Liefeld, IMHO), but because of the story. All these bad characters! Shinobi, Fitzroy, Bantam, the Upstarts... and yes, Bishop, too. I just don't like him - did the X-books really need another gun-toting time traveller? And his mutant powers are so generic... And that whole stuff of Mikhail... ugh. One specific idiotic thing in these issues: the deaths of Jean and Emma. Their fatal injuries are treated like something from an 80s cartoon... or like Health Points from D&D. Meaning, we seem them attacked and then, dead... but they have *no* real injuries altogether. The only problem seems to be that their minds are gone. But they were attacked with energy weapons, not some psionic gizmos... Why don't they have any wounds? And why transfering Jean back into her own body brings her back to life? Another nonsense: Jean manifesting TK in Emma's body. Sorry, I don't think it should work this way. Telekinesis is a superpower, not a skill... Luis DantasFebruary 8, 2016 5:37 PM NFL Superpro #6 He'e'e's costume is a bit too sexualized for confort, IMO. It does feel exploitative. Thanos6February 8, 2016 5:23 PM Death's Head II #1-4 The 2020 characters shouldn't have ceased to exist, should they? I thought Marvel time travel specifically DIDN'T work like that. fnord12February 8, 2016 5:23 PM Marvel Comics Presents #101-108 (Wolverine/Nightcrawler) Oh wow, i totally mis-"read" that panel. Thanks. kvetoFebruary 8, 2016 5:22 PM NFL Superpro #6 yes! Superpro! This is kind of what I was trying to mention before. Readers complain about a lack of diversity. A writer tries to add that diversity then gets shat on for trying. Obviously, there was no intention to offend here. What could Dixon possibly achieve by that. But you can't control what people choose to be offended by. Im betting nobody has written anything about the Hopi since. Why would they even try? Thanos6February 8, 2016 5:17 PM Marvel Comics Presents #101-108 (Wolverine/Nightcrawler) They're not making up the Arnim Zola part; you can see his distinctive, um, head-box in the scan you posted of the "mad geneticist." Jay GallardoFebruary 8, 2016 5:16 PM Alpha Flight #108 Are you complaining about those"wonderful" Czech and polish súper héroes? What about The Spanish guys? El Águila? Also, a little bit off topic, but has anybody here read the adventure of Indiana Jones in Barcelona that Michelinie wrote? Somehow, Barcelona travelled through time and space and became a mexican village from 19th century. Ataru320February 8, 2016 4:52 PM Hulk #268 Actually "They Call the Wind Mariah" is from the musical "Paint Your Wagon", which had a film version with Clint Eastwood...which would explain Pariah's Eastwood-esque appearance. Ataru320February 8, 2016 4:45 PM ROM #30-32 I remember hearing about this issue in Linkara's "ROM-trospective"; its just sort of weird that Rogue would start her path to being a heroine and getting away from Mystique in this. (then again it is neat that there is a semi-connection between the ROM stuff and X-books, particularly with Forge coming along to create tech for the final Wraithwar that is used; it really just shows how even at this point the X-books weren't just their own little world doing ridiculous things that don't have implications with the rest of the Marvelverse) RobertFebruary 8, 2016 12:49 PM X-Force #6-10 @Red, you're not remembering it wrong. HBO showed it a lot and it had a sizable cult following. The Highlander TV series also started in 1992. Red CometFebruary 8, 2016 12:42 PM X-Force #6-10 @Luis I think you're right about Terminator 2 causing Liefeld to play up Cable's cyborg and time travel elements. That movie was HUGE when it came out. I also agree that Highlander seems to be the inspiration for the High Lord/X-ternal storyline. It's a cult film these days, but back in the late 80s/early 90s it enjoyed a lot of success via video rental. I might be remembering it wrong, but I believe it was on HBO's regular rotation for a while back then too. Erik BeckFebruary 8, 2016 12:23 PM Captain America #394-397 I see the Image boys aren't the only ones using brokeback poses. I don't know how Mother Night is maintaining her balance standing in Cutthroat's doorway like that. mikrolikFebruary 8, 2016 12:06 PM Amazing Spider-Man #265 It's been speculated that by this point, the Foreigner had started having impostors pretend to be Keating (his last appearance before this was ASM 240-241, two years ago in real time), and this is about the time Foreigner appeared. But of course, it's not known for sure. EnchloreFebruary 8, 2016 11:35 AM X-Force #6-10 These teeth are so disgusting. The flashback part's cleaner art is actually slightly more tolerable to me, even if the anatomy on the characters is still pretty messed up. Luis DantasFebruary 8, 2016 8:39 AM X-Force #6-10 These issues are amauteristic in so many different ways. Characters who seem to have been poisoned a variant of Joker's laughing toxin that forces them to stand still in a bilateral simetry pose to the camera while also growing them an inhuman quantity of teeth. An experienced soldier who has no grasp of the idea of financing the enemy. Body proportions that are only stable in their insistence to remain outside the human range. Plotting that can't be bothered to even pretend to have any idea of where it is going. How come this stuff sold at all? That said, some hints do come across relatively clearly. These issues seem to attempt to make Cable a Terminator-type character, what with the implication that his face skin is covering a metallic face and that he and Stryfe are time-displaced versions of the same person (a Kang/Immortus situation is being hinted here). Perhaps not by coincidence, Terminator 2 is a 1991 movie. I assume Marvel did not want to be sued and changed their minds later. Besides, stealing ideas from both Highlander and Terminator at the same time would perhaps feel unconfortable. Interesting that some effort seems to be happening to tie the books in a very general way, with the use of Fitzroy and Department H here while Alpha Flight is attempting to present itself as more of a mutant and international group. I don't think it flies, but they are making the attempt. Phantazia's powers are awfully generic. It is a good thing that X-Force is so cavalier as to offer generous extrapolations of how they might perhaps work, even if it makes no sense. Cecil DisharoonFebruary 8, 2016 8:11 AM Sub-Mariner Comics #35 I read this when I was six, many times, as part of MT #121, one of the very few comics intact in our house. The all-action approach was stimulating, the ending, mystifying. My first Golden Age story. :-D Brian CareyFebruary 8, 2016 12:23 AM X-Force #6-10 Bill, look what's happened to us! His charisma is obviously legit, I've been a loyal lurker for two years and here I am, missing that guy. Fnord13 needs to just play up the celebrity connection here in my opinion hehe BillFebruary 8, 2016 12:11 AM X-Force #6-10 LOL!! Brian, good call. I admit, I was thinking the same thing but I didn't want to be the one to say it :) BillFebruary 8, 2016 12:10 AM Sub-Mariner Comics #36 Wow! This is all kinds of crazy awesome!! JeffFebruary 8, 2016 12:06 AM Sub-Mariner Comics #36 This....this can't be considered canon anymore....can it? MichaelFebruary 7, 2016 11:50 PM X-Force #6-10 @Red Comet- i actually liked Fabian's post X-Cutioner's Song run. Brian CareyFebruary 7, 2016 11:44 PM X-Force #6-10 I don't mind admitting I miss the usually tiresome Celebrity member of our ranks here, i thought for sure he was going to give us more comparisons to Kirby and the Liefeld-Kirby link. Hey, that's not meant as a burn, either- I do not agree, at ALL, with Brimstone's revisionist philosophy of the Image guys, but I do find them entertaining as I can at least give him credit for apparently actually believing the stuff he days. Or, you know. He's busy doing Celebrity stuff. Walter LawsonFebruary 7, 2016 8:55 PM Uncanny X-Men #281-286 And actually, you can get a summary of the whole Upstarts/High Lord/Ascension mess, plus some funny quotes from Byrne about scripting x-books at this time, here: http://www.uncannyxmen.net/secrets-behind-the-x-men/upstarts-high-lords-and-armageddon Walter LawsonFebruary 7, 2016 8:48 PM Uncanny X-Men #281-286 There is an overplot in the x-books at this, presumably sketched out by Lee or Harras or both. Selene is going to turn out to be a High Lord/External, like the one's appearing in X-Force at this time. (Apocalypse is implied and later confirmed to be one, too.) When Fenris and other characters in the two X-Men books refer to the prize in the Upstart competition as immortality, that presumably has something to do with the High Lords and the nebulous "ascension" that makes a lucky one of them uber-powerful. In Cable's future timeline, Apocalypse was the High Lord who ascended. So what's going on is Gideon's group, Cable, and Selene (using the Upstarts) are all playing for power among the High Lords and ascension, and they're all afraid Apocalypse is going to get it: Cable and Stryfe know about this from the future, while Gideon's group have a precog. This is all put out in dribs and drabs over the next two years, and the olan seems to get mdified as it goes along, especially after Lee leaves. The general idea has to be pieced together by carefully following some truly lousy comics. Walter LawsonFebruary 7, 2016 8:33 PM X-Force #6-10 I think the explanation for the High Lord cncept that's totally inappropriate to Cannonball and X-Force is it's something Liefeld came up with--we, ripped off from "Highlander"--when he though he was going to take over Wolverine's book, before that went to Silvestri. Immortal opponents who can only be killed by severing the "five branches" would make sense as foes Wolverine could slice and dice yet who would still be viable recurring characters. There's some completely incomprehensible Harras (probably) gibberish about High Lord "ascension"--I guess there is a "Highlander" equivalent, so maybe this is Liefeld's idea--coming up that ties into Apocalypse's status in Cable's future timeline. It never gets properly explained, and then it all gets scrapped by the time the Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix mini rolls around. RobertFebruary 7, 2016 8:32 PM Tales To Astonish #58 Stan drops yet another Christian Dior reference here, courtesy of Captain America of all people. It's like he couldn't mention fashion or clothes without mentioning Dior anymore than he could mention someone looking creepy or ugly without mentioning Bela Lugosi. Red CometFebruary 7, 2016 8:26 PM X-Force #6-10 At least these issues have balls out Liefeld plots and art. After Liefeld leaves, this title treads water for its entire run until Milligan and Allred come aboard and slowly revamp it into X-Statix. You've got a long slog ahead. Omar KarinduFebruary 7, 2016 7:48 PM Amazing Spider-Man #14 Every so often, I step back for a moment, and think to myself that the archenemy of Spider-Man is a guy called the Green Goblin. It's one of those comic-book names that sounds fine because you're used to it, but must sound like arbitrary nonsense to anyone not immersed in the genre already. RobertFebruary 7, 2016 7:23 PM Tales To Astonish #57 (Giant-Man/Wasp) It was inevitable Spidey would have to meet these two. I'm just glad it happened here rather than in his own title so they wouldn't be stinking up a great book. kvetoFebruary 7, 2016 6:39 PM Strange Tales #131 (Human Torch) "The Bouncing Ball of Doom" How can you resist that title? Piotr WFebruary 7, 2016 6:39 PM X-Force #6-10 Shatterstar is hilariously deformed in that shot of him holding a gun... It's interesting to learn that Cable gets his guns from AIM. Well, this actually explains the absurdity of him having this kind of weaponry in modern times... But doesn't it conflict with what will revealed later during X-Cutioner's Song? In that story, Apocalypse inspected Cable's guns and recognized them as *his* tech... BTW. How old is Domino supposed to be, actually? She's an adult when in Wild Pack... and that was ten years before X-Force. So, she's middle-aged? I've never seen her that way... kvetoFebruary 7, 2016 6:36 PM Captain America #111-113 Also, Cap seems to be holding a hand grenade in that war flashback. But maybe he didn't use it to kill, maybe just to frighten the enemy. Ataru320February 7, 2016 6:35 PM Untold Tales of Spider-Man #25 There are probably two reasons Miles Warren wanted Gwen if that pic has anything to say about it. (then again that forehead...) RobertFebruary 7, 2016 6:34 PM X-Force #6-10 LOL @ bread dough. Man this is shit...and this is the stuff that was selling back then! Unreal. kvetoFebruary 7, 2016 5:59 PM X-Force #6-10 Hey, what are those word balloons doing in my collection of full body pin-ups? Ataru320February 7, 2016 5:53 PM X-Force #6-10 I don't know if anyone has said it yet but all the gritting teeth made me think we're suddenly in a Nick Park/Aardman short. (now all we need is cheese) BobFebruary 7, 2016 5:11 PM X-Force #6-10 The only thing worse than bad Liefeld art is bad knockoff Liefeld art. The 90s dark ages are in full swing now, and the Image knockoffs, hired off the street, presumably, will infect the whole line by year's end Omar KarinduFebruary 7, 2016 4:46 PM Avengers #54-55 The TPB reprint in Greatest Battles has the pages int he right order. The problem is that they left in a caption added in the 12970s reprint that was meant to cover for the pages that were cut out to keep the reprint inside the 17-page limit. ChrisFebruary 7, 2016 4:46 PM X-Force #6-10 Marvel used so many bad pencilers at this point in the hopes they'd become equal to McFarlane, Lee, and Liefeld. But they just don't have the craft down. It would have been better to use past journeyman with good skills (Bob Hall, Rich Buckler) and paired them with an inker who would duplicate the same tricks (lots of cross hatching, overly detailed). RobertFebruary 7, 2016 4:45 PM Amazing Spider-Man #14 Best line of the issue: "But one thing he didn't count on is my power of chest expansion!!" Omar KarinduFebruary 7, 2016 4:43 PM Tales Of Suspense #47 This strikes me as a very Ditko story: Horgan doesn't invent his ray so much as does such a bad job making a radar unit that he accidentally discovers it. So you end up with a guy who builds amazing stuff being attacked by a guy who's too incompetent to do so, and whose power is basically tearing down what other people create out of sheer envy. gfsdf gfbdFebruary 7, 2016 4:42 PM X-Force #6-10 Appreciate it, Fnord! IMHO, X-Force under Liefeld falls squarely in the so bad it's good category. It's just soooooo over the top I can't help but smile. Whereas Lee's X-Men is bad but you can kind of see the appeal to a young unassuming audience purely by rule of cool. Uncanny at this point, though, is just BAD. I think it was a commenter on this very site who proposed Whilce's run on Uncanny as worse in some ways than Chuck Austin's will be. I might agree. BerendFebruary 7, 2016 4:41 PM X-Force #6-10 We really appreciate you putting your soul and sanity on the line for detailed reviews like this Fnord! With these issues there actually does seem to be some point to everything. The Gideon/Sunspot stuff ties into the High Lord stuff, which seems to tie into Cable's future. The Cable/Stryfe stuff is moving forward, the Kane, Domino, Deadpool and Toliver threads are picked up upon (in contrast to previous issues where it seemed we were just getting new characters thrown at us without any story or purpose to them.) Unfortunately the stories themselves aren't very good, the art is even worse (I fully agree Pacella's is far, far worse than Liefelds) and the focus that seems to emerge here doesn't last. The real shame is that when you take a step back, and look at it in a review like this, there actually is a lot of potential here. I like the pro-active set up. (Would it be that hard to set up a slugfest by having the Brotherhood commit a random act of terrorism and for X-Force to them track them down?) I like the idea of Bridge, Kane and other parts of Cable's shady past with Wild Pack/6 Pack coming back to haunt him. The Stryfe/Cable mystery is interesting, and while the High Lords/External stuff is indeed an odd direction to go with Cannonball, and the Externals themselves are all a bit boring, I do like the idea of a team of immortal mutants who have been around for a long time and who Cable knows will cause trouble in the future. Omar KarinduFebruary 7, 2016 4:41 PM Tales Of Suspense #89-90 (Iron Man) There's a clever bit where the Melter zaps Stark with his gun set for flesh, but Tony survives thanks to his chestplate. And the story does a good job picking up on the idea that Horgan's real motivation was his hatred of Stark, as opposed to the generic supervillainy he usually gets up to. Omar KarinduFebruary 7, 2016 4:38 PM Amazing Spider-Man #29 Apparently, Marvel couldn't reprint this story for years because it was missing from their archive; it was finally purchased specifically so it could be included when Marvel Tales started reprinting from the beginning again in the 1980s. MichaelFebruary 7, 2016 4:29 PM X-Force #6-10 The reason why Sam's invulnerability doesn't protect him from Sauron is said to be Phantazia's scrambling of his powers. Omar KarinduFebruary 7, 2016 4:24 PM Strange Tales #146 (Dr. Strange) This works somewhat as a bookend to Strange's origin story, much as the ending to the last Dormammu meg-arc did: Strange, the proud man who has long since accepted humility, survives; Dormammu, despite having power that should make it simple to annihilate Strange, is destroyed by his equally vast arrogance. Compare the way Strange interacted with Eternity to the way Dormammu does, and see who lives and who is destroyed. Nowadays writers behave as if arrogance is Strange's flaw *as a superhero*, rather than the flaw he overcame in order to *become* a superhero. (Ditko's Strange has his own flaws, of course, but they're more in the direction of his tendency to get so lost in his world of mysticism that he forgets about stuff like food, sleep, and the fact that someone might plant a plain old bomb or pull a plain old gun out to win.) RobertFebruary 7, 2016 4:21 PM Tales Of Suspense #54-55 #54 has a silly little sci-fi backup where a race of aliens are scared away from Earth because they see a little old lady wearing a fox fur around her neck. Why does this scare them? Because their enemies are a race of fox people they've never been able to defeat. So they assume if even the most fragile Earthlings are walking with the pelts of dead foxes, they must be tough! Omar KarinduFebruary 7, 2016 4:14 PM Strange Tales #122 (Dr. Strange) While Silver Age hypnotism is always a terrible plot device, this story does demonstrate how to make Dr. Strange work, something later writers forgot. Ditko's Strange is a guy with some powers and (more importantly) some *very* powerful artifacts, but the stories are much more about how Strange uses a set of loosely defined, but limited resources to take on much more powerful beings. Take away all his magic powers, all his artifacts, and strand him an alien dimension, and he will still outwit the villain in the end. That* is what makes him Sorcerer Supreme. He's like a prototype of the Sylvester McCoy incarnation of the Doctor in some respects. So many of Ditko's stories revolve around Strange doing clever stuff with his cloak of levitation or his power to cast illusions, and very few of them are about Strange turning back time itself or waving is hands and putting armies of villains to sleep or hurling cosmic energies with planet-shattering force. He's a trickster hero, not a cosmic god as so many later writers like to portray him. MichaelFebruary 7, 2016 4:05 PM X-Men #4-7 @Walter- BTW I checked- the basketball game was at the Mansion, while the fight in the snow between Logan and Omega Red was near the Struckers' base. So there's no inconsistency. RobertFebruary 7, 2016 4:03 PM Daredevil #2 he uses a tire as a slingshot!!!! This scene min refers to is one of the dumbest things I've seen in a long time (and I've been reading a lot of Silver Age lately). He thinks to himself that he doesn't have room to jump out of the way of the truck, but he does have room (and time?) to lay down on the ground with a tire and a frigging engine and use it as a slingshot. The accompanying poor art makes it unclear if the truck is a distance away or right at the end of Matt's feet. Another stupid scene is the one you do show, which has Thing "instant welding" a door by force. I don't know if the door is made of wood or metal but either way it's ridiculous. Honestly I can only imagine what Stan was thinking when he got the pages back and had to figure out what the hell Joe Orlando was doing in some panels so he could script something out of it. RobertFebruary 7, 2016 3:14 PM Amazing Spider-Man #13 In addition to Aunt May's remarks (which, if they were coming from anyone else, I would definitely call passive aggressive), Betty also says something to Peter like "You're probably worried because you haven't sold any pictures lately." It's funny that poor Peter can't even worry about his Spider-Man problems without people reminding him he also has Peter problems. david banesFebruary 7, 2016 3:10 PM Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #90-91 Poor Blob I felt sorry for him when he started crying and didn't like that they played up him blocking traffic as comedy. Nathan AdlerFebruary 7, 2016 2:55 PM X-Men #4-7 @Walter and Michael: I'm wondering if the C-Synthesiser had something to do with the Death Spore Virus? Arkady carries it and the carbonadium enables him to control it so did Tsurayaba and the Hand have bigger plans for releasing the virus? Recall he was previously up to no good on Madripoor in Uncanny X-Men #268 with Fenris (Andrea and Andreas Strucker) whose father had previously attempted unleash the virus in Strange Tales #156? It was also known to animate and preserve dead bodies so did the Hand plan to use it to restore dead agents to life? AFFebruary 7, 2016 1:42 PM Revenge of the Living Monolith (Marvel Graphic Novel #17) I quite like this (this an Emperor Doom would be Michelinie's strongest work, imo) but I always feel disappointed that we don't get to see any of those Avengers who show up at the end, other than Thor, fight the Monolith. Admittedly, Hawkeye couldn't do much... but the rest are heavy hitters and I was promised a big smash-fest in Michelinie's introduction! I really like the Topographical Man link. It's that sort of nice, unspoken for, awesome linked continuity that the Shooter era of Marvel was really great for. kvetoFebruary 7, 2016 1:34 PM Marvel Fanfare #42 (Spider-Man) Gotcha. I'll try harder next time. fnord12February 7, 2016 1:22 PM Marvel Fanfare #42 (Spider-Man) And it's always appreciated, and i definitely agree that this issue doesn't have to be here (M/FAN #31-32 is more tricky). But once i've settled on placement for a year, and especially if i'm following the MCP, it usually takes an argument that something can't fit in order for me to move it. fnord12February 7, 2016 1:19 PM X-Men #4-7 Ok, added him. Thanks. RobertFebruary 7, 2016 1:09 PM Strange Tales #121 That wax figure Strange possesses looks a little like Unicron from Transformers. kvetoFebruary 7, 2016 1:06 PM Marvel Fanfare #42 (Spider-Man) Fair enough. I just don't see why it has to be here. It would make more sense before or after the concussion. Just trying to help. MichaelFebruary 7, 2016 1:03 PM X-Men #4-7 He appears in Maverick 3, where he dies. AFFebruary 7, 2016 1:01 PM What's Missing It spans the character's various Atlas appearances and retells/revamps his origin but there's not anything relating to modern/Agents of Atlas comics. Not even a final splash page showing him with the team in modern times. There is a scene depicting the events of What If #9 (or rather the mostly identical canon version of it) but we end the series still in the Atlas era. I think possibly setting up the character's disappearance for the next 50 years of comics. It can be read in a vacuum, I don't recall any dependencies beyond that scene from What If #9. There's a few references to prototypes of the S.H.I.E.L.D. helicarrier and some stuff involving the Uranians/Eternals of Uranus. Patriot similarly ends with Mace reading about the 50s Cap and Bucky in the paper. So it's all stuck in the past too. But that one spans quite a lot of time, with the first issue being early on in World War II with Mace as Patriot and Steve still as Cap. There's a LOT of continuity references and scenes where we see bits from various Timely Comics and the Invaders series from Mace's perspective. And coincidentally both of these minis are linked by being spun out of two different issues of What If that are basically canon. fnord12February 7, 2016 12:55 PM Marvel Fanfare #42 (Spider-Man) In PPSSM #119, when we see Spidey having a reaction to the concussion he got from Rhino, it's said that the fight with Rhino in ASM #280-282 happened "the other night", which means that more than a day has passed. And as i noted in the M/FAN #31-32 entry, the timing is very tight for X-Factor, so that story has to take place soon after the ASM issues. The MCP places both this issue and M/FAN #31-32 between ASM #280-282 and PPSSM #119, and i think that works ok. Spider-Man ignoring and not treating his concussion can be exactly why he has the attack at the beginning of PPSSM #119. There's no proof that he doesn't have a concussion in these issues. :-) Peter actually has a really bad track record when it comes to taking care of himself. fnord12February 7, 2016 12:43 PM What's Missing Overlapped comments. I was referring to the Uranian only. But i've added Patriot to the list, too (taking your word for it that it's purely set in the past). Thanks. fnord12February 7, 2016 12:42 PM What's Missing Thanks AF. I own these and have read them, but for some reason i thought it ended with a scene in the present day and so i was waiting until i get to 2010 before i cover them. But i just checked and it seems to only cover a span between 1950 and 1958. So i'll add them with my next back issue add. AFFebruary 7, 2016 12:40 PM What's Missing And Captain America: Patriot #1-4 (which is a great little series). AFFebruary 7, 2016 12:39 PM Dazzler: The Movie (Marvel Graphic Novel #12) My main issue with this graphic novel (quality aside), is it completely negates Dazzler having a comic book. If the only important development that is going to be done with the character is done as a graphic novel, then what is the point of her having an on-going series? fnord12February 7, 2016 12:33 PM X-Men #4-7 @Michael - i added a note about "Remy". Regarding Major Barrington, does the guy ever have any actual on screen appearances? Looking at the MCP, it seems like it's all flashbacks and BTS except i guess that X-Men Origins: Sabretooth insert. fnord12February 7, 2016 12:29 PM X-Men #4-7 Oops, that was a typo. Thanks tommy. DermieFebruary 7, 2016 12:11 PM Quasar #28-29 Well, Herc and Gilgamesh ARE living together in the current comics.... ;) kvetoFebruary 7, 2016 10:25 AM alloydFebruary 7, 2016 10:01 AM Daredevil #271-273 Brandy Ash aka Ann Nocenti. tommyFebruary 7, 2016 10:00 AM X-Men #4-7 I believe if u look close the folder that Xavier is looking at says "project Xavier 1964", not 1984. Erik BeckFebruary 7, 2016 8:46 AM Quasar #28-29 I find it more amusing, given Herc's look and expression ("Huzzah! I have been smitten!") to think that he just fell in love. JCFebruary 7, 2016 8:11 AM Marvel Fanfare #31-32 I'd argue his agreeing to team-up with Frog-Face says otherwise. kvetoFebruary 7, 2016 5:28 AM Marvel Fanfare #31-32 Spidey doesnt seem to have a concussion here either. kvetoFebruary 7, 2016 5:26 AM Marvel Fanfare #42 (Spider-Man) Dont think this issue fits here. Spidey is supposed to have a concussion from the Rhino fight that carries on to the next issue of PPSSM kvetoFebruary 7, 2016 5:18 AM Amazing Spider-Man #322-325 Lets add Captain America and Silver Sable to the long list of heroes who have beaten Sabretooth. AFFebruary 7, 2016 4:46 AM Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #115-116 http://static.comicvine.com/uploads/original/11/117763/3100451-xmen16301.jpg kvetoFebruary 6, 2016 10:39 PM Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #115-116 AF,I've already made a list of heroes who kicked Sabretooth's butt. http://www.supermegamonkey.net/chronocomic/entries/peter_parker_the_spectacular_s_81.shtml MichaelFebruary 6, 2016 8:37 PM Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #115-116 Well he did beat Psylocke and nearly kill her requiring her to be saved by the Crimson Dawn. He also beat Caliban and Archangel in the same storyline. And earlier he fought Archangel to a draw in X-Factor 52, although Sabretooth easily recovered from his wounds, while Warren was suffering the consequences of being poisoned for quite some time. AFFebruary 6, 2016 7:51 PM What's Missing Marvel Boy: The Uranian #1-3? MichaelFebruary 6, 2016 7:50 PM ROM #60 Babelfish translation of Denis' comment: AFFebruary 6, 2016 7:23 PM Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #115-116 Funny you should mention that Rogue one because I legitimately spent the better half of a day a year or so back trying to find an on-panel fight that Sabretooth definitely won against another established character who's not Wolverine (and even still, by now Wolverine has beaten him about 10 times for every time Creed has beat him). That Rogue one was the one I found. (and the only other one I found was he also beat Maverick in Wolverine #166, but the severity of that was later retconned). But for his few victories, he really is the definition of the worf effect. Don't MAKE me write that list... AFFebruary 6, 2016 7:14 PM Punisher Summer Special #2 I think this is the first Mike McKone art for Marvel. He will go on to be a pretty dependable artist for them. He still draws books for Marvel too but rarely has long runs on them. He's the guy they go to for a cover or to cover for one of their lazy big name artists. MichaelFebruary 6, 2016 7:14 PM Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #115-116 AF- he got his reputation because he took out Rogue in 3 punches: AFFebruary 6, 2016 7:04 PM Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #115-116 Even after he was given to Wolverine, he still continues to be routinely beaten up by anyone and everyone. I really don't know where Creed ever got his reputation as a badass. I actually started making a list of all the unbelievable people who have beaten him in a fight and it genuinely got too long and I thought nobody would care. The amount of children who have beaten him is hilarious. JonathanFebruary 6, 2016 6:12 PM Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #115-116 Yeah, I don't think Sabretooth is portrayed inconsistently here to any of his previous appearances. At this point, nothing has been printed in the comics giving him a healing factor, or any connection to Wolverine. Behind the scenes we know there was an intended connection to Wolverine, but none of that had seen print. He was just an Iron Fist villain, who became a Power Man & Iron Fist villain, and that's it. He was mostly known for being partners with the Constrictor. The Foreigner isn't being built up that much by having some seniority over Sabretooth, because at the time Sabretooth was a C-list villain. This was his 5th appearance since he'd been introduced 9 years before, and his 1st appearance in a comic not featuring Iron Fist. The Ms Marvel story hadn't been printed yet, the Classic X-Men backup hadn't been written yet, the Mutant Massacre hadn't happened yet. At the time there was nothing to say that ripping the webbing off his face wouldn't put him in hospital, or that he couldn't get beat by the Black Cat. (And as Fnord points out, the comic is clear that he would have won that fight by biting her ankle off, if it hadn't been for his breaking his teeth on her lockpicks.) Mark DrummondFebruary 6, 2016 4:06 PM Punisher Summer Special #2 By the way, snuff films don't exist. Never did. Well, maybe the one Abraham Zapruder shot... Mark DrummondFebruary 6, 2016 3:55 PM Hulk #392 I wasn't directing any criticism at Brimstone; I was questioning how broadly any restraints on criticism on "deep and moving" reactions are. To some people, "deep and moving" does mean they get turned on by a comic. All those boobs, butts, thong shots, cheesecake, and impractical costumes have gotta be in there for SOME ulterior reason... kvetoFebruary 6, 2016 2:53 PM Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #115-116 That's a cop out trying to make a villain more badass cause he gets popular. Doombots are ok for a great villain like dr doom. This is the real Sabretooth. the only reason Sabretooth switched to Wolverine was that Wolvie was the only hero he could defeat. MichaelFebruary 6, 2016 2:24 PM X-Men #4-7 A couple other things to note- Maverick is talking to a Major in this story- Maverick's boss is eventually named Major Arthur Barrington. I think that this might be him, and if so, he should be listed as a character appearing. EnchloreFebruary 6, 2016 2:03 PM X-Men #4-7 "I'm gonna remix this little party a bit" is a great line (for all the wrong reasons). RobertFebruary 6, 2016 1:31 PM Punisher Summer Special #2 Might want to put a warning on this entry that the artwork might induce violent vomiting. MormelFebruary 6, 2016 1:29 PM Uncanny X-Men #281-286 Playing devil's advocate here, as I'll concede that X-Books storytelling was in a state of flux which translated into a tangled mess of plotlines, but... this would not mark the first time that certain backstory elements were thrown into the air and ended up leading nowhere, or return in a significantly altered form- especially where the Hellfire Club is concerned. Even in Claremont's heyday, there was stuff like Warhawk reporting to his employer who manifested as a disembodied head and was described as 'nameless and faceless', but was retroactively supposed to be Sebastian Shaw. Still, the HFC stories of the 80s were a lot more solid than the Shaw family soap opera we got in the 90s. But they weren't without their little charming inconsistencies! Ataru320February 6, 2016 1:12 PM Amazing Spider-Man #11 I think the whole thing about Peter Parker and his ilk is they've been around for so long that they think no one would believe them as relateable; besides that's what Miles Morales is for these days. Besides, there is nothing wrong with a character growing up or changing and having problems, but from how it sounds things really are a mess to the point that maybe I rather have Miles Morales. Walter LawsonFebruary 6, 2016 12:08 PM Uncanny X-Men #281-286 With the addition of Bishop and forthcoming confirmation that Cable, too, is frim an alternate future, we wind up with four concurrent X-characters from four different alternate futures: Rachel Summers, Shatterstar (from a future Mojoverse), Cable (raised in the 31st century), and Bishop. Claremont seems to have had some input on Bishop's creation before he left; he alluded in a few late interviews to a new X-Man being worked out. I suspect, though, that Trevor Fitzroy's name was Byrne's idea: Fitzroy means "(bastard) son of the king," and that will be relevant years later when we fund out who Fitzroy's family are. The early clues in these issues don't really add up, though. (Note that Fitzroy is meant to have a personal hatred for Emma Frost, but dhe should be long dead by the time of Fitzroy's future. The vendetta is never referenced again anyway.) mikrolikFebruary 6, 2016 11:42 AM Amazing Spider-Man #11 I can see your point, Jonathan. Right now, Peter is CEO of a worldwide company, Aunt May is married to JJJ's rich father, Mary Jane is now working for Tony Stark, Flash is the current Venom… I'm longing for the days where Spider-Man was more of an "everyman" character and book. Maybe modern writers think that's just too old fashioned or something. Then again, I'm now 40, so maybe I'm pining for "the good old days". JonathanFebruary 6, 2016 11:42 AM Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #115-116 I've read that Claremont had an explanation for that, he intended for the real Sabretooth to only appear harassing Wolverine one-on-one, and that the supervillain Sabretooth who appears as one of the Marauders (and I think the rest of his supervillain career beforehand) is just an imperfect clone made by Mr Sinister. As far as I know that never actually made it into print though. So, sort of like the Doombots - If you don't like the story, you can say it's a clone of a clone of a clone of Sabretooth. mikrolikFebruary 6, 2016 11:30 AM Amazing Spider-Man #12 Also, let's not forget Flash Thompson got himself a pretty convincing Spider-Man costume in ish #5. If one high school student can get a Spider-Man costume, why not another? JonathanFebruary 6, 2016 11:28 AM Amazing Spider-Man #11 Wow, I really hoped Doomsday was joking when he said about Betty Brant's brother being brought back as The Crime Master, but nope it's all true. When you've got to the point where Betty Brant's long dead brother comes back as the third Crime Master (with the fifth Jack O'Lantern as a sidekick) and tries to kill Flash Thompson who's now the third(?) Venom.... What happened to editors who could say "no, that sounds like a dumb idea"? RobertFebruary 6, 2016 11:27 AM Fantastic Four #25-26 First came across this story in Marvel Saga. While the art looked crude to me compared to what I was seeing in '80s comics, it was still pretty awesome to see all the heroes taking on the Hulk. This was the first of what became a Marvel tradition of Hulk losing his shit and everybody trying to stop him. Those stories never got old during the classic era. Nowadays you have Mark Millar write it and I struggle to care. JonathanFebruary 6, 2016 11:11 AM Iron Fist #11-13 Before the comments above, I'd never realised Boomerang had not appeared for so long before this. In some ways this was Claremont or Byrne bringing back a forgotten Silver Age villain. Presumably Byrne designed his standard costume as it debuts here? RobertFebruary 6, 2016 9:51 AM Amazing Spider-Man #12 I don't have an issue with the unmasking scene, either. As others have said, it's early in his career and he's beaten soundly and quickly by Doc Ock, who comments before the unmasking how this can't be the same Spider-Man he's fought before (in front of the witnesses). JJJ not believing is easily explained away by his own biases regarding Spider-Man and Peter, respectively. Betty is explained away by her wanting to believe Peter was just the nerdy nice guy she loved wanting to do something heroic to save her. May is shown to treat Peter in these early stories like he's 8 so it's not surprising to me in the least she wouldn't put 2 & 2 together. Plus the police told her they found him passed out on the street and it wasn't until the next morning she received the costume, so I think Peter was changed into regular clothes before they took him home. Anyway, I think she was later shown to have known all along but that was probably retconned away. Itt's not a big thing in my book but obviously others' mileage varies. For the record I have no problem with Superman and the glasses, either. Suspension of disbelief used to be a thing. And it was good. But then it went away and we have what we have now. And it isn't good. Ataru320February 6, 2016 7:47 AM Uncanny X-Men #281-286 Fitzroy is, again, another of the characters I figured was probably bigger due to the X-Men animated series. He was actually the one who brought about the Age of Apocalypse in a two-parter by killing Xavier. (not Legion) Regardless of his "pointless outside his period" element, he is a cool look I still think, just this idea of him looking like a time-traveling evil swashbuckler. And of course Bishop...yeah, I was surprised literally nothing was ever explained about Bishop in the 90s animated series so want to see what happens with him. No, its terrible that a lot of characters had to die for this mess but, like Omega Red, I actually get something out of this due to the animated series. (especially considering that I'm one of the few who actually knew of Fitzroy before more relevant elements like...well, Legion...) AFFebruary 6, 2016 7:24 AM Uncanny X-Men #281-286 I think there's a few elements here and there that work but altogether it is a mess, not at all helped by Portacio's bad art. The first issue you can read and think "oh, well, they're going somewhere" and then 2 issues later they have gone in about 3 different directions since. This is one of those stories that you're best just read a very brief summary of and imagine something better. But at least we're rid of Claremont. After this arc, the only way is up. BerendFebruary 6, 2016 6:07 AM Uncanny X-Men #281-286 I'm not a huge fan of any costume for Sunfire really. Maybe the Age of Apocalypse version? MormelFebruary 6, 2016 5:28 AM Uncanny X-Men #281-286 Whoops, I meant that MALCOLM has the ability to sense other mutants. Let's not give Randall too much credit. Mortificator: Brimstone fanFebruary 6, 2016 4:25 AM Uncanny X-Men #281-286 Funnily enough, as I scrolled down and saw Sunfire, I thought he looked much better here than in his old costume. The mask on that thing, especially, was embarrassing. MormelFebruary 6, 2016 1:29 AM Uncanny X-Men #281-286 I never thought this story was particularly good, but I am rather fond of Bishop. Randall will turn out to have the ability to sense the presence of other mutants, while Randall has the ability to survive radiation. Surprisingly passive powers for two guys in a badass paramilitary resistance group, so let's hear it for walking through walls and super translation skills. I interpreted the unusually large number of Hellions present at Fitzroy's little portal-opening shtick, as being heretofore unseen teenage recruits of the HFC. Wouldn’t put it past Emma to stack the deck that way. Mikhail Rasputin was also referenced at the conclusion of the Proteus storyline, when Kevin used the memory of Mikhail's loss in order to unsettle Peter and defeat him; as we've seen, it didn't work out in Proteus' favour. ChrisFebruary 5, 2016 11:46 PM Hulk #390-391 Interesting to hear other people weren't as interested in the Pantheon era either. I thought I would be in the minority, but perhaps others will make their tastes known. There are still good stories and the craft is there, but as I said - very few memorable moments in retrospect. Just no magic. It doesn't help that the Pantheon characters themselves are just generic and uninteresting. MikeCheyneFebruary 5, 2016 11:45 PM Uncanny X-Men #281-286 I agree that it was nice to clear the deck a little with some of the extraneous side groups in X-Men, but the mass slaughter seemed a bit much. These are decent characters that could have been used in other settings. Hell, the Reavers--non mutant mercenaries who are experts with cyborg stuff--that's a lot of potential for anyone's rogues gallery. More to the point, smashing existing characters just to prove the new bad guys on the block are the best usually isn't the best idea. I read X-Men #281 a lot, and it still kind of irritates me to this day, not because it's inherently crappy but because I got suckered into thinking a new era of awesomeness was lurking. fnord12February 5, 2016 10:21 PM Hulk #392 I appreciate the thought, Brian. Anyone that googles "Brimstone wrestler" can find a few similar posts, and i saw them when Brimstone first started commenting. But most of his comments have been on topic, and i find his self-promotion more humorous than anything now that i've truncated the user name field. So i don't want to turn this comments section into a flame on him. That said, Brimstone, you may want to recognize that you've rubbed several people the wrong way at this point and i'd ask that you dial back what Tuomas calls your "particular type of masculinity". One thing long time readers of the site know is that if you find yourself in an argument with Mark Drummond you are doing something drastically wrong. I don't know Mark in real life, but i'd ban myself if i got into a fight with him, because his comments are that valuable to the site. So if he's upset with you, it's probably a sign that i've let things go on too far (for which i apologize to everyone else). When you focus on the comics themselves, your comments are fine. I enjoy your lonely (but valid) perspective on the Image artists, etc.. So please just keep it to the comics, and maybe take it easy when throwing the word "fruity" and the like around. And please don't respond to this comment so that we can avoid making this all about you (same request to everyone else). Brian CareyFebruary 5, 2016 9:49 PM Hulk #392 Highly recommended:http://www.paperstreetbrigade.com/blog/?p=29044 MichaelFebruary 5, 2016 9:21 PM Uncanny X-Men #281-286 Hilariously, Tarot is killed twice in this story- once in issue 281, once in issue 282, because Byrne was working with an incomplete plot and didn't know she was supposed to die in issue 282. RobertFebruary 5, 2016 9:18 PM Journey Into Mystery #101-103 Hela must have been furious when she found out the flashback rule screwed her out of a first appearance mention in the HSR ;) D09February 5, 2016 8:53 PM X-Factor #38 @a.lloyd - The comic itself or the back-and-forth within the comments section? RobertFebruary 5, 2016 8:29 PM Journey Into Mystery #101-103 Now the classic Lee/Kirby Thor era is really getting started, some twenty issues after Thor first appeared. They won't waste a lot of time catching up and this book will quickly be one of Marvel's top 3, along with FF and ASM (personal opinion, not based on sales or anything). Some great ideas and designs from Kirby here, whether it's the cool Asgardian stuff or fun little things like the World Council's octi-robot! As always, Lee's scripting improves when he's working with a creative artist instead of journeymen like Heck and Ayers. It may read as overly melodramatic to some modern readers but it complemented the art well and really brings across the sense of excitement that was missing in some of the other titles. Just a fantastic, seminal run and it really gets its start here. D09February 5, 2016 8:28 PM Uncanny X-Men #219 Getting back to the idea of Nimrod being the one massacring the Morlocks, was there any reason why Claremont couldn't just use him only, why did he have to involve the Fury and Jim Jaspers? D09February 5, 2016 8:25 PM Uncanny X-Men #221-222 Anybody out there gets the impression that Claremont really didn't care much for the original X-Men (Cyclopes, Marvel Girl, Iceman, Beast, Angel, Havok, and Polaris), even before X-Factor came about? RobertFebruary 5, 2016 7:44 PM What's Missing Sorry I scanned the page for Wolverine mentions but completely missed that you addressed the Flashbacks. Anyway I can totally understand wanting to delay it as long as possible ;) fnord12February 5, 2016 7:32 PM What's Missing Thanks Robert. As i note in the list, i do have more of the Flashback stories but i'll add the rest when i get to 1997. Some require a judgement call regarding the framing sequences. Morgan WickFebruary 5, 2016 7:15 PM Uncanny X-Men #281-286 "Someone writes in to issue #286 to ask what the arrival of Bishop will do to the relationship between Storm and Forge, which seems pretty out of left field to me. But the response isn't, 'Why, because they're both black?!'; they actually agree that his arrival might 'stew things up a bit'." Well, Marvel has proven since that "because they're both black" is a good enough reason as any to pair two characters together... RobertFebruary 5, 2016 6:42 PM Untold Tales of Spider-Man #10 Someone spilled some '90s in their '60s. Luis DantasFebruary 5, 2016 6:41 PM Uncanny X-Men #281-286 I thought X-Men #4-7 was all sound and fury with no substance. I still do, but this is even worse and aimless. To think it sold 400K copies or more... Colossus recalls his brother at least once after #99, in #128 IIRC. BillFebruary 5, 2016 6:33 PM Uncanny X-Men #281-286 Ugh! Portacio is the worst! The art is way too busy and outright headache inducing. He doesn't draw attractive female faces at all. Honestly, would he have gotten this gig if not for his being buddies with Jim Lee? I never blamed John Byrne for ditching this mess; how could he make heads or tails of any of this? As a reader, I certainly couldn't! Most of the Image crew were in need of a strong editorial hand and none was in sight, which shows. This title quickly became a mess and I bailed out around these issues, not to return until "The Age of Apocalypse" story several years down the line from here. RobertFebruary 5, 2016 6:27 PM Amazing Spider-Man #11 @doomsday, wait wait wait -- a comic book character that died decades ago was brought back by the House Out of Ideas? Mind = blown. RobertFebruary 5, 2016 6:18 PM Untold Tales of Spider-Man #9 Given what you previously discussed about who was to "blame" for Frenz's flat-headed Peter during his ASM run ( http://www.supermegamonkey.net/chronocomic/entries/amazing_spider-man_256-258.shtml ), it's interesting to see his work in this issue with a different inker yet still Peter's head is flat. RobertFebruary 5, 2016 6:08 PM What's Missing Wolverine Minus 1 takes place after the Hudsons meet Logan and features those "characters we didn't think have ever met have actually met" continuity inserts the kids love so much. Brimstone: Wrestler, CelebrityFebruary 5, 2016 5:40 PM Hulk #392 So if I have this straight... a guy tells me my comment made in jest was offensive.. and then, unlike 99% of the other commenters on the internet, I react with a sincere apology... which I stick by... and you still want to come at me Mark Drummond with these snide comments? Why? I said I was sorry dude. I didn't criticize anybody. I was playfully joking. I also said I've also got the feels from comics and stories before. Let it go bruh RobertFebruary 5, 2016 5:12 PM Uncanny X-Men #281-286 I picked one of these issues up after having not touched an X title since maybe Acts of Vengeance and I was completely lost. Didn't pick up another one until maybe #300 or so, although I think I got some Wolverine and maybe 1 or 2 Adjectiveless during that time. Mark DrummondFebruary 5, 2016 5:11 PM Hulk #392 On the other hand, if someone here said that they got sexually aroused by a comic, would that also be criticism-free? BobFebruary 5, 2016 4:49 PM Uncanny X-Men #281-286 This ranks in my list of one of the worst comics ever. So much to hate here - first, the art is abysmal. Liefeld gets all the grief, but Portacio was by far the worst of the Image hacks, with no sense of anatomy, storytelling ability,horse faces, Archangel wings designed by an 8-year-old, weird eyes rolled in heads and tons and tons of unnecessary lines. Two - shock death after shock deaths, whether the Reavers, the Hellions, none serve a purpose, other than to build up the new lame, and now forgotten villains of Shinobi and Fitzroy. Granted, I hated the Reavers, but this was just gratuitous. And if they were going to scrap them, couldn't they have at least taken out the insufferable Lady Deathstryke. And the plot with Jean doesn't make sense. She's dying, so she teleports into the dead White Queen, then they get their minds swapped back and they're both just fine, with no injuries or ill effects. And then Bishop - aka black Cable - a character designed in committee, with a stupid mullet and a mysterious future/past. And don't forget a wonky eye. The Image boys could have at least tried to be humble when taking over, but this story takes a dump on all things Claremont. These guys wanted the keys to kingdom, got them and we got....this. then they abruptly quit for more money at Image,and the books suffered for years from their stunt. Thanos6February 5, 2016 4:47 PM Uncanny X-Men #281-286 I love Bishop. When his story is finally revealed, I think the Gamesmaster's backstory is pretty interesting and makes for a theoretically sympathetic villain; too bad they don't do much with it, IIRC. BerendFebruary 5, 2016 4:24 PM Uncanny X-Men #281-286 This is probably blasphemy, but I don't really mind the slaughter of the Reavers and the Hellions and, more generally around this time, the disbanding of the original Hellfire Club. As Claremont's run started spinning out of control towards the end all these characters just sort off existed in the background, reminding us of dangling plot threads but not doing anything. A deck clearing exercise was sorely needed. It's just unfortunate that the story itself was not very good, and the supposedly cool news villains are the rather lame Upstarts. (Also, I realize I'm writing this with 20/20 hindsight, knowing that Sebastian Shaw and some of the more interesting Hellions will be resurrected, and that the death of the Hellions frees up Emma Frost for cool character development in Generation X and later in New X-Men. At the time I would probably have been furious over the fact that the long established villains are sacrificed to big up stupid characters like Fitzroy and Shinobi) Red CometFebruary 5, 2016 4:21 PM Uncanny X-Men #281-286 Portacio's cyberpunk design aesthetics are heavily inspired by 80s anime, particularly the higher budget films and direct-to-video mini-series. I'm a fan of that stuff so I enjoyed Portacio using this look for the Sentinels and new villains during his run. Claremont eventually brings the Reavers back in an X-treme X-men Annual in 2001. I believe Pierce was resurrected before that in the late 90s during some Cable or X-man storyline. Brimstone: Wrestler, CelebrityFebruary 5, 2016 4:08 PM Uncanny X-Men #281-286 I always thought that for a guy from the future, Fitzroy kinda had a very 90s' Brian Austin Green hairstyle, LOL! Now that I look at it, Bishop is very 90s' too... But I loved these issues, these were some of the best days for the X-Men in my opinion... just an endless supply of new and groundbreaking ideas though I understand how you say the art is very busy.. I feel those guys, the Image guys, were just overwhelmed and bursting with such ideas and creativity that it just flooded the pages.. we will not see the likes of that group again in modern comics! D09February 5, 2016 2:17 PM Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #115-116 I'd like to make my own No-Prize explanation for Sabertooth's showing between his Iron Fist days and his later appearance in X-Men: Sometime after his Weapon X days, he would have been in some sort of accident or disaster that would wreck both his abilities and his mental state for a great while (of course I'd argue that Sabertooth's brain had never run at full tilt anyway, but that's just splitting hairs at this point). Since his healing factor and other powers aren't working correctly at this point, he has to have hasty retraining by people like the Foreigner and a costume that mimics his old claws to keep up the illusion that he's as tough as ever. As for his battles with the likes of Spider-Man and Iron Fist, he may be used to fighting super powered people, but I don't think he's ever fought genuine heroes before. fnord12February 5, 2016 12:32 PM Iron Fist #11-13 I've added the scan with the Shooter/Hyde monitor scene. I think Aaron is right that it's Shooter because of the (hilarious) image of Stern that is included, but it does look like Hyde, too. I've also added a note in the considerations in case it was meant to be Hyde. AFFebruary 5, 2016 12:20 PM Iron Fist #15 I prefer the Byrne brown costume but I would not have minded at all if Wolverine had wore the Fang costume until then. Although I've had a soft spot for it since Wolverine BRIEFLY wore it in #109 which was my first classic X-Men issue. AFFebruary 5, 2016 12:14 PM Iron Fist #11-13 Daredevil's beating up Shooter on the monitor? I'd always thought it was Mr. Hyde... Now I feel silly. Vincent ValentiFebruary 5, 2016 10:17 AM Iron Man #118-119 It's true. Byrne asked the powers that were "Can I make him Black?" It's funny to think how that simple question would have such an effect on the careers of Terrence Howard and Don Cheadle. Max_SpiderFebruary 5, 2016 9:59 AM Fantastic Four #357-360 @Nathan Adler Actually, I think we can quite easily. This is the guy who constantly claims that the fool Richards is responsible for most of his woes. I'm not saying that Doom is lying intentionally, I'm saying that his perspective is warped. We don't have to agree with his opinion. fnord12February 5, 2016 9:12 AM West Coast Avengers #17-24 Don, i've added a reference to Doctor Strange #18. Thanks for pointing it (and the other things) out. Ataru320February 5, 2016 8:42 AM Strange Tales #119 (Human Torch) There were the beatniks who at least appeared more disheveled and "arty", which some claim evolved in some respects into elements of the hippie movement. But I guess there is a line to cross between being this guy and...Bernard the Poet. Erik BeckFebruary 5, 2016 7:28 AM Thor #437 It's one thing to reset Thor by making him a new hero again. It's another thing to have him saying things like "We're in deep doo doo!" Does anyone actually want to read that? Did no one have the guts to tell their boss he was writing a really awful book? FF3February 5, 2016 7:20 AM Doctor Strange #50-53 I was about to say that Marshall Rogers seems like a precursor to Sam Kieth. FF3February 5, 2016 6:48 AM Strange Tales #119 (Human Torch) But if he did get a ticket and Reed found out, he'd bring it up over dinner, again and again, for-friggin-ever. Worst brother in law ever. FF3February 5, 2016 6:34 AM X-Men #4-7 > fnord12 (who needs to adjust the character limit for this field) The hero we need, not the hero we deserve. FF3February 5, 2016 6:26 AM X-Men #4-7 Cyclops' warning/threat about the army of killer androids to Sabretooth is, like, my favorite (ironically enjoyed) panel of all time. It's just total over-the-top comicness. I'm glad to see it got mentioned. The basketball game, while absolutely ridiculous, is, in my opinion, a great piece of 90s historical kitsch, much like Dazzler's various musical careers in the 70s and 80s make the books feel like that era. White Men Can't Jump came out in '92, and I think Jim Lee (and therefore everyone afterward) drew inspiration for Gambit from Woody Harrelson. I certainly cast Harrelson in that role in my head as a kid. Personally, I think it makes the absence of a black character on this team stick out. All that being said, there's not a whole lot to love here. While I think he was great at character design, Jim Lee's plotting seems basically without direction, like a teenager who finally got the car keys only to discover he didn't have anywhere to go. I kind of wonder if you could have taken Lee's art and character design and Liefeld's plot vision -- which, in his early days, I actually think was promising -- and somehow merge them into a single person, you might have had a true great talent, someone maybe like Frank Miller. But you'd still need to find someone to script it. I can feel Byrne's curmudeonlyness showing through in the stuff he wrote here, as he clearly wasn't happy about the conditions he had found himself in returning to the X-books. And Lobdell... my feelings about Lobdell are complex. At times it feels like he's really, really good, on par with Claremont almost. And then, at other times, he just feels utterly inane. At least, however, he's better than Nicieza. While I think he has gotten better as he has matured over the years, his initial work on Uncanny is almost unreadable to me. Which is sad, because I can see some neat ideas about how to enter the post Claremont era in those early books, that are just spoiled because Nicieza can't write them. RobertFebruary 5, 2016 5:26 AM Strange Tales #119 (Human Torch) Oh and Torch sure is terrified about breaking a city ordinance. What was that probably back then, a $5 fine? Grow a pair, Johnny. Robert February 5, 2016 5:22 AM Strange Tales #119 (Dr. Strange) Strange's reaction to finding two burglars in his house is awesome. He starts to cast a spell on them then says "Bah! You're not worthy of my time or talents!" Brimstone: Wrestler, CelebrityFebruary 5, 2016 5:20 AM Hulk #392 @Tuomas- Bruh, I didn't mean it in a bully way I am a spokesman AGAINST bullying. I meant it in a joshing manner, ain't we all pals here? Yes it's true I am a pro wrestler and an actor and a celebrity spokesman but I don't have a particular type of masculinity at all I too can get the feels with a good story lol. I just thought that scene was really forced and not worthy of shedding no tears over and other readers agreed with me that it is a bit outta character for rick jones. my attitude is just to enjoy fnord's work and enjoy chatting up Marvels... I ain't out to offend nobody and if anybody is, your main man from the wasteland extends his apologies..... RobertFebruary 5, 2016 5:14 AM Strange Tales #119 (Human Torch) Other than his outfit (which we might credit Ayers with, not Lee), I'm really not seeing much about the Rabble Rouser that screams hippie. For one thing his hair, mustache, and unibrow seem more like the "wild Russian" stereotype, which fits since he's a stereotypical commie. For another thing, his message isn't counter culture at all, nor is his audience young. He's preaching to suits about law & order. Were what we know of as hippies today even in the public consciousness in 1964? Seems to me that's still a few years off. Stan and his artists were all middle-aged guys who were often behind the times when it came to what was current and popular with the young folks. Seems less likely to me he would be commenting on something just breaking out in certain parts of the country (if at all yet) but rather just doing another run-of-the-mill Red story with a visual look for the villain seeming somewhat hippie-ish but more likely was simply Ayers' interpretation of a Rasputin-like Russian. TuomasFebruary 5, 2016 4:26 AM Hulk #392 Brimstone, I have to say your attitude here is kinda boorish. Someone says they were moved by a touching scene, and you come to say, "don't cry man, it's only a comic!". Well guess what, some people find comic books deep and moving enough to make them cry. I've cried while reading stories like I Kill Giants, and many others. I don't mind you opining on what this site is about, Marvel comics, but I wish you wouldn't propagate your particular type of masculinity here. Not all men are like that. Don CampbellFebruary 5, 2016 3:59 AM West Coast Avengers #17-24 You have omitted the fact that Iron Man and Wonder Man almost crossed paths with Doctor Strange, Clea and Benjamin Franklin in Philadelphia in WCA #20. Wonder Man also mentioned (in WCA #22) that he and Iron Man had seen Strange while they were in 1776. The three panels with Clea, Franklin and Strange take place between Doctor Strange #18 & 19. However, there is a small problem. According to WCA #20, the almost-meeting occurs in Philadelphia in July of 1776. Unfortunately, Doctor Strange #18 revealed that Strange and Clea met Franklin in March of 1775. And in Doctor Strange #19, Strange realized that the Franklin with whom Clea was seemingly having an affair must be an imposter because on that day, May fifth of 1775, Franklin could not have been at home because he was being chosen as a member of the Second Continental Congress. I don't know enough about American history to tell if this is accurate but it does indicate that Clea and Strange were in Philadelphia in 1775, not 1776. Who knows, maybe the damaged time machine briefly activated while the Whackos were flying from Arizona to Pennsylvania and it sent them back in time 14 months without them realizing it? Also, Hawkeye was trying to travel to the Twelfth Century when he used Doom's time machine (in a flashback in Avengers #142). He only ended up in the Old West of 1873 because he had been attacked by King while in the timestream. Finally, the time machine that Hawkeye was using when he ended up in the Old West was returned to the present in Avengers #140 with blood on its deck as part of a trap that Kang the Conqueror had set for the Avengers. So, where did the time machine Dominus found really come from? Brimstone: Wrestler, CelebrityFebruary 4, 2016 9:40 PM Hulk #390-391 yeah and I don't want to knock Liam Sharpe but his run just co-aligned with an era where P.David didn't seem to know where he was going... shrapnel wounding Bruce Banner, making him an olive-skinned, confused Hulk... the Kubert run, where Hulk becomes War... it was like, a few good ideas but yeah, it was never ever the same and I now wonder how much of that was Marvel coming down on P.David. I remember specifically reading that Marvel was pressuring P.David to create big epic storylines and THAT was why he left... then, I kinda found it suspicious that immediately after PD left, they had Byrne writing these "quiet, low-key" stories like the Hulk in a small town, etc. Just a very wonky time at Marvel! AFFebruary 4, 2016 9:22 PM Marvel Premiere #15-16 These early Iron Fist stories have such a rotating cast of creators. Basically every issue until #23 has a new writer or a new artist jumping on board. It's a shame that when they finally get a fixed creative team it's Chris Claremont who sticks as writer. Is there any story behind why Roy never saw it past the first issue? Presumably all the others were offered better assignments but since Roy created it, you'd think he'd stick with it longer than one issue. Or at least see the origin through to the end. RobertFebruary 4, 2016 8:33 PM Strange Tales #122 (Human Torch) The Terrible Trio are truly worthy of that name. DC's Terrible Trio was better. RobertFebruary 4, 2016 8:20 PM Daredevil annual #4 (Back-ups) Only Ann Nocenti should write the Wildboys. Which is my way of saying no one should write the Wildboys. Robert: I just saved a bunch of money on my car insurace by switching to GeicoFebruary 4, 2016 8:12 PM Hulk #390-391 As much as I enjoyed PAD's run I didn't care for some of his new characters like the Pantheon and Janis Jones. But it is still good at this point. Like Brimstone says, it only really starts dropping off in quality after Gary Frank's run with PAD. Brimstone: Wrestler, Celebrity, Actor, Celeb Spokesman, Author, Food Critic, Comics CEOFebruary 4, 2016 7:53 PM Hulk #390-391 I agree that the Panthenon takes over the book which shows P.David's declining interest maybe, I remember the Hulk books goes completely downhill after the Onslaught thing which is probably a combination of PD running out of ideas BUT also having his own ideas compromised by editorial interference with all the crossovers. I remember being stunned at how bad The Incredible Hulk got, it was one of the go to books along with X-Force and Punisher but after Gary Frank left it just got worse and worse. These issues are still inspired though Thanos6February 4, 2016 7:14 PM Amazing Spider-Man #10 @Robert: Ah yes, that was hilarious. A lot of the comedy in these early issues still holds up. RobertFebruary 4, 2016 7:10 PM X-Men #4-7 He has a tough guy line at the end of #10 that Mark might be thinking of: Panel 1: "You're so eager to mambo with Maverick? Fine." fnord12 (who needs to adjust the character limit for this field)February 4, 2016 6:41 PM X-Men #4-7 @Mark, i gave the issues a flip-through and didn't see that phrase. Maybe it's in Maverick's appearance in issues #10-11, or in Wolverine #62-64. RobertFebruary 4, 2016 6:40 PM Amazing Spider-Man #10 One scene not shown here that I enjoyed a lot has Spidey using a giant spider (made from leftover webbing) to terrorize an informant into giving up the location of the Enforcers. DermieFebruary 4, 2016 6:17 PM Quasar #35-36 Yeah, its the same sort of principle behind writers knowing Northstar was gay and writing him that way right from the start, but not actually being allowed to state it outright. I think it is a plausible deniability thing--people can see it and know that it is there, but if Marvel doesn't use the word directly they can claim innocence if angry parents try to sick the Comics Code Authority at them. RobertFebruary 4, 2016 6:07 PM Tales To Astonish #53 I'm probably in the minority but I find many of these Wasp/Pym stories unbearable because of the bickering between the two that is apparently Stan Lee's idea of playful 'Nick & Nora' style banter. No wonder kids would rather dress up as the villains when the heroes are so annoying. BobFebruary 4, 2016 5:01 PM X-Men #4-7 I loathed all of Lee's redesigns, which, sadly, were entrenched in newbie fans' eyes after the cartoon. RobertFebruary 4, 2016 3:15 PM X-Men #4-7 Oh and he removes the fur from the arms and legs. But still he just makes minor changes to an existing design. From a design perspective these Image guys were all pretty much hacks. They borrowed heavily from what other creators had done, whether that be in comics or from various '80s action figures they'd grown up with. RobertFebruary 4, 2016 3:10 PM X-Men #4-7 The fur on the shoulders was a good choice by Lee as it gives the appearance of a lion's mane. Piotr WFebruary 4, 2016 2:49 PM X-Men #4-7 Red Comet, I don't agree that the original Sabretooth costume was generic... IMHO, *this* costume is generic, with its typical 90s face sleeve and geometric shapes. As for the story, I agree that it doesn't make sense. What are the villains after? Why does Omega Red need the c-synthetiser? Also, note that it's first hinted that OR is some old foe that knows Logan well. But then, it's revealed that he only saw Logan briefly before being hit with the grenades (which, I assume, is what put him into his coma/death?). Bad story and not very good art. Even when I was a teenager, I know that something was off here... Oh, and good points about Gambit, Bob. Post-Claremont writers destroyed him... Mark Black, MLIS, Youth Services Librarian, Author, Self LoatherFebruary 4, 2016 2:42 PM X-Men #4-7 Is there a panel where Maverick says "Let's dance"? or am I just imagining that because that seems like something stupid a character in this era of comics would say? RobertFebruary 4, 2016 1:28 PM Fantastic Four #23 Reed is such a bitch in this issue. It's hilarious! RobertFebruary 4, 2016 1:20 PM Amazing Spider-Man #9 Oh and probably my favorite part of this terrific issue is that they go against expectations on the soap stuff with Betty and Peter at the end. Instead of the issue ending with their 'fight' being unresolved and Peter being a sad sack, Betty shows up at the hospital and we get a wonderful final panel of them walking off together to talk things out. RobertFebruary 4, 2016 1:16 PM Amazing Spider-Man #9 "That seems very out of character for Peter, but his Aunt was deathly ill. @JC, I agree. I don't think I would limit that criticism to just Electro though as the modern creators tend to bow down to the 'dread god realism' far too much for my taste. The results are forgettable, pedestrian designs no one will be remembering decades from now like they do the classic Ditko and Kirby designs. BobFebruary 4, 2016 12:21 PM Hulk #390-391 I also lost a lot of interest in the book after it became the Pantheon show. Not latter Gruenwald on Cap level slippage, but a notable decline in quality. I think 50-60 issue is about the max before any writer starts to run the well dry. BobFebruary 4, 2016 12:16 PM Namor #21-25 Byrne's art style really slipped over the course of this series. I loved his work in the 70s and 80s, but his technique on Namor morphs into the sloppier latter period work of his here. Compare his pencils here to what he was doing on AWC just a year and half prior. Erik BeckFebruary 4, 2016 11:35 AM Namor #21-25 Ah, one retcon I can definitely get behind since Iron Fist's "death" was so stupid. Red CometFebruary 4, 2016 10:57 AM X-Men #4-7 It's partly nostalgia, but I've always liked Jim Lee's costumes during this era of X-men despite the pouches. I've always preferred this Sabretooth costume to his original one, which was very generic. The fur on the shoulders was a good choice by Lee as it gives the appearance of a lion's mane. I've noticed that aspect of Lee's costume has been kept as during the past decade or so they've had him mainly in street clothes with a fur-collared jacket that imparts the same outline. TCPFebruary 4, 2016 10:12 AM X-Men #4-7 I must have seen that image of Sabretooth leaping on Maverick a million times as a kid. I remember it being on a lot of merchandise, including a sweater I had. Vincent ValentiFebruary 4, 2016 9:31 AM X-Men #4-7 Also it seems a tad bit insulting that Jim Lee gave Sabretooth a costume that very closely resembles the one that he just took away from Wolverine...almost as if that was supposed to be some consolation or something. MichaelFebruary 4, 2016 8:20 AM Avengers #347 "Atlas teleports away angrily, but Minerva jumps with him at the last minute"- it will eventually turn out they teleported away but the Avengers think they killed themselves. MichaelFebruary 4, 2016 7:44 AM X-Men #4-7 @Walter- I think the idea is that the c-synth will also enable Tsuyaraba and the Hand to cheaply produce carbonadium. As for what they were going to do with an army of ninjas/soldiers equipped with carbonadium, well, they're bad guys- I'm sure they had some Evil Plan. Oliver_CFebruary 4, 2016 6:26 AM Wonder Man #8 X-Ray of the U-Foes is a being of intangible living energy. BerendFebruary 4, 2016 5:12 AM Quasar #35-36 @Dermie: That's kinda why I was surprised. Having characters wonder if people are gay is okay, as long as the word itself is not used? Ah well, homophobia doesn't make sense anyway, so it doesn't have to be internally consistent either. BerendFebruary 4, 2016 4:36 AM X-Men #4-7 This story is a complete mess. I do like Omega Red and the new look for Sabertooth though. DenisFebruary 4, 2016 4:09 AM ROM #60 Mais, POURQUOI Tom Palmer ne fut pas l'encreur officiel pour le reste misérable de cette série reprise par un dessinateur, Steve Ditko, peut-être valable dans les années 60, mais après... Walter LawsonFebruary 4, 2016 3:58 AM X-Men #4-7 Why are the Hand and Fenris after the c-synth? Omega Red says it will allow him to control---or get rid of?---his death factor. But that's his greatest power: even if he doesn't like it for some reason, why would the Hand and Fenris care? Note that we get a go-nowhere, out of the blue claim while Wolverine is a captive that Fenris wants to reproduce his healing factor. Then Wolverine escapes and he's got "the stuff" in that canister. What stuff? I suspect Byrne used the vague word because he didn't have a clue what was going on either. I've seen another website claim that Wolvie's bone marrow or platelets or something was in the canister, but I don't recall that being clear from the story. And Wolvie does nothing with the canister once he escapes. I havent checked, but the snow in the Wolvie/Omega Red fight is meant to be out of whack with the warm setting during the basketball game. Lee just drew whatever he wanted, to hell with consistency. These issues are about as incompetently written as a McFarlane comic. Absolute gibberish. DermieFebruary 4, 2016 12:23 AM Wonder Man #8 To be fair, Atlas' status has gone through a number of changes over the years--during his time with the Thunderbolts he lost all of his ionic power, and was reverted back to human form and needed to be powered by Pym Particles again. And later he lost the Pym Particles and ended up ionic powered again. So, just because his power set and physiology was defined one way in the past does not mean that the same is necessarily true NOW. The same is true of Wonder Man, given the number of deaths and rebirths he has had over the years. During the WONDER MAN series they tended to treat him as if he was literally made out of energy. But in prior stories he was said to be flesh and blood, but his cells were all charged with energy. When Busiek brought Simon back from the dead in his AVENGERS run, he returned to the "cells charged with energy" status quo...but writers since then have veered back towards the "made out of solid energy" definition. I think its safe to assume that ionic-powered characters end up in a state of flux. MichaelFebruary 3, 2016 11:11 PM Wonder Man #8 Re Goliath: in Web of Spider-Man 60, he has a heart attack but in West Coast Avengers 1, it's stated that he no longer has blood. There doesn't seem to be any way both of these statements can be true. Erik RobbinsFebruary 3, 2016 11:00 PM Wonder Man #8 And Jessica Jones broke Atlas' nose in more recent comics. Yeah, the "being made of ionic energy" is often either forgotten or ignored. MichaelFebruary 3, 2016 10:37 PM X-Men #4-7 I was completely confused when Psylocke had a "precognitive flash". This was probably intended as a reference to Betsy's precognitive flashes in the early Captain Britain stories. However, like most American readers, I hadn't read them at this point, and Byrne's script didn't reference them. ChrisWFebruary 3, 2016 10:30 PM X-Factor #76 Love the culture clash. It's rather relevant in 2016, if you've been following the news. Including the splash page prominently showing Rhane's large breasts. She's what, fourteen years old? The story wasn't all that good (coming in the middle of "Hulk" and "X-Factor" storylines) but it was a good analysis of the clashes between cultures, which still resonates to this day. RobertFebruary 3, 2016 10:19 PM Avengers #3 I think you really see the Marvel approach to their characters here, as compared to DC during the Silver Age, with the different heroes basically telling Iron Man to 'cram it with walnuts' rather than being helpful. Marvel's heroes could be (and often were) jerks. While there are a lot of Superdickery type moments from DC's SA stories, most of those are unintentional. Stan was deliberately writing these guys that way. It makes them more flawed, human, and relatable. Btw I love the bit at the beginning where Iron Man brags about how awesome Tony Stark is. "He's a world famous inventor and a master of all kinds of devices -- oh and he has to tuck it into his sock every morning!" ChrisFebruary 3, 2016 10:17 PM Hulk #390-391 I remember enjoying these at the time. PAD's Hulk was about the only Marvel comic I was buying at this point and for the next several years. But I remember almost nothing of the actual stories which was not the case of the comics I bought earlier, and not when I began buying other Marvel comics against after Heroes Return. So I don't think it was me, but despite PAD's craft maybe something about this Pantheon-run was just not memorable. ChrisWFebruary 3, 2016 10:15 PM X-Men #4-7 And a nightmare for the X-Titles in general. Maybe I'm limited this way, but I will defend myself as a Claremont-scholar, and these people are unrecognizable. I bought these books in real time and I literally do not know what's going on. Claremont had some influence over the amount of cheesecake on screen, but this is "No! Stop! Ewwwww!" And I like sexy girls in comics. Comics needs more of them. But not like this. There are merits to Jim Lee's art and design, but to me, they all fall apart with those pictures of Betsy and Rogue. This is Jim Lee (who has no idea what he's doing) trying to carry the weight of the most important comics franchise of the last twenty years, and he'll ditch it a year later. But in the meantime, he can provide T and A, because that's all that really matters. I am honestly ashamed of myself that I kept reading the title for the next year or so [through the next crossover anyway.] BobFebruary 3, 2016 10:12 PM X-Men #4-7 And I've never understood Marvel's insistence on and going back to this outfit for Wolverine over the far superior Byrne design? BobFebruary 3, 2016 10:09 PM X-Men #4-7 Remember being bored to tears by this story. Looking back, the awful 90s seeps through every panel. Psylocke seems to have graduated from the Rob Liefeld achool of sword holding. And her anatomy in the gratuitous bikini panel is ridiculous.j That Sabretooth redesign is hideous. Suddenly, he's 8 times his former size. And Lee loved thise face sleeves. Gambit, under Claremont, was a mysterious Edward Scissorhands-esque figure, often in shadow, who we barely got a clear view of his face. Under Lee, he's a shirtless, ponytailed, basketball wizard alpha male jock. And lastly, what the hell is Maverick wearing? What a busy, hot mess of a design. Pretty dull start to a pointless, aborted run, loaded with vapid "kewl" characters. But nowhere near the insulting, distesectful level of awful of Uncanny 281 (maybe in my top 3 worst ever). RobertFebruary 3, 2016 9:53 PM Amazing Spider-Man #8 (first story) Love this story. Good character stuff and an awesome old school robot. As to the bully debate, from my experience not only will bullies pick on someone their own size, they actually seem to enjoy it more. Think about it - most bullies are insecure twats so what would make them feel like big shots more than picking on someone their size or bigger and getting away with it? MichaelFebruary 3, 2016 9:47 PM Hulk #392 To back up what Mark said above, the second time Havok encountered Genosha, he was forced through a magical gem by Psylocke and wound up in Genosha, and was brainwashed to kidnap the New Mutants. In both cases, Genosha attacked Havok and his friends, not the other way around. fnord12February 3, 2016 8:50 PM Quasar #35-36 Added Origin. Thanks. Vincent ValentiFebruary 3, 2016 8:44 PM X-Men #4-7 It was at this time that Jim Lee proudly declared to John Byrne that he was bringing Wolverine back to the garish Yellow and Blue costume, not realizing that it was Byrne that designed the Brown and Tan costume to begin with. Also the script for the bit with Cyclops finding Wolverine's mask seemed to be a bit of Byrne going meta....because going by the art alone, it made no sense why the mask was there since he wasn't wearing it beforehand. I'm guessing that Byrne had no plot notes to work with at all. And it was probably colored tan by mistake. And yeah, I agree that the Psylocke in bikini page was probably non-sensical to Byrne with no context, so he added the dialogue of just coming out of the pool. It's pretty plain to see Byrne's nightmare scripting scenario here. Red CometFebruary 3, 2016 8:42 PM X-Men #4-7 Omega Red was really popular when I was a kid because of his character design. I still think it's good. His was a popular trading card back when those mattered. I agree that Jim Lee's art appears to be breakdowns with his inkers or whoever doing finishes after issue #7 or #8. I remember it starts looking a little off for the last few issues of his run. MichaelFebruary 3, 2016 8:12 PM X-Factor #76 AF, PAD has said the reason he hates crossovers is because the writer has to stop working on his plots and work on other people's plots. There's nothing hypocritical about him not minding a crossover written by one writer- himself, in this case. MichaelFebruary 3, 2016 7:56 PM Quasar #35-36 The baby turns out to be Origin in issue 47, so it should be listed as a Character Appearing. RobertFebruary 3, 2016 6:27 PM Strange Tales #116 (Human Torch) George Roussos' inks are really heavy in this issue. I don't know what the heck is going on with Thing, either. It's bad on the cover, as well. Mark BlackFebruary 3, 2016 5:53 PM Hulk #392 @Brimstone: "Art has to move you (and design does not, unless it's a good design for a bus)". I just was moved by two characters going through extremely tough ordeals finding consolation with each other. It's well done and rarely seen in comics. Mark BlackFebruary 3, 2016 5:48 PM Hulk #390-391 @Brimstone: http://comicbookdb.com/creator_chron.php?ID=316#year_2015 Brimstone: Wrestler, Celebrity, Actor, Celeb Spokesman, Author, Food Critic, Comics CEOFebruary 3, 2016 5:46 PM Hulk #392 Mark- don't cry, bruh. It's a good story but it's just a comic, lol. Get a grip! I actually thought that was pretty forced to set up P.David's overall "message" with this story. Only cuz we've seen Rick do other things throughout his history and I'm sure he's killed aliens before or something. Otherwise I agree with fnord because this is handled much better than Galactic Storm. Brimstone: Wrestler, Celebrity, Actor, Celeb Spokesman, Author, Food Critic, Comics CEOFebruary 3, 2016 5:38 PM Hulk #390-391 I personally love the art here and wonder what Mark Farmer has been up to!! this is clean and organic, muscular art... also I think the Hulk with a big gun is F'N ROCKIN'. I got sick of the "misunderstood with good intentions" Hulk playing with deer when I was like 12, lol. I personally think the Hulk would have been a top book if they had kept the guns on him and the leather vest... just my two cents..... RobertFebruary 3, 2016 5:22 PM Hulk #392 @david banes, it was the '90s - every woman in comics was required to have a supermodel body. Certainly every woman at Marvel or Image. RobertFebruary 3, 2016 5:20 PM Tales To Astonish #51 (Giant-Man/Wasp) Whatever positives we can say about Wasp's portrayal in these stories are offset by the fact that every other panel she's either talking about men or talking about how to get Hank's attention. Ataru320February 3, 2016 4:44 PM X-Men #4-7 Fighting game nothing; I remember Omega Red from the animated series! Heck, this really does feel very much like the "zeitgeist" period despite Claremont's departure with all these elements more or less solidified in one of the early definitive takes on the team. (it doesn't hurt that they have the typical mentality of "we want to show off our new toys with the classic stuff" that many comic adaptations tend to have) david banesFebruary 3, 2016 4:41 PM Hulk #392 Damn this looks like a way way better crossover about killing than Galatic Storm. I didn't realize Val Cooper had a super model body either. david banesFebruary 3, 2016 4:40 PM X-Factor #76 This is vaguely familiar so I wonder if I had this issue in my ancient box of random garage sale comics at my grandparent's place. Those panels of the brother killing his sister and Wolfsbane going berserk are familiar. clydeFebruary 3, 2016 4:08 PM X-Men #4-7 "(I'm not really sure what was done with Fenris or Omega Red, either)." E-JulianFebruary 3, 2016 4:03 PM Uncanny X-Men #136-137 As a long time fan of the X-Men, The Dark Phoenix Saga fascinated me from the moment I read it for the first time. But thanks to a spanish publication called PLOT 2.0 we've just discovered the original writing for the Saga, and specifically issue 136... the "traumatic" issue in Claremont/Byrne words. Did you know that Jean Grey would have died after the psi-duel with Xavier??? That's the reason for the dramatic cover in that issue! That was before they decided to extend the original story and Shooter's order: "Jean Grey Must Die" in # 137 long discussed in the infamous "Dark Phoenix Tapes". You can order the magazine and read all the original story (in spanish) here: Erik BeckFebruary 3, 2016 3:32 PM Avengers West Coast #76-79 @Red Comet - Getting big in Hollywood was a premise for the original Clayface who faced off against Batman in 1940. Also, you're reading too much into the Bush / Quayle thing. It's a reference to the actual economy, which was doing badly enough at the time that Clinton's 92 campaign slogan would be "It's the economy, stupid." Personal digression here - This storyline is where I dropped new comics completely. Either my subscription to AWC ended with 79 or it ended during the storyline and I popped into a comic book store to pick up the rest of the storyline. Though I would spend much of 92 running around Orange County to various comic shops collecting back issues of Avengers, JLA and New Teen Titans, I wouldn't buy a new comic again until after I started at Brandeis and friends of mine talked me into buying the first issue of X-Cutioner's song and I got sucked back in to the x-books. I never did buy another new issue of any Avengers titles. I enjoyed this storyline because I lived in LA and I loved that Griffith Observatory popped up. But Galactic Storm just didn't look interesting and I somehow never looked back. Or, all I did was look back, because I continued to collect back issues of Avengers until I sold my collection in 2007. MarkBlackFebruary 3, 2016 1:55 PM X-Factor #76 I think this crossover is slightly different than say X-Cutioner's Song or X-Tinction Agenda. It's straight forward, deftly written and as fnord points out, you don't need to read the X-Factor issue (note: singular) to understand the Hulk stuff. Everything is handled really well and it's fairly self-contained. I don't necessarily see it as hypocritical, but that might be because I really love the story. AFFebruary 3, 2016 1:41 PM X-Factor #76 Peter David is renowned for hating crossovers and hypocritically has X-Factor crossover with the other book he's writing after the first story arc. JonathanFebruary 3, 2016 1:41 PM Wonder Man #7 Cheers, Fnord. JonathanFebruary 3, 2016 1:39 PM Wonder Man #8 I do think Michael raises an interesting question, though I don't know whether Fnord wants us to debate it! I was of the impression that Wonder Man and Goliath didn't need to eat or breathe, and were basically energy beings that no longer really had internal organs. So it doesn't surprise me that Wonder Man can't have kids, though we're a while off Busiek's Avengers which if I remember correctly treated Simon completely as an energy being. I'm not sure either of them have been consistently portrayed as pure energy beings, certainly not as of 1992. I'm pretty sure we've seen Wonder Man bleed (possibly by the Scarlet Witch in Byrne's run, or other issues?). While Goliath is shown in Web Of Spider-Man 60 to have a heartbeat, which always seemed a mistake, but hey it's in a comic so I guess it must be correct (unless we can No-Prize it). So having blood still being pumped around should be enough to explain how he is "fully functional", but I'm not sure the comics ever really tried to make a scientific explanation of how the internal systems of these ionic beings actually worked, even in the official handbooks. Do they still have skeletons, for instance? Is it just their flesh is now made entirely of energy? Mark BlackFebruary 3, 2016 12:48 PM Hulk #392 That panel of Rahne and Rick almost makes me cry. It's so good. You can feel the despair and disgust in Rick's voice. Just a great piece of writing. One disagreement with your take on Havok and the X-Men/Genosha. In the initial Genosha foray, Genoshans essentially attacked the X-Men first by kidnapping Maddie, a non-citizen (along with Jenny Ransome - a citizen who would be a mutate). The X-Men investigate and engage the Magistrates in Australia. The X-Men only assault and attack Genosha after Wolverine, Rogue, and Maddie are taken to Genosha by force. There is provocation and there is a reason to enter Genosha illegally. The X-Men in the end decide to leave Genosha in the hands of its people and leave them to decide how best to change their society. Yes, they use force, but you could argue pretty much all that force is used in direct reaction to the Genoshan's imposing their ways on non-citizens. Obviously it's all a little more nuanced than this, but the X-Men's actions differ quite a bit from the Pantheon's and the Hulk's. I think pretty much everything else you nail bang-on. I loved this storyline. fnord12February 3, 2016 12:40 PM Journey Into Mystery #85-92 Thanks Rick. Changed it. RickFebruary 3, 2016 12:35 PM Journey Into Mystery #85-92 Hi fnord You have a character named Fricka appearing in this entry and if you click on her link, this group of issues shows as her only appearance. Fricka is actually another name for Thor's mom Frigga. The MCP lists this as a Frigga appearance (specifically JIM #92). Mark BlackFebruary 3, 2016 12:30 PM X-Factor #76 The Tom Raney art isn't too bad. Haven't alway been a fan of his, but he does have his moments and he and Milgrom do a decent Stroman impression. The Kevin West is very Marvel house style. It's not bad, but it's certainly not as expressive as Raney/Stroman. Mark DrummondFebruary 3, 2016 12:20 PM Captain America #400 Warrior Woman's real name was Julia Ratsel; so I wonder if Gruenwald wasn't eventually going to reveal that Diamondback was related to her. Mark DrummondFebruary 3, 2016 12:10 PM Captain America #177-186 The Skull actually used the Dust in the Golden Age; Englehart just revived it. Mark DrummondFebruary 3, 2016 12:08 PM Wonder Man #8 Being unable to get a woman pregnant doesn't mean a man is impotent; millions of men have vasectomies and they can still sexually function perfectly well. clydeFebruary 3, 2016 11:23 AM X-Factor #76 "Of course no one was probably clamoring for an X-Factor vs. Pantheon fight" RickFebruary 3, 2016 9:33 AM Strange Tales #101 (Human Torch) The Destroyer apparently never appeared again. I'm surprised he survived the Scourge purge of the eighties. Ataru320February 3, 2016 9:24 AM Hulk #390-391 So...do Bruce and Guido shop at the same place for the bunny slippers or what? fnord12February 3, 2016 8:29 AM Wonder Man #7 Jonathan, it isn't really debated, so the reasong for the reversal isn't explicit. I would guess that now that the Psyche-Magnetron and Nega-Bands have both already been raided, the reasoning is that the Shi'ar and Kree won't need Rick anymore. But that's not actually said. The most we get is Captain America saying that due to the escalating conflict, Wonder Man will be needed for more than bodyguarding. fnord12February 3, 2016 8:09 AM Quasar #33 I've gone through #34 and Epoch's dialogue is all about helping Quasar fix the sun. I did already move Infinity Watch #2 up to be concurrent with Galactic Storm, and i'm fine leaving it there in case there does turn out to be an earlier comment from Epoch that we just missed. fnord12February 3, 2016 8:05 AM Daredevil: The Man Without Fear #1-5 I've added them. Thanks. (I was going to say that Jack probably didn't need to be tagged but it turns out he does have a couple of continuity insert appearances, including a 2007 Battling Jack Murdock mini-series!) AFFebruary 3, 2016 6:51 AM Quasar #35-36 Don't go giving Marvel any ideas... AFFebruary 3, 2016 6:49 AM Thunderbolts #-1 X-Man -1 was also a good one but most people hate that character/series so it's probably not for you. It was one of the most useful/beneficial -1 issues since it told the character's origin story which hadn't been properly done yet outside of brief flashbacks. RobertFebruary 3, 2016 6:24 AM Daredevil: The Man Without Fear #1-5 Shouldn't Jack Murdock and Sister Maggie be listed? MormelFebruary 3, 2016 5:24 AM Avengers #141-144,147-149 The 'Avengers: The Serpent Crown' HC/TPB includes an OHotMU entry for Patsy Walker in which it's stated that "[she] used her natural athletic abilities to help the Avengers. Walker believed that the costume had somehow enhanced her agility and speed, and by the power of suggestion more than anything else, it had." This was probably taken from an OHotMU edition published somewhere after '85/'86, as it ends on the note that Patsy and Daimon are now occult investigators, something that was established in Defenders #148 and West Coast Avengers #12-ish. RobertFebruary 3, 2016 5:00 AM Thunderbolts #-1 Someone feel free to correct me if I'm forgetting one but I think this is hands down the best of the Flashback issues. Thunderbolts was still pretty new at the time and was probably Marvel's best title. RobertFebruary 3, 2016 4:56 AM Untold Tales Of Spider-Man #-1 It's impossible to escape meeting Wolverine in the MU. Past or present the little bastard's always popping up. Thanos6February 3, 2016 3:50 AM Quasar #35-36 Hell, even if Wendell is straight--which as you pointed out, isn't a settled question--his mere presence probably had an effect on Miguel. Those bishonen, pretty boy looks may have sparked his first conscious same-sex attraction. Going from liking girls to liking girly guys... Luke BlanchardFebruary 3, 2016 3:35 AM Marvel Comics Presents #50 (Captain Ultra & Silver Surfer) The splash panel of the Captain Ultra story is a homage to the Superman work of Wayne Boring. The women are exactly in his style. DermieFebruary 3, 2016 2:42 AM Quasar #35-36 Yeah, I'd say Wendell's orientation is still up for grabs--he has yet to really have any significant romantic relationship. The closest he's come so far is Kayla; and they spent more time apart than together during the course of the QUASAR series (and even *she* wondered if he was gay). He was briefly engaged to Dr. Jeannine O'Connell from Project Pegasus--but that clearly didn't last long, and the relationship (which was entirely off-panel except for ONE scene where Quaze introduces her as his fiancé) has never been referenced again since. He tends to get hit on by a lot of beautiful women--and consistently rejects their advances (Moondragon, Her, and even up to more modern comics with Ikon). As for the Avengers Asteroid Base--yeah, I always figured all those months living in such close confined quarters with Wendell had something to do with Miguel coming out of the closet. Either Quasar or Starfox, who we were told was going to drop by the base from time to time to party. ;) StevenFebruary 3, 2016 1:15 AM Captain America #401 I find it ironic that the only three Avengers who show up for a hero lecture are former villains. Thanos6February 3, 2016 12:32 AM Quasar #35-36 I still like to think that Wendell goes both ways, and there was some fun with him, Monica, and Miguel when they were all aboard the Avengers' space station... ;) DermieFebruary 3, 2016 12:20 AM Quasar #35-36 Berend, the use of the word "gay" on-panel would still have been pretty rare--and controversial--in mainstream comics at that point. Its actually somewhat impressive that they showed that headline at all, acknowledging Northstar's coming-out story outside of ALPHA FLIGHT. I do find it a bit amusing that it is also done in a scene with Wendell and Makkari, given the gay speculation about their relationship (both among readers AND on-panel, since Kayla wondered back in #19 if they were boyfriends). It seems Gruenwald was well aware that he was writing a hero who put out a bit of a vibe, and didn't mind acknowledging it. Luis DantasFebruary 2, 2016 11:44 PM Captain America #401 Gruenwald's run is an interesting study case. I suspect he may have invested too much of him on that run for anyone's good. Gru had some good ideas, but at times it felt almost like he sabotaged himself deliberately, going back at least as far as 1986's #318, where he basically gave up on his relationship with Bernie for no good reason, after a string of issues where she was implicitly demoted from girlfriend to staff. Ironically, now it is Diamondback being promoted from quasi-girlfriend to staff. It almost feels like he feels overwhelmed by attempting to write a character with both a relationship and a career path - which, incidentally, is an even better description of his Quasar run. Coincidentally or otherwise, his best string of stories happened when he let go of Bernie in order to focus on John Walker, unworthy shield-wielder. But even then he almost seemed to make a point of mishandling his own ideas. His treatment of Walker was almost as confused as his treatment of Flag-Smasher, even before #350. MichaelFebruary 2, 2016 11:30 PM Quasar #33 OK, this is weird- one of the reasons why I was looking forward to your review of Quasar 35 was I've never read it. :) I could swear the line about Moondragon in space was during Galactic Storm. I couldn't find it in my copies of Quasar 32 and 33 but I seem to have misplaced my copy of Quasar 34. Could someone see if it's there? Luis DantasFebruary 2, 2016 10:12 PM Marvel Comics Presents #50 (Captain Ultra & Silver Surfer) Some information on the cameos/easter eggs of the first story is available at http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2016/02/02/comic-book-easter-eggs-classic-tv-character-cameos-in-comic-books/#more-203524 MortificatorFebruary 2, 2016 9:10 PM Avengers #347 I don't think Lilandra has any more reasonable authority here than the Avengers do. What is the rationale? "My species built the bomb that just killed billions of Kree, so obviously I'm ethically the one who should decide whether or not to execute specific surviving Kree. Never mind that I decided not to use the bomb, that it was activated by non-Shi'ar, and that the only reason I had it built in the first place was because I was being manipulated by the Kree leader." It's not out of character for Lilandra to think that way - I wouldn't be surprised by her claiming authority over anyone and anything for the most spurious reasons - but it would be out of character for the Avengers to just pass the buck. They should make the decision and then fight to back it. The only thing I see wrong about what happened (not in terms of characterization, but of how a stable Avengers team should function) was that there was a schism about the decision. BerendFebruary 2, 2016 9:00 PM Avengers #347 There is something very modern about Operation Galactic Storm, with its politics, moral dilemma, heroes versus heroes moments and ending that seems designed to set up a new status quo. All the previous crossovers mostly just involved a big threat for the heroes to punch and have much more neat endings, with maybe some wrapping up of longstanding plotlines or some existential pondering in between. Or maybe I just get that idea because it's wedged between two installments of the Infinity trilogy. Those stories really feel like a callback to the Thanos War, whereas Galatic Storm, despite being a callback to the Kree-Skrull War, feels much more akin to something like Civil War. BerendFebruary 2, 2016 8:45 PM Captain America #401 This is maybe overly specific of me, but the one line that really annoyed me was when Cap was thinking how "bad attitudes" might be the way of the future. That has nothing to do with the events of Galactic Storm, so it's just really on the nose complaining about the state of comics in the early 90's. Which, sure, is something that deserves criticism, but it's hard to take from Cap/Gru when all Marvel's more traditional heroes keep getting dull/badly written/backwards looking stories. I guess what I'm trying to say is, don't have your characters complain about 90's superheroics, try to sell us on traditional superheroics. But of course, not everyone can write All-Star Superman. Thanos6February 2, 2016 8:36 PM Quasar #35-36 I wonder if "Lansky" was supposed to be the 616 version of Lamprey; he has the same laugh. Mind you, they eventually gave him a different real name, but I wonder... BerendFebruary 2, 2016 8:32 PM Quasar #35-36 Was the word "Gay" so bad they had to stick a speechbubble in front of it? MichaelFebruary 2, 2016 8:12 PM Avengers #347 Don, it depends on what you mean by the Supreme Intelligence was behind the Avengers' attempt to kill him. I don't think anyone's disputing that the Supreme Intelligence wanted the Avengers to try to kill him. But I don't think that means that he mind controlled the Avengers to do it. Rather, he was aware of their human weaknesses and knew that several of them would try to kill him if he killed all those people. The Supreme Intelligence says in issue 346 that Crystal's mind was the clearest to him because the Kree created the Inhumans. So if there was mind control, one would think Crystal would be the most susceptible but she was opposed to the Avengers' attempt to kill the Intelligence. fnord12February 2, 2016 7:43 PM Captain America #401 Fixed the character tag for Thor/Thunderstrike. Thanks. I did say in the summary that Thor showed up late. As to the rest, as i mention in my comments policy, if i don't mention something in a review (or i guess if i do mention something but you don't feel like i mention it enough), my request is that you just say it in the comments. The comments are part of the entry, so that way you are helping me out. I try to cover as many comics as i have time for in a given day, and it's inevitable that i'll gloss over some details. It's also inevitable that i'll find some development worthy of a quick mention but someone else will find it very important or a very good scene. So the comments are a great place to express those things, and i always am interested in reading what other people think. Thanks! For what it's worth, as i imply in the Considerations for Quasar #35 covering the same scene, the reason i didn't give it more attention is because it feels like a back door way of Mark Gruenwald addressing the fact that Bob Harras kind of unceremoniously dumped Quasar in the actual Avengers book. Which, now i'm glad that you called it out because now i can say that more explicitly. :-) AFFebruary 2, 2016 7:23 PM Captain America #401 I love this issue. A few things, fnord: You've tagged Thor instead of Thunderstrike. Quasar leaves the Avengers this issue. It's actually a nice little scene. You mention it in considerations, but surely deserves a mention in the general summary? It is an important development. And although you not only the 3 Avengers show up for the lecture, Thunderstrike arrives for it too but shows up late. (and Cap had excused Quasar already). Brian CareyFebruary 2, 2016 6:59 PM Avengers #347 This. All of this. This begins the modern comic era as we know it and plants the seeds for the decline of Marvel both as a profitable publishing entity and as a cohesive fan universe. MikeCheyneFebruary 2, 2016 5:07 PM Avengers #347 I think the central dilemma is a good one ("do we kill?"), but the context comes off as too...stilted for me. As everyone has pointed out, it's not like they're suggesting the SI should get a medal and get off scot free; the Shi'ar might in fact put him on trial and kill him anyway, or the Kree survivors (surely Cap wouldn't have an issue with that). Why doesn't Cap and the others just suggest that they wait and see what happens? The decisions as to who kills and who doesn't all seem fine to me, even not knowing future revelations. I didn't quite peg Dane as that bloodthirsty, and I thought Starfox might join his fellow Eternal, but those are the only ones that gave me pause. MikeCheyneFebruary 2, 2016 4:56 PM Captain America #401 This is kind of Gruenwald in a nutshell in that it seems good and not good. I find that Cap is behaving realistically; he's been pushed to the limit mentally and physically, and is doubting himself. I do like that Hawkeye, with his quasi-hero worship of Cap, and Tony Stark, an original Avenger, come to try to cheer Cap up, and Tony's entrance is kind of poignant, what with his drinking problem. That said, things don't come out that well. Tony basically self flagellates himself in saying how Cap is this ethical paragon. While I appreciate it, I feel like the more adult and enjoyable storyline would be for someone to tell Cap to get over himself, recognize that adult colleagues can have different conceptions of ethics, and that those are both okay in the Avengers (and more to the point, Cap is just as a good a hero as ever even with his old school ethics). At that point, Cap should either accept that, or not and do what Hawkeye suggests and leave the Avengers. The resolution here, I thought, was trying to have it both ways--everyone's happy but nobody really came to grips with the central dilemma. JonathanFebruary 2, 2016 4:12 PM Wonder Man #7 Never read this but the Atlas-Rick Jones switching places thing seems cute enough, could be a fun read. I don't follow why they decide Rick can go back to the Pantheon? Obviously the Pantheon is a pretty safe place for Rick too, but since that had already been overruled, why do the Avengers change their mind here? Do they know Rick is no longer at risk? RobertFebruary 2, 2016 4:00 PM Captain America #401 I think Gru was sticking with Cap more for job security reasons than any kind of passion for the character at this point. The enthusiasm just isn't there anymore like it was for the first half of his run and it shows. Look at Quasar and you'll see what I mean. There he's invested in the character and you get the feeling he's enjoying writing the book. But at this point in his Cap run he just seems tired. JonathanFebruary 2, 2016 3:50 PM Quasar #34 It is true Quasar does sometimes overmatch supervillains a bit too easily (while sometimes having more trouble with supervillains who seem less powerful), though I'm not overly bothered by him defeating Super Skrull that quickly. I guess I've never seen Super Skrull as that big a threat, even though I'm sure he started off as one. When you first see a guy with the powers of the whole FF, you think he must be unbeatable, but he can't use them all at once, and he doesn't have the powers at as high a level as they do, or with as much control. (Particularly The Thing - the old TOHOTMUDE I think said he could lift 5 tons, or 15 tons when powered up by the Skrull's beam.) In my comics reading youth I saw him being beaten by Ms Marvel and Spider-Man, overpowered by Sasquatch and Hulk, and killed by Captain Reptyl, who I'd never seen as a major threat. So I'm okay with Quasar not having too much trouble with him here. Hulk didn't have much trouble with him either. I don't know if it was already established before PAD that he couldn't use all his powers at once for too long, but that was always how I'd seen him portrayed so it made sense. JonathanFebruary 2, 2016 3:12 PM Captain America #401 Agree with the criticisms here, pretty much any of Marvel's heroes who weren't "90s badasses" were beginning to be seen as somewhat out of fashion (hey, we're not that far away from them trying to replace Spider-Man with a cooler 90s Spider-Man), but Cap actually seems to be whiny and fuddy-duddy here. Cap is surely smart enough to know most of the other heroes have lives to go to and weren't going to be able to hang around for a lecture on ethics. And I agree it does derail the scene at the start where the other Avengers show support for him, if later they can't be bothered to show support by turning up to his lecture. On the other hand, I was pleasantly surprised reading this to find they are already having some sort of friendliness between Cap & Tony. In modern comics I'd have expected them to stretch it out a lot longer. And speaking as someone who often puts other people's needs in front of their own, I quite liked Hawkeye's short little speech to Cap at the bar. Not an amazing speech or anything, but sometimes things resonate with you. I think I read this issue once several years ago, and I only remembered that no-one turned up to the ethics lecture, while I had completely forgot about both those bits. I know Cap must be tired after 3 weeks away, and depressed over the way the war turned out, but to me it seems out of character that he's not immediately out there searching for Diamondback and John Jameson himself. I don't know that he'd have any leads, but it seems bizarre to me that he's sitting there depressed when friends of his are missing. fnord12February 2, 2016 2:29 PM Quasar #33 @Michael, i took your word for it on that line from Epoch about Moondragon, but it's actually in issue #35! :-) It also seems less definitive; she's not "floating" (which might imply stranded), she's just "aboard a ship". That could refer to the ship that she's in with Gamora in Warlock & the Infinity Watch #4 (and therefore any time between #2 and #4) as much as the ship at the beginning of #2. (I should have double-checked after your comment, but I remembered the scene since i had also read #35, and i thought i just neglected to flag it.) Mark BlackFebruary 2, 2016 1:06 PM Captain America #401 How many Avengers did Cap expect to show up to that lecture? It's implied that there's in excess of 60 chairs there. Did the Avengers even have that many members at that time? Cap comes off as pretty much an Eeyore. I did like Hawkeye's almost painful attempts to cheer him up. The art here is terrible and I'm shocked that Rik Levins had such a sustained run on a title with this profile, though that profile is dimming post-Superia and CapWolf and will continue to decline. Gruenwald seemed to really have a vision for Cap when he started and playing Steve Rogers off against John Walker was a great idea. Gru's run to 350 was great and the Bloodstone Hunt was a lot of fun. Good artists (Lim and Dwyer) made up for some mediocre writing. The awful art of Larry Alexander and Rik Levins highlighted some real weaknesses in Gru's Cap. Cap can't constantly be defined in opposition to other characters and I think that's what Gruenwald tried to do far too often. While I'm on the Cap side of the Galactic Storm debate, he certainly doesn't come across as "cool" (like fnord said), he comes off as whiny, out of touch, and a little sanctimonious. Cap shouldn't be looking for Tony to deign things as being 'ok' between them. Tony should be the one who feels like he let down Cap and has to repair the friendship and I don't really get that here (despite the fact that Tony comes to a bar - it might be the Yellow Kid who spoils that moment). Later on with the end of Avengers West Coast, I again get the feeling that Tony sees Cap as a fossil and an impediment even though Cap is in the right. In short, I think Gruenwald hit a homerun when he was able to pit Rogers against Walker and he tried to go back to that sort of dichotomy later on and it just didn't work. Don CampbellFebruary 2, 2016 11:28 AM Avengers #347 Regarding the killing of the Supreme Intelligence, maybe it's just me but I've always thought that the Supremor himself was behind it. After all, he already had his escape plan in place and he probably didn't want to hang around and allow the Shi'ar to deal with him so he faked his death and used the Avengers as pawns to do so. The fact that his defensive constructs were suspiciously easy to defeat is one clue and the reference to how he had been able to manipulate various Shi'ar into creating the Nega-Bomb was another. To me, the Supreme Intelligence was always his own killer and he subconsciously influenced the Avengers into being the weapon he used to pull it off. As for the question of whether the Avengers had any right to get involved in an alien race's business as they did, well, that's just typical human behavior. That whole upcoming Maximum Security storyline dealt with how human "heroes" had been going around the universe, meddling in other races' affairs, and generally imposing their own standards on those of other, alien cultures. It is, of course, an incredibly arrogant attitude for anyone to have but I guess that running around in a brightly-coloured costume "righting wrongs" does requires a heightened sense of one's own fitness to judge others. Plus, it's a lot easier to deal with situations that occur "out there" in deep space than it is to fix similar problems that are "back home" on Earth. I remember that Peter David did a Captain Marvel story in which Rick Jones was outraged when he learned that Kree females were routinely subjected to some process that inhibited them and Genis-Vell pointed out, quite rightly, that some cultures on Earth treat their women in a similar fashion and he didn't see Rick getting upset about that or doing anything to stop it. Finally, as to whether the Supreme Intelligence was alive enough to be killed, while there is a tendency to regard inorganic beings as more disposable than biological entities, another important factor is the sentience of the individual in question. "Heroes" can go around smashing non-sentient robots with impunity but they generally hold back when the mechanoid is sentient because that's too much like they would be "killing" something. And in this case, although he was an evil alien computer system, the Supreme Intelligence definitely was sentient. BillFebruary 2, 2016 10:38 AM Avengers #347 I forgot all about the reference to this story in Avengers Forever! It was revealed that Immortus had been boosting Iron Man's paranoia here, knowing he would have the "authority" to convince others to execute the Supreme Intelligence. If memory serves, the ultimate goal of Immortus was to keep the Avengers out of space politics and stuck on Earth. This event would serve to keep the Avengers tensions high and squabbling back at home and not establishing a presence in the Kree empire or something like that. It was all essentially a long game of stalling the Avengers until the arrival of Onslaught. Erik BeckFebruary 2, 2016 9:54 AM Marvel Comics Presents #89 (Mojo) Aside from the costumes (Jean's as well which hasn't been mentioned yet), Storm's hair length seems to merit moving this before X-Men #1. BobFebruary 2, 2016 9:54 AM Captain America #400 Gru had slipped massively, but the terrible art just kills this book. Dave BurnsFebruary 2, 2016 8:55 AM Marvel Premiere #4-10 Oh my, I only ever saw the first issue of this story but MP #4 scared me to death when I was 9 years old. I wondered for years if Dr. Strange was actually killed by whatever was in the Labyrinth in the next issue. Soooo creepy: the visuals, the concept of the town draining his powers, Ethan's sudden degeneration and betrayal. Great stuff. AFFebruary 2, 2016 8:05 AM Avengers #347 Well, I really like the story mostly because of the end of the crossover and the moral debate and it not being a cop-out. But I guess that's just me. MichaelFebruary 2, 2016 7:51 AM Avengers #347 @Tuomas- I think the Avengers convincing themselves the Intelligence wasn't sentient was just an attempt to make themselves geel less guilty. fnord12February 2, 2016 7:36 AM Wonder Man #9 @Michel: i judge Lilandra by a different standard than the Vision. She's a head of state, he's a super-hero. I agree that if the other Avengers understood that the Vision's current programming allowed him to make these kinds of decisions, they'd never have had him on the team. I think it's also fair to say that Lilandra was being manipulated. At a minimum by the fake Araki, and possibly directly by the Supreme Intelligence who, per Avengers #347 "reached[ed] across the stars" to plant the idea of the bomb and "intensif[ied] long suppressed suspicions and hatred that lay dormant in the minds of our individual empires". But even if that weren't the case, i agree that she's shown a kind of realpolitik outlook where her actions in this storyline could be considered in character. fnord12February 2, 2016 7:28 AM Avengers #347 Updated the number, thanks Tuomas. TuomasFebruary 2, 2016 5:09 AM Avengers #347 TBH, I find it pretty ridiculous that the Avengers would even consider that the Supreme Intelligence is just a computer, and that he doesn't "meet the criteria for artificial life". In this issue alone, we see him gloating over his victory, and in general acting more "human" than, say, The Vision, who the Avengers have always considered to be a sentient being. So if the Avengers are against coldly executing any sentient life form, this should include the SI as well. And Brimstone is right that the question of jurisdiction should also have been brought up. If the Avengers have never even considered of, for example, going to Latveria and executing Dr. Doom, then executing the leader of an alien empire should be equally questionable. It would make much more sense for the Avengers to tell the truth to the remaining Kree, and let them decide what to do with the SI. As for the rather arbitrary way some of the Avengers become pro-killing, didn't Busiek retcon it in Avengers Forever that Immortus was manipulating them behind the scenes? Or maybe the manipulation was just limited to making Iron Man more bloodthirsty? It's been a while since I read AF, so I can't remember... But it certainly seems Busiek too was disturbed by the sudden change of heart seen in this crossover, so he tried to provide some justification for it. TuomasFebruary 2, 2016 4:54 AM Avengers #347 Fnord, in the text you say that 80% of all Kree died in the Nega-Bomb explosion, but in the scan below it the Supreme Intelligence clearly states that 98% of them died. Brimstone: Wrestler, Celebrity, Actor, Celeb Spokesman, Author, Food Critic, Comics CEOFebruary 2, 2016 4:11 AM Avengers #347 another thing they could have played up that I am surprised did not come up is- is it really The Avenger's place or call to execute the Supreme Intelligence for killing another race? Morally I suppose it is but aren't The Avengers aware that there could be possible fallout for their own planet by getting that involved with intergalactic affairs and laws? That's a plot point they coulda played up... just the published writer in me thinkin' too hard I guess! MichaelFebruary 2, 2016 12:09 AM Avengers #347 Bill, this is pretty much where Wonder Man STARTS to be pro-killing. MichaelFebruary 2, 2016 12:07 AM Wonder Man #9 This issue is pretty much the start of a darker turn that the Wonder Man series takes. BillFebruary 2, 2016 12:06 AM Avengers #347 If they wanted the conclusion of this story to mean anything, to have any weight, they should have actually killed off the Supreme Intelligence. I felt (reading it in real time) that by revealing he survived the "ordeal" kicked the legs out from under the story. A group of Avengers killing someone who didn't really die? That turns into a group of Avengers who didn't agree with Captain America. Why should we care about that? That being said, the sides chosen do make sense (except for Wonder Man, since he was always shown to be anti-killing), so I do like that. Hawkeye, Captain Marvel and Quasar would most definitely have Cap's back. I do wonder what the real Thor would have thought if he were around in this event. Whose side would he have chosen? Come to think of it, he was also spared from choosing between his two friends in the Civil War too! BillFebruary 1, 2016 11:44 PM Wonder Man #9 There's something about Jeff Johnson's Scarlet Witch that I really like. I like his comic book style art as it is, but he seems to put a little extra something into her. BillFebruary 1, 2016 11:39 PM Quasar #34 Anyone with half a brain would make saving the sun their priority. If something bad happens to the sun, that will directly affect all life on Earth (not maybe or possibly). Quasar made the right call. Vin the Comics GuyFebruary 1, 2016 11:15 PM Thor #446 Oliffe is going for a Neal Adams-by-way-of John Buscema. Tom Palmer could have had some fun with this. MichaelFebruary 1, 2016 11:04 PM Uncanny X-Men #174-175 One of the people at Logan's failed wedding in issue 173 is Corsair. He appears 3 panels before Lilandra tries to stab Maddie. Note that the only Starjammer which appears is Corsair. And Corsair is the only Starjammer who appears in Mastermind's illusion. Now granted, Corsair was in civvies at the wedding, but it's possible that Mastermind followed him, and either saw him in costume or found his costume or whatever. Vin the Comics GuyFebruary 1, 2016 11:00 PM Avengers #347 Don Hudson inks the mutagenic Wonder Man panels. MichaelFebruary 1, 2016 10:52 PM Avengers #347 "If you can get behind the idea of the Kree having lost the ability to evolve. Which just, ugh"- But that's not this story's fault. They'd been unable to evolve for two decades now. MichaelFebruary 1, 2016 10:51 PM Avengers #347 It's not clear how Starfox manages to restore the "dead" Avengers to life. It reads like Harras thought Starfox had molecular transformation powers like Sersi. ChrisFebruary 1, 2016 10:46 PM Quasar #32 Michael, that is true. Some plots are so basic, that you can't really claim them even if you think of them first. And it is entirely possible Gruenwald was already considering a plot about the Supreme Intelligence attempting genocide on the Kree to jumpstart their genetic evolution. However, given the specificity of it - and that the Chief Examiner from Questprobe shows up soon making two hits from my one letter - I'm more inclined to believe I had something to do with it. Of course, it can't be proved so if people think otherwise, they certainly have reason to do so. If I had known at the time that this was the plot of Galactic Storm (I had dropped most of my comics in 1992), I would have done my best to see Gruenwald at a comic convention to ask some passive-aggressive questions! As it was, I don't think I learned of this until the early 2000s by which time Gruenwald had been deceased for quite a while. ChrisWFebruary 1, 2016 10:41 PM Uncanny X-Men #174-175 But Corsair had already left Earth by the time of Logan's failed wedding. Corsair's only appearance in these issues was off-Earth, with Scott showing Maddie the view from the Starjammer. Whatever Mastermind was spying on, it didn't include the Starjammers, in costume, with full exposition, to the point where Scott might have gotten suspicious. Captain America vanishes in a painful scream, and two panels later the X-Men see Phoenix has taken Manhattan. It's not totally believable, but it makes sense. But picking up on Corsair's mannerisms and slang [which even Jean found suspicious] while the X-Men go through computer dialogue to reach him in the first place. I can mentally fool you into thinking you speak Spanish, and send you through hoops which can only be solved if you speak Spanish, and help you pass through those hoops, but that doesn't mean you actually know Spanish. Nothing we know about Mastermind suggests he knew anything about Corsair and the Starjammers [other than Phoenix making him one with the universe] so how could he possibly fake that? Cerebro or the other computers might have had the files, but where would they have gotten the pictures? Erik RobbinsFebruary 1, 2016 10:30 PM Avengers #347 "The Supreme Intelligence's goal makes a lot of sense..." If you can get behind the idea of the Kree having lost the ability to evolve. Which just, ugh. AndrewFebruary 1, 2016 9:36 PM Captain America #177-186 I think this is the first time the Red Skull uses his "dust of death"? I have the impression Steve Engelhart was using the Red Skull as a dry run for the Joker and his Joker venom in his great run on Detective Comics with Marshall Rogers. MichaelFebruary 1, 2016 9:32 PM Wonder Man #9 Fnord, I think the idea is that Vision sees the Kree as a threat to Earth, so "logically" the solution is to let them all die. Which is fine, except that the Avengers definitely wouldn't want a member that dealt with threats without regard for civilian casualties. And no, there's never a reckoning for the Vision, although the point eventually becomes moot when Vision gets his emotions back. EnchloreFebruary 1, 2016 9:04 PM Thor #446 The second scan seems to be broken here. Luis DantasFebruary 1, 2016 8:45 PM Quasar #34 Quasar works best as a solo character, exactly because he is so powerful. He is meant to star in a certain kind of story, somewhat like Superman. Monica is powerful as well, but not to a comparable level, nor do I see her as actually cosmic - then again, it is not his power level that makes Quasar cosmic, either; it is his connections to Eon, Epoch and the Elders. MichaelFebruary 1, 2016 8:35 PM Captain America #400 Fnord, I think the idea is that whatever the Supreme Intelligence did, it can only create solid images based on Cap's memories, similar to the way Mirage's powers were depicted at the time. So the Intelligence couldn't have made Batroc's face look normal if he wanted to. Luis DantasFebruary 1, 2016 8:15 PM Captain America #400 They tried real hard to make people read about USAgent back in those days. MichaelFebruary 1, 2016 8:14 PM Iron Man #279 PAD has said that when he was doing X-Cutioner's Song, Marvel had a policy of limiting subplots to one page per issue at a maximum during a crossover.I wonder if a similar policy was in effect during Galactic Storm. mikrolikFebruary 1, 2016 6:58 PM Captain America #400 OK, whose dumb idea was it to have the milestone 400th issue of Captain America be part 14 of a 19 part crossover?!?!? clydeFebruary 1, 2016 6:49 PM Avengers #347 "I suspect that for some, having to collect a 19+ part crossover across seven titles in realtime might have felt like a burden, especially with Infinity War coming right behind it." RobertFebruary 1, 2016 6:05 PM Avengers #347 "Good idea, but..." kind of typifies the Marvel crossover going back to SW2. Some exceptions but, for the most part, I think they're mostly like that. Soon it'll get to the point where we can't even say the good idea part. Anyway I never cared much for the story or its contrived moral dilemma. I always wondered why they didn't just let the Shi'ar handle the Supreme Intelligence, too. But then we couldn't get bloodthirsty "ready for the 90s" Avengers. I'm surprised Dane didn't start carrying a gat and hanging out with Punisher. david banesFebruary 1, 2016 5:56 PM Iron Man #279 "HEY DID WE MENTION WE'RE TEASING LOTS OF DEATH IN THIS COMIC?" BobFebruary 1, 2016 5:21 PM Wonder Man #8 Seems like they're going for a Spock vs. McCoy thing with Simon and the Vison, and failing. Thanos6February 1, 2016 4:28 PM Quasar #34 I agree he's MORE powerful. But I don't think either of them are TOO powerful. clydeFebruary 1, 2016 4:20 PM Quasar #34 Thanos6 - Quasar can absorb Monica's powers if he really wanted to. Or, he could teleport her to the quantum dimension and leave her stranded there. That's why I think he's more powerful. clydeFebruary 1, 2016 4:18 PM Quasar #34 "A fight with the Super-Skrull would have been more memorable and allowed for better visuals". Thanos6February 1, 2016 4:11 PM Quasar #34 Given that I'm a big fan of Monica, I don't think her OR Wendell are too powerful. They're cosmic, they should be right up there. Thanos6February 1, 2016 4:08 PM Avengers #346 I saw it as the Avengers willing to bend the rules in times of war; actual full-on war, like Carol's actions when Kang invades the planet during Busiek's run. And here they're not sure if this counts as a war from their POV, so... fnord12February 1, 2016 4:05 PM Avengers #346 Yeah, that's true. Space battles seem to be an exception. I always took that as a detail that the writers glossed over, rather than a conscious decision by the Avengers to kill. Like the pilots were parachuting out off panel like on the GIJoe cartoon. Thanos6February 1, 2016 4:02 PM Avengers #346 "The Avengers have never done that, and he knows it." Didn't the Thanos wars, weren't the Avengers blowing up spaceships left and right? BerendFebruary 1, 2016 3:57 PM Avengers #346 I also like the jackets. I've always had a soft spot for superhero outfits that have such "normal" elements, like Animal Man's jacket or Jay Garrick just wearing a sweater. Brimstone: Wrestler, Celebrity, Actor, Author, Food Critic, Comics CEOFebruary 1, 2016 3:41 PM Wonder Man #8 dude, being able to get it up does not mean you are able to, how do I put it without fnord slapping me LOL- you know, it don't mean that all his fish can SWIM. if the dude don't bleed he may lack some other functions where fluids are concerned! LOL! Red CometFebruary 1, 2016 3:37 PM Avengers West Coast #82 Considering how long the Shi'ar, Kree, etc have all dealt with Skrulls one would think they'd have technology or telepaths or something on hand to make sure they didn't infiltrate their various societies. It makes sense that Earth would have no defense against it, but the ancient star spanning empires not so much. I mean, hell, it had only been a couple of years in publishing time since the Shi'ar had to deal with the Warskrulls in that X-men story. That alone should have had them on edge. kvetoFebruary 1, 2016 3:17 PM Captain America #400 Not completely true about cap never seeing Batroc without his mask. He was maskless in Cap #150 or so (with Jakar the miscoloured Stranger) but Bats had sunglasses and a hat. Hard to believe Cap never showed up for any of Batroc's trials or saw a photo of him unmasked in Shield files or something. I did like that the only reason Cap didnt die is because Batroc couldn't stand to see him tortured. As always, Flag-smasher against anybody who is not Captain America is pointless. clydeFebruary 1, 2016 3:16 PM Avengers West Coast #82 FNORD - you wrote - "Exactly what role the Skrulls play in all of this is a little unclear". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation:_Galactic_Storm "Skrull agents are revealed to be surreptitiously manipulating the court of the Shi'ar Majestrix Lilandra into escalating the conflict." Obviously a war between the Kree and Shiar is great for the Skrulls. They could have been waiting to fight whoever won that war as they would be "easy pickings". Also, as you mentioned, the Supreme Intelligence was behind the scenes here and will play a pivotal part in the final part of this crossover using the Skrulls. Ataru320February 1, 2016 3:12 PM Avengers #346 To me, jackets work if its just a way to identify without the need of garish, colorful costumes. When you're already wearing costumes and still need team jackets, that's overkill. (BTW: I was going to be on the "JAKETZ ARE SOOO 90s" side but considering I am a Sentai fan and sometimes the only real "uniform" a team may have is their team jacket prior to the spandex...then really its understandable.) RobertFebruary 1, 2016 2:49 PM Captain America #400 This was one of the few Galactic Storm issues I bought at the time and nothing about it made me want to pick up any of the others. Actually, come to think of it, this was the last Cap issue I bought prior to the Waid run. I read CapWolf and stuff later on but missed it at the time. Austin GortonFebruary 1, 2016 11:45 AM Avengers #346 I know it's not a popular opinion, but I love the Avengers jackets (I also like X-Men's similar jackets around this time). It gets labeled as a very 90s thing, but it makes sense for an organization (especially one like the Avengers) to have branded apparel, and I like the idea of team members sometimes wearing them, sometimes not, rather than always being in the same costume issue in, issue out. As fnord points out, they're pretty ridiculous in this particular setting, since the two people wearing them need them the least, and "branding" isn't something they need to or should be worrying about while on a covert mission on an alien planet, but in general, I like 'em. Erik BeckFebruary 1, 2016 11:34 AM Uncanny X-Men #174-175 To support Michael's notion, we know Mastermind was around at the time of Logan's failed wedding, so he could have seen the interactions between Scott and his father. SharFebruary 1, 2016 10:27 AM Tales To Astonish #49 (Giant-Man/Wasp) Ha! I see I already made an Elast-Girl comment back in...2013. Nice to know I'm consistent ;) SharFebruary 1, 2016 10:26 AM Tales To Astonish #49 (Giant-Man/Wasp) On the distaff side, there was Elasti-Girl of the Doom Patrol. True, she's not considered as "prominent" as Pym, but she could both grow and shrink. She debuted in April 1963 (June 1963 cover date for My Greatest Adventure #80), a few months before Hank became Giant-Man. MormelFebruary 1, 2016 10:23 AM Uncanny X-Men #174-175 @Dan H., the girl who's standing with Peter, Ororo, and Logan is likely Kitty. The hairstyle matches hers, you can almost discern her headband. MormelFebruary 1, 2016 10:18 AM Uncanny X-Men #174-175 The motivation for Mastermind to take such complete vengeance on the X-Men are given in the panel where he talks to Madelyne; it's basically a post-mortem vengeance on Jean Grey through her friends, for linking his consciousness to the universe, resulting in his catatonia. He's basically miffed for getting a taste of godhood, not being able to handle it, and not being able to attain it ever again. He happily overlooks the fact that this was done in retaliation to his thoroughly mind-screwing Jean into his catspaw. Also, he should be glad he recovered from his ordeal at all. Silly villains! RobertFebruary 1, 2016 9:21 AM Avengers #346 Ugh those ugly dated jackets are here. Who thought dressing the Avengers like Nick from Family Ties was a good idea? MichaelFebruary 1, 2016 8:00 AM Wonder Man #8 But he's clearly implied to have sex with Tigra in West Coast Avengers 5, so obviously he's... fully functional. MichaelFebruary 1, 2016 7:58 AM Uncanny X-Men #174-175 There's a simpler explanation- either he went through the X-Men's files around the same time that he sabotaged Cerebro or since he was spying on the X-Men since issue 172, he was there when the X-Men met with the Starjammers and overheard their conversation. RobertFebruary 1, 2016 6:29 AM Tales To Astonish #49 (Giant-Man/Wasp) Although he wasn't as prominent as Pym, I suppose. RobertFebruary 1, 2016 6:01 AM Tales To Astonish #49 (Giant-Man/Wasp) "Someone will school me on this, but while Ant-Man as a shrinking hero had an obvious analogue in DC's Atom, i don't think there was a prominent growing hero prior to Pym." The one that immediately comes to mind is Colossal Boy from the Legion of Super-Heroes. He debuted in 1960. Brimstone: Wrestler, Celebrity, Actor, Author, Food Critic, Comics CEOFebruary 1, 2016 5:50 AM Wonder Man #8 I don't know why anyones surprised there were lots of signs that Wonder Man was totally an energy being in the 90s.. for one thing, he was in Guardians of the Galaxy comic, completely immortal and then in P.Davids last Avengers story, the Hulk creates an Ion Bomb explosion by ripping him apart, and then he apparently dies from the same thing in Force Works #1... Let's say my man Simon wasn't even an energy being.. he still came back from the dead. So why do peeps assume he's, uh, working regular down below after that LOL? I also think its weird as hell to have the Vision be like a "son" after all the 1980s closeness of an accepting Simon referring to Vision as his brother in that one mini-series where we found out Magneto was Wanda's Dad.. it seems a lot of growth and continuity was established in the 80s making the Marvel U that much richer just for them to screw it up in the 90s because they needed stories, smh... I liked stuff like Darkhawk and X-Force because it wasn't messing up old stuff.. it was groundbreaking.. but this kinda thing.. Byrne has a habit of abusing people in his comics and what he did to the Vision is kinda typical for him... RobertFebruary 1, 2016 5:40 AM Uncanny X-Men #2 A fun comic, nutty in every way. Kirby's got action on every page and Stan's trying to see who can shout at the most people -- Professor X or the Vanisher. Best line of the issue goes to the Vanisher, though: "Permits are for homo sapiens, fool!" RobertFebruary 1, 2016 5:20 AM Untold Tales of Spider-Man #1 The only real problem I had with Untold Tales then and now is that the new villains were pretty generic and unoriginal, with character designs that just don't fit the period they're supposed to be in. Scorcher, for example, looks like he was designed by someone who had grown up in the '80s and had a nice action figure collection. RobertFebruary 1, 2016 5:12 AM Journey Into Mystery #98 Cobra's origin is bizarre. He's an ex-con who wants to murder the scientist he's working with so that he can pass off the scientist's discovery of an antidote for cobra venom as his own. So he lets a cobra bite both the scientist and himself (a big bag of WTF there), only to find out the cobra was radioactive. This being the Silver Age that means he gets powers and must immediately don a costume and give himself a supervillain name. Also he apparently creates weapons for his outfit, despite the earlier impression in the story that he's not particularly talented or bright. He's a poor fit for Thor, for sure. He probably would have been a better fit (at that time) for Spidey or maybe even Ant-Man. Heck's art here is just terrible. You've included some of the better pieces and that's saying something. I'm not just bashing the guy, either, because the work he was doing on Tales of Suspense at the same time was way better than this. Anyway, while the A story sucks the Tales of Asgard backup is a great hint at how good the book would become once Kirby was on it full-time. AFFebruary 1, 2016 3:41 AM Wonder Man #8 Well, in Avengers #157-158, there's a little hint of that. Nathan AdlerFebruary 1, 2016 3:22 AM Uncanny X-Men #174-175 @ChrisW: In Marvel Super Heroes Special (1992)#11 p.66, Carol Danvers dreams she was dressed as a Hellfire Club Black Queen and dancing with a shadowy figure who told her that she must kill Rogue or "she'll strip from you everything you are, everyone you've ever loved." In the dream, Ms. Marvel unhesitatingly snaps Rogue's neck and it is known that at their first actual encounter, she almost killed her. All this is almost identical to the Mastermind's seduction of Phoenix through vivid dreams in the stories leading up to the Dark Phoenix Saga. It is not improbable that Mastermind stage-managed the confrontation between Ms. Marvel and the Brotherhood, and he must have pulled the strings when shortly after Hong Kong Rogue and Ms. Marvel clashed for the first time, in the hope that Carol’s power and personality would be absorbed by Rogue, but due to Carol being stronger, that she would become the more dominant and add Rogue’s powers to her own so that she could then serve the Shadow King that much better (for in Uncanny X-Men #269 (p. 27) Carol tells Rogue that the Shadow King managed to finally track her down, and once her powers were added to Carol’s, Carol would be able to serve the Shadow King. Later, after Rogue had absorbed the powers and personality from Carol Danvers, she not only had to live with being unable to control her power, but the personality she had absorbed from Ms. Marvel began to assert “herself”, causing additional psychological problems. Now after Mastermind recovered from his Phoenix-induced coma he set out to settle old scores with Mystique and Destiny as his plans for Carol backfired and Rogue managed to maintain dominance. Among other things, Mastermind appears to give Mystique vivid nightmares and clouds Destiny's perceptions sufficiently for them fail to realise Rogue's anguish so that he could set some contingency plan into place. And so one night, before her family got up, Rogue boards a coach and left Washington (which Mastermind probably intended) for Westchester. Rogue subsequently turns up at Xavier’s School asking for help to control her powers. So did Mastermind intend (for if Rogue hadn’t absorbed Ms. Marvel’s powers, causing her to be unable to control the Carol Danvers personality within her, she would never have left the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants to join the X-Men in the first place), to set Rogue up within the Mansion as a “Sleeper”, to finally betray and kill all the X-Men. Anyway, it must have been his intention after Carol failed to absorb Rogue’s powers and personality, to control a being that has Rogue’s absorption power and a split personality, so he can more readily control it so as to have it take the X-Men totally unaware and decimate them. Now some may ask what did Mastermind have against all of the X-Men, perhaps his constant defeat at their hands, but I think it goes a lot further than that. It is more, what did Mastermind have against Professor X to destroy him and all of his students, for this is more a motive belonging to and promised by the Shadow King (however what did he hope to gain by having Mariko put off her engagement to Wolverine, perhaps to mentally defeat him hoping to induce his feral state). The Shadow King is well known for taking possession of beings, and when taking possession of beings with power, increasing their ability tenfold, thus it seems likely he possessed Wyngarde (because, since when did Mastermind's power increase re: defeating the White Queen, and since when did he have the ability to influence dreams and operate on all levels of space and time), increasing his powers to the level of a major player (recall SK was later referred to by Mystique as Master of Minds). Nathan AdlerFebruary 1, 2016 3:13 AM Classic X-Men #1 (2nd story) @ChrisW: I totally agree with you that Claremont had much bigger plans for Lorna, the first hint yes being Eric the Red learning of the X-Men through her and not Alex as most fans mistakenly claim. Just what were she and Alex really set to unearth through their geological research in the Diablo mountain range in California (it can't have been nothing as this is after all comics we’re talking about;). Also remember Eric was the one who gave her the codename Polaris; which she retained which when you think about it is rather odd when you consider it was a villain that named her this. This was obviously anticipating Mister Sinister's later comment to her in Uncanny X-Men #239 that she was the "unchanging pole star"! Obviously Malice was her twin sister… but as to Eric the Red foreseeing her power and destiny, we still need a resolution. VikFebruary 1, 2016 2:23 AM Fantastic Four #142-144 Did you notice that the scene with Doom and Richards attacking him, at the dinner table, is quite the same scene (more after) than Vader at the dinner table attacked by Solo in the Cloud City in the Empire Strikes Back? RocknRollguitarplayerFebruary 1, 2016 1:25 AM Thor #146-150 For The Love of Marvel Fandom, Please get some Dirk Garthwaite and the Wrecking Crew in a Movie! They are the ultimate Rock Star Super-Villain team right Next to the Lethal Legion we never get to see either! At the least a cameo fight scene involving the Wrecking Crew is needed ASAP! C'mon Marvel let somebody hit somebody with a CrowBar! ChrisWFebruary 1, 2016 1:11 AM Uncanny X-Men #174-175 How did Mastermind fake those illusions to tell the X-Men they were on their own? Maybe he could fake his way through Captain America's dialogue [although one assumes Xavier and Stark would have considered that] but how did he even know the Starjammers existed, much less made a convincing illusion? rocknRollguitarplayerFebruary 1, 2016 1:07 AM Avengers #10 The Entire Immortus/Kang/Rama Tut Timeline phenomena needs to be reworked and brought back to the fans along with a Hercules that doesn't look like he guest starred in Rupauls Drag Race MichaelJanuary 31, 2016 11:00 PM Defenders #106-109 Yeah, Jeff, but the problem is there doesn't seem to be enough time between Kyle blowing up the telepaths and Peter's appearance at the funeral for Power to put together a new scheme, the events of MTU 117-118 to take place and then Peter to appear in the funeral. Either a long time takes place between the deaths and the funeral- say 72 hours instead of "weeks"- or the issues take place out of order. And what makes the whole thing weird is that DeMatteis wrote all the issues. If MTU 117-118 took place between pages, you'd think he'd have Spidey say "Don't worry- I brought Kyle's killer to justice" with a footnote to MTU 117-118. ChrisWJanuary 31, 2016 10:32 PM Classic X-Men #1 (2nd story) Totally agree about Alex and Maddie. Just my speculation that Claremont was trying to think in the long-term, furthering the Summers family, figuring out what to do with Maddie now that Jean is back, and he definitely had long-range plans for Lorna. [I still go back to the first Claremont "X-Men" storyline where it's specified that Erik the Red only learned of the X-Men through Lorna, and refused to say how he learned of her. Saving Cape Citadel from Magneto? Saving Washington DC from Count Nefaria? Invited to the Baxter Building for a wedding reception? That big fight with the Sentinels? The Shi'ar really don't look for competence in their forward observers, do they? Obviously not, because the ship chasing Lilandra only learns that Galactus has visited Earth several times and it's still here while they're busy attacking. Isn't that the sort of thing Erik should have been telling them all along?] I'm just speculating that Claremont intended a long-range plot with Alex and Lorna, and worked Maddie into it, and it was possibly a counterpoint to Scott and Jean. Didn't work out so well, but he tried. JeffJanuary 31, 2016 10:30 PM Defenders #106-109 Whenever Marvel characters say things like "weeks ago" or "last month" to refer to a recent issue or adventure I always take it with a grain of salt since "Marvel Time" is much slower than publishing time. (By the way fnord one day I must show you a copy of the timeline project I've been working on depicting just how much time has passed since FF #1. I think you'd enjoy it) fnord12January 31, 2016 6:47 PM What's Missing If only. :-) I've added it to the list here. Thanks Robert. RobertJanuary 31, 2016 6:18 PM What's Missing Marvel Tales #198 has a new story, basically a six page fight between Spidey and Thing. I searched but didn't see it listed and I don't see any reason it would be Out of Scope. Unless you've added "totally forgettable" to the criteria... MichaelJanuary 31, 2016 5:35 PM Wonder Man #8 This is the first time we've heard Simon claim that he can't have kids. RobertJanuary 31, 2016 3:38 PM Fantastic Four #19 Stan drops another Christian Dior reference in this issue. I've been re-reading these early FF issues and I've noticed he's referenced Dior 3 or 4 times in the first 19 issues. fnord12January 31, 2016 2:04 PM New Warriors #22-25 I've added it. Thanks. RobertJanuary 31, 2016 1:22 PM Strange Tales #113 (Human Torch) My favorite part is when Plantman tests out his device by having two trees fight. Priceless! RobertJanuary 31, 2016 1:11 PM Tales Of Suspense #46 There's something John Severin-ish about Heck's artwork here. I'm not a big fan of these early ToS Iron Man stories but I did enjoy this issue. MichaelJanuary 31, 2016 9:13 AM Classic X-Men #1 (2nd story) I think that a major reason Claremont brought Alex into the X-Men was to put him and Maddie together- Lorna is quickly possessed by Malice and a few issues later, we have scenes of Maddie crying on Alex's shoulder. So that seems to have been his intent from the beginning. MichaelJanuary 31, 2016 9:01 AM Cable #-1 Fans at the time don't seem to have liked it- Paul O'Brien wrote a very negative review of the issue a few days after it was published. MichaelJanuary 31, 2016 8:57 AM Fantastic Four #18 I think that one reason for the Skrulls' inconsistencies is that Lee and Kirby contradicted themselves about how long the Skrulls have known about Earth- the original story implied they learned of Earth recently but the Kral story suggested they'd known about Earth for at least 30 years prior to their first encounter with the FF. AFJanuary 31, 2016 8:07 AM Doctor Strange #3-4 It sounded alright up until that last word. Omar KarinduJanuary 31, 2016 7:57 AM Fantastic Four #18 "@Erik, the OHOTMU Deluxe Edition says the Thing is in the 85 ton class range (in the mid 1980s) but specifically states that his strength level has grown over the years and says that in his early period he could only lift 5 tons. The curious thing is that Super Skrull is listed as being in the 15 ton range (exposed to the power beams) and 5 tons without. That is clearly contradicted by what we see in this issue." I'd chalk this up to his two appearances closets to the OHOTMU's publication, where Claremont and Byrne (and then just Byrne) had the Super-Skrull trading punches with Spider-Man and Ms. Marvel without immediately reducing them to paste and then being physically outclassed by Sasquatch. "Kl'rt knowing what an Earth ram is, and knowing enough about Earth culture to make the battering ram pun, has always bothered me." The Skrulls have always been handled inconsistently; the "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" type plots require them to be master infiltrators with considerable cultural knowledge, but the "little green men" stories require them to be fooled by comic-book panels of monsters or make stupid, clueless mistakes in their impersonations. Brimstone: Wrestler, Celebrity, Actor, Author, Food Critic, Comics CEOJanuary 31, 2016 6:51 AM Cable #-1 uh... WOW. I've never seen this ever.. and I don't GET that artwork. That's not the Cable I'm used to, I don't remember the Flashback event but I guess that's why I'm on this site, lol! I've always felt Cable is one of the "modern legends" that Marvel was lucky to have- the next in the line of iconic, legendary characters to take the MU into the next century and I'm amazed they haven't made a CABLE film yet. This issue looks bizarre, so I have to wonder what fans thought of it in "real time"- doesn't look like there's a lot of action in this either, sadly. Brimstone: Wrestler, Celebrity, Actor, Author, Food Critic, Comics CEOJanuary 31, 2016 6:44 AM Fantastic Four #12 I actually just started reading the Silver Age entries and am kinda surprised fnord didn't do much for this issue since it's so pivotal. It's true the 60s stuff isn't really up my alley but since I'm friends with the great Stan Lee I want to take a deeper look at the framework he laid down for the legendary Marvel Universe... anyway, this is an acquired taste I guess with the art and it's pretty amazing you could have such a monumental event like the Hulk vs Thing battle wrapped up in one issue..... RobertJanuary 31, 2016 4:31 AM Doctor Strange #3-4 @AF, no nothing about the Dragon Circle. It takes place during that period when they changed Thor back into Journey Into Mystery and had all the Asgardians going by regular names with no clue about who they really were. The story was about her remembering she was Valkyrie after a confrontation with D'Spayre. AFJanuary 31, 2016 3:41 AM Doctor Strange #3-4 Does the one-shot make any allusion to the Dragon Circle? I've had a look, she also appears in two issues of X-Force (of all things) and 2 issues of Ghost Rider. Then she got replaced with Parrington. Talk about a character they really had no idea what to do with. Also, don't forget she also got replaced by another Valkyrie (one that doesn't even exist!) in the awful Starlin/Marz Thor run. And then when Marvel do bring her back in 2010 it is lame and they don't really do anything with her except confuse her origin even more and make sure to ignore and never acknowledge the existence of Parrington. There's a bunch of Valkyrie appearances in Hulk and She-Hulk that predate her one-shot and you genuinely have no idea if it's meant to be her or Parrington. ChrisWJanuary 31, 2016 2:50 AM Classic X-Men #1 (2nd story) Idle thought: Could this explain why Claremont brought Havoc back to the team? If his first hundred issues were the story of Scott and Jean (and Madelyne) than trying to find a focal point under Jim Shooter's eye, the second hundred issues would be about Alex and Lorna. It almost becomes a comedy of errors when you look at the actual comics, but Alex becomes an X-Man just as Lorna becomes evil. He goes through a 'my brother's wife' subplot, while she helps introduce the Mr. Sinister concept. He was supposed to be a major part of the Genoshan freedom fighters, and she was obviously a major part of the Shadow King's plot. And, um, this is because Jean suddenly returned Wolverine's stalker-like interest in her. It's true. I have pictures. Not pictures you could show your parents, but they're still totally hot. ChrisWJanuary 31, 2016 2:35 AM Classic X-Men #1 (2nd story) A lot of Claremont's X-titles come down to 'girls want bad boys' and looking to invert that with 'boys want bad girls.' Which is fine and dandy, but doesn't apply to everybody. Jean would see Wolverine as an unlikeable little runt and nothing he says or does would change that [although she might eventually see his value as a superhero.] She loves Scott. Nothing will change that. Good girl, good boy, match made in heaven. Wolverine would always be the unlikeable runt. A tale as old as time. EHHJanuary 31, 2016 2:22 AM Uncanny X-Men annual #6 It's Buffy the Vampire Slayer, not Hunter. ChrisWJanuary 31, 2016 2:08 AM Classic X-Men #1 (2nd story) Although on a completely-different subject considering how often Claremont returned to the 'death of Phoenix" story, it's interesting that making Madelyne the Dark Phoenix Reborn was when he really started losing control, for an issue that begins with Logan and Jean swapping spit for one of my favorite comic books ever. ChrisWJanuary 31, 2016 1:59 AM Classic X-Men #1 (2nd story) Yikes. That really doesn't fit into my conception of Iceman, but as I told Jay, if you've got the comics that show him doing this, I can't really contradict you. To me, Iceman shoots ice/snow and although some of the powers you describe make sense for the character, I don't see them for my version of Bobby. [Which, in the sense that the best version of a superhero is when you first met them, comes from "Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends."] Depending on how you look at it, it's a bug or it's a feature. I've posted somewhere else on this website, but I don't mind Bobby and Warren's portrayal in this issue. I think Claremont was just trying to show that they had a real reason to want to leave, and there's too much continuity going on to make everybody happy. Kurt juggling bottles, Sean saying 'throw one to Bobby.' "I'm not old enough to drink." Peter getting involved. This is a good character moment, even if you might think the characters are, well, out-of-character. Bobby should definitely be older than Peter. I completely agree that Jean should not have any interest whatsoever in Wolverine, and I rather like your explanation for the retcon. Wolverine and Cyclops' rivalry makes perfect sense for the 'scrappy subordinate' versus the 'alpha male leader' storytelling trope. And it worked perfectly well. Dragging Jean into this as part of a love triangle - after the fact! - does nothing for anybody involved, and I have to think you're probably right that the only justification is that Claremont was retroactively trying to do something to justify Scott leaving Maddie. Which is one of the worst things you could do to Madelyne Pryor as a character, and it's not like she hasn't had a miserable life as it is. Re-writing characters long before they ever met Maddie - by the same guy who turned Maddie into the Goblin Queen - just to justify why Maddie's husband would leave her for his high school girlfriend... Even as Jean Grey's clone, Maddie doesn't deserve that. As Dark Phoenix Reborn and igniting an "Inferno," she doesn't deserve that. Just think, the world was nearly destroyed because Claremont (and his editors) ret-conned Scott, Jean and Wolvie. Scary stuff. RobertJanuary 31, 2016 12:04 AM Doctor Strange #3-4 And by "later this year" I'm referring to 1992, not 1989. I just realized what year this entry was. RobertJanuary 31, 2016 12:02 AM Doctor Strange #3-4 She shows up in Thor later this year in a "blink and you'll miss her" role. Michael, I read that Valkyrie one-shot a couple of years ago -- yeah, it's crap in that special way only '90s crap can be. RobertJanuary 30, 2016 6:51 PM Strange Tales #112 (Human Torch) I've been reading these Strange Tales Torch stories the past week and, for the most part, they're pretty unimpressive. I actually enjoyed this one, although the word balloons definitely are crowded at times as in the Thing scan you show above. The worst part is that most of it is completely unnecessary "explain what the art is already showing" stuff that makes a lot of Silver Age comics unreadable for many today. MichaelJanuary 30, 2016 5:43 PM Doctor Strange #3-4 @Red Comet-Valkyrie does have a few appearances between 1989 and 2010, including a 1997 oneshot that I've never read but that I've been assured is pretty horrible. AFJanuary 30, 2016 5:29 PM Captain America #399 Well, it's another point entirely but I think there's undoubtedly awareness that Superia is over-the-top. She's in no way meant to represent feminism. The same way John Walker, Flag-Smasher or any of other number of characters aren't meant to be a complete representation of their ideologies. I mean, it's a Cap villain. They're extremists by nature. His treatment of women around that period is pretty tough but I think if you see any malice in it, then you're trying too hard to find it. It's unfortunate. It's uncomfortable. It's unnecessary. But he really doesn't have any agenda he's trying to push. He was just lacking a direction to head in. Should his run have ended much earlier? Probably. But I don't know if the alternative would have been any better. Look at how Thor progressively got worse and worse with every creative team. Or the various editors like Terry Kavanagh and Ben Raab deciding they can and should write the books if the main creator leaves. Peter David's Hulk went on far longer than it should've and that got just as hideously 90s and "bad" but of the two runs it's always Gruenwald that is the traditional target of choice. RobertJanuary 30, 2016 4:44 PM Fantastic Four #18 @Erik, the OHOTMU Deluxe Edition says the Thing is in the 85 ton class range (in the mid 1980s) but specifically states that his strength level has grown over the years and says that in his early period he could only lift 5 tons. The curious thing is that Super Skrull is listed as being in the 15 ton range (exposed to the power beams) and 5 tons without. That is clearly contradicted by what we see in this issue. @Thanos6, he was aware of what an Earth ram is but, in one of my favorite scenes, didn't know that you couldn't stick a flagpole into concrete. MichaelJanuary 30, 2016 3:44 PM New Warriors #22-25 Fnord, Firestar says Vance's control over his powers increased after they fought someone but they don't remember the details of the fight. That's clearly meant to be a reference to New Warriors 11-13. Should that count as a reference? Brimstone: Wrestler, Celebrity, Actor, Author, Comics CEOJanuary 30, 2016 12:54 PM Captain America #399 I DO wanna point out though that I thought it was a good characterization and continuity moment when Iron Man worried about Sersi's changing his armor potentially being damaging to his health... most writers just take that stuff lightly ("it's MAGIC") but that is pretty thought out and a valid concern I guess... good little touch. Yeah, Gruenwald isn't all bad he's just not that GOOD... similar argument is made towards Mantlo if I recall right?? Brimstone: Wrestler, Celebrity, Actor, Author, Comics CEOJanuary 30, 2016 12:52 PM Captain America #399 @AF- bruh, I wasn't even THINKING like that. For one thing, I don't want fnord layin' the smackdown on me lol by thinking I'm trying to have arguments.. I ain't... I'm only discussing facts. I think there was a revival of strong-writers in the 90s which was itself a reaction to the criticism of artist-led propaganda.. I thought, and think, Mark Waid is horribly overrated.. Busiek is much better... But back to this issue as it's what fnord would prefer we comment on... I agree that some writers eventually start losing the plot.. Peter David was amazing and made his career on HULK but then, post #400, his stories and characterization just get worse and worse.. whenever Gary Frank left the title... it seemed like he didn't have long-term plans but I am not privy to what he had to go through with editorial interference? (and fnord's comments about Hulk involvement with this storyline- Galactic Storm- is what got me thinking about that) So I wasn't trying to start a debate. But the truth is, Gru's stories and Levin's art- which is not what I'd call "accessible" or even Marvel house style- are probably bigger factors to why Cap's stock had sunk so low, regardless of Waid and Garvin's run which followed. That's all bro! MichaelJanuary 30, 2016 12:29 PM Quasar #32 @Chris- you never know. Sometimes people's minds just think alike. A few months before Kings of Pain, I had an idea for the New Mutants to fight the New Warriors and another idea that the New Warriors should fight a resurrected Proteus. But I never put them in a letter or even mentioned them to a friend. So I was shocked when Kings of Pain came out- it was like Fabian was reading my mind. MichaelJanuary 30, 2016 10:26 AM Captain America #399 @AF- yes the Superia Stratagem is as stupid as everyone says it is. We've got all the female villains working together for no real reason, some bizarre interpretations of Black Mamba's powers and Superia herself is a Straw Feminist. A Straw Feminist is a sexist and stupid stereotype because (a) it confuses criticisms of real or perceived sexism with hatred of men and (b) historically one of the creepier elements of feminism has been its attitude towards men that don't measure up to traditional standards of masculinity (Betty Friedan's blaming POWs that died during the Korean War for their own deaths, arguing they should have been able to tough it out; feminists supporting jailing unemployed fathers for nonpayment of child support (i.e. fathers that were legitimately unemployed and unable to make the payments not merely fathers who quit their jobs to punish their exes);current feminist stereotypes of "neckbeards" and "virgins living in their parents' basements"). A lot of Gruenwald's run after 382 was crap- his characterization of Mike Farrell was just horrible. And the body of his work does show disturbing attitudes towards women. And he did make continuity mistakes on occasion despite his reputation for being Mr.Continuity- e.g. Faustus in the wheelchair in the haunted house. No, his work isn't as bad as some people say it is. And yes, Avengers, Thor and Fantastic Four were all having the same problems but that doesn't make the writing on those books any less bad than Gruenwald's. Erik BeckJanuary 30, 2016 9:02 AM X-Force #3 I don't know what's worse - Siryn with her head a good foot back from the rest of her body or Warpath being eight feet wide. And was there ever a good explanation how Warpath, who had basically had his brothers enhanced abilities in his Hellions days suddenly became strong enough to take on Juggernaut? Other than Cable saying he just keeps getting stronger? JonathanJanuary 30, 2016 6:40 AM Classic X-Men #1 (2nd story) ChrisW - Your opinion of Iceman is mostly correct up until the 80s, but from then on he has had power upgrades and there have been a number of stories where Iceman suddenly uses his power to his full potential, before other writers then forget about this and just have him doing the same old things again. These days he's apparently an "Omega level mutant" according to one of the writers, and he's able to become totally made of ice, absorb water and turn into an ice giant, survive being broken up into water vapour and then reform himself (a la Absorbing Man/Hydro Man), turn whole landscapes into ice etc. He could definitely always freeze things without touching them though, even in the 80s he was doing things like removing all the moisture from the room to kill an opponent in Defenders 132, and freezing entire buildings and/or Central Park in X-Factor. I do dislike how he and Angel are portrayed in this issue, but I guess Claremont wanted a more dramatic explanation of the split between old and new X-Men. It doesn't bother me really. One thing that has always bothered me is the retcon where suddenly Jean is interested in Logan too, which was never in the original comics. I guess this is partly Wolverine being "cooler" than he was in the original comics, but I've long suspected that it might also be that Claremont decided that the Scott who left his wife was no longer "worthy" of Jean, and that Jean should now also be interested in Logan who was worthy of her. (Rather than just being a psychopath with no friends, like he was in the original Cockrum issues.) Claremont has said things to the effect that he doesn't think any man is worthy of Ororo, so it's possible he may have felt similarly about Jean at this point. Obviously there had been some rivalry between Scott and Logan, but this had been mostly resolved in the Proteus storyline, where Logan admits that Scott is more a man than he gave him credit for. (I always wondered if Claremont & Byrne were partly thinking of the scene in early Lee-Romita Spidey issues where Flash Thompson realises Peter Parker is more of a man than he gave him credit for.) After Scott leaves Maddie, Logan goes back to being slightly anti-Cyclops, and then we have the newly invented Scott-Jean-Logan love triangle with Jean interested in both of them, which went on to be a popular storyline in X-Men cartoons, and through them the movies. I wonder if that would have happened if Claremont had not introduced it here? Then again it seems a popular Young Adult trope nowadays that the female lead has to choose between two male rivals. JonathanJanuary 30, 2016 6:08 AM Captain America #399 Agree with most of what you say AF. Though personally I come from the slightly different perspective of thinking that Gruenwald's Cap run gets worse and worse from about 382 onwards, but that doesn't mean the whole run was bad and that Gru was never a good writer. For me I like most of what Gru did up to about 1991, and don't much rate what he did after that. Then again I don't rate much that Marvel did in the 90s at all, so it's a bit unfair to be saying Gruenwald was a bad writer when the quality of the whole line seems to have gone down at this point. By '92 I had gone from buying 20 Marvel comics a month to just buying PAD's Hulk & X-Factor, and DeMatteis' Spectacular Spidey, and occasionally anything else that looked interesting. I do think Gruenwald had lost it at this point, but that happens to a lot of comics writers eventually. One thing I keep coming back to though as I look at the mundane art of a lot of 1992 comics is that the art actually seems to be making the scripting worse rather than better, the artists don't seem to know how to make things look good anymore. If this issue still had one of the earlier artists of the run (for instance Ron Lim or Kieron Dwyer) it still wouldn't be a great issue, because Gruenwald was not writing as well as he used to, but it would definitely be better than it is. Thanos6January 30, 2016 5:05 AM Quasar #33 @Brimstone I guess that last reply was to me? I love that long, gorgeous hair. AFJanuary 30, 2016 5:01 AM Captain America #399 I think that's very selective evidence for someone who seems bent on turning every issue's comments section into the same debate about Rob Liefeld. You're neglecting the fact that between Rob Liefeld "rescuing" Captain America there was a popular and critically acclaimed run by Mark Waid. A run that they went back to immediately after Liefeld and co. were gone. That books like Avengers, Iron Man, Thor, Hulk and Fantastic Four were all facing the exact same problems of diminished interest, creators overstaying their welcome and ineffective plots and art. Gruenwald's run on Captain America doesn't get anywhere near as bad as people insist it does. Capwolf, the armor and Superia Stratagem are all still readable. Capwolf is a bad idea and it is longer than it ever deserves to be, but a 7 issue stretch of a 100+ issue run does not equate to an "awful run". The armor is literally just a visual (a bad visual) that he wore for 7 issues. It's purely cosmetic. Superia Stratagem is NOWHERE near as "stupid" as everyone says it is (Cap disguises himself in a woman's outfit and the villain wants to perform a sex change on him is nowhere near the "Cap gets turned into a woman!" that the internet insists the story is). Sales were down across the board for all the Avengers titles, don't just point at Creator You Don't Care for #1 and say it's all his fault and that Preferred Creator #1 is responsible for salvaging something. (particularly when Another Creator #1 interjects between the two and completely invalidates your point about Preferred Creator #1) And for the record, I think Waid's run is one of the worst runs on Captain America, so I'm not arguing preference here... Brimstone: Wrestler, Celebrity, Actor, Author, Comics CEOJanuary 30, 2016 4:54 AM Quasar #33 hey bruh, ain't nothin' wrong with that! BUT... do you like the CHIN or do you dig that MULLET?? I know I don't got room to talk as I sometimes sport a man-bun LOL but Quaze just looks QUIRKY lol Thanos6January 30, 2016 4:41 AM Quasar #33 @Brimstone: Like I said before, I think Wendell's girlish, bishonen look is a good thing. Very yummy! Too bad his series ended a few years before the anime boom made "girly boys" so popular. AFJanuary 30, 2016 4:39 AM Super-Villain Team-Up #1-4 And comes back to life without any explanation decades later to do nothing (that's Brevoort's Marvel for you). Thanos6January 30, 2016 4:36 AM Captain America #399 I'll agree Gru may not have been the best SCRIPTER in comics, but I think he was one of the all-time greats at IDEAS and PLOTTING. Thanos6January 30, 2016 4:34 AM Iron Man #278 I think at some point Iron Man mentions translating the Kree into English. david banesJanuary 30, 2016 4:09 AM Quasar #33 I've always liked the Imperial Guard, I'm very neutral for the Squadron Supreme. Probably since the Guard is super diverse and crazy looking. I mean purple mohawk elf Superman anyone? Brimstone: Wrestler, Celebrity, Actor, Author, Comics CEOJanuary 30, 2016 3:49 AM Quasar #33 DUDE... even with a FILL in artist Quasar just looks so... fruity!! In that one panel where he's like, she took the hint- is that RIchard Marx? Did Quasar get designed in 1992 to have a 1987 mullet? I just don't get it! Brimstone: Wrestler, Celebrity, Actor, Author, Comics CEOJanuary 30, 2016 3:40 AM Captain America #399 the truth is not very politically correct but fnord has brought it up here himself, so... Mark Grunewald is just not a good writer. Dude, I get it- he was a beloved editor and he loved comics and died tragically too young. But he wasn't a good writer, altho' some of Quasar is entertaining in a fruity way, LOL. Take it from your Main Man from The Wasteland... Gruenwald and Rik Levins are why this book needed to be rescued by Rob Liefeld.. facts don't lie. And it's forced because they didn't know how to make Iron Man and Cap go into conflict faster. Not different from Civil War, ROFL! The more things change... Brimstone: Wrestler, Celebrity, Actor, Author, Comics CEOJanuary 30, 2016 3:35 AM Thor #445 I bought these in "real time" and thought Eric was reacting a little too hardcore to Starfox LOL! I always wondered (and still don't know) if they've explained what/who Eric's Thor body is or if Odin just created a body and form out of scratch, which would kind of make his powers a bit more omnipotent than banishing Thor and Loki and sleeping a lot !!! Brimstone: Wrestler, Celebrity, Actor, Author, Comics CEOJanuary 30, 2016 3:31 AM Iron Man #278 I guess it's good that the Kree computer systems are all in English LOL! And I've got to say I don't wanna be mean to a fellow comics professional but there's just something.... really flat.. about Paul Ryan's work. I mean in theory it should work and I guess technically it does.. his anatomy is perfect, his layouts, and everything but there's just something inherently very bland about his storytelling. Or something! I can't put my finger on it.' Also a lot of his designed villains have this cyber faux Micronauts look. This Kree villain has it, aged Franklin will have it.. his DeFalco villains will have it... I'm just not big on Paul Ryan for books like THESE. I think he'd be a good artist for G.I. Joe or something less "cosmic" like Avengers or Fantastic Four or this Iron Man book. But apparently that guy could pencil like 3 books a month!!! Brimstone: Wrestler, Celebrity, Actor, Comics CEOJanuary 30, 2016 3:26 AM Avengers #345 I gotta say this art is a lot better than I expected. Either Epting is better than we knew or Tom Palmer just makes everything he touches amazing... but the Brim suspects it's BOTH! this looks like a good arc and with good art Mark DrummondJanuary 30, 2016 2:37 AM Tales Of Suspense #82-83 (Captain America) Judging from the recently released hardcover Boy Commandos V.2, it seems that Jack Kirby's memory was even worse than previously estimated--the Golden Age DC Agent Axis was actually female. ChrisWJanuary 30, 2016 12:17 AM Uncanny X-Men #259-260 Hmmm. And she apparently first appeared long after I had stopped reading. So how the hell do I recognize her name? This is just weird. MichaelJanuary 29, 2016 11:16 PM Avengers #345 Fnord, personally I wonder whether they'd decided on Proctor's secret at this point. Because that plays into both Dane getting a non-cursed sword and Dane's willingness to kill. Nathan AdlerJanuary 29, 2016 10:57 PM Quasar #32 @Chris: Why call an "alien immigration" project "Shockbuster"? JeffJanuary 29, 2016 10:45 PM Defenders #84-85 Was the aggression here between Atlantis and Wakanda brought up at all in the third "New Avengers" series? That title focused on the Illuminati and the falling out between Namor and T'Challa after Namor flooded Wakanda in the "Avengers vs. X-Men" miniseries, so I'm curious if this was ever referenced. ChrisJanuary 29, 2016 10:11 PM Quasar #32 Well, it's not like I wrote them as a submission. It was just in a letter to the comic. I'm not sure how they could identify what would be in the letter before they opened it, and it wasn't the only thing the letter was about it. But I certainly did not get the letter returned. MichaelJanuary 29, 2016 8:54 PM Uncanny X-Men #259-260 Yeah, that's her. Thanos6January 29, 2016 8:30 PM Uncanny X-Men #259-260 I think she was the...nurse? With forcefield powers? Introduced around Zero Tolerance? ChrisWJanuary 29, 2016 8:13 PM Uncanny X-Men #259-260 Cerebro is definitely a problem for any continuity-minded person. It was a big secret when Xavier told Scott about it. Over time, it grew in importance. The Hellfire Club tapped into it, Mastermind tampered with it, and Sabretooth flat-out destroyed it. Much time was spent showing us that Cerebro is gone. Even Magneto couldn't fix it. The 'mini-Cerebros' create another problem. The technology exists, it can be duplicated, and it obviously has been. Moira would certainly have a Cerebro unit, so why can't Storm (Magneto, Betsy) call Muir Island and request another unit be delivered ASAP? It does detract from Cerebro being a cool thing that only the X-Men have access to, but considering they've always been using the basic technology anyway, it's not intrinsically different from the early X-Men getting to watch a program on television and a later X-Man pulling out his cellphone. And who is Cecilia Reyes? I recognize the name, but cannot think of who the character is. Not Archangel's girlfriend, not the dance instructor... I know the name, but who is she? Nathan AdlerJanuary 29, 2016 7:52 PM Ms. Marvel #9-10 The Cavourite Crystal here was shown to have a "warp matrix", able to tear holes in reality and hurl things into warp space when you poured energy into it. Then Viper employs the Silver Samurai in New Mutants #5 to coerce Team America into stealing the crystal from A.I.M. who must have managed to get hold of it from Skylab after MODOKs failed attempt – and began studying it as part of "Project Matrix" at their Black Mesa facility. The following issue Team America successfully retrieves the crystal from A.I.M.'s facility, which appears to inadvertently free the Shadow King; yet when they hand it directly to Charles Xavier it likewise re-established his psionic link with the New Mutants. With the Shadow King connection, it is interesting that upon retrieving the Cavourite Crystal from the Super-Skrull in Marvel Team-Up #62, Ms. Marvel begins to feel "hungry" as a result of holding it in her hand. Given it later frees the Shadow King's essence in New Mutants #6, was it this earlier causing Carol's described "hunger"? The facets of the crystal further reveal to Carol a different aspect of her personality, kind of like what the Siege Perilous did for Dazzler in Uncanny X-Men #246. So was Claremont intending to alternatively suggest that after the death of his host body, Amahl Farouk, in Uncanny X-Men #117, the Shadow King's essence was projected into a host in an alternate dimension (ala the Crusader X tale in Excalibur)? With the reveals here and in the Marvel Team-Up and issues describing the crystal's ability to be able to open up warp-space doorways, where too did Claremont intend it to have transported Grotesk and the Super Skrull to? RobertJanuary 29, 2016 7:46 PM Fantastic Four #17 @Erik, yeah he was launched by some device Reed built. Reed's shown on the next page putting it away in case they need it again in the future. Ant-Man's method of getting around town is one of the more ridiculous things from any of the Silver Age Marvel books. Nathan AdlerJanuary 29, 2016 7:21 PM Ms. Marvel #9-10 @Matthew: So there are two Cavourite crystals? What's the deal here? Mark DrummondJanuary 29, 2016 7:20 PM Amazing Spider-Man #81 Wasn't that actually his ear? Mark DrummondJanuary 29, 2016 7:17 PM Nova #13-14 Voltzmann doesn't appear in the Cap story; that's only a panel of his robot. ChrisWJanuary 29, 2016 4:45 PM Classic X-Men #1 (2nd story) Jay, I agree that Iceman could stab someone with an icicle, but he can't exactly kill people without trying the way Scott and Alex can. He could fire a storm of ice shards to shred things similar to Archangel. He could form a column of ice from his fist, effectively throwing a long-distance punch with more speed and mass than his own arm could manage. It's conceivable that he could freeze the moisture in someone's mouth, but I've never seen any indication that he can freeze things without touching them. He creates ice and snow, he doesn't control temperature. I'm not the fan you are, so you may have comics where he does exactly that. Just my two cents. ChrisWJanuary 29, 2016 4:35 PM Giant-Size X-Men #1 Maybe Peter did the costume designs instead of Xavier. I assume that the new on-going series was part of the plans from the beginning. Three months wouldn't have been enough time to get the sales figures and then get started on #94. I don't know anything about the Giant-Sized line [X-Men and Man-Thing are the only two I've ever heard of, for obvious reasons] but I would assume the decision was made very quickly to add the new team to the bimonthly book and switch the Giant-Sized books to reprints. Certainly can't imagine the sales figures for this book impressing anybody. ChrisWJanuary 29, 2016 4:10 PM X-Factor #74 Yeah, but those would be very short stretches, because the X-Men weren't spending much time there. The mansion was completely empty when Alex arrived. Based on the chronology, the New Mutants had returned from fighting Magus, but perhaps the two issues overlapped and the kids were still in space. [This would explain why Magneto wasn't there when they returned, because he'd gone to meet Storm and the others in the Morlock tunnels.] The next X-Men appearance, they're on Muir Island. It's not clear where they start from in "X-Men vs. Avengers" but it doesn't look like Xavier's mansion. Annual #11 and the X-Men's introduction in #221 clearly take place at the mansion, but that's it. I'm sure Alex would be curious about the junior team, but he didn't exactly have a close commitment to the school. The X-Men met him at his college graduation and (based on the reviews here) it doesn't look like he even visited the school until a couple issues before the series was cancelled. The teams lived in separate wings, didn't they? Alex might recognize the short redhead from Scott's wedding if they passed in the hallway, but that would be about it. Besides, the New Mutants had been grounded, so they were hardly ever around. ;) mikrolikJanuary 29, 2016 3:35 PM Super-Villain Team-Up #1-4 Not sure if it ups the significance too much, but Dr. Dorcas is killed in issue 3. Piotr WJanuary 29, 2016 3:35 PM New Warriors #1 I don't know. I read that issue years ago, in highschool, and I felt that the gathering of the team felt a bit contrived. I look at these scans today and... it still feels contrived. I mean, Vance decides do join the Avengers. They show him the door. He flies off and is met by two strangers who tell him "Want to join a team? Join ours". And he joins. As if being a superhero was something akin to being in a garage rock band, with dozens of teams being around and doing castings for members... Erik BeckJanuary 29, 2016 2:59 PM Sub-Mariner #7-8 @Thanos - Makes sense. It is a Roy Thomas story after all. JCJanuary 29, 2016 2:46 PM Punisher War Zone #1-11 Shame these panels don't show the Popsicle scene. It was the best part! Matthew BradleyJanuary 29, 2016 2:16 PM Ms. Marvel #9-10 The apparently dying Agent Elliot explains that A.I.M. planned to steal the Cavourite crystal NASA was testing in Skylab (since it apparently did not disappear after warping Grotesk away at the end of #8), hoping to control the world with the "secret of interstellar flight," but MODOK beat them to it, hence the rocket-ride. Ms. Marvel's concurrent appearance in MARVEL TEAM-UP #62 establishes that this is not the same Cavourite crystal with which she similarly warps away the Super-Skrull there. fnord12January 29, 2016 2:14 PM Avengers #345 The Black Knight does have some deep space experience from Stern's run. But i kind of think the idea of Black Knight stabbing the Supreme Intelligence's brain, a memorable visual, came up first and then they worked backwards from there. I suspect that's why he suddenly had a new (non-cursed) sword with little explanation, too. SharJanuary 29, 2016 2:06 PM Avengers #345 It does seem odd for Dane to be part of the Kree-bound team (as AF noted, he seems to be the "weakest" of that group), but it was probably Harras's way of laying the groundwork for Dane and Crystal's eventual closeness. And also a way for Sersi to get to work alongside him (Dane) too. Thanos6January 29, 2016 2:03 PM Sub-Mariner #7-8 I think we just have to assume that there was a rift between universes at some point, and all of Marvel's WW2 heroes, villains, and supporting cast got exposed to Ian Karkull's age-slowing magic. ;) Thanos6January 29, 2016 2:00 PM Avengers #4 Sorry fnord. Old habits die hard. FF3January 29, 2016 1:12 PM Uncanny X-Men #259-260 @Nathan Adler and Clyde, regarding Cerebro and Muir Island. I don't know if this was the first mention of there being a Muir island Cerebro, but quite a bit later -- maybe after Bastion guts the X-Mansion during Operation Zero Tolerance? -- I seem to recall that the X-Men call in a favor to have Moira send her copy of the Cerebro unit over. Because the X-Men are out, Cecilia Reyes ends up having to sign for it at her hospital, in one of those great, "Why do super-heroes think stuff like this is a normal thing to do?" moments that pop up now and again. FF3January 29, 2016 12:46 PM Daredevil #71 Was Len Wein's credit here his first for Marvel? AFJanuary 29, 2016 12:44 PM Avengers #345 And for what it's worth the following are also referred to in Cap #401: Ant-Man (Scott Lang), Beast, Hellcat, Jocasta, Moondragon, Quicksilver, Rage. (they are just names on a screen saying "Unavailable"/"Inactive"/"Deceased" but hey it's nice acknowledgement) And these appear in West Coast #83 and it's said they were minding the West Coast Compound during Operation Galactic Storm: Machine Man, Quicksilver, Tigra (and a de-powered Human Torch shows up to get their help). I always thought it was one of the best things about the story. BUJanuary 29, 2016 11:20 AM Ms. Marvel #17-18 ...And then there's having a mysterious blue-skinned woman in disguise as a Ms. Marvel villain and not having her be a Kree agent... fnord12January 29, 2016 10:32 AM Quasar #33 @Michael, thanks for calling attention to Epoch's line. I've moved Warlock & Infinity Watch #2 to just prior to Galactic Storm. Of course, since Epoch is cut off, it's not definitive, but no reason not to accomodate it. mikrolikJanuary 29, 2016 10:30 AM Iron Man #115-116 Luis Dantas and fnord12: I guess so, but having read issue 116, it doesn't really make it explicitly clear the Ani-Men were killed. The explosion happens, Iron Man escapes it, but it doesn't show the Ani-Men after that, and Iron Man doesn't bring it up. fnord12January 29, 2016 10:24 AM Avengers #345 And the Hulk opted out (sort of) in Cap #398. fnord12January 29, 2016 10:23 AM Avengers #4 Thanks Thanos. I used to have issues #2-4 in one entry and the line got carried over when i split it out. (Just a reminder that i strongly encourage everyone to report these sort of things in the Thread of Shame in the Forum.) fnord12January 29, 2016 10:16 AM Thor annual #6 Thanks Matthew. Updated the art credits. Red CometJanuary 29, 2016 10:15 AM Quasar #32 @Chris Interesting that you could still mail plots in as recently as the early 90s. These days companies like Marvel will return, reject, or destroy anything with plots in them so that they don't open themselves up to a lawsuit. Oliver_CJanuary 29, 2016 8:53 AM Avengers #203 Even if the Crawlers were actually malevolent, Wonder Man would still have been overpowered for this story. Erik BeckJanuary 29, 2016 7:12 AM X-Factor #74 ChrisW's comment points out one of the problems with the continuity right after Alex rejoined the X-Men - they were constantly going to and from the mansion. There should have been at least some stretches, around Annual #11 and #221 where Alex was living in the mansion and Rahne should have also been living in the mansion. You just didn't know it from the way they didn't show the teams interacting at all. Luis DantasJanuary 29, 2016 6:56 AM Quasar #32 @Chris: I take it that you are not aware of S.W.O.R.D. ? http://marvel.wikia.com/wiki/Sentient_World_Observation_and_Response_Department_(Earth-616) It sure sounds a lot like your Project: Shockbuster. Erik BeckJanuary 29, 2016 6:43 AM Avengers #203 Translation of Denis' comment, courtesy of Babelfish" "Perhaps the graphical result would - be a little more \"agreable, brother ' it only 'was l\' clunky inking of Dan Green. It only ' will left little memories, at least in this series." AFJanuary 29, 2016 3:22 AM Avengers #345 Spider-Man (and Namor) not being around is acknowledged in Captain America #401. Thanos6January 29, 2016 3:20 AM Avengers #4 Fnord, on the checklist you have this issue as the 1st appearance of the Space Phantom. DenisJanuary 29, 2016 2:34 AM Avengers #203 Peut-être le résultat graphique aurait-été un peu plus "agréable, s'il n'y avait l'encrage lourdingue de Dan Green. Celui-ci n'aura laissé guère de bons souvenirs, du moins dans cette série. StevenJanuary 29, 2016 1:30 AM Quasar #33 It is great to see Carol Danvers involved in an Avengers story again. StevenJanuary 29, 2016 1:14 AM Avengers #345 Why didn't Spider-Man show up when they called in the reserves? The Hulk reconciled with the Avengers during Infinity Gauntlet, so why couldn't he participate in these events? ChrisJanuary 29, 2016 12:56 AM Quasar #32 I've been waiting for this for a while. I had stopped collecting most comics by the time Operation: Galactic Storm came out. So I didn't learn of its plot for a long time after it was published. When I did, I had some suspicions, but I ignored it until I learned even later that originally this was intended to be a plot for the Quasar title, and it only got expanded to a crossover until later. At that point I became convinced. Mark Gruenwald used my plot idea about the Kree I had sent in a letter to Quasar many months before. So yes, I am taking credit for the general plot of Galactic Storm - although of course all the details are those of the actual writers. Gruenwald had been complaining about the lack of letters to Quasar and asked for submissions. So for a few months I wrote letters to Quasar until I found other things to do. I wrote them around the time of the early parts of Cosmos in Collision. In one of those letters I gave a few suggestions for appropriate plots I thought would be interesting. I only remember three in specific. One was to introduce Project: Shockbuster which was detailed in OHOTMU #15 as the secret government investigation of extra-terrestrial alien activity on Earth. It was never actually introduced any comic (and as far as I know, it never has been). I thought a lot could be done with it. Another was to conclude the long abandoned Questprobe limited series. This was introduced later on in Quasar, and at that time I was pretty sure he did so because of my letter. Although I admit it is exactly the kind of archaeology Gruenwald would do on his own, but the timing was suspicious. The last plot was to do a plot about the Kree experiments to jumpstart their genetic evolution and examine the tension between the blue and white skinned Kree, and that the blue Kree might attempt genocide on the white skinned Kree. I never got the chance to approach Mark Gruenwald and ask him where he got the ideas for this. He died only a few years after this, and way before I discovered the details which caused me to believe he used my ideas. While I don't expect others to believe without proof, I am convinced of it myself. At the time, I didn't think anything of it. But many years later when I heard that Jim Shooter sent a letter and symbolically "bought" the black costume idea from a reader, I always regretted Shooter was not in charge when this was published. It would have been very cool if I had gotten some kind of acknowledgment I could keep as a memento. Matthew BradleyJanuary 28, 2016 11:23 PM Thor annual #6 This was penciled by Sal Buscema, who'd drawn the Guardians so beautifully in MTIO and DEFENDERS, and only inked by Janson. Wein, by the way, co-plotted both this and Korvac's debut (with Grott and most of the other minions) in GIANT-SIZE DEFENDERS #3. Erik RobbinsJanuary 28, 2016 10:30 PM Captain America #399 Tony does say "I figure that gives me the right...". It sounds like he's making things up as he sees fit, and not that the established rules of the Avengers gives founding members precedence. Luis DantasJanuary 28, 2016 9:43 PM X-Factor #71-73 Considering how directionless those last years of X-books were, I will file it under "necessary", all right. MichaelJanuary 28, 2016 8:41 PM X-Factor #71-73 But the larger point is that PAD ignored a lot of things making X-Factor work- Alex's portrayal over the past couple of years, the Inferno babies and the question of Val's involvement in their kidnapping, etc. You can argue that it was necessary but there's no denying he did it. BerendJanuary 28, 2016 8:38 PM Quasar #33 I share Fnord's annoyance with the Squadron Supreme, but I don't really mind the Imperial Guard. Partly because I barely know anything about the Legion of Superheroes, so the references aren't as obvious. But also because these guys have mostly just been featured as lackeys and thugs of the Shi'ar, not as main characters. ChrisWJanuary 28, 2016 8:33 PM Uncanny X-Men #259-260 I also have to admit that I always found it weird that Peter's eye is randomly caught by a beauty on a NYC billboard, and by the end of the storyline he's not only bagged her, but she turns out to be the hardcore sewer-dwelling killer mutant that he (and we) have known for so long. Basically, how did Masque and co. get her on that billboard? It would be one thing if Callisto's disfigurement [?] had been shown ten or twenty issues ago, but it's literally happening at the same time her billboards are already up, and she's fully-recognizable to newly-immigrated Phillip Moreau. "The latest in a seemingly-endless succession..." This implies that the babe has worked her way up through the modelling industry to the point where people who actually make decisions noticed her and started promoting her. She also needs to show up for photo shoots. Callisto's not really in a position to do any of this, being held prisoner by Masque, and decision-makers of the modelling, fashion and advertising worlds are probably the last people in the world to be fooled by a pretty face and sexy body. It's what they're selling, so they know the flaws. Who does a used-car dealer buy cars from? It seems like there's a counter-point to Ali's story going on, and it's always felt wrong to me that the 'babe' in question turns out to be Callisto. Masque being involved makes a convenient excuse, but on a story-telling level, something feels out-of-kilter. MichaelJanuary 28, 2016 8:27 PM Quasar #33 The Imperial Guardsman Neutron is also called Quasar, so the joke is that Quasar is fighting Quasar. Morgan WickJanuary 28, 2016 8:19 PM Quasar #33 Hmm, where'd you come up with that "Legion of Super-Lackeys" quip, Thor? MichaelJanuary 28, 2016 8:13 PM Captain America #399 I never liked Gruenwald having Herc use the term "womenfolk". Herc is supposed to sound Shakespearean. "Womenfolk" sounds like a term out of the Old West. ChrisWJanuary 28, 2016 8:10 PM Uncanny X-Men #259-260 Thinking about it, this may have actually been an attempt to give Ali some sort of closure, at least for the time being. Both in Annual #11 and shortly before going through the Seige, she'd been explicitly shown pondering the possible directions of her life. One of the things I like most about Ali is that she really doesn't want to be a superhero. Certainly if the story calls for it, she can do kick-ass superhero stuff, but she wants to be a singer. Or, more generically, an entertainer. To bring joy to people's lives. Considering her reappearance in the series was as a back-up singer for Lila Cheney (and a brunette!) this is actually a fairly-good conclusion for her 50-issue story arc. It leaves her some place Claremont can find her when he wants to bring her back, and it's a lot more positive than, say, "Dazzler: The Movie." This was also the point where Peter came back, and where did he wind up? Getting a (brief) happy ending with 'the most beautiful woman in the world' who caught his eye right here. No idea if Claremont intended to retire Peter (who was obviously much more central to the X-Men than Ali) but at the very least, he deserved a bit of happiness after the misery of the last several years. RobertJanuary 28, 2016 8:04 PM Avengers #345 Morgan, I think you're right. If memory serves (and we'll find out soon enough) the Avengers that go are split about how to deal with the big moral dilemma at the end of this. Some side with Cap, some with Iron Man (sounds familiar). I'm willing to bet that they picked who would go into space at least in part on who they thought would side with whom, while still keeping with it being a galactic story (so Mockingbird would reasonably have no place up there, for example, despite the likelihood she would side with IM). MichaelJanuary 28, 2016 7:58 PM Thor #445 Note that Monica is able to turn into energy in this story- the writers couldn't keep track of her new powers. Maybe they were confused by her being able to turn into energy in Marvel Fanfare 42 and didn't realize that was supposed to take place in the past? Andrew FJanuary 28, 2016 7:58 PM Iron Man #278 Holographic projection -- like people around him can see them? That sounds like a security risk. MichaelJanuary 28, 2016 7:55 PM Avengers #345 I never understood who Hobgoblin was supposed to be working for in this issue. The Skrulls? The Supreme Intelligence? DermieJanuary 28, 2016 7:42 PM Thor #445 I expect that Starlin was originally planning on it being the original Thor when he started writing INFINITY GAUNTLET, and found out about the change in Thors after the fact. That likely had an influence on how he was portrayed. As for the Avengers going after Gladiator one-on-one...my guess is that it was due to their (slim) hope of a peaceful negotiation. They may have thought that the entire team confronting him would come across as too hostile and undermine their "we come in peace" message. Just a thought. Morgan WickJanuary 28, 2016 7:38 PM Avengers #345 I wouldn't be surprised if the teams are broken up based on the needs of the story (and the titles each group will appear in), not on how it actually makes sense to break them up. I may be wrong, but I don't get a sense there's much of a focus on working out strategy in team books. DermieJanuary 28, 2016 7:33 PM Avengers #345 One odd thing is that the Black Widow was left off all of the teams. One can assume that she is manning the fort at Avengers Mansion while everyone else is away, but they never actually address it. I LOVED that Monica was assigned a leadership role here, despite having been off the active roster for nearly 50 issues. It makes sense, since she has the leadership experience to justify it--but it is just great to see that Harras acknowledged that, rather than making her take a backseat to someone else just because they happened to be an active member at the moment. As AF points out, putting her and Miguel on the same roster seems a bit redundant in terms of power set--but presumably they wanted to keep Miguel with people he has experience working with (Simon and Wanda) to make things easier in the field rather than throwing him in with a total bunch of strangers in a high-stakes situation. As for She-Hulk being left on Earth...yeah, that one is really strange given her experience with the FF and Avengers. My only guess there was that it was to help balance the power out among the groups--they wanted an experienced heavy-hitter like Jen on Earth in case the Earth team ran into problems. ChrisWJanuary 28, 2016 6:43 PM Ms. Marvel #17-18 Nathan, maybe I've just been reading too many pages about the Scarlet Witch and branching into the High Evolutionary and Viper, but have we ruled out Ch'Thon as Mystique's 'lord'? Especially given the point made above about introducing a shape-changing villain in a book starring a Kree and not have the villain be a Skrull. Luis DantasJanuary 28, 2016 5:48 PM Iron Man #278 I thought Iron Man was the leader of the WCA at this point? I understand that the screens are some sort of holographic projection. MortificatorJanuary 28, 2016 5:47 PM Avengers West Coast #81 "If I had the belly under my belt, I'd keep my mouth shut too!" That obviously-toned belly? Even for an infamous dick like US Agent, this insult's just too dumb. fnord12January 28, 2016 4:42 PM Excalibur #46-50 I suspect she was not meant to be Shi'ar given the way she and Nightcrawler talk. But she sure looks it, so if it was a retcon, it's understandable. Andrew FJanuary 28, 2016 4:40 PM Iron Man #278 It always bothers me that Tony can read and understand multiple complicated interfaces that, based on what his helmet looks like on the outside, must be pressed directly against his face. RobertJanuary 28, 2016 4:36 PM Marvel Premiere #36-37 Plus 3-D Man states the year as being 1958 when talking to the cops early in #36. AFJanuary 28, 2016 4:26 PM Avengers West Coast #81 He doesn't really appear much more (or at least in any capacities where his name is used). And then DnA got him in their sights and quickly killed him. AFJanuary 28, 2016 4:20 PM Captain America #399 More specifically, the Kree had been decimated by both the Annihilation Wave and the Phalanx invasion, and the Inhumans were feeling badly characterized so began a whole space dictatorship thing. Ronan was the then "king" of the Kree but due to his failings during the Phalanx war he wasn't highly regarded by his people. Ronan allowed Black Bolt to assume the monarchy if he could marry Crystal. They agreed and forced Crystal to marry Ronan. It was dreadful writing by a guy who basically got to write comics out of pure nepotism (he was one of Jeph Loeb's friends who Loeb had dragged to Marvel from the TV show Heroes). In War of Kings, we saw Crystal and Ronan was largely a political marriage. For Crystal it was just as a means to legitimise the Inhumans rule over the Kree, but Ronan liked Crystal and after a while Crystal began to feel for Ronan. It was a poorly conceived and introduced idea but it started to find it's feet. Then the whole thing was dropped and annulled by Jonathan Hickman. ¬_¬ EnchloreJanuary 28, 2016 4:18 PM Amazing Spider-Man #81 This story was adapted for Ryoichi Ikegami's Spider-Man manga. There, Kangaroo is a violent wrestler who goes rogue and steals the bacteria vial. He and Spider-Man have a discussion about how they're too strong for this world or something like that and Spider-Man briefly considers letting the bacteria go loose and leaving everyone in the city to die because they hate him (he decides not to when he remembers his aunt). In the end he just punches the Kangaroo away and throws the Spidey costume into a river (which leads to a Mysterio storyline). There's also a scene where Kangaroo delivers a super-powered double kick on Spider-Man's face and he doesn't flinch, saying that he concentrated all his power on his chin. Yes. Piotr WJanuary 28, 2016 4:13 PM Excalibur #46-50 My... this story seems pretty impressive, admittedly. The way Davis connects the dots set both by him and other writers... And the art! It's so smooth and sweet... BTW. Was Cerise always intended to be Shi'ar? I think I've read that this was a later retcon... clydeJanuary 28, 2016 4:00 PM Captain America #399 Yup - Wiki entry on Crystal - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crystal_(comics) "Cosmic Inhumans (2008-2013)[edit] This time period marked another new development for Crystal's character as she and her fellow Inhumans became involved in intergalactic conflicts. Secret Invasion: Inhumans (2008-2009) by Joe Pokaski marked the beginning as it was discovered that Black Bolt had been replaced by a Skrull. This revelation leads to a series of events that eventually sees the Inhumans ascend to become sovereigns of the Kree Empire and Crystal betrothed to Ronan the Accuser." Thanos6January 28, 2016 3:59 PM Avengers West Coast #81 It looks like they're trying to give Hobgoblin a name change in this issue, to make him distinct from the more famous Spidey-related villain. Does "Shapeshifter" or "Shifter" stick? Does the tag need to be changed? Thanos6January 28, 2016 3:57 PM Captain America #399 "and one day she'll wind up marrying Ronan" WHAT?! AFJanuary 28, 2016 3:48 PM Avengers West Coast #81 I remember thinking "Oh, that's nice, they've given John a nice character mo... oh no, he was being sexist." clydeJanuary 28, 2016 3:42 PM Captain America #399 kveto - I think you're giving Iron Man too much credit. He always likes to be in charge and have the final word on everything. He's a classic example of a "Type A" personality. It was inevitable that he would clash with Captain America. kvetoJanuary 28, 2016 3:32 PM Avengers West Coast #81 Best part is Mockingbird tossing USAjerk across the room for sexual harassment (hey its a work environment). Austin GortonJanuary 28, 2016 3:29 PM X-Factor annual #6 Another reason for moving XF 65-8 up is that Jean specifically laments not having telepathy in this issue, but she regains her telepathy in the course of the XF 65-68 story. kvetoJanuary 28, 2016 3:28 PM Captain America #399 Not a bad issue. It feels like an Avengers issue but the focus is on Cap as he is the one to defeat the Pursuer. Iron man seems way off character. I mean Tony Stark is a d@ck but not this much of a d@ck. MortificatorJanuary 28, 2016 3:27 PM Avengers #345 It's interesting how Cap divides the teams. Putting both himself and US Agent in the same force seems like a mistake to me, since they both have the same fighting profile. The Shi'ar force gets more heavy hitters, presumably because the Imperial Guard is a stronger superhuman force than the Kree can muster (at least when the Guard isn't being drawn by Jim Lee). clydeJanuary 28, 2016 3:09 PM Captain America #399 Close, but no cigar;) RobertJanuary 28, 2016 3:07 PM Amazing Spider-Man #196-200 I don't care for this storyline much now but when I first read #200, devoid of any continuity concerns or even real knowledge of the Spider-Man comics from before 'my time,' I didn't mind. Anecdote alert: I picked this up at a jewelry store, of all places, in the early '90s. The small town I grew up in had few places that sold new comics and absolutely none that sold back issues. It wasn't until I was able to drive that I was able to find an LCS in another town. So, prior to that, I had to rely upon yard sales or friends of friends for back issues. That is until I was with my older brother at a jewelry store one day (he was buying something his first girlfriend) and I discovered the owner of the store had a few boxes of comics in the back corner of the store for sale. I don't recall how much I paid for it but it couldn't have been much. Even though it started with a story already in progress, I didn't care. I loved Pollard's artwork and Wolfman managed to get me invested in the drama of it all, even if I didn't get every detail or reference. The scenes of Peter confronting the burglar were amazing to me then and now. AFJanuary 28, 2016 3:04 PM Captain America #399 OH! Don't have the issue at hand but maybe the Beyonder in #261? (which makes your Sub-Mariner guess very close!) AFJanuary 28, 2016 3:01 PM Captain America #399 Hmmm... something about that does sound really familiar. At least the first part with Cap nominating someone and the chairperson being annoyed they didn't check with them first. But most of Cap's nominees/recruits by this point have been welcome (Black Panther, Sersi, Spider-Man) or not referred to (Gilgamesh, D-Man). I was thinking Stern era but can't place any if it's not Namor, so maybe during the Korvac saga when him and Iron Man are locking horns? I'll go flip through some trades... clydeJanuary 28, 2016 2:51 PM Captain America #399 FNORD - I doubt that he even knew he could do that. This was the phase where Eric was just doing things on the spur of the moment. Which is why he was a perfect choice for this mission, IMO. fnord12January 28, 2016 2:28 PM Nova #13-14 Thanks Matthew. I've added him in the Nova entries. A quick flip through Cap #166 shows him appearing in flashback only, and the MCP don't list him appearing in the Cap story. (They do, however, list him for the Strange Tales stories, which i think is incorrect for the reason you note.) fnord12January 28, 2016 2:24 PM Captain America #399 I have this memory of Cap nominating someone for Avengers membership, and the current chairperson getting upset because he didn't have the right to do that, but then someone pointed out that it was ok because he was an honorary founding member. I thought it was with Sub-Mariner, but i just checked and that doesn't seem to be the case. Did i just make that up? Am i conflating it in my head with something that happened later? @Clyde, what's interesting is that Thor demonstrated the ability to shut the wormholes down. AFJanuary 28, 2016 2:16 PM Thor #445 I do find it interesting that DeFalco is basically the only writer who ever insisted on how inexperienced and incompetent Eric can be. Starlin had him be pretty competent in Infinity Gauntlet and Gruenwald had him be useful in the Skullhouse story, but DeFalco seemed to really want to stress how rubbish Eric was. So, Eric is like a weird inverse of a creator's pet. Matthew BradleyJanuary 28, 2016 2:11 PM Nova #13-14 I notice that you include the Yellow Claw’s ex-Nazi henchman Fritz [von] Voltzmann, aka Karl von Horstbadden, as a “Character Appearing” in the 1950s YELLOW CLAW comics, but not for his Bronze-Age appearances. It’s true that in STRANGE TALES c. #161-167, he—as well as the Claw himself—turns out to be a robot, so he technically doesn’t “appear” in those issues. But I believe he’s seen in CAPTAIN AMERICA #166, although I don’t have it handy; he’s definitely here, posing as Dr. Heinrich von Flessle; and he returns under his “real” name (i.e., Voltzmann, as seen in your panel grabs) in NOVA #16-18. AFJanuary 28, 2016 2:10 PM Captain America #399 Cap's position as a "founding member" was only established when we get to Busiek's run. So at this point, it wasn't a consideration. But on Iron Man using his position as a "founding member" - is this actually the first time a lot of these characters are finding out for certain that this is the original Iron Man? Wanda and Julia (and maybe some others?) found out on-panel in West Coast, but nobody else finding out has been explicitly shown has it? Just a lot of people blatantly suspecting it to be the case. In which case it adds another major dickmove from Iron Man: to announce the truth as a means of undermining Cap's leadership choices. AFJanuary 28, 2016 2:04 PM Avengers #345 Never quite understood why they left She-Hulk behind on Earth. She has power and experience. I think she'd be nothing but an asset for one of the two space-bound teams. Gilgamesh could've been useful too, but he really is lacking in experience (and no-one is particularly familiar with him). Plus, he couldn't be away from Olympia for too long or he'd fall ill. Living Lightning seems to have been fast tracked on the basis of his powers. He certainly doesn't have much experience and is redundant next to Monica (well, since most writers will ignore her powerset change). But I'm guessing leaving him on Earth would then make the Earth team just look like the regular West Coast team but now with Gilgamesh. I have always liked that U.S.Agent initially gets included by Cap though. The character is usually treat with scorn by characters (and readers), but Cap recognises his strength and ability to be a team player here. Why he was bounced specifically is a bit weird, since Dane is coming off as the weakest looking of that team (really only having experience and scientific background). I'm guessing Clint probably specifically requested John get dropped. In the end, I can't imagine John's presence on the team having worked at all. He's not been into outer space before and he'd very obviously ruin a lot of plans with rashness and be siding with Iron Man on the Supreme Intelligence debate. So ultimately it definitely worked best to keep the character away rather than reignited the tired Cap/U.S.Agent rivalry. And the result is we get the exact opposite of that with a nice "you're alright you" moment at the end of the crossover instead. clydeJanuary 28, 2016 2:04 PM Captain America #399 I always thought that the Avengers' goal was stopping the use of the wormholes. There wasn't a clear way of that happening. They basically just made it up as they went along. david banesJanuary 28, 2016 1:43 PM Avengers #345 Great call backs to Gryich giving his government formed Avengers. Erik BeckJanuary 28, 2016 1:17 PM Wonder Man #2 In my personal case, I stopped reading AWC after the Hollywood Horror storyline, so before the issues you mention. But by then, they must have been running concurrently for several months without me realizing it (I had a subscription to AWC so wasn't in a store and wouldn't have seen Wonder Man on the shelves). AFJanuary 28, 2016 1:14 PM Alpha Flight #107 Poor Pietro. Not only does he get left out of most the team shots, he also gets left out of their crossover appearances! Charles RJanuary 28, 2016 1:08 PM Uncanny X-Men #270 I like the suggestion made in a previous entry that Mutant Wars likely evolved into X-Cutioner's Song. By this point, Harras and Jim Lee probably wanted to reform the X-Men more than anything, especially before a big deal Mutant Wars story. The changes over the next two years, with Claremont leaving, launching X-Men #1, and the rest of the mutant titles relaunches further postponed the story. Or it could be they cancelled it outright at this point, and Marvel was left to scramble and pull out old story ideas once the Image exodus happened, and retrofitted whatever ideas they had for Mutant Wars into X-Cutioner's Song. Red CometJanuary 28, 2016 1:02 PM X-Factor #71-73 I don't recall Peter David being particularly venomous against Fallen Angels in these issues. All I remember is Madrox making a lobster joke at one point while referencing the Coconut Grove. I wouldn't call this a case of Peter David hating on a story he didn't write. I think him having Madrox against a renegade dupe and the team not knowing who is the "real" Madrox is just an obvious story angle to take with Madrox's powers. Basically it's an inevitable story for the character that some writer would eventually tell, therefore any story set before it could and would fall victim to not featuring the "real" Madrox. It just happened to be Fallen Angels here since that was the most prominent series with Madrox before X-Factor. AFJanuary 28, 2016 1:00 PM Wonder Man #2 Wonder Man's series does actually get footnoted a fair bit in West Coast. Especially in a streak of issues concurrent/following the storyline in Wonder Man where Simon becomes a poor man's Hulk and then quits the team. And another that comes to mind is in #92, Goliath refers to his appearances in Wonder Man and it is footnoted. And of course during Galactic Storm there's probably a few footnotes pointing towards it. I mostly remember because it is exactly HOW I found out about the series and read it. When I was reading West Coast, it was pointed out enough that it felt substantially important. Maybe by this point you were just blanking out footnotes? AFJanuary 28, 2016 12:53 PM Iron Man #278 Iron Man is not even the elected chairman for either of the Avengers teams at this point. By this point, Iron Man has betrayed and fought his friends in a personal crusade, became a hardcore alcoholic while on the job and only recently revealed he was lying about not being Tony Stark to get accepted back onto the team. He has also been suspended from the Avengers several times (as early as Avengers #7 by Lee/Kirby!). If Hank Pym was acting like Iron Man is in Galactic Storm, people would see it as a lot more clear-cut and they'd unanimously side with Cap. Iron Man has been just as inconsistent and unstable (if not more) than Pym has. AFJanuary 28, 2016 12:35 PM X-Factor #71-73 During X-Cutioner's Song (I think?), he has Madrox meet with Siryn and has her still hung up on Jamie but he basically says it wasn't ever really him and he doesn't like her. Standard hokey Peter David daytime soap opera stuff. The thing is, David's done this with so many things in his career, I think arguing that it's for any reason other than because he's Peter David is pushing it. Outside of the Fallen Angels retcon, we also have him ignore/undo a lot of Polaris stuff to basically just restore her to normal and he starts this run by dismissing a John Byrne Thing story. And his future work will continue to do this like how he undoes basically every Wolfsbane development that happened between his X-Factor runs, he ignored the very few Genis-Vell appearances prior to his run on Captain Marvel, and the aforementioned writing off Joe Casey, John Byrne, Paul Jenkins and Bruce Jones' runs on Hulk as dream situations created by Nightmare. I really believe it's just him continually not being interested in other people's work. And for the record, he doesn't just retcon Fallen Angels, he also stipulates that it wasn't Madrox on Muir Island which probably means just the Muir Island X-Men stuff - but knowing Peter David could just as easily count for ALL of his appearances after his debut. clydeJanuary 28, 2016 11:56 AM Iron Man #278 I always understood it to be that Captain America was upset about Iron Man usurping his authority. However, as we see in later chapters, Iron Man outranks Captain America since he was a founding member of the Avengers. RobertJanuary 28, 2016 11:38 AM Fantastic Four #12 I loved the part where the 3 FF men talk all that smack about how they would handle the Hulk. It's expected coming from Ben and Johnny but when Reed joins in you just have to laugh. Piotr WJanuary 28, 2016 11:21 AM Alpha Flight #108 Oh, I don't find Prodigy to be offensive... just lame. Extremely lame. Although I shudder to think what we would've ended up with, if Lobdell went the "obvious national stereotype" route for Poland, too... Erik BeckJanuary 28, 2016 11:17 AM Wonder Man #2 I am with you on that soapbox. All footnotes ever did was make me want to find those older issues and read them. Maybe Marvel didn't care because back issues don't give them any extra income - just the comic store selling them. fnord12January 28, 2016 11:14 AM Wonder Man #2 Erik's comment gives me another opportunity to get on my Pro Footnote soapbox. Michael notes in the comments for Avengers West Coast #80 that the art and script may have been modified at the last minute to address the fact that Wonder Man's jetpack was destroyed. If Wonder Man's dialogue about no longer being able to fly had been accompanied by a footnote, Erik might at least have been aware of his solo series. Erik BeckJanuary 28, 2016 11:13 AM X-Force #2 Without starting a debate on the merits of his art, this issue is a perfect example of both why I liked Liefeld and why I hated him. Those early splashes of Kane and Deadpool are magnificent, as his splash of Juggernaut, even if he's like 12 feet tall (in the scenes where he's not in costume in UXM 178 and 217, he's more like 7 feet). But that panel of Kane and Bridge talking is simply terrible, showing his complete lack of perspective. This might be the only issue where I enjoyed Deadpool. Granted, part of what I enjoyed is that Bridge shot him because he wanted to and because that hand is choking him. fnord12January 28, 2016 11:04 AM X-Factor #71-73 Obviously this is subjective, but i didn't take David's use of Fallen Angels as a knock at the series. It's worth remembering that the dupe situation in X-Factor ends with Madrox absorbing the dupe, and therefore all his memories and experiences. So once we're past X-Factor #75, the Fallen Angels story really happened for Madrox. And there was never a point where the story was made fun of in a way that seemed malicious to me. Additionally, the idea behind the dupe was that he wanted to live a life separate from his originator. As i understand it, he wasn't meant to be evil, at least until Mr. Sinister got a hold of him. So the Madrox in the Fallen Angels acted exactly how the real Madrox would have. I really think the scenario was really about exploring the nature of how Madrox's duplicates work, and since there aren't a lot of appearances by the character, picking one of the few stories he was in and saying "Hey, that was a duplicate and no one even noticed" is exactly the way to make the point. As AF notes, the Fallen Angels story also raised the same kind of questions about the duplicates, and it would have been good if David had worked in a reference to that. Even the dupes of dupes want free will. It's an interesting problem. Erik BeckJanuary 28, 2016 10:42 AM X-Factor #71-73 AF - I'm glad to hear you say that. That's exactly my reaction, though I haven't yet gotten to #75. Glad to know I'm not the only one who thinks that David throwing aside FA, which is far from great and often wasn't even good, is just stupid and obnoxious. I know that a lot of people love David, fnord included. But I have not been all that impressed by him. fnord12January 28, 2016 7:21 AM Marvel Premiere #51-53 I see that this entry comes up on Google as the #5 hit for the word "cloodgey" and most of the others are tech/programming message boards. I guess the word means something similar to "cobbled together". It's something that works, but inelegantly. a.lloydJanuary 28, 2016 6:00 AM Marvel Premiere #51-53 This is unfortunately all a cloodgey wrap up.===FNORD12 a.lloydJanuary 28, 2016 5:45 AM Defenders #78-83 I liked the idea of two groups of Defenders but the Tunnelworld story was SO boring. maybe if Byrne or Starlin drew it, it could of gone somewhere. AFJanuary 28, 2016 5:08 AM Wonder Man #7 Yep, this issue does a solid job of still being a Wonder Man issue despite being a part of a large crossover. Can't remember the next issue, but the one after that with Vision struggles due to the absurd shift of tone. From a light-hearted entertaining battle with Captain Atlas to a serious debate about genocide between two "brothers". I said on another page the Wonder Man/Vision thing was inevitably going to be done yet again in a Wonder Man issue, so at least they got it out of the way using a part of the crossover for it. In a vacuum that issue is fine, and as part of Galactic Storm it's fine, but when it's put next to all the other Wonder Man issues and nothing else it stands out as being grimly serious. AFJanuary 28, 2016 5:02 AM X-Factor #71-73 I loathe Peter David's attitude towards Fallen Angels. I'm not speaking as someone who particularly loves Fallen Angels, and I actually quite like David's first X-Factor story here, but I think it is bloody terrible approach to writing a character. Multiple Man's ONE major appearance prior to this was in Fallen Angels. Peter David isn't jettisoning it because it messed up his story or because it complicated things, he's getting rid of it simply because he didn't feel like reading it. The matter of fact is, the actual content with Madrox in Fallen Angels works very very well to compliment exactly what Peter David is doing here. Peter David is just one of many "beloved" creators who are reluctant to accept the fact that anyone else might ever touch or do something substantial "their toys" in a shared universe (see also: Chris Claremont, Jim Starlin, Steve Englehart). And this is pretty tame compared to when he came back to Hulk and revealed every run that happened between his two were all fantasy courtesy of Nightmare. David's retcon that it's really a dupe (and evil one at that) also makes Fallen Angels broken and almost impossible to work. It's just selfish, lazy writing. Peter David didn't even have to refer to Fallen Angels, he could've ignored it and it wouldn't matter, but instead he decides to just toss it on the fire to save himself any sort of continuity problem or inconsistencies down the line. ChrisWJanuary 28, 2016 12:29 AM Amazing Spider-Man #283 This issue actually works as far as the amount of thought going on behind-the-scenes. Maybe the intent was to build up to Titania as a damsel-in-distress while the Absorbing Man is lifting up an airplane because he's just that awesome. It would explain the need for re-drawing that Mr. Frenz mentions. Titania, as first established, is an action chick who wants to beat up anybody who was ever mean to her. She and her fat friend Volcana [who wasn't actually fat, but was as close as Marvel/Shooter was willing to allow] interacted with the villains. Volcana attached herself immediately to the Molecule Man, who desperately needed a mother figure. I still like the scene at the end of "Secret Wars" where he knows what to do, he'll get all the villains home, he just needs a place to work, and she grabs him. "We could go to *MY PLACE* Owie." [emphasis in original.] Meanwhile, Titania is a mean bitch villain and Spidey easily defeated her like the bully that she is. I would swear scenes like this are how "Secret Wars II" was invented, because Shooter must have been brimming over with ideas as this point, and I think this issue was one of the results. Titania is acting like a typical Spider-Man villain. But instead of fighting him, she runs, because of how he beat her up. She runs back to her boyfriend, and casually asks if he could beat Spider-Man. He says "probably" and she instantly starts thinking of how to make that happen. She sets herself up as a badass/damsel in distress just so Crusher Creel (of all people) will save her in a dramatic moment. It's like the worst possible concept. You could rewrite the story with Skeeter and Crusher as the heroes and Spider-Man as the villain, and although maybe there'd be a dramatic moment [like the full-page spread Mr. Frenz says he didn't draw] but the reader would still be wondering "WTF?" And then Spider-Man beats the Absorbing Man. Sure. Right. Whatever. I have to wonder if this was a result of all the thought and work that went into "Secret Wars" and "Secret Wars II" and trying to make that into a dramatic "Spider-Man" story, especially Titania's dramatic defeat. For what it was, it wasn't bad. Wasn't good, but wasn't bad. Erik RobbinsJanuary 27, 2016 11:57 PM X-Factor #75 When the Nasty Boys started appearing in the X-Men cartoon, my reaction was "Who the heck are these guys?" ChrisWJanuary 27, 2016 11:46 PM X-Factor #71-73 I always thought that was the weakest part of the explanation. If a dupe has enough self-awareness to drug the [no idea for the term] main personality, then there are already problems with dupes. This explanation just extended the problems with "Fallen Angels." PAD would explain this in more depth in the "X-Factor" revamp, but at the time (and even now) it didn't answer the question of where the rogue dupe came from. And don't even start on Mr. Sinister got involved. At least that can be explained in hindsight with 'villains gonna villain.' But where did the rogue dupe come from? At least it worked dramatically with the Death of Jamie Madrox in the first two issues, leading up to his triumphant return, but it doesn't really make sense if you think about it. MichaelJanuary 27, 2016 11:30 PM Nick Fury Agent of SHIELD #32 Firing Chichester might have been a desperate attempt to avoid cancellation since sales were still horrible on his issues. ChrisWJanuary 27, 2016 10:24 PM X-Factor #75 I don't recall this being the greatest climax of a storyline ever, but unless Fnord left out a lot of subplots [not likely] this story makes no sense. Madrox coming back was a good 'hero restoring himself' climax. One assumes that's what the story was intended to build to, and it worked. Building Jamie up to the level of Alex and Lorna and Rhane. Ok. Fine. But this is it? Omar KarinduJanuary 27, 2016 9:23 PM New Warriors #22-25 The Warriors stealing the Quinjet works for me if only because we've seen that the Warriors think the Avengers don't take them seriously. They don't have to be right about that to believe it AlJanuary 27, 2016 9:03 PM Amazing Spider-Man #256-258 Erik Beck : But Felicia wears the costume’s colours! MJ’s line about ‘it’s true it’s all true’ is easily reconcilable. a) She could be referring to the fact that Black Cat and Spidey were dating, not the fact that Peter is Spider-Man fnord12January 27, 2016 9:03 PM X-Factor #75 Thanks Michael. As i said, some of the ins and outs of Sinister's plot got a little confusing. :-) AlJanuary 27, 2016 8:56 PM Spider-Man #15 @Michael: Most mutants don’t manifest at birth anyway. So the baby would get expensive LATER. Technically speaking Peter’s blood wouldn’t be involved in this. And with Aunt May that was a direct blood transfusion (sans white blood cells) into a very old sickly woman so the health risks were probably smaller than that in general. Really the risk was more in the fact that it was a total lottery. @Luis Dantas |: In fairness that is very much a personal belief system sort of thing. Some people are okay to risk it, some people are not. Beast doesn’t actually say that the danger to MJ or the kid are in double digits just that it is likely it wouldn’t be a normal baby/there would be some manner of complication. When Peter and MJ do get pregnant they are aware of this but it’s made clear that the pregnancy was accidental. Nevertheless there were complications but they opted to keep the child regardless. I think it’s fine for Peter to consider the idea of a vasectomy but I think again this isn’t like it’s a guaranteed field of danger. There is zero precedent for someone like him. Other superhumans SOMETIMES have problems, but Cyclops did not and other non-mutants haven’t either. Since he is himself a completely unique case the notion that there is guaranteed danger is entirely up in the air, as is the idea of how severe the danger itself might be. Remember also Peter and MJ live with danger every day so their outlook is going to be impacted by that and probably shape them differently to most people. Basically Peter and MJ’s chances of having a regular pregnancy are there but so is the chance of not having a normal one which itself comes with the potential for danger but nothing is likely. Hell in Spider-Girl, they display a similar attitude towards their second pregnancy even though the first one did come with complications. Noticeably though the complications were very different again because Peter’s genetics are crapshoot. In a way, technically speaking everyone’s is. Although he did have far more direct access to the FF in Spider-Girl and at the same time their first pregnancy did ultimately work out okay once they applied the appropriate medical treatments. Really MJ’s health was in jeopardy the first time around less because of Peter’s genetics and more because of Ben Reilly’s friend Seward Trainer deciding to not forewarn them properly. He knew Mary Jane had the potential to get sick due to the pregnancy, even have her life endangered, and he had the appropriate treatment to fix everything ready to hand, he just opted not to warn them about it or give it to them just in case because...er...he didn’t want to worry them I guess??????? As for how important is it for Peter to have kids? Well from a realistic POV it’s what he himself wants. Peter aspires to be Uncle Ben basically. A house in the suburbs, a wife, kids, all that cozy jazz. For him it isn’t a social expectation. Perhaps that is a FACTOR for MJ, but ultimately she also clearly wants children as she got broody when she hung around Normie Osborn and has made internal comments about wanting a family. Spider-Girl equally showcases her as someone very much grateful for her kids. So, ultimately it isn’t a social expectation thing for her either. From a storytelling POV it would be immensely beneficial as it’s another layer to the everyman aspect of his character and the theme of responsibility and growing up. Because statistically speaking the overwhelming majority of people have children. Imo, the adoption angle would work but it’d be particularly awesome if he adopted say Billy Connors or Normie Osborn. I think if nothing else it would be something he’d be happy to do because in a sense he was adopted. But I think he also would like a child of his own and I guess if we go by this issue, that may well be his personal preference. And maybe that part is societal expectation. Sperm doner I have no idea about, beyond again, his discussing having kids with MJ which are boilogically his kids leans towardsthe idea he’d prefer that. I’m not really seeing a downside to adoption, beyond the biological parents might show up one day and you’ll have to let the kid know the truth. From a storytelling POV though I think having a biological child is going to be more interesting due to the legacy aspect, because the kid would inherit Peter’s powers. That being said I see no reason why Peter and MJ couldn’t have a biological and an adopted child and thus readers have the best of both worlds. As for deceiving their friends I see no reason for much of a deception. They’d just say that they’ve decided to adopt because they just wanted to, or because they wanted to give a child a home. The sperm donor thing could just be explained as “Oh, Peter has some kind of medical condition that we didn’t know about. He can’t have kids” Perhaps I am being bigoted here, but I really would like Peter and MJ to have a biological child moreso than the other options. I want them to go through the whole thing from pregnancy onwards, have the spider powers factor in and play up the kid resembling them both. I want Mayday Parker basically. Mj also had complications of a different kind in the MC2 universe. Her life and the baby’s was more directly at risk (likely due to her being older) and she was confined to a wheelchair during most of the pregnancy. However medicine from Mr. Fantastic mostly kept her in check and the genetic anomalies detected were unspecified. Ultimately it all worked out fine and those anomalies just meant the baby was born with powers. @JC: He had a son in the dream vision of Earth X and in House of M. He also had a son and a daughter in MC2. I think they just give him a daughter because they knew it was gonna be a girl in the clone saga. MichaelJanuary 27, 2016 8:54 PM Avengers West Coast #80 Also in the category of art mistakes, it seems like David Ross wasn't told Wonder Man's jetpack was destroyed, because when Simon first appears he seems to be flying. MichaelJanuary 27, 2016 8:44 PM Captain America #398 Between kissing Diamondback in issue 395, and his response this issue when Steve asked what happened to her, these issues seemed to have convinced many readers that John Jameson was That Guy. This plays into him being one of the suspects in the Facade mystery in 1994. Thanos6January 27, 2016 8:35 PM Quasar #32 @Brimstone: See, I consider that a bonus. I enjoyed QUASAR because, to me anyway, it was well-written and I enjoyed what the plots were about. That Wendell was a yummy piece of rather "bishonen" eye candy was icing on the cake to me. MichaelJanuary 27, 2016 8:34 PM New Warriors #22-25 One legal inaccuracy readers complained about was that there was no way a murder trial could start less than 4 days after Vance hired his lawyer. Thanos6January 27, 2016 8:31 PM Sleepwalker #9 @Dermie: It would indeed be good for male and female victims to be treated equally. That said, I'm one of the ones you mention-- I enjoy sex so much I wouldn't mind the whole "mind-control seduction" at all, regardless if it was a male OR female zapping me. MichaelJanuary 27, 2016 8:10 PM X-Factor #75 Fnord, that wasn't Ricochet in the Senate- it was a disguised Mr. Sinister. DermieJanuary 27, 2016 8:04 PM Sleepwalker #9 Yeah, Lullaby definitely used her powers to make love slaves. Part of Sleepwalker's non-reaction is likely due to a double standard--that the men wouldn't be THAT upset about being used as sex slaves, since they get laid. We have seen similar things before with male heroes reacting to getting controlled by people like the Enchantress. They didn't like losing their free will...but the sex part wasn't really a hassle. Nowadays writers are more likely to be more sensitive about the subject, and show the male characters reacting more strongly to the violation--which is definitely a GOOD thing (although I do think the previous portrayal has *some* validity as well--there ARE some guys who wouldn't think of it as rape if it happened to them, as long as the women wasn't ugly). As for an in-story explanation? Sleepwalker isn't human, so he may not judge such matters the same way humans do. He may not have recognized that the men were being subjected to something they didn't want to do. Or he might have felt that it was more important to not blow his cover of not being under her spell. DermieJanuary 27, 2016 7:53 PM Avengers West Coast #80 I don't know that it is particularly important, except that it might help in terms of placement with any other books where the WCA guest star, but Living Lightning gets a new costume in this issue. Unfortunately, their first tie-in issue of a 19 part crossover with 5 other books probably wasn't the best issue to do that in. Miguel will be seen in the wrong costume in some of the other chapters, probably because those artists weren't aware of the costume change or weren't given reference material for the new design. fnord12January 27, 2016 7:45 PM Captain America #398 I don't have any behind the scenes info but Peter David was known to not like participating in crossovers, and between the scene here and the joke that i mention in the War & Pieces event, it feels like maybe David was "invited" to participate in this but managed to get out of it. Just speculation, of course. Mostly joking. Brimstone: Wrestler, Celebrity, Actor, Comics CEOJanuary 27, 2016 7:36 PM Wonder Man #7 this was one of two Galactic Storm comics I had (the other was THOR) and I got to say I LOVED this and I thought the timing of Wonder Man counting down to knock out Capt. Atlas was really clever, this def had an interesting plot and I give them a lot of credit. Brimstone: Wrestler, Celebrity, Actor, Comics CEOJanuary 27, 2016 7:34 PM Quasar #32 honestly, I like Greg's art but again Quasar looks like Daryll Hannah or something. A hero can be "sensitive" without looking like a female model dude lol Brimstone: Wrestler, Celebrity, Actor, Comics CEOJanuary 27, 2016 7:30 PM Captain America #398 being that I am someone in the comics industry I try to make it a personal rule not to disparage another professional with a fanbase but I have to say what is up with this art?? No wonder "Heroes Reborn" needed to happen, because this art just does not scream dynamic action and even the figures seem so stiff. I don't know what else Rik Levins did but this art does not serve a galactic story that well. So The Hulk has a cameo but it's behind a door?! Weird. Fnord is your (hilarious) P. David reference an actual thing? Did Peter David refuse to have the Hulk in this crossover? Thanos6January 27, 2016 7:18 PM Fantastic Four #18 Kl'rt knowing what an Earth ram is, and knowing enough about Earth culture to make the battering ram pun, has always bothered me. Thanos6January 27, 2016 7:11 PM Amazing Spider-Man #1 Unless I'm missing a joke or something, fnord, you really misspelled the team's name, right above the neck stretching panel (Fanastif Cour). RobertJanuary 27, 2016 6:54 PM Strange Tales #106 (Human Torch) As I mentioned in the entry for Strange Tales #101, Stan had already tried addressing the obvious secret identity problem with a blurb about some of Johnny's friends knew he was the Torch but all had moved away. So he knew from the start that this was at odds with what was going on in the FF book at the same time. I wonder why it took an additional five issues before putting the matter to rest? Maybe he waited to see how much fans would notice before he could be bothered with it. To his credit, he does at least address it and come up with a solution instead of ignoring it. fnord12January 27, 2016 6:17 PM Quasar #32 This is brought up in a later lettercol. They weren't misprinted. Quasar was direct market only, so to make the books available on newsstands with the rest of the event, they published the issues with those numbers, basically a temporary mass market run. Red CometJanuary 27, 2016 6:08 PM Quasar #32 I got these Quasar issues for Galactic Storm and I seem to recall my copies had the issue number misprinted as single digits. Don't know if they were all like that or if I had a reprint with an error on it. Red CometJanuary 27, 2016 6:05 PM Captain America #398 Maybe getting out of criminal charges in the Marvel Universe is easier than it looks when you consider that most villains get delivered to the cops unconscious by lawless vigilantes who won't be showing up to testify in court or provide any evidence. MortificatorJanuary 27, 2016 6:00 PM X-Factor #75 The Nasty Boys! I remember them from the '90s X-Men cartoon, where they and not the Marauders were Sinister's main flunkies. Gorgeous George is the only one I recall in any detail, though. Probably either because of his slightly less generic appearance, or wrasslin' name. Red CometJanuary 27, 2016 5:58 PM X-Factor #75 The Nasty Boys got a lot higher profile than they probably deserved because they were prominent recurring villains on the 90s Fox X-men cartoon. I watched that show growing up and was surprised that the Nasty Boys didn't show up much when I eventually started collecting back issues. Red CometJanuary 27, 2016 5:56 PM New Warriors #22-25 Unfortunately, this was the end for the good issues of New Warriors (IMO at least). I didn't much care for the stories or art after this, but I will say the crossovers they had in their annuals were usually fun. kvetoJanuary 27, 2016 5:16 PM New Mutants #87 Clam down, Andres. We believe you. RobertJanuary 27, 2016 5:02 PM Tales To Astonish #40 (Ant-Man) The story is weak, especially the Scooby Doo ending, but Kirby's artwork is very nice. These early Ant-Man tales just scream Silver Age but that by itself isn't a bad thing to me. ANDRES LJanuary 27, 2016 4:58 PM New Mutants #87 I BOUGHT THIS ISSUE IN DEC 1989 kvetoJanuary 27, 2016 4:42 PM Captain America #398 Hey, if the MU bail system works like that, it explains a lot about how often villains get out. RobertJanuary 27, 2016 4:41 PM Strange Tales #105 (Human Torch) I love the Wizard's early appearances. He's so cocky and super villainy in a very old-school mustache-twirling kind of way. kvetoJanuary 27, 2016 4:41 PM Quasar #32 I only picked up bits and pieces of Galactic storm but it was clear there was some major continuity plotting there. Quite an impressive bit. Thanos6January 27, 2016 4:39 PM Captain America #398 Why on Earth would a member of the Red Skull's inner circle be let out on bail? kvetoJanuary 27, 2016 4:35 PM Captain America #398 You can just taste the anticipation of us all getting ready to pile on Capwolf:-) fnord12January 27, 2016 4:18 PM Amazing Spider-Man #1 Well, it's more of a cameo, and Fantastic Four #12, which was a true crossover, came out slightly earlier (they both have the same cover date but FF #12 was released a little earlier). But i basically agree with you and have upped the rating. It's also the first John Jameson, which would be more notable if it wasn't for all the other things. RobertJanuary 27, 2016 4:15 PM Hulk #5 This issue is easily the best of the initial Hulk series IMO. Tyrannus seemed to bring out the King in Kirby that had been missing so far and that, in turn, brought better scripting from Lee. Nothing revolutionary here by any stretch, and still not a great comic, but so much better than the preceding four issues or the final one. ANDRES LJanuary 27, 2016 4:06 PM Amazing Spider-Man #1 Historical Significance Rating:9 kvetoJanuary 27, 2016 4:00 PM Alpha Flight #108 Omerta as a comic mobster enforcer sounds good. As a silent ninja, not so much. And all these national European heroes get their butts kicked by auxiliary members of the lamest super team out there. I appreciate it's a fine line to walk. Readers clammer for diversity then when we get diversity, we are unhappy with it. I understand why most writers just don't bother. But I think there is a difference in how hard they try. I feel sympathy for writers who try for diversity but fail just due to ignorance of the subject matter, like the one who tried to make an African Juju villain. I don't think he was trying to insult anyone, he just didn't know any better. Contrast that with this comic, a writer who clearly wants to make fun of Europeans in a mean spirited way. I mean Dennis the Menace? It's either deliberately insulting or deliberately indifferent. It's either "Who gives a damn about what Poles think?" or "Hey, lookit those dumb ferrigners. They don't even speak English good." I once tried to come up with a team of European marvel heroes. The pickings are slim. Ataru320January 27, 2016 3:26 PM Captain America #398 Its hilarious to think that because of a major crossover, we get a delay to one of the defining (negative) moments of the Gru run. So yeah, bring on the Kree and the Shi'ar...but the Capwolf shadow is still lurking regardless. Piotr WJanuary 27, 2016 2:18 PM New Warriors #21 "Until Speedy becomes grim and gritty...". Heh. JonathanJanuary 27, 2016 2:10 PM Amazing Spider-Man #283 As Walter mentions, the non-Frenz splash page was used (re-coloured) as the cover of a Spider-Man Summer Special in the UK, and it was an attention getting cover, I remember seeing it in the racks at WHSmiths and picking it up: http://www.spiderfan.org/comics/title/spiderman_special_uk.html I wouldn't have minded if Owsley had got rid of Frenz's cover and used the splash page instead. It makes sense as a cover, and you can just say it's artistic license that there's no page inside where Spidey's actually pulling Titania's hair. But like Fnord and other commenters here, the transition from Frenz's art to the inserted splash page always bothered me, and I'm glad Ron commented here and explained it all these years later. I'd just thought it was a poor artistic choice by Frenz, but it turns out he was not to blame. It must be very annoying to have your work tampered with in this manner, and does add to the list of Owsley/Priest's tampering with DeFalco & Frenz's work (along with delaying the Firelord issues and removing scenes involving Richard Fisk). I liked Owsley at the time for his run on Power Man & Iron Fist, but he definitely seems to have been a poor fit as an editor. clydeJanuary 27, 2016 2:03 PM Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #118 IIRC, that particular mystery was never resolved. JonathanJanuary 27, 2016 1:52 PM Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #118 Same question as Dan H - Does anyone remember if they ever made an explanation for Lance Bannon acting weird? I recall it at the time as one of the many red herrings "of someone's acting weird, maybe they're the Hobgoblin", and it's not a major thing but after you know he's not the Hobgoblin, what's that scene about? ANDRES LJanuary 27, 2016 12:29 PM Hulk #339 WOW, McFarland first Spider-Man was here (a small panel) but still Ataru320January 27, 2016 12:22 PM Alpha Flight #108 National stereotypes are prevalent regardless of where you go: the home team can be anything imagined while the rest of the world is based on the little you know about them outside stereotypes. Heck, in a lot of anime, the American character is usually depicted as loud and ignorant or wearing a cowboy hat all the time (then again your idea reminds me a bit of Chibodee Crockett from G Gundam) AFJanuary 27, 2016 12:18 PM Spider-Man #15 Independent of the writing, McFarlane's Spider-Man is the best selling Spider-Man ever. Why wouldn't they try to capture the same essence in a bottle with his successor? It obviously didn't happen but I think they clearly didn't want to break the formula that had just previously given them what they probably think of as the "best Spider-Man comic ever". Piotr WJanuary 27, 2016 12:18 PM Alpha Flight #108 Overall, it's a bit annoying how many non-American supers in American comics are created based on national stereotypes. Only the Americans are allowed to have normal supers... I mean, sure - the Avengers have Captain America, but that's it. The rest of the team isn't based on American national identity - heck, the team even has Thor, who clearly has nothing to do with America nationality-wise... If I ever get to write a comic book, I'll create an American superteam with members such as the Quaterback, the Crimson Cowboy and Miss Applepie... ;) Erik BeckJanuary 27, 2016 11:32 AM Spider-Man #15 What was the prevailing theory here with Larsen? I understand bringing him for pencils - his stuff looks similar to MacFarlane and he had replaced him in ASM. But given how bad MacFarlane's writing was, they wanted to bring another hot new artist and let him hone his writing on a major title? Mark DrummondJanuary 27, 2016 10:46 AM Amazing Spider-Man #103-104 In Comics Journal #186, Gil Kane said that Gog was entirely his creation. Mark DrummondJanuary 27, 2016 10:44 AM Amazing Spider-Man #100-102 Gil Kane stated in Comics Journal #186 that he based Morbius on Jack Palance, but I'm not really seeing it. EnchloreJanuary 27, 2016 10:08 AM Uncanny X-Men #94-95 Chris Claremont is listed as "Chris Clarement" in your credits, so this issue ends up not appearing when you use the advanced search to look for his writing credits. fnord12January 27, 2016 9:05 AM Alpha Flight #106 For anyone wanting to continue the Liefeld/Kirby debate without cluttering up this issue's comments, JSFan has kindly created a forum thread. MidnighterJanuary 27, 2016 8:42 AM Alpha Flight #108 You know, as an Italian, I always found it quite offensive Omerta. In Italian is not just silence, but it is the attitude of those who do not speak and do not report criminal acts, particularly associated with criminal organizations like the Mafia and Camorra. Erik BeckJanuary 27, 2016 7:26 AM X-Men #1-3 These were the first X-Men comics I had bought in real time in two years and would be the last for over a year. And I had already made the decision when I started collecting again that if they brought back Magneto from this brilliant conclusion that I would quit, and sure enough, once he came back in late 1993, I was done and I wouldn't buy X-Men again until Whedon's run on Astonishing. Ironically, for Claremont's departure, they introduce a number of subplots that will drag on for years (Cortez), something that Claremont was notorious for. But he was the best of the X-Men writers and, having read much of what has gone in the last 25 years, I still think he is the best of the X-Men writers. Aside from the little coda at the end, it does say on the splash page for #3 "Stan Lee proudly presents the last Chris Claremont story", so it wasn't just the little bit at the end signaling his departure. I know that there are those who don't like Jim Lee, but the art, for me, is one of the great joys of these three issues. 25 years later and I am still so passionate about these that they are the few issues I still own. I still have a number of trade collections, but only a handful of single issues, but I have all three of these. AFJanuary 27, 2016 6:55 AM Alpha Flight #108 Lobdell will later introduce a new mutant who becomes an X-Men member also called Omerta in Eve of Destruction. He will fare not much better than this Omerta for longevity. AFJanuary 27, 2016 6:44 AM Punisher War Zone #1-11 The 2004 Punisher movie DID use a lot of stuff from this. The torture/Popsicle scene is verbatim from these comics. JoeJanuary 27, 2016 5:35 AM Punisher War Zone #1-11 Issues #1-6 of War Zone was the last great Punisher story arc I ever read back in the day. They could have made for a better movie script than the three actual Punisher flicks altogether. I've never thought of the bald headed prison guard (notice that's he's wearing some kind of audio device) as the Kingpin, especially since it seems like he just suits up to meet with Julius Carbone rather than show up in uniform, likely to cash in his info. I wasn't reading Last Rites at the time but it seems totally out of character for the Kingpin to seek an audience with lower level mobster even if he was down on his luck at the time. Besides that, Chuck Dixon doesn't even mention the guy by name, so I've assumed him to be an average prison guard on the take who ratted out Stiles after overhearing his conversation with Shotgun. Simple as that. I loved the dialogue here so much, I sought out an Spanish version of the original trade paperback to share. The art suits the story nicely, but I dropped the book soon as Romita left during the second arc. I only read it in its entirety a couple of years ago after I got this entire run back in my collection. Five stars all the way here in my book. BerendJanuary 26, 2016 11:28 PM Alpha Flight #108 When Euro-Force resurfaced not long ago, they had a Polish general in a child's body as a member. What is it with Marvel and Polish children? MichaelJanuary 26, 2016 10:40 PM Sleepwalker #9 One thing bothers me about this issue- in the above scans, Lullaby uses her power to compel two men to come with her while Sleepwalker can't intervene. Are we supposed to believe she had sex with them? Remember, Sleepwalker is only PRETENDING to be under her control. Why didn't he stop her? (Although granted he wasn't sure if they would wake up if she died resisting him. Still...) Brimstone: Wrestler, Celebrity, Actor, Comics CEOJanuary 26, 2016 10:07 PM Alpha Flight #106 I am kinda reluctant to comment bc I don't wanna get fnord mad at me for not obeying the rules- brah, I'm not trying to have the last word, honest!!! :) but I want to comment on Ben Hermans comment, in that I feel like a lot of artists who are successful don't really have to change their style or evolve. Look at Byrne... its a successful formula so why does he change it? Kirby didn't change (he just got worse) and even Sal Buscemas work has all them same tropes but it works! Rob is one of the most influencial and important comic creators in history- def in the Top 10- so I guess it never occurred to him that he has to change. but back to this issue and Pacella: I think this could be less a case like old Herb Trimpe trying to, and Pacella just naturally being inspired by Liefeld. after all Trimpe was a veteran and Pacella was an up and comer. Possible that's all. And we cant discount that maybe Bobbie Chase (Editor) told the new guys to try to study Rob's work. Red CometJanuary 26, 2016 9:40 PM Alpha Flight #106 @Ben Herman I don't know if this is the case for Dan Panosian, but many artists will intentionally use a different style when working mainstream comics, usually either what's considered popular or the current "house style" of the company. Herb Trimpe, for instance, said that he copied the Image look in the 90s so that he'd continue to get work from Marvel. Anyone who didn't know that would look at his 90s work and think he'd completely lost his ability to draw. MichaelJanuary 26, 2016 9:04 PM Alpha Flight #108 Lobdell was fired from Alpha Flight because he refused to expand the size of the roster: mikrolikJanuary 26, 2016 8:53 PM Amazing Spider-Man #4 Not sure why you're apologizing Mortificator; I didn't think you were "diatribing" at me; we're all just comic fans having a discussion! ;) MichaelJanuary 26, 2016 8:53 PM Punisher War Zone #1-11 Regarding the Central Park scenes, remember that a major part of the Central Park Jogger controversy was skepticism that a serial rapist could be operating in Central Park at the same time as a group of kids assaulting and robbing people. So arguably Dixon's scenario was closer to reality then you're giving him credit for. RobertJanuary 26, 2016 8:51 PM Strange Tales #104 (Human Torch) Pete's ridiculous but that's what makes him so much fun. I think this is one of the better Torch solo stories so I agree with the grade. MichaelJanuary 26, 2016 8:11 PM X-Factor #71-73 No, PAD didn't ignore it- in issue 75, he explains that the Jamie that appeared in Fallen Angels was a renegade dupe that drugged Jamie so he could go on his own adventures like with the Fallen Angels, and after being frustrated at not being completely in control, sought out Mr. Sinister to give him complete control. JPJanuary 26, 2016 8:06 PM Alpha Flight #108 Thanks! I wasn't sure. Ben HermanJanuary 26, 2016 7:22 PM Alpha Flight #106 I am curious if Mark Pacella still works as an artist and, if so, what his art style looks like nowadays. I bring this up because of Dan Panosian, who inked Pacella on this issue and on a few issues of X-Force. Panosian also did some penciling himself for Marvel and Image in a very Liefeld-inspired style. Then in the late 1990s Panosian went to work in advertising and storyboards, among other things. At that point a funny thing happened: when he came back to the comic book biz around 2008 or 2009, his style looked COMPLETELY different. Seriously, if you look at the artwork Panosian has done within the last seven or eight years, is bears absolutely no resemblance to Liefeld. Nowadays Panosian is doing some really amazing stuff. I find it really interesting that Liefeld himself has been drawing almost exactly the same since the early 1990s. He hasn't grown or developed since then. But if you then look at a number of the artists who started out as clones of him, and then examine their own careers, a number of them eventually grew into really great artists. fnord12January 26, 2016 7:19 PM Alpha Flight #108 His official name is Omerta, which we're told means Silence. I've updated the entry. This is the only appearance of him, Prodigy, and Ursula. JPJanuary 26, 2016 7:12 PM Alpha Flight #108 Is the ninja guy's name Silence or Omerta? Yes, I know that Omerta means "code of silence" but what was the character's official name? I couldn't find a tag for him; is this his only appearance? Ben HermanJanuary 26, 2016 7:07 PM Nick Fury Agent of SHIELD #32 Okay, this was a lightweight story after the very serious, intense stuff D.G. Chichester was doing. Chichester has said he was fired from Nick Fury, which seemed an odd decision, since the stories he did with Jackson Guice were far and away the best that had appeared in this title, to say the least. Replacing him with Scott Lobdell was definitely doing something of a 180 in terms of tone & style. Still, I did enjoy Lobdell's short run, including this issue. The penciling by Dave Hoover is also solid. I always found Hoover to be a good artist, and he passed away at much too young an age. In any case, this issue has one of my all time favorite lines, as Nick Fury dryly comments "Canada's Department H... Do those guys have a copy machine where they just keep pumpin' you Weapons out?" Piotr WJanuary 26, 2016 6:58 PM Alpha Flight #108 Yeah, Prodigy is such a wasted opportunity :( At least you Czechs got Unicorn (who is a villain, but still awesome) - we Poles are being represented by a child... If, by some miracle, I'd end up writing for Marvel, one thing I'd give the MU is a good set of Polish supers! EnchloreJanuary 26, 2016 6:45 PM Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #36-37 Ryoichi Ikegami used that panel of Peter taking his mask off (the one where he's thinking "Please Lord, don't let anyone come looking for Peter Parker--" as a base for an unmasking scene for the 70s Spider-Man manga (a colored version used as a cover for the US Marvel version can be found here: http://static.comicvine.com/uploads/scale_small/1/15317/698440-sm_manga_11.gif ). Omar KarinduJanuary 26, 2016 5:11 PM Master of Kung Fu #77-79 The robots that Tarr battles are the same models seen on Mordillo Island back in issues #34-35; they're part of what MI6 got by recruiting Brynocki int he last storyline. BobJanuary 26, 2016 4:55 PM Fantastic Four #362-365 In less than a year, we went from Simonson's perfection to this garbage. DeFalco should be convicted of crimes against comics. kveto from europeJanuary 26, 2016 4:42 PM Alpha Flight #108 Marvel must've really disliked Europe to give us such lame heroes. I mean, the first Polish hero is...Dennis the Menace. Yeah, that makes sense in no universe. And when I think of Italy the first thing that comes to mind is a silent ninja. RobertJanuary 26, 2016 4:40 PM Journey Into Mystery #85-92 Stan and/or Jack did the "dress someone or something up as Thor" gag several times in the early issues. I have no idea where he gets the extra costume and fake hammer at a moment's notice. RobertJanuary 26, 2016 4:01 PM Punisher War Zone #1-11 War Zone was the only Punisher title I actually enjoyed back in the day, helped in large part by JRJR's artwork. I only tried the book out because I had a friend who normally didn't like comics but had suddenly gotten into Punisher books. I stayed with the title until a few issues after JRJR had left. Once he was gone I resumed my complete lack of interest in anything Frank Castle. Ataru320January 26, 2016 3:39 PM Alpha Flight #108 Somehow I'm wondering more and more if Shamrock just has a "crap defense" alongside her "luck defense". She just keeps shining in bad books! MortificatorJanuary 26, 2016 11:38 AM Amazing Spider-Man #4 Annnnd scrolling through other recent comments, I see it would have been better for me not to put in that second paragraph. MortificatorJanuary 26, 2016 11:27 AM Amazing Spider-Man #4 Oh, I'm sure Bendis' intent was for that girl to be Jessica Jones. There's a major continuity problem with that, though. As you can see in the scan you posted, Jessica claims to witness the fight with Sandman after emerging from her coma with super powers. However, Alias shows the event which caused her to emerge from her coma was the struggle with Galactus from Fantastic Four #48-50. That's way after ASM#4. Anyway, I'm not sure your summation of this comments section is necessary, or accurate. Like, that two-paragraph diatribe that you say was a response to you. Scroll up a little, and you'll see it was a response to Mikrolik. (Sorry, Mikrolik! Didn't mean to diatribe at you.) Erik BeckJanuary 26, 2016 11:24 AM X-Factor #71-73 I wasn't aware of this series until X-Cutioner's Song, but I just found it unreadable when I went back to try and catch up. For me, I couldn't get past the art, no matter how hard I tried. #71 is better than most of what follows, but it just never worked for me. Someone could correct me if I'm wrong, but it really seems like David's characterization of Jamie completely ignores everything that happened in Fallen Angels. For that matter, it seems like Siryn should have ended up in this group rather than X-Force. Ataru320January 26, 2016 11:21 AM Fantastic Four #362-365 When you have a name like "Occulus", I'd expect something similar to Lord I from the Morbius "Fear" books, not "generic Darkseid-looking loser #73". Brimstone: Wrestler, Celebrity, Actor, Comics CEOJanuary 26, 2016 10:36 AM Amazing Spider-Man #284-286 they could have spun it as Betty writing to her deceased Mom as a form of therapy the way people write in a journal to let off stress. I've read about people writing letters to lost love ones as a psychological method of coping Brimstone: Wrestler, Celebrity, Actor, Comics CEOJanuary 26, 2016 10:25 AM Fantastic Four #362-365 I think Occulus doesn't stand out also because of his coloring. No I'm being serious! The red and purple scheme works for Magneto only lol but everyone else (Lucifer I'm lookin at you) it just doesn't "fit". I think his design just seems like another emperor type. Paul Ryan is a fine artist but a "quiet" artist Brimstone: Wrestler, Celebrity, Actor, Comics CEOJanuary 26, 2016 10:16 AM Alpha Flight #106 fnord12, I apologize bro if I broke any rules. Wasn't thinking about that or trying to have last word just enjoying the conversation but I will put a lid on it ! I enjoy your work and as a public figure I have to avoid anything that looks like I'm arguing! All is well at Team Brim LOL and Enchlore thanks! that is all I was saying, I was not trying to say that Liefeld is "like" Kirby, just the style set for other artists to emulate is similar and both created a lot of IP for Marvel.... EnchloreJanuary 26, 2016 10:02 AM Alpha Flight #106 I think you're all missing the point Brimstone is trying to make. In the 60s (and early 70s), Marvel artists were all influenced by Jack Kirby and tried to emulate his style, because he was being successful. Liefeld started making the same impact in the 90s with his "stylized" art and that's why other artists wanted to emulate it - today we see it as being horrible and amateurish, but at the time Liefeld was totally making the impact Kirby did in the 60s. His "extreme" characters and comics were, in the 90s, what Kirby's creations were in the 60s and 70s. The only thing is that, unlike Kirby, Liefeld and his creations were pretty much all hype and no substance, which is why it's hard to see Liefeld as the Jack Kirby of the 90s. Fnord raises pretty much the same point in his reviews of the early Liefeld New Mutants issues. fnord12January 26, 2016 10:02 AM Alpha Flight #106 Brimstone, please re-read my comments policy regarding back-and-forth exchanges and last word-ism. Brimstone: Wrestler, Celebrity, Actor, Comics CEOJanuary 26, 2016 9:52 AM Alpha Flight #106 Deadpool is the #1 character in comics and look how he's one of the most demanded characters in the Marvel Universe today and the merchandise. It couldn't happen by accident. Liefeld knew he was creating characters who were marketable and unlike anything seen before in comics. BillJanuary 26, 2016 9:41 AM Alpha Flight #106 Deadpool saved Marvel?? LOL! What reality did that happen in? Alpha Flight should have been cancelled long ago by this point. It's a great example of a series that had no reason to continue without the original creator. Brimstone: Wrestler, Celebrity, Actor, Comics CEOJanuary 26, 2016 9:39 AM Alpha Flight #106 I didn't mean for a heated discussion to get started so early in the morning LOL! I don't mean to get sidetracked from this (important?) issue of Alpha Flight but the initial suggestion was that the artist is trying to emulate Liefeld. This understandably got us into talking about the progression of styles in the 1990s and how Marvel's artists were probably told to ape the Liefeld style. It seemed like there was surprise or confusion about this so I was explaining how monumental and original Liefelds career has been and I gotta stand behind that. Everything about Deadpool is unlike anything ever seen in comics before! The debt we all owe Liefeld is a big one. Truth. Oliver_CJanuary 26, 2016 9:33 AM Alpha Flight #106 What color is the sky on a world where "Liefeld created Youngblood!" is a compliment? Deadpool I will credit (however reluctantly) with a certain wise-cracking ubiquity and longevity, but Youngblood?! Ataru320January 26, 2016 8:48 AM Alpha Flight #106 How in the world did an article about the issue where Northstar comes out turn into an argument about Rob Liefeld? At least if we're talking about Liefeld's influence (or utter abominations), we should keep it to an article about a Liefeld comic. (BTW: all I can think of with Youngblood and Doom's IV is Linkara freak-outs on how horrifying they get) Hoping to end the subject: Liefeld had dynamic elements that made him important for a generation and helped found one of the most important independent comic companies out there today in Image, plus "created" Cable and Deadpool. That's it: that's all his importance to the comic world is, and let's leave it at that. cullenJanuary 26, 2016 8:34 AM Alpha Flight #106 WTF is a comics hipster? Certainly not a geek in their late 30s who's been reading Marvels since the Shooter era? JSfanJanuary 26, 2016 8:25 AM Alpha Flight #106 Youngblood, Doom's IV, BloodStrike, Prophet. Who? Where are they now? They're just throw away charcters with 'really cool' names. Pah! Kirby's art was stylised but at least he understood the basic fundamentals of anatomy, the way Liefeld's characters contorted into weird poses is just stupid. By-the-way, I like his earlier work when he was on the verge of being a good artist but somewhere along the line he just fell apart. Look, I disagree with your argument that Liefeld is the Kirby of his day and I'll leave it at that. I'm sorry, this thread as veered away from a comic book story which tackles a sensitive and important subject. Brimstone: Wrestler, Celebrity, Actor, Comics CEOJanuary 26, 2016 7:57 AM Alpha Flight #106 again I think you guys are just taking the "comics hipster" view and not looking at facts: Liefeld created so many new characters and concepts the likes that comics have NEVER SEEN. He is very underrated in regards to the sheer amount of original characters he has created: Youngblood, Doom's IV, BloodStrike, Prophet, etc. etc.. JSfanJanuary 26, 2016 7:06 AM Alpha Flight #106 Rob Liefeld's appeal is that a teenager in the 90s seeing Rob's art would think, "Hey, I can draw like that." It's 'cool'in an amatuer comic book sort of way. I cannot honestly believe that someone who isn't having a laugh thinks Liefeld is the Kirby of his day. Bwhahahahahahahaha! Brilliant! Deadpool and at a pinch Cable are his most notable characters he created. The rest I've only come across because of this site -- I stopped reading comics in the 90s mainly because the stories were bad and the art was awful -- thanks, Liefeld & co. OK, back to the story. Er, bad just bad. This was handled so badly that it takes away any good it may have done from a very serious issue. It's a shame with better storytelling capabilities and better writing it could have been a significant story. Luis DantasJanuary 26, 2016 6:41 AM Alpha Flight #106 Some day there will be an explanation for why Liefeld was so influential at this point in time. It certainly wasn't due to any artistic merits. Oliver_CJanuary 26, 2016 5:27 AM Alpha Flight #106 Liefeld, the Kirby of his day?! Maybe if Kirby had written and drawn nothing but 'Captain Victory and the Galactic Rangers'. "Liefeld LOVES comics..!" Edward D. Wood loved directing movies. William McGonagall loved writing poems. But they're still terrible. Luke BlanchardJanuary 26, 2016 4:09 AM Journey Into Mystery #97 Since Don Heck inked "Thor" here and then did the art for three issues, it's possible Lee brought Kirby in for this issue to rejig the feature and at this point meant Heck to continue on "Thor" while Kirby did "Tales of Asgard". Kirby had drawn stories with volcano monsters for TALES OF THE UNEXPECTED #22 (DC) and TALES OF SUSPENSE #7. Both were cover-featured, and the latter issue's cover was clearly the model for the present issue's. The first "Tales of Asgard" instalment, with its scenes of Viking life and captions-only script, reminds me of PRINCE VALIANT. Kirby was a fan of the strip, so it may have been his model. Luke BlanchardJanuary 26, 2016 3:45 AM Journey Into Mystery #83 If I might add to Mark's post, Kirby had drawn at least three stories with living Easter Island statues, for HOUSE OF MYSTERY #85 (DC), TALES TO ASTONISH #16, and TALES OF SUSPENSE #28. That last issue came out about five months before Thor's debut. He did another such story near the end of his career for DC's SUPER POWERS (second series) #3. The critters were cover-featured each time. The one in TALES TO ASTONISH #16, from 1960, was called Thorr! The cover of THOR #318 was likely a homage to either HOUSE OF MYSTERY #85's or TALES TO ASTONISH #16's, or both. Brimstone: Wrestler, Celebrity, Actor, Comics CEOJanuary 26, 2016 3:32 AM Alpha Flight #106 I have to respectfully disagree as someone who is IN the comics industry I think my instinct will bear out... Rob created legendary and groundbreaking characters... look at X-Force, Cable, Deadpool, Youngblood.. NOTHING like that had been seen before, and nothing has since... I personally believe that the industry was threatened by Liefeld since he was so prolific in the way Kirby was, just an endless source of new concepts and new ideas.. I almost think that the stuff people complain about (splash, lack of backgrounds) is just that Rob's relentless imagination make him eager to get the work done and move on to his next game-changer.. he really IS to comics what Kirby was to Marvel in the 1960s... the proof is in the pudding to make me sound like an old dude LOL but really, if he wasn't an original how do you explain the success of Deadpool, the most original and popular character of the last 30 years?? Luke BlanchardJanuary 26, 2016 2:39 AM Strange Tales #101 (Human Torch) The note about Johnny's friends may have been due to the sequence in FANTASTIC FOUR #4, where his auto shop friends know it (although I only count three of them). STRANGE TALES #101 came out the week after FANTASTIC FOUR #7, in which the FF attend a dinner in Washington. Red CometJanuary 26, 2016 1:57 AM Alpha Flight #106 I agree that Liefeld was influential like Jack Kirby given that throughout the 90s many artists used variations of his art style and character designs much like artists from the previous generation did their own versions of Kirby's art and character designs. JCJanuary 25, 2016 10:51 PM Amazing Spider-Man #4 Well this is obviously worth freaking-out over. You say this sarcastically, yet you're the one making it a thing. My first post is a simple sentence stating it's her and pointing out who it is. You then counter-rebuttal'd that by linking to a bunch of panels that has nothing to do with the retcon in question. Instead of making a big deal out of it, I simply respond by nothing that is infact her regardless. You then responded to my single eight word sentence, by responding with a two paragraph diatribe about a completely off-topic issue again while ignoring the retcon issue in question. It is at this point fnord scolds me for not citing an issue while erroneously accepting your link as proof. This is followed by a sarcastic remark about how he'll get to it when he gets to ASM 601, which considering is over 20 years away, is the same as saying he'll get to it never. So yes at this point, I searched for the issue and the page in question becuz now I have two people repeatedly calling me out on it and hereby making it a thing. And fyi having a character explicitly mention where they were, while having the creative team highlight the same panel and focus on the same gurl several times over is as explicit as it's going to get. That you continue to ignore blatant proof is just bizarre. MortificatorJanuary 25, 2016 9:11 PM She-Hulk #38-39 I usually don't have much reaction to this book's meta-jokes, but after all those Namor duo-shade entries, the bit at the beginning here got a big laugh out of me. Luis DantasJanuary 25, 2016 9:02 PM Alpha Flight #106 Oh, and Rob Liefeld was never better than mediocre as a penciler, and he is certainly not any better as a writer. That did not stop him from being a strong influence in the 1990s, but did not make him any better a creator, either. ChrisWJanuary 25, 2016 9:01 PM X-Factor #40 You know, as far as readable pacing and comprehensible storytelling, this is quite possibly the best Rob Liefeld art ever. I'm not one of those people who think he had potential early on, I think he was always bad. But I don't deny he had a certain quality that the people buying comics looked for. This issue may be where the two viewpoints coincide. Too bad it has to be at Maddie's funeral. Say, did Rob ever do anything with her son? Oh. Wow. Luis DantasJanuary 25, 2016 8:51 PM She-Hulk #38-39 I assume a Greek god would have a long-term perspective and think of Native Americans as "natives" of the land. He is from a time when people cared a whole lot about those things. Oh, and I think the DuoTone makes for a somewhat "noir" look which is thematically at odds with She-Hulk. MichaelJanuary 25, 2016 8:42 PM X-Factor #71-73 Jon, I'm not buying that brainwashing Rahne to fall in love with Alex would make her ignore what Val might have done to the babies. It would do the opposite- "I must keep Alex away from this horrible baby-snatching woman". I could buy that if Rahne had been brainwashed to fall in love with VAL. Luis DantasJanuary 25, 2016 8:39 PM Alpha Flight #106 Interesting that the letters page describes Alpha Plight as a "mutant book" despite a premise that is actually rather disconnected from it. Typical 1990s attempt at raising sales by forcing a perception of connection to the X-Books, I assume. AndrewJanuary 25, 2016 8:30 PM Warlock and the Infinity Watch #2 Wikipedia says Moondragon was created by Bill Everett, Mike Friedrich, George Tuska, and Jim Starlin. I seem to recall reading somewhere that her origin story in Daredevil was written and drawn before her appearance in Iron Man, even if it was published later. So I've always considered her a Starlin character. RobertJanuary 25, 2016 8:18 PM Alpha Flight #106 LOL that would be hilarious. Look, I am hitting Rob hard here mainly because of the hyperbole above but he was a big deal at the time, however good or bad that was, and lots of kids ate his stuff up. I was among them for a minute. Today it all just looks so very very ugly to me, putting aside opinions about the man's character for a moment. ChrisWJanuary 25, 2016 8:07 PM Uncanny X-Men #270 Claremont had long been trying to make something out of "Mutant Wars," and just applying the notion of superpowers to global interactions. Obviously Alan Moore did this much better in "Watchmen" with Doctor Manhattan and the Comedian, but multiple times Val Cooper or Gyrich or someone would raise the point of a government using someone with the power of Thor or Magneto. Genosha was really the only part of that thinking which came through. Come to think about it, this may also have been one reason he kept the X-Men and New Mutants coming from so many different countries. He jumped on the suggestion (I think it was Cockrum's) that Canada might not be happy about letting Wolverine get away, he certainly gave a lot of thought to Magneto if he'd had his powers back in the Holocaust, the Brotherhood becoming Freedom Force, etc. Andrew FJanuary 25, 2016 8:02 PM Alpha Flight #106 Robert, you're going to eat those words when Netflix announces its TV series starring Forearm RobertJanuary 25, 2016 7:59 PM Alpha Flight #106 Oh, and yes, he was highly influential in the worst way. Because of his success, artists with little talent and no desire to draw anything but splash pages realized that they could be a success with minimal effort and no attempt to hone their craft, just copy what the other guy was doing and cash in. RobertJanuary 25, 2016 7:55 PM Alpha Flight #106 I'm no celebrity but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night and the only connection I see between Liefeld and Kirby is that they both knew how to hold a pencil. Although Liefeld was holding his while swiping the work of better artists and passing it off as his own. You're right that Liefeld did create a bunch of characters -- derivative, shallow characters that were all style and no substance. They were not all "game-changers," either, unless Shatterstar has made a much more profound impact than I'm aware of. The guy had no sense of anatomy and his storytelling abilities were (and are) shit. He was dynamic, though, I'll give him that. One of the best pin-up artists of his day. Anything more than that and he had to turn to ripping off Perez or Byrne or Bright or a dozen other guys just to make a deadline. Vin the Comics GuyJanuary 25, 2016 7:54 PM Namor #21-25 If Priest gave his blessings as far as bringing back Iron Fist from K'un Lun, why not explain why King cast no shadow? I've read Priest's commentary at his site, but besides mentioning it, the reason is never explained, so when Byrne uses the aforementioned shadow to tell the story, as a PM/IF reader, it draws one out of the story. No problem at all with the Super-Skrull/Captain Hero setup. Brimstone: Wrestler, Celebrity, Comics CEOJanuary 25, 2016 7:34 PM Alpha Flight #106 Let me clarify I do not mean to say Rob is influenced or appears like Jack Kirby in his art. All I mean is- the dynamicism. Look at his double page spreads and how the characters leap out of the panels. What other artist did that? Uh, KIRBY. Plus, Liefeld created like, a BAZILLION characters, all lucrative, all game changing. Again... just like Kirby. I appear as a celebrity guest at dozens of major conventions around the country and I am surprised no one else has ever made the Liefeld-Kirby connection. It just makes sense. Red CometJanuary 25, 2016 7:21 PM Alpha Flight #107 I don't know about any long lost Wolfsbane stories so I'm inclined to believe Lobdell and/or his editor got confused. They probably didn't realize the "Asgardian Wars" covered two separate storylines and the New Mutants never met Alpha Flight. Doesn't help that the trade paperback cover shows the X-men, New Mutants, and Alpha Flight all together in a group shot. Red CometJanuary 25, 2016 6:59 PM Alpha Flight #106 Grant Morrison had a pretty good laugh at this issue in his book Supergods. Considering the speculator's market of the time and the press this issue got, I wonder if it was the highest selling issue of Alpha Flight. JonathanJanuary 25, 2016 6:08 PM Alpha Flight #106 Actually while this would never be completely a good comic, I do place most of the blame on the art. I've been thinking about this sort of thing recently after reading Fnord's recent review of Doctor Strange 36. A mediocre comic with good art can seem okay. But in that review I saw how a mediocre comic with bad art becomes twice as bad. This sub-Liefeld art just doesn't suit any of the serious points Lobdell was trying to make. I think if it had just been a standard Marvel house style artist like they'd had in the 80s, it wouldn't have seemed so ridiculous. Sadly, Marvel had a lot of artists who couldn't tell a story in 92, and as far as I can remember it stays that way for a while. JonathanJanuary 25, 2016 5:51 PM Alpha Flight #106 "The landmark nature of this book is marred in a number of ways. It's simply not a good comic." This pretty much sums up my opinion when I picked up the issue after reading it being hyped up. I'd completely forgot that there was a Major Mapleleaf, and now I find there will be a 2nd character who takes up the name Major Mapleleaf in a later Alpha Flight series. As for the name Major Mapleleaf being mentioned by Banshee back in X-Men, it's a joking reference to the fact Guardian's costume looks like Captain Canuck, who'd been introduced a few years earlier, but they clearly didn't want to use the character's actual name. Not sure if this is common knowledge to everyone else, but over here in the UK I only know who Captain Canuck is 'cos Byrne mentioned the similarity of the costumes. Morgan WickJanuary 25, 2016 5:49 PM She-Hulk #38-39 Sadly, these days Marvel seems to go out of their way to make buying back issues (or even their modern equivalent, a Marvel Unlimited subscription) a waste of time (because then people might realize how much worse the new stuff is?), and their idea of appealing to new readers is relaunching everything with a new #1 every year or two and trying to neuter any sense of continuity as much as possible. Morgan WickJanuary 25, 2016 5:34 PM Alpha Flight #107 It sounds like Havok's reference to an Alpha Flight-Wolfsbane meeting may be a reference to a comic that was never published. That's just my idle speculation, though. MortificatorJanuary 25, 2016 5:31 PM Amazing Spider-Man #4 Well this is obviously worth freaking-out over. The initial comment relating to Jessica's maybe-appearance in ASM#4 referred to the Marvel Comics Database. I checked out her entry there and saw it cites ASM#600, an issue that doesn't even have a Jessica Jones flashback. Naturally, the next place I referred to was Alias; this is where Bendis introduced Jessica and showed multiple flashbacks of her as a classmate of Pete's, including the one Jonathan mentioned where she witnesses the spider bite from Amazing Fantasy 15. The flashback in ASM#601 is a back-up in an issue whose main story is written by Mark Waid, not the most prominent of places, unless some helpful person points it out. We've established, then, that Jessica in Amazing Fantasy 15 is an Osborne-at-the-wedding situation, while Jessica in ASM#4 may be a that-alien-was-Mysterio situation. I'll be anal and point out that even the ASM#601 back-up doesn't explicitly say so, it has Jessica state she was there while we zoom in on someone who looks nothing like her. RobertJanuary 25, 2016 5:23 PM Strange Tales #101 (Human Torch) Regarding Johnny's secret identity, there's a curious bit on the first page where he thinks to himself that everyone in town knows his sister is the Invisible Girl but nobody knows he's the Human Torch. In the next panel there's an Editor's Note explaining that four of Johnny's friends did know but all four have moved away and are "sworn to secrecy." My first thought was Stan realized Larry made a goof and, rather than simply change that, he added the note instead. I haven't yet read the later issue that attempts to fix the whole town not knowing but, in this issue, there was already a weak attempt to patch it up. fnord12January 25, 2016 5:09 PM NFL Superpro #5 Well, this was definitely meant to be in continuity. Note the reference to Spider-Man in this issue and we have a Captain America guest appearance coming up. Plus, it's hilarious! Ataru320January 25, 2016 5:07 PM Warlock and the Infinity Watch #2 About "whether Moondragon belongs to Starlin"...well, I probably would say "sort of". I think its weird that she literally showed up in the comic before he starts his Thanos run (she was in IM 54, the first Thanos arc started in 55) and somehow he just had ideas and ran with them...if not then she'd be stuck as "Madame MacEvil" forever. fnord12January 25, 2016 5:05 PM Warlock and the Infinity Watch #2 It was a direct market only $1.75 book, equivalent to Deathlok and Punisher War Journal and Alpha Flight and several others, but more expensive than the regular newstand books that were $1.25. I think it is slightly thicket paper, but at this point the direct market books were not much different than the regular books (in the beginning the direct market books had extra features, like pin-ups and inside covers). Ataru320January 25, 2016 5:04 PM Alpha Flight #106 Its sad when such an important moment in comics (well Marvel) happens in a turd like this. No it shouldn't be hammy or with Liefeld-esque art but Northstar admitting he's gay should have had...well, dignity. Andrew FJanuary 25, 2016 4:52 PM Warlock and the Infinity Watch #2 The only memory I have of this series is that it was expensive. I think it was on nicer paper stock than normal or something? Thanos6January 25, 2016 4:52 PM Warlock and the Infinity Watch #2 I remember the question of "who had the Reality Gem" being the subject of many a playground argument at my school. I don't think any of us guessed who it was. ANDRES LJanuary 25, 2016 4:49 PM NFL Superpro #5 WHY add this? and not gijoe/transformer/star wars STILL LOVE YOUR SITE RobertJanuary 25, 2016 4:49 PM She-Hulk #38-39 "I may be in the minority in this, but i much prefer the cleaner looking regular inks to the duo-shade." I'm right there with you. Didn't like it on Namor and don't like it here. Byrne was my favorite artist growing up but, as we get further into the '90s, some of the choices he makes and changes to his style will leave me pretty unenthusiastic to see his name on anything. We're not quite there yet but we are starting to see the shift. Andrew FJanuary 25, 2016 4:46 PM Alpha Flight #106 As someone who is not, and has never been, jealous of Rob Liefeld, I can confirm that he is not the Jack Kirby of his generation, and that he is and always was a pretty horrible artist and a joke of a writer. I actively avoided his work in the 90s, and looking back at it now, I can say with confidence that I made the right choice. Also, to the extent that Deadpool is popular today, that credit should go to Joe Kelly, the first person to ever write good Deadpool comics. BerendJanuary 25, 2016 4:21 PM Alpha Flight #106 Liefeld as the Kibry of his day? I dunno. I always saw him as one of the more extreme (heh) exponents of a style that people like Jim Lee and Marc Silvestri pioneered on X-Men. Back to the comic at hand though, when I finally read this thing I was surprised by how... good it was. Not that it was good, but it wasn't the complete irredeemable piece of garbage I was expecting from the few scans I had seen online. It isn't just Northstar shouting "I AM GAY" while fighting a homophobe, Major Mapleleaf actually has some great points, which I never would've expected in a comic from this era. Of course, everything else about the thing is horrible, but that alone made me respect this issue a whole lot more. BerendJanuary 25, 2016 4:14 PM Warlock and the Infinity Watch #2 You'd think that a character being being confronted with her father, who has braindamage because of her, would be played in the grimmest, angstiest way possible, rather than as a funny moment. david banesJanuary 25, 2016 3:38 PM Fantastic Four #151-153 It's strange fnord but no matter how much the quality dips for the FF I still enjoy reading their issues through the ages. Granted I haven't hit the 90s yet. It seems like your infalliable group is The Warriors Three from Thor while mine is the Fantastic Four even though they're not my favorite Marvel superheroes. You just have to really, really, really, really try hard to make me dislike reading them and so far they haven't. david banesJanuary 25, 2016 3:34 PM Alpha Flight #106 No jealousy from me. I remember seeing a lot of 90s Marvel comics and actually being freaked out by the Liefeld inspired style. clydeJanuary 25, 2016 1:54 PM Warlock and the Infinity Watch #2 The more this series tied in with the Infinity crossovers, the more I loved it. It was just a fun, kooky series. It reminded me of the post Legends JLA. Brimstone: Wrestler, Celebrity, Comics CEOJanuary 25, 2016 1:13 PM Alpha Flight #106 I've spoken to Mark once or twice when he almost did some work for MY comics company (Hound Comics) and he was professional, polite, and a complete gentleman and the work he submitted did lose some of the Liefeld qualities you talk about here but we have to remember the Liefeld phenomenon was not just a hype it was a legit influence. Rob Liefeld was and is the Jack Kirby of his generation and his style was infectious and it is proven as Deadpool is a mainstream hit and one of the most original characters in comics. I think personally a lot of the Liefeld hate has always just been jealousy JCJanuary 25, 2016 12:13 PM Amazing Spider-Man #4 Except this all started with when I just quickly and nonchalantly wanted to bring your attention to you missing a character. Instead now you're telling me I have to spend the time looking up all this stuff just to point it out? Even though someone already mentioned it before. And speaking of citing, again the link Mort gives, is not the reason or even the title that people are citing for Jess' appearance. So your willing to take Mort's non-sequitur link as proof but scold me for not doing likewise. JCJanuary 25, 2016 11:56 AM Amazing Spider-Man #4 Oh and fwiw here's the link to the page that makes it explicit it's Jess. fnord12January 25, 2016 11:51 AM Amazing Spider-Man #4 Then you should have cited your source in the first place, JC. I'll still wait until i get to ASM #601. JCJanuary 25, 2016 11:48 AM Amazing Spider-Man #4 Except of course the retcon in question doesn't cum from Alias. It cums from Amazing Spidey 601 which very clearly and very deliberately flashs back to the scene in question and highlights the panel and face several times over to make explicitly clear that it's Jess. Mort's link is the equivalent of me saying that it's not Peter Parker in Amazing Fantasy 15 becuz Humberto Ramos draws flashbacks nothing like Steve Ditko. fnord12January 25, 2016 10:28 AM Journey Into Mystery #84 Agree, MSM. I've increased it. TCPJanuary 25, 2016 10:12 AM Amazing Spider-Man #359-360 Spider-Man's role in the Marvel universe at this time does seem to be acting as a kind of "conscience" for the edgier heroes of that era (along with acting as a mentor figure for newer heroes like Darkhawk). I agree, though, that it often comes across as misguided on his part. This will ultimately culminate in Maximum Carnage, where Peter's methods look even more ineffectual. As for Spidey's "cool factor" during this time -- well, just see my initial comment on Fantastic Four #347-349. MegaSpiderManJanuary 25, 2016 9:51 AM Journey Into Mystery #84 Huh, only a 2 on the historical significance for Jane's first appearance? She's been a fairly significant character for years. RobertJanuary 25, 2016 8:45 AM Journey Into Mystery #84 My favorite part is at the end when the commies are trying to escape, they're carrying bags of money with dollar signs on them like something out of Looney Tunes. fnord12January 25, 2016 7:22 AM Amazing Spider-Man #4 Right. From the scans Mortificator linked to, it doesn't look like they were repurposing an existing character in this issue to be Jessica Jones. She's just behind the scenes here. I'll revisit this when i get the those Alias issues but for now i'm not listing her as a character. fnord12January 25, 2016 7:14 AM What's Missing Thanks D09. MortificatorJanuary 25, 2016 6:15 AM Amazing Spider-Man #359-360 I'm not much of a Cardiac fan, but I like that he goes up against Styx and Stone in an upcoming issue. They make for better Cardiac villains than Spider-Man villains. MortificatorJanuary 25, 2016 5:51 AM Amazing Spider-Man #4 The situation with Mysterio makes for a significant contrast. There, a character in writer #1's story is "revealed" to be a different character in writer #2's story. That happens all the time in comics. This project also tracks the '50s Cap as a different person than Steve Rogers, which likewise wasn't "revealed" until later. The route Alias goes, though, is to say that a newer character was actually in the area during an older story, you just didn't see her then. This isn't too unusual in comics, either. Norman Osborn wasn't at Reed & Sue's wedding in Fantastic Four Annual #3, then Marvels shows him to be present for the ceremony. This kind of thing doesn't count as an character appearance in the earlier issue, though, since the character wasn't shown and has no story presence whatsoever. AFJanuary 25, 2016 5:16 AM Silver Surfer #36 This is notable as the first appearance of what will come to be considered "editing" in comics. Editors just read a script and ok it if the story is fine. They don't bother to check any of the statements or characterization. If it gets from A to B, then it's straight to printers. Starlin will continue to work with editors like this. He manages to basically rewrite Moondragon and Drax's chronology in Infinity Watch (did you know, Moondragon only joined the Avengers after they awarded her membership for helping them in that battle where Warlock and Thanos died? Me neither!). This issue is almost Tom Brevoort standards of editing though. And the sheer vanity of Starlin to think "Yeah, She-Hulk has been around for ten years and been a member of the FF and Avengers but I definitely must be the first person to ever write her meeting the Silver Surfer". It makes She-Hulk look an idiot (but any character that's not Thanos in a Starlin story tends to look like one). I don't know about you but I think one of the very first things an editor of a comic should do is familiarize themselves with the issues of the series before you took over as editor. She-Hulk appears on the cover to the first issue of this series, for God's sake. How bad an editor do you have to be to not even know the cover to the first issue of the series you took over editing? And it's not just that, everything about this issue is badly written/researched/edited. Starlin thinks that Silver Surfer thinks lowly of the Avengers and has rarely met with them, despite both being prominent fixtures of the Marvel Universe since the Silver Age. Furthermore he just assumes he probably won't have ever met the Avengers when Starfox was a member. But the editor just reads past these things and doesn't make a note to check if these things are true. Silver Surfer looks like a mean prejudiced idiot, Captain America looks naive and oblivious, She-Hulk looks like an enormous moron, the Avengers are written off as incompetent and useless, Starfox - who doesn't even appear - gets written up as a jerk. And then the rest of the issue is the Impossible Man. Nathan AdlerJanuary 25, 2016 4:41 AM Uncanny X-Men #270 @Walter: It was odd that Mutant Wars was still being advertised in the letters page of this issue, if X-Tinction Agenda was what it was suggested to have become. It must have been extremely tumultuous even then, with last minute changes constantly occurring. That is, Living Sentinels were even advertised for the Uncanny X-Men #271 chapter of this X-Tinction Agenda crossover in the solicits in Marvel Age #94 which was out at the same time as this issue. What made them "Living" I'd guess was the transmode virus, but when New Mutants #95 came out, Hodge failed to extract the virus despite killing Warlock. So... Walter LawsonJanuary 25, 2016 2:04 AM Uncanny X-Men #270 I could be wrong, but my impression is that the originally intended "Mutant Wars" became the X-Tinction Agenda after Marvel saw how well Spider-Man #1 (August cover date) sold. Liefeld has discussed how his X-For e pitch was only greenlighted after that, http://robliefeldcreations.com/the-history-of-x-force/ , and it makes sense if that's also the point at which Harras decided there had to be a new X-Men #1. X-Tinction, which seems to involve a lit of arbitrary chamges to New Mutants and characters who will eventually appear in X-Factir, after tge original team re-merges with the X-Men, sets the first pieces in lace for the 1991 (re-)launches. Walter LawsonJanuary 25, 2016 1:35 AM Amazing Spider-Man #359-360 Corporate crime, a new high-tech cyborg ally/rival, and Stane International--yep, Michelinie is still writing Iron Man, isn't he? I actually like his Spider-Man run moderately well, but there was always another book he'd fit much better... ChrisWJanuary 25, 2016 1:07 AM Spider-Man vs. Wolverine #1 Al, I'm not sure what you're arguing about. About the only thing I like in this book [other than MD Bright's art] is the fact that Peter's out of his element. As I said above, this is why Spider-Man should not be a *dark* character for more than a storyline or so. He doesn't work that way. Now Wolverine, he can hack and slash all day and never get tired. That's fine. I don't blame this story for the marriage of Peter and MJ. Their scenes together were actually quite good for what they were. Dramatic kiss that goes wrong, and then asking for a hug at the end. Could have been better, but could have been a lot worse. I think Peter and MJ's marriage was a bad idea, but if it's going to happen, this was actually one of the best stepping-stones to make it so. Honestly, my objection to the marriage is not intrinsically different to Marvel realizing that they needed to make Spidey single again, and doing a deal with the devil to make it so. As a writer, I would have just moved Peter closer to MJ in a 'will they or won't they?' relationship. But I wasn't in charge, and neither was Christopher Priest. I think Peter and MJ work very nicely here. Piotr WJanuary 25, 2016 12:55 AM NFL Superpro #5 Heh. Did the writer really intended to say that we shouldn't be sympathetic to a woman wanting to play football? BTW. It's funny, but Mercy Sutter looks quite feminine in her civvies - meanwhile, as Kabuki-Back, she's all muscle. What's up with that? ChrisWJanuary 25, 2016 12:46 AM Uncanny X-Men #207 Omar, I vehemently disagree with you, except for your point about the value of superhero comics. We can disagree and go on our happy ways because rough men are doing unspeakable things to keep us safe. It's not a cop-out fantasy, so much as it is 'you don't know what these rough men are like until you've worked with them.' Which I have. And I'm happy with you and me exaggerating for effect, "You're just stupid" and flinging poo on each other because we have nothing better to do with our lives. We can do that because of those rough men. We can respectfully disagree with each other because of those rough men. If the Claremont-era X-Men had been as smart as those rough men, what a wonderful world it would be. And honestly, one of my biggest objections to Claremont's X-Titles is how bad a job all the characters did behaving like those rough men, although they couldn't stop monologuing about dangerous and bad and proactive they would be from hereon out. Wolverine slicing Rachel is about the most sensible decision they would make for the next several dozen issues. [I'm honestly blanking on the next sensible decision that they would make. Dazzler telling the girls to go shopping? Wolverine telling the guys to get drunk?] D09January 24, 2016 11:21 PM What's Missing I think you better add in Shogun Warriors 2-11 if you haven't already. Brimstone: Wrestler, Celebrity, Comics CEOJanuary 24, 2016 9:57 PM NFL Superpro #5 I have no words for this!!! LOL mikrolikJanuary 24, 2016 9:54 PM Amazing Spider-Man #4 Meh, saying Jessica Jones is in this issue makes as much sense to me as saying Mysterio appeared in the Tinkerer story in ish #2. You can retcon it after the fact, but it's not what Stan and Steve were intending. RobertJanuary 24, 2016 7:51 PM Journey Into Mystery #83 Thx must have blocked that out. Didn't like TDW that much. StevenJanuary 24, 2016 6:41 PM Journey Into Mystery #83 At the beginning of Thor: Dark World, Thor kills a Stone Man. david banesJanuary 24, 2016 5:12 PM Punisher: G-Force G-Force? As in Godzilla will co-star, oh never mind. JCJanuary 24, 2016 4:20 PM Amazing Spider-Man #4 Be that as it may, it's still her. MortificatorJanuary 24, 2016 4:14 PM Amazing Spider-Man #4 But that girl doesn't look anything like how Jessica Jones does in the Alias flashbacks: JonathanJanuary 24, 2016 4:07 PM Wolverine #54 I would never have recognised Robertson's art. Not keen on the wolverine two claws thing, the last scan shows his claws aren't as wide as his fist, so how are they wider than Shatterstar's head in the earlier scene? (The God Loves Man Kills scene avoids that by just having Logan's claws under the guy's chin. Though come to think of it, I'm pretty sure think Logan does the two claws thing around Rogue's neck in X-Men 223, and that's never bothered me till now. Still, I think Rogue's neck slightly strains artistic license, and Shatterstar's head completely breaks it.) JCJanuary 24, 2016 3:38 PM Amazing Spider-Man #4 She's the brunette gurl, next to Flash, sporting the shit eating grin as Spidey flings Sandman in front of the class. RobertJanuary 24, 2016 3:12 PM Journey Into Mystery #83 I'm more than a little saddened we haven't gotten a movie version of the Stone Men. One scene I particularly want to see on the big screen is their arrival on Earth, where they rip up trees and jump off cliffs to test out their strength and invulnerability in our atmosphere. A silly story but fun. fnord12January 24, 2016 3:09 PM Amazing Spider-Man #4 Does the character that is meant to be Jessica Jones actually appear on panel? Because if a character is behind the scenes and they don't contribute to the story, i usually don't count it as an appearance. RobertJanuary 24, 2016 3:01 PM Hulk #2 ParanoidObsessive, Marvel Saga was my first exposure to the Silver Age stories. I was too young to fully get the context and realize these were snippets of comics from two decades before but still I enjoyed the series quite a bit, in a similar way to how I enjoyed the Handbooks. I'm probably repeating myself since I vaguely recall discussing Marvel Saga on another entry on here within the past couple of years but my memory is not the greatest these days. Erik BeckJanuary 24, 2016 2:33 PM Wolverine #54 This at least explains why Shatterstar calls him Lord Wolverine in X-Cutioner's song. This, chronologically, also looks like it should be the first appearance of the rebuilt mansion. JCJanuary 24, 2016 1:46 PM Amazing Spider-Man #9 I absolutely love Electro's costume. It's just a gorgeous cascade of colors and screams out eggzactly what his power is. All these attempts to make him look moar practical and realistic, as in Bendis' Ultimate Spidey or the just as shitty Amazing Spidey 2 movie, just end up taking away from what makes Electro so awesome. Erik BeckJanuary 24, 2016 10:06 AM Excalibur #42-43 It's a good thing Davis is back on the book at this point, because with the X-Men back and reorganized there would have been no other point to having Excalibur as a separate team anymore. JonathanJanuary 24, 2016 9:56 AM Wolverine/Punisher: Damaging Evidence #1-3 Well, Claremont has said he wanted Bob Hoskins to play Wolverine, and here we finally get to see how that might have looked. :-) Scott January 24, 2016 9:54 AM Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #71 Could that be the Wayne murders bottom left panel of page 10? JonathanJanuary 24, 2016 9:45 AM Amazing Spider-Man #4 Jessica is meant to be in Amazing Fantasy 15 too, she sees the spider biting Peter. I like Jessica but the retcon that she goes to the same school as Peter is my least favourite thing about her. (And she later works at The Bugle too? Pick one, Bendis! Not both!) 2001 is just too late to be introducing a character that Peter should remember but doesn't. Brimstone: Wrestler, Celebrity, Comics CEOJanuary 24, 2016 8:53 AM Amazing Spider-Man #349-350 first I ever heard about Doom's Mom being a sorceress Brimstone: Wrestler, Celebrity, Comics CEOJanuary 24, 2016 8:49 AM Wolverine/Punisher: Damaging Evidence #1-3 to be fair, Wolverine started OUT as a little runt kind of guy. It's only in modern times have artists and writers made him into this sexy guy that every super-heroine in the Marvel Universe want to sleep with. so this imagining of Wolvie is actually in line with what they originally intended for him! lol Jon DubyaJanuary 24, 2016 2:15 AM X-Factor #71-73 Michael, it' kinda ironic you mentioned Kurt Busiek's name since he's part of the reason X-Factor formed innthe first place. Re: Rahne: If you had read the upcoming issues, you'd know that Rahne's mind is a little...ah...preoccupied at the moment with a whole bunch of different things. And given Val's"Kibbles and Bit" line, they don't exactly seem like they are on friendly terms. Re:Havok: "Alex was a depressed borderline psycho by X-Men 249-251 and he was basically a screwup, not someone you'd want to put in a leadership position." But that's way Havok has ALWAYS been portayed. That's kinda hid "thing." Some writer comes along and tries to take Alex "seriously" as confident well-heeed leader sort, but then their mind wanders and get distracted from plot and he's back to being the ineffectual beta-male loser who fails at invoking leaderly discipline. He's the mutant version of Hank Pym. Peter David does "give it the ol college try" though. JCJanuary 24, 2016 1:17 AM Amazing Spider-Man #4 You still haven't added Jessica Jones to the characters appearing yet. JCJanuary 24, 2016 12:31 AM X-Factor #24-25 Warren has never been as interesting before or since the Archangel period. RobertJanuary 23, 2016 11:49 PM Hulk #1 A fun 'Jekyll & Hyde meets the Atomic Age' story but I think it's one of the weaker first appearances of any of the classic Marvel heroes. That Cold War stuff with Gargoyle is classic, though. RobertJanuary 23, 2016 9:51 PM Strange Tales #128 (Human Torch) In the earliest FF stories Thing wasn't as invulnerable as he would be later. Or rather, the characters didn't know how invulnerable he was. Johnny used his flame to keep him in line a lot in the early days and I remember at least once where Thing was concerned about getting shot so he must not have known he was bulletproof yet. Jay GallardoJanuary 23, 2016 9:45 PM Strange Tales #128 (Human Torch) Is it really possible that the thing may get burned by the torch's flame? cullenJanuary 23, 2016 8:35 PM Marvel Super Heroes #387-388 (UK) Here's a summary of the Doctor Who storyline that introduced Wardog and the other future members of the Special Executive: http://www.tor.com/2011/12/26/the-great-alan-moore-reread-captain-britain-prologue-via-doctor-who/ If you'd like to check out some of the pages, from these probably-never-to-be-reprinted tales: MortificatorJanuary 23, 2016 7:38 PM Warlock and the Infinity Watch #1 Well, JC, the only entity here who can challenge Warlock is the Living Tribunal, who Thanos (and Nebula) didn't fight. There's also a bit near the end where the Tribunal admits that, despite his earlier boasting, it's not certain he'd be able to defeat Warlock either. Brimstone: Wrestler, Celebrity, Comics CEOJanuary 23, 2016 7:26 PM Warlock and the Infinity Watch #1 Thank you for bringing the existence of this series to my attention! The next convention I'm doing a celebrity signing at I intend to go haunt the back issues and get this series. CoreyJanuary 23, 2016 7:20 PM Uncanny X-Men #144 I agree on the heavy-handed metaphor point. I can see Mark Bagley was inspired by Brent Anderson. Jock's suicide has somewhat similar panel layout and framing to Chord's attempted suicide in New Warriors #18. Not a copycat though. Also, I'm surprised you didn't mention Scott's memory of he and his brother jumping out of the plane returning for the first time. While referenced and alluded to in the past, I think this is the first time we see how the whole thing played out (well, the whole,thing from Scott's POV). We also learn that Havok is 4 years younger than Cyclops. fnord12January 23, 2016 6:51 PM Doctor Strange #3-4 A different Valkyrie resurfaces in the meantime. Samantha Parrington, the one from Hulk #142. Red CometJanuary 23, 2016 6:42 PM Doctor Strange #3-4 @Ataru Part of the reason for that is probably because Manslaughter's costume design is kind of goofy and lame. He's just not a cool looking character. And did Valkyrie really not appear again for like 20 years? It's always strange when you see a character brought back to prominence in the modern day and then look back and realize they didn't appear for decades at a time. Ataru320January 23, 2016 5:34 PM Doctor Strange #3-4 I remember someone saying on here that Manslaughter is basically Deadpool pre-Deadpool. Its too bad he never really came back or was used by any other writers other than Gillis to fill that type of character that Wade ends up filling. InstantiationJanuary 23, 2016 5:31 PM Warlock and the Infinity Watch #1 I believe Medina drew just one issue of "Dreadstar" that Starlin wrote, #39. Starlin's last issue was #40, with art by Luke McDonnell. Peter David took over the scripts with #41, and Medina did the lion's share of the art from that point forward. Agreed that his work has something of a 70s Starlin vibe. Doesn't hurt to have Terry Austin inking, either. Piotr WJanuary 23, 2016 5:08 PM NFL Superpro #4 Jonathan is correct, Jose Delbo was a Transformers artist :) Anyway, Superpro needs to return. He's such a bad character that he just begs to be reinvented for challenge's sake... Maybe I'm weird that way, but I like crazy returns like that. For once, I'd love to see a big DC crossover where the big bads would be the Super-Sons returned to existing :))) Because hey! That's exactly the thing that was done with Squirrel Girl - and it worked... AFJanuary 23, 2016 4:57 PM Avengers #343-344 Honestly, I had never thought of the Mantis/Magdalene parallel. But, sorta related, it's later revealed that on Swordsman's reality, Moondragon become the Celestial Madonna/Mantis and he loved her. AFJanuary 23, 2016 4:49 PM Doctor Strange #3-4 None of the Dragon Circle, bar Cross, appear ever again. I think Sian might be hand-waved to in the Black Knight series. But that's about it for Valkyrie appearances until 2010. Manslaughter makes one more appearance in two issues of Cage (of all things) and there's no reference to Loomis. And not only does Fanshawe not return but Interloper doesn't ever appear again. And the story feels the need to alert us to an upcoming Marvel Comics Presents story but makes no effort to direct us to Avengers Spotlight to find out about Moondragon and Gargoyle. There's absolutely no mention whatsoever of the two in these issues (or the Strange Tales ones). It's boggling, really. Of the dead Defenders, Gargoyle was the only other one Strange knew. How the hell did it never come up in this or Strange Tales? Even if it was just a throwaway statement to direct us to Spotlight. My other problem is Manslaughter. In both this and the Strange Tales stories, the guy is not written. He's just there. This doesn't work at all, since he is both unhinged and an evil killer. Other than a few generic "Oh boy, violence! Yay" lines from him, they don't address the fact that he's NOT a hero. Instead they just have him there, looking like a hero and doing nothing of consequence. And the ending doesn't really explain the fate of the Defenders and the Dragon Circle or even if they will stick around. Turns out the '89 Handbook took a lot of liberties to try and explain why and how the whole thing "works" (and I'm guessing the Sub-Mariner issues helped too). But other than that it was never touched again and, other than Andromeda, even the characters weren't really touched again. Ironic that they subsequently appeared less upon return than when they were dead. Then we get to 2010 and Marvel just ignored it to reset Valkyrie. Dan H.January 23, 2016 4:38 PM Avengers #343-344 I do think the Magdalene/Mantis parallel was intended, even though Magdalene wasn't intended to be an alternate Mantis. Harras just wanted to have the Swordsman's lover share some similarities to the 616 version. Also, am I alone in thinking that Harras intended for Magdalene to be an alternate Sersi at this point? I believe in her next appearance we find that's not the case (and obviously given the Gatherers' ultimate origin, having an alternate Sersi on the team would be problematic). But here, Proctor's ambivalence about the Swordsman's condition and his taunt towards Magdalene about "old loves" really suggests that he's projecting his experience with his own version of Sersi onto Magdalene (even though that relationship is something we don't learn about for a while). I'm not sure that taunt toward Magdalene makes much sense when she's revealed to not be an alternate of the woman Proctor loved. I feel like the interruption of Galactic Storm may have caused Harras to modify his plans for the Gatherers and caused him to realize that the team as he now envisioned it wouldn't tolerate an alternate Sersi in their midst... and in fact, an alternate Sersi wouldn't have the same motivation that the rest of the team shared, unless he was thinking of pursuing a "redemption" angle with her, which would tie back to her name. Nathan AdlerJanuary 23, 2016 4:10 PM X-Factor #15 Warren takes off from JFK Airport and turns out over the ocean, quite likely over Jamaica Bay, and blows himself up. In X-Factor #67 Claremont hints he was "reborn" (transformed by Apocalypse) on the Blue Side of the Moon (given Apocalypse surrogates are guarding/ defending the tunnels Dark Phoenix fled down from the Shi'ar Imperial Guard), making it pretty much the opposite to Phoenix who was reborn at Jamaica Bay and died on the Moon. Makes sense, she being "Life Incarnate" and he being "Death" perhaps!? JCJanuary 23, 2016 4:01 PM Warlock and the Infinity Watch #1 Seems strange to see Thanos wipe the floor with all these cosmic deities, yet Warlock is rendered impotent and simply gives up the gems. JCJanuary 23, 2016 3:49 PM Amazing Spider-Man #359-360 If you like Cardiac its worth a read, it highlights the similarities btw the vigilante methods of Cardiac with those of the Octavius Spidey. And Cardiac has his share of moments to shine. david banesJanuary 23, 2016 3:41 PM Amazing Spider-Man #359-360 It's okay I saw someone already brought it up in another issue but I had forgotten. I tend to just assume most characters created in the 90s just fade away. JCJanuary 23, 2016 3:23 PM Daredevil #301-303 Those are some creepy shots of the owl. Though it's weird how the Owl is continuously brought up as sum kind of underworld Mastermind. He's never really seen as much of a threat be it on the power level nor the schemer level. RobertJanuary 23, 2016 3:22 PM Fantastic Four #1-10 "The innovations outshine whatever nitpicking some may have of the early FF." I agree, a.lloyd. These are fun, creative books that I still enjoy reading whenever I'm in the mood for Silver Age Marvel. Yeah it's a little crude in spots, even compared to what Lee & Kirby were doing a few years later, but still pretty impressive for the time. JCJanuary 23, 2016 3:11 PM Amazing Spider-Man #359-360 "if he came back." Uhhh... he did cum back. He had an entire arc devoted to him during the Superior Spider-Man title. He then returned after for the closing Goblin Nation arc where he helps Spidey take back the city. Whoops I spoiled a recent comic storyline, feel free to delete this post. fnord12January 23, 2016 2:20 PM Excalibur #46-50 I've added Wardog and a few other Special Executive members that have been given names (as opposed to named made up by the Appendix). I do think it's debatable whether they are really the same characters that appeared in the early Captain Britain stories or if they are more alternate reality version (like Kang and others that appear in this story) that Davis was putting in as Easter eggs. It's also worth noting that, according to the Appendix, if it is the same characters, they are time-traveling and if you click on their names they will be listed out of sequence (e.g. the Appendix has them appearing here before Daredevils #5). Which is a common potential problem for time travelers. Erik BeckJanuary 23, 2016 9:35 AM Wonder Man #2 I knew the Wolverine series existed and ignored it while still reading X-Men. But at this point, AWC was the only comic I was still getting and I didn't even know this series existed and it didn't seem to have mattered. Shows how some comics really integrate well and some can just be ignored. Not a comment on the quality of this - just on how I could read AWC and not even know this existed. AFJanuary 23, 2016 5:00 AM Quasar #17 Well, the Squadron Sinister version of Hyperion was shown to be slightly less than equal to the Squadron Supreme version, so it stands to reason that the same would be true of Speed Demon. AFJanuary 23, 2016 4:57 AM Giant-Size Invaders #1 Marvel Premiere #30 was printed with a (pretty big) error. The panels on page 8 are printed out of order. http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l291/Leeman13/Marvel%20Premier/MarvelPremier3009_zps3b497d2d.jpg http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j78/jephyork/MarvelPremiere30p08Heritage.jpg Most notable in that Thin Man is seen answering Bucky's question from the other panel. And it was only on the most recent reprinting (Invaders Complete Collection) that it was finally rectified. Walter LawsonJanuary 23, 2016 4:53 AM Avengers #343-344 The names Proctor and Magdalene don't seem to have any in-story meaning--Magdalene's name may reference Mary Magdalene but no parallels seem to be drawn. And is "Proctor" overseeing a test if the Avengers? It's a lousy name for a villain. Magdalene's appearance is based on DC's Big Barda, though. Walter LawsonJanuary 23, 2016 4:45 AM Avengers #343-344 Marvel editorial, like Marvel's readers, must have overlooked Roy Thomas's Black Knight mini completely. The ebony blade is definitely still cursed throughout Harras's run and into the Busiek years, as I recall, and I don't think Thomas's fix is ever mentioned again, even to be explained away. The Gatherers story turns out to be Harras's riff on Dark Phoenix, although it may also have been inspired in part by a desire to give Vision his old colors back without just having him change clothes. Harras's run has its flaws, but this is the first story since Simonson's Nebula arc that has a proper "Avengers epic" feel for me. And I give Harras credit for using a new fillain rather than just giving us another Kang or Ultron story. This is a poor run compared to Stern, but it's a good one compared to Simonson, Byrne, and Hama--which is a funny thing to say given the obvious talent of the latter three, but it's the case. Nathan AdlerJanuary 23, 2016 3:51 AM X-Factor #65-68 What's even more curious about this issue is Claremont's dialogue when X-Factor breach Apocalypse's citadel. Beast and Jean note that the tunnels his surrogates are guarding/ defending are the ones where she fled the Shi'ar Imperial Guard, and Archangel not only notes his wings finding the space familiar but questions whether it was one of Apocalypse's weapons that destroyed Dark Phoenix, and whether he intended a shot at Jean. So just where was Claremont going with this, since he'd instead indicated the weapon that killed Dark Phoenix there was ancient Kree technology? So was he suggesting that Apocalypse had taken over the old Kree base in the Blue Area of the Moon? And if Archangel's wings found the space familiar was Claremont further suggesting that it was there that Apocalypse had transformed Warren into his horseman Death, perhaps using ancient Kree technology rather than Celestial (and this was why Warren's transformation included his skin becoming blue)? david banesJanuary 23, 2016 3:42 AM Amazing Spider-Man #359-360 Okay I totally forgot I gushed about Cardiac the other times he appeared so no more of that. Still he just stuck out to me he seems like a good blend of Kirby Marvel, 80s Marvel and a touch of 90s too. I mean sure there was never Maximum Cardiac...and Maximum Carnage was a good thing? Okay I'll tone it down now. I'll go into detail on Carnage when he really pops up. a.lloydJanuary 23, 2016 1:39 AM X-Factor #38 What a mess. Tabe8January 23, 2016 1:32 AM Warlock and the Infinity Watch #1 I couldnt wait for this review... cullenJanuary 23, 2016 12:48 AM Excalibur #46-50 I think Wardog should be tagged here, fnord. Dan H.January 22, 2016 11:40 PM Quasar #17 That one thought balloon of Makkari during the race make no sense. In the second panel, he refers to "the two I've already overtaken," yet we see four speedsters ahead of him and the only two not shown (Super Sabre and Speed Demon) and later shown to still be ahead of him. Also, maybe the prison stints did affect Speed Demon, because shouldn't he have about the exact same top speed as the Whizzer? Here, he's almost dead last while the Whizzer was in second place before FastForward showed up. Red CometJanuary 22, 2016 10:02 PM Marvel Super Heroes #387-388 (UK) To clear up a little of the confusion here: -Several of the Special Executive characters, like Wardog and Cobweb, first appeared in some short comics Alan Moore did for Doctor Who Magazine. Since Marvel had the Doctor Who license Moore also used them here in Captain Britain too. Unfortunately, because they first appeared in Doctor Who it is legally unclear if they are work-for-hire characters owned by Marvel or the BBC and they're not valuable enough for anyone to spend money to figure it out. This is why they were replaced with Gatecrasher's Technet, who are also interdimensional mercenaries. -The characters killed by the Fury and in the graveyard are ersatz versions/homages to classic British comics characters. Moore's use of "Miracleman" to stand in for Marvelman is coincidental as this story predates the re-naming of the character for publication in the US by Eclipse Comics. Unfortunately, Eclipse picked the same name Moore used for his ersatz version in the Captain Britain story so that made the Moore Captain Britain material a little hairy to reprint until Eclipse folded in 1993. After that Marvel printed this story for the first time in the US as X-men Archives in 1995. Tony LewisJanuary 22, 2016 5:33 PM Excalibur #46-50 The "alternate version of the mercenaries" are the Special Executive. Thanos6January 22, 2016 4:55 PM Amazing Spider-Man #359-360 Because it's a memorable, horrifying moment? HaywerthJanuary 22, 2016 4:13 PM Amazing Spider-Man #359-360 Gunny Stein. Why do I remember still that name? AFJanuary 22, 2016 3:57 PM Strange Tales #12-14 The minion's name Arioch is mentioned in the following issue; in the very first text box in the Strange story. "To defeat the Lord of Chaos Arioch, Dr. Strange had to merge his very identity with his foe -- both gaining and losing much in the process." Thanos6January 22, 2016 3:51 PM Amazing Spider-Man #359-360 Agreed, david. I love Cardiac. fnord12January 22, 2016 3:46 PM Quasar #17 Done. Thanks for the reminder. (Next time, can you remind me in that forum thread, since it's kind of an administrative thing that people that read regular comments might not care about?) clydeJanuary 22, 2016 3:41 PM Quasar #17 FNORD - can you note this on the shifting log on the forum for future reference? david banesJanuary 22, 2016 3:31 PM Amazing Spider-Man #359-360 Cardiac is one character from the 90s I kind of like and wouldn't be offended if he came back. Speaking of offensive it's time for the great most bestest Spider-Man villain of all time to shine! JonathanJanuary 22, 2016 2:40 PM NFL Superpro #4 I don't remember ever seeing this series, I wonder if it was even released here in the UK. One amusing thing is the artist Jose Delbo had just spent a few years drawing literally hundreds of Transformers, and he always seemed to prefer drawing humans to robots... but when he's asked to design a villain for NFL Superpro, clearly the Transformers had worn his brain out as he just draws a totally identikit Transformer. (Not to be cruel to Jose, who was nearly 60 at this point and who I hear is a nice guy.) fnord12January 22, 2016 2:26 PM Doctor Strange #38-40 Added Splatt. Thanks. fnord12January 22, 2016 2:25 PM Quasar #17 Agree, thanks Midnighter. Thanos6January 22, 2016 2:13 PM Doctor Strange #38-40 I think Splatt, Roadkill's...sidekick? pet?...shows up again, so you may want a tag for it as well. This is probably D'Spayre's greatest moment, playing Nightmare and the Dweller against each other. I love that twist. Thanos6January 22, 2016 2:04 PM Warlock and the Infinity Watch #1 I always hated the whole "having the Time Gem means you know what'll happen and you're trapped by it" thing. Then what's the point of being God? Good job helping Eternity make his case, Adam. Getting pissed off that they want to take your hard-earned reward from you is justified, but you need to vent with words. Blowing up the "courtroom" rarely produces good results, especially when it comes to determining your mental state. MidnighterJanuary 22, 2016 11:47 AM Quasar #17 You placed this story just after Speed Demon broke his leg in Marvel Tales 242. Isn't better to place it before MT 242? Erik BeckJanuary 22, 2016 11:36 AM X-Men: True Friends #1-3 If this had never been released, it would have always just been talked about as a great unreleased book. Instead, we can see why it wasn't released in the first place. What a clusterf--k. Fnord, by the way, Kitty did meet Jean/Phoenix in #131, even though she didn't join the X-Men until after she had "died". fnord12January 22, 2016 9:59 AM Infinity Gauntlet #3 I didn't think so. Aside from standing around in the background of some group scenes, they're really only featured in one story. fnord12January 22, 2016 9:57 AM Warlock and the Infinity Watch #1 Yes, thanks. Ataru320January 22, 2016 9:52 AM Infinity Gauntlet #3 I'm not sure how important they are in the end, but shouldn't this at least get a "2" due to introducing Love and Hate? MichaelJanuary 22, 2016 8:25 AM Warlock and the Infinity Watch #1 Eternity also refers to Warlock's attempt to kidnap Sif- should that be listed in the references? fnord12January 22, 2016 7:29 AM Infinity Gauntlet #3 Just to close the loop, i agree characters only shown on the monitors shouldn't be counted as appearances. Thanks AF. fnord12January 22, 2016 7:28 AM Infinity Gauntlet #2 I was following the MCP on the characters appearing. Maybe they based it on later stories that confirmed that certain characters were actually contacted? But i think i agree with you and i'll remove them. Thanks for checking all the pages and letting me know. fnord12January 22, 2016 7:22 AM Master of Kung Fu #29-31 No he's really here. Thanks Mortificator. Erik BeckJanuary 22, 2016 7:21 AM Slapstick #1-4 Interesting little DC montage in the "origin" page. He's got Superman's logo and his Fortress of Solitude. But he's wearing Orion's weaponry in one panel. And the "Who he is and how he came to be" is directly pulled from the original Batman one-page origin in Detective #33. AFJanuary 22, 2016 7:11 AM Infinity Gauntlet #3 Since you counted some of the monitor appearances of heroes the Avengers contacted last issue, here's what you'd be missing here: Reserve Avengers: Monica Rambeau, Sandman, Rage, Mockingbird (pg. 6 panel 2) Texas Twister (pg. 24, panel 2) Doc Samson and Whizzer - who is long dead by this point (pg. 24, panel 4) Jocasta, Captain Marvel and generic Kree? (pg. 24, panel 5) Snowbird, Mantis (pg. 24, panel 6) Beyonder (pg. 25, panel 3) Hellcat (pg. 26, panel 1) Personally I wouldn't count any of em, but you counted some for last issue. AFJanuary 22, 2016 7:05 AM Infinity Gauntlet #2 Just checked, the same is true of Black Bolt, Crimson Dynamo, Gorgon, Medusa and Spider-Man. They only appear on monitor screens (with no dialogue) when the Avengers are looking for aid. If you're counting them as actual appearances then there's others to count including: Tigra, Nightcrawler, Forge, Storm, Banshee, Ghost Rider, Darkhawk, (all pg. 15 panel 1), a hard to identify female (pg. 15 panel 2), Punisher (pg. 15 panel 3) and Colossus, Kitty, Jubilee Psylocke (pg. 15 panel 4) although that one stipulates "no reply". AFJanuary 22, 2016 6:56 AM Infinity Gauntlet #2 You've got Black Knight tagged here, I'm 98% sure he doesn't appear in it beyond on a monitor screen in the background of Avengers Mansion. Yogi deadheadJanuary 22, 2016 6:00 AM NFL Superpro #4 A villain? How about a villain that steals millions from people and takes away their livelihood because he refuses to acknowledge the simple science of The Ideal Gas Law?!?! Luis DantasJanuary 22, 2016 3:55 AM Silver Surfer #61-66 "Avatar" is by no means a particularly easy concept to understand, but I have to scratch my head and wonder what Marvel editorial of the time understood it to mean. Quasar supposedly became an "Avatar of Infinity" at the close of Cosmos in Collision (Quasar #24-25) back in 1991. It is apparently significant enough that it makes the short list of five archetypical roles that make Quasar's identity by his own understanding in a future story involving Warlock (Quasar #53). But the very fact that such a role is fighting for space with four others and is in fact described as Quasar's most recent "past guise" implies that it is not necessarily even an important part of his self-image. RobertJanuary 22, 2016 3:14 AM Amazing Adult Fantasy #14 I love the tagline on bottom of the cover of this issue: "THE MAGAZINE THAT RESPECTS YOUR INTELLIGENCE." Classic. MortificatorJanuary 22, 2016 2:45 AM Master of Kung Fu #29-31 Shang-Chi's appearances aren't flashback-only in this issue, are they? I notice you haven't tagged the master himself. JCJanuary 22, 2016 2:37 AM NFL Superpro #4 A hero is nothing without an arch-villain. It's by the arch-villain that we can judge what the hero is made of. If you're rly looking for a "villain" worthy of the NFL you'd need a Congressman who refuses to write off a new billion dollar tax payer funded stadium or a medical physician who won't falsify concussion reports. JCJanuary 22, 2016 1:58 AM Silver Surfer #61-66 Is there a difference? BenJanuary 22, 2016 1:20 AM Excalibur #46-50 Davis's solo Excalibur run is one of my favorites on any X-book ever, and this is the high point of that run. It's especially great considering that none of this was planned-- he was wrapping up Claremont danglers from the very first issue of the series, and he was doing it on the fly. The only thing that makes it not perfect is the way he mucks with the Phoenix mythology. The Feron stuff works in the context of Excalibur, but really isn't a tonal match with what Claremont established about the Phoenix in X-Men. (And I think it has been entirely ignored by later writers.) StevenJanuary 22, 2016 1:14 AM Silver Surfer #61-66 Are Kirkwood Studios regular comic book artists, or are they people that Marvel just pulled off the street when they needed help? Brimstone: Wrestler, Celebrity, Comics CEOJanuary 21, 2016 11:37 PM Excalibur #46-50 this comic never did it for me even though I loved me some Nightcrawler I have to admit I just didn't "get it". I did like Phoenix when JrJr was drawing her in Uncanny X-Men but the few times I picked up this series I just couldn't figure out what the point was or what was going on. The same continuity issues that every era complains about lol BillJanuary 21, 2016 10:01 PM Excalibur #46-50 While Alan Davis was on Excalibur, it was one of my favorite titles of the day! Without him, it was a real chore to wade thru. After he wrapped up this run, I dropped it and never looked back. RobertJanuary 21, 2016 9:21 PM Excalibur #46-50 "It had a revolving door of the worst writing and art of any X-men spin-off title for a long time." I never really connected with Excalibur beyond thinking it had nice art with Davis, but as far as X-Men spin-offs go, I think Awful Flight had the worst writing and art by a wide margin. Red CometJanuary 21, 2016 9:12 PM Excalibur #46-50 No surprise about the sales on Excalibur. It had a revolving door of the worst writing and art of any X-men spin-off title for a long time. I'm glad they eventually brought Alan Davis back for another run. In my opinion the title was no good again after Davis left the entire rest of its run. I don't even think the Warren Ellis material was anything special. Vin the Comics GuyJanuary 21, 2016 9:11 PM Excalibur #46-50 Fantastic review! So good to see Alan Davis back on Excalibur. MichaelJanuary 21, 2016 8:48 PM Excalibur #46-50 Note that this story seems to imply Meggan is not really a mutant, in contrast to Captain Britain 9, where Gabriel identifies Meggan as a mutant. Thanos6January 21, 2016 8:06 PM Avengers #343-344 I agree the Proctor story was good...at the end, when things were HAPPENING. Like many 90s stories/subplots, it went on too long. DermieJanuary 21, 2016 6:39 PM Avengers #343-344 @Fnord, its true, they did--but if I were Dane I'd still not want to risk it. That resolution seems to have mainly just solved the problem of Dane being a metal statue. As we'll see in later issues, the Blood Curse is still active (in fact, I think the Annuals that introduces Blood Wraith does explicitly state that the curse was the reason Dane switched swords). @Piotr, I agree--I thought the Proctor storyline was a highlight of this era of the Avengers. Its true that Harras took the team in a different direction than is traditional with the Avengers (trying to duplicate some elements of what was popular in the X-books), but he still gave the book the most stability and strongest sense of direction it had since Stern left. I think his choice of roster was great too--with Black Knight, Crystal, Hercules, Sersi, Vision and Black Widow he had interesting characters who weren't tied to solo books, so he had free reign with their storylines, and it made for a stronger book, imo. The only downside was that since he devoted so much time to building up Black Knight he let Black Widow slide to the sidelines for too long. fnord12January 21, 2016 6:23 PM X-Factor #74 Piotr, you are correct, and i'll let your comment stand as the note! fnord12January 21, 2016 6:22 PM Silver Surfer #61-66 RC said "for", not "from". :-) mikrolikJanuary 21, 2016 6:18 PM Silver Surfer #61-66 Red Comet: Ummmm, how could it have been lifted from something in the late 90s? This was published in 1992. Red CometJanuary 21, 2016 6:02 PM Silver Surfer #61-66 That image of the Surfer embracing his dark opposite was lifted almost wholesale for the finale of a certain late 90s anime (won't say which one for spoilers sake, but anyone who has seen it knows what I'm talking about). RobertJanuary 21, 2016 4:02 PM Silver Surfer #61-66 I assume the blue horned guy with an attitude is a nod to DC's Blue Devil. JonathanJanuary 21, 2016 3:33 PM Quasar #30-31 I was trying to avoid any (nearly 30 year old) spoilers when I mentioned the White Event, but I didn't explain myself very well and just confused matters! The Old Man being the cause of the White Event I don't have a problem with at all. I imagine Byrne actually was using Shooter's original explanation there. All of the paranormals' powers came from the White Event except the Star Brand, so it seems logical that Shooter had intended the Brand had caused the White Event. The thing I was referring to that I didn't like Byrne's timey-wimey explanation for is he later linked the origin of the Star Brand itself to the White Event, and the time paradox explanation just seemed too much like a traditional "cosmic comics" concept that didn't fit in with the New Universe. Piotr WJanuary 21, 2016 3:13 PM X-Factor #74 I may be mistaken, but isn't it Sinister's first appearance since Inferno? If so, I'd say it merits a note that this issue basically reveals that he wasn't killed by Cyclops back at the end of Inferno. Of course, we all know that Sinister was already making appearances as Gambit, but that information didn't make it into the canon, so... Piotr WJanuary 21, 2016 3:08 PM Avengers #343-344 Why the hate for the Proctor storyline? Personally, I think it was a good story. BTW. Fnord, Mary Magdalene was not a prostitute... That's a common misconception. Although, of course, Harras might have been sharing it, so that might still be the right explanation for Magdalene. Anyway, I wouldn't really confuse Magdalene for Mantis. If anything, she looks like Big Barda :) clydeJanuary 21, 2016 1:42 PM Quasar #30-31 "As for the White Event: I assume the original intent was that it was caused by the Star Brand itself in some manner." It's not an assumption. It's a fact. Red CometJanuary 21, 2016 12:50 PM Quasar #30-31 Per Shooter's blog, he worked retail back home for several years between his first and second stints in the comic industry. Ken Connell seems to be heavily based on this period of his life. I think a lot of people didn't like the Connell character because he was a normal guy with no ambition who did stuff real people (with real flaws) do like cheat on their girlfriend. This was not the lifestyle and behavior of even a "flawed" Marvel hero. Readers weren't supposed to necessarily like the character or even identify with him. Unfortunately, comic book readers sometimes have a hard time grasping an unlikeable or unrelatable protagonist because they aren't very well versed in actual literature where characters like that are much more common. As for the White Event: I assume the original intent was that it was caused by the Star Brand itself in some manner. My basis for this belief is Shooter's work on the Valiant universe, for which the New Universe served as a prototype in many ways. The origin of his version of Solar is heavily implied to have affected the timeline of the Valiant Universe and given the harbingers their powers and given Armstrong and Eternal Warrior their immortality. Concepts from the New Universe (though not the characters) will come back to the main Marvel Universe during Jonathan Hickman's Avengers run. Hickman's stuff seems to be based on the aborted Warren Ellis reboot rather than the original material, though. clydeJanuary 21, 2016 12:33 PM X-Force #1 "* - Not to give anything away, but one character here is of course not who they seem (as is obvious from the CA list). Makes you wonder, since that was a later decision, how much that character is supposed to know about Cable." Since that character became the other character, one "* - The ending always annoyed me. Black Tom is powerful, but I really thought Sunspot and Gideon were too powerful to just sit there and accept being hostages. I know we'll see them make a move in a couple of issues, but it just felt like a weak ending." Actually, that's exactly how Gideon would handle it. No need to use violence when he could get a better result by biding his time. clydeJanuary 21, 2016 12:28 PM Wolverine: Bloody Choices To be fair, Wolverine's skill set isn't to build things up as much as destroy them. Erik BeckJanuary 21, 2016 12:07 PM Wolverine: Bloody Choices This is . . . insane. At this point, I decided to check how many appearances you've had to shoehorn Wolverine into between the end of the Muir Island Saga and the start of X-Men #1. This is the 17th out of 21. The rest of the three teams combined (both teams of X-Men plus the three who will go to X-Factor) appear 13 times in that same period (3 of which are because Cyclops is the only other X-character in IG). That's 15 characters, several of whom don't appear at all between the end of the MI Saga and either X-Men #1 or X-Factor #71 (including Gambit and Xavier). The other characters must have been busy rebuilding the mansion and working as a team while Logan was getting some serious frequent flyer miles. Erik BeckJanuary 21, 2016 11:49 AM X-Force #1 I had dropped all the X-titles by this time and so didn't end up reading this until a year and a half later when X-Cutioner's Song drew me back in. By that time (late 92), it was cheap and easy to get a polybagged copy. * - Is Cable holding onto a rope in the splash panel? If so, how is that tiny little rope holding what must be a few hundred pounds of muscle, machinery and weaponry. * - Yeah, Liefeld gets a lot of grief for his tiny feet and his massive amounts of teeth, but the thing that always struck me was how damn wide his characters were. * - Not to give anything away, but one character here is of course not who they seem (as is obvious from the CA list). Makes you wonder, since that was a later decision, how much that character is supposed to know about Cable. * - When I got back into comics a year later, I was told that it was an open secret by that time that Cable was Nathan Summers. I was specifically told to look at his scene with Domino in this issue and the use of his power as the scene that reveals it. You had to know enough back story, but yeah, it's a big clue. * - The ending always annoyed me. Black Tom is powerful, but I really thought Sunspot and Gideon were too powerful to just sit there and accept being hostages. I know we'll see them make a move in a couple of issues, but it just felt like a weak ending. * - For those of you who have never read the TT run that Liefeld swipes from here, you must do so now. One of the greatest writer-artist runs in comics history, especially that storyline (The Judas Contract). Thanos6January 21, 2016 11:14 AM Impossible Man Summer Vacation Spectacular #1 I just realized something that bothers me about the Impossible Man using Spaceship Earth as a golf ball while EPCOT is open and occupied. By this point Impy is not so ignorant of humanity that he could think this is acceptable behavior, nor so malevolent or selfish that he would realize that but do it anyway. The Impossible Man may be annoying, but he's not the amoral type of trickster like Mr. Mxy. He basically means well. More of Peter David's mean sense of humor. Thanos6January 21, 2016 10:58 AM Quasar #30-31 I don't think that's something I made up. I'm crazy, but not that crazy. Unfortunately, my back issues aren't easily accessible at the moment. Would you mind keeping an eye out for a mention of that in future issues until I can browse my QUASARs myself? Sorry to ask. fnord12January 21, 2016 10:41 AM Quasar #30-31 There's no reference to the Laser being used up in issue #31, neither when Quasar is making his jump or when he gets back to Earth, or even in his final wrap up with the Watcher. The latter is especially odd. Thanos, maybe you're remembering something from a later issue; it seems like something that may be brought up again since it feels like a dropped point here. Jonathan, not off topic at all. Thanks for the recap. Thanos6January 21, 2016 10:38 AM Quasar #30-31 I know he used the Starbrand, but I swear I remember that at some point the Lasers got "used up" in all this. JonathanJanuary 21, 2016 10:32 AM Quasar #30-31 Thanos, I think you’re misremembering, if memory serves it’s the Starbrand that Quasar uses for his omniversal travel, he assumes it’s been burned out but (spoilers) reappears soon enough. FF3January 21, 2016 10:13 AM Fantastic Four #21 Stan apparently wasn't talking out of his butt when it came to the claims regarding a subterranean vehicle. And, while the Soviets were researching it, the idea originated with the Nazis, making this story even more "plausible". http://englishrussia.com/2012/05/15/the-craziest-secret-military-project-of-the-ussr/ I bet it had been recently profiled in a Popular Mechanics or something. Thanos6January 21, 2016 10:04 AM Quasar #30-31 Fnord, do you want to mention what happened to the divergent Lasers Quaze sucked up? It's been a while since I read the issue, but I think his final jump back to 616 made him use so much energy that he (unconsciously?) used them as fuel too and they basically died from being drained into nothing? fnord12January 21, 2016 9:16 AM Quasar #30-31 Thanks, Jonathan. That was just a 'transcription error', so to speak. JonathanJanuary 21, 2016 9:13 AM Quasar #30-31 I expected Fnord wouldn’t like the New Universe issue too much, and I entirely agree with his reasoning. The New Universe was explicitly a separate universe, just like “the world outside your window” where the Marvel Universe was just comics. It made no sense for Quasar to be there. However, as someone who did read the New Universe and absolutely mourned its end, I’ve got to say I loved Quasar 31, and I was happy to suspend my disbelief to see some of the characters again. Seeing the New Universe on the cover was like a Christmas present for me. I had stopped reading Quasar a while back, but saw the cover and was incredibly excited to find out what Gruenwald thought the DP7 characters were doing now. At the time, the only disappointment was that it was just a one off and we wouldn’t get anything continuing. Gruenwald does return to New Universe characters and concepts after this in Quasar, but all of that I found disappointing and uninteresting. I just wanted to know more about how all the characters I loved were doing, and this issue was the last we really saw them. (We see the New Universe Earth again, but not really its characters.) Anyway, I can see how this issue would not stand out to anyone who didn’t read the original comics, but personally I was so glad it was made, I read the issue time and time again. As far as I can recall it’s the last thing Gruenwald did that I loved, or even liked that much. Minor correction for Fnord: It’s post-Pitt Manhattan that Quasar lands in. (Don’t have this issue to hand, but the reference to Pre-Pitt is that the population now is much less than it was before the destruction of Pittsburgh. I kind of suspect you know this, but just in case!) CREPASCOLOJanuary 21, 2016 8:08 AM Avengers #343-344 "The Steve Epting / Tom Palmer pairing continues to work" , but mr Palmer is a kind of Dracula for every penciller under his ink. Erik BeckJanuary 21, 2016 7:34 AM Spider-Man #18-23 Wait, it's got Ghost Rider, the Hulk and the original FF? And it's 1991? How on earth did they not include Wolverine in this? fnord12January 21, 2016 6:59 AM Avengers #343-344 @Erik & Dermie, but remember they devoted an entire miniseries (and a follow-up in Avengers Spotlight) resolving the problem with the curse. Erik BeckJanuary 21, 2016 6:46 AM Knights of Pendragon #13-18 Well, you can tell it's Sue because she's a blonde wearing an FF uniform, so I'm not sure how much that counts. I don't think the art in MCP is as bad - just that with no costume you can't tell who they intended. BerendJanuary 21, 2016 3:32 AM Avengers #343-344 @Michael DermieJanuary 21, 2016 12:16 AM Avengers #343-344 @Erik Robbins -- exactly. Although a footnote about the Ebony Blade's curse would probably have been a good idea, I just assumed that it was meant to be self-explanatory that Dane switched weapons due to the dangers of the Ebony Blade and its curse. Brimstone: Wrestler, Celebrity, Comics CEOJanuary 21, 2016 12:14 AM Quasar #30-31 in that panel where he thanks the new universers for the hospitality, quasar straight up looks like a CHICK. and dig that Jay Leno chin!!! LOL RocknrollguitarplayerJanuary 21, 2016 12:12 AM Defenders #2-4 It may Prove that Marvel may want to Parlay their Doctor Strange silver screen offering into the Mystical Incarnation of the DEFENDERS and introduce Namor and re-introduce Silver Surfer in a legitimate vehicle! Could be parlayed into the next Supergroup incarnation for the Marvel Movie Universe with an eventual Avengers vs Defenders epic adrenaline filled debacle! Erik RobbinsJanuary 21, 2016 12:11 AM Avengers #343-344 Considering that Dane had somewhat recently been locked into his body due to the Ebony Sword's curse, it never struck me odd or sudden that he switched to not using the thing anymore. InstantiationJanuary 20, 2016 10:49 PM Avengers #52 In fairly typical Thomas fashion, the title somewhat awkwardly alludes to Willa Cather's 1927 novel "Death Comes for the Archbishop." Thomas says in MMW Avengers 6 that Stan decreed the temporary change to the Panther's mask to show he was black. I definitely prefer Colletta's inking of Buscema's outstanding work here to George Tuska's more cartoonish work in several issues from around this time. Best of all was Buscema inking his own work, as in 49-50, but he apparently found it took too much time to be worth it financially. MichaelJanuary 20, 2016 8:46 PM Avengers #343-344 @Berend- it wraps up in May of 1994. Thanos6January 20, 2016 8:31 PM Quasar #30-31 No. Quaze still possesses some Starbrand power, and that's going to come up again... Vin the Comics GuyJanuary 20, 2016 7:42 PM Quasar #30-31 As a reader of the NU books, IIRC, one of the rules of the Star Brand was that the original bearer was left with 10% of the power. Did that change because Quasar was an extradimensional? JSfanJanuary 20, 2016 5:20 PM NFL Superpro #4 I had a Gobot. I think Sanction is better designed. :P BerendJanuary 20, 2016 5:06 PM Avengers #343-344 Echoing Thanos6 here, but I was also surprised to see the Gatherers saga start this early. It doesn't wrap up until... 1995ish, does it? kvetoJanuary 20, 2016 4:32 PM NFL Superpro #4 @Robert Doh! Fumble! Maybe he's just thinking outside of the box. clydeJanuary 20, 2016 4:14 PM Avengers #343-344 Thanos6 Thanos6January 20, 2016 4:02 PM Avengers #343-344 Dear God, did the whole Proctor thing REALLY start THIS early? I could have sworn it came much later in the 90s... RobertJanuary 20, 2016 3:55 PM NFL Superpro #4 Why couldn't he just untie her hands? Did he really have to rip up the goal post? I bet he isn't going to pay to fix that either. Charles RJanuary 20, 2016 3:24 PM Alpha Flight #55-60 I also encountered most of these characters and stories via the Update 89 Handbook. It just seemed so bizarre to me in a bad way, and actually seeing the pictures on this website confirms my impression. I think what's worse is that these bizarre stories and character beats damaged Alpha Flight permanently, and is a major reason it's never been a top tier book since Byrne left. Anyone trying to write these characters has to deal with all this unfun strangeness. Red CometJanuary 20, 2016 3:24 PM Avengers #343-344 The confusion over who actually remembers Infinity Gauntlet is nothing compared to how Byzantine the plotting will get in Marvel's major books by the end of the decade, and we're still in early '92! david banesJanuary 20, 2016 2:17 PM Fantastic Four #68-71 Love this Android with its arsenal of weapons and tricks. AFJanuary 20, 2016 2:04 PM Avengers #343-344 I suppose you could write it off as Eric being his typical buffoonish self. AFJanuary 20, 2016 1:58 PM Avengers #343-344 Well, from what I remember, isn't Thor one of the few people still by Warlock's side at the very end of Infinity Gauntlet (him, Strange and Surfer). Every time the resets happened, Thor either was exempt or re-entered the fray afterwards. And anyway, there's that whole Enchantress/Hercules/Quasar adventure and when Captain America called him to help investigate Red Skull's house. So, there's plenty of times he was acting as an Avenger prior. StevenJanuary 20, 2016 1:54 PM Avengers #343-344 I don't care for the new Swordsman, Magdalene, or Marilla. I liked Sersi up to this point, but I think Bob Harras ruined the character in these issues. AFJanuary 20, 2016 1:22 PM New Mutants #75 I'm one of the select few (which also include John Byrne and Grant Morrison) who think Magneto is an evil bastard and not a hero. So I love this issue. clydeJanuary 20, 2016 1:20 PM Avengers #343-344 "like Marilla claiming she's been the only nanny to the Inhuman Royal Family" "or Thor (Eric Masterson) saying that this is his first mission with the Avengers (which ignores Infinity Gauntlet and several team-ups in other books)." Charles RJanuary 20, 2016 1:15 PM Daredevil #252 Always really liked this issue, especially for the Romita Jr. art. It's a very apocalyptic mood on the streets, really evoking how much terror the Horsemen were creating with their attack. Their cameo in the beginning really captured, much the way Marvels would later, how it must feel for the average citizen to watch these extraordinary events happening and not knowing the particulars of it. Charles RJanuary 20, 2016 12:39 PM New Mutants #58-61 "if the New Mutants were really just students then his membership made sense, but since they're really a super-hero team, Doug really had no business being on it. But that point could have been made by giving him a close call and then shunting him off to the sidelines for occasional use or to just fade away until/unless another writer decided to use him." But Prof X, Magneto, and the X-Men do not intend for them to be a superhero team, but the team keeps disobeying them and getting into these situations. It’s one thing when trouble finds them, but another when the New Mutants go against their purpose and do things like pick fights with the Beyonder and go out into the Morlock tunnels during the Mutant Massacre. I don’t know, I don’t think all fictional deaths have to have a point. We read comics for fun and escapism, but also for some level of art and meaning, and pointless death is a part of life and a source of good fiction. In that respect, I don’t have a problem with the idea of Doug’s death. I didn’t read New Mutants regularly until after Inferno, despite collecting these issues, so I can't speak to how well it was handled in the immediate aftermath, but issue 61 tackled it well enough. His death felt like it cast a shadow over those post Inferno issues, certainly whenever the team ran into old acquaintances like Shadowcat in Excalibur or their reunion with the X-Men during the X-Tinction Agenda. Regarding their run as a whole, the larger problem with the New Mutants is that no one really took care of them; they weren’t meant to be a superhero team, but Prof X and the X-Men never seemed to really pay them too much attention, while Prof X gambled that Magneto would be able to succeed him and was wrong. A tragedy like Doug’s death was a long time coming for the team, a direct result of their elder’s negligence and their own rebelliousness. Their ultimate fate, falling in with the militant Cable, was a logical outcome of them desperately seeking someone, anyone, to actually take charge of them and make them a priority. Whatever else his faults, Cable did that (at least until I stopped reading X-Force around X-Cutioner’s Song) Ataru320January 20, 2016 11:53 AM Doctor Strange #37 Looking over X-Men 40, you stated that the Frankenstein there was more or less created by aliens (it was the Silver Age after all), thus why it probably wasn't included in this "grand Frankenstein theory". FF3January 20, 2016 10:04 AM X-Factor #71-73 My head-canon for Lockjaw is that the Thing revelation was the truth, but that Lockjaw has come to terms enough with his change that he simply prefers to be treated like a pet, and actively tries to keep it a secret. He and Quicksilver discussed this at a later date, and here Quicksilver is trying to help his friend by discrediting Ben (who is often the butt of such jokes). fnord12January 20, 2016 8:08 AM Captain America #290 Yes, thanks. Luis DantasJanuary 20, 2016 8:05 AM Quasar #30-31 @AF - I understand that the Exiles storyline featured alternate versions of the NU characters? @Thanos - You and me both. @Red Comet - Have you read "The Pitt"? It reads much like the proposal was "how can we make some bucks out of a book that shows how despairing it must be to live where Jim Shooter's alter ego is? Bonus points if we can make someone scream "Shooter Down" twice on panel." G somethingJanuary 20, 2016 7:59 AM Captain America #290 Captain America tag missing? Omar KarinduJanuary 20, 2016 6:27 AM Fantastic Four #258-260 Byrne has said that the Kristoff storyline would have ended with the real Doom returning and being horrified at what his 'bots did to a child under his protection. More broadly, genuinely killing off Doom doesn't strike me as the sort of massive change Byrne would be interested in. Villains "dying" is more Silver Age throwback than anything else. Omar KarinduJanuary 20, 2016 6:24 AM Marvel Two-In-One #96 "I do wonder why exactly did they have Sandman start turning over a new leaf?" I suspect almost all of it can be traced to Marvel Team-Up #1, where Sandy gets a sympathetic Christmas story where Spidey and the Torch help him keep his aging mother in the dark about his secret. JSfanJanuary 20, 2016 1:37 AM Silver Surfer #7 I didn't know Monty Python read Marvel Comics. I guess that's where the killer rabbit gag came from. :P david banesJanuary 19, 2016 11:32 PM Marvel Two-In-One #96 Oh wait, just noticed the Mole minions behind him, yep that's Mole Man alright. david banesJanuary 19, 2016 11:31 PM Marvel Two-In-One #96 Looks kind of taller and hairier for Mole Man but maybe it is. I do wonder why exactly did they have Sandman start turning over a new leaf? I mean out of all the villains he never really had much depth, lots of fun to look at on the pages. I mean he tried to kill Thing a few times and only other link I can think of is they got working class growing up enviroments. david banesJanuary 19, 2016 11:24 PM Fantastic Four #258-260 This was a great three parter and though each segment of the 260 is short each one is brief. Still I wish the Surfer and Terrax got to fight for even another page or so. But yes I agree with Beck that I think the Surfer had more quality put into him. So it seems like there's a long pause in Doom and Kristoff takes over. I do wonder if Bryne was really trying to kill Doom but was forced to have the possession scene for an out. Though this is foreshadowed with Doom considering Dr. Strange as a mentor. Hell was he trying to kill Annihilus as well since we got several panels of him flying away and blowing apart. Though I know he re-uses him later. Thanos6January 19, 2016 10:48 PM Secret Wars II #6 They just released a Secret Wars-themed Handbook. It's mostly based around the event that just wrapped up, but there's a few entries on the 80's Secret Wars. In the Secret Wars II entry, they gave the reporter's full name as Dave Shooter. Heh. Red CometJanuary 19, 2016 10:07 PM Quasar #30-31 @Luis No kidding about Star Brand. John Byrne's run on that title is the most unprofessional thing I think I've ever seen published at Marvel. Something like eight straight issues about nothing but how much Byrne hated Jim Shooter. Thanos6January 19, 2016 10:06 PM Quasar #30-31 "One thing i don't love about Quasar is the very casual way that he reacts to cosmic entities, including the way he talks to the Watcher here." See, to me, that's a plus. I find it humorous and endearing. MichaelJanuary 19, 2016 9:59 PM Knights of Pendragon #13-18 Erik- the way I see it it's not THAT bad since at least you can tell it's supposed to be Sue. (Albeit Picasso's impression of Sue.) Look at the Longshot story in Marvel Comics Presents 16- fnord and the Marvel Chronology Project had to list both Maddie and Rogue as appearing since nobody could tell which of them that woman was supposed to be. AFJanuary 19, 2016 7:12 PM Quasar #30-31 And almost all of them will show up again in some issues of Exiles. Luis DantasJanuary 19, 2016 7:01 PM Quasar #30-31 Fnord, if you ever reach 2016 in your project, you may want to keep track of Blur, who makes an apperance here. He is now a part of whatever the post-Secret Wars world is called. Luis DantasJanuary 19, 2016 6:59 PM Quasar #30-31 My take on his giving Quasar the Starbrand and being so happy for it is that in so doing he is simbolically passing the creative torch of the NU's from Byrne and Howard Mackie, who brought Starbrand to the ground with extreme prejudice, to Gruenwald, who will do his best to care for the characters and concept. Red CometJanuary 19, 2016 6:40 PM Quasar #30-31 So much of Quasar just sounds like bad fanfiction. Luis DantasJanuary 19, 2016 6:40 PM Quasar #30-31 Jim Hanrahan appeared in about three or four pages of the last issue of Starbrand, and he may well have been patterned after Jim Shooter... but since he is a John Byrne creation, it is a safe bet that it was not a homage to him. david banesJanuary 19, 2016 3:29 PM Fantastic Four #265 I feel sorry for The Trapster since I think someone who is an expert with a binding agent like that should be pretty darn dangerous. Same with The Spot, seems like a silly power but he's warping space and time and should be way more dangerous. Okay the two aren't quite the same but both have tricks that should be a little more dangerous. Erik BeckJanuary 19, 2016 12:47 PM Knights of Pendragon #13-18 Okay, those two panels of Sue might set a new low for any art involving an established Marvel character. Brimstone: Wrestler, Celebrity, Comics CEOJanuary 19, 2016 4:06 AM Sleepwalker #8 Dude, this is the first I'm even HEARING about these comics (granted I was pretty busy touring with my band in 1992!!!!) but this is, this is some trippy stuff! I don't know if this is another attempt at super-hero-horror from Marvel but I will say Bret Blevins has a real cool, exaggerated style and I wonder why he wasn't a bigger deal, looks really Art Adams-like Brimstone: Wrestler, Celebrity, Comics CEOJanuary 19, 2016 4:03 AM Hulk #389 Mark- thank you, Bruh!!! I just thought that was weird because Ive never known of Davis using anybody and am curious if this was hyped or advertised as I would assume assistants don't usually get credit, LOL! kirk gJanuary 19, 2016 1:57 AM Uncanny X-Men #41-42 ...well, now that you've drawn attention to it, I'm certain that this will become a plot thread shortly... Mark BlackJanuary 19, 2016 12:43 AM Hulk #389 @Brimstone: Wrassler, Celeb, CEO - yes, he's been an assistant of Davis's for a long time and has done a lot of work on Garfield properties like the Boom! Studio comics. Brimstone: Wrestler, Celebrity, Comics CEOJanuary 18, 2016 10:58 PM Hulk #389 his work on Garfield? do you mean he's an assistant or ghost artist for Jim Davis? AFJanuary 18, 2016 3:23 PM Strange Tales #5-7 I wrote that having only read 5-6. I see they're in 7 as well... so hopefully I don't look too much of an idiot with 7 contradicting me... AFJanuary 18, 2016 3:20 PM Strange Tales #5-7 "The road to the Ancient One's home has been shut down to to the political instability in the region shown in Doctor Strange #77." And I feel the Defenders appearance is a stinker. Other than Valkyrie (and that's being generous), they are of no note. They literally don't receive any dialogue! And them being included causes more issues for me than they solve. Manslaughter is crazy, why's he suddenly a "team" player? We're not addressing this? Why is Strange treating them like he knows them all so well? I can't imagine Beast or Iceman passed along a message about how Manslaughter was a "true Defender" and they'd probably be at a loss for words of how to explain Interloper to Strange. Where are Moondragon and Gargoyle? (over in Solo Avengers but that's still a question that should be address here). Why is Valkyrie suddenly wearing a evil stripper costume? Do we ever get an explanation for why Valkyrie changed costumes between death and after-life? I really hate when costumes are dramatically changed without much acknowledgement. It's the sort of thing that they do all the time in modern comics. And Doctor Strange sacrificing the guide to have the Defenders had his beck and call loses any point when he summons them and they literally do nothing like as seen here. And I really dislike the idea presented here with Strange ignoring the wishes of the dying guide. And in favor of a team of people he doesn't know and the one he knows acting incredibly out of character and wearing an evil looking costume. I was hoping to get a kick out of seeing the Defenders, or the New Defenders, reappear here but I felt like it was a total waste of time and not worthy the severe amoral slope Strange gets pushed down to make it happen. fnord12January 18, 2016 2:02 PM Hulk #389 This is a second Glob, and this is his only appearance, so i didn't include a tag for him. fnord12January 18, 2016 2:01 PM Marvel Spotlight #5 Thanks AF. I've removed the other tag. fnord12January 18, 2016 1:59 PM Ms. Marvel #9-10 Thanks Matthew. Added a note in the References. fnord12January 18, 2016 1:54 PM Amazing Spider-Man #171 Added Molten Man. Thanks. fnord12January 18, 2016 1:53 PM Avengers #129-135, Giant-Size Avengers #2-4 I think you just said it for me, AF. :-) I've added a note in the Considerations. AFJanuary 18, 2016 1:52 PM Avengers West Coast #75 Well, U.S.Agent had a concurrent limited series around about that time... fnord12January 18, 2016 1:48 PM West Coast Avengers #11 We also saw that with the "handmaidens" of a different weapons-for-hands guy in Master of Kung Fu: Bleeding Black. StevenJanuary 18, 2016 1:19 PM Avengers West Coast #75 Why did Nel Yomtov order the death of Mockingbird? US Agent was the one who should have been killed. AFJanuary 18, 2016 11:57 AM Sub-Mariner #59 My favorite bit about this one, which you neglect to mention, is the tremendously funny sequence where Namor - after having lamented several times that he has been away from water too long - finds a hose and then he just uses it to spray water at Thor. Then drops it and continues on his way complaining about how he is growing weaker because he's away from any water. AFJanuary 18, 2016 11:19 AM Marvel Spotlight #5 You have this Dragon-Lord and the Dragon-Lord from Sub-Mariner #53-54 tagged as the same character. The latter doesn't need a tag since he never reappears. Mark DrummondJanuary 18, 2016 10:36 AM Eternals: The Herod Factor #1 Thomas confirmed in Alter Ego #136 that this was intended for MCP, but he had no idea why it was bumped. Mark DrummondJanuary 18, 2016 10:33 AM Avengers West Coast #75 Thomas admitted in Alter Ego #136 that he was abruptly dropped from this title after being ordered to kill Mockingbird by editor Nel Yomtov, but he didn't stop regularly writing for Marvel until mid-1998. Erik BeckJanuary 18, 2016 8:45 AM Wolverine/Punisher: Damaging Evidence #1-3 So, apparently between the Muir Island Saga and X-Men #1, Logan grew out his hair and then decided he looked like an idiot and cut it back to how it was before. Does make a for a long gap. This art looks like bad Barry Windsor-Smith, and given my opinion of him, you know that's bad. Matthew BradleyJanuary 18, 2016 12:29 AM Ms. Marvel #9-10 Is it worth noting the brief flashback appearance in #9 of Michael Rossi, supposedly killed in X-MEN #96? HaywerthJanuary 17, 2016 11:04 PM Secret Wars II #5 What a brilliant observation! Tommy Wiseau as the Beyonder! Ben HermanJanuary 17, 2016 10:38 PM Uncanny X-Men #207 @Omar... Insightful thoughts on Garth Ennis. I do tend to agree with you, in that he is exchanging one fantasy for another. It is just that the later is so very seldom seen within mainstream superhero comic books that at first glance it appears more grounded in the real world. It's only after you give it some consideration that you realize that it is in its own way just as unrealistic. The character of Jack Bauer from 24 immediately comes to mind. He absolutely epitomizes what you referred to as the fantasy of "we can be perfectly safe as long as we let go of your silly notions of good." Of course since Bauer exists in a fictional reality, the writers make certain that each & every suspect he brutally tortures really is a murderous terrorist who is in possession of information that is vital to saving innocent lives. That mans that Bauer is never seen as being wrong. But in the real world things don't ever work out as neatly. Torture often results in very unreliable information, and sometimes the people being tortured happen to be innocent people who were arrested by overzealous authorities. Anyway, we're getting pretty far afield of where we started. But I agree with what you stated, that stories such as this one can lead to interesting observations and debates. Luis DantasJanuary 17, 2016 8:38 PM Secret Wars II #9 D.P. 7 #14 (the last 1987 issue of that New Universe title) has a letter published proposing that the White Event that jumpstarted the New Universe may have been created by the Beyonder. The reply says outright that such is not the case and says that a nearby Star Brand story will reveal why. Of course, when it did happen it was in a Byrne story that feels more than a bit like an exercise at badmouthing Jim Shooter at the expense of artistic merits, so it is quite possible that John Byrne thought otherwise. What is funny is that for all the criticism against Jim Shooter, Marvel under DeFalco had little if anything to show that it knew better. Erik BeckJanuary 17, 2016 8:03 PM Avengers West Coast #75 To be fair to Thomas, whose writing on All-Star Squadron is still one of my favorite runs on any comic, a major reason this stretch of AWC no longer appeals to me as much as it did at the time is the art. Not only did the art fall off badly after Byrne (what else could it do?), but they couldn't keep a consistent artist and the artists they did have weren't any good. ChrisWJanuary 17, 2016 6:38 PM Doctor Strange #78 I would assume it was deliberate. It's only about six months away from the debut of "Strange Tales" #1. It might have been an idea to give regular "Dr. Strange" readers a clue who Cloak and Dagger were, or just an idea Gillis had when he heard the change was coming. Never read "Cloak and Dagger," so I don't know if they were doing anything that would have presented an opportunity for Doc to make a cameo, or if the writer/editor didn't have any workable ideas, or if it was assumed that Doc is a long-running mainstay of the Marvel Universe and needs less introduction. MichaelJanuary 17, 2016 6:27 PM Avengers West Coast #75 Sorry about the typo regarding your name,AF. AFJanuary 17, 2016 6:19 PM Avengers West Coast #75 Andrew? Well, that's a new one, at least. I think it basically just became an amputated limb once Roy took over. And are you saying he was "fired" with any proof? A book being cancelled or a book getting a new creative team doesn't necessarily mean he was "fired". He still wrote other books for Marvel after his West Coast run had ended. I don't know much to anything about the behind-the-scenes of West Coast during his tenure (even that nobody cares about!), but I always thought West Coast ended due to the combination of having out-lived it's heyday, declining interest and the "exciting new direction" by DnA. MichaelJanuary 17, 2016 5:53 PM Avengers West Coast #75 Yes, Andrew, but keep in mind that this was being sold during an era of EXPANSION for Marvel. Also keep in mind that this was an unprecedented low- the core Avengers book hit its low in 1978 with 162,996 and this was around the time of the DC implosion. Avengers West Coast had also never fallen this low before. AFJanuary 17, 2016 5:39 PM Avengers West Coast #75 Compared to the enormous drop-offs with current Marvel books, that's nothing. Some of then shed 40-80% of the "audience" after #1. What you're looking at here is the loss of quarter of the readers over a few months/years. There were a lot of factors, I wouldn't say it was chiefly Roy Thomas' writing (although that and his directions didn't help). Avengers West Coast was just becoming more and more redundant and wasn't really doing anything to remain "relevant". When stuff like Punisher, Wolverine and X-Force is selling hot, you then you have this: a odd piece of curios featuring a ersatz team of b-listers and replacements written by a Silver Age writer. Besides eventually killing Mockingbird, which still had little impact elsewhere, his run never did anything of much consequence and the team also felt very much removed from the rest of the MU. Remember when the West Coast team used to show up in other books and the main book? Rarely happens here (and is usually confined to the member's of the teams solo books or Annual crossovers). And, despite being a run, almost every story arc from it can be read individually and you don't feel like you've lost any extra context. And a lot of the actual important developments to the team happened in other books too (Iron Man leaving was in his book, Wonder Man leaving was in his book, Darkhawk joining was in his book). But hey, it's still better than Force Works, right? MichaelJanuary 17, 2016 5:18 PM Avengers West Coast #75 One thing that should be mentioned is that Avengers West Coast lost a LOT of readers due to Thomas's writing. In issue 68, according to the statement of ownership, the sales were 206,000. In issue 80, sales were 152, 442 and issue 92, 147,942. Thomas lost a QUARTER of the readers. That is pretty bad. AFJanuary 17, 2016 4:48 PM Avengers West Coast #75 I enjoyed Roy Thomas' WCA run but the sentiment on this site (perhaps somewhat inspired by fnord's opinion) is that Roy Thomas, in general, was a weak writer. On other sites you can find plenty of people who like this run. I used to post on CBR and this run had quite a lot of fans there. I felt Thomas introduced a lot of things in West Coast that deserved a much longer shelf-life than they got (mostly due to them having either incredibly 90s names, incredibly 90s costumes or both). Alkhema is great, Mockingbird's death is well done, he establishes Demonicus as a worthy threat (if a total Doom rip-off, but there's worse things to rip-off) and adding Spider-Woman to the team was a great choice. Another problem that people might have with the run is whereas under Byrne the team was surprisingly far more credible than the main team, Thomas makes West Coast a lot more of the "b-team" that everyone expects it to be. He gets rid of the Pyms and Quicksilver and eventually gets rid of Wonder Man and Iron Man and we're left with basically just Hawkeye and Scarlet Witch when it comes to the classic members. And even Hawkeye wanders off before the end. And it doesn't help that the team also features both U.S.Agent and War Machine as members, making them look INCREDIBLY like a second tier substitute group to the main team. Also by the end the membership is spotty at best. Basically Wanda, U.S.Agent and Julia are the only locked-in ones you can expect to see every issue. Darkhawk, Living Lightning and War Machine are only there when the story remembers them and, as said, by the final issue Hawkeye has just walked off too. But in general, I quite like the run. I'd say it's the 3rd best run on West Coast Avengers, after Byrne and Stern. Which isn't a great accolade since there's really only 4 main writers (or 5 if you wanna count Force Works). ChrisJanuary 17, 2016 4:11 PM Hulk #389 Shouldn't you have a Glob listing in the Characters Appearing? ChrisJanuary 17, 2016 4:08 PM Avengers West Coast #75 I think a lot of the old readers were abandoning Marvel at this time (and this website has a lot of commentators of the same age range who first began buying comics in the early eighties Shooter era), but there were certainly a lot of new readers coming in and the speculators craze is now beginning with lots of new #1s being published. The 1989 Batman movie seemed to generate a lot of new interest in comics and this wave pushes forward until the speculators take over and the system crashes in 94-96. AFJanuary 17, 2016 4:07 PM Doctor Strange #79-81 I was surprised to really enjoy Gillis' run on Doctor Strange (at least the ones from #74-81, so far). I know it'll be considered heresy to some, but I think a very competent and worthy successor to Roger Stern on the basis of these issues. The Beyonder one wasn't great but it's a Secret Wars II crossover, so I am pretty willing to overlook that. #74-81 were recently collected in a trade called Doctor Strange: Don't Pay the Ferryman. Although the trade does that dick-move Marvel often do with their trades where they list big name authors before the main author. Roger Stern gets top billing despite writing one issue in it. The Valkyrie appearance seems bizarre. At this point we all know she was dead (also courtesy of Gillis) and she appears here in a completely different costume and there's no mention of her being dead in the issue. I know Gillis has plans for the dead Defenders, but giving her a new costume here seems like a decision that just added to the scene being presented confusingly. I'm guessing Strange Tales will explain it a bit better, but without that context, the whole thing makes virtually no real sense. ChrisJanuary 17, 2016 2:18 PM Wonder Man #5-6 The main failure of the series is that Wonder Man is supposed to be in the same league as Thor, Hulk, Namor, and Iron Man. He is one of the heavy hitters which means his villains need to be of the same caliber. We haven't seen anyone like that. Even though we have seen some powerful villains, they are played for laughs rather than taken seriously. Trying to boost the "LA vibe" has had a detrimental effect to the menace of the villains. The supporting cast isn't very interesting either. They have bland personalities. Likable enough, but not distinctive. I think a lot of this has to do with the background of Wonder Man as a stunt man and later film actor - this always seemed weird to me. Wondy as a celebrity outside the hero biz has never seemed right or that interesting. I think something else needs to form the basis of his supporting cast even if some elements can be kept. Simon Williams was originally a failed business man (granted, his competition was Stark) and implied to be some kind of inventor/engineer. That's never been followed up on, but something in that background could have been used to bolster his supporting cast or give Simon something else to do than be in Hollywood. Erik BeckJanuary 17, 2016 1:01 PM Avengers West Coast #75 How was AWC still being published when, based on everyone else's reactions, I was the only person still buying it at this point? This is the kind of story that what have been perfect for an annual (like the two X-Men Arkon annuals) before Marvel started tying all their annuals into big events. AFJanuary 17, 2016 12:16 PM Doctor Strange #78 So, was this crossover sort of meant to reflect the upcoming consolidation of Doctor Strange and Cloak and Dagger's books into Strange Tales? If not, then it's one weird coincidence. Speaking of weird, it also seems a bit odd for Ecstasy, who will be a notable Cloak and Dagger villain, first appear in this issue. Mark DrummondJanuary 17, 2016 11:59 AM Amazing Spider-Man annual #11 Colorist Nel Yomtov appears on the first page of the backup story wearing a Spider-Man shirt. Mark DrummondJanuary 17, 2016 11:55 AM Amazing Spider-Man #171 The Molten Man also appears in this issue; you can tell him by his footprints. AndrewJanuary 17, 2016 9:23 AM Amazing Spider-Man #171 Ah. Now I get it. That's the "nym" part in "acronym". MichaelJanuary 17, 2016 9:04 AM Thor #362 He was doing both.He died in Thor's stead but was largely motivated by his own despair. Thanos6January 17, 2016 7:47 AM Uncanny X-Men #207 Could they imprison Selene but use her to give euthanasia to those who wish to die, like Jude in PARADISE X? Omar KarinduJanuary 17, 2016 6:40 AM Uncanny X-Men #207 Just as a follow-up, the fact that we can have this discussion shows the value of superhero comics. Almost anything is worthwhile if we bring interesting questions and look for context. And sometimes it's perfectly OK to just enjoy something on its own terms. Omar KarinduJanuary 17, 2016 6:37 AM Uncanny X-Men #207 It's interesting in this context that Ennis does seem to have some time for Superman, even though he's perhaps the epitome of the "no hard choices" sort of character in some ways. And it;s also interesing that the character he seems to hate more than any is Wolverine, often seen as just the sort of "tough guy making hard choices" type you'd think Ennis would like. But I think that's the value of the happy idealism sort of superheroics; Superman (and a number of other characters) offer the fantasy of a world where making the right choice *is* always possible, a way to imagine something better than what we've got (in however attenuated a form). Dredd is a telling example for Ennis to employ, here. Yes, Dredd wipes out that other universe, but very few of the things Dredd does bother him much, since he's a true believer in a satirical fascist dystopia. Yes, the character developed doubts and has pushed for limited change, but he's never abandoned the judge system and his world is still in many ways a bleakly humorous one. But that's also Ennis's tone in many of his stories. What Ennis dislikes about Wolverine is, I think, what John Dubya points out above: Wolverine is supposed to be a hard man making hard choices, but between his healing factor and his bizarre sanctimony about anyone else making those choices, the character is a cop-out masquerading as something else. Personally, I disagree with the whole "rough men doing unspeakable things to keep us safe idea. It is in its own way a cop-out fantasy, the idea that the distasteful choice could be the result of some perfectly informed moral calculus and could be made without self-interest. The reality, of course, is that torture doesn't work, that there are long-term consequences for *everyone* in a society where some "hard choice" is made by some "rough men" on everyone else's behalf. Taken at his word, Ennis has traded one juvenile fantasy -- no one ever has to make hard choices -- for another -- that the people who make the hard choices bear a burden to keep the rest of us safe, and they do so for ultimately respectable motives. Both of them are fantasies of invulnerability: one says we are safe and good, and the other says we can be perfectly safe as long as we let go of your silly notions of good. But we are never perfectly safe; vulnerability is the human condition. It's as if he missed the point of the satire in his own example. Having said all of that, the X-Men --especially Claremont's X-Men -- is an interesting place to find a story like tis. In just a few issues, we'll see the X-Men killing members of the Marauders and dropping the "cop-out," so Claremont seems to be setting that up. His original plan, after all, was that the X-Men would be made morally "darker" and that his planned Jaspers Warp story would leave them a bit like their later "corrupted" incarnations seen at the end of Inferno. And there's certainly an argument that the X-Men letting the bad guys go and trying to play at traditional superhero morality is portrayed as the reason why things get worse and worse for mutantkind the longer Claremont's run goes on. Oliver_CJanuary 17, 2016 6:31 AM Fantastic Four #263-264 Now all we need is a story in which the Invisible Woman investigates a strange misogynistic cult led by 'Sid Vema'. Luke BlanchardJanuary 17, 2016 5:18 AM Fantastic Four #187-188 These issues played a big role in making me a FANTASTIC FOUR fan. I think the giant an interesting comparison for the kaptroids from INHUMANS #2, which Perez drew two years earlier. AFJanuary 17, 2016 5:12 AM Avengers #129-135, Giant-Size Avengers #2-4 fnord, don't want to mention Roy Thomas' impossible retcon from West Coast #61 where he reveals the Human Torch in this story is actually Toro? Yeah, I ignore it too, but worth a mention, no? Even just explaining that you're treating that as not true since it really really is impossible to say what is presented in this story is Toro. Cecil DisharoonJanuary 17, 2016 5:04 AM Hulk #389 Artist Gary Barker is best known for his work on Garfield. david banesJanuary 17, 2016 4:34 AM Fantastic Four #187-188 I love the skyscrapper giant with all the people flaying about wildly as it just roars out smoke. I think that's some top notch art and imagination right there. david banesJanuary 17, 2016 4:02 AM Fantastic Four #263-264 This was a great two parter just to see Giganto again. It was weird with the robot cartoon characters but great fun. Only a few people could give secret identies to superheroes who never had them and make it enjoyable to watch. I just roll my eyes every time Stark has to 'go fetch Iron Man' but this is great. Michael VoylesJanuary 17, 2016 2:16 AM Thor #362 I have loved this story since the mid-80s. I have told my Friends about it for nearly 30 years... And yet it only recently occurred to me: Skurge wasn't redeeming himself. He was committing suicide. ChrisWJanuary 17, 2016 12:13 AM Uncanny X-Men #207 I'm in a similar situation. I do still love the characters, many of the stories, the creators, and I recognize that it was a different time. And it's even possible that at some point you have to 'grow up' from superhero comics. I don't even read the things, I've spent the last ten years working with people who make 'Judge Dredd'-type decisions, but I'd like nothing more than to write superhero comics the way I think they should be, and I still can't grow out of the genre. I've spent a large part of this evening realizing that I haven't watched either "Avengers" movie in weeks and wondering if I should fix that. I'm probably babbling at this point, but I do think there is some happy medium where adults can enjoy the superhero genre, and the heroes can be heroes. Or at least get some good comics out of the attempt. Ben HermanJanuary 16, 2016 11:36 PM Uncanny X-Men #207 ChrisW, I know which piece by Ennis you're referring to... http://www.bleedingcool.com/2009/08/24/garth-ennis-when-2000ad-was-the-future/ I understand Ennis' reasoning. It is why about a decade ago I finally stopped reading 95% of the series published by Marvel and DC, because I finally realized that I had outgrown them, my tastes had greatly changed, and I just couldn't keep following them without constantly being annoyed by all of the ridiculous methods utilized to keep the status quos intact. Luke BlanchardJanuary 16, 2016 10:52 PM Uncanny X-Men #189-191 I also like #190-#191 story. I just realised it's effectively a variation on "Days of Future Past" with Gath's recreation of the Hyborian Age swapped for the future. ChrisWJanuary 16, 2016 9:57 PM X-Factor #74 I know the plotline continued on for quite a while, so this is a bit glib, but really? Is Rhane that surprised that Alex is dreaming about the woman he lived and loved with for a very long time and has suddenly been thrown together with on the same team? I get that there is more going on here than is obvious on the surface, but she comes off as a really unhealthy stalker [as opposed to a healthy stalker] that she can't believe that the guy whose bedroom she's broken into dreams about his longtime girlfriend. Instead of, y'know, a 13 year old girl that he's met maybe twice before this all came down. [Scott's wedding and "X-Tinction Agenda" being the only previous meetings I can think of.] It's not that big of a distance from her breaking into Guido's bedroom and asking "Kim? Who is this Kim?" ChrisWJanuary 16, 2016 9:52 PM Uncanny X-Men #207 That's an example of the sort of swamp you get bogged down in when you start applying rational thought to superheroes. It's one thing to say 'they're heroes and heroes don't kill' (which I don't disagree with insofar as it makes a good story) but a proactive 'hit them before they hit us' X-Men would look at Selene, an immortal mutant sorceress vampire with a bodycount larger than the Mutant Massacre, who's just going to keep killing people until the end of time unless someone stops her permanently, and go 'she needs to die now. Wolverine, you have your orders.' [Yes, I know this issue takes place before the Mutant Massacre or the X-Men pretending to be proactive. My argument is still valid.] As Omar points out, this is exactly why the human race would create neutralizers [well, with Forge's help.] There are people we need to be protected from, and those charged with protecting us would take that step without hesitation. Somewhere online, Garth Ennis has a love letter to the UK "2000 AD" magazines of his youth, where in some story, Judge Dredd destroys an alternate universe without hesitation, because it's Them or Us. Ennis adds that this is why he's never been able to take Spider-Man, Superman, Iron Man, etc. particularly seriously. Not because of the characters, but because their corporate masters never let them be put in a situation where they ever had to make any important decisions. Wolverine vs. Rachel vs. Selene is a good example of that cop-out. Rachel shouldn't do it because she's become increasingly-unstable and that way lies Dark Phoenix. Rachel shouldn't do it because she just took it upon herself without discussing anything with the X-Men. Rachel shouldn't do it because the Hellfire Club would retaliate with full force and the X-Men aren't prepared to defend themselves. Those would be reasonable objections to Rachel's behavior. Letting Selene live to continue murdering the people the X-Men are sworn to protect because 'we don't kill' isn't reasonable. ChrisWJanuary 16, 2016 9:33 PM Uncanny X-Men #259-260 What on Earth was Andrea Strucker thinking? At least Andreas was wearing sensible sandals, but white six-inch heels with a black string bikini? Call the fashion police! Oh, the humanity! Vin the Comics GuyJanuary 16, 2016 9:17 PM Marvel Comics Presents #97 (Silver Surfer) This is the best art I've ever seen from Ron Wilson. Bud LaRosa must've gotten tired near the end, though. Ben HermanJanuary 16, 2016 9:00 PM Uncanny X-Men #207 There was an episode from the very first season of CSI entitled "Justice is Served" which had a scenario similar to this. Obviously the murderer was not an actual supernatural vampire. However she is a woman who is suffering from an extreme form of Porphyria which resulted in severe mental and physical debilitation. Long story short, this woman has been murdering people and consuming their blood to "treat" her condition. When she is finally caught, she argues that if the authorities send her to jail she will suffer and go insane. Grissom point blank responds, with absolutely no sympathy or hesitation, "Yes, but the people you'd be feeding off of will still be alive." In other words, Selene has lived for centuries. In all that time, how many thousands of innocent people has she murdered to perpetuate her own life? A very strong argument can be made that it's just not worth letting her live if her continued existence guarantees numerous future victims. The fact that the first thing Selene does after the events of this issue is murder two people to regain her strength is evidence of that. I understand that in this situation Claremont apparently saw Selene as the lesser of two evils compared to the possibility of Rachel becoming a new Dark Phoenix. But he really should have articulated that argument, and Wolverine's reasoning for stopping her, much more clearly. Likewise, at some point the X-Men should have finally realized that the only way to prevent Selene from murdering any more people was to either kill her outright or to imprison her somewhere and die a long-overdue death. Whatever rights she has don't override those of her numerous victims. Omar KarinduJanuary 16, 2016 7:57 PM Amazing Spider-Man #171 An acrostic can be any recurring feature in a list or text; it need not involve full sentences. And an acronym is a name for the thing the component words make up; "Jason" here is not a name for the group of months. Because the "answer" does not relate to the meanings of the component words, this is more an acrostic than an anagram. Omar KarinduJanuary 16, 2016 7:53 PM Avengers #129-135, Giant-Size Avengers #2-4 "What is the deal with the Legion of the Unliving? The first group were assembled by Kang under Roy and Englehart's pen here so given they call forth fallen superbeings this was really nice foreshadowing to reveal Immortus was another of his identities given his summoning forth a similar coterie in his early appearance (Avengers #10) what with Paul Bunyan, Attila the Hun, Goliath, Merlin and Hercules. But my question is, when they summon members, are they zombies, or does Immortus/ Kang pluck them out of the timeline prior to their deaths and if the latter how do they get them to do their bidding?" Since different Legions were summoned by different people, it's...different. Legion I has been strongly suggested to be actual people pulled through time from seconds before their "deaths" or disappearances. They were resistant to harm under Kang's mind control, but this fades as the story progresses. Legion II were created by the Granmatser, wielding the power of Death herself. It is suggested in that story that they are simulacra rather than actual dead folks brought back to life. Legion III, summoned by Immortus, were very likely Space Phantoms, but may have been time-displaced people instead. Legions IV and V were zombie-like reanimates created by the Grim Reaper through mystical means; we know that Legion V were the real articles, since Wonder Man is resurrected fully in that story. Nathan AdlerJanuary 16, 2016 7:23 PM Avengers #129-135, Giant-Size Avengers #2-4 What is the deal with the Legion of the Unliving? The first group were assembled by Kang under Roy and Englehart's pen here so given they call forth fallen superbeings this was really nice foreshadowing to reveal Immortus was another of his identities given his summoning forth a similar coterie in his early appearance (Avengers #10) what with Paul Bunyan, Attila the Hun, Goliath, Merlin and Hercules. But my question is, when they summon members, are they zombies, or does Immortus/ Kang pluck them out of the timeline prior to their deaths and if the latter how do they get them to do their bidding? AndrewJanuary 16, 2016 6:00 PM Amazing Spider-Man #171 No, fnord! Don't give in to the pressure! An acronym is, in fact, formed from the first letters of a series of words, like SCUBA, NATO, or LASER. An acrostic is formed from the first (or last) letters of a series of sentences. MichaelJanuary 16, 2016 5:41 PM West Coast Avengers #11 We saw 2 servants of Razorfist in an Elektra story. Presumably they do that stuff. Mark DrummondJanuary 16, 2016 5:13 PM Amazing Spider-Man #167-168 Something I just noticed: On the cover to #168, to the right of a neon sign "O", is a little billboard saying "Slave Driver Hama". Since I've never heard of Larry Hama having any involvement with Spider-Man at this point, did he have some kind of cover-editorship? fnord12January 16, 2016 4:02 PM X-Factor #74 That part shouldn't be a problem. Rick is in the early part of Galactic Storm, and then is sent back to the Pantheon. That's why i say War & Pieces can take place after or possibly concurrently with Storm. Hulk makes a (Peter David style joke) comment about Operation Storm during War & Piece, which is why i want the Hulk story after Rick gets back. I'll get there soon enough so let's just wait until those entries are up. AFJanuary 16, 2016 3:56 PM X-Factor #74 A problem you'll encounter there though is that Rick Jones is prominently in both War and Pieces and some of Operation Galactic Storm. Nathan AdlerJanuary 16, 2016 3:16 PM Fantastic Four #357-360 @Max_Spider: Why not as that particular scene in #350 was him talking to himself. So he'd have no reason to lie. The dialogue is there, we can't do away with it. fnord12January 16, 2016 1:01 PM Amazing Spider-Man #171 Grumpily added the characters and updated the acronym line. :-) fnord12January 16, 2016 12:57 PM New Avengers: Illuminati #1 I was a fan of his crime comics before he went to Marvel. I'd still recommend his Fire/Jinx/Goldfish books. His Sam & Twitch was also good, and Torso (featuring Eliot Ness of Untouchables fame) was interesting. The caveat is that what i liked about all of those books had a lot to do with his scripting. And if you soured on Bendis because of his more recent stuff (as i did) you'll already be familiar with the dialogue tics that at the time seemed really innovative in his pre-Marvel stuff, and you might have a negative reaction to it. fnord12January 16, 2016 12:47 PM X-Factor #74 The problem is that this issue also has to take place relatively shortly after the last one, and i came to the conclusion that the previous arc had to take place before X-Men #1, although now i'm not so sure. Another factor is that i want War & Pieces and the related X-Factor issue to take place after (or concurrently with) Galactic Storm, based on a comment the Hulk makes to Havok. So i may wind up pushing all of X-Factor #71+ forward in publication time. Let me get through the remaining issues; placement is always temporary while i'm working through this stuff. Matthew BradleyJanuary 16, 2016 12:22 PM Marvel Team-Up #59-62 During her brief introductory appearance in #61, Carol is shown with a man identified only as Daniel and thinks to herself, "The wing commander's sticking to me like a leech," which prevents her from switching to Ms. Marvel. Also, Ricardo, her Kree scientific knowledge is implied to be considerable. In MS. MARVEL #5, she temporarily knocks out the Vision with a "field generator" jury-rigged from power cables under a bridge. Max_SpiderJanuary 16, 2016 12:14 PM Fantastic Four #357-360 @Nathan Adler Are you seriously suggesting we believe Doom though? He's kind of got a skewered perspective of the Fantastic Four as it is. I mean, Ben did try and kick his ass a little for it, but... MichaelJanuary 16, 2016 12:14 PM Ms. Marvel #17-18 That seemed to happen a few times at Marvel in the 70s- the story that was supposed to appear in the final issue of Tales of the Zombie got sent to Guam. JCJanuary 16, 2016 11:33 AM Sleepwalker #8 Rick seems awfully calm about suddenly waking up in a strange place next to a six and a half feet tall half robot/ half monstrosity killing machine. In fact he seems moar comfortable around Deathcok than he does around Alyssa... JCJanuary 16, 2016 10:46 AM Hulk #389 We know why PAD had that first fill in under very pubic protest, what was the reason for this one? Knowing his workman like status and considering this was the peak of his run, seems like an odd tyme to take a break. AFJanuary 16, 2016 7:51 AM Wonder Man #5-6 I think the main problem with Johnson's art is the thing he is worst at drawing is Wonder Man; the star of the book. Erik BeckJanuary 16, 2016 7:46 AM Avengers West Coast annual #6 Eriks must think alike. Erik Robbins said exactly what I was going to say. Omar KarinduJanuary 16, 2016 6:33 AM Uncanny X-Men #207 I've always figured that Selene would fall into one of two categories: 1) the magical villain whose presence requires that the X-folk call in Doctor Strange (or at least, I dunno, Margali or Magik?) to contain her safely; or 2) the "vampire exception" to the "no killing" rule. Both of these show, to my mind, that Selene was basically a Satana or Dr. Strange villain who happened to end up in the X-Men titles; she's more mystic than mutant, and even her mutation is much more like Satana's succubus gimmick than like the usual mutant powers we've seen. She's has thousands upon thousands of years more life than most individuals, and all of it predicated on *taking* the lives of others. Yes, holding Selene is killing her; but letting her go is making it certain that others will be killed. It's rather irritating that no one has ever made this dilemma the center of an actual story about the character. Even this one sort of ignores the issue, with Wolverine failing to acknowledge that jailing Selene is, as Michael notes, effectively starving her to death. To make it more X-centric, Selene is also the outlier case that seems to support using Neutralizers. If her mutant power is the reason she must kill to survive, then surely the only real solution to her evil is to strip that power away from her permanently. Luis DantasJanuary 16, 2016 5:01 AM Wonder Man #5-6 It must have looked on paper. I know I wanted to see Simon have some spotlight. But the art is so Imagey-light, a bit like Rick Leonardi on a bad day. And while Gerard Jones has a lot of good plot ideas, the characterization is very pedestrian and the dialogue is very amateurish. Yogi deadheadJanuary 16, 2016 4:56 AM Defenders #39 Title may refer to The Robins song, Riot in Cell Block #9. Yogi deadheadJanuary 16, 2016 4:18 AM Defenders #32-33 Wow! The acid in the bullpen must have been great around this time! There was a veritable lysergic maelstrom coursing through the House of Ideas in the mid-70s. PeterAJanuary 16, 2016 1:38 AM West Coast Avengers #11 How does Razorfist dress himself, go to the bathroom, brush his teeth, shower, blow his nose, wipe his tears after Bobbi beats him up? I wish that guy with the maces in his hair had shown up too. PeterAJanuary 16, 2016 1:32 AM Iron Man annual #8 Jean's little rant would work even less if it had been Rhodey under the helmet. It's particularly weird coming from Jean whose power specifically makes it possible for her to hide in the masses, which is exactly the part that people would be afraid of. I have no idea why people would be afraid of Warren. Oh no, he has wings! RUN! ChrisJanuary 15, 2016 11:56 PM Black Panther: Panther's Prey #1-4 I always liked the Black Panther. He has a simple look, but it works. And the general character concept is strong. However, the Black Panther was never extensively used when I began buying Marvel comics. All I had was a few torn Avengers comics from childhood '70s so I missed out on Don McGregor's work as well as the rest of the solo title. So I was stoked when this limited was released. However, when I started reading I could not understand it and became completely uninterested. This is not how you get new readers interested in the character or set up a potential new solo series. Thanos6January 15, 2016 11:53 PM Uncanny X-Men #207 And wouldn't that be a shame. Walter LawsonJanuary 15, 2016 10:16 PM Alpha Flight #104 But Byrne's wrong--just as he didn't see how he'd failed to make Kearson DeWitt or Desmond Marrs effective villains, he failed to see how much he'd accomplished with AF. He established character concepts that could have dveloped brilliantly in the right hands. Northstar's sexuality certainly had dramatic potential in the late '80s and early '90s, but there's also the idea early on that he was content to use his powers to cheat as a pro skiier. A non-villain who embraces the idea that his powers make him better than others could have been an intersting character. So could Aurora, if the cheap whore/nun dichotomy had given way to an exploration of each identity as representative of an authentic ethos. Instead of being just a "slut" or just "repressed," the two personalities could each have been legitimized, which would have created an intersting tension. How many comics look at father-daughter relationships? AF could have with Shaman and Talisman. Puck's dwarfism shouldn't have defined him, but treated seriously (as Byrne tried to) it provides an interesting backdrop for character exploration. And there weren't that many women who were leaders of super-teams, after a brief '80s blip with Storm/Wasp/Captain Marvel/Candy Southern (for about ine issue). Even the fact that AF was government spinsored gave them a premise with different dramatic possibilities than those of the FF, X-Men, and Avengers. The last of those had government clearance, but AF's relationship to Ottawa was different. That we didn't get good stories on these themes is less a comment in the characters than on the mid-tier creators who were assigned to the book. Most of these were good character seeds that were easy to botch, and botch them is what AF's half-dozen writers proceeded to do. BillJanuary 15, 2016 9:03 PM Wonder Man #5-6 Personally, I liked Jeff Johnson's art in this series, as it felt like an actual comic book as opposed to all the "Image" and "Image-lite" stuff going around at the time. It seemed like a bit of a breath of fresh air compared to too many other titles at the time. MichaelJanuary 15, 2016 8:20 PM Uncanny X-Men #207 Charles, the problem is that Selene can't survive captivity- she'll "starve" to death. If this was Emma or Shaw, if you get enough evidence, you can ship them off to Project Pegasus/the Vault until they can stand trial. But with Selene, there's no real difference between holding her prisoner and killing her. MichaelJanuary 15, 2016 7:56 PM X-Factor #74 Note Sinister's remark that the future is on "permanent loan". In issue 78, we find out that Sinister and Stryfe have an alliance. It's not clear if PAD intended Sinister to be getting his information on the future from Stryfe or if PAD had a different idea. Yogi deadheadJanuary 15, 2016 7:36 PM Secret Wars II #4 I think Milgrim getting the gig was him being thrown a bone. Shooter saying, "Here, play nice; serve up the house style; be prompt and professional; and you'll get the gigs that pay royalties. Be a good soldier and get ahead." Shooter makes clear in this series, his approval of Captain America, Avengers, Thor... seemingly the titles with consummate professional writers at the helm, in his eyes. While this is far and away the worst issue, I think it's supposed to be. The whole series seems to just be Shooter's musings on the state of the MU. Any of the characters could drop a "meta-message". In this boring issue he is openly mocking the state of romance in the Marvel Universe (and some of the writers). A reader up thread mentioned that the, Dazzler on a mountain top, looked like a scene with Cyclops and Jean, and I couldn't agree more. And then, the Beyonder, as a stand in for the EiC, wanders into Alpha Flight. "Oh, you want Talisman out of the bag? Just enlarge the fricking thing!" But while the Beyonder does seem to be a stand in for Shooter, Shooter uses any character to get his thoughts across. The Beyonder goes on to say he should teach (issue #7, I think). This whole series is Shooter "teaching" how it's done! Which probably sealed the revolt against him. In one issue Peter Parker gets paid and says he will go goof off, because that's what free lancers do after getting paid. He gives anatomy lessons; costuming lessons; he shows how to write a drug smuggling organized crime book; makes fun of how Claremont MUST (author's emphasis) have Magneto teach the New Mutants; satirizes the "intense experience" that happens when to characters meet and instantly fight. You see and read all sorts of complaints registered against super hero comics. Like, "What did they eat on Battleworld?". "Oh, you want to see the Beyonder take a dump and eat? He doesn't know how yet! But we will show it." It's a funny book, if you just read it as commentary. Calling the Beyonder Frank (pssst... Miller), in the crime book is funny. Shooter is satirizing the fact that in his line of comics, he, as editor, now regularly deals with death, sex, prostitutes, realism, biting social commentary, costume changes, drugs, hackneyed exposition, bland love stories, forced marriages and more. And then he contemplates destroying it all to start is New Universe. Seemingly working with these contemporary writers and artists is annoying to him. It's an underrated series, for sure. That said, this issue is a chore to get through. D09January 15, 2016 7:06 PM New Avengers: Illuminati #1 Before he came to Marvel, how good where Bendis' books again? Because if they're anything like his Daredevil and Ultimate Spider-Man runs, I'm not going to try them. Mark DrummondJanuary 15, 2016 6:52 PM Thor #442-443 Unless he resembles Roger Daltrey I'm not worried. RobertJanuary 15, 2016 5:21 PM Thor #442-443 Mark, the ghost of Franz Liszt will haunt you tonight. ShaunJanuary 15, 2016 5:21 PM Cage #1 Luke Cage was one of my favorites as a kid in the '70s. I think only Spider-Man appeared in more comics I picked out off the spinner racks. As such, I've always been attached to that original costume. I still prefer it to the more generic looks he's had since. Mark DrummondJanuary 15, 2016 5:20 PM Fantastic Four #361 And of course the street gang is multicultural, which was commonplace in real world 1992. Mark DrummondJanuary 15, 2016 5:12 PM Thor #442-443 "Waltz" is a reference to the Fred Mustard Stewart early 1970s horror novel/film. mikrolikJanuary 15, 2016 5:07 PM Iron Fist #11-13 david banes: Considering his new costume and the fact he actually uses boomerangs now, I'd say it was time well spent. Ataru320January 15, 2016 4:59 PM Iron Fist #14 When I saw "Snowfire" as the name of the issue, I thought for a moment it meant Snowflame...but no, just Sabretooth. mikrolikJanuary 15, 2016 4:38 PM Amazing Spider-Man #171 I'm sure fnord's just gonna love me for saying this, but shouldn't Photon and all the Photon suspects who appeared here and in Nova 12 be listed? AFJanuary 15, 2016 4:14 PM Wonder Man #5-6 For what it's worth, I think Jones manages to implement his Wonder Man solo issues into Operation: Galactic Storm quite well. While it might've put some of his immediate plans on the wait, I think things like the Rick Jones issue manages to keep the comedic tone set by the book so far and the (obvious, and somewhat overdone) Wonder Man/Vision "fight" issue was inevitably going to be explored in a Wonder Man series eventually and using one of Wonder Man's tie-in issues for that kills two birds with one stone. Mind you, enormous tonal whiplash between those two stories alone. clydeJanuary 15, 2016 3:49 PM Sleepwalker #8 It seems like the writers replaced Ghost Rider guest appearances with Deathlok guest appearances. Now you see Deathlok getting major coverage. Charles RJanuary 15, 2016 1:34 PM Uncanny X-Men #207 I think the main problem is that she specifically went out to kill Selene. Premeditated murder. That's different than killing in self defense, or to protect someone else. By that logic, the X-Men should just become a strike force that goes around killing evil mutants (plot foreshadow!) That's Punisher level, not something the X-Men do. With the way the characters are written currently, Wolverine probably would've joined in (as he's been depicted as doing lots worse), but that's the thing; his earlier character was shown to be wrong, and Claremont has spent his run to this point redeeming Logan from that violent berserker. Wolverine will still kill when he has to, he's still more hard core than his teammates, but he's above murder, which is what Rachel is up to here. (And why I detest the modern interpretation of the character.) It was a tough situation for him, and I don't know what his other out would've been once it got to this point. Storm takes him to task for this in the next few issues, which is good. I think the situation and his decision was meant to be unsettling and ambiguous. AFJanuary 15, 2016 1:23 PM Avengers #255 The cover without any copy and stuff on: http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3JvOs7aqlVk/VkZWV8In_KI/AAAAAAABuyw/xo0wUsc6vAs/s1600/Avengers%2B%2523255A%2B1985%2Bby%2BTom%2BPalmer.jpg Ben HermanJanuary 15, 2016 1:16 PM Secret Wars II #4 Crap crap crap. Fnord successfully sums up Secret Wars II in a mere three words :) Ben HermanJanuary 15, 2016 12:03 PM She-Hulk #37 And all these years I thought the Living Eraser's secret identity was really Vince Colletta :) Ben HermanJanuary 15, 2016 11:46 AM Power Pack Holiday Special #1 I really liked this Holiday Special. I was a fan of the early Power Pack issues by Louise Simonson & June Brigman, so it was great to have them back together and clearing things up after the monthly series imploded, telling a fun story. I have a page of original artwork from this Special, the second I ever bought, which I got from June Brigman & Roy Richardson. It's the page where Katie is punching out one of the pseudoplasm Kymellians with a big old "WHACK." Ben HermanJanuary 15, 2016 10:07 AM Thor #442-443 I really liked these two issues. I remember at the time thinking that "Donald Blake" must be a red herring, but I had no clue who he could really be. So I was on pins & needles reading #442, with its cover warning of "stunning dramatic final pages." I clearly remember that #442 was cleverly laid out so that you see "Blake" stamping down the cane on the bottom of the page, then you had to turn it for the big reveal... oh crap, it's really Mephisto!!! Well, when I was 16 years old that made an impression on me. What I liked about #443 is that it showed why Eric Masterson was a hero. Yeah, he was often bumbling about and making errors. But here DeFalco & Frenz show him as a powerless human invading Mephisto's infernal realm to fix his mistake and recover Thor's hammer. Eric didn't have the best judgment and he was inexperienced, but he was definitely brave and had a real sense of responsibility. Omar KarinduJanuary 15, 2016 9:56 AM Fantastic Four #196-200 I kind of like the use of the clone up until he turns into a third-rate Super-Skrull. Since he's Doom without the need to blame Reed for his scarring, he's capable of acknowledging Reed's intellect and even using him in a way the true Doom never would. And it's this, arguably, that makes Doom so nutso by the end of the arc; his plan is to take over the world *and* have a version of himself free of Richards's "interference," but what he finds out is that even a version of himself acknowledges both that reed is the superior mind and that Doom himself is largely to blame for his own problems. For an egotist like Doom, I could see that pushing him into the wild acting out that ruins his scheme here. By giving himself an "undamaged" version of himself to look upon, Doom sets up a sort of externalized self-rejecton. The insecure void at the heart of the narcissist swallows him whole when he has to really look at himself and the choices he's made, despite all his raging and efforts at projection. Omar KarinduJanuary 15, 2016 9:50 AM Fantastic Four #193-194 Awe, I kinda liked this . It wraps up the old Darkoth plotline, and since Wein was involved here it probably reflects the original intention. It picks up Diablo's motivations: he's become less an FF foe than someone seeking vengeance on Doom, which makes him a bit more interesting than the generic would-be conqueror he was before. And it's slowly setting up plot points for issue #200, introducing the solar mind-control whatsis that will play a role in that story. Omar KarinduJanuary 15, 2016 9:41 AM Avengers #164-166 It's probably unintentional, but I kind if like the way everyone *except* Whirlwind suffers for their artificial power boost in their next appearances after this story. Power Man's strength never recovers from the drain in issu #164, and it takes his Goliath transformation to give him real, er, power again. And the Laser's implanted diodes go into overload after this, as shown in Iron Man #152-3; this is what causes his "death" and transformation into a being of light. But Whirlwind, whose powers are innate and "natural" rather than artificial, suffers no long-term effects whatsoever. Ben HermanJanuary 15, 2016 9:39 AM She-Hulk #36 Byrne is writing off Ceremony as a dream. This is an aspect of Byrne's that has always annoyed me. he has a real habit of spitefully retconning away the work of other creators that he doesn't like on characters that he's become proprietary towards. His Doombot retcon of the X-Men's run-in with Doctor Doom and Arcade is the most notorious example. This is another of those instances. I get that "Ceremony" did not mesh with his plans for She-Hulk series or his vision of the character and her supporting cast. What Byrne should have just done was simply ignored it. Don't reference it at all and just write the stories he wanted. Instead he does this, which feels like a big middle finger to McDuffie. Omar KarinduJanuary 15, 2016 9:37 AM Fantastic Four #187-188 I think the way the Molecule Man retcons work is that the "son" is Owen Reece without any inhibitions, which means that the mental blocks that kept Reece from using his powers on organics don't apply to the "son." Reece literally had to imagine he was someone else in order to fully use his powers at this point. Omar KarinduJanuary 15, 2016 9:33 AM Fantastic Four #185-186 The idea seems to be that Salem's Seven are the result of a spell specifically created to make them a match for the FF's powers, so I guess it makes sense that they turn into supervillains. And this is probably also supposed to be why finding out Reed's powers are fake disrupts the spell. Wein likes those sorts of plot gimmicks, though they play better in DC's books than Marvel's. Omar KarinduJanuary 15, 2016 9:30 AM Fantastic Four #181-184 I think the Eliminator was always supposed to be one of the creations of the witch-folk of New Salem; after all, Vakume of the Salem's Seven looks pretty tech-y, and he's supposed to be the result of a magical transformation. Omar KarinduJanuary 15, 2016 9:24 AM Fantastic Four #179 This issue and the next few are a sign of the troubles at Marvel, as it was very clearly cobbled together at the last minute. The robot in this story, fior example, is never really explained; the Marvel Index finally has to decide that it's probably a dropped thread of the rather slapped-together Mad Thinker stuff that turns up as part of the resolution of the Brute plotline. Omar KarinduJanuary 15, 2016 9:21 AM Amazing Spider-Man #171 It's not an acronym, it's an acrostic! Erik BeckJanuary 15, 2016 8:59 AM Avengers annual #20 Maybe since Paul Ryan was doing the idea he should have done the penciling, because he's at least competent (more than that actually, but competency is a big step up from this dreck). fnord12January 14, 2016 9:26 PM She-Hulk #36 Right! Thanks Andrew. AndrewJanuary 14, 2016 8:54 PM She-Hulk #36 According to .marvunapp.com Jen's other monstrous cousin is David Pike, also known as Brawn, a Strong-Man-like character who first appeared in Marvel Fanfare 48. JCJanuary 14, 2016 7:11 PM Thor #442-443 Well nao I won't tell yew how chafe Sif's love for Bill's protruding hammer is =p Actually I think I can figure it out from the character's appearing list, though to be fair it wouldn't have been my first guess =p Red CometJanuary 14, 2016 6:10 PM Alpha Flight #104 Alpha Flight works when they guest star in other comics. The team and characters by themselves just aren't strong enough to stand out. Even John Byrne (who created them!) has admitted that they were shallow characters he only created to fight the X-men. fnord12January 14, 2016 5:48 PM Alpha Flight #104 Yeah, sure. :-) AFJanuary 14, 2016 5:44 PM Alpha Flight #104 Shouldn't the new (lame) matching uniforms boost the significance rating? They do wear them for a bit (maybe til the end of the series even?). AFJanuary 14, 2016 4:42 PM Uncanny X-Men #97 Claremont really has a thing for just making Lorna evil over and over again rather than bother writing her, doesn't he? AFJanuary 14, 2016 4:37 PM Uncanny X-Men #148 Poor Mimic... RobertJanuary 14, 2016 4:24 PM Thor #444 Ugh. The Groonk! I was livid at the time that they were wasting issues on this junk instead of resolving the Thor storyline. I understand more now about scheduling around a big crossover event and about there being nothing wrong with the occasional comedy issue (even if it's not particularly funny). But, back then, I didn't care about that. I just cared that I wasted my money on the Groonk! RobertJanuary 14, 2016 4:19 PM Thor #442-443 Yeah I almost told him earlier but decided not to because fnord is covering the issue with the revelation later in 1992. This here is one of the big problems I had with DeFalco's run, a run that I actually was enjoying for awhile for its Silver Age throwback-ness. The Thoric story wasn't exactly setting the world on fire, so resolving it here or at least setting it up to be resolved at the 450 milestone would have been a good idea. But no, we have like 10 more issues before we even find out about the stupid bag and another issue or two after that before the real Thor is back in place. Perhaps DeFalco would have ended it with 450 but Galactic Storm put that idea on hold, I don't know, but he could have cut or changed some of the filler issues coming up to make it work. clydeJanuary 14, 2016 2:26 PM Thor #442-443 JC - telling you what's in the bag would spoil the surprise ;) Charles RJanuary 14, 2016 2:04 PM Squadron Supreme #1-6 I'm a big fan of this series, and this was a even handed review. I also liked Gru's run on Quasar, so I'm always disappointed when I try out his Captain America stuff, which usually leaves me cold. Considering on just taking the plunge with one of these Epic Collections. I also tried to figure out analogues for the new characters, and I think most of Nighthawk's Redeemers work better as analogues to the Outsiders of the era, which fits with them being Batman/Nighthawk's team after leaving the League/Squadron. Ape X- Gorilla Grodd (visual look-anthromorphic ape) Thelonious_NickJanuary 14, 2016 1:49 PM Thor #442-443 "How chafe is Sif's love for Bill?" I think you mean chaste. Or maybe not...it makes sense with our wording as well... Jay DemetrickJanuary 14, 2016 1:34 PM Uncanny X-Men #148 I'm guessing that 7 includes Polaris & Havok (but not Professor X)...? fnord12January 14, 2016 12:48 PM Uncanny X-Men #14-18 Everyone, please take further conversation about the Crossing/Avengers Forever to the forum. Strayed off topic quite a bit for Uncanny X-Men #14-18. :-) fnord12January 14, 2016 12:47 PM Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars #1-12 Yeah, i've deleted JC's comment. I assume he was trying to be "funny", but please keep conversations about current comics to the forum. BillJanuary 14, 2016 12:41 PM Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars #1-12 What the heck is with all the spoilers for another story here, JC? Ataru320January 14, 2016 12:36 PM Marvel Super Heroes #387-388 (UK) In light of current events, a quick thought of my own: I don't think there was anything wrong with "the main universe" being 616. Sure it was an Alan Moore joke (and of course Alan Moore can get away with it because of who he is/what he became), but it shows that the multiverse is much more complex than one can make it out to be and that just because you're the main focus doesn't mean you're the first in line. At least it appeared to make it more humble than "the main DC universe is "Earth-1"...despite the fact that a lot of the older heroes that necessitated an Earth-2 were originally heroes in our world...though we need to keep Superman and Batman relevant regardless because Superman and Batman. Charles RJanuary 14, 2016 12:29 PM Captain America #312 Kurt Busiek explores the idea of a call center for superheroes in issue 3 of the most recent Astro City series. A big part of the plot is training the phone operators to filter out crank calls or emergencies that don't require superheroes. Charles RJanuary 14, 2016 12:06 PM Uncanny X-Men annual #9 I imagine that death and the afterlife in the Marvel Universe isn't a clear cut divide of your soul or spirit or whatever going to someplace, as most of these death and devil entities seem to imply in their dealings with super heroes. I imagine it's more of a metaphorical thing, kinda like those issues of Quasar that reveal that entities like Eternity and Death are too inconceivable to be reduced to just a giant humanoid made of stars with a half blue mask or a giant skeleton lady, as the heroes usually see them. So it goes with death. Hela and Death and Mephisto and all the rest must all have some sort of part to play in mortal death, but it's probably way too complex to understand in any concrete, logical manner. So if you're a hero trying to find the soul of your teammate, it doesn't matter exactly which death entity or realm you try to venture into for that rescue attempt, because they're all just different metaphors for the same inconceivable concept. mikrolikJanuary 14, 2016 11:36 AM Avengers #228-230 That should be "a Scourge confirmed an attempt on Shocker's life," sorry. mikrolikJanuary 14, 2016 11:35 AM Avengers #228-230 david banes: Unfortunately, I'd probably say yes, which is a shame since the Shocker is my favorite Spider-Man villain. Different writers and stories have varied on their treatment of Shocker over the years, ranging from "credible threat" to "lame joke character Spider-Man has no sweat dispatching." In a way, I think the rise of the "classic villain is now a laughable failure" trope happened in the eighties, particularly when Scourge was created. One of the worst examples was Porcupine in CA 315 (not a Scourge death, but shown the Porcupine in a pretty sad light). The Shocker wasn't killed by Scourge, but he was scared of him in Deadly Foes of SM, and in CA 394, a Scourge confirmed an attempt on Scourge's life, so I wonder if Shocker was on Mark Gruenwald's possible victims list, but was miraculously spared? Red CometJanuary 14, 2016 11:20 AM Uncanny X-Men #14-18 @AF The problem with the Crossing was the same problem as the Clone Saga and Emerald Twilight over at DC: it said this hero you'd been reading your entire life was really a fake/clone/villain. The fans generally don't like being told they've wasted potentially decades of investment in a character. That said, I agree with you that it would have just been simpler to say Iron Man was under Kang's control for a few months and all his claims of EVIL ALL ALONG were just psychological warfare (and that even fits with Kang's character). Red CometJanuary 14, 2016 11:08 AM Cage #1 I never much cared for Cage's tiara and chains costume either. Too 70s. I liked the generalized character design they used for him in various Marvel video games from the PS3/Xbox 360 console era. He was a big guy in street clothes, but he always wore a yellow shirt. JCJanuary 14, 2016 8:56 AM Thor #442-443 Oh? And wat's in the bag? AFJanuary 14, 2016 8:27 AM Uncanny X-Men #14-18 Yeah, but as I said, how easy is that to write off? I mean The Crossing even offered an option: he was under the control of Kang. What we didn't need was a long-winded mess that replaces Kang with Immortus-in-disguise-as-Kang and every character involved in it being Space Phantoms and then to justify this by going through comics from the 60s all the way to 1998 resetting and retconning things to being Space Phantoms and "lies" to make it work. Marvel didn't get "rid" of it, they just insulted it and added to it. There's even more confusion now and you really didn't need a whole self-indulgent issue to explain it away. MichaelJanuary 14, 2016 8:05 AM Uncanny X-Men #14-18 @AF- Plenty of people hated the idea that Tony was Evil All Along. Plus, most readers found the Crossing too confusing, so it's understandable Marvel wanted to get rid of it. MichaelJanuary 14, 2016 8:02 AM Thor #442-443 JC- it's implied that he DOESN'T want the hammer, he just needed a way to get Eric to see the Thor bag without Eric getting suspicious. JCJanuary 14, 2016 7:01 AM Doctor Strange #75 Thus endth the greatest Strange run since Ditko and his magic mushrooms. The run was over far too quickly for my tastes. That said Uncle Rog certainly closed off most of the dangling plot threads while still leaving sum for incumming writer Gillis. The number of writers who can write a Strange centric book (as opposed to his usual magic helper of the Marvel Universe role) are few and far between. I don't believe it's until JMS' Strange mini-series sum 20 years later that we'll get a quality Strange book again. AFJanuary 14, 2016 5:36 AM Uncanny X-Men #14-18 I honestly don't see what the real issue with The Crossing was. It's hard to follow and stupid but, like, definitely not worth the careless and malicious retcons from Avengers Forever. Most of the retcons don't make any real sense if you actual read the Crossing. You have scenes with "Space Phantoms" having deep thought or scenes solely between "Space Phantoms" where they torture each other. Avengers Forever #8 is, no hyperbole, one of the worst issues I've ever read. It's not a comic, it is just a lecture. It's not a story, it's an agenda. It's like an ego trip, showing off how Busiek and Brevoort can "fix" the Avengers/Marvel Universe. And neither were really broken, they were just a bit of a mess. And you really really really don't need to go all the way back to retconning Lee/Kirby stories to basically amputate the Crossing from canon. It'd be so easy to write off Iron Man's turn to evil in a constructive way, but they go for destructive (which is the basic path that every writer under Brevoort will follow). It's easier to tear something down and insist you point and laugh at how lame it was than it is to spend time creating, writing or researching or whatever. Have you read Darkstar and the Winter Guard? That series sorta removed/ignored some of the Limbo retcons. I took it as a sign that Avengers Forever #8 was mostly all lies. Which is a fitting way to retcon it since that's exactly what Busiek did to everything else. a.lloydJanuary 14, 2016 5:24 AM Doctor Strange #50-53 Todd Macfarlane must have influenced by Marshall Rogers. Yogi deadheadJanuary 14, 2016 5:17 AM Amazing Spider-Man annual #16 I loved that Monica first appeared in a Spidey annual. It accentuated the shared universe aspect and gave my 10 year old self reason to branch out to different comics. I also loved Rogue debuting in the Avengers annual. I thought there was an appropriate amount of time before Monica was given more of a starring role. It seemed like it wasn't until the 250s or '60s of Avengers that she was given a chance to incorporate her powers at a cosmic level and move up a notch. Which meant it had been a few years. As for "racist" comments up thread, I didn't see any! In fact, I think that throwing that term out there de-emphasizes actual racism. People seem to use the term racist for something they don't like. The word racism has almost lost all meaning with the cavalier manner in which it is bandied about. david banesJanuary 14, 2016 4:49 AM Fantastic Four #266-268 I'm sure Bryne would have made Doc Ock vs. Hulk a very good read. Not in that it'd be a long straight up fight but the conflict and resolution would be amazing. Nathan AdlerJanuary 14, 2016 4:42 AM Uncanny X-Men #14-18 @AF: I'm still trying to work up a fix for The Crossing that doesn't take the path of Avengers Forever. My research has found some absolute pearler story beats Gruenwald wanted unfolded through the series that got completely overlooked by Busiek;) AFJanuary 14, 2016 4:26 AM Defenders #151-152 Well, she was before Bendis and Gillen and Aaron and all those lot. AFJanuary 14, 2016 4:25 AM Defenders #151-152 ... Emma Frost is my favourite character. Maybe I'm broken. JCJanuary 14, 2016 2:50 AM Thor #442-443 So many questions. What did Mephisto want with the hammer? Can't he just steal it back nao that's it pubic property? If the Enchantress can immediately sense him, given their respective power levels, shouldn't he had alrdy sensed her first? Why can't the combined might of Thor and the Surfer take on any "preparedness" Mephisto may have? How chafe is Sif's love for Bill? Is it bestiality if the horse can talk? Can she even take the whole thing? DeFalco bringing you the hard hitting questions! JCJanuary 14, 2016 2:18 AM Cage #1 That man looks nothing like Mike Colter. And tank goodness, that purple outfit is ridicorous. JCJanuary 14, 2016 1:51 AM Uncanny X-Men #148 Seven? JCJanuary 14, 2016 12:52 AM Amazing Spider-Man annual #16 Uncle Rog is a great writer, maybe the best Spidey writer ever but Monica hear always reeked of being a Mary Sue. For one thing why is a Spidey annual being devoted to a new character that has no relation and nothing to do with him. And her pumped up status so hard and so fast during Uncle Rog's Avengers run belied her rookie status. Respect is supposed to be earned not given. ChrisJanuary 13, 2016 9:42 PM Cage #1 There is no problem getting rid of Cage's original costume. But if you, you need to create something better - equally distinctive, but not dated. This costume doesn't cut it. Anklets are particularly bad. And there is no reason to be defensive about the name Power Man. If you want to deemphasize that, it's best just to have more of the characters refer to him as Luke Cage, and only use Power Man when it's appropriate for certain characters to do so. I did like Cage as a character, but this - like so many of Marvel's new and existing series at this point - just didn't interest me. fnord12January 13, 2016 9:39 PM Cage #1 Thanks, added him. MichaelJanuary 13, 2016 8:52 PM Defenders #151-152 We've discussed before why some characters get forgiven and others don't. Look at Hank Pym vs. Emma Frost, for example. MichaelJanuary 13, 2016 8:13 PM Uncanny X-Men #148 Jean, yes. The others... MichaelJanuary 13, 2016 8:12 PM Punisher #60-62 First Tyrone King, now Frank Rook- Luke is really bad at noticing synonym aliases, isn't he? D09January 13, 2016 8:07 PM Amazing Spider-Man annual #16 Her costume seems more like something out of a superhero-themed version of Mardi Gras to me. MichaelJanuary 13, 2016 7:58 PM Cage #1 The mysterious figure in shadows eventually turns out to be Cruz Bushmaster, the son of John Bushmaster, so he should be listed as a Character Appearing. Charles RJanuary 13, 2016 6:39 PM Secret Wars II #8 The first comics I collected, back when I was 7, were Transformers. Those comics were full of ads for Secret Wars II. I wasn't interested in reading about superheroes at the time, but I was fascinated by those ads, and tried to piece together what was going on in them as they were updated month by month. I had vivid memories of the ads for issue 8, which featured a giant Beyond crushing a building while a bunch of heroes fought him. It looked really cool. I stopped with Transformers and comics all together by the time I was 8, but when I finally got into superhero comics a few years later (on the strength of some Inferno issues of X-Men and X-factor, of all things. Blame the awesome cover to X-Factor 39), one of the first back issues I tracked down was Secret Wars II #8. I was expecting something really spectacular, especially after my first taste of superhero art was Walt Simonson and Marc Silvestri. I was really bummed out by what I read. I spent a lot of time rereading that issue, trying to figure out what was wrong with me that it seemed so off, that the art looked so bad, that the characters didn't seem like themselves. I couldn't believe that Marvel would spend so much effort advertising something that was so awful. I never bought another issue of Secret Wars II, though. I tried the Spider-Man versus the X-Men issue of Secret Wars I, and while it was better, the quality and off characterizations were enough to scare me off that series, too. AFJanuary 13, 2016 6:05 PM Cage #1 For those interested... Marvel recently did a trade collecting this series (Luke Cage: Second Chances Vol. 1) and the follow-up volume is scheduled to come out in the next month or two. It's just nice to have things collected in full, really. AFJanuary 13, 2016 5:57 PM Punisher #60-62 How is it possible to NOT post the "It's hammer time!" panel! Charles RoigJanuary 13, 2016 5:08 PM Defenders #142 I think the dilemma of super powered registration is much more complex than how Marvel usually presents it, with stories often siding implicitly with anti-registration characters. I was intrigued that they were bringing up the argument again during Civil War, then disappointed again when the pro-registration side started cloning Thor and tossing people into Negative Zone gulags, basically presented themselves as morally compromised. I was eager for a true ethical argument about a totally fantastical situation in between the superpowered slugfests. Because while we don't license people to live, if this was the real world we wouldn't want to just dismiss the presence of mutants like Proteus or Siena Blaze who could just destroy the world, forget about just their dormitory or city block. I think Senator Kelly has a point that we should be concerned about the kid who has H-bomb powers; I don't know that registration is the answer, but some kind of oversight would be needed. As Michael posts above, the X-Men basically did this, and was their major function up to at least the Dark Phoenix Saga. When Cerebro would find a new mutant, they went to check the mutant out and offer training, and then Prof X kept tabs on them. What's the difference between that and some kind of registration? kvetoJanuary 13, 2016 4:53 PM Cage #1 They were always so defense about Cage's original costume, but there was nothing so bad about it. It was a lot less 70s than say Iron fist's v-neck and slippers (and didnt involve an Afro helmet like Black Lightening's). Frankly, the crappy hip hop garb that he has worn in more recent comics will date them much worse than the yellow shirts. The artwork here was really meh. you'd expect better in an issue #1. D09January 13, 2016 4:22 PM Uncanny X-Men #148 Did Claremont have ANY respect for the original seven X-Men at all? AFJanuary 13, 2016 4:12 PM Avengers annual #18 (Atlantis Attacks) Although almost everything included in this annual comes out looking bad... AFJanuary 13, 2016 4:10 PM Avengers annual #18 (Atlantis Attacks) Prior to this issue, Tyrak had been constantly depicted as a legitimate threat able to defeat entire teams of Avengers... here he gets pushed over by Wonder Man after 2 pages. AFJanuary 13, 2016 2:52 PM Uncanny X-Men #14-18 Wasn't the set-up for the Timely Industries stuff courtesy of the Citizen Kang crossover rather than The Crossing? (but, I am just glad to see I'm not the only one who is... let's say "critical"... of Busiek's Avengers Forever retconning) Nathan AdlerJanuary 13, 2016 2:48 PM Uncanny X-Men #14-18 @Michael: So Busiek reinforced The Crossing's earlier revelation that Kang had seeded 20th century super-tech via Timely Industries? Why then go on to reveal the whole freakin plot as an Immortus one? Avengers Forever stuffs things up even more than I first thought:o AFJanuary 13, 2016 2:46 PM Defenders #151-152 I do find it interesting how people feel about Moondragon. There are plenty of other characters who are let off for similar stuff or even worse stuff. The whole Magneto family tree is a good example. Everyone thinks Claremont's nonsense "tragic hero" Magneto is fine, Quicksilver has done some bloody atrocious things over the decades and Scarlet Witch in recent years has done stuff even worse than everything Moondragon's ever done. Heather's a strong, female character and has been almost since inception. And this is without ever having any of the turgid pageantry and overwriting of Claremont's "strong women". I look up to Moondragon as a strong role model for women. She is a completely sincere product and not a forced attempt or embarrassing pastiche like what they've made Carol Danvers into now or any of Claremont's hair-tearing "projects". In general, I think Gillis did a poor job with her. He made her look incredibly weak. More or less the minute the headband is removed she succumbs to the Dragon and he clutters up her backstory - which should be about her - by revealing most everything about her can be explained or defined by the contributions of other people/things (Dragon of the Moon, Runner). AFJanuary 13, 2016 2:07 PM Defenders #151-152 Eh, it was easy enough to write that off as "misguided". Her intentions were good, her actions weren't. Like DeMatteis proved, it was very possible to come back from the Ba-Bani thing. Hell, even Gillis showed Moondragon as being redeemable before this. Here she is just flat-out evil under the influence of the Dragon of the Moon. She tears out her friend's soul for him trying to help her. It's so damaging that they were quick to sweep it under the rug and no writer other than Gillis really ever refers to it specifically. I guess it's just thankful that by this point hardly anyone was reading Defenders and she didn't kill anyone notably major (killing Valkyrie and Gargoyle had little effect since without a Defenders book, they would've probably not appeared anywhere else anyway). Dan H.January 13, 2016 1:32 PM Uncanny X-Men #14-18 The "Coffee A-Go-Go" was of course the 616 version of the insanely historic Cafe au Go Go. I don't remember if any of the MU characters ever made it to a Fillmore show. Erik BeckJanuary 13, 2016 11:54 AM Spider-Man #8-12 So, Wolvy just took off for Canada and decided to pack along a costume he hasn't worn in a decade? Erik BeckJanuary 13, 2016 11:38 AM Defenders #151-152 Granted, I loathe Moondragon, but, this is hardly where she becomes irredeemable. At least here you can blame some of it on the Dragon. In Avengers 219-220, she is far worse, so much so that it was how she ended up in the Defenders (headband on to limit the powers, watched over by Valkyrie). Erik BeckJanuary 13, 2016 11:36 AM Hulk #385 It really seems like Rick remembering being dead should be a much bigger deal. Did anyone else remember being dead? Vincent ValentiJanuary 13, 2016 11:15 AM Alpha Flight #7-8 Really? Ew. Ew. Ew. That's not exactly a violation of continuity, since Byrne never explicitly said in the actual comics that Jeanne-Marie didn't know. But it is a violation of character, IMO. Plus common sense. Not to mention that it makes Northstar's sexuality a much bigger issue than it should be. Even if Byrne was able to outright say that he was gay, he would have done so but not hit people over the head with it constantly. MichaelJanuary 13, 2016 8:19 AM Defenders #151-152 But that really started with Avengers 220, where she takes over a world, rapes Thor and kills her father. MichaelJanuary 13, 2016 8:18 AM Marvel Team-Up #137 @ChrisW- I thought that ad was less bad than the second-to-last episode of the first season of Once Upon A Time- Once Upon A Time actually tried to play it straight: AFJanuary 13, 2016 8:12 AM Defenders #151-152 I first read #152 in the Secret Wars II omnibus and thought it was rubbish. Having read the rest of the run now, it's only a bit better. It's nowhere near as epic or as exciting as it sounds on paper. Very rushed and a very weak ending. Very hard to follow in parts and Interloper comes across as a deus ex machina since basically all he does is show up and lead the charge against the Dragon. And most of the deaths have zero impact since Andromeda, Interloper and Manslaughter were such minor characters and all 3 had next to no real development beforehand. And then the 3 important characters that die is less effective by the entire thing happening off-panel. But my main gripe, then and now, is how I felt it was a story that made one of my favourite characters completely irredeemable. And what's weird is they never really bothered to try and redeem Moondragon for this. It was sort of just swept under the rug and ignored. For the better, I think, since the whole run makes Moondragon basically weak and evil. But it definitely makes the entire Marvel Universe look like morons by her being welcomed back onto the Avengers and stuff after this story. Hell, in #305 she's even in the same room as Beast and this never comes up. fnord12January 13, 2016 8:04 AM Alpha Flight Special #1 She doesn't die. To my knowledge, she's not mentioned again outside of that flashback in Alpha Flight #127 (which takes place before this issue). Erik BeckJanuary 13, 2016 7:19 AM Infinity Gauntlet #6 I haven't read a whole lot of 90's at Marvel, but I must say this - I was never much interested in cosmic comics before IG and I loved X-Men and Avengers and liked FF and Spider-Man. But over the next several years, it is the cosmic comics that are done at a much higher standard than those main four and that's the tragedy of 90's Marvel. AFJanuary 13, 2016 7:13 AM Avengers annual #17 Genuinely this one might be the single greatest stand-alone Avengers story ever (although, with it being annual-sized, I think that makes gives it a bit of an unfair advantage, but whatever). Bloody love it I do. I remember slogging through the hit-and-miss Evolutionary War and this being at the end made the whole thing worthwhile. I also became obsessed with that hideous Hercules armor. I bought like 5-6 surrounding issues with Hercules appearances expecting to find the story where he changed costume and, no, this is literally the only time he has ever worn it. Even when he comes back to life in Thor, he's suddenly wearing his old costume. It's a bit like Herc's lame answer to Thor's golden armor. JCJanuary 13, 2016 7:12 AM Avengers #239 For this to be a realistic depiction, Letterman needs to be oogling Widow on-air. JCJanuary 13, 2016 6:57 AM Uncanny X-Men #176 I hope those ruby quartz visors waeren't the only protection Scott was wearing, becuz he going back and forth inside Maddy a lot this issue. TuomasJanuary 13, 2016 6:07 AM Alpha Flight Special #1 Is it explained what happens to Stitch between this issue and Alpha Flight #1? Or does she die here too? DenisJanuary 13, 2016 2:27 AM Daredevil #155-157 Il est vrai que Frank Robbins avait un style pas vraiment pour le "monde Super-Héros", mais, s'il avait pas été encré/massacré par Frank Springer, l'histoire aurait-elle eu plus de succès ??!! Luis DantasJanuary 13, 2016 1:55 AM New Warriors #19-20 It was SO satisfying to read "you won't hit me again". Or to read it again now. kvetoJanuary 13, 2016 12:02 AM Iron Man #179-181 The Mandarin has seen IM unmasked before, but Tony was disguised as a blonde guy. Since in that issue he also saw Happy Houn unmasked as a replacement IM you'd think he'd realise Jim was a replacement too. but then he's the mandarin with a pretty addled brain. JCJanuary 13, 2016 12:00 AM Marvel Team-Up #137 See and I took it to be the other way Tom. The penultimate panel is the final wake up call (by Galactus) and the final panel is the joking presumed reader response to the issue they hold in their very hands. That final panel is key. MichaelJanuary 12, 2016 11:27 PM Alpha Flight #7-8 But that relates to one of the (many) problems with Pak's and Van Lente's Alpha Flight-by the time they took over Alpha Flight Jeanne Marie had known about Northstar's sexuality for ages and seemingly come to terms with it but they had her betray the team to the Master in exchange for a "cure". MichaelJanuary 12, 2016 10:55 PM Moon Knight: Divided We Fall The "mid-1980s" caption is weird, since the president seems to be Papa Bush. Vincent ValentiJanuary 12, 2016 10:49 PM Alpha Flight #7-8 John Byrne revealed to me on his forum that under her Jeanne-Marie perseona, Aurora did NOT know about Northstar's sexuality. "Her head would likely have exploded", he said. Makes sense in retrospect, given Jeanne-Marie's strict religious upbringing. But still it was a surprise to me, since eventually Northstar came to prefer that personality over Aurora's. ChrisWJanuary 12, 2016 10:46 PM Marvel Team-Up #137 An insane killer with a thing for poison is throwing food at us. Let's eat it on the spot. ChrisJanuary 12, 2016 10:45 PM New Warriors #19-20 I thought the book was well crafted, but I began being disinterested in it around this time. I stayed only for a few more issues. I just didn't care for how this book was developing and the kinds of threats they encountered. The real story behind Night Thrasher just did not interest me. I was excited about the title only a few issues ago. However, I admit at this time I did not like how the Marvel Universe was developing, and it wouldn't be much longer until I was only buying Hulk. ChrisWJanuary 12, 2016 10:40 PM Marvel Team-Up #137 It is actually possible to spoof the Hostess ads. I once wrote such a spoof and posted it online (and am sorely tempted to post it here) and, a few days after it was posted, Bob Rozakis [sp?] wrote an online article about being one of the main Hostess ad writers. He included a list of rules one must follow for the ads. I cannot find that article now, but without even knowing there were rules, I broke nearly every single one of them that it was possible for me to break, and the few I missed were simply because my parody went in a different direction. Actually my favorite ad was where the Joker uses Twinkies to distract police officers so he can commit a crime. Batman doesn't even appear. They like the Twinkies but still catch him, and ask the Joker why he didn't keep any Twinkies for himself. "Because I don't like them." "Wow, he *is* crazy!" Luke BlanchardJanuary 12, 2016 10:39 PM Thor #221-228 There's an issue of FANTASTIC FOUR, I think #173, where Galactus says the robot was a replacement for the original Gabriel, who died in cosmic battle. In #211 he makes Terrax's powers earth-based to fit a water-air-fire-earth pattern. AndrewJanuary 12, 2016 10:34 PM Thor #221-228 Pick up the Annihilation omnibus, or the trades. All the heralds except the Destroyer and Nova are in it, I think. Plus it's a great story. AndrewJanuary 12, 2016 10:26 PM Avengers #137-138 The connection between Toad and the Stranger goes back to the Stranger's very first appearance, in X-Men 11, so the revelation isn't really that far fetched. Luke BlanchardJanuary 12, 2016 10:10 PM Fantastic Four #120-123 In the original Galactus story he never does vow not to destroy Earth. He says if Reed gives him the Ultimate Nullifier he won't tarry any longer. His dialogue as he departs indicates he no longer sees the human race as negligible. AndrewJanuary 12, 2016 9:50 PM Classic X-Men #1 (2nd story) I really hate that scene with Wolverine and Jean. Logan is acting very creepy and date-rapey. Which I'll grant you is not completely out of character for him at that time. But Jean and Scott at that time were really in their "honeymoon" phase after years of mooning after each other, so the idea that she would be attracted to this short, cigar-chewing stranger with the weird haircut is ridiculous. MichaelJanuary 12, 2016 8:05 PM New Warriors #19-20 Re: Miyami smelling Tai- note that Catseye smelled a "minty badscent" when Tai attacked the Hellions in issue 9. I think the idea is supposed to be that there's a minty smell when Tai uses her powers, similar to the smell when Nightcrawler teleports. BobJanuary 12, 2016 5:32 PM New Warriors #19-20 Gideon's hilarious hairdo of bald with big, flowing ponytail will be adopted by a lot bad 90s Liefeld wannabe artists for the MU. It looked ridiculous even then, and was fashionable nowhere at the time outside of comics. DermieJanuary 12, 2016 5:29 PM Marvel Team-Up #59-62 Fair enough. Thanks Fnord. DermieJanuary 12, 2016 5:28 PM New Warriors #19-20 About the panel with Mr. Astrovik punching Vance, I didn't take that as Vance being sent flying--just that he fell over. A punch knocking someone off their feet isn't unrealistic, especially if it catches them off guard--plus Vance is already weak from injury and has his arm in a sling, which will throw off his ability to balance himself. david banesJanuary 12, 2016 5:20 PM Thor #221-228 I've been trying to piece together all of Galactus' heralds witout looking up an actual list bit by bit. Original: Silver Surfer. Y'know I kind of want a Marvel book where all of Galactus' former heralds team up. david banesJanuary 12, 2016 5:14 PM Marvel Team-Up #137 Mr. Plinkett: This is what they call filler and it's no where near as good as the kind they put in Twinkies. Hmmm!..I like to **** my cat. TuomasJanuary 12, 2016 5:03 PM Marvel Team-Up #137 JC: the final panel clearly shows Galactus and Nova were a dream too, and the only characters actually appearing in this story are the people of "Readerland, U.S.A.". clydeJanuary 12, 2016 3:34 PM New Warriors #19-20 I thought the scene where Gideon uses Marvel Boy's powers to take out his tooth was even better since you didn't really see what happened fully. Kind of like in West Coast Avengers when Scarlet Witch was tormenting Simon when she was evil and scratched her hands on his stomach. You didn't see what happened after that, only their reactions. Ataru320January 12, 2016 3:25 PM X-Force #5 The Blob's head has been looking more and more ridiculous at least since Liefeld joined New Mutants/X-Force. I don't know if its worse that his head looks a lot like a cylinder at this point or the fact he suddenly has a bazillion teeth. (then again so does Toad now...well the bazillion teeth part) Dan H.January 12, 2016 1:45 PM Avengers #236-237 It was a bold decision to include both Electro and Blackout on the small villains squad, given the striking similarities in their costumes. But the artwork just embraces this by having them standing right next to each other the first time we see them assembled and then I don't believe it was ever brought up in the script. It doesn't hurt that their powers and personalities are completely different. Dan H.January 12, 2016 1:33 PM Marvel Team-Up #137 I might have agreed with that if I hadn't already read the Thunderbolts Hostess parody (created by fans I believe?) Not sure if that's what led Busiek to later include Icemaster in the expanded Masters of Evil, but the timing is coincidental if not. AlJanuary 12, 2016 1:13 PM Amazing Spider-Man #290-292 “Knowing that the wedding was decided at a much higher level than the creative team, it's easy to look at these issues as shoe-horning in the Peter/MJ romance. Issue #290 is also a lot more about Peter; the fact that now that he's accepted himself as Spider-Man he's realized he's also been denying the existence of his Peter Parker side. Since these are Michelinie's first issues, he hasn't done anything to really establish the fact that Peter and MJ are really in love.... #290, the issue with Peter deciding to propose to Mary Jane, literally has nothing in it that tells us that Peter has decided he's in love with MJ. It's entirely that he's decided that he's ready to move on with the Peter Parker side of his life, and it seems that MJ just happens to be the woman in his life at the moment. You could easily make the case that if Peter was dating the Black Cat or someone else at the time, he would have proposed to her instead.” He didn’t have to do that. Stuff dating back to the DeFalco run in ASm #259 had been building up the fact that Peter and MJ were in obviously in love. E.g. the kiss in the Wolverine one shot. Peter ironically saying he’s glad he and MJ weren’t in love because they’d just argue right before he gets jealous in a PAD story. Him feeling guilty when MJ sees him with Felicia. Him going to MJ at the end of Spec #129 and saying he’s been an idiot. How could a subplot brewing across three titles for approx 2 years be called shoe horned? And does it really need to be made much clearer? He obviously was in love with her. As for him moving on and getting married in general again the statement misses the context. Sure Peter wants to get married but he wouldn’t have just done it with Felicia. It had to be MJ because as the start of the issue makes clear she was the one he could go to because she knew him. And she knew him because of all the stuff we’d been reading since ASM #259, which like I said made it very clear he was in love with her specifically. So really it is true the issue feels like a shoe horn but only in complete isolation, which...why would we mark the book like that? The issue makes sense as a Peter focussed story as it depicts him grappling with his childhood before moving onto an adult decision. “Since then, we've seen that there's still something between them, but MJ hasn't been willing to commit, in part because she's uncomfortable with his Spider-Man side and in part because she's always been an independent free spirit, which i like about her.” That is not accurate. MJ’s lack of commitment had nothing to do with her being a free spirit and everything to do with her outright fearing commitment would hurt her like it did her mother, sister and brother in law. This was stated more than once. In Web #6 it is made outright clear that Peter being Spider-Man isn’t actually the biggest hurdle to MJ but her commitment fears are. Furthermore they two practically WERE dating as the Wolverine issue made clear. “Mary Jane isn’t my girlfriend and if I tell myself that enough I might actually believe that”. Translation: Mary Jane was his girlfriend. At the same time MJ hung around Peter and dealt with his being Spider-Man a lot despite her reservations which basically meant it clearly was something she was willing to put up with and accept. “t's the same on the MJ side; the storyline with her family is about showing that she's putting her troubled past behind her and is ready to commit to a relationship. The idea that the two are in love with each other is just taken for granted (beyond an idea that Peter decides to go to Pittsburgh even though a Spider-Slayer is on the loose, effectively choosing MJ over his Spider-Man responsibilities, which doesn't work that well considering that Spider-Slayers are all about a grudge match with Spidey; it's not like Peter left behind a super-villain trying to rob banks or hurt people or something).” Again, it’s taken for granted because it was presumed you’d been reading the last 2 years worth of Spider-Man, or at least some stuff from it. Stuff which made MJ’s feelings abundantly clear. As for him abandoning the Spider Slayer I both agree and disagree. On the one hand you are right they exist to fight Spider-Man so it isn’t much of a bad choice, but then again doesn’t that then make Peter’s decision morally more acceptable? On the other hand the Spider Slayer WAS on the rampage at the time regardless. “All that said, when you look back at these three issues plus the Wolverine oneshot and the Spectacular issue, and of course Peter and MJ's years of history prior to all of this, there's enough there that the upcoming wedding doesn't feel entirely sales driven.” Sigh. It was sales driven but DeFalco and Frenz intended them to get engaged anyway, just not married. The wedding issue itself was a problem riddled book but the build up to it was a 2 year long organic narrative, or as organic as co-ordinating 3 titles could be. I think Peter sort of grades his angst and attitude towards things like that on the curve. For sin Eater he simply lost control and didn’t hold back when he should have. It was a different kind of mistake, the mistake of restraint. With Smythe he didn’t lose control it was just a genuine ‘whoops’. More than this for Sin Eater the man was not in his right mind whereas Smythe was simply a vindictive idiot who threatened Aunt May, Aunt Anna and Mary Jane, people for whom Peter holds more affection for compared to Jean. Not that he didn’t care for Jean but his beating of Sin Eater was not merely motivated by that, but motivated by that plus the threat to his old friend Betty Brant. Because of this Peter is not going to feel so bad about what he did to Smythe compared to Stan Carter, who also seemed to have genuinely reformed since their last encounter. I think MJ’s fame had been mentioned before then too though, but this is where it really starts. I’ve always felt it to be a moot criticism given that it was just set up for her to LOSE that job. @clyde: It was the 1980s. Countless comic characters had dialogue like that though and it continued into the 1990s. The realism of dialogue in comics didn’t become an entrenched thing until Bendis in the 2000s. One fan theory though is that the Beyonder gave it to Peter during Secret Wars II. JCJanuary 12, 2016 1:01 PM Spider-Man vs. Wolverine #1 Thank you for listing a bunch of comics I've read thrice over. As it turns out I already knew they were good comics. What that non-sequitur has to do with with the warring back office politics, haven't a clue. Oh and btw at least three of those runs you listed not only ended prematurely but in the middle of ongoing storylines purely becuz the talent in each of those cases had had enuff bickering from editorial and decided to step away. But your right that does speak for itself doesn't it JesseJanuary 12, 2016 12:51 PM Ms. Marvel #17-18 There is an interesting note in the letter column of issue # 22 relating to the art of issue # 18. A reader states their dislike for the excessive use of dark lines and shadows which caused the issue to appear drab, and is given this response: “Y’see, when the pencils were mailed to inker Ricardo Villamonte, they got lost or stolen en route, forcing Ricardo to ink the book on vellum over none-too-clear xeroxes of the original pencils. All things considered, we feel he did a pretty good job.” AlJanuary 12, 2016 12:30 PM Spider-Man vs. Wolverine #1 @ChrisW: Indestructible bones doesn’t = can’t be knocked out though. He can be knocked out even in modern continuity. We’d established the healing factor I believe and we knew he had adamantium which was established as destructible. So it doesn’t add up unless you have Spidey mistakenly thinking he had a shot I think everyone is being incredibly overcritical of Peter’s portrayal here. Peter is out of his element both literally since he’s in another country and because he isn’t used to this espionage stuff where the moral lines are blurry and things get violent fast. He’s simultaneously going through a lot of emotional turmoil over in the main series at this point in time. We see the situation with MJ, we’ve seen graphically violent street crime in PAD’s Spec issues get under his skin and give him cause to question himself, he’s up and down over whether to quit being Spider-Man or not following the Beyonder mind f***ing him, he’s got the Black Cat/MJ love triangle going on and he’s just lived through a big violent and exhausting gang war. A gang war in which he was very angry that he had to swallow the Kingpin’s return to power and got told off by Daredevil. And let’s be honest he’s still weirded out over the Jean DeWolff/Sin Eater thing and Flash is still on the run as is the Hobgoblin. And then on top of that Ned Leeds has just been violently killed. Obviously he’s not gonna be on his A-game and be uncertain about things. @JC: And yet 80s Marvel was financially and critically at least the second best era of Marvel ever. Because Stern ASM, Claremont X-Men, Michelinie/Layton Iron Man, Miller Daredevil and Byrne F4 speak for themselves I think. @AF and mikrolik: Priest’s run as a writer was brief and mostly not good, excluding this story. Whatever was happening behind the scenes though you honestly cannot look at the stuff being put out under his editorship and call it trash. Peter David made the Sin Eater storyline under Priest. The Firelord fight, happened under Priest. That era is incredibly solid. I’ts true that Spidey doesn’t need the extra emotional baggage of killing a suicidal woman...but er...hello, he clearly dealt with it. That was the point of the end of the story and Web #29. Peter with MJ and Wolverine got through it and came to terms with it really not being his fault. He’s done similar things under other circumstances. Peter basically blames himself for stuff as a kneejerk reaction and at some point silently comes to term with it not really being his fault unless it really was directly his fault. For example Gwen Stacy’s death he will blame himself for. But Flash Thompson getting crippled is something he didn’t carry with him. If he deep down genuinely blamed himself for half the things eh claims he does he’d either go mad or else simply cut himself off from people. The fact that he didn’t even in the wake of Gwen’s death shows that he can clearly assign blame in the right places. Or else he’s a selfish dick which wouldn’t add up with the other elements of his character. Basically if Peter is undeniably responsible for something, he will feel guilty over it but if he isn’t really responsible, which is the case here for various reasons (the biggest being that Charlie actively tricked him) then his guilt will eventually pass. And again the story addresses this at the end when MJ comforts him and then later Wolverine tells him to get over it. It was a way to narratively have Peter let go of what he felt over Charlie and move on succinctly. As for the point of having Charlie die that way, it was to demonstrate the harsh gritty realities of the spy world that Wolverine hails from which is at odds with Spider-Man’s experience. Remember this isn’t a Spider-Man story. This is a Spider-Man AND Wolverine story. That aspect is Wolverine’s world imposing itself on Spidey. @Michael: She probably threw herself in front of the punch because she wanted to die ASAP with little pain and not give her pursuers the chance to do anything to her. Plus she probably wasn’t thinking straight or didn’t know her injuries were 100% fatal. @ChrisW: Wasn’t Spec Spidey of this era entirely geared around dark stories? I mean Spidey’s gimmick is he’s realistic and human. He isn’t like Batman or Superman who are almost exclusively bright and hopeful or dark and gritty. He very much walks in between both worlds. Hence when Commeth the Commuter, the Death of Gwen Stacy, Amazing Fantasy #15, Spider-Man No More and Kraven’s Last Hunt are all quintessential Spider-Man stories. He isn’t a light and fun character, but he isn’t a dark and grim character either. He’s both because...well everyone tends to be a mixture of both. The marriage wasn’t motivated by this story and like I said, this was ultimately harmless. Peter accidentally killed someone who used him to kill themselves, and deep down soon realizes it wasn’t his fault and lets it go. Badda bing badda boom, done. AFJanuary 12, 2016 12:21 PM Defenders #149-150 Defenders as a series really defines itself by it's consistency to deliver astonishingly bad convoluted and disappointing origins for characters that don't require much of an origin in the first place. This one was just a bunch of ponderously bland revelations that just descends into more and more nonsense. I think it was around about the time "Captain America" showed up and announced "You should've read Captain America Annual #7, then maybe this story would make more sense" that my mind decided to stop attempting to follow the story. AlJanuary 12, 2016 12:01 PM Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #123 @Michael...Yeah? Spider-Man blames himself for everything. But he’s clearly more sympathetic to his friends and other people. He’s never reprimanded MJ for abandoning her sister, or Flash or Betty for cheating on Ned. When it comes to other people Peter has demonstrated that he is both more sympathetic and can look at things more clearly and logically. For Felicia she didn’t intend for that to happen and neither did Foreigner. The Blaze just did it of his own volition. Oliver_CJanuary 12, 2016 11:56 AM Marvel Team-Up #137 Spoofing the Hostess ads is like spoofing 'Plan 9 from Outer Space': the spoof can't possibly match what was so wacky in the first place. fnord12January 12, 2016 11:51 AM Alpha Flight Special #1 @Michael, yeah i'm treating that panel as symbolic and ignoring the narration similar to how i ignored Gambit's narration in Gambit and the Champions and other such things. fnord12January 12, 2016 11:48 AM Marvel Team-Up #59-62 You're not missing a page. I assume it's meant to be something that happened to Carol prior to the events of the issue. She was supposed to be on a vacation cruise when the missile hit. I agree that it's oddly specific. fnord12January 12, 2016 11:42 AM Defenders #145 Added Chris. With possession situations, i usually only tag the possessor when it manifests in some way. In this case, between Moondragon's face and the fact that she's seen struggling in some way, it seems that should count as the Dragon manifesting, so i have added the Dragon as a character appearing too. I think that should now cover all the Dragon appearances. Thanks! Erik BeckJanuary 12, 2016 11:41 AM Infinity Gauntlet #5 A vast improvement on #4. I remember the first time I read it and thinking, okay, we just saw this last issue, but the larger scale use of Thanos is part of what makes this issue so good. As fnord says, this whole series is really about Thanos as a character. AFJanuary 12, 2016 11:02 AM Defenders #148 I was excited to check-in on Hellcat and Hellstorm but that was all ruined when I saw the return of Cutlass and Typhoon. Thank god they never appeared again. JCJanuary 12, 2016 10:53 AM Marvel Team-Up #137 It seems as though Galactus and Nova be listed as characters appearing. It ultimately turns out to be his dream and he's clearly talking to Nova in that penultimate panel. DermieJanuary 12, 2016 10:52 AM Marvel Team-Up #59-62 Does anyone remember Carol Danvers having a romantic encounter during this storyline? In MS. MARVEL #16 Carol recalls this incident, noting that "before we'd even left the harbour I'd gotten romanced by an RAF astronaut trainee and punched out by the Super-Skrull". But I don't see anything about this astronaut trainee in my copy of MTU #62. Do I have a copy that's missing a page or something? Or was Claremont referencing something that was intended to be in the story and was cut? It seems an oddly specific reference for it to be something that was just an off-panel encounter. Mark BlackJanuary 12, 2016 9:38 AM New Mutants: Renewal (Marvel Graphic Novel #4) The panel where Xavier is taken aback by Mirage's choice of uniform almost looks like some of Jeffrey Brown's work. It obviously isn't, but I get the idea that McLeod's faces kind of look grotesque. AFJanuary 12, 2016 9:03 AM Defenders #145 Chris Larmouth also appears in this issue. Beast is checking up on him before he notices "Nancy"/Seraph sneaking around the medical bay. So does Dragon of the Moon appear. How are you tracking it when it is in possession of Moondragon? She has the whole half Heather/half Dragon face starting this issue. JCJanuary 12, 2016 9:01 AM Avengers #236-237 You have the same eggzact panel showing for your descriptions of the 'villains doing well against the Avengers' and 'the Avengers overcome the villains.' But I suppose the difference between winning and losing is in the eye of the guy writing the wrap-up. JCJanuary 12, 2016 8:48 AM Uncanny X-Men #174-175 We'll never know what Claremont intended for Maddy considering Jim Shooter's out of the blue resurrection of Jean Grey. That said I found it odd to describe her as an "unacceptable character in her own right". Outside of the Dark Phoenix Saga (DPS) and her being the first female X-Man, Jean has never struck me as a particularly strong or interesting character. She's interested in doing good becuz she's a good person... annnddd that's it really. She doesn't have the forceful personality of say Storm, the confusing desire off fitting in like Rogue, the stubborness of Kitty, or the deviousness of Psylocke. Compare this with Maddy who's suffered so much tragedy. Who takes the initiation in her relationship with Scott. Who speaks to the X-Men on their own level despite being out of her depth as a 'normie'. The Scott-Jean relationship had become this defining moment, not just for the X-Men as a title but as a part of the greater Marvel universe, almost entirely in part to the last scene in DPS as well as the one where Scott talks her down and "proposes'. For Scott and the readers to move on the issue of his genre defining love for Jean had to be addressed. Hence the not so subtle transformation of Maddy into the Phoenix here. By having Scott succeed in defeating-rescuing her here and not so coincidentally repeating the exact exchange of lines from when he rescued Jean, he's able to find closure and acceptance of a new love. JCJanuary 12, 2016 8:22 AM Uncanny X-Men #174-175 The Byrne era gets a lot of love but I think the Paul Smith era just may be the peak of Claremont's run. So many memorable moments in those short ten issues. Storm's mohawk debut. Kitty tagging Xavier as a jerk. Rogue sacrificing herself for Mariko. And Wolverine in tears, an image his poopularity would never allow for nowadays. Never knew Smith and Claremont weren't getting along, a shame considering the quality of work they were putting out. Then again Claremont and Byrne didn't get along either and look at how that turned out. TuomasJanuary 12, 2016 7:51 AM Daredevil: The Man Without Fear #1-5 I didn't like this series either. Casual sexism, over-the-top "hard boiled" monologues, violence porn... All the worst indulgencies Miller's work had accumulated at this point (the process had already begun with Dark Knight Returns, but it didn't kick into high gear until Sin City) are inserted into a story that doesn't need them, and didn't have them when he first told it. JR Jr.'s art is great, but Miller really should've stopped writing comics after the first Sin City. That was the apotheosis of his quirks and pet peeve tropes, and after that he's been nothing but an increasingly sad parody of his former self. Yogi deadheadJanuary 12, 2016 5:35 AM New Mutants: Renewal (Marvel Graphic Novel #4) I rather like McCleod's work here. It's just fun and unique looking. I guess a B - grade is appropriate though. JCJanuary 12, 2016 12:42 AM Moon Knight #10 Chuck Dixon seems to have constructed an alternate version of Acts of Vengeance here. The idea was supposed to be that the arch-villain cabal sends a specific villain against a hero that they never fought before. But here they're just going on a general rampage hoping to stomp any super-hero they can find. I see no reason why one should preclude the others. Mark Millar made the astute observation during his Spidey run that it's the upper tier villains that set their agendas and that it's the lower tier guys who mindlessly follow suit as a kind of "Keeping up with the Jones." Certainly this kind of thing has real life correlation. So it would make total sense that Loki would have the A-list guys switching up and causing trouble and the that the low tier losers would feel the need to cause chaos 'just cause' or risk feeling left out. It would also make sense that it would happen in Moon Knight a character you admit is low level and generally unrecognized by both the populace and other costumed creeps. Through this we can feel the ripple effects of such a major event ala the Jessica Jones series on Netflix taking place in her small bubble of the MCU. Dan H.January 12, 2016 12:33 AM Uncanny X-Men #168 It bothers me a little how Claremont writes Kitty and Illyana like longtime besties after the X-Men's return from space. Meanwhile, during the dozen issues Illyana had spent at the mansion prior to that, she'd been a seven-year-old and only got "aged up" to become a peer of Kitty one issue before the X-Men were kidnapped by Deathbird and the Brood. When exactly did they form this bond? I get that Illyana's grateful to Kitty for everything she did to help her escape limbo and she looked up to her even before that, but there's no "reverence" in her tone here. Instead, there's a familiarity that seems out of place. Dan H.January 12, 2016 12:13 AM Alpha Flight Special #1 Hey fnord, if you hate the idea of Smart Alec being demoted, you must really hate the idea that it had to have happened at least twice. He wasn't even considered Beta Flight material at the time Department H was shut down for the first time. Instead, he was cooling his heels all the way down in Gamma Flight. And that would have been years after the events here. kvetoJanuary 11, 2016 10:42 PM Iron Man annual #8 good for Iron man for standing up to Jean's soapbox rhetoric. I rarely agree with Iron man but I do like him pointing out that just because he's a mutant, it doesn't make him a saint. The mutant/racism symbolism never really worked for me because, while muntants might be discrimnated against, they also get a cool power as compensation and real world racism doesnt work that way. MichaelJanuary 11, 2016 8:11 PM Alpha Flight Special #1 Fnord, regarding placement, there's a final scene with all the members of Alpha Flight including Weapon Omega and narration from Bernard that Alpha Flight continued after Hudson's death. I take it you're ignoring that scene for placement purposes? ChrisJanuary 11, 2016 8:03 PM Alpha Flight Special #1 Not how I imagined Alpha Flight's origins either. This is poor quality work. Scott Lobdell is like the Bill Mantlo of the nineties. He has basic mastery of the craft, but his work is mostly pedestrian. fnord12January 11, 2016 6:49 PM Alpha Flight Special #1 It's Sean Bernard and Saint Elmo's only appearance. Stitch appears in flashback in Alpha Flight #127. fnord12January 11, 2016 6:48 PM Hulk #214-217 Thanks Matthew. Charles RoigJanuary 11, 2016 5:48 PM Uncanny X-Men #168 I think that at the time, GLMK was supposed to be considered non-canon, which could account for the continuity issues described here. If it's intention was to just be a good, self-contained X-Men story for new readers, Marvel probably didn't want to worry about the state of the characters in the comics at the time interfering with the presentation of a classic, no-baggage representation of the team. Charles RoigJanuary 11, 2016 4:23 PM New Mutants: Renewal (Marvel Graphic Novel #4) Just found this site and loving it. And while I've never been too fond of Bob McLeod's art, to call it "pretty bad" seems really exaggerated. He's got clear lines, detailed backgrounds, a good sense of fight choreography and panel layout. His faces are distinct, and perhaps a little too detailed, but it definitely makes his style unique and his characters individualized. I'm honestly more surprised than anything that the art was called pretty bad given a lot of the other artwork from the period; he seems like solid middle-upper tier, while definitely not within the leagues of Byrne/Smith/Miller. Mark BlackJanuary 11, 2016 3:56 PM Alpha Flight Special #1 I don't love Pat Broderick's art here, I think he's capable of some good workman-like stuff (Firestorm, GL, Planet of the Vampires), but I thought the action looks stiff here and the expressions look too cartoon-y. That said, I was intrigued by some of the ideas here - most notably a rationale for Smart Alec turning on the Flight program and more of a motive for Guardian to don the suit. It certainly isn't a great story and the villain plot seems sort of stupid, but I do like the fleshing out here, even if some of it doesn't work (like Stitch or St. Elmo). Do we ever see Sean Bernard again? Matthew BradleyJanuary 11, 2016 3:52 PM Hulk #214-217 Actually, the Hulk was beamed up to the Helicarrier not by the Bi-Beast, who was surprised to see him, but by Ross and S.H.I.E.L.D. for the express purpose of maneuvering him into fighting the Bi-Beast. david banesJanuary 11, 2016 3:10 PM Fantastic Four #257 I'm a bit saddened the Empress had few appearances. I remember seeing the Dark Phoneix X-Men cartoon, then I became excited when I saw her origin story a few years ago. I don't know why I expected her to have any sort of gravitas but I did. Anyway, yes this issue is Fantastic as Byrne somehow both de-mystifies Galactus a little but balances it out by humanizing him. Maybe it helps he ate the Skrull Throne World. Is this the first time we've actually seen Galactus eat a planet with people on it? david banesJanuary 11, 2016 3:07 PM Tales To Astonish #90-91 I believe Bruce Jones had a Hulk run that wasn't well regarded. All I read was the fourth volume that had the Abomination in it. Now at the time I didn't know Abomination loved his wife but she had rejected him, as opposed to be a frequent domestic abuser. Anyway after four issues of build up Hulk and Abomination finally fought. While he wasn't putting his intellegence to the best use it was certainly one of the better fights since it really felt like two Hulks colliding. Ataru320January 11, 2016 2:49 PM Alpha Flight Special #1 I think that's the sad thing about Alpha Flight: they'll forever be branded as "that group Wolverine was a part of before the 'All-New, All-Different X-Men'...after all those other groups and things he did like fighting in at least one or two wars". I guess we are lucky enough that Byrne did give a damn during his original run to give them the BG they did get. BUJanuary 11, 2016 11:17 AM Defenders #143-144 It was a real shame the way they had to wrap up in a hurry to make room for X-Factor, just not as good a book... JCJanuary 11, 2016 8:49 AM Daredevil: The Man Without Fear #1-5 What is it that makes one "adept"? From Miller's DD run, as deadly as sumone as say Electra is, there's a clear hierarchy that's established and never wavered from. Electra is beaten by Bullseye, who's beaten by DD, who's beaten by Fisk. So why aren't say Bullseye or Fisk subject to being recruited here. Especially as we'll see during Brubaker's run that the Hand does indeed wish to recruit Fisk. Which makes sense as he's both on top of that totem pole and the one most ruthless enuff to see things thru. JCJanuary 11, 2016 8:36 AM Fantastic Four #330-333 Strange that Englehart's DC work on Batman and Justice League are sum of the greatest superhero books of all tyme... And yet that same man can turn in this. Then again there's something hilarious about how every issue ends with a not so subtle middle finger at DeFalco. You have to love it, if only for the meta-textual soap opera of it all. JCJanuary 11, 2016 8:23 AM Moon Knight #1-3 She got "cured" of AIDs. AFJanuary 11, 2016 4:19 AM Daredevil: The Man Without Fear #1-5 You're far from alone, I really really disliked it. Miller takes such liberties to retrofit Daredevil's origin to make it a Miller origin. And his approach is frustrating in it's outright refusal to acknowledge any continuity but his own (and even his own sometimes) and I find his new ideas are tantamount to desperate and unnecessarily rubbish. Yogi deadheadJanuary 11, 2016 3:51 AM Daredevil #221 This was the first new issue of DD I bought. It must have been too grim for my 10 year old mind. I didn't pick up another issue for well over a decade. TuomasJanuary 11, 2016 3:29 AM Captain America #320 This whole Scourge crossover is a good example how in the pre-Internet days the unified Marvel Universe, which was mostly a cool thing, could be a bit confusing for people living outside the US, where many titles were not available. Here in Finland, the Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, Secret Wars and Thor issues where Scourge appeared were published in Finnish by the local Marvel affiliate, but this Captain America story was never translated. (Cap was never that popular in here, and he never had his own ongoing book, though some of his best-known stories were published in specials and anthology titles.) So as a kid I was aware that there was some guy running around the Marvel universe killing bad guys, which was intriguing, but I never found out what his deal was. It was only in the 00s that I learned the whole Scourge story while browsing some comics site, Nathan AdlerJanuary 11, 2016 1:48 AM Fantastic Four #308 I always wondered if Fasaud was intended by Englehart to be a front, the guise of some other villain!? What clued me into this was Englehart presenting his full name as Farouk Al-Fasaud. That is, Farouk means "Truth" so it sort of sounds like his full name means Truth the Façade. That and his form which was supposedly electrical, had too geometric a design to be something created by natural energy. BrimstoneJanuary 11, 2016 12:47 AM Amazing Spider-Man #186 As someone who deals with licensing his image as a published comic book character to clothing, hot sauces, posters and more, I can tell you... Spidey is a wise man here! LOL it can be a headache bruh! BrimstoneJanuary 11, 2016 12:39 AM Thor #272-278 one thing Roy Thomas does ALOT is use the "as so-and-so used to say..." and then go into a quote!! And this recap shows Red Norvell doing it *twice*! Dan H.January 11, 2016 12:14 AM Thing #33 Yeah, if you want to make liars out of the fewest number of people and insert the lowest number of retcons, the only way to do that is to conclude that both Delazny and Collier were the Enforcer at different times, just as you suggest. That way the Ghost Rider isn't fooled by a disguise, Dr. Druid's mindprobe is legit, and even the Scourge's story is fine (he simply doesn't know or doesn't care that his brother was the SECOND Enforcer, not the original). This also helps to explain the Enforcer's different speech patterns and M.O. in Spider-Woman and (I believe) his slightly-different headgear. Of course the REAL reason for that stuff is different writers and artists and absolutely no one involved up through the death of the original Scourge ever intended for there to be more than one Enforcer, but weirder things have happened in a shared universe. Hell, weirder things have happened just to explain changes that occurred way back when Stan was writing everything and simply forgot or decided to ignore stuff he'd already written. pgunnJanuary 10, 2016 9:39 PM Daredevil #16-17 yes, spidey here is looking very ditko-esque, in both style and poses. also, the general look of the art is much grittier and less "romance comic" looking than romita's run on ASM... Dragolord09January 10, 2016 8:52 PM Daredevil #168-182 Personally I think both Miller and Moore are dimwits who tend to bring out the worst in political opinions for some odd reason. Oliver_CJanuary 10, 2016 7:02 PM Daredevil: The Man Without Fear #1-5 I wouldn't say I dislike it, but it's certainly overlong: too much padding and James Ellroy-wannabe narration. Jim HenryJanuary 10, 2016 6:58 PM Fantastic Four #229-231 In the letters page of #235, someone comments on the Jim Shooter statue ("I always wanted to know what Jim Shooter looked like") and gets the reply: "Jim doesn't have a crown like the one he's shown wearing -- his is much more tasteful." MichaelJanuary 10, 2016 6:55 PM Daredevil: The Man Without Fear #1-5 Karel, I wouldn't go as far as you but I think the scene where Matt killed the hooker was poorly done. Firstly, a crazy man breaks in trying to kill the hookers' client and all the hookers attack him? That almost sounds like a bad parody of Frank Miller's later years. One commenter on Comics Should Be Good described that scene as "When Bloodthirsty Hookers Attack"! Karel January 10, 2016 6:19 PM Daredevil: The Man Without Fear #1-5 I feel like I am the only person in the world who doesn't like this series. And I am not saying I dislike it in a hipster way, "Frank Miller's Daredevil is too popular so I dislike it". Nope, I absolutely love Miller's two runs, and his Elektra books (to a certain extent). But this book, to me, feels like Miller is retreading old grounds, and telling exactly the same story he told already in his two runs - only this time, he tells it worse and more boring. I swallowed his two runs in one evening, but I had to force myself to finish reading this book. It just doesn't connect to me. But everyone else apparently loves it, so I am probably a minority. fnord12January 10, 2016 4:56 PM Defenders #142 Added Chris. Thanks. BrimstoneJanuary 10, 2016 4:49 PM Godzilla #15-16 this comic would have been better I think if they would have come right out and said directly that Godzilla is intelligent and understands. I remember the issue where a shrunk Godzilla is wearing a fedora and trenchcoat walking around the city and this means he'd have to be at least as smart as Lockjaw or a gorilla or something! BrimstoneJanuary 10, 2016 4:44 PM Spider-Woman #3 that lettering is weird for a Marvel comic. I'm serious, look closely it looks like a Charlton Comic BrimstoneJanuary 10, 2016 4:30 PM Machine Man #2-6 I think Ten-For's over the top cooperation with the authorities is well done and very amusing; this surprisingly isn't more often done in this era of comics with the apparent villain capitalizing like that! #Brim OUT Oliver_CJanuary 10, 2016 11:33 AM West Coast Avengers #8-9 Pity the gool ol' boy Texas Twister, whose long-term girlfriend turns out to be a male demon with an overdone accent -- and this is a few years before the movie 'The Crying Game' too! Mark BlackJanuary 10, 2016 10:45 AM Marvel Team-Up #69-70 Wow. Just wow. AFJanuary 10, 2016 10:44 AM Defenders #143-144 I think they rushed into the whole Dragon corrupting Moondragon thing too quickly. She only just had her headband removed a couple of issues ago. Erik BeckJanuary 10, 2016 8:32 AM Doctor Strange #34-35 Yeah, all these tie-ins were completely pointless. But the marshmallow roasting scene reminds me of Ben Grimm and Hawkeye playing pat-e-cake with the Lizard and Klaw in Secret Wars. A nice little scene. JCJanuary 10, 2016 7:32 AM Amazing Spider-Man #267 The little gurl on the tricycle is PAD's real life daughter Shana. JCJanuary 10, 2016 6:15 AM Hulk #140 Harlan Ellison gets a D? Woof. Tough crowd. AFJanuary 10, 2016 4:19 AM Defenders #142 Chris Larmouth technically technically appears in this issue. Frozen in a block of ice as Angel broods about his fate. Luke BlanchardJanuary 10, 2016 12:52 AM West Coast Avengers #4 Wikipedia suggests an interpretation as "all-demon-place", which fits a little better. Luke BlanchardJanuary 10, 2016 12:42 AM West Coast Avengers #4 The word "pandemonium"/"pandaemonium" was coined by Milton for PARADISE LOST. It's from Greek and means "all demons". In PARADISE LOST it's the capital of Hell where the demons hold an assembly. AndrewJanuary 9, 2016 9:59 PM West Coast Avengers #4 RE the promiscuity of cats: We got a cat a few years ago we were told had been spayed, but it turned out she hadn't. When she was in heat she would writhe, and howl, and run for the door if an uneutered male came around. If a human female were to behave the same way, I doubt even Milo Manera could do it justice... kvetoJanuary 9, 2016 7:54 PM Iron Fist #5-7 I think Scimitar would have made a good replacement in Batroc's Brigade for Machete after that villain's death, rather than creating an infinite number of Machete clone brothers. BrimstoneJanuary 9, 2016 4:51 PM Marvel Team-Up #69-70 fnord I love ya bruh but "There's something about the scene where Thor swings in and catches Spider-Man, calls him 'young friend', and mentions the aid that Spidey has given in the Avengers in the past, that gave me a thrill." sounds a little fruity LOL AndrewJanuary 9, 2016 4:22 PM Captain America #264 The story actually owes more to Philip K Dick's early novel Eye in the Sky, which also featured an artificial reality created from the dreams of a racist. (The characters also travel through realities created by a communist, a paranoid, and an evangelical.) I recommend it, though it's more of an old fashioned adventure than the sort of mind-benders he's more famous for. MichaelJanuary 9, 2016 4:18 PM Uncanny X-Men #94-95 According to Olshevsky's Marvel Index, Cockrum did the additional scenes. MichaelJanuary 9, 2016 3:14 PM Iron Man #258-263 According to Layton, the original plot involved the Stark-Duplicate being defeated by some sort of substance addiction, so no, it wasn't their original plot. Erik BeckJanuary 9, 2016 2:54 PM Hulk #384 To be fair, most of the people and some of the events in Real Genius were based on real people at Caltech, which I know, because my brother knew several of them when he went there, so it's not really ripping it off to claim to be the inspiration when that's how the film really was inspired. Kudos to David for knowing that, since they don't call it Caltech in the film. RobertJanuary 9, 2016 2:53 PM Iron Man #258-263 Anyone have thoughts on the Armor Wars II Redux by Michelinie, Layton, and Dave Ross? I have to say that I enjoyed this Armor Wars II more than that one, although comparing the two might be unfair. I'm not sure if that was their original plot for their AW2 or if it was just something they cobbled together two decades later but it didn't impress me. Vincent ValentiJanuary 9, 2016 2:44 PM Infinity Gauntlet #4 Slight correction - the first 2 panels of Starfox looking up at Nebula is Perez also. The other Nebula panels (including the profile shot of Starfox) is Lim. So those 2 Perez panels are posted out of order by Fnord12 after all (understandably so, since he was focusing on Nebula, who appeared during beginning Perez section, then later in Lim's section. And to be clear, Lim was the sole penciller for his pages, no breakdowns from Perez from what I can see. Perez did continue to ink Lim's remaining covers, though. RocknRollguitarplayerJanuary 9, 2016 2:38 PM Sub-Mariner #34-35 Aloha; Vincent ValentiJanuary 9, 2016 2:12 PM Defenders #149-150 Here's normal-looking Vera....then she appears a few months later in X-Factor#2 punked out and having some sort of mental breakdown. Plus Beast makes it sound like he hadn't seen her in a long time in XF#2. And here I thought major continuity snafus like this were only a Quesada-era thing at Marvel. Vincent ValentiJanuary 9, 2016 1:54 PM Infinity Gauntlet #4 That's because they ARE Perez. Lim took over with page of Thanos hovering over the Hulk. I believe that the page with Hulk and Drax punching Thanos was the last page that Perez contributed to IG....but I don't have the issue in front of me to verify. Fnord12 has his image posts in the proper order with respect to artist...everything on this page is Perez up until the Lim page I mentioned above, and then the rest is Lim. For shorthand, Perez drew Thanos with more of a trapezoid head (wider jaw than the top of his head), whereas Lim drew his face with more normal proportions. fnord12January 9, 2016 1:53 PM Defenders #140-141 Added him. Thanks. AFJanuary 9, 2016 11:15 AM Defenders #140-141 And no tag for Ephraim Soles? He appears in both #132 and #140, in the former as the main villain and then briefly in sub-plot pages of #140. kvetoJanuary 9, 2016 11:11 AM Defenders #136-139 fnord, you really make me want to read this run of the defenders. but the full discloser is great. Traded for a swim in your pool. I hope it was a great swim. I remember when I asked to borrow another kid's comic (a gi joe where Storm Shadow easily kicks Quick kick's butt), so I could show it to my other friends to prove a point. He charged me to rent it! AFJanuary 9, 2016 11:00 AM Defenders #140-141 What utterly confused me about these issues was Gargoyle's hand was still missing but only an issue earlier he was shocked to see his hand had regenerated as a human hand with 5 fingers rather than 4. AFJanuary 9, 2016 10:37 AM Defenders #126 Defenders #140 has Moondragon reveal that was indeed the case. JCJanuary 9, 2016 9:34 AM Marvel Team-Up #149 Looks like Carnage but without the fangs. Erik BeckJanuary 9, 2016 8:45 AM Infinity Gauntlet #4 Oddly, all the panels with Starfox look like Perez to me, especially the first one. Everything else looks like Lim. JCJanuary 9, 2016 5:17 AM Marvel Super Heroes #8 (Iron Man) Spider-Man and Squirrel Gurl, two of the greatest creations of of our generation. Is there anything Steve Ditko can't dew. AFJanuary 9, 2016 5:05 AM Defenders #136-139 Yep, piling up into a little hump right next to the mountain of evidence that he's not. JCJanuary 9, 2016 3:59 AM Defenders #136-139 And the evidence for Bobby keeps piling up. RobertJanuary 8, 2016 11:32 PM Prince Namor, The Sub-Mariner #1-4 Michael your memory always stuns me. Entry after entry you're able to recount so many details from 50+ years worth of comics. Very impressive. If there's ever a Jeopardy Marvel Comics edition you'd clean up. RobertJanuary 8, 2016 11:26 PM Prince Namor, The Sub-Mariner #1-4 For the record I don't know that he becomes "king" or just what, if any, royal title he held. Just that, according to the OHOTMU that came out between this and the Attuma stuff in Alpha Flight, Vashti became ruler (their word) after Namor is dethroned here. MichaelJanuary 8, 2016 11:22 PM Prince Namor, The Sub-Mariner #1-4 It's more compicated than Robert is making it out. A council consisting of Vashti and 3 other Atlanteans- Dara, Thakos and Shakkoth- asked Namor to leave. After Namor left, Shakkoth decided to take over himself. Dara, Thakos and Vashti stupidly agreed to Attuma's offer to "help" when they couldn't reach Namor and you can pretty much guess the rest. Robert January 8, 2016 11:20 PM Prince Namor, The Sub-Mariner #1-4 Well I'm no expert on Atlantean law but Vashti was Grand Vizier so perhaps that made him next in line. ChrisJanuary 8, 2016 11:03 PM Prince Namor, The Sub-Mariner #1-4 How does Vashti become the ruler? Did Atlantis abolish the monarchy? Or is Vashti serving as some kind of regent? It's most likely Marvel didn't give much though to legal protocols, but the most likely thing should have been that the next in line to the royal succession became king - even if Vashti has the power and influence to be the real ruler. Omar KarinduJanuary 8, 2016 10:55 PM Thing #24 Looking at the Miracle Man's original appearance, before all the weird Native American ghosts and Darksouls and such, he's a fairly clear prototype of the X-Men villain Mastermind. RobertJanuary 8, 2016 10:25 PM Prince Namor, The Sub-Mariner #1-4 Vashti became ruler after Namor is dethroned here. ChrisJanuary 8, 2016 9:21 PM Prince Namor, The Sub-Mariner #1-4 If Namor is forced to abdicate, who became King of Atlantis in his absence? I know eventually Atlantis would be conquered by Attuma, but before that someone in the royal family had to have ruled, right? Was it Byrrah? ChrisJanuary 8, 2016 9:06 PM Thing #24 I liked in the letter column they had the creative team guessing what was the name of the Skipper, and they included Alan Hale, Jr. who told us it was Jonas Grumby. I have remembered that ever since. Ataru320January 8, 2016 12:24 PM Thing #24 Eh, every character in comics has potential; its just having the right writer and scenario at the right time to bring it about. Besides, I more could imagine Turner D. Century as more akin to the remake of Mad Mod in the '00s Teen Titans cartoon or with neat Steampunk-esque devices for torment. Miracle Man could have worked with real magic, but I guess he was so tossed about by this point that Scourge was putting him out of his misery. AFJanuary 8, 2016 12:11 PM Defenders #136-139 Any idea what Cloud is saying to Iceman in that panel with the faded text? Can only really make out the word "my". My version is the same as posted here. And making Candy Southern leader stank. It wasn't until that issue and the issue before that Candy was really been written up. Prior to that she'd just been a hanger-on who never really contributed. It's a shame since DeMatteis had set up Beast as the "leader" and both Angel and Iceman could've likewise been capable and interesting leaders. Or even just the old fallback of Valkyrie, the team's only link to the original Defenders and mainstay of the book since #4. Candy seems like a cop-out and too conveniently written-up just for this development. Erik BeckJanuary 8, 2016 11:53 AM Infinity Gauntlet #3 Looking at it this time, I am really reminded of the 7th issue of Crisis. Same penciller. Same overall concept - a select group of powerful heroes in a battle they can't really win. Same kind of location - in Crisis, it's the Anti-Matter Universe, but in both cases, it's a location of white rock set out in space. Except Supergirl's death stuck for quite a while while this was all reset by the end of issue #6. And no powerful emotional moment like her death and Superman's primal scream. Erik BeckJanuary 8, 2016 11:37 AM Thing #2 Target did it at least well until the mid to late 80's. I have a distinct memory of buying a three pack with the first three issues of Secret Wars II. AFJanuary 8, 2016 11:22 AM Thing #24 Oh, don't get me wrong. He definitely deserved to die. I think he COULD'VE worked if they continued down the path of making him a rogue for Son of Satan, but that story botched it and ended with making the whole thing a waste of time and even de-powering/retiring Daimon to boot. What's tragic is he's currently alive in comics now though. Rick Remender brought back loads of Scourge victims just so he could have Punisher and his Venom eventually kill them all off again. Except he brought back ones he had no interest in ever using like Miracle Man and Turner D. Century who are both still alive while Basilisk and Death Adder are dead again. Ataru320January 8, 2016 10:56 AM Thing #24 A bit of talk on the Miracle Man lately, so I'll have my say here: I think he sort of was a character who didn't need to come back based on the evolution of the universe in general and what did or didn't keep coming back. In a way, I sort of see him parallel to that of "The Wizard": a couple normal guys who used the tricks available to them in the early days and thus were early threats to the heroes. The difference between them is that the Wizard remained consistant in pursuit of Johnny (being mainly a "Strange Tales" Human Torch villain than a F4 one at first), made some crucial alliances (Paste-Pot Pete), and developed necessary means (the anti-gravity discs) to make him become a viable threat, particularly by the time he jumps to the main book and leads the Frightful Four and thus to one of the F4's first major defeats. By comparison, the Miracle Man showed up in the third issue of the original F4 book...and then suddenly came back in the 70s (long after the window to develop him akin to the Wizard was gone) was tossed about for a while with one lame attempt to make him relevant after the other. Such defines the difference between a member of the Act of Vengeance cabal...and Scourge bait. AFJanuary 8, 2016 9:45 AM Avengers #259-260 https://36.media.tumblr.com/d33a25e83934dbafd1f1e8927195867b/tumblr_n1nb6c8IB41sismc5o3_500.jpg The Pacheco cover. raphaelJanuary 8, 2016 9:22 AM Marvels #3 anywhere i can actually read those newspapers (like a dailybugle article)? killing my eyes i could actually make sense of the line making me think are they displayed on the sources? Luke BlanchardJanuary 8, 2016 8:00 AM Fantastic Four #1-10 In #3 the Miracle Man is in effect an evil version of the newspaper strip hero Mandrake the Magician. AFJanuary 8, 2016 5:52 AM Defenders #120-125 And I always felt this story made Miracle Man a bit more viable. As a Fantastic Four villain, he is pretty bottom barrel. As a Hellstorm villain, it actually gives Daimon Hellstrom another villain who could recur (something he, and many similar characters, are sorely lacking). Still didn't save him from Scourge though. AFJanuary 8, 2016 5:35 AM Defenders #135 Not quite sure why the Defenders didn't hand Manslaughter off to Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D.. They did that with almost every baddie in DeMatteis' New Defenders stretch and the team was established as having relations with Nick Fury. I'm guessing something to do with Nick Fury vs. S.H.I.E.L.D. and it's delays? Although this issue also discards DeMatteis' setting them up as a legitimate team and Beast as apparent leader. Secondly, handing Manslaughter, a super-human assassin, to a small town police force is very stupid. The guy's powers and skills alone make his potential for escape incredibly likely. Especially in a town with a small police force who probably don't have guards stationed watching the cells round the clock. And therefore you've immediately got the problem that Manslaughter can use his powers... AFJanuary 8, 2016 5:06 AM West Coast Avengers #32 Interesting to see Hellstorm lumped in with Hellcat and Espirita/Firebird. They do (well, Mockingbird and co. do) call on his aid in 9 issues time. It's weird how arbitrary the whole honorary Avengers thing is. There's plenty of characters, like Hellstorm here, you could probably make a legitimate argument for as being worthy of the status. AFJanuary 8, 2016 4:54 AM Defenders #92 DeMatteis' team is largely what I think of when I think of Defenders. Sorta the definitive Defenders team for me. Strange, Namor, Hulk, Surfer, Valkyrie, Nighthawk, Hellcat, Hellstorm, Gargoyle and Devil-Slayer. Maybe it's the fact that it's basically the "main" Defenders characters (and Devil-Slayer) or maybe it's from the countless Marvel Team-Ups from this period that I read with them showing up. I do feel Gerber's team is a close runner-up. It's just the case that it's really lacking Hellcat, a subsequent mainstay. AFJanuary 8, 2016 4:46 AM Defenders #94 Well, at least SOMEONE must've liked that weird Hellcat/Tigra fusion from Heroes Reborn... Yogi deadheadJanuary 8, 2016 4:40 AM Thing #2 I bought a few 3 pack bundles around this time. They were some of my first comics and a bunch of them were the assistant editor month issues. AFJanuary 8, 2016 4:15 AM Fantastic Four #61-63 Keith Giffen and more so Abnett and Lanning did sorta do that exact thing with Blastaar. He had a small appearance in Annihilation which set this up and then in Annihilation Conquest had a bit more of an appearance (although most of it was under control of the Phalanx). Following that, he became king of certain Kree territories as well as the Negative Zone. He's featured on covers for War of Kings despite not being in it. There is however a War of Kings digital comic (later released as a one-shot) starring him. Outside of a pretty decent appearance in Nova (http://panels-of-interest.tumblr.com/post/135769433410/nova-vs-blastaar-from-nova-2007-28), they didn't really use it much beyond having him annoy or outright betray characters. He did make plenty of appearances in Guardians of the Galaxy and some of the other Cosmic books. Then they more or less tossed this out the window after Thanos Imperative (a mini he's in a moderate amount in his "anti-hero" mode) and he becomes fodder to have the new Annihilators team beat up. RobertJanuary 8, 2016 4:03 AM Thing #2 I really liked this issue. I'm not sure how long they did it but I remember they used to sell two-packs in stores that didn't normally sell comics, like dollar stores and such. You'd find them with the coloring books or maybe with the action figures. This issue was included in one of them, as well as Doctor Strange #60 and FF #257. Those are the only three I can remember but I'm sure there were more. All three appear to have been released in August of '83, so maybe it was a short-lived thing. RobertJanuary 8, 2016 3:52 AM Ghost Rider #26 I don't think at this point Ghost Rider had been a straight horror comic for a very long time. Once he started having non-horror heroes and villains appearing in his book, to say nothing of joining the Champions, he became just another superhero. And yeah, Don Perlin's style is very old school, even by late '70s standards. BrimstoneJanuary 8, 2016 2:06 AM Ghost Rider #26 Dude, again.. what is up with that anatomy when Druid is hitting Ghost Rider?? How did Don Perlin not have Shooter down on him for his Charlton Comics style? Sorry folks this is just not my idea of what a Horror comic needs to look like!!! Don CampbellJanuary 8, 2016 12:18 AM Silver Surfer #1 The fact that Zenn-Lavians "have average lifespans of thousands of years" has been mentioned in various Official Handbooks. There is also (at least) one issue (#9) of the third Silver Surfer series in which Norrin Radd talks to Shalla-Bal about how they had seen each other only four times in "all the centuries" since he left Zenn-La. Still, I don't think there's ever actually been a story in which anyone directly points out how old Shalla-Bal must be. ChrisJanuary 8, 2016 12:08 AM Tales To Astonish #90-91 I agree. The Abomination is one of my favorite villains, but he has never had a great story, and he ended up quite pathetic compared to what he was. I first encountered the Abomination in the Power Records version of Hulk # 171, and then in Bring on the Bad Guys. So I always considered him one of the great Marvel Villains. In actual practice, he never achieved that status. Someone who starts as stronger than the Hulk, but a normal intelligence (perhaps more, since he was a spy before the change) should be a challenge for Hulk or Thor. He is someone who should give many teams of Avengers a hard time. It is disappointing no writer felt the need or desire to make him truly one of the great villains. david banesJanuary 7, 2016 10:10 PM Tales To Astonish #90-91 Yeah Abomination has been a disappointment much of his career. I mean he's fun but he should be way more challenging for Hulk. david banesJanuary 7, 2016 10:08 PM Iron Fist #11-13 Whoa, Boomerrang was gone for 10 years. david banesJanuary 7, 2016 9:57 PM Fantastic Four #61-63 I really like Blastaar and Annihilus from the Negative Zone. Not sure which I like more, lion-man with laser blasts or humanoid insect conqueror. I bet Blastaar could be given a little more depth by making him an anti-hero barbarian prince or something. david banesJanuary 7, 2016 9:55 PM Fantastic Four #57-60 I think my favorite part of all this is Sue making Doom fly into an invisible mountain. Even Doom looks depressed and defeated with himself for doing that, instead of being angry. MichaelJanuary 7, 2016 9:40 PM Marvel Super Heroes #4 (Spitfire & Speedball) Walter,a LOT of the material in Marvel Super Heroes was inventory- the Ditko Speedball stories, all the Iron Man stories except the Squirrel Girl one, the Vision and the Scarlet Witch story in Marvel Super Heroes 10, the Ghost Rider and Black Goliath stories in issue 11- or was intended as a fill-in for the regular series (e.g. the Namor story in Marvel Super Heroes 10). Ben HermanJanuary 7, 2016 9:32 PM Silver Surfer #1 I cannot say for certain, but I thought that it had been established elsewhere that the Silver Surfer really had served as Galactus' herald for centuries, and the reason why Shalla Bal never appears older is that Zenn-La is so far advanced scientifically that its people live for hundreds of years. Oliver_CJanuary 7, 2016 5:37 PM Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #12-15 The detail in Ernie Chan's inks makes Razorback's pig-cowl look a lot fleshier and more realistic. Whether or not that's a good thing is a matter of taste... Oliver_CJanuary 7, 2016 5:27 PM Defenders #94 Not trolling or anything, honest, but... I much preferred Hellcat's demonic appearance and powers. Her 'normal' look is bland and keeps reminding me of Yvonne Craig's Batgirl. BrimstoneJanuary 7, 2016 5:26 PM Tomb of Dracula #59-60 Tony Isabella should have read this for how to insert The Jesus into a comic without it reading like an issue of Super Friends. No I take that back... Super Friends could be entertaining, LOL!! fnord12January 7, 2016 3:53 PM Marvel Super Heroes #4 (Spitfire & Speedball) The Squirrel Girl story was a full 22 pages, so i suspect that it was intended for a regular issue. The shorter stories could have been Marvel Comics Presents overflow, or creator try-out work. This book's semi-predecessor Marvel Fanfare published a few short stories that were identified as try-outs that they decided they might as well publish. It's also possible that Marvel just commissioned lots of short stories knowing they could be published in Marvel Comics Presents, or Marvel Super Heroes, or in the backs of annuals. fnord12January 7, 2016 3:47 PM Defenders #134 I also have that blank box on my issue, so it's not just your copy. I've also wondered about Manslaughter's seeming disappearing mustache. It's probably related to Kim DeMulder's heavy inking style compared to the inkers in Manslaughter's later appearances. fnord12January 7, 2016 3:42 PM Defenders #133 I gave points to issue #134 for the first "full" Manslaughter, since this one is just a silhouette. fnord12January 7, 2016 3:40 PM Avengers #281-285 AF, thanks for the breakdowns of the Venus/Aphrodite appearances. As you suggest, for now i'll continue with the single tag. BrimstoneJanuary 7, 2016 2:18 PM Tomb of Dracula #56 Oh you got me Bro!! Good looking out I didn't even look up the timing but you're right. Maybe Berokwitz was a Tomb of Dracula subscriber LOL david banesJanuary 7, 2016 1:32 PM Avengers #228-230 Is this where people started treating Shocker as a joke? Because he's actually really cool. AFJanuary 7, 2016 11:54 AM Defenders #134 And while I'm at it, the way Manslaughter has been inked and colored, I've never been sure if he was originally meant to have weird facial hair or not. If not for the touch-up they did of his handbook image for his new entry in the Defenders handbook, I would remain confused whether they were meant to represent cheekbones or a weird moustache. They are drawn so thick and with such consistency on him, they definitely look like the latter to me. (but conversely, the character is smirking about 95% of the time) Erik BeckJanuary 7, 2016 11:51 AM Tomb of Dracula #56 Interesting idea, Brimstone, but I don't think the timing works. Berkowitz wasn't arrested until August of 77 and it was only then that the voice of the dog thing became public, I believe. Erik BeckJanuary 7, 2016 11:49 AM Silver Surfer #52 Wait, you mean Firelord got in a misunderstanding fight and it wasn't because he's a hot-headed idiot? I refuse to believe this issue ever happened. AFJanuary 7, 2016 11:43 AM Defenders #134 On page 10, there seems to be a text box at the bottom of panel #2 but without any actual text in it. It's not immediately noticeable and easy to mistake as being part of the background but the complete lack of adhering to the perspective of the rest of the panel, combined with the blankness and color, it stands out weirdly. Telling is how it also cuts off the slam effect of Valkyrie's fist on the desk. Definitely meant to be a text box, presumably introducing Manslaughter to the scene. (or is it just my copy with text missing?) AFJanuary 7, 2016 11:29 AM Defenders #131 The Walrus is one character who did not need to come back. There's nothing inherently wrong with him as a joke character or with his role in this issue, but he served his purpose here and there's little more purpose for him to serve in the wider Marvel Universe. And to top it all off, this story even gives the out for him never returning again with his powers "wearing off" at the end. AFJanuary 7, 2016 11:21 AM Defenders #132 Shame not many X-Readers will have read this issue, it is one of the best Iceman spotlights I've read. He's shown to be incredibly capable as a hero (as opposed to being the traditional brash and dumb Bobby Drake). Aside from single-handedly defeating the "bad guy" with his powers, he also uses his own knowledge to devise the plan and get to the bottom of it. Such a rarity for him. Usually it's someone telling him what to do and, at it's worst, someone taking control of him and "unlocking his true potential" via telepathy. AFJanuary 7, 2016 10:21 AM Defenders #133 One thing I took from this lousy issue was that Angel has a lot more real estate than I ever knew he had. Really hated this one. Comes far too early in the run and is enough to turn someone off completely. When Gerber did the zaniness, there was still a connection to the Defenders somehow (or it was brief non-sequitur ala the Elf). Here they just tag along with these two annoying characters on a boring mission that they contribute pretty much nothing to. I think Moondragon has 1 line in the entire issue. Pains me to say so, but should the significance rating be bumped up for the first appearance of Manslaughter? He does end up being significant to the run and the end of the series. And managed to make a tiny few appearances afterwards. BrimstoneJanuary 7, 2016 10:19 AM Tomb of Dracula #56 just thought of this, but because this is a humor issue fnord do you think it's possible the commanding cat is a parody of the then-current Son of Sam serial killer, who claimed that a dog was giving him satanic instructions? HaydnJanuary 7, 2016 10:08 AM Amazing Spider-Man #46 As the article mentions, that legend was debunked. (That name probably wouldn't have gotten past the comics code anyway.) Erik BeckJanuary 7, 2016 9:26 AM Avengers #281-285 Ironically, given Marvel's current ownership you can blame Disney for that representation. Oliver_CJanuary 7, 2016 6:09 AM Avengers #281-285 Classically, Dionysus was the last and youngest of the Olympian Gods. There's something depressing about Marvel making him fat, bald and middle-aged. AFJanuary 7, 2016 5:50 AM Avengers #281-285 Okay, with regards to Venus... Parker initially wanted to retain all the old Venus appearances, or as much of them as he could. I don't think he really thought much on it when he made that reveal. It wasn't until after the initial mini-series that he had to work out what was and what wasn't actually Venus. When he introduced Aphrodite, the true Olympian Goddess of Love, I think the idea was that whenever this name had been used it was the real Goddess vs. whenever Venus was used. But then he sorta clarified/complicated that in the Atlas back-ups in Incredible Hercules that whenever the character appears with her Cestus it is the true goddess. (Venus was then given it at the end of the story) "Venus" wears and specifically refers to it in the Sub-Mariner appearance, so therefore any issue (like this story) where she refers to having met Namor is also the real Aphrodite. The problem is, almost all the old Venus appearances have either the Cestus or a reference to Namor. And he later went on to contradict this in Atlas with Venus referring to adventures that under this idea were now Aphrodite. I believe, What If #9 even fits the bill. I asked him about it on Twitter a few years ago (shortly after Atlas had finished) and he said it's easier to just say Aphrodite had never really appeared before and it was always Venus doing a darn good job of impersonating her. Under that idea, you can also write of the appearance of a Cestus as part of the impersonation. I do think the appearance in Marvel Super-Heroes #8, where she's depicted as the villain, is the most easiest one to write off as real Aphrodite. Keep it as a single tag, I think. Make an Aphrodite one when it becomes relevant. Marvel wikia for example have Venus first appearing in Agents of Atlas #1 (!) which is absurd since she refers to some of her past appearances throughout Agents of Atlas. Walter LawsonJanuary 7, 2016 4:19 AM Marvel Super Heroes #4 (Spitfire & Speedball) But were these really inventory stories? Lobdell was fairly new to Marvel, and comics, at this point, and while there is inventory material in MSH--like the lost Claremont/Vosberg Ms. Marvel issues--more of the material seems to me to be either too short or by creators who are too new for these to be inventory stories. Or in the case of Squirrel Girl, you have new characters. The only place I could imagine most if these stories having been originalky intended for is Marvel Comics Presents. And it is the case that a lot of MCP-commissioned stories got pushed out by making Wolverine a regular feature, and maybe others got pushed out by Ghost Rider. But I still have the nasty feeling that a lot of MSH crap was commissioned specifically for this series. Hey, maybe it was like "The Producers"---could Marvel make money by losing money, through an insurance scam? ;-) ChrisWJanuary 6, 2016 10:38 PM Spider-Man vs. Wolverine #1 I think Priest was inspired by Peter David's conception of the Spider-Man/Daredevil/Sin-Eater story where, as PAD said in the collected version, you don't just stop hitting a guy because the battle's over. You're enraged, adrenaline is charging, you're going to keep hitting the other guy until you run out of steam, and this was Priest trying to take that concept further. This was totally wrong for Spider-Man, but Marvel could not deal with the moral implications of this scene, and buried it as quickly as possible. [Peter runs off to get married, Wolvie keeps killing people because that's what he does, and he's the best there is...] ChrisWJanuary 6, 2016 10:11 PM Spider-Man vs. Wolverine #1 Because the alternative was being taken by the KGB, who, contrary to their reputation, weren't all smiles and sunshine. She was already begging Wolverine to kill her, but time has now run out. It's suicide-by-Spider-Man or nothing. I don't think it's a bad idea to make Spider-Man the one who killed her. I definitely think that Marvel Comics (and the Marvel characters in general) weren't capable of letting their characters go that far, or deal with the ramifications. And it would have been the simplest thing in the world for Wolverine to cut her head off in the middle of the big fight. Spidey turns around, "You maniac, what have you done?" "What she was asking me to do, bub. Wanna make something of it?" I don't think it's a bad idea or poorly-executed, in and of itself, but it is a good example of why Spider-Man shouldn't be in many 'dark' stories. Max_SpiderJanuary 6, 2016 9:32 PM Spider-Man vs. Wolverine #1 @Michael Getting it over with? Who knows, maybe Wolverine was lying even. As unlike him that might be. ChrisWJanuary 6, 2016 8:25 PM Hulk #360 Considering what happened to Scott's kid (under Bob Harras no less) that's not exactly a good comparison. MichaelJanuary 6, 2016 8:23 PM Spider-Man vs. Wolverine #1 IIRC, Wolverine later claims in Web of Spider-Man that Charlie would have died anyway from the blood loss. So she threw herself in front of Peter's punch why? mikrolikJanuary 6, 2016 5:57 PM Spider-Man vs. Wolverine #1 It's like this story can't make up its mind if Spidey is or isn't responsible for killing Charlie. If Charlie's intent was suicide, surely there was a much less convoluted way to do it. If Spidey was responsible, he doesn't seem to broken up about it in subsequent stories. If Spidey isn't responsible, what was the point of having Charlie die that way? AFJanuary 6, 2016 4:27 PM Avengers #291-294 Here's the house ad Robert mentioned: http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-orz4_oV8oIM/UnolQmzM5sI/AAAAAAAAKnM/OeRgGXW17UY/s1600/She-Hulk+Avengers+Marvel+House+Ad+%2528Avengers+291%2529.jpg I quite like it (as an image). And hey, it's nice to have a team shot with Marrina on. AFJanuary 6, 2016 4:01 PM West Coast Avengers annual #3 Ah, you already noted Mantis' obvious rewrites in this issue. Quite frankly I find them hilarious. AFJanuary 6, 2016 3:51 PM West Coast Avengers #37 Ha! That page of Mantis showing up with the enormous blank white space above her head - probably one of the most obvious cases of where it's been "rewrote". There's another example of this in Annual #3 I'll post about (if someone else hasn't mentioned it already). Other than that, you will notice a lot of the panels with Mantis are similarly "weirdly" laid out, either with unusually placed speech balloons or a surprising lack of then, which I would say denotes the obvious rewrites. AFJanuary 6, 2016 12:30 PM Infinity Gauntlet #2 I also found it weird that Wonder Man wasn't brought along for the confrontation with Thanos. Especially since he's "as powerful as Thor" after all. AFJanuary 6, 2016 12:25 PM Infinity Gauntlet #2 I think the Thor panel serves it's purpose of advertising Thor's comic and the status quo. Not the most subtle of panels but this was for me, and I'd beat plenty of other people, the first time we ever read a comic with Eric Masterson in. There's plenty of better ways to convey the information to readers but I get the feeling it was a rather last minute addition. After all, the original covers for the series had the regular Thor drawn in his place. Erik BeckJanuary 6, 2016 11:26 AM Infinity Gauntlet #2 Oh, that stupid panel of Thor drives me mad every time I read IG. It's so unnecessary and distracting. It is too bad about Warlock's humanity - his anger, his anguish, even his joy in his final panel, made the character so interesting in his last 70's appearances. Granted that Dr. Strange was distracted and the Surfer had been weakened, but it still seems like Doom takes out two of Marvel's major hitters awfully easily. Mark DrummondJanuary 6, 2016 10:30 AM Avengers #23-24 According to Dave Sim in Comics Journal #181, there was some kind of promotional film for Marvel shot in 1965 that featured Stan Lee(without his hairpiece). I'm guessing this was done for foreign distributors...is this available on Youtube? Luke BlanchardJanuary 6, 2016 9:07 AM Fantastic Four #205-214 The Sphinx's recreation of Egypt recalls Kukulcan's recreation of the Mayan city in X-MEN #26. AFJanuary 6, 2016 8:25 AM Spider-Man vs. Wolverine #1 Priest's thankfully very brief run on Spidey is just petty trash and this was the first Spider-Man story that I felt was truly bad. There were a lot of lame or lousy stories before but I feel this was the first case of something that sincerely did stuff with the character that was poisonous and should never have even been considered. Spidey does NOT need the extra emotional baggage of having killed a suicidal woman. I am so glad also every writer has completely ignored this. AFJanuary 6, 2016 6:34 AM Daredevil #108-109 Why wouldn't Daredevil be attracted to Moondragon? She is renowned as physically beautiful and Matt even acknowledged this with his radar sense the minute he "saw" her. She allowed him to see for a brief time which further made Matt appreciative of her. His relationship with Black Widow has been all over the place, at best, and Moondragon posed an alternative. Matt had never really met a woman like this before, a "goddess", and he fell for her. She was so other worldly and confident, so interesting and so very different to him. It wasn't handled great but to say Moondragon has zero appeal in terms of attraction is not true. Her character is arrogant and prickly but so is Black Widow at times. She's done some bad and irredeemable stuff under certain writers, but so has Scarlet Witch. But, if you really really hate it, you can just chalk it up to more Moondragon mentally forcing a man to love her. AFJanuary 6, 2016 6:22 AM New Mutants #46 Although that's obviously Plague who's been drawn, there's plenty of ways you can get around it. Maybe it was a fake created by Apocalypse to throw people off the scent so they wouldn't notice Plague's absence. Or maybe he didn't immediately take her to his Ship and instead that sequence showed him only protecting her to instill some loyalty for him. Maybe he wanted her to see the extent of the Morlock massacre to further give her drive that would make her more prime a candidate to be made into Pestilence. Maybe he discarded Plague's clothes while remaking her and another opportunist Morlock rushed to sport the latest old homeless woman chic. But, yeah, that's another slip-up like the case of Sunder appearing on Muir Island after he died. Luke BlanchardJanuary 5, 2016 11:22 PM Ghost Rider #17-19 Possibly the final form of #19 was supposed to leave the issue of whether the Friend was really Jesus open. The Challenger claims he was an "image", but the climax has GR declaring that Satan's power is based on "lies, deceit and illusion", so it could be he was lying. I think the Challenger should be listed as a separate character from Mephisto. He's fairly obviously drawn as Satan when he transforms, and the cover calls him Satan, but the dialogue in the extracts represents him as Satan's agent. ("I must convey the Dark Lord's compliments", "Your boss is the prince of deceivers" etc.) ChrisJanuary 5, 2016 9:42 PM Ghost Rider #17-19 The cool thing about Ghost Rider is you have an undead revenant punishing the guilty. You want to see unholy vengeance poured down on the wicked. You don't want someone's Sunday school lectures. This has nothing to do with anyone's religion, but being appropriate to the theme of the character. Whenever the occult is introduced, it make sense that some religious tropes will be introduced. But introducing Jesus into your story as an actual character is problematic in multiple ways. For Ghost Rider, making him an angelic figure that still looks as he does essentially subverts the basic concept of the character and destroys it. If you want an angelic character fine - DC's Spectre was the the actual Wrath of God, but even he was clearly an Old Testament kind of guy. I never liked Tony Isabella as a writer. I judge his work's quality as below Bill Mantlo which is my standard for acceptable publishable work. If you can't write better than Bill Mantlo, you have no business being published. Isabella can craft a complete story, but that's about it. He was better than some writers out there - I think he is better than GR's creator Gary Friedrich for example, but not by much. I know that taste is subjective, but I honestly have never met anyone who was truly excited by any of his work. I'm not sure why Ghost Rider's first incarnation was done so badly. The appearance of the character is iconic, and the essential core of the character is dramatic and interesting. Yet whether it was because of the Comic Code, hesitancy on the part of Editorial, or just inappropriate writers, the character was consistently mishandled. Such is the fate of too many characters when hack writers try to force into generic superhero mode. RobertJanuary 5, 2016 9:34 PM Marvel Super Heroes #4 (Spitfire & Speedball) I like Ditko's Speedball for the sheer goofiness and "so bad it's good" aspect. A Speedball without Ditko bores me to tears. He doesn't chase a cat once in this! RobertJanuary 5, 2016 8:50 PM Werewolf By Night #6-8 It says Kaman-Ru has no heirs but Adrian Toomes is clearly a descendant of his. RobertJanuary 5, 2016 8:24 PM Werewolf By Night #38-41 Michael I think he's referring to fnord's previous observations about Jack's relationship with Buck: http://www.supermegamonkey.net/chronocomic/entries/werewolf_by_night_2.shtml MichaelJanuary 5, 2016 7:59 PM Werewolf By Night #38-41 Ataru I'm confused- who was the homosexual protagonist? Jack is straight. Nathan AdlerJanuary 5, 2016 7:38 PM New Mutants #46 @Scott: Yep there's not much question that it happens after UXM #211/ X-Factor #10. The teams were returning home from the initial massacre. I expect it was the result of imperfect coordination between the two creative and editorial teams at the time (UXM and NM were edited by Ann Nocenti and written by Chris Claremont, X-Factor was edited by Bob Harras and written by Louise Simonson). BrimstoneJanuary 5, 2016 1:23 PM Ghost Rider #17-19 take it from your main man from the wasteland.. this storyline was NOT that fantastic... people did not pick up Ghost Rider to see Jesus as a character. Of course I have fans all over the world and I support religion and people's personal choices but I do think there is a time and a place and there is no way Isabella couldn't have realized this could potentially be a point for conflicting feelings from the readers... although maybe he thought the expected conflict would create sales? I don't know... fnord12January 5, 2016 1:19 PM General Comments Thanks and welcome, Yogi! fnord12January 5, 2016 1:17 PM Avengers #163 I've made a note in the References. Thanks Matthew. fnord12January 5, 2016 1:17 PM Avengers #111 Thanks for pointing that out, Charles. I've made a note in the References. fnord12January 5, 2016 1:12 PM Fantastic Four #1-10 Nathan, especially in my earlier entries i aimed for brevity (believe it or not) so calling her "blind Alicia" was just my quick, kind of sloppy, way of introducing her as being blind. No offense was meant. Her blindness is indeed a part of the story, since, according to the narration, it's what allows her to be ignorant of her step-father's actions. But i've revised the text. fnord12January 5, 2016 1:05 PM Captain America #290 He's more like behind the scenes or something. I gave credit to his first "full" appearance in issue #292. But yes, this is the first evidence of him. BrimstoneJanuary 5, 2016 1:00 PM Ghost Rider #14-15 Isabella's scripts are really weak I can see why Shooter had to fix them. Also the appearance of "Jesus" looks like they based him on Ted Neeley who played him in the Jesus Superstar musical movie from when I was a kid. I try to get into 70s Marvel Horror but it seems like they never know what they want to do and can't find the balance between super-hero action and supernatural horror, fnord has alluded to this several times also. fnord12January 5, 2016 12:59 PM New Mutants #46 I've added that scan and a note in the Considerations. Thanks Scott. Yogi deadheadJanuary 5, 2016 12:59 PM General Comments I would just like to thank you! This is an amazing site. It's thoughtful, well researched and well written. But most importantly it's fun! I seem to have discovered the Marvel Universe around the same time as you and similarly found the connectivity to be fascinating. Anyway, thanks again. Absolutely astonishing work!!!! fnord12January 5, 2016 12:49 PM Thor #356 You're right. Thanks Scott. fnord12January 5, 2016 12:33 PM Tales Of Suspense #88-90 (Captain America) It turns out that there is an actual footnote to #81, but that and the flashback showing how the Skull survived was cut from by Double Feature reprint. Thanks Michael. fnord12January 5, 2016 12:22 PM What's Missing Mark, thanks. The problem with Amazon is that the minimum shipping price from 3rd parties is often equivalent or more than the price of the issue, but i have definitely used it for hard to find magazines and other strange things as well as trades. The Star Lord and Vampire Tales trades look like a convenient way to get those stories, so it's possible you'll see them in the next Back Issue Add (although the digest format will be a little annoying for VT). Oliver_CJanuary 5, 2016 11:40 AM Secret Wars II #9 Didn't the classic anime 'Akira' use the exact same unimaginable-sentient-energy-transcends-reality-and-becomes-a-new-big-bang ending, just 2 years after this? Erik BeckJanuary 5, 2016 11:36 AM Hulk #383 Finally, an explanation for Hulk's comments in IG #1. Because the only comics I was reading at the time were X-Men and AWC, none of the things going on with other characters outside of IG made any sense to me. Fnord comes to the rescue of those of us who were confused yet again. Yogi deadheadJanuary 5, 2016 11:05 AM Secret Wars II #9 I've read this as the Beyonder being Shooter as EIC. He wanders throughout the Marvel Universe commenting on the characters and comics. Cap is corny talking t captivating. Gerber had railed against violence in comics before going on to write violent cartoons. He encounters prostitutes and organized crime, while going by the name Frank. He philosophizes about death and is mostly attacked by characters whose writers were supposedly feuding with him. He contemplates destroying the universe but goes on to create a New Universe. I'd have to reread the series to comment more concisely, but it seems like satire at the expense of Marvel Comics more so than society at large. But overall it's a pretty successful satire. Of course, 10/11 year old me thought it sucked, but had no clue to the behind the scenes drama the comic creators were engaged in. I'd be interested in engaging in discussions of this series further, if anyone were interested. RobertJanuary 5, 2016 11:00 AM Uncanny X-Men #94-95 Looking at my copies, Cockrum is credited with the artwork for the main stories and Bolton is credited with the back-ups only. Unless they deliberately omitted credit to Bolton (or anyone else) for drawing the additional scenes, then it appears Cockrum drew them. To me it looks like Cockrum's sloppy later work anyway. Ataru320January 5, 2016 10:59 AM Werewolf By Night #38-41 The big problem with the Werewolf is that he never really had anyone that probably "got him". It was just a horror comic that struck just as the leniency towards horror comics began to emerge but without the luck of something like "Tomb of Dracula" or the actual interesting but underrated stories like with the Living Mummy. (or Frankenstein...prior to coming to the present) It was a medium for some interesting concepts that did emerge (a homosexual protagonist, the Darkhold, Tigra...in a way), but it just needed someone like Wolfman on Dracula to maybe allow for it to last longer instead of just riding a fad. MichaelJanuary 5, 2016 7:53 AM Werewolf By Night #38-41 I don't think it's fair to blame Perlin entirely for the decline in sales. Moench's writing was HORRIBLE on his non-Shang-Chi stories in the 70s and early 80s. The Incredible Dr. Glitternight? Erik BeckJanuary 5, 2016 6:52 AM Infinity Gauntlet #1 Fnord misses one thing in his intro - yes, Perez worked on Korvac Saga, but I think it's much more relevant that he drew all of DC's Crisis on Infinite Earths - which showed he could do a massive company wide saga with huge casts of characters. In a lot of ways, that was much more the blueprint for what followed here than any previous Marvel wideline crossover, though Crisis had much more lasting changes than this series did. But no matter what, it was awesome to finally have Perez doing something for Marvel again. The only bummer about fnord's Marvel obsession is that he has missed out on Perez and Wolfman and their fantastic work on New Teen Titans and Crisis. Glad that fnord included my favorite panel of the whole series - Pip's downcast look when he realizes Warlock is in the cocoon. BrimstoneJanuary 5, 2016 2:48 AM Werewolf By Night #38-41 I know it's not popular and I don't mean it in any bad way but the truth is the sales are down on this because of the art. Don Perlin has this thing where his characters are stiff and awkward and he is a good storyteller but it's like Dick Ayers and Don Heck. I feel like we can't say anything critical about these old dudes but the truth from your main man from the wasteland is... they just don't seem like the artists you're used to in a Marvel Comic. Maybe theyd be good at Charlton, I don't know. But I'm surprised this is the artwork for a horror comic to be honest Matthew BradleyJanuary 4, 2016 9:05 PM Avengers #163 Actually, it was Tuska himself who drew Typhon's previous appearance, which was in MARVEL PREMIERE #26, a fact that Archie's careless footnote overlooks as well. ChrisJanuary 4, 2016 8:37 PM Uncanny X-Men #94-95 The Classic X-Men did show the artists for each of the pages, so if anyone does have these issues in front of him, it is easy to confirm which artist did what pages. MichaelJanuary 4, 2016 8:04 PM Fantastic Four #249-250 Yeah, but Byrne explains that was due to some special gizmo the Skrulls were using at the end. Max_SpiderJanuary 4, 2016 4:43 PM X-Men/Spider-Man #2 Hey, I just had a thought. Wolverine could smell Jean's scent in the tunnels during Mutant Massacre. Couldn't seeing clones of Jean in this issue give him reason to doubt the validity of it for the time being? ChrisWJanuary 4, 2016 3:44 PM Uncanny X-Men #94-95 That's definitely John Bolten drawing the 'Banshee uses his scream so that Nightcrawler can teleport inside Valhalla' scene. He would provide most-or-all of the added scenes in future issues, and he did the same for "Classic X-Men" #1. However some of these new pages [Storm and Thunderbird, Rhane and Moira] definitely don't look like Bolten, and might possibly have been Cockrum. I'm not good enough at recognizing artists to be certain. Maybe the original intent was to get Cockrum to do the new pages, and then maybe get Byrne/Austin to do the same. Your Mileage May Vary on how likely it was that Marvel would do such a thing [I assume Claremont would be fine with it] but then the logistics, and Cockrum/Byrne's reaction to the idea might have put an end to that idea. 'Just give John Bolten 8-9 pages a month, split them between back-up stories and new additions to the original story.' david banesJanuary 4, 2016 2:23 PM Fantastic Four #249-250 Yeah but I swear he went flying from another hit that struck his shield. Charles SperlingJanuary 4, 2016 12:26 PM Avengers #111 Actually, the last time Daredevil was at Avengers Mansion was in *Avengers* #82 -- and the Scarlet Witch was there. ScottJanuary 4, 2016 12:02 PM X-Men/Spider-Man #2 Well, there was Sinister's Six in AOA. Ataru320January 4, 2016 11:08 AM Marvel Two-In-One #50 Forgot about that scene; somehow I more remember the Captain America issue being read in "Poltergeist". (BTW: huge fan of "Meatballs") ChrisJanuary 4, 2016 9:26 AM Uncanny X-Men #94-95 At this point, I believe Cockrum was drawing the additional scenes, but I don't have my copies in front of me. While some of the art looked "new", a fair amount looked like they were part of the original story. Eventually though, there would be other artists and it would be very apparent that they weren't the original artwork. I think the major reason for the inserts was that at the time of publishment, comics were only 17 pages, but by the reprints era standard page count was 24. MichaelJanuary 4, 2016 7:55 AM Fantastic Four #249-250 David, Cap's shield is part vibranium, remember? It absorbed the impacts. david banesJanuary 4, 2016 4:15 AM Fantastic Four #249-250 Loved these two issues. Issue 250 was just an awesome melee with Spidey and Cap getting to join in. I'm surprised Cap wasn't sent flying from Gladiator's punches. I mean it's like The Blob, you could hit him with something super strong and he won't move...but the ground he's on sure can. david banesJanuary 4, 2016 4:07 AM Fantastic Four #246-247 Just read these today and love them. Though I kind of wish Doom took three issues to get his throne back since the last few pages felt slightly rushed. It was very 'oh now the King is going crazy and send out Doomsday?' Would have been neater to see him gradually going crazier and crazier with reports of Doom being back in the country. But awesome Doom is very awesome. david banesJanuary 4, 2016 4:04 AM Fantastic Four #245 It seems like here Sue really starts to up the ante with her creativity. I mean she did the huge zonking thing with Tylos picking up Manhattan but there are more finesse tricks here. BrimstoneJanuary 4, 2016 3:37 AM Uncanny X-Men #94-95 I had no idea about the revised X-Men stories in Classic X-Men; was Cockrum drawing the new additions?? Nathan AdlerJanuary 4, 2016 12:31 AM Fantastic Four #19 Has anyone ever wondered how the 25th century master criminal who became Rama-Tut overshot by 3,000 years to Ancient Egypt when attempting to travel to our era? He only initially lived five hundred years into our future for goodness sake! Now there would be an interesting What If? What if Rama-Tut had first reached the 20th century? Would he have become a supervillain? But back to my first question, was someone trying to prevent his arriving in our time period? But who! Given his having a base in Limbo at the time, and regularly watching over the Fantastic Four, could it have been the Watcher once again stepping in to assist the Fantastic Four? This raises the additional question, what villainous guise would this character take on if he'd have successfully reached our time period first? Ben HermanJanuary 3, 2016 10:54 PM Fantastic Four #1-10 Michael, probably the only way to know would be to look at the original artwork for FF #8, if it actually still exists. Kirby usually wrote detailed notes in the margins to explain to Stan Lee exactly what was going on, so that Lee could then dialogue the stories. As has been seen when many of these original pages have been printed in magazines such as The Jack Kirby Collector, sometimes Kirby's notes would indicate one thing was occurring, but Lee would choose to go in a different direction when scripting. It's certainly conceivable that Lee & Kirby worked out a very brief basic plot for FF #8, and then Kirby went off to pencil the full issue, but when he brought the artwork in to Marvel's offices Lee decided that Alicia killing her stepfather was too intense (or maybe the Comics Code Authority would reject it) and so scripted it to indicate the Puppet Master tripped by accident. MichaelJanuary 3, 2016 7:32 PM Fantastic Four #1-10 Am I the only one that thinks there was some confusion between Stan and Jack about the ending of issue 8? Kirby drew Alicia reaching for the puppet, which fell face up. Then Kirby shows the Puppet Master fall out the window. Then the final scene shows the puppet face down. I think the idea was supposed to be the puppet was made out of radioactive clay and Alicia used the puppet to force her stepfather to fall out the window. But Stan's script had him tripping over her arm by accident. Nathan AdlerJanuary 3, 2016 6:53 PM Fantastic Four #1-10 @fnord: Why when referencing #8 do you refer to Alicia as "blind Alicia"? She's the only Alicia in the story so I don't think you require the adjective to emphasise who she is. You could instead refer to her as his step-daughter, Alicia, who is also blind. He is intent on emphasising her as his step-daughter which seems initially more important, or just as important, as her disability for the plot. Plus her similar appearance to Sue is just as emphasised. Why emphasise her disability above these unless the story does and if so highlight the fact the dialogue is intent on doing that. Just my two cents! ScottJanuary 3, 2016 4:41 PM Thor #381-382 Surprised that final splash page wasn't posted. Was a nice ending image for the run and captured the tone of Simonson's Thor nicely in one pic. Ben HermanJanuary 3, 2016 2:25 PM Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #115-116 Chris, either of those are terrifying possibilities! Ben HermanJanuary 3, 2016 2:24 PM Fantastic Four #24 The Infant Terrible is one of Jack Kirby's best weird-but-cool character designs. Obviously the are more than a few fans of this oddball alien since the recent "Kirby Monster Variant" by Paolo Rivera for Amazing Spider-Man Vol 4 #2 features him... ChrisJanuary 3, 2016 12:58 PM Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #115-116 Ben, I'm pretty sure either Mr Fixit would begin working for the Foreigner or we'd find out the Foreigner is in charge of the Pantheon. mikrolikJanuary 3, 2016 11:18 AM Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #115-116 Michael: The Foreigner was commissioned by Jason Macendale to kill the Hobgoblin, but he didn't do it himself: he sent four goons in bright orange and yellow costumes to do it. He was too busy playing chess with "Willie". And of course, revealed years later, it wasn't the actual Hobgoblin, but a brainwashed impostor. Granted, if it was the real Hobby, and Foreigner did kill him personally, I'd probably still complain that the Foreigner shouldn't be able to so easily dispatch a villain that gives Spider-Man such a hard time, but I can't even do that! Omar KarinduJanuary 3, 2016 10:09 AM Daredevil #292-293 The problem with Taskmaster here isn't that they're genericizing him, but rather that Chichester tries to make him into more of a Batman villain, complete with psychosis. So Taskmaster's imitative gimmick is turned into a psychotic compulsion to be like other people, down to the "repeated plastic surgeries" line in one of the scans above. The idea seems to be that Taskmaster's insanity is what lets DD trick him into jumping in front of that cab. Erik BeckJanuary 3, 2016 9:26 AM Captain America #387-392 Stephan Pastis, the creator of Pearls Before Swine, constantly denigrates his artistic talent and his inability to draw perspective. But he's successful because he's funny, not because of his artistic talent. Yet, Pastis is far better at perspective than whichever artist drew those horrible splash pages of all the villains sitting on folding chairs. It's just horrible. Don CampbellJanuary 3, 2016 4:01 AM Thing #33 This whole matter of the real identity of the Enforcer is something that has bothered me for years. I was reading/collecting both Ghost Rider and Spider-Woman at the time but I didn't notice the discrepancy until a decade or more later. In fact, I probably only realized that there was something off when I reread those Ghost Rider issues after having read the Official Handbook's profile on the Enforcer. Anyway, once I'd noticed the discrepancy, I came up with my own explanation. My idea was that Carson Collier, Jr. was the real Enforcer and the reason why the Ghost Rider didn't recognize him when he was unmasked was because Carson was wearing some sort of advanced make-up that made him look like Charles Delazny, Jr. underneath his mask. This was a back-up disguise to hide his identity in case he was unmasked and it was durable enough that he was able to remain disguised as Delazny Jr. while in police custody until after Dr. Druid read the mind of Delazny Sr. (who was also fooled). I was very content with this theory and thought that it made for a better explanation than the one that the OHotMU provided. However, after twenty or so years, I finally noticed something that proved that Carson couldn't have been the Enforcer. In Ghost Rider #22, the first issue in which either character ever appears, the Enforcer is shown killing a mob boss "even as" Coot Collier confronts an intruder in his home who turns out to be his son, Carson. So, Carson Collier Jr. couldn't be the Enforcer because he has an alibi! AAARRRGGGHHH!!! With my long-held pet theory now crushed, I tried to come up with another explanation and soon came up with one that was very simple but quite convincing. Given that there was conflicting evidence regarding the identity of a masked criminal during his first few crimes, why was it necessary that there be a convoluted explanation for why some of it was wrong? What if, instead, the evidence was actually right all along? Maybe it wasn't just one man behind the Enforcer's mask but TWO? Consider this idea: Delazny Jr. was the original Enforcer but he was caught by Ghost Rider, unmasked and sent to jail. Then somebody breaks him out of jail and "the Enforcer" resumes his criminal career - but now it's actually Collier Jr. wearing the mask and costume. With everyone "knowing" that the escapee is the Enforcer, Collier Jr. has no one looking for him when he's out of costume. But then he's defeated by Spider-Woman, taken into police custody and unmasked as Collier Jr. And that, to my mind, is a great explanation for why "the" Enforcer was revealed to be two different people at two different times in "his" career. Anyway, this posting is getting a bit far afield from the whole idea of who Scourge really was. I have just three more things to say. First, just because the comics only revealed that Coot Collier and Charles Delazny each had "a" son doesn't mean that either of them couldn't have had other sons. As long as Coot never referred to Carson as his "only" son (which he didn't) the possibility that he had another, younger son remained. Second, I actually liked the origin story that the Scourge told Captain America after he was captured and had no problem accepting it as the truth. The fact that he was killed by someone using his own M.O. didn't bother me. And when the revelation about the whole Scourge organization came out, I was able to rationalize that as Domino and his bosses using the Enforcer's brother as a test case. The first Scourge kills his brother and a few other criminals, his actions are noticed by those who want to clean up society, and Domino is sent to "help" Scourge while guiding him in the direction that the organization of Scourges-to-be want him to go. While the original is pursuing his own agenda, agents of the organization help him by posing as "the" Scourge and using his M.O. to kill other targets (like Flash or Titania). Then, once Cap catches the original, an agent kills him and then takes over the role full-time. Third, regarding that newspaper headline of Scourge killing the Wraith in Cap 318, I noticed that there was no picture associated with it. My explanation is that the Wraith, who was a trained police officer, had been able to recognize a pattern in the killing of criminals and realized that he would be a prime target. So, being paranoid, he decided to hide by faking his death. With his mental powers, it would have been easy to set up a situation in which he could cause several people to "witness" the Wraith being killed by a gunman in the same way as other criminals had been reported to have been killed. With that, the Wraith is "dead" and safe - until he tries to kill Flash Thompson and runs into a Scourge who kills him for real this time. MidnighterJanuary 3, 2016 2:12 AM Hulk Smash Avengers #3 I think that for Iron Man it could fit better before IM 164/167. Dan H.January 3, 2016 12:45 AM Thing #33 The "known siblings" thing isn't really the stumbling block. Comics are full of previously-unknown siblings showing up. The problem with the Enforcer being ID'd as Collier Jr. is that the Ghost Rider had met him, yet just a short time later he didn't recognize the unmasked Enforcer. But unfortunately the unmasked Enforcer still looked enough like Collier to fool some readers who weren't paying close attention. And a couple of issues later, Dr. Druid probed the mind of Delazny Sr. and discovered that his son had recently been revealed the be the Enforcer. So that was that - open and shut. Delazny Jr. was the Enforcer. But then another writer decided to use the Enforcer in Spider-Woman and apparently read the issue where he was unmasked a little too rapidly, coming away with the impression that he was actually Collier (who was just a red herring). He was thus referred to as Collier multiple times in Spider-Woman. And the first edition of the Handbook simply went with this incorrect identification and even created some new background information based on this false premise. And Gru maintained this when he came up with Scourge's backstory, as Collier Sr. was a movie director while Delazny Sr. was not. But as to Gru imposing this wrong identification once the discrepancy was discovered, it sounds like he'd have been far more likely to put his own needs aside, even if it had bad implications on one of his own stories/characters, in the name of respecting prior continuity. Better to just say the Scourge was lying and come up with the "real" story down the road. Hell, the guy was dead at this point so there was no hurry. But you're right about the problems with having the Scourge be a blank slate. We didn't learn everything about how he selected his targets, but it sure sounded like he had no business being in place to execute some of them (how on Earth did he know when and where the Basilisk would resurface, for instance). Also, that appearance in Marvel Fanfare (which was intended for the regular Hulk book) has him displaying all sorts of ridiculous knowledge and having the ability to calm the Hulk, basically just to throw the reader off the track of who the guy could possibly be before he's revealed as the Scourge at the very end of the book. Oof. Jeremy NotoJanuary 3, 2016 12:07 AM Marvel Two-In-One #50 For anyone who is a fan of the first Meatballs movie, this is the comic that Rudy (Chris Makepeace) was reading when he is in Tripper's (Bill Murray)cabin. ChrisJanuary 3, 2016 12:03 AM Tales To Astonish #52 (Giant-Man/Wasp) Omar, that is now part of my personal canon. Ben HermanJanuary 2, 2016 11:56 PM Fantastic Four #282-284 Thanks for the info, Michael. Seeing that scene of the Psycho-Man going to the Impossible Man for (appropriately enough) psychotherapy actually gave me a chuckle. I believe that the info revealed by the Psycho-Man in that Impossible Man special was later reiterated by him in Fantastic Four Unlimited #8, albeit in a rather more serious manner, understandably enough! MichaelJanuary 2, 2016 10:59 PM Fantastic Four #282-284 If you click on the link to the Impossible Man Summer Vacation Spectacular 2 above, you'll see that we do find out eventually what Sue did to him. Fnord thought it was implied in this story. Ben HermanJanuary 2, 2016 9:42 PM Fantastic Four #282-284 I was nine years old when these issues came out (and now I know that Fnord is two years older than me) and they also made a huge impression on me. In retrospect I do see that this story falls into the pattern of Byrne traumatizing a female character before building her up to be stronger. But at the time I was impressed with his work developing Sue in these issues. Actually, even as a kid I had always thought that Sue was known as "the Invisible Woman" so it was a surprise when I read these issues and found out she was still known as "the Invisible Girl" and was at long last changing that name to reflect her age & maturity. As Fnord said, "it didn't seem that controversial to me." The final scene where Sue confronts Psycho-Man always stuck in my mind. Byrne drew Psycho-Man as looking especially evil & twisted when he's gloating over Reed. I'm glad that Byrne never showed just what Sue did to the Psycho-Man to avenger herself. By leaving that a mystery, it caused me (and undoubtedly many other readers) to imagine all sorts of unspeakable things that were terrifying beyond what Byrne could actually have depicted on-panel. Sometimes what you DON'T see is much scarier than what you do. david banesJanuary 2, 2016 9:41 PM Avengers #181-182 I haven't gotten super far in Avengers but I'm not sure which run is my favorite, Shooter's first or Michelinie and Byrne. I love Shooter's since he kind of helped moderize the team, to me, after a slow 70s, and gave Wonderman a personality. Plus the stories were just epic. Ben HermanJanuary 2, 2016 9:20 PM Avengers #181-182 Man, if Gyrich was having trouble keeping track of only twenty or so Avengers back in the day, his head would explode nowadays considering literally half the Marvel universe are now members of the team. Luke BlanchardJanuary 2, 2016 7:43 PM Uncanny X-Men #139-140 Her mass stays the same when she changes to smaller animals, and increases when she changes to larger ones. (My recollection is Byrne's original idea was that it would always stay the same, but he found this didn't work with large animals as they came out too small.) So she's a giant wolverine. The captions in the sequence imply there's an off-panel fight. But from the art, it may be Byrne meant her attack as a quick, deadly strike. MichaelJanuary 2, 2016 6:43 PM Uncanny X-Men #139-140 When Snowbird changes into an animal, does she become more powerful than the animal? I can't see the Wendigo being beaten by an ordinary wolverine. Ben HermanJanuary 2, 2016 6:12 PM Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #115-116 Ooooh! Something just occurred to me! What if Peter David wrote a story where the Hulk (either the grey "Mister Fixit" version or the green "merged" version) fought the Foreigner? Which one of them would win? Or would the difficulty in attempting to figure out which incredibly awesome and unbeatable pet character of his was better than the other actually cause PAD's head to explode? ChrisJanuary 2, 2016 1:41 PM Fantastic Four annual #24 The Nullifier probably can be used safely by certain beings like Galactus, but usually destroys "mortal" beings like humans and standard alien races. It might require a certain plane of consciousness to be achieved which is why allowing humans to have it is like giving matches to people who live in a tinderbox. AndrewJanuary 2, 2016 1:30 PM Fantastic Four annual #24 First that What If is one of my favorite comics. As an overview of the big cosmic characters of the marvel universe it's a nice preview of the Infinity Gauntlet saga. Second, the idea that the user of the Ultimate Nullifier is killed is also used in Hickman's FF 14, but in that case Nazi Reed says "It is a myth that the nullifier while being the most powerful weaon in the universe always destroys the person using it. It can be used. The device requires complete focus. Alignment of mind and purpose." Gray Reed is destroyed using the Nullifier, but it's unclear if that is simply the nature of the device, or because he lacked focus, or because Doom was secretly casting a spell on him in the background. MichaelJanuary 2, 2016 1:07 PM Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #115-116 Well, he does have the Hobgoblin killed, in a scene so badly written people still complain about it. mikrolikJanuary 2, 2016 12:57 PM Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #115-116 I kinda agree with Ben Herman in regards to the Foreigner. At one point he says he has six ways to kill a person known only to himself. That made me roll my eyes. Most of all we ever see the Foreigner do is stand around talking, and calling the Kingpin "Willie" (and Fisk would probably snap the neck of anyone else who did that). We're constantly being told how uber-bad-ass the Foreigner is, but he rarely (if ever?) does anything to justify the reputation Peter David wants him to have. Spiderguy72January 2, 2016 2:11 AM Defenders #13-14 These are great issues!! Ben HermanJanuary 2, 2016 1:09 AM Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #115-116 Mark, as drawn by Rich Buckler & Bob McLeod in #116, yes, the Foreigner does have a resemblance to Patrick McGoohan. I've never been especially fond of the Foreigner. He very much comes across as a pet character of PAD's. I wonder if part of this is due to PAD still being new to writing. Perhaps if the Foreigner had come about a few years afterward PAD would have refrained from making him such an incredibly super-competent, amazingly skilled, almost-unbeatable foe. It's actually a bit funny that part of PAD trying to build up the Foreigner here is by saying he trained Sabretooth, who would certainly go on to become a pet character of Chris Claremont's. I didn't read issue #116, or Sabretooth's subsequent appearance in this series, when they first came out, but as back issues in the early 1990s, when the X-Men were HUGE, and Sabretooth was considered one of their major enemies. Because of that, I was really surprised that the character was written in Spectacular Spider-Man as an adversary that the Black Cat could hold her own against, and who had no healing abilities. This was so completely at odds with how Claremont and others subsequently depicted Sabretooth as this unstoppable killing machine who would beat Wolverine within an inch of his life every year on his birthday. But, as others have already commented, Sabretooth is hardly the first or last villain to be written as incredibly inconsistent. Omar KarinduJanuary 1, 2016 8:29 PM Nova #2 This story features one of Wolfman's recurring plot ideas, namely the amnesiac, humanoid alien, usually being manipulated by a villain. Here it's Powerhouse, in his Green Lantern run it's Goldface's sniveling henchman Stanley (actually a superhumanly enhanced Qwardian named Stnlli), and in his Teen Titans run he introduced an alien named Azrael who likewise had no memory of his origins. Omar KarinduJanuary 1, 2016 8:25 PM Nova #6-9 While Sayge *must* be intended to be Veritas, given the similarities, it's sort of odd that Wolfman changed his name and never footnoted the old Doctor Strange stories. Not having the letters pages of Nova at hand, is any mention made there about it? Also, another Wolfman pet plot (after the one seen in issue #2): he really likes having heroes get caught in between two opposed sets of villains. The same plot idea turns up in Fantastic Four when Diablo and Darkoth team up to undermine Doctor Doom. A similar idea was also the basis for his "Chemistro II/Big Brother/The Baron" storyline in Power Man, the introduction of *snicker* the Big Wheel in Spider-Man as a guy who hated the Rocket Racer. Even the resolution of the Sphinx storyline has the FF using Galactus to take him out. And then in his Teen Titans he set the Brotherhood of Evil against Madame Rouge and later against Brother Blood in various stories. Omar KarinduJanuary 1, 2016 8:17 PM Nova #10-11 This storyline seems like a big shift in the book: Condor and Powerhouse are unceremoniously written out, despite promises earlier that readers would learn their backstory, and Diamondhead is taken out, too. And then the Sphinx sort of wanders off on his own at the end as well. The next several issues will have entirely distinct villains, some borrowed and some new. I'm not sure if it was a complete shift in direction or just Wolfman setting aside some of these plots so they wouldn't wear thin. ScottJanuary 1, 2016 4:10 PM Captain America #290 First Black Crow too, isn't it? Dave BurnsJanuary 1, 2016 2:17 PM Iron Fist #1-4 The writing in Iron Fist -- using second person perspective -- was a really interesting experiment and largely effective at getting you into the lead character's head while still maintaining some distance from him. I still remembered that sequence of Iron Fist healing himself for the first time almost word for word all these years later. Thanks for posting it here! Claremont always had a real gift for dialogue -- as seen many times in Uncanny X-Men (particularly the last two issues of the Dark Phoenix arc, where issues of love and death were portrayed in such moving ways) -- and the innovative use of the Iron Fist here gave you a sense of greater depths to this particular mythos. Issues 3 and 4 were an outstanding and surprising story of both Danny's and Radion's need to redeem their mistakes. mikrolikJanuary 1, 2016 11:56 AM Thing #33 Well, both of the Enforcer's identities had no known siblings, so I don't think the brother story would have worked with Carson Collier Jr. anymore than with Charles Delazney Jr. And again, Gru was pretty heavily involved with the Handbooks, so if he really wanted the Enforcer to still be Collier Jr. instead of Delazney Jr., he probably had veto power (though I don't know who ultimately made the decisions on the Enforcer's identity in either case). Part of the problem with Scourge is that the concept was created first (i.e. let's have a serial killer start offing minor super-villains!), and then the character and origin were both clearly afterthoughts. To that end, maybe Gru purposefully left in ambiguities and the possibility Scourge was lying and decided to fill in the gaps later. kveto January 1, 2016 11:43 AM Black Knight #1-4 I'll still take Hawk-eye over the Black Knight any day. At least he can hit you from a distance with various arrow-types. But yeah, Mockingbird is less useful than both of them. RickJanuary 1, 2016 9:28 AM Alpha Flight #55-60 Alpha Flight died with John Byrne's last issue... after that it became just horrible garbage. I love these reviews because I want to see if maybe I was wrong to stop collecting some titles (long ago). I definitely didn't miss much dumping AF ScottJanuary 1, 2016 8:15 AM New Mutants #46 (in the panel not posted where Cypher and Warlock comfort her) ScottJanuary 1, 2016 8:14 AM New Mutants #46 Nitpick/continuity error: Plague is seen among the Morlocks when Karma fails at sedating Sunder, despite her being recruited by Apocalypse in X-Factor #10. Mark DrummondDecember 31, 2015 9:40 PM New Mutants #93-94 To be accurate, Kirby did understand anatomy perfectly well; he used it as a starting point and would put on his distortions for dramatic effect. Liefeld never had any sense of good anatomy to begin with. Dan H.December 31, 2015 7:27 PM Thing #33 Yeah, we've discussed the problems with the "Enforcer's brother" story on one of these pages... But you can't use that as a yardstick either, since the original version of the Handbook had the wrong identity for the Enforcer (taking after the Enforcer's appearances in Spider-Woman, where he was originally misidentified). So if Gru was under the impression that that's who the Enforcer really was, the backstory he gave Cap would have been fine. It was only with the Deluxe Edition of the Handbook (which came out after the Scourge storyline) that the Enforcer's identity was corrected. AndrewDecember 31, 2015 5:17 PM Iron Man #269-275 Yes, the DeWitt mystery makes no sense. Tony could have just asked a researcher to go through his financial records to see if his name came up. ScottDecember 31, 2015 2:36 PM Black Knight #1-4 Moira Brandon. Erik BeckDecember 31, 2015 12:51 PM New Warriors #14 @ Berend - And yet, it looks better than Firestar's pants for her date. mikrolikDecember 31, 2015 12:04 PM Thing #33 I think another issue is that who knows how much what the Scourge said to Cap in CA320 before he was killed was the truth and what wasn't was left ambiguous. He claimed to be the Enforcer's brother, but the Handbooks (which Gru had a big hand in helping to formulate) said that was BS, as the Enforcer had no siblings. So maybe he was lying about only targeting those with criminal convictions as well. MichaelDecember 30, 2015 10:44 PM Black Knight #1-4 Dane's sword is a powerful magic artifact- it can disrupt spells, cut through most materials, and absorb and deflect energy. It's actually useful. I'd say Mockingbird was the weakest Avengers- all she has is two sticks. kveto December 30, 2015 10:24 PM Black Knight #1-4 You know, a lot of people think Hawk-eye is the weakest Avenger but my vote goes to the Black Knight. At least Hawk-eye has a variety of arrows and can attack from a distance. All the black knight has is a sword and he can't even use the edge of it. ScottDecember 30, 2015 8:31 PM Thing #33 Yep, good point about the Hobgoblin line (I was recalling from memory). But, honestly? Chalk up ASM to being a badly written story (for Scourge). I honestly don't think Peter David wrote that story with any insight or idea about Scourge (or where he'd end up) and I think it was just one, of a few appearances, that later "made more sense" with the eventual revelations. To be quite frank, judging from Peter David's general attitude towards crossovers and continuity, I wouldn't be surprised if he purposely wrote Scourge destructively. The idea that in the initial run there was any other Scourges completely undercuts and undermines the ending with the reveal of "another" Scourge. So I definitely don't think it was really written to be "other" Scourges since it was a reveal. (And after the Alpha Flight #12 incident, I would imagine newbie writer Peter David would be the LAST person made privy to details about Scourge) BrimstoneDecember 30, 2015 5:36 PM New Mutants #93-94 different stroke Oliver_C, that's all I can say dude. I've met Rob several times at events we were both guests at and he's a hell of a nice guy and just LOVES COMICS. and he loves the fans.. and the FANS are what it's ALL about. I personally think Liefeld has a lot of the dynamicism that Kirby had and Kirby didn't do perfect anatomy.. just food for thought! I love the guy's work.. and this 90s work retains a nice place of my heart! Oliver_CDecember 30, 2015 4:56 PM New Mutants #93-94 I wish the Liefeld fanboys *had* been hypnotised: then his success might at least be less exasperating. Matthew BradleyDecember 30, 2015 3:27 PM Iron Man annual #4 Curiously, the Bullpen Page in this very annual states that "Jim Shooter plotted it," but there's no reference to that in the credits or any other source I've seen. BrimstoneDecember 30, 2015 10:12 AM Black Knight #1-4 dude, thank god fnord took the time to write this up because I would never read such a lame comic in it's entirety in my life!!! this character sucks, the artwork sucks, and the demons look ridiculous... my good friend Stan Lee is famous for telling his artists to "overact" when drawing action scenes so I'm amazed a Marvel comic has the stiffest looking body language and leaping "demons" I've ever seen... I've got to stop drinking coffee before visiting this site, LOL! BrimstoneDecember 30, 2015 10:09 AM New Mutants #93-94 These comics have a soft spot in my heart cause they are what I think the ideal comic is: sick action, explosive fights, cool characters, and cutting edge graphics. Yes, I mean it!!! I tried to carry over the same sense of edge of your seat excitement for my own line of comics and I never got on the hate Liefeld bandwagon. If the guy sucks so much then were people just mass hypnotized all the years they've been buying his stuff? BrimstoneDecember 30, 2015 9:39 AM Tomb of Dracula #1-4 yeah Chris I don't mean to slag the guy or show him any disrespect because it's nothing personal but it's like, ok, I read what Shooter said about his storytelling short cuts and I SEE IT, I think Colan was a lazy storyteller, even Roy Thomas talks about how in the 60s' he would stretch things out with half splashes and stuff then need to rush in the last few pages, and I SEE IT, and I just think Colan is kinda overrated and Palmer really strengthened his work... just my two cents... ChrisDecember 30, 2015 12:07 AM Ghost Rider #4 Strange to think as late as this appearance is, I believe Dr Calvin Zabo's identity as Mr Hyde was still a secret as no one had ever seen Zabo turn into Hyde and vice versa. Dan H.December 29, 2015 11:54 PM Thing #33 By the way, I could be wrong about the Wraith not being a convicted criminal. He was definitely exonerated for the crimes he committed while his father was controlling him, but I don't know what the resolution for his later involvement with the Maggia was. It's stated in the story that he's unstable and they were manipulating him, but maybe he received a suspended sentence rather than just being acquited for that. He would still qualify as Scourgebait if that were the case. Dan H.December 29, 2015 11:30 PM Thing #33 I forgot about that - like fnord says in that ASM issue entry, it can't be the case that Cap #318 takes place after that ASM story AND that the ASM story references the bar massacre in Cap #319. So I've always just written that off as a continuity error and never thought any more about it... But Gru may have known and simply decided that the die had been cast and went ahead and referenced the Wraith's death even if he knew it would have been against Scourge's code. After all, somebody claiming to be the Scourge had killed the Wraith and it's not like Gilbert would have had any reason to suspect it wasn't really him. Even if I'm right in speculating that the ASM appearance went a little sideways and the targeting of Flash and the killing of the Wraith would have been overruled by Gru if he'd been able to do so, that's still no proof that he actually would have tried to retcon that appearance as a copycat Scourge, even if he did tease the possibility with the end of #320. That ASM Scourge is acting very out of character, but it's a different writer and editor and we know what a nightmare that was causing on ASM at just this very time. DeFalco has complained that Priest kept messing with his scripts (repeatedly taking out his scenes where he was re-introducing Richard Fisk with the intention of eventually making him the Hobgoblin, for example). #278 is credited to DeFalco only for the plot (which he may have worked up with Gru's input) and then Peter David and Mary Jo Duffy are credited as co-scripters so there was obviously a lot of scrambling going on. MichaelDecember 29, 2015 11:06 PM Ghost Rider #11-12 Mackie claims that Ghost Rider wasn't originally supposed to be a horror book: ChrisDecember 29, 2015 7:57 PM Tomb of Dracula #1-4 Brimstone. I agree with you. His layouts and storytelling are quite good, but I've always found his work ugly. The Palmer inks in his original Tomb of Dracula run showcases his strengths. I never thought his work fit standard superheroes that well. But by the mid-eighties, Colan was clearly past his prime, and these issues just look awful to me too. MichaelDecember 29, 2015 7:41 PM Thing #33 But Gruenwald had Firebrand show Blue Streak a headline of Scourge killing the Wraith in Cap 318, so Gruenwald must have known about the killing of the Wraith. Did Gruenwald forget that the Wraith was never convicted? BrimstoneDecember 29, 2015 7:36 PM Tomb of Dracula #1-4 I know it's sacreligious (the irony in me using that word, LOL!) but I gotta say I don't "get" Gene Colan, especially his later work. I think the bad outweighs the good in his career and I think this 90s' mini-series looks so sketchy I have to wonder if his shortcuts are part of what sabotaged his career here... just being honest... BrimstoneDecember 29, 2015 7:19 PM Ghost Rider #11-12 never understood why a robot is appearing in a supposedly Horror comic.. sometimes these writers need someone to educate them on what constitutes the horror genre.. I was never that into Ghost Rider personally but I did enjoy the character of Vengeance and look forward to seeing him on these pages....... BrimstoneDecember 29, 2015 7:16 PM Wolverine #35-37 This was a fun era and Silvestri was my BOY.. run into him now and then at Wizard World, will have to get this issue signed.. BrimstoneDecember 29, 2015 6:51 PM Punisher, Kingdom Gone Loved this graphic novel hard when I was a wee lad and I think the art lends itself to MADNESS... will have to pick this up at the next Con I'm signing at... good work dude Luke BlanchardDecember 29, 2015 3:34 PM Marvel Premiere #45-46 The final issue of CREATURES ON THE LOOSE had a text page by Kraft that explained where the story was going. The story in these issues is the one he described there, in 1975. In the piece he explains the stone was left on the moon by a dying god from an alternate universe. "In the Other Realm, it would have imparted the attributes of a god to Jameson; but here, only enough catalytic essences from that alternate universe were transmitted-via reflected sunlight-to start the change. Thus, John Jameson became the Man-Wolf, an unreasoning beast only a step along the way to realising full potential as a Stargod." This is what he says about the climax: "eventually an intelligent and invincible Man-Wolf (or, more appropriately, Stargod), along with a bawdy crew of followers, accosts Turk in his impregnable castle atop a floating mountain over a living sea, only to find that Turk has brought Kristine along with him to this alternate universe to use as a hostage." The story was planned as a two-parter. Kraft calls the villain "Harrisyn Turk". Dan H.December 29, 2015 3:27 PM Marvel Premiere #45-46 With different timing and a different writer, this actually could have been something. They could have caught both the Conan crowd and the superhero audience if they'd managed to keep Perez around on art. But instead as Michael said over on that Marvel Team-Up entry, this story only came about due to the Defenders link and Perez was assigned to draw it long after it had been scripted. The idea of a series starting from this premise was never in the cards, especially not with Perez onboard. Shame. The dude is one of the oldest characters in the MU and it would have been nice to see him stake out his territory as the superhero/monster version of Conan. Dan H.December 29, 2015 1:54 PM Thing #33 But to the "copycat" point, yeah that whole issue has the Scourge acting out of character. He later would claim that he never killed anyone who hadn't been convicted of a crime, yet here he targets Flash, who's been arrested but not convicted and has no previous criminal history. Plus he's specifically targeting him because he thinks he's the Hobgoblin, something he absolutely hasn't been convicted of. Then he releases a bunch of prisoners. Hardly serving justice. And for good measure, on the way out, he kills the Wraith, who was not only never convicted but actually exonerated in a court of law for his actions while under his father's mental control. And there was none of the internal debate about doing any of these things that the real Scourge would later display when he ran from Captain America, then tried to warn him off, and finally failed to pull the trigger, leading to his own capture. Granted he probably had a very different opinion of Captain America and the Wraith, but still the fact that he went to that jail to kill Flash in the first place violated his whole code. Of course the REAL reason is we're talking different writers and Scourge's personality and ethics hadn't been completely fleshed out, so it's probably simply due to translation error and the fact that some plot device was needed to free Flash, so they just expanded a typical Scourge cameo to a full issue. In hindsight, I wonder if Gru had asked for the Scourge to originally show up to target some other costumed (and previously convicted) felon who was at the jail after being recaptured, with the idea being that Flash would just seem to be in danger as he was there and we didn't yet know that Scourge didn't target anyone but convicted criminals. And then the story morphed without Gru's direct involvement to what we got, with Flash being the original target, the Scourge causing a jailbreak, and the Wraith being killed as the Spiderverse creators considered him excess baggage. Dan H.December 29, 2015 1:41 PM Thing #33 I don't believe Domino's discovery that Flash was a patsy was based on the encounter in ASM 278. If it was the same Scourge, then some time had obviously passed between Scourge's assault on the jail and that conversation between Scourge and Domino (for one thing, it was still daylight when Scourge got away after killing the Wraith and it was the middle of the night when Domino and Scourge spoke. So even if it was the same day, it was a good six or more hours later). Domino would have known about the jail attack (again, assuming it's the same Scourge) and he would have known that calling to tell Scourge that the Hobgoblin was Thompson would have been silly. So his discovery of Hobby's "true" ID was obviously referring to someone else. HOW he discovered it, I don't know, since the most I think he would have gleaned from the Thompson/Scourge encounter is that Flash wasn't the Hobgoblin. There was obviously something else we weren't privy to (since Hobby's ID also wasn't revealed to us yet) that led Domino to conclude that someone else was the real Hobgoblin. mikrolikDecember 29, 2015 12:49 PM Thing #33 I think one idea that might have worked was that the Scourge in AMS 278 was a copycat. His methods and motives that issue do seem significantly at odds with what had been established previously, but could have been interpreted that way by someone hearing about the Scourge through the media. The whole Scourge organization, ties to the Red Skull, and eventually the Golden-Age Angel all seem a little convoluted and made-up-as-we-go. Also, it's not established in AMS 278 that "Scourge" realized Flash was a patsy… why would Domino decide Thompson wasn't the Hobgoblin based on that encounter? Erik BeckDecember 29, 2015 12:45 PM Avengers West Coast #70-74 Thanks goodness for Steven, so I'm not alone in liking this. It hearkens back somewhat to some of Roy Thomas' writing on All-Star Squadron, which is still one of my all-time favorite series. I was also glad to see Tigra gone and to have Spider-Woman and Living Lightning join the team. Too bad the art took such a dive after the first issue. At this point, AWC was the only comic left that I was still buying. Dan H.December 29, 2015 12:18 PM Alpha Flight #9-10 That cameo of Steve and Bernie was probably Byrne's nod toward a Cap/Guardian teamup that he knew he'd never get to do since he was killing Mac off in a few issues. But of course he left plenty of space in the timeline for them to have worked together in their costumed identities previously (I'm not counting stuff like Contest of Champions). Oliver_CDecember 29, 2015 9:14 AM Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man annual #3 Man-Wolf's tongue goes kinda 'Tex Avery wolf' when confronted by Kristine. Oliver_CDecember 29, 2015 8:49 AM Marvel Premiere #45-46 The Perez art makes me tolerate Kraft's story more than I should. Still, a sapient, swords-and-sorcery Man-Wolf is preferable by far to his previous incarnation as yet another standard-issue rampaging lycanthrope. Oliver_CDecember 29, 2015 8:36 AM Alpha Flight #9-10 (Un)fortunately the Comics Code prevents *everything* from enlarging proportionately... Luke BlanchardDecember 29, 2015 4:23 AM Amazing Spider-Man #41 Nick Caputo believes Bill Ward assisted John Romita on this issue. His post is at http://nick-caputo.blogspot.com.au/2015/03/john-romitas-first-fanzine-interview.html . Dan H.December 28, 2015 10:29 PM Thing #33 Scott, about this... "he also even mentions plans to target Hobgoblin, which is an appearance that takes place between pages of Cap #320" I didn't get that from Domino's conversation at all. He said he had just uncovered the TRUE identity of the Hobgoblin. Even if he were wrong and thought Thompson was the Hobgoblin, he'd been publicly unmasked as the Hobgoblin a few issues of ASM prior to Scourge's appearance. Even if Domino were of a mind to take credit for someone else's work, the reveal of Thompson was too public. Hell, the guy was in jail for BEING the Hobgoblin. Given that, it's a bit too much to think that Domino would ring up Scourge and say, "Hey, you'll never guess... er, unless you've glanced at a newspaper or a TV..." fnord has that ASM appearance taking place in between Cap 319 and 320 and I think that's the way to go, whether you want to argue that the Scourge in ASM is a different person or not. It was subsequent to that attack on Thompson that Domino discovered that someone else was the real Hobgoblin and that Thompson was a patsy. Who exactly Domino believed the Hobgoblin to be is a mystery. Maybe he actually found out it was Roderick Kingsley or maybe he was following the breadcrumbs to Ned Leeds, who was already (according to later retcons) masquerading as the Hobgoblin on occasion by this time. I will say that even though I prefer the idea that the Scourge who killed Titania and the one who attacked Thompson were not the "real" Scourge, I also didn't like the later "Scourge organization" reveal. I prefer the idea that he had one or two additional accomplices early on and he/she/they ended up performing copycat killings and even killing the original Scourge to cover their own tracks. david banesDecember 28, 2015 10:04 PM Power Man & Iron Fist #125 Finally got to the last five episodes of Daredevil season 1. Great show is great. Can't wait to check out Jessica Jones next. ChrisWDecember 28, 2015 8:57 PM Power Man & Iron Fist #125 I'm sure I'd heard that, but I don't watch television and haven't owned one in over ten years, so that's the kind of stuff that I just don't retain. Between Netflix and whatever internet services there are, not to mention actual television, I'm not sure I even understand the concept anymore. I at least get movies - having seen two of them in 2015, basically a record in recent years - and liked the "Avengers" movies, so that's the format I'm going with. Consider my comments suitably amended for those of you with more interest in the respective mediums. cullenDecember 28, 2015 8:56 PM Power Man & Iron Fist #125 You all should *really* check out the 'Jessica Jones' series! Totally lives up to the hype. Ataru320December 28, 2015 8:30 PM Power Man & Iron Fist #125 Well for one thing, Luke's getting a TV series considering he already showed up in Jessica Jones' series. (from what I heard, he's a regular in her show and his will be a prologue to that; then Danny will show up before the Defenders) I think the only thing that pissed me off, as I said, is that basically after this finale, both vanish for five years. Five whole years is a long time in comics, especially with two heroes who proved themselves to be more than just their fads they were created for. Its impossible to know what roles they could have had if Power Man and Iron Fist existed in that '86-'91 gap. MichaelDecember 28, 2015 8:00 PM Fantastic Four #196-200 Re: Doom losing because he saw his face- it's stated earlier that looking into the reflections would drive any man mad- for reasons that only make sense to a scientifically illiterate writer. ChrisWDecember 28, 2015 7:47 PM Power Man & Iron Fist #125 I agree. I meant what I wrote earlier purely in a 'with 30 years of hindsight' spirit. Luke is actually the character I know least about. Colleen and Misty at least showed up in "X-Men" a few times and I've read at least two Iron Fist appearances in "Marvel Team-Up" (Drom the backwards man and that completely unmemorable Claremont-Byrne story.) Luke and Danny themselves, I really only know from "Secret Wars II" #2, hardly a high point of their career. It's just, I'm not a fan of the characters, or their respective genres, but as a writer, these are some of the most promising characters Marvel owns. They can do gritty, they can do buddy comedy, they can do mindless violence, they can have love lives and personal problems. The chicks can hold their own stories, as friends, as action chicks, as love interests, as individuals with their own problems. Just mix and match these traits and I can't see how you could have a bad series. And I say this with complete ignorance of the villains or the supporting cast. Issue #1, set up the premise, Luke and Danny are the stars [it's their names on the cover after all] Colleen and Misty play a prominent role. #2, the focus is on the girls. #3, set up a longer storyline, probably having to do with Iron Fist's history, because that's where the most likely villains would probably come from. #4, Power Man responds to that problem. #5, Misty is involved in her own case [I assume she's still a cop] which builds-up the longer storyline. #6, Colleen has her own issues. I don't know if her Samurai status has any connection to Iron Fist's history, but it could work either way. #7, Danny and Colleen. #8, Misty and Luke. #9, build-up to the conclusion. #10, big fight. The good guys win. Yay. #11, a downtime issue that plays mix-and-match with the above-mentioned traits, and then #12 is a sudden big fight which reinforces the premise established in the first issue. And this is with complete ignorance of the supporting cast, the villains, or honestly, of the characters. Why Marvel doesn't have "Power Man," "Iron Fist" and "Daughters of the Dragon" movies well into production with the intended team-up sequel is beyond me. If Marvel wanted me to write a 12-issue run, I'd say 'send over the reference material, I'll let you know if I can come up with a good story.' Again, I've already come up with all this without being a fan of the characters or their respective genres. Ataru320December 28, 2015 4:47 PM Fantastic Four #196-200 @God-Leros: You can probably say the same thing about the Woody Allen movie "Bananas". But yeah, interesting point there considering how Zorba is part of "the revolution" here against Doom...and then things get so terrible that Doom is the only way to restore Latveria to a more "orderly" state. mikrolikDecember 28, 2015 3:02 PM Amazing Spider-Man #143 Following up on my comments for AMS 141-142, what exactly would going to Paris do for Jameson? Berkhart will now spill the beans on Jameson for sure (still don't know what kind of "beans" those are). Was Jameson going to stay out of the USA forever? mikrolikDecember 28, 2015 2:58 PM Amazing Spider-Man #141-142 Not sure what Berkhart and Jameson's deal was. Jameson has been explicitly shown in the past to not want Spider-Man killed, but exposed and turned over to the police. Maybe he just wanted Berkhart to drive Spidey insane? And if that's the case, what crimes would the police be able to pin on Berkhart? Spider-Man couldn't exactly press charges, so why did the cops arrest him? Is wearing Mysterio's costume illegal? ScottDecember 28, 2015 2:27 PM Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #115-116 To be fair to Felicia, it's not like Sabretooth doesn't get his ass handed to him by everyone else. There definitely has been far worse people he's lost to over the years (Mindee Cuckoo knocked him out with one punch in Austen's X-Men). david banesDecember 28, 2015 2:10 PM Fantastic Four #236 I've been gathering Bryne's Visionary books and book 1 has been delayed, yet again. I eagerly want it for this issue especially. God-LerosDecember 28, 2015 1:36 PM Fantastic Four #196-200 Hello! It becomes a great story. Very relevant with today's world/governments. Save, of course, the great Dr. Doom losing because he saw too many images of his face. MortificatorDecember 28, 2015 12:44 PM Strange Tales #148-149 (Nick Fury) As someone who's never visited that site before, I'll say its mods come across as the lesser party. It's pretty reasonable to be pissed at someone who did what the italicized quote describes, and I hate the farce of pretending speech one doesn't like is an attack. Erik BeckDecember 28, 2015 12:29 PM Avengers #340 Does no one else find it strange that the statue being dedicated features four charter Avengers and . . . She-Hulk? How did the hospital decide on that one? Ben HermanDecember 28, 2015 10:15 AM Iron Man #197 George, your memory is not playing tricks on you. The cover of Marvel Age #29 by Richard Howell & Joe Sinnott from August 1985 does indeed show Tony Stark as a member of the West Coast Avengers in his grey armor... http://www.comicbookdb.com/graphics/comic_graphics/1/154/52381_20061230043830_large.jpg Ben HermanDecember 28, 2015 10:06 AM Iron Man #131-133 I thought that I remembered PAD referencing these issues, either in an actual Hulk story or in an interview. Thanks for providing the specific issue, Michael. Red CometDecember 28, 2015 9:12 AM Avengers #334-339 Wow, never would have recognized Steve Epting's work here if you hadn't said it was him. It's really amazing how much an artist's style can change from their early career. Erik BeckDecember 28, 2015 8:27 AM Avengers #334-339 Looks like I dropped this title just in time. An Avengers team with Hercules, Sersi, Quasar and Crystal is not one I want to read. Also, Kubert may draw open mouths, but at least, unlike Liefeld, he seems to know how many teeth a human being has. I'll really like his pseudo-Jim Lee art when he takes over X-Men. TuomasDecember 28, 2015 7:22 AM Amazing Spider-Man #143 Try to remember that JJ has fled to Europe to hide from prosecution surrounding his employment of Mysterio II last issue, because the creators of this book. Fnord, this sentence seems to be missing a word or two at the end. JCDecember 28, 2015 6:26 AM Hulk #368 The final panel of Banner's transformation into Hulk, he cums off looking a thicker darker Frank Castle to me. Luke BlanchardDecember 28, 2015 5:14 AM Iron Man #134-135 Regarding Titanium Man's size, he was taller than Tony when they first met, but not freakishly so. When he returned in TALES OF SUSPENSE #81-#83 he was much bigger and said he'd been given hormone pills to enlarge his body. Walter LawsonDecember 28, 2015 3:41 AM Power Man & Iron Fist #125 Think of Power Man and Iron Fist as John Travolta or Burt Reynolds. By 1986, these guys all seemed like cornball 1970s relics. Iron Fist-style chop-socky didn't seem cool in the ninja era, and Power Man always occupied an awkward position as Marvel's idea of some kind of black urban hero archetype. Black writers, and a few white ones, did develop Luke well at times, but on the whole this was a character a very white publisher didn't know what to do with. Add to that the usually quirky or second-tier talent on the book--Priest is great, but his work can be a hard sell to most readers--and it's clear why PM&IF was doomed. ChrisWDecember 28, 2015 2:26 AM Uncanny X-Men #136-137 That's one of the things that bothers me, Claremont was working that detail out with Dave Cockrum, during Cockrum's first run on the series. And it took until the Silvestri/Lee runs to even starting to put this stuff on the page? Could the metaphor be any more blatant? Especially with the creation turning on its creator? For all the times you wanted to grab Claremont and scream in his face "WTF were you thinking?" this is where we, and he, and the X-characters, finally found out what he was thinking. You could almost make an interesting comic out of how Nathan saw the first ten years of Claremont's "X-Men." ChrisWDecember 28, 2015 2:15 AM Power Man & Iron Fist #125 Didn't read the books and don't have much affection for the characters, but I'll suggest it's like the problem DC had with Hawkman, that he had been so messed up by creative teams that nobody had the slightest clue what to do with him, to the point where DC forbade anybody to use him for several years. Marvel's problem is about as inverse as you can get. Power Man is a perfect Blaxploitation character. Iron Fist is Kung-Fu/martial artist stereotype. Add in Misty and Colleen as action chicks/love interests, and you have the best concentrated possibility for stories since... well, I don't know. Since Clark Kent took off his glasses. Since Will Eisner decided to stories he actually cared about. Doesn't matter. Between the four of them, there should be an endless supply of interesting stories. Whatever merits the "Power Man/Iron Fist" series has, that's probably one of the worst things I have to say about Marvel, that they can't see the potential of Luke, Danny, Misty and Colleen. Again, I don't even like these characters, or know much about them, but they have everything needed to tell interesting stories. david banesDecember 28, 2015 1:09 AM Avengers #13-14 Man, Thor's hammer looks really weird with the longer handle. david banesDecember 28, 2015 1:08 AM Amazing Spider-Man #147-150 I love that moment when he rips up the report as well. I blame poor 90's writing on the clone saga, not Peter here. Considering the whole spider sense thing it varies from writer to writer. I can shrug and go 'yeah' in one issue of Marvel Knights when Peter says heavy rain affects his spider sense. I go with that since it's like chaff, too many things at once. I've seen spider sense as more animalistic. The whole 'you see me as a friend so it doesn't click' is more psychic. It happened a while ago with Aunt May shooting and grazing spidey. MichaelDecember 27, 2015 11:45 PM Iron Man #131-133 Well, PAD had Samson claim it was in Hulk 426, during the whole "Hulk turns to Banner when he gets angry" phase. MichaelDecember 27, 2015 11:39 PM Amazing Spider-Man #147-150 Regarding the Tarantula, actually that is the real law- if you commit a crime on American soil or in American waters we have the right to try you regardless of nationality. Ben HermanDecember 27, 2015 10:21 PM Iron Man #131-133 Was this story supposed to be one of the early indications that the Hulk was actually a psychological affliction that Bruce Banner suffered from instead of a physical one? Ataru320December 27, 2015 10:06 PM Power Man & Iron Fist #125 I don't get why this has to be the end for Luke and Danny, one murdered by a brat who happens to be a form of the Super-Skrull and the other forced in hiding. On the surface it probably makes a little sense: they represent fads of the previous decade, Luke being blaxploitation; Danny kung-fu. But in many ways their characterizations and evolution made them grow beyond why they were created in the first place. Luke may have been made for a fad but he technically is the first true African-American hero who was able to get his own book and who technically was the one who lead to the entire length of the 125 issues, even with the need for Iron Fist to survive into the mid-80s. Prior to him, the only notable African hero was an actual African from a fictional country that of course had legitimacy of being part of Lee/Kirby's major run with the Fantastic 4. Sure Luke Cage isn't necessarily the most ideal breaker of barriers but he did it and he did it his way. And of course Danny had Claremont and Byrne define him and his world even before joining with Luke. His background brought in new elements that added more flavor to the Marvelverse that would luckily be eventually developed by better writers. But the biggest problem is that Power Man and Iron Fist didn't fit with what was being removed and cleaned away by this point in the Shooter reign. This isn't like the removal of the Savage Land or vampires: those two were integral and a major section of the books since at least the early 70s and part of what made Marvel what it was. What hurts it more is that because of this, Luke basically vanishes until the early 90s when they finally bring him back (with the infamous "black Punisher" story of all things) while it takes Byrne to salvage and save Danny with the whole "he's some plant creature" explanation. Really all that happened is they lost five years of existence...its not like the two of them are going to be instrumental in street level matters during Inferno or dealing with Thanos, but five years is a long time in comics, enough that who knows what they could have done during that time instead of being in limbo due to this infamous ending. Ben HermanDecember 27, 2015 10:00 PM Avengers #13-14 I read these issues in Essential Avengers Vol 1 several years ago. Since then I've wondered if either of the alien races seen in issue #14 subsequently made any appearances. Ben HermanDecember 27, 2015 9:33 PM Inhumans #11 Yes, I remember a Pursuer who was actually a Kree showing up during that sprawling "Operation: Galactic Storm" crossover. But I think it would be more interesting to bring back the cockroach. Dave BurnsDecember 27, 2015 9:16 PM Amazing Spider-Man #147-150 "I'm the REAL Spider-Man!" That moment still gives me chills. Terrific wrap-up. gfsdf gfbdDecember 27, 2015 8:32 PM MichaelDecember 27, 2015 6:21 PM Thing #33 Note though that the Official Handbook points out that (a) it's highly unlikely a man of Scourge's build could have posed as Golddigger and (b) it's highly unlikely a man could have posed as Golddigger without appearing unclothed. Gruenwald had a huge influence on the Handbooks, so this probably reflects his intentions. Thanos6December 27, 2015 6:11 PM Thing #33 @Erik Beck: From what I understand, Gru compiled a list of "disposable" villains, and let the individual writers pick from the list. (And sorry this is so late) ScottDecember 27, 2015 5:44 PM Thing #33 This has always bugged me a bit, a lot of sites (including Marvel Appendix) cite this issue, and the Scourge attempting to kill Flash one, as early appearances of other Scourges. For example, the first comment here even mentions the Caprice idea. If you look at Captain America #320, Scourge is shown wearing female masks (and he also even mentions plans to target Hobgoblin, which is an appearance that takes place between pages of Cap #320). So as implausible as it sounds, there's no reason the Scourge in this can't just be the one Scourge we were seeing disguised (very well) as a woman. I honestly believe that Scourge was only the one person in the initial Scourge story. And then another one/a copycat took his place at the end for his assassination (or maybe even rather died in his place, killed by the real Scourge). Of course the later retcons and revelations made it that there were a whole squad of Scourges and stuff, but considering there's an enormous lag between Scourge's death in #320 and the re-emergence of Scourge in #348, the idea that there were multiple Scourges active during the first run doesn't make much sense... if that was the case, there'd not be a dry spell without Scourge kills. Henry R. KujawaDecember 27, 2015 3:28 PM Strange Tales #148-149 (Nick Fury) "Per Denny O'Neil in Alter Ego #123: Stan Lee and Roy Thomas plotted #149 and Denny only dialogued it." Denny O'Neil-- one of the worst writers in the biz-- is full of S***. JACK KIRBY write the story and did the layouts. Why would one of the best writers in the biz need not one but two halfwits to supply him with story plots? This is all part of a concerted effort to diminsih the real work Jack Kirby put in on so many series. He was a freelancer who did his work at home with zero input from anybody else, and with NO contracts. It was vital for the company to make it seem like a full-time salaried employee was supplying the ideas, in order for them to be automatically considered "company property". That's what it ALL comes down to. Allen December 27, 2015 2:02 PM Hulk #368 I noticed with this issue and during his fight with super skrull a few issues later a little more of a social conscious for this incarnation of The Hulk, like he was going through an evolution. He yells out when the coupling breaks (and Hyde points out he "cares" for the weaklings) along with Hulk telling Super-Skrull how dismissive he is of the fact that Super-Skrull enjoys the "suffering of innocents". Interesting stuff seldom touched on MichaelDecember 27, 2015 12:48 PM Inhumans #11 Well we've seen another Pursuer but not the cockroach one. Ben HermanDecember 27, 2015 12:45 PM Inhumans #11 A cockroach transformed into a super-powered Kree agent is so insanely over the top that it actually sort of works. I'm surprised no one has ever brought this guy back. Maybe he should show up in the current Ant-Man series to harass Scott Lang. bryan gerard briggsDecember 27, 2015 12:18 PM Marvel Mystery Comics #8-10 I absolutely love golden age comic-book stories,and this one Mark DrummondDecember 27, 2015 11:55 AM Captain America #177-186 I suspect that Englehart was trying to work in a low-level subplot about the Falcon being afraid of ending up like Bucky. At one point Leila says to the Falcon "He'd love another Bucky, the boy sidekick!" and another issue's caption states "He doesn't like to think about Bucky much". And I just noticed that the Falcon's last sentence in his dream in #177, "She's gonna blow!" is very close to "It's gonna blow!" which were Bucky's last words to Cap in Avengers #4. MichaelDecember 27, 2015 8:59 AM Uncanny X-Men #136-137 The idea was that the boy in the scans above where the nurse tells Scott that the family hasn't been in contact to pursue the adoption was Sinister as he truly is- a child with a genius intellect trapped in a body that ages at the fraction of the rate a normal person does. Erik BeckDecember 27, 2015 7:55 AM Sleepwalker #1-3 Mmm, nope. Still hate Blevins' art. Also agree that it's Jean Grey, albeit ineptly drawn and mis-colored. JCDecember 27, 2015 6:09 AM Uncanny X-Men #136-137 What was Claremont's original intentions/origin for Sinister? ScottDecember 26, 2015 3:32 PM Avengers #259-260 Carlos Pacheco did a great piece of original art for a cover of a Spanish reprint of these issues. Sadly can't find it. Erik BeckDecember 26, 2015 8:55 AM Namor #14 One nice thing about a Namor book - everyone knows who he is, so you never have to worry about the whole "must change into my costume to save the day without anyone knowing who I am trope". Luke BlanchardDecember 25, 2015 11:17 PM Avengers #115-118 / Defenders #8-11 When he first appeared Thanos's goal was conquest of Titan, and when he reappeared he'd conquered it. Perhaps Englehart asked for the panel, meaning it to represent Thanos defending his domain, like Doom defending Latveria. Apparently the issue actually came out between CAPTAIN MARVEL #29 and #30. For fnord's placement purposes the image could be interpreted as Thanos defending his domain, Thanos defending Titan while trying to conquer it because he wants it for himself, or even Thanos defending Titan before he went bad. MichaelDecember 25, 2015 6:46 PM Captain America #224 The MCP got this placement from Murray Ward's Avengers Index. Does anyone know why Ward decided to place CA 224 this early? ScottDecember 25, 2015 4:38 PM Thor #356 Wasn't Hercules' "costume" destroyed. You've got it placed at a time when he was between costumes. AndrewDecember 25, 2015 12:30 PM Avengers West Coast #60-62 I'll be interested to see what you make of Time Quake. Personally I consider Avengers Forever to be the definitive take on anything concerning Immortus or the Time Keepers. ChrisWDecember 25, 2015 12:22 PM Daredevil #214 And the point isn't that civilization turned Micah Synn evil, it's that it made him soft and weak. When every day is a struggle to get as much food as possible and look out for your tribe, you're going to be completely unbalanced when you come to a world of 'all you can eat' buffets, with media and socialites (Debbie) hanging on your every word. The Kingpin has to make plans for the future, for the spice industry he studies so carefully (and whatever else he's into.) He worked his way to that point. Micah is a savage. He has no thought for the future. Mow will provide, assuming the sacrifices are kept up. kveto December 25, 2015 12:05 PM Captain America #224 I think the MCP was just being lazy in their placement. Considering it takes the entire issue for Cap to recall the madbomb war, this should take place at least a few months after that war. Dan H.December 25, 2015 12:02 PM Avengers #60 My No-Prize explanation: Someone really wanted to disrupt the wedding. Whoever it was considered actually taking part in the disturbance to be beneath them. Call it Egghead, Doctor Doom, the Thinker, the Puppet Master, whoever... They kidnapped the Ringmaster and actually hypnotized/brainwashed him and his associates to take this ridiculous action as revenge for their encounter with Thor. This is why the Ringmaster doesn't hypnotize Hawkeye or anyone else. Because he's "under" himself, he either can't successfully hypnotize anyone else or attempting to do so would break his own enthrallment. So he's given a hypnotic command not to attempt to use his powers. Obviously he snaps out at some point before his next appearance and maybe he's even successful at pleading that this was an involuntary act, but the true culprit is never identified. Basically, whoever masterminded this just wanted to break up the "happy" occasion. Any actual injuries or death would just be gravy. Yeah, I know it's stupid, but it's certainly better than taking the Circus' actions at face value. MichaelDecember 25, 2015 11:50 AM Tales Of Suspense #88-90 (Captain America) Since there's an explanation as to how the Skull survived his seeming death in Tales of Suspense 81, shouldn't that be listed under References? david banesDecember 25, 2015 2:39 AM Avengers #115-118 / Defenders #8-11 Yeah that's really weird Thanos appears there. Did Starlin just ask the artist to insert a panel or did he borrow a random alien on Titan and no one cared? JCDecember 24, 2015 8:47 PM Iron Man #269-275 Judging by both the order of the dialogue and the placement of the head in that second panel, it looks moar likely that it was the colorist's mistake and not the letterer's. Mark DrummondDecember 24, 2015 7:55 PM What's Missing All the Star-Lord 1970s stories got their own TPB earlier this year. All the Vampire Tales got reprinted in a strange digest size a few years ago, but the necessarily scrunched-down art might make too much of a chore to read. The KISS Super Specials also got their own much cheaper TPB collection. Mark DrummondDecember 24, 2015 7:50 PM What's Missing Other good places to look for comics and TPBs are Amazon, www.ABEbooks.com, Atomic Avenue, and www.bookfinder4u.com. Amazon has a lot more old things than you'd think and a lot of times regular book dealers will look at TPBs and think "book", not "comics" so they tend to be cheaper there. JCDecember 24, 2015 6:24 PM Amazing Spider-Man #287-288 Congrats Phil of Calgary! You passed the you're a moron test with flying colors! ScottDecember 24, 2015 3:21 PM Daredevil #215 Two-Gun is depicted in the past in West Coast Avengers during the time travel story with memories of his time in the present/being good friends with Hawkeye. So we found out he got back to his own time a LOT earlier than Marvels Project. Oliver_CDecember 24, 2015 2:42 PM Avengers West Coast #69 Tsk, tsk, Thomas: the correct Japanese would be "Are wa..." (pronounced 'Ah-reh wa...') not "Ara wa..." ScottDecember 24, 2015 12:55 PM Avengers West Coast #69 #82 reveals the vote for Mockingbird came from USAgent. I'd also be pretty confident to say the 1 vote for Machine Man comes from Iron Man (from the Terminus Objective Iron Man Annual). Erik BeckDecember 24, 2015 9:21 AM Avengers West Coast #69 Well, I'm another defender of Hawkeye. One thing to bear in mind about him being a jerk about Bobbi's rape is this - he's being a terrible, terrible husband. But he hasn't been a husband for very long. He's been an Avenger for a very long time and spent a long time working towards being chairman and he's trying to hold true to the idea that Avengers don't kill and in the end, his being an Avenger wins out over being a husband. It might not be the best choice, but it is, under the circumstances of the character as developed, a reasonable one. fnord12December 24, 2015 8:23 AM Avengers West Coast #60-62 The MCP and the Appendix both list them as appearing here. I'll adjust or make a note when i get to Time Quake (relatively soon) if merited but if it's just called into question without being definitive it's probably better to leave them tagged. MichaelDecember 24, 2015 8:20 AM Avengers West Coast #60-62 But ARE those the Time Keepers? The Time Quake arc in What If calls that into question. fnord12December 24, 2015 8:17 AM Avengers West Coast #60-62 Yes, thanks. AndrewDecember 24, 2015 8:06 AM Avengers West Coast #60-62 Since the Time Keepers are in the present, shouldn't they be listed in characters appearing? MichaelDecember 24, 2015 7:50 AM Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #123 @Al- but if Peter had done the same thing, he WOULD blame himself. ScottDecember 24, 2015 5:01 AM Captain Marvel #54 But he's wearing half of his mask for some reason... which suggests the helmet is completely independent from the goggles. AlDecember 23, 2015 9:12 PM Amazing Spider-Man #307-309 John Dubya: Remember comic book physics isn’t real world physics. If it was Peter and MJ would have faces like ground meat after the number of injuries they’ve endured. More than that though I’m actually fairly confident that given the amount of water and the type of electrical device, no MJ would not have killed them. It wasn’t like they were in a bath naked and a toaster was dropped in with them. @#MorganWick: Tbh, I find it incredibly doubtful the majority of fans who grew up with a non-married Spider-Man (single always seemed like a dumb label, he was rarely single, he was mostly in one relationship or another) actually disliked married Spider-Man. It was a relatively small minority and most of them were within the Marvel offices themselves. God forbid they put the effort into doing something other than writing a cycle of hook ups and break ups they could do in their sleep. AlDecember 23, 2015 9:05 PM Amazing Spider-Man annual #21 @#Michael: Yes Spider-Man vs. Wolverine happens inbetween ASm #288-289. But the issue specifically points out Peter regards Mj as his girlfriend and is trying to deny that by claiming he hasn't got a girlfriend. Which means he isn't dating Felicia at that time. AlDecember 23, 2015 9:01 PM Spectacular Spider-Man #171-172 In MJ's defence it not only worked but at the same time the dude wouldn't leave her alone so... AlDecember 23, 2015 9:00 PM Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #123 @Michael: Legally she is culpable, morally it's a bit different. Peter wouldn't blame Felicia for what happened as it wasn't part of her or even the Foeigner's plan. Again the Blaze went rogue. Like if she planned to stage a fake robbery with a toy gun but the guy decided he was going to bring a bomb and murder everyone that's not really her fault. Sure in ASm #289 they were sleeping together. But a lot of stuff in between complicates the issue, including him outright stating he doesn't have a girlfriend in Spider-Man vs. Wolverine. I always assumed at some point after that (maybe in ASm #289) they hooked up. AlDecember 23, 2015 8:56 PM Amazing Spider-Man #182-183 @fnord12: I think it warrants maybe a 2. whilst it doesn't lead to their wedding it does lead to the beginning of the end of their relationship and this first proposal is an underlying aspect of their relationship going forward, explained later as tying into MJ's major character development as well as her knowledge of his secret identity. Additionally it was referenced perhaps not every issue but in several issues following her rejection. ChrisDecember 23, 2015 8:18 PM Marvel Super Heroes #3 (Captain Marvel) Instantiation, I agree that Mar-vell - once he got to this point - was a pretty interesting character and had enough of a mythos and rogue's gallery that he should have stayed publish. It took a long time to get there though. The first several iterations of the character just didn't work. I wonder if the baggage of those first 5-6 years undermined the character. They would have been much more in the mind with the readership then then they would be now. Luis DantasDecember 23, 2015 6:11 PM Captain Marvel #54 @Scott: Wonder Man is using his original costume, minus the top of his mask. That places this issue chronologically between Avengers #153 and #160. Defenders #47 also happens during this time period. a.lloydDecember 23, 2015 6:03 PM Amazing Spider-Man #53-56 I never understood how doc ock could last five minutes with Spider-Man. david banesDecember 23, 2015 5:40 PM Iron Man #27 Yeah Firebrand had a great start before becoming 'i'm a bad guy!' davidDecember 23, 2015 5:36 PM Captain America #177-186 Snap isn't real! It was just the Red Skull trying to trick everyone and plant false memories! Dan H.December 23, 2015 4:10 PM Fury #1 "I heard that!" Holy God, that's bad. Red CometDecember 23, 2015 2:05 PM Fury #1 @Mortificator Yeah, Marvel has vastly expanded SHIELD's backstory over the past few years in various series written by Jonathan Hickman and the Original Sin crossover written by Jason Aaron. The conceit is that SHIELD, or at least a version of SHIELD, has existed throughout Marvel history secretly defending Earth from threats. This has allowed perennial nerd favorites like Leonardo Da Vinci and Nicola Tesla to be shoehorned in as Marvel heroes. It's a decent enough idea for a story, but I imagine continuity hounds that are a lot more invested in SHIELD's backstory than I am tear their hair out as they read these books. fnord12December 23, 2015 1:16 PM What's Missing Thanks Michael. I've actually tried to buy this but it's been out of stock at Mycomicshop.com for a while. I've added it to this list. MichaelDecember 23, 2015 8:20 AM What's Missing The Spider-Man Family: Amazing Friends oneshot takes place after New Warriors 1 but before X-Men 1. Erik BeckDecember 23, 2015 7:37 AM New Warriors #11-13 "But in the end this is a random alternate reality story" Though, because Nicieza will go on to write Age of Apocalypse, isn't this our first hint of what the mutant characters will be like in that? Not saying it deserves higher than a 1 for HSR, but it does appear to be just a little more than a random alternate reality story. MortificatorDecember 22, 2015 10:13 PM Fury #1 Ancient... version... of SHIELD? I started Googling that, then decided I don't even want to know. Vin the Comics GuyDecember 22, 2015 8:48 PM Uncanny X-Men annual #3 The panel of Colossus riding the lizard is one of two pages inked by John Byrne. AndrewDecember 22, 2015 8:30 PM Punisher: POV #1-4 That final image of the strobing windows of the subway train is a visual homage to Krigstein's masterpiece from the 1950's Impact #1, The Master Race. ScottDecember 22, 2015 7:31 PM Captain America #291 I remember there were actually a fair amount of letters over the course of Gruenwald's run that wished to see this Tumbler again. ChrisDecember 22, 2015 5:28 PM Avengers Spotlight #39 I agree with Kveto that this is a poor use of the Crusader. Not only are his motivations being mixed up, he's declined in power quite a bit. Still, it's hard to see what could be done with the crusader as originally written. It would take a writer with a lot of interest in the character to make it work as an ongoing antagonist. Dan H.December 22, 2015 2:36 PM Avengers #157-159 Ah, that makes sense. Ben HermanDecember 22, 2015 1:57 PM Fantastic Four #325 I recently re-read these issues. I've always had a fondness for them. They're weird but interesting. Back during the original Mantis storyline in Avengers in the early 1970s, it seems really strange that a second-rate gangster like Monsieur Khruul was able to kill all of the Priests of Pama, since they were supposed to be the greatest martial artists in the universe, or something like that. The fact that a whole bunch of the Priests show on Earth in this issue, including one who trained Mantis, really seems to indicate that most of them went into hiding when Khruul showed up at their temple. I think the Priests let everyone believe they were all dead, so that Mantis wouldn't be able to ask them questions about her past, allowing the Cotati's whole convoluted plan for her to play out. Ben HermanDecember 22, 2015 1:48 PM Iron Man #276-277 This was such an incredibly abrupt ending to John Byrne's run. For a long time I wondered how he had planned to resolve the not-inconsiderable problem of Stark only having a short time left to live. But now I see from Michael's comment above that Byrne claims he DID resolve it, which is clearly not the case, since it would be a HUGE subplot during Len Kaminski's run. So what was up with Byrne's writing at this time? He appeared to think that his stories were much more coherent than they actually were. In Byrne's own words, he argues that DeWitt's motivation for revenge "WAS STATED CLEALY IN THE STORY," when it certainly was not. Over in Namor the Sub-Mariner the subplot with the Marrs Twins was a huge mess, with most readers uncertain if Phoebe was going crazy, or if that actually Desmond's ghost, or if it something else entirely. And then this extremely rushed ending, with Byrne leaving Stark's health problems unresolved, but afterwards insisting to readers that he had tied everything up. How many times over the years has Byrne left a title mid-storyline anyway? It seems to happen quite often! Ben HermanDecember 22, 2015 1:22 PM Namor #15-20 Oh, so in other words this was another case of Byrne thinking believing that he was being perfectly clear in his plotting and storytelling, while in reality most readers were left scratching their heads. fnord12December 22, 2015 12:58 PM Avengers #157-159 Generally speaking, if a flashback can plausibly take place directly before the main story, i count the appearances as part of the entry. In this case, the flashback takes place "not an hour" before the beginning of the issue, so it's really a media res situation. Dan H.December 22, 2015 12:50 PM Avengers #157-159 I'm on board with the Ultron explanation, but didn't "the reaching hand" only appear in flashback? Thus, shouldn't he be removed from the Characters Appearing list? Dan H.December 22, 2015 12:29 PM Captain America #224 I'm puzzled about the MCP's placement as well. The whole bit about Cap knowing Al Avison from "the last war" doesn't really make sense if this is taking place DURING the Madbomb War. fnord12December 22, 2015 11:35 AM Avengers #157-159 Thanks Midnighter. MidnighterDecember 22, 2015 11:02 AM Avengers #157-159 You didn't list Judith Parks in the characters appearing list. Nathan AdlerDecember 22, 2015 8:54 AM Tales Of Suspense #93-94 (Captain America) I think I've finally worked out just what the mysterious anomaly was in the process of Myron MacLain creating Captain America's shield. Odin put some Uru metal in Maclain's mix to give the Allies a weapon against the Nazi’s. This could explain why Thor's hammer can't dent it and why it returns to Cap so easily!? This would also resolve AIM's scientists declaring "Whatever this metal is, it was not mined on this Earth!" when they captured the shield here. The fact that Maclain mysteriously falls asleep could further suggest godly involvement. MichaelDecember 22, 2015 12:07 AM Namor #15-20 Byrne has said Phoebe was just supposed to be crazy.Unfortunately, like with DeWitt, he wasn't clear that there wasn't supposed to be more to it, so later writers came up with an explanation he never had in mind. ChrisWDecember 21, 2015 11:28 PM Fantastic Four #251-256 And good point about leaving Alicia to serve as babysitter. I am very much in favor of superheroes behaving like real people, and yeah, there's no way Reed and Sue would leave their child in the care of a blind woman without some sort of protection. I know I keep harping on this, but isn't Franklin Richards a perfect example of why Marvel's Illuminati doesn't work? If Reed is really so in contact with Professor Xavier, than wouldn't the two of them be actively looking to figure out Franklin's problems? Never mind all the universe-destroying things going on in "X-Men," shouldn't Reed be looking out for what's best for his son? I could see a decent story where Reed wants this and the X-Men want that and the time-travelers want the other thing. But not if Reed and Charlie have been working together all along. Sucks to be Franklin. ChrisWDecember 21, 2015 11:16 PM Fantastic Four #251-256 You're probably right about Thor's bicep, but that red cape is draping down behind Cap's legs. There's no way Thor could be standing like that, and Wanda isn't close enough. That cape seriously doesn't belong to anyone in the picture. It's why I simultaneously love and hate John Byrne. Even when he's doing work that that is totally awesome, there's always something that makes me go 'that's not right.' The red cape in that picture [awesome as it is] cannot belong to anybody in that picture. Wanda is behind Thor, the Wasp, and Cap. The cape can't be hers. Even if the vaguely-pink bump is Thor's bicep (and I don't disagree there) the red cape is just in such a place that you wonder what the hell Thor is doing. It appears on both sides of Cap, and between his legs. And there's obviously enough distance between the two for Jan to stand between them. If Todd McFarlane drew it, I could understand, but really? Ben HermanDecember 21, 2015 10:47 PM Namor #15-20 I read these issues in real time, and I have many of the same thoughts regarding them as Fnord. It seemed very odd that the Punisher would show up and drive Desmond Marrs to suicide, without Namor having any interaction with this subplot. And then the Punisher has "things to discuss" with Phoebe, but we never find out about what, and it doesn't seem to have any impact going forward. I really wonder where Byrne was going with all this. It would lead to Phoebe apparently being haunted by her brother's ghost, but Byrne left the book before he could resolve that, along with a few other plotlines. Looking back on it, this was the point where the loose ends started to accumulate. Dave BurnsDecember 21, 2015 7:50 PM Giant-Size Defenders #3 I was only 10 when I read this issue but it stayed with me for years because it was the only time I'd ever seen where a superhero actually gets killed. The death of Daredevil by immolation was horrifying beyond words. And proud Namor's futile rage only led to a beat-down that was literally lethal. The decision to up the stakes like this made the story riveting. SharDecember 21, 2015 6:54 PM Captain Marvel #54 Cockrum's splash pays homage to Colan's Marvel Super-Heroes #12 cover, the issue that featured Mar-Vell's debut. Luke BlanchardDecember 21, 2015 6:15 PM Marvel Super Heroes #12-13 What Fass and then Marvel grabbed wasn't the copyright, but the trademark. DC licensed the original Captain Marvel from Fawcett when it revived him in the 70s. (It owns him now.) There's more on this at http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2012/02/10/comic-book-legends-revealed-353/2/ . mikrolikDecember 21, 2015 5:05 PM Ms. Marvel #1 Mark Drummond: PPTSSM 21 established Gargan was never stuck in his Scorpion suit; it was all a delusion. Ataru320December 21, 2015 4:50 PM Fantastic Four #78 The Wizard with Power Gloves... "It's so Bad". (had to be said) Ataru320December 21, 2015 4:48 PM Marvel Super Heroes #12-13 Admission: while it may feel repetitive that Mar-Vell is fighting the Kree Sentry again, I think it helped streamline things all the easier with the "Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes" rendition, which more or less merge that story with the F4's first encounter with the Kree. (it also kept Mar-Vell blue and offered an easier explanation behind Carol becoming Captain Marvel herself...) fnord12December 21, 2015 3:51 PM Captain America #206-214, Captain America annual #3-4 Thanks Jay. ChrisDecember 21, 2015 1:55 PM Giant-Size Dracula #3 Mark, many Hungarians live in Transylvania. Hungarian princes traditionally ruled Transylvania. Whether Transylvania should be part of Hungary or Romania would be one of the great political conflicts/tragedies of the 20th century. Many of the Transylvanian Hungarians are members of the Szekely subgroup. And in the book Dracula, Bram Stoker made Dracula a Szekely, not a Wallachian as in real history. Here is a quote: ‘We Szekelys have a right to be proud, for in our veins flows the blood of many brave races who fought as the lion fights, for lordship." Jay DemetrickDecember 21, 2015 1:21 PM Captain America #206-214, Captain America annual #3-4 You've left Lifter out of you Characters Appearing links. Dan H.December 21, 2015 11:28 AM Marvel Team-Up annual #5 Ah, the grand old days when both Kull and Conan could be referenced by name in a mainstream Marvel comic. I know it was only a few years later when Marvel Saga started up and they couldn't (or chose not to) reference either by name but had both show up without their faces visible. Also, regarding Gru's love of serpents, I wonder if he regretted taking the serpent crown offstage since it would have been the ultimate Holy Grail for his later Serpent Society and a throwback to their initial mission as the Serpent Squad. Then again, it may have even been a conscious choice by him since he deliberately designed the Society as a more all-purpose mercenary organization as opposed to the Squad, whose history was intrinsically linked to the Crown. Dan H.December 21, 2015 11:16 AM Fantastic Four #251-256 Regarding Chris' comment: "Ok, there's a red cape that doesn't seem to belong to anyone, and there's a vague pink bump that might be the Wasp's wing..." The "vague pink bump" is Thor's bicep. He's standing in front of Wanda. The red cape is his. The only questionable thing is how perfectly the Wasp's body is masked by Cap's. She's definitely standing in between Cap and Thor. Thor's right leg being masked by Cap's shield and left leg is fine. Aside from that, I know the FF trust Alicia and all, but given their plethora of enemies, is leaving the two of them alone for an extended period really that great of an idea? I know it's one of those story contrivances to get the Annihilus subplot rolling, but there's no way Reed and Sue would take off as they did without either moving some extra security into the building or just having Franklin and Alicia move into Avengers Mansion or stay with the Inhumans while they were gone. I'm sure there was an explanation of sorts in the first issue of this arc, but I'm equally sure it was weak. I mean, at LEAST have someone set up to drop in on them regularly. That way you can still do the story, just have Annihilus show up and get his shield going in between visits. Luke BlanchardDecember 21, 2015 9:30 AM Uncanny X-Men #10 Note that Ka-Zar was originally a teen hero. I think that explains why he debuted in X-MEN. ChrisWDecember 20, 2015 6:23 PM Amazing Spider-Man #289 By the way, now that Peter is patching things up with MJ [which will result in a quickie marriage] maybe he should hook her up with Felicia who obviously has a talent for designing and making clothes. Both girls would benefit, and so would Peter. ChrisWDecember 20, 2015 5:13 PM Amazing Spider-Man #289 Or not even a lie, just a calming mechanism or way to think things out for herself. "Writing a letter" has been recommended by psychologists or people with professional credibility as a way to resolve problems. Wasn't her marriage to Ned having problems during the other references to her mother? When she hit denial, she hit it hard. I'm just coming up with ideas, by the way, feel free to disagree. ChrisWDecember 20, 2015 4:51 PM Amazing Spider-Man #289 Or maybe it's just a lie she automatically tells, for whatever reason. It's not flattering to Betty, but it's still a believable human behavior. I've known people like that, and you probably have too. Peter might be one of the few who ever got close enough to her to learn the truth. [I still think Ditko intended Betty to be Peter's ultimate love interest.] I'm not an expert in this "Spider-Man" era, and it's a distant second from one the one era I do know well [Lee/Ditko] so maybe she made regular reference to her mother being dead. Seems unlikely, but it's possible. And with the behind-the-scenes office politics going on - I've been reading a few of the links to the articles on this page - it's not clear when exactly Ned was pegged, or who made the actual decision. It's quite possible Peter David was told well in advance of how it would end, or when the "Spider-Man/Wolverine" book would be out, or he just forgot. Or any number of other explanations. Too many contradictions in the Hobgoblin story to ever be resolved, but it doesn't detract from how well-done Betty's suffering from denial was. MichaelDecember 20, 2015 4:17 PM Amazing Spider-Man #289 But the problem is that Peter David implied that Betty had been crazy for MONTHS BEFORE NED DIED (i.e. thinking her mother was alive), so it was just another "womens be crazy" story. ChrisWDecember 20, 2015 3:57 PM Amazing Spider-Man #289 I rather liked the way Betty was in denial. It is a real concept and it really does happen. Sucks for Betty sure, but she's a fictional character, and that's the point. We like her and care about what happens to her. So does Peter. [Although I question his choice of MJ as the one who should be sent to comfort Betty; they were hardly close friends, were they?] In a genre where people die and come back to life so often, it's a pleasant change to see realistic human reactions to it. Elektra had been long-dead by the time I read Frank Miller's "Daredevil," so the death itself didn't have much impact on me, but the following issue [a superhero version of 'denial,' for those who haven't read it] is one of the most gripping, creepiest comic books I've ever read, and I am not someone who is easily disturbed by fiction. Luke BlanchardDecember 20, 2015 3:30 PM Power Man & Iron Fist #78 I found the mystery absorbing. Duffy and Gammill were a great team on this title. One of the letters responding to the issue guessed the pair were Frankenstein and the Wolfman. The solution fits so neatly! Are we to suppose El Aguila's blast failed because Constrictor was wearing his costume under his clothes, and it protected him? I don't know why it would not have otherwise. Erik BeckDecember 20, 2015 9:42 AM Thor #431-433 Yeah, it would have been useful to read these before reading IG. But then I would to have read these and the more I see of DeFalco's Thor run the less I like it. ScottDecember 20, 2015 8:27 AM Marvel Two-In-One #91 The cover's meant to tease us by making us think this month's guest is apparently being Batman, right? ScottDecember 20, 2015 7:40 AM Power Man & Iron Fist #78 Closest to a Constrictor / Sabretooth reunion was in the Sabretooth solo arc at the end of the Weapon X series. They played poker with some other villains. IIRC Constrictor gives Creed some sass and he responds by saying something along the lines of if they didn't go way back he'd gut him for that remark. JPDecember 19, 2015 4:09 PM Marvel Fanfare #8 Well... who says Jungle Book isn't part of Marvel Universe continuity? :) Doc Savage is. Fu Man Chu is. 2001 is. ScottDecember 19, 2015 4:03 PM She-Hulk #13-14 She-Hulk of course does go on to eventually join the Defenders in the Busiek run and is a very prominent member again in Joe Casey's Defenders stories across various titles. Mark DrummondDecember 19, 2015 3:45 PM Punisher: POV #1-4 Comics Journal #176 had some commentary from Wrightson about this book: "I hated doing the Punisher...I remember talking to the editor...and I said 'Tell me something about this character'...He thought for a second and said 'Any time the Punisher appears in a panel with somebody else, he shoots him. Any time the Punisher is in a panel with some object, he blows it up.' ". Matthew BradleyDecember 19, 2015 9:09 AM Iron Man #95-100 Just wanted to clear up a slight misconception regarding #100: the original Mandarin did indeed die in #70. Loc Do stole the rings before destroying his body, and when he activated them, the Mandarin's transferred "mind-force" did not merely possess him but permanently took over his body, thus effectively "killing" Loc Do. Erik BeckDecember 19, 2015 8:25 AM Amazing Spider-Man #348 Glad I quit the Avengers when I did. I liked them bringing Sandman in and to just yank him out and not have it happen in an Avengers issue is just ridiculous editorial interference. Luke BlanchardDecember 19, 2015 6:07 AM Chamber of Chills #3 Fox had used the missing shadow theme before in a Spectre story in SHOWCASE #61. The Spectre's antagonist in the issue is Shathan, a stand in for the Devil. This was a couple of years before Mephisto's debut. A.LloydDecember 18, 2015 1:17 PM Silver Surfer #15-18 Imagine the Silver Surfer as a villain. Oh well. fnord12December 18, 2015 9:55 AM Captain America #206-214, Captain America annual #3-4 Thanks Scott. I've updated the tags for all the Mutants to show both names. I do want to caution that there will always be cases where characters have had multiple names of (more or less) equal prominence, and i don't want to get in the habit of constantly rethinking the tag i've chosen or listing strings of alternates. In other words, i've changed the tags this time, but it doesn't establish a precedent. ;-) ScottDecember 17, 2015 3:29 PM Captain America #206-214, Captain America annual #3-4 Occult should probably be listed as Peeper (as he's named here) or Peepers (as he's named in Wolverine #164 onwards). He doesn't use the name Occult after his Resistants appearances (solely in Cap books) and later returns in various X-Books (Wolverine, various Decimation tie-ins, briefly Messiah CompleX) and usually fills the role of "prominent loser". A.lloydDecember 17, 2015 3:00 PM Daredevil #25 Leap Frog and Mike Murdock created in one issue. Was Stan suffering from burnout? Oliver_CDecember 17, 2015 2:22 PM Fantastic Four #313-317 All I remember from these issues is the Ben-Sharon heavy petting and the Human Torch getting turned into a pig. fnord12December 17, 2015 7:16 AM Power Pack #50-52 Ok, i've added Numinus as a Character Appearing. Thanks. Luke BlanchardDecember 17, 2015 1:48 AM Silver Surfer #1 The image of the Surfer emerging from Galactus's hand derives from the opening of the 1978 THE SILVER SURFER graphic novel, which was by Lee and Kirby and out of continuity. david banesDecember 17, 2015 1:03 AM Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #74-76 Yeah I can't stand the Deb Whitman conclusion but the Ock and Owl war was great. I love that closing set of panels of the rabid Ock vowing revenge. MichaelDecember 16, 2015 9:01 PM Power Pack #50-52 When we discussed it at the MCP, we decided it was pre-Secret Wars. pgunnDecember 16, 2015 3:49 PM Silver Surfer #1 funny, the FF here looks nothing like Byrne's FF... look at Reed's face in that first page... looks very much like Byrne did a tribute to Buscema, in both character design (esp on the Surfer) and page layout JesseDecember 16, 2015 3:45 PM Iron Fist #15 Perhaps this issue was Claremont’s way of attempting to transform Iron Fist readers in to X-Men readers. With Iron Fist on the way out, its readers would have a spare thirty or thirty-five cents in their pockets each month, and this may have been his attempt to keep that coin incoming on his books. The notes about Cockrum redrawing Byrne’s art made me laugh. While Byrne is high on my list of preferred comic artists, he is certainly not my favorite and I rank Cockrum above him. Prior to reading these comments, I had thought that this issue was Byrne’s best work drawing the X-Men, which just cements my feelings on the two artists. As for the Fang costume, I am glad it died with this issue and applaud Byrne’s creation of the brown Wolvie costume. ScottDecember 16, 2015 2:58 PM Machine Man #1 The name change (from Mister Machine to Machine Man) was due to a toy which was called Mister Machine. Red CometDecember 16, 2015 1:24 PM Iron Fist #15 The Fang costume has a better color scheme than Wolverine's blue and gold costume, but the fin mask is almost as distinctive a visual as Wolverine's hair cut. I can see why John Byrne went back to the blue and gold and ultimately why he combined the best of both suits into Wolverine's brown costume, which has always been the character's best costume in my opinion. I believe there was a Comic Book Legends Revealed from awhile ago confirming that Cockrum redrew Wolverine's face in this issue. It also looks to me like Cockrum drew not only the faces, but the entire figures for Phoenix and Cyclops in the scan above. ScottDecember 16, 2015 11:46 AM Iron Fist #15 Would have liked to see Logan wear this costume more. This issue is pretty much the only time when it's treat as an actual design change (as Cockrum intended) rather than a makeshift costume. Erik BeckDecember 16, 2015 11:39 AM Excalibur #40-41 If I had still been reading Excalibur I would have seen this is as being a complete hose job for fans. It had been years since Excalibur had interacted with the X-Men and there was no reason to still keep them separate. The X-Men are basically family to Kitty and Kurt and literally family for Rachel and Brian. They had just been to Muir Island. And they still just kept Excalibur in this separate pocket universe. Even in the crossovers they would be completely ignored. I didn't need a return to status quo for the X-Men. I didn't need them back in the mansion and I sure as hell didn't need Xavier back in a wheelchair and leading them again. But I desperately needed Kurt and Kitty to return to the team. It would be another two years before Kurt would show up in Uncanny for a few pages. ScottDecember 16, 2015 9:55 AM Captain Marvel #54 What is going on with Wonder Man's costume in this issue? It always bugged me. fnord12December 16, 2015 9:18 AM Power Pack #50-52 Is that post-Secret Wars? MichaelDecember 16, 2015 8:03 AM Power Pack #50-52 Cosmic Whoopi recently reappears in Groot 4-5. Omar KarinduDecember 16, 2015 7:05 AM Fury #1 "To clarify, not all Life Model Decoys are the same. The 'normal' LMDs are just robots that look like real humans and are programmed to behave like them. " But this gets us into the "What Measure Is a Man?" debate; what range of behavior crosses the line from "programmed to act like a person" to "displaying the full range of behavior of a person?" The Tony Stark LMD that tried to replace the real Stark was back in Iron Man v.1 #17-19 seems like a case of a sentient LMD, for example. And SHIELD v.1 #1 has them testing an LMD Fury that's meant to completely replace the real one in the field, which would mean responding to novel behaviors. It fails the test, but it might be the same LMD later stolen by the original Scorpio in issue #5 of that series, the one that eventually becomes "Max Fury." The other retcon that complicates all of this is the Secret Warriors reveal that LMDs were never Stark's invention, but rather come from some kind of weird alien tech thing connected to the Great Wheel and the ancient version of SHIELD. So maybe sentient LMDs come from that tech -- which would also take care of Scorpio's clearly sentient LMD Zodiac, since the retcon makes Scorpio himself just such a sentient LMD -- and then the "mere decoy" versions are StarkTech efforts to recreate the original, or even some kind of independent creation. Erik BeckDecember 16, 2015 6:59 AM Fantastic Four #350-354 "i think it's a misreading of her character to have her playing the flirt" Given how Simonson draws her there, maybe he forgot and thought it was Lorelei? Oliver_CDecember 16, 2015 6:51 AM Avengers #305-310 That 'Greek shepherd' is even less convincing as a Greek shepherd than Dick van Dyke was as a Londoner. Erik BeckDecember 16, 2015 6:29 AM Avengers #332-333 @Bill - I have read both. I think the Busiek / Perez is solid (especially the art), but it didn't intrigue me enough to think I ever needed to buy it. I have mixed feelings about Avengers Forever - I think parts of it are fascinating and speak to my love of continuity but other parts are kind of a mess. Plus, I am a big fan of Hank Pym, so the series doesn't work as well for me because of that. I didn't mean to imply that everything from here on is bad. It's just that, unlike two of my other big loves, JLA (the new series post Final Crisis) or X-Men (Whedon's run on Astonishing), there hasn't been anything so good that it actually made me start buying comics again as they came out. Oliver_CDecember 16, 2015 6:27 AM Avengers #329-331 Am I the only one who can never look at Rage without thinking of the legendary Mexican wrestler El Santo? Dave BurnsDecember 15, 2015 10:46 PM Captain Marvel #40 This issue still resonates for me, 40 years later. The tragedy of Una's fate makes the gallant captain weep, again. And he didn't successfully appeal to her consciousness to win; he murdered her (again, you could say), only then glimpsing the last spark of her humanity as life faded from her body. Gut wrenching stuff. Great writing that was head and shoulders above many of the monthly titles out back then. Don CampbellDecember 15, 2015 7:08 PM Fury #1 To clarify, not all Life Model Decoys are the same. The "normal" LMDs are just robots that look like real humans and are programmed to behave like them. These LMDs are non-sentient and do not have thoughts. However, there are also a variety of specialized LMDs. Some of them are identical to normal LMDs except that they've been equipped with "thought tapes" in order to trick any telepaths into believing that they are real people. There are also special models which are designed to fool people with enhanced senses, and some models have been constructed to pass for human even if they are autopsied. These LMDs are equipped with scents and layers of artificial skin and tissue. Remember the "Nick Fury" who was killed by the Punisher? That was a special LMD that Fury had Tony Stark build for him. Finally, there are a number of LMDs which are (somehow) sentient, like "Max Fury" and the current Dum Dum Dugan model. As far as I know, the only explanation for how they are capable of independent thought which has yet been provided is that they are "advanced." Presumably this means that their creators added extra technology to enable their sentience. As for Dum Dum Dugan, the character has appeared in over forty years of Marvel comics and he certainly has had thought balloons at some point. So, if this LMD retcon is sticking, then that means that sentient LMDs must have thought balloons. Oddly enough, in the three Howling Commandos of SHIELD stories published so far, there have been NO thoguht ballooons from ANY of the characters. Erik BeckDecember 15, 2015 11:50 AM Excalibur #37-39 Yeah, the art in this is appalling. Especially bad since Davis had been on the book and was about to come back. In that opening splash, is Meggan mimicking Brian's legs? Or what is the deal with that? BillDecember 15, 2015 11:31 AM Avengers #332-333 If you missed the maxi-series "Avengers Forever" and the entire Busiek/Perex run on the Avengers, you really missed out on some great stuff, Erik! Unfortunately, that's not until 1998 or so... cullenDecember 15, 2015 10:51 AM Fury #1 I know that not everybody has taken to the "Dum Dum has been a series of LMD" retcon, and i also know we haven't learned everything about that yet - but it does seem that he not only has thoughts, but that they persist throughout his incarnations. fnord12December 15, 2015 8:20 AM Amazing Spider-Man #182-183 Al, my point to gfsdf gfbd, in the context of the historical significance rating, was that Peter and MJ were already established as love interests with ups and downs. MJ and Gwen were rivals for Peter's attention before Gwen died, there was a big break-up between Peter and MJ circa Amazing Spider-Man #151-156, etc.. So i didn't think that the proposal here merited an increased historical significance because it doesn't lead directly to the eventual wedding in the 80s. As i mentioned, it wasn't even referenced at that time. But yes, they weren't seeing other people at the time that Peter proposed to MJ here. fnord12December 15, 2015 7:36 AM Fantastic Four annual #18 Michael, the footnote says that the "transmission was sent" before Fantastic Four #257, which makes it sound like the flashback scene itself took place later than that (otherwise why not just say "this scene takes place before..."?). But you could be right. Erik BeckDecember 15, 2015 7:07 AM Avengers #332-333 This was the point, after five solid years of collecting Avengers, I said, meh, if they're doing the bi-weekly thing again, I give up. I was too busy buying back issues all the way back to before #150 to bother to continue with what they were doing. Unlike X-Men, I never did buy another Avengers issue after this and nothing I have seen or heard (e.g. The Crossing) convinces me that I was wrong. MichaelDecember 14, 2015 11:53 PM Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #123 @Al- the felony murder rule is often applied in situations where one conspirator didn't intend lethal force. AlDecember 14, 2015 11:33 PM Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #123 @Michael: That’s a bit ambiguous. Prior issues establish The Foreigner telling Felicia this plan and asking for her help in it. If the woman died due to Foreigner’s plan one might say she isn’t to blame for that. But regardless the Blaze killed her and that was of his own volition. Forigner didn’t intend that I think. Peter is living with Felicia in that story, we just happen to not see her. As a proud cat owner lemme tell ya...they like to go off and prowl away from home for long stretches of time. So....does anyone think Peter and Felicia were dating after this? I find it hard to believe given he’s only probationally trusting her. AlDecember 14, 2015 11:28 PM Amazing Spider-Man #182-183 @ fnord12: I do believe they were in fact exclusive at the time. Not on again off again. AlDecember 14, 2015 11:21 PM Amazing Spider-Man #275-276 With respect I feel the criticisms of the Peter/MJ relationship are rather unfair. It’s a soapy romance subplot. It’s obviously going to get sappy. And as for irrational....how? MJ doesn’t want Peter hurt. She encouraged him to fight Hobby. Then she had a ‘oh shit’ moment realizing what she’d done and had a visceral change of heart. It makes sense when you think about it. MichaelDecember 14, 2015 10:21 PM Fantastic Four annual #18 Fnord, the scene where the Watcher shows Raskor and Bel-Dann the messages takes place "a few months ago"- I always assumed "a few months ago" meant before the destruction of the Skrull homeworld. david banesDecember 14, 2015 9:58 PM Fantastic Four annual #18 Boy the Critter-esque creature Raksor turned into sure looked way more vicious and formidable when Bryne drew him. It was pretty cool learning about those two have that little 'whut' moment from the Dark Phoneix saga. david banesDecember 14, 2015 9:57 PM Fantastic Four #265 Good-bye Thing! I'm sure I'll like She-Hulk but the team isn't quite the same when there's a temporary switch-out. I got a bunch of Bryne's FF volumes lined up for Christmas so I can't wait. AndrewDecember 14, 2015 9:45 PM Fantastic Four #240 I like this issue, but the idea that to escape air pollution the Inhumans should go someplace with no air, no water, and no resources just doesn't make sense. ChrisWDecember 14, 2015 9:40 PM Secret Wars II #9 I'd thought of that. "Secret Wars" I and II are really all I know about the Molecule Man, but it just seemed so out of his reach that I'm dubious. "I transact power on levels unimaginable to you, Captain America, and the Beyonder, it seems, on levels unimaginable to me." That's why I threw in Loki and the Enchantress, by looking at the issues of "New Mutants" before they died to find the best instance of 'Phoenix fixed that???' I can accept that Farouk and Magus forgot the New Mutants ever existed, but the Molecule Man reshaping Asgard? I love the line in Alan Moore's "Supreme" where other inhabitants of the Supremacy describe Supreme as a 90's model whose powers are so poorly-defined as to be effectively limitless. This Molecule Man/Rachel/Beyonder conflict may have been a decade early, but that's exactly what I'm talking about. MichaelDecember 14, 2015 8:58 PM Secret Wars II #9 In Avengers 266, the Molecule Man basically says "I used my powers to undo most of the damage the Beyonder did but I was too weak to fix it all". Presumably the Molecule Man restored everyone's memories of the New Mutants and let Rachel fix the kids' minds. ChrisWDecember 14, 2015 8:48 PM Uncanny X-Men #208-209 Did Spiral have any connection to Central Park? Arguably the two best stories she ever appeared in [this one and "X-Men" Annual #10] working for Freedom Force [Mystique and Destiny] and Mojo respectively mostly took place in Central Park. The former was where Nimrod appeared and a calculated crossover between X-Men and X-Factor worked out, and the latter involved the New Mutants getting ready to graduate. Oh, and having just skimmed parts of "Essential X-Men" #6, I wonder if the connection between Selene and Rachel, more than anything else, was about the fact that Jean Grey and Selene were both Black Queens. And Nimrod only appeared in this era because of the Kulan Gath two-parter. Selene is Amara's ancestor directly, but she's symbolically Rachel's as well. Mark DrummondDecember 14, 2015 7:07 PM Iceman #1-4 I'm not sure how popular it was as a phrase in the mid-1980s; I certainly don't recall anyone saying it. The song itself did become much more well known due to it being used in some commercial. ChrisWDecember 14, 2015 6:47 PM Secret Wars II #9 More than Kitty yelling "I told you," how exactly did Rachel restore everything? The Beyonder wiped out all memory of the New Mutants' existence. Dani's parents, Roberto and the X-Men were the only ones who were specified, but it's implied to be universal. [Multiversal? Did the Enchantress and Loki forget as well? Just how did Rachel fix that?] I wonder if having the kids killed and react traumatically to being resurrected was Claremont's reaction to the return of Jean, since it happened shortly afterward. Possibly also trying to ingratiate himself with the boss, "you can kill some of these characters and then have the Beyonder bring them back, and I'll milk the aftermath." And if the Beyonder's so dangerous, why did Rachel limit herself to only these characters? Alex and Lorna would be helpful, as would, I dunno, Dazzler. Erik BeckDecember 14, 2015 7:06 AM X-Factor #70 Fnord doesn't show my favorite bit of the issue - Beast quoting Yeats while Peter tries to claim it's a Russian poet. Very much a Chekhov move on Star Trek. And some of the people are left out of this entirely, like Banshee and Siryn, so that "13" was definitely just thrown in there for the symmetry rather than them actually having 13. MidnighterDecember 14, 2015 5:31 AM Moon Knight #13 Correct me, it seems that both stories treat their meeting as the first MidnighterDecember 14, 2015 5:29 AM Moon Knight #13 Is Moon Knight meeting Daredevil for the first time here? So it's should placed before Marvel Team-Up Annual 4 http://www.supermegamonkey.net/chronocomic/entries/marvel_team-up_annual_4.shtml fnord12December 13, 2015 5:45 PM Bizarre Adventures #31 @MegaSpiderMan, i didn't think the death of this minor villain was worth increasing the significance, especially since he's replaced by a Hangman II. fnord12December 13, 2015 5:41 PM Tales Of Suspense #78-79 (Captain America) Added Horst and Wolfgang. Thanks. Max_SpiderDecember 13, 2015 4:26 PM Iceman #1-4 Iceman: I love you! Nice save there, Bobby. Wouldn't want anybody to think you're gay or anything. Nick YankDecember 13, 2015 3:04 PM Iceman #1-4 Mark, I'm curious as to why you say the title of #2 refers to a John Lennon song. Now it was a Lennon song from 1970, and DeMatteis is a huge fan, but it's a popular phrase, very prevalent by the mid 80s, so I'm unsure how anyone (even DeMatteis) could say for certain how the title came about? Stevie GDecember 13, 2015 2:47 PM Death's Head #9 I won't insist that you refer to the Doctor as Doctor Who. I will, however, insist that you refer to Tony Stark as "The Invincible Iron Man" rather than just "Iron Man" and Bruce Banner as "The Incredible Hulk", rather than just "the Hulk". :p PeterADecember 13, 2015 5:41 AM Deadly Hands of Kung Fu #1 Omnibuses of Master of Kung Fu are on the way :) http://www.amazon.com/Shang-Chi-Master-Kung-Fu-Omnibus-Vol/dp/130290129X http://theomnibuscollector.com/post/129853363451/master-of-kung-fu-omnibus-announced Luis DantasDecember 12, 2015 11:58 PM Fury #1 "of course we couldn't have a comic in the 90s that didn't have Wolvie in it" Of course. That would be reasonable and suggest artistic integrity sometimes overcoming mindless reflex. Omar KarinduDecember 12, 2015 11:17 PM Tales Of Suspense #78-79 (Captain America) Horst has to be the same character, since in those later issues the Skull observes his death to see what will happen when the gas that preserved Horst, Wolfgang, and the Skull himself in suspended animation wears off. It can't be Wolfgang, because the Skull induces him to kill himself in the next issue or so. Ben HermanDecember 12, 2015 10:11 PM Marvel Spotlight #33 Much of the back-story that Devil-Slayer alludes to in this issue is actually taken from the one-and-only issue of Demon Hunter by Kraft & Buckler published by the short-lived Atlas Comics in 1975... Ben HermanDecember 12, 2015 9:25 PM Marvel Fanfare #52-54 (Black Knight) Steven Grant provided some very detailed information on the background of these Black Knight stories in an interview earlier this year... https://billydunleavy.wordpress.com/2015/07/24/cbuh-sgrant2/ These were originally written in the late 1970s, but they obviously didn't see print until over a decade later. cullenDecember 12, 2015 7:43 PM Marvel Comics Presents #97 (Bar) Very fair point, @JP. I think DC frustrates me a bit more in that regard, having villainous organizations that include environmental activists, cat-burglars and genocidal psychopaths. But Marvel definitely isn't exempt, and i agree that the flattening of "good" and "evil" in the service of cheap plot-movement is an annoyance... and also often contradictory, as some people who have undoubtedly committed worse atrocities than Stilt-Man somehow get summoned in "hero" round-ups. MichaelDecember 12, 2015 6:59 PM Tales Of Suspense #78-79 (Captain America) I think that Horst, the Skull's servant in this issue, is supposed to be the same servant as in Captain America 294-295. JPDecember 12, 2015 5:03 PM Marvel Comics Presents #97 (Bar) These types of things, while fun in concept, invariably find a way to irritate me, mainly because they homogenize all villains regardless of their individual natures and motivations. There always seems to be somebody in the scene who just doesn't belong there as if all villains go to the same bad guy high school. Not only is it reductive to the stature of some of these villains but it also ends up feeling pretty Saturday morning. Don CampbellDecember 12, 2015 3:27 PM Fury #1 Okay, I concede the point. There are times where non-sentient robots have thought balloons because their creators want to deceive any telepaths who might be spying on them. However, I believe that these cases are the exception and not the rule, and that most ordinary, non-sentient LMDs do not (or should not) have thought balloons. That's all I'm saying. MichaelDecember 12, 2015 2:49 PM Fury #1 Unfortunately, not every writer agrees with you Don. In Fantastic Four 278, Byrne has the Doombots explain that they think fake thoughts in order to confuse telepaths- Byrne has said in interviews that was his way of telling the reader "Don't assume it's the real Doom just because you see thought balloons." Don CampbellDecember 12, 2015 2:31 PM Fury #1 Thought balloons are used to show what characters are thinking which requires that said characters be sentient and thus capable of thinking. People (both human and alien) are almost always portrayed as sentient while animals are only sometimes sentient (although they are often depicted with only simple thought patterns). Artificial beings, like androids or robots, vary by individual. Ultron, the Vision and those Zodiac LMDs have thought balloons because they are sentient, but HERBIEs, Doombots, Sentinels and most LMDs don't have thought balloons because they are not capable of independent thought. For example, most LMDs are either limited to pre-programmed behaviors or are shown to be directly controlled by a remote operator. Those "thought tapes" in Daredevil #123 were recordings of thoughts taken from the minds of the people who the LMDs were going to be replacing. SHIELD knew that those agents were being targeted for assassination by a telepath (Mentallo) and so they needed to be able to trick him into believing that those LMDs were his targets when, of course, they were only Decoys. None of those LMDs could actually think for themselves, they were just programmed robots with an extra layer of disguise to make them appear to be human. Of course, some LMDs have (somehow) become sentient (like "Max Fury") and those LMDS do have thought balloons (I think). Still, most LMDS are non-sentient robots and thus any character shown as having thought balloons is (probably) not an LMD. Red CometDecember 12, 2015 1:40 PM Fury #1 I think a lot of writers like to have Nick Fury SHIELD stuff set in the 60s because it enables them to do wannabe Steranko stuff in a vintage Cold War/Sean Connery James Bond kind of setting. The semi-recent Original Sin crossover also had Howard Stark in the role as Nick Fury's collaborator in the past. That's another series full of bad retcons and "everything you know is wrong" reveals involving LMDs. MidnighterDecember 12, 2015 10:50 AM Doctor Strange #46 Sibylla reminds me Phantazia of the Brotherhood Of Evil Mutants by Liefeld: http://www.comics.org/issue/50515/cover/4/ Max_SpiderDecember 12, 2015 10:45 AM Fury #1 @Red Comet I guess that would correspond with Howard Stark being involved in Hickman's SHIELD. I also guess Tony's involvement with early SHIELD wasn't really developed much to my memory (aside from maybe a vague enough mention in Marvels that could be interpreted differently), as was his appearance as CIA liaison to the Fantastic Four (which I guess you could maybe replace with an era appropriate hero?) However, there wasn't really an actual necessity to making Nick Fury's SHIELD days in the 60's. It wasn't as if they relied on Vietnam or anything from that era. So we have the weird situation of suddenly deciding events taking place in the "present" were then taking place in the 60's, for no actual reason other than perhaps making him seem even older in comparison to Nick Fury Jr. kvetoDecember 12, 2015 7:24 AM Bizarre Adventures #31 the Oktober Guard was the coolest thing about gi joe (and unlike the joe team, they didnt need 500 members) Omar KarinduDecember 12, 2015 6:15 AM Fury #1 Daredevil #123 featured LMDs with "thought tapes" that could fool even a telepath, so some LMDs can think. And we've also seen the Zodiac LMDs with thought balloons and event he capacity to dream in West Coast Avengers #26-28. Jake Fury sure gets retconned a lot, doesn't he? Thanos6December 12, 2015 6:12 AM Fury #1 @Don Campbell: How does "Fury" having a thought balloon keep him from being an LMD? Now, granted, I'm not the biggest expert on them, but other robots in the Marvel Universe have thought balloons all the time. Omar KarinduDecember 12, 2015 6:11 AM Bizarre Adventures #31 The Hangman story has the most literal example of a "can't...must" moment yet. Also, while it's cut off in the panel, the last bit of the critic's review at the end is a little creepier than "appreciating" violence: he actually sympathizes with "the mutilators" int he movie, and there's a bit about how the film's killers create "works of art from these girls' useless bodies....serves them right for..." I think the idea is that O'Brien is on the road to becoming a serial killer. It's definitely not the sort of thing you expect from Mark Gruenwald, even taking stuff like the Waxman into account. david banesDecember 11, 2015 11:33 PM Infinity Gauntlet #4 I also thought Thanos made himself giant sized on the first read since that's something he easily could do. So I wondered why Hulk just disappeared like that. MichaelDecember 11, 2015 10:09 PM Fury #1 The only scene I can think of that alludes to the Gnobians is a scene in issue 42 where Nick is surprised that Red and Lump survived an explosion that Hydra caused and Red replies "We didn't buy it when the place went bang. Probably had something to do with being related to those Life Model Decoys?" That doesn't really seem definitive one way or the other, especially since this story doesn't make clear exactly what Lump is- an LMD, a creature like Primus or some weird mix of the two? Don CampbellDecember 11, 2015 8:58 PM Fury #1 Personally, I long ago decided to disregard many of the revelations/retcons made in this one-shot. Instead, I have chosen to regard this story (which is entirely narrated by Nick) as nothing more than disinformation that Fury had been spreading around to confuse things. After all, when all is said and done, Nick Fury is a spy, not a super hero, and keeping sensitive information secret is what spies do. While I agree that some elements from the Nick Fury Vs. SHIELD miniseries were implausible enough that they should have been retconned, this one-shot went overboard in "correcting" those flaws, to the extent of introducing new problems. First, the idea that the Deltite and its schemes were all set up by Baron Strucker as a failsafe had already been introduced years before. In Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD #26, while talking with the Red Skull, the just-revived Strucker revealed that the “renegade” LMD with its megalomaniacal talk of control over corporations and governments was never meant to succeed. Instead, it and all its Deltites were created solely to bring SHIELD crashing down from within, thus weakening its structure and influence so as to create an opening in which HYDRA would rebuild. So, since that idea was already canon, why bother repeating it? Second, the idea that that the Gnobians were created by Arnim Zola as part of this whole Deltite scheme doesn't work for me. Aside from the fact that I actually liked the whole Gnobian storyline, there's also the matter of how it ended: with the Gnobian Mother, having realized that she and all her children on Earth had been irrevocably corrupted by Strucker, ordering the Sentry (which they bought from the Kree) to detonate a bomb to destroy them all. So, how would Zola get his hands on a Kree Sentry? And why would anyone waste such a powerful weapon on a deception? Third, this one-shot continues to describe the Deltites as LMDs -- SOMETHING WHICH IS ABSOLUTELY WRONG!!! Life Model Decoys are (with some exceptions) ROBOTS which have been designed to be able to pass as real human beings but whose insides are mechanical. In contrast, the Deltites were BIOLOGICAL in nature. They were beings of flesh and blood who could (and did) age and die because of their unstable genetic structures. So, while I have no problem with the idea that the Deltites were all part of Strucker's scheme, them being mere LMDs is completely unacceptable because it is inconsistent with how they were presented. Now, if one were to reveal that Arnim Zola was the actual creator of the Deltite parasites, then that is a concept which I could totally support. Fourth, in a scene set in 1944, Arnim Zola gives the Red Skull a potion that could keep him in a state of suspended animation for decades. This is apparently meant to replace the "experimental gas" (from Tales of Suspense #79) that had kept the Skull alive and young for decades after his final WW2 battle with Captain America. Unfortunately, there are two problems with this idea. First, Arnim Zola is shown as being in his artificial body in 1944 but Super-Villain Team-Up #17 (June, 1980) had previously established that he was still "the ordinary human Arnim Zola” when he approached Adolf Hitler with his mind transference ideas in 1945. Second, the Zola's potion retcon was itself later retconned by Mark Waid in Marvel Universe #1. In a scene set late in the war, Strucker was in Berlin visiting one of several secret installations he had had built when he was confronted by the Red Skull. The Skull is impressed that Strucker has constructed “an entire installation devoted to the preservation and suspended animation of life” and he requests some samples of Strucker’s gases and elixirs for his own study. This scene ties in with the suspended animation chambers from Namor the Sub-Mariner #9-12 and acts to stetcon the original idea that is was gases that preserved the Skull and his two henchmen for those long decades. Fifth, the major element of this one-shot is the fact that Jake Fury is a HYDRA spy. However, Jonathan Hickman's Secret Warriors series later revealed that Nick and Jake had actually been working together for decades to stop Leviathan, and that the "Jake Fury" who hated Nick and became Scorpio out of that hate was (always) just a malfunctioning LMD. Sixth, the idea that the Nick Fury who tried to buy Tony Stark's company out from under him and/or "acquire" some of Iron Man's armor was an LMD came from the Nick Fur Vs. SHIELD miniseries but I never bought it. For one thing, the Nick Fury who appears in those issues has thought balloons meaning that he has thoughts and therefore is not an LMD. Also, in Captain America #248, Fury admits to Cap that he did try to take control of Stark's company because he was following orders to do so. Seventh, identifying Colonel Rick Stoner as Fury's predecessor as Director of SHIELD is interesting but four years later the Fury/Agent 13 miniseries seemingly contradicted this by claiming that the first Director of SHIELD, someone whose identity wasn't known by Fury, had actually not died but had been kidnapped. Finally, there's the whole idea that Strucker had a microchip boasting of his plan placed within the Deltite LMD for Nick to find. To begin with, as you pointed out, setting up such a large deception so that you can rebuild your terrorist organization in secret only to leave a "Ha ha, just kidding" message for your arch-enemy which exposes what you've been doing makes no sense whatsoever. Sure, Strucker is an arrogant bastard but this is downright stupid. Plus, there are more problems with the whole concept. 1. As mentioned above, all of the Deltites were actually organic beings and not androids or LMDs. So, having Stark examine the Deltite's remains would be a bit pointless. 2. It seems highly unlikely that any part of the Deltite could have survived the last issue of the NFVS miniseries. I mean, first he was impaled by Fury but he wasn't killed until the dozens of followers whom he had betrayed excommunicated him by firing energy weapons at him. And then, just before the SHIELD satellite exploded, Fury ran through the chamber where the Deltites were gathered together to await their end just the energy field from the Power Core was about to reach that room and burn through it, vaporizing everything it touched. So, the Deltite's body should have been reduced to dust by the Power Core's energy field. 3. Various issues of the second NFAOS series reveal what Fury knows. So, where does Strucker's message fit into this learning curve? As far as I can tell, it doesn't. According to the one-shot, it was the message from Strucker that revealed that he and not the rogue LMD was responsible for the whole Delta Affair. However, this is incompatible with the series of events described above. MegaSpiderManDecember 11, 2015 8:56 PM Bizarre Adventures #31 Should Hangman's death be brought up in the Historical Significance rating? Luis DantasDecember 11, 2015 8:50 PM Deadly Hands of Kung Fu #1 Yep, I was thinking the same thing. A Sal Buscema story that was also a flashback to the time when Midnight was alive. It even ties in thematically to this piece. Mark DrummondDecember 11, 2015 8:20 PM Bizarre Adventures #31 The Perry/Bissette story was actually highly praised by critics back then(even the Comics Journal liked it). Mark DrummondDecember 11, 2015 8:10 PM Deadly Hands of Kung Fu #1 Also, I think Shang-Chi's trainer appeared in a flashback story in a non-Gulacy MOKF circa #40. Mark DrummondDecember 11, 2015 8:08 PM Deadly Hands of Kung Fu #1 I'm not seeing much resemblance between Bob Diamond and John Saxon. The stories in this issue were reprinted in color in the "Savage Hands of Kung Fu" Treasury edition. I suspect Neal Adams had some uncredited art in the Sons of the Tiger story; Giordano was working in his studio at the time and Adams did do the cover. According to longtime fan/artist Fred Hembeck, the Sons of the Tiger was Marvel's most "hackneyed, execrable, and worthless" series before Bill Mantlo took over. Mark DrummondDecember 11, 2015 7:58 PM Chamber of Chills #4 This might be the first and last story Pike drew since he was at Atlas/Marvel in the 1950s. The story sounds very much like a reject from Warren, which Skeates was contributing heavily to at the time. Mark DrummondDecember 11, 2015 7:54 PM Chamber of Chills #3 The Thomas story brings to mind the Lovecraft story "The Thing On The Doorstep". I'm not quite sure that "Roof" was the actual title of the Howard story being adapted. Mark DrummondDecember 11, 2015 7:50 PM Tower of Shadows #5 It would actually have been a big problem if an actor DID do his own makeup. The last big movie star to do his own makeup was Lon Chaney Sr., and after he died union rules were established to restrict makeup strictly to the makeup guys. cullenDecember 11, 2015 5:45 PM Bizarre Adventures #31 DeFalco and Trimpe attempted to continue using Pravda Patrol in the GI Joe series, but had to rename, rework and redraw them. They morphed into the Oktober Guard. (more information, including original and final versions of the art, here: cullenDecember 11, 2015 5:02 PM Death's Head #9 I don't think the guest appearances were last-ditch. My memory is certainly fallible, but i remember the crossovers being teased well in advance, with Simonson's excellent cover circulating fairly early. It truly is a shame that Death's Head gave way to his successor. I'm glad Kieron Gillen brought him into SWORD and Iron Man. Morgan WickDecember 11, 2015 4:26 PM Fury #1 "The whole Deltite affair was nothing more than a ruse... something to keep you distracted from my inevitable resurrection." So basically, the purpose of this story is to have Strucker pop up and say that the Deltite ruse was a distaction. Morgan WickDecember 11, 2015 3:59 PM Bizarre Adventures #31 With that description at the start, I'm surprised no one just did a straight-up Punisher story. Though the Hangman story certainly feels like a Punisher story without the Punisher. Red CometDecember 11, 2015 2:40 PM Fury #1 An easy continuity fix for Tony Stark being involved with SHIELD in the 60s is to replace him with his father or grandfather in the history, kind of like how he now became Iron Man thanks to modern day Middle Eastern based wars rather than the south-east Asian conflicts of the Cold War era. And while I regard Macchio as not especially talented as either a writer or editor, I do agree with his stance against stuff like LMDs. I never liked LMDs or skrulls or clones or other such plot devices as they too easily allow bad writers to ruin 20 years of continuity with sucky "everything you know is wrong" type storylines. They're also a really cheap way to bring a dead character back to life. RobertDecember 11, 2015 1:20 PM Bizarre Adventures #31 Hey I remember seeing those panels of Hangman's death (colorized) in the OHMU Dead Edition. I don't know why but I always thought he'd been a Scourge victim. Well, in as much as I gave him any thought to begin with. Max_SpiderDecember 11, 2015 12:55 PM Death's Head #9 Merlin the Wise (also shows up in the Matrix of Gallifrey, in a meeting of time-sensitive species, enlisting the Doctor's aid on two separate occasions. When Merlin shows Roma his many forms, "Merlin the Wise" is among them. Captain Britain fans may also be interested to know that the backstory of the Special Executive is shown in Doctor Who back up stories by Alan Moore, in which they are employed by Time Lords in early Time Wars. Due to the multiversal nature of both Merlin and the Special Executive, these can easily be considered the same entities. Death's Head is relevant for Doctor Who fans in that Josiah W. Dogbolter seems to meet his end in those stories. Though he still seems to be owned by the Doctor Who side rather than the Marvel side, his death is later acknowledged (resurrections tend to be the exception in Doctor Who, aside from a few repeat offenders). Dogbolter's servant, Hob, will reappear to harass Death's Head II at some point. Red CometDecember 11, 2015 12:41 PM Bizarre Adventures #31 Interesting that Larry Hama did a "talking animals in Vietnam" story in 1982, predating the more famous manga Cat Shit One (yes, that's really the title) by 15 years or so. For obvious reasons it was re-titled "Apocalypse Meow" for the US release. Max_SpiderDecember 11, 2015 12:40 PM Death's Head #9 "...please don't tell me to call him just the Doctor" "...thanks to Doctor Who" I won't but... B-But... I also wouldn't have said anything if you hadn't told me not to! Why must you hurt me so, fnord? Max_SpiderDecember 11, 2015 12:36 PM Fury #1 Tony Stark's involvement with SHIELD has started getting a bit problematic as of Marvel Now! In which Nick Fury is being constantly shown to be part of SHIELD in the 1960's or so. The only real fix I can think of for this at the moment is that Fury and his Commandos got mind wiped when their SHIELD got stepped out of line only for SHIELD to eventually be reinstated by Tony Stark and such later on. Jeez. Red CometDecember 11, 2015 12:31 PM Deadly Hands of Kung Fu #1 I suppose it goes without saying that the Sons of the Tiger are pretty shameless copies of the characters played by Bruce Lee, Jim Kelly, and John Saxon in Enter the Dragon. Omar KarinduDecember 11, 2015 7:56 AM New Mutants #26-28 I suppose it's in the name, isn't it? The Hellfire Club uses the chess piece names, and if Farouk is secretly running it then he's literally a "Shadow" King in their hierarchy. a.lloydDecember 11, 2015 6:11 AM Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos #27 A lot of this art looks like Herb Trimpe drew it. ChrisWDecember 11, 2015 1:21 AM New Mutants #26-28 The early issues, ending when Shan was taken by Farouk. And then again in #53-54, although the Hellions were the ones who actually fought them, the issue when Shan left and went to Madripoor to serve her uncle. ChrisWDecember 11, 2015 1:20 AM New Mutants #38 Michael, but without a sudden infusion of money, doesn't that mean a financially-strapped Xavier decided to just give a salary and benefits that are "more than adequate" to a sexy Asian girl? Once again for the hard of hearing, if Claremont's subtext isn't disgusting you on a fundamental level, he's not doing his job. You can almost understand why former spy and model Betsy just started brainwashing anybody who got in her way. At least that makes sense. Nathan AdlerDecember 11, 2015 1:05 AM New Mutants #26-28 @ChrisW: When did Viper and Silver Samurai fight the X-Babies? ChrisWDecember 11, 2015 12:53 AM New Mutants #26-28 The White Queen was the best ally of the (future) White King. The Black Queen was determined to tear down the Black King. A good chunk of "X-Men" #150-200 (and spin-offs) was devoted to showing that Emma and the Hellions weren't totally evil villains. Empath and Roulette, sure, but Thunderbird wasn't, Tarot and Jetstream were just students and showed many redeeming qualities. Catseye was a typical Claremont weirdo. And this is without comparison to the New Mutants. In the first Hellions storyline, Empath has verbally abused Jetstream, but suddenly apologizes in a way that Emma finds suspicious. And although Amara isn't specifically mentioned, Tarot has suddenly pulled a card from her deck, "The Lovers." Claremont really thought these things out, for good or bad. ChrisWDecember 11, 2015 12:46 AM New Mutants #26-28 That I can't answer. I don't seek to explain these things in a 'win a No-Prize' way. I'm more fascinated by the plot and story construction. Your way is possibly better because it actually explains these things. I care more about what Claremont was doing as a writer. I've just spent the evening going through "New Mutants" at roughly the same pace as "X-Men" to see how various ideas were introduced, developed and advanced in the process. Short version: Take it as a given that Claremont had to rethink everything once Jean Grey came back, but the Hellfire Club is the key. Illyana had her own storyline, Dani would fit into anything Claremont had going, Doug and Warlock were linked from the beginning. Bobby and his father, Amara, Rachel and Selene, and Magneto taking over the school and then joining the Hellfire Club were key. Especially with Nimrod and the ever-present development of Sentinels. Claremont was thinking about "Days of Futures Past" and how the New Mutants would fit into it, and extrapolating that into Bobby and Amara leading the Hellfire Club into a mutant tyranny. I'll try to type up my notes into a coherent essay in the next few days, but it's astounding how much the two of them were connected in every way with Selene's development. When undergoing heatstroke in Rio De Janiero, Amara fantasized about becoming One with the Sun God and destroying the city, because it would be fun. At the end of Claremont's run, she did exactly that in the "Days of Futures Past" world, against the Sentinels. Right before the issue where she and Bobby are running everything anyway. Believe me, look at these two series concurrently and you'll understand why they are the perfect example of continuity (even though it's Claremont) and some of the greatest comics ever. The X-Babies fight Viper and the Silver Samurai just before Shan disappears, and the next time they meet, the Hellions have beaten them, and Shan disappears again. You can't buy that kind of storytelling. TCPDecember 10, 2015 11:21 PM Amazing Spider-Man #137 As cliche as it is, Harry's death trap strategy makes sense given that he can't stand up to Peter physically. In fact, he would still use primarily psychological tactics against Peter down the road, even after gaining strength through the Goblin Formula. TCPDecember 10, 2015 11:10 PM Amazing Spider-Man #134-135 Looking back, I really like the slow build for the Harry-Peter grudge match. I'm sure it was frustrating at the time, but it's certainly a great way to hook readers. Sub-plots like this also really helped Amazing stand out. pgunnDecember 10, 2015 11:10 PM Daredevil #104-107 That panel of troubled child Thanos is the best thing I've seen all week... MichaelDecember 10, 2015 8:07 PM Capt. Savage and his Leatherneck Raiders #1 This story takes place immediately after the Howlers' appearance in St. Fury and the Howling Commandos 49-50, which take place at the time of the battle of Tarawa. Izzy was captured in that story, which is why he's not present. Thanos6December 10, 2015 6:07 PM Chamber of Chills #4 Maybe Stern noticed that Ludi and Ningal looked identical and came up with the story from there? Piotr WDecember 10, 2015 5:56 PM Tower of Shadows #5 So, that's what Wally Wood looked like! I've long been curious about this guy because of his rumoured tendency to draw dirty stuff when in office... JSfanDecember 10, 2015 4:38 PM Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars #1-12 I can't believe Peter Parker is Dr. Doom all along. :P fnord12December 10, 2015 1:30 PM Avengers #101 Oops, fixed his name. Thanks. ScottDecember 10, 2015 1:17 PM Avengers #101 The character is called Leonard not Lawrence (but who cares?) The events of this dreary issue were later discussed and slightly retconned in Captain Marvel during the Watcher's trial to excuse the nonsensical use of Uatu (which fnord will have read) but also there's an almost interesting retcon from What If? #35 where the Watcher discusses "nexus beings" and claims Tippit, much like Rick Jones had only issues earlier, was apparently accessing the "Destiny Force" latent in all humanity. The handbooks refer to this as a possibility. Although, Busiek didn't bother acknowledging this in Avengers Forever because it obviously broke his story and it really wasn't worth accommodating for this trash (but on that note he also ignored every other time Rick Jones had used the Destiny Force after Kree/Skrull War anyway). Of course, none of it makes this story any better. Erik BeckDecember 10, 2015 11:35 AM Uncanny X-Men #280 @Piotr W - But it depends on who you ask. I really like the first year of the new line-ups, through the end of Executioner's Song. It was clear that Uncanny wasn't nearly as good a book (thus the "fall down a hole" storyline), but they knew that, giving it the less flashy talent and the less popular characters. And I absolutely loathe the Grant Morrison era. As for X-Factor, well David does some great writing, but I couldn't read it because I disliked the art so much. Nathan AdlerDecember 10, 2015 9:37 AM Marvel Fanfare #33 While Larry Hama later revealed the Bermuda Triangle Island (that Magneto and the X-Men had both used as a temporary base) as being connected to the N'Garai, in Marvel Fanfare #33 we learn some interesting tidbits about it, including when Storm says "Horrible creatures inhabited the citadel and committed such unspeakable atrocities that the very stones radiate a primal malevolence which neither time nor effort can ever exorcise" and Kitty then "Those ancients were weird, all right, but they were no dummies, I've been examining the statues -- they're not stone. It's some form of crystalline circuity matrix. They're devices!" However, with Kitty's suggestion above, she'd have undoubtedly connected it to the N'Garai if there was one intended by Claremont, given her earlier encounter with one. However, the other time Claremont refers to crystalline matrix technology is the M'Kraan Crystal. So might this finally resolve where the inhabitants of the city contained within the Crystal went? That is, did Claremont intend the race that had left the city inside the M'Kraan Crystal as the same ones who had constructed the temple on the Bermuda Triangle Island? Did he intend a Cthuloid race to have constructed the M'Kraan Crystal? Did they create the Crystal to contain Azathoth, and the Soul-Drinker D'Ken summoned one of its mindless, amorphous dancers (D'Ken a master of the black arts, a Shi'ar equivalent to Baron Mordo)? Which has now got me to wondering if Claremont intended the Shadow King as Nyarlathotep;) Nathan AdlerDecember 10, 2015 9:29 AM New Mutants #26-28 @ChrisW: Yes just what were the extensive interest the Club had in Nova Roma? What's interesting the early New Mutants stories is Selene's husband, Domitius, remarking that Rahne Sinclair's red hair suggests she’s a descendant of Julius Caesar! Now when else has Claremont ever made reference to Julius Caesar? Why Marada the She-Wolf of course, whose mother was born of him. So was Nova Roma somehow connected to Marada Starhair? Was she forced to flee there because certain factions in Rome couldn't let a direct heir to Julius take power from the males? And if Marada founded the city, how came she there? And how did Selene similarly end up there? Claremont intended Marada to be a Faltine-hybrid similar to Clea so what purpose would Selene have for subverting control of the city from that lineage given Magma's mother was apparently her daughter? ChrisWDecember 10, 2015 9:01 AM New Mutants #38 That's the closest we'll ever get to a sound explanation, but it doesn't explain how they pay for the food, electricity, the swimming pool, insurance, benefits for Tom and Sharon, not to mention all the laws and regulations New York State would have. Nathan, I actually kind of like the membership of the "Illuminati" (I've only read the "Secret Wars II" issue, so that's the limit of my knowledge) but I'd think it would be larger. I don't know the actual ratio of officer-to-enlisted in the military, but it wouldn't be limited to five or six people. Xavier's school alone would have Chuck, Scott, Ororo, Kitty, Dani and, if they ever learn anything about him, Wolverine. Basically the leader of every team and a few others as juniors. Cap, Tony Stark, Thor from the Avengers. Jan and the Vision almost certainly. Hank was one of the 'corps' but 'lost his commission' after all those 'incidents.' They would take Alex Powers' age into consideration, but at the very least they'd need to keep him informed of what's going on in the world. Spider-Man would be useful for keeping track of all those heroes who don't belong to teams (Daredevil, Punisher, Cloak and Dagger.) Silver Surfer. Guardian. Obviously it wouldn't work the way the actual military does, but Captain America of all people would have put serious time and effort into something like this. fnord12December 10, 2015 8:41 AM Avengers annual #6 I had him listed in the References for that issue, but i've added him as a Character Appearing here and there. Omar KarinduDecember 10, 2015 8:37 AM Inhumans #12 "How would you describe the Hulk's powers, Karnak?" ChrisWDecember 10, 2015 8:25 AM New Mutants #26-28 I'd noticed that too. I'm currently leafing through a few collections of "New Mutants Classic." I didn't recall that they were leading the Hellfire Club in the future, but I did notice that Empath offered up Emmanuel's son as well as the heiress to Nova Roma, where the Club has extensive interest, as does Selene. Also worth noting that Emmanuel and Selene were inducted at the same time, although she was on the Inner Circle. Omar KarinduDecember 10, 2015 8:18 AM Avengers annual #6 General Pollock returns in Marvel Two-In-One #51. Erik BeckDecember 10, 2015 7:39 AM Uncanny X-Men #278-279 I personally would have been all good with killing off Xavier. I didn't mind them going back to the Mansion. But going back under the hand of Xavier in a wheelchair? That I could have done without. I do like Kubert's work here - looks kind of like Jim Lee with a little bit of influence from his dad's fantastic work (Kubert's dad that is). If you Marvel only types aren't that familiar with him, check out his Hawkman and Tarzan work. He was one of the true greats of the Silver Age. Erik BeckDecember 10, 2015 6:59 AM New Mutants #38 I think, going into no-prize territory here, that since the Danger Room ended up being fitted up with Sh'iar technology, that they made use of Lilandra and alien tech and that greatly reduced the cost of fixing the mansion since she clearly wasn't going to be billing her consort. Nathan AdlerDecember 10, 2015 6:00 AM New Mutants #26-28 While fans point to Excalibur #22 (instalment of the Cross-Time Caper) as the first suggestion that Shadow King was the true force behind the Hellfire Club, it actually occurred much earlier. In New Mutants #28, Empath goes to meet the Gladiators' contact person specifically at Hellfire Club, and it was then revealed to be Farouk's show. So Claremont obviously had this plan much earlier than 1990. What still remains up in the air is who the unidentified representative of the Gladiators Manuel de la Rocha met with!? It was a female he gave dossiers of Magma and Sunspot to. She advised Empath she would pass his proposition on to her employer and that he'd be suitably rewarded. What was the reward? It's interesting that Empath offers them Magma and Sunspot when you consider these two New Mutants are shown in #50 leading the Hellfire Club in the future!? Nathan AdlerDecember 10, 2015 4:07 AM New Mutants #38 @ChrisW: Totally agree about the Illuminati. Who do you propose as members of your proposed Cap's "officer corps"? pgunnDecember 10, 2015 1:32 AM Punisher #31-32 funny parody on Edward Abbey's "Monkey Wrench Gang" here... Red CometDecember 9, 2015 10:01 PM New Mutants #38 Xavier's financial difficulties are just another dropped plot. I wouldn't think too hard on it. When it comes to the X-men I've always just assumed their funding mainly comes from Angel like the Avengers are mainly funded by Iron Man. MichaelDecember 9, 2015 9:23 PM New Mutants #38 The reference was in X-Men 144- it was that the amount of damage caused when Kitty fought the N'Gari was considerable. ChrisWDecember 9, 2015 9:16 PM New Mutants #38 On a different subject, wasn't Xavier having financial difficulties shortly after the Phoenix Saga, to the point where Warren offered him help? I have not found the reference yet, but while the team was dispersed, Scott was running the mansion based on his savings [what savings? He's never held a job in his life!] and Charlie was having similar problems a while later. And this was before they added the New Mutants, a bunch of students who had no way of paying tuition, Tom and Sharon, paid employees who knew what benefits they should get, paying Sam so that his family wouldn't suffer for his absence, paying Shan to play secretary (did she ever actually do that outside of "New Mutants" #52?) and look over Leon and Nga. What are Peter and Illyana's parents doing with all three children gone? Maybe someone should stop me from thinking about how superheroes would work in the real world. That way lies Garth Ennis comics, and I loves me some Garth Ennis comics. ChrisWDecember 9, 2015 8:53 PM New Mutants #38 Plausible, but it just demonstrates how really really bad the X-Men (and New Mutants) were at sharing any information about anything. Between Storm, Cyclops and Dani, aren't they supposed to be master tacticians and strategists? One of the most obvious things to do would be to share as much information as possible, so nobody is caught unawares in case something goes wrong. Everyone except Scott cared enough to call the mansion to check on Maddie's pregnancy, and it was clear that Scott had a problem. Less important than Wolverine's health, possibly, but if Kitty's got time to go on a date with David Ishima and Peter has time to inquire about a postcard from Scott and Maddie, then I would think they both have time to check on Illyana. Kitty was so upset about being the only one to know the New Mutants were dead, and she'd been given the Soulsword. In twenty issues, Peter would be calling Illyana just to say hi, let her know that he was (somewhat) healed after his traumatic injuries, and listen to her babble like a teenage girl before asking for a lift. Their first appearance had him jumping in front of a tractor to save her life, doesn't that suggest he might, you know, give her the slightest thought after she dies and comes back? Maybe it's because of something that happened to her in Limbo. It will never happen, but I'd like to write a really long essay cataloguing Claremont's run, on exactly how the X-Men, New Mutants, Excalibur, etc. made things worse by not sharing information, despite being trained as warriors and (as they say) the best they are at what they do. They really aren't, and whether it's the needs of the genre, the needs of the editors, the Comics Code, Jim Shooter or the limitations of mainstream comics in the 80s, I'd really enjoy pointing out how bad they are at what they do. [Captain America should have suggested an "officer corps" long before the Illuminati ever got together, for instance. You can have melodrama and conflict when Tony Stark decides to work with other people, but Cap should have been the first person to suggest pooling information. Or Reed, who was a Major and therefore outranked Cap.] As an in-story resolution, I'm going to go with 'Rachel was messing with everyone's minds.' No evidence for it, I'm sure it's contradicted post-Claremont, but it explains why things are going wrong to my satisfaction. MichaelDecember 9, 2015 8:22 PM New Mutants #38 I have to wonder if Claremont intended this to take place while Wolverine was convalescing after Deathstrike's attack. It's possible that they were more focused on Wolverine, who was obviously sick, and not on the New Mutants, who seemed to have reocvered. ChrisWDecember 9, 2015 8:13 PM New Mutants #40 If only Xavier had some connection with a member of the Avengers who were shown in this issue, something above and beyond their respective loyalties to their teams [schools, kingdoms, races] that led them into collaboration, to whom he could have sent a message that he had given control of his school to Magneto so all misunderstanding fights could be avoided in the future. Now granted he's in far space, but he also has a collaboration with a couple of people (one of whom is even an Avenger) who actively look for messages from distant places and build technology to find them. [The Negative Zone portal and the one-dimensional alarm from JLA/Avengers respectively; I'm sure better readers can think of better examples than that] Once Xavier was healed, as of "X-Men" #201 or #202, wouldn't his first priority be to inform the Illuminati? I think that's one of the things I hate most about the whole concept of Marvel's "Illuminati" is that it makes all the "misunderstanding fights" that are one of Marvel's hallmarks into jokes, wastes of time and energy that only gave the villains more time to further their evil plans. If we're going to think seriously about the concept of superheroes, they'd want to minimize the possibility of bombing their own troops (to use a military analogy.) ChrisWDecember 9, 2015 7:43 PM New Mutants #38 What is wrong with Doug's parents? First they accept that he comes home early one morning and tells them that he's now attending Xavier's. Isn't he already in the Massachusetts Academy? In this issue, they're clearly worried about their son, and Magneto, with no word from his parents, unilaterally sends him back to the Academy. For that matter, that applies to some of the others. It's my understanding that Xavier's was basically *paying* Sam to attend so that his family could get by without him. Where are Leon and Nga? Were Dani's parents informed? It's believable that the psychic shock they were in would have led Amara and Illyana to forget to notify their respective loved ones, but (I think the X-Men were still in San Francisco at this point) wouldn't Peter or Kitty call? Especially Kitty, who was the only one to remember that the New Mutants were dead in the first place, and she was there when the Beyonder brought them back. As were Storm and Wolverine, who might be a slight bit curious about how the kids are doing, particularly after such a traumatic event, particularly when the only person watching over them is a very very recently reformed villain who doesn't have a lot of experience as a teacher. I have absolutely no proof whatsoever, but perhaps Rachel's increasing instability - which started at the time Jean came back - was intended to lead her towards another "Dark Phoenix" story as Claremont initially tried to figure out how to deal with Jean's return, and she was subconsciously tampering with her teammates' minds as a natural reaction against the 'coming back from the dead' concept. Not saying this happened, but it might have been a brief idea for Claremont, and it would make an in-story explanation for why the X-Men were so disconnected. What happened after Jean came back? Rachel became Phoenix, tried to end the universe to destroy the Beyonder, tried to take her frustrations out on Selene and got seduced by Mojo's minion, and then vanished for a while. But the New Mutants had parents and families. And Doug's lived right there in town. Who knows, he may even have had friends before he met Kitty. Erik BeckDecember 9, 2015 2:35 PM X-Factor #65-68 Interesting that fnord doesn't show Scott blowing away Apocalypse, since it's basically what he did to Mr Sinister. Does anyone else think the scene with the Avengers looks like it was drawn by Jim Lee and not Portacio? Clyde - I love that you don't want to give a spoiler that happened back in 1993. Dan H.December 9, 2015 11:42 AM Marvel Premiere #28 Yeah, terrible use of the characters, for all the reasons you mention. I don't totally mind Frank Robbins' art on Morbius or Ghost Rider, but he wasn't a good choice for this story. Then again, it was such a terrible premise that I'd have hated to waste good Gene Colan art on it. Erik BeckDecember 9, 2015 8:14 AM Captain America #383 And it just made Cap's Top 75 stories at #70. It'd be interesting to compare fnord's grades to how other people rank those stories, but to be fair, fnord's grades have to do with how a non-comic reader would find this, as opposed to devoted fans. MichaelDecember 9, 2015 7:57 AM Captain America #383 As Gruenwald would say, it takes place on AN anniversary, just not the 50th one. Oliver_CDecember 9, 2015 5:43 AM New Mutants #18-20 What might Ch'od dream of with Cr'reee ever-present on his shoulder? I think we should be told. TuomasDecember 9, 2015 4:23 AM Captain America #383 Because of Comic Book Time, the main story here must be non-canonical these days, right? Because Cap's origin is still in WWII, so the 50th anniversary of Steve Rogers becoming Captain America would still be in 1991, but due to the sliding timescale, these days he would still have been in ice 24 years ago. ChrisWDecember 8, 2015 8:18 PM New Mutants #18-20 "New Mutants" #22, Xavier thinks: "I was aware of Illyana's sword - but what is this armor? Is it part of her abilities as mutant, or sorceress?! I sense even she isn't sure - why hasn't she told me about it?! - she seems as mystified by its purpose and origin as I. Too little is known of precisely who and what she is. For her sake, that must not be allowed to continue." Never mind taking her to Dr. Strange (or even Amanda Sefton) has he considered asking her? Or getting her brother or best friend to ask her? ChrisWDecember 8, 2015 7:46 PM Marvel Team-Up #100 My mistake, Magneto and Lee deliberately set out for that island, and this was after he got out of the hospital. ChrisWDecember 8, 2015 7:31 PM New Mutants #18-20 It sure looks like Xavier had reasons for some long conversations with Dr. Strange. If only they had a place to get together and talk about this stuff. Illyana? Dani and the Bear? Amanda Sefton and her mother who tried to kill the X-Men? Ororo and Dracula? [Ok, he was in a coma during those issues, but one assumes someone would have told him.] But darn it, Xavier's path never seemed to cross Stephen's. Erik BeckDecember 8, 2015 11:47 AM Captain America #383 Wait, Right Winger and Left Winger are weak enough to need care for the rest of their lives but they are too strong for the staff to prevent their suicides? I'm gonna go with a huh? Notice how the one female facing away from us in the Avengers splash is the one with the least clothing on her behind. Can't imagine that's an accident. Erik BeckDecember 8, 2015 11:27 AM X-Factor annual #6 It's like editorial decided they had to have annuals, but since Claremont had the X-Men up in space, they would just throw some crap on the page and see if it stuck. The "photo" splash is just stupid. It's one thing if they were posing for a picture. But for them to actually supposedly be standing there? Ugh. Just awful. fnord12December 8, 2015 7:58 AM Amazing Spider-Man #15 Robert, i didn't track it at the time, but according to Wikipedia this is the first mention of MJ and the it's the first time the MCP list her as "behind the scenes" in an Amazing Spider-Man issue. Erik BeckDecember 8, 2015 6:54 AM Uncanny X-Men annual #15 And, in the misunderstanding fight, is there any mention of previous alliances? Like how Sam has known Moira for years? Or how Tabitha was in the Fallen Angels with Jamie and Siryn? This whole storyline is just one big stupid mess. Thanos6December 8, 2015 2:31 AM Amazing Spider-Man #32-33 I always felt the reveal of Ock as the Planner was badly botched; just thrown out there on the second page of #32. If it had been held back until the moment depicted in the first scan, I think it would have had more impact. RobertDecember 8, 2015 12:22 AM Amazing Spider-Man #15 Aunt May tries to set Peter up on a date with Mrs. Watson's niece. Is this the first published mention of Mary Jane? ChrisWDecember 7, 2015 10:29 PM Marvel Team-Up #100 Well that's something you get used to with fiction in general. Especially for heroes and superheroes, whose reason for existence is to find new problems to solve. You want to talk implausibility, Scott landing on Magneto's island is totally believable compared to Magus passing the Starjammers, then crashing through Asteroid M and sending Magneto spiraling down into the Atlantic, where he's rescued by none other than Lee Forester, and they wind up back on that same island where they first met. Ororo and T'challa look like a match made in heaven by comparison. ChrisWDecember 7, 2015 10:23 PM Uncanny X-Men #273-277 I don't see the problem with Magneto's hologram. The staging isn't the best (and maybe it could have been colored a bit better) but Rogue is looking straight at the hologram, then she turns roughly 90 degrees left to stop Fury from attacking, and then looks another 90 degrees left at the real Magneto, who was coming up behind the group and using the hologram to determine if it was safe to show himself. Could have been done better. I think that's probably the reason for the complaint. It should have been done better and Jim Lee's a good enough artist to have done a good job. He did it right, he just did a bad job. Jay DemetrickDecember 7, 2015 10:12 PM Code of Honor #4 That one scan looks like it was meant to be Crotus hauling Phoenix stuck as a mannequin in a wedding dress around... clydeDecember 7, 2015 9:59 PM Fantastic Four #136-137 "For what it's worth, this is the first black guy i remember seeing in a Fantastic Four comic since the Black Panther sent Mr. Fantastic a sent of vibranium knuckles to help fight Klaw via a remote controlled rocket back in Fantastic Four #56... eighty issues ago. Just sayin'!" FNORD - Mr. Fantastic encountered the Black Panther in FF# 119. Although he was known as "the Black Leopard". However, I have a no-prize attempt. That horrible name-change was too painful for you to remember, so you blocked the memory of that issue. MichaelDecember 7, 2015 9:38 PM Marvel Team-Up #100 And it's also worth noting that Claremont seemed to love implausible coincidence meetings- e.g. Scott just happening to wash up on Magneto's island. ChrisWDecember 7, 2015 9:35 PM Marvel Team-Up #100 I agree that it's a horrible idea, I certainly don't approve of the marriage this story led to, and I love the Captain Britain/Scarlet Witch analogy. However, I don't think it's intrinsically unbelievable. According to Wikipedia, Wakanda is located near Egypt and Kenya, so it's not impossible that Storm would have passed that way on her voyage through the Sahara. Moreover, Ororo's mystic heritage was quite developed behind-the-scenes, and [cf Nathan Adler] Wakanda and Vibranium had strong connections to mystic entities as well. Any meeting or relationship between the two would be implausible, but not out of the realm of possibility if guided by 'higher forces.' I wouldn't be surprised if Claremont and Byrne had been talking about this idea throughout their collaboration and a momentary thaw led to this brief reunion as a 'let's do it' one-off. ChrisWDecember 7, 2015 9:28 PM Marvel Comics Presents #80-81 (Captain America) I had no idea Steve Ditko ever scripted any stories for Marvel. Wow. It makes sense that he'd pick Captain America as the character to write. I'm tempted to look for these issues now. Compression isn't universally hand-in-hand with corniness, although I agree with the basic argument that we haven't seen much of it yet. Alan Moore set up long stories in "Swamp Thing," "Watchmen" and "From Hell" but could turn out some of the most brilliant 8-page stories ever told without sacrificing anything. Dave Sim wrote and drew 1200-page graphic novels, but when he needed to do two single issue 20-page stories to set up the last big "Cerebus" storyline, they were concise - perhaps the wrong word given the amount of narration, but you'd have to read them to get what I mean - hilarious, and chock-full of story. SharDecember 7, 2015 8:59 PM Fantastic Four #168-170 Hi Omar, I assume the first part of your comment is a comment on my comment from--my god, has it been 3 years already?? :) Yeah, some time after I wrote my 2012 comment I actually read this issue and was astonished to realize that the charter was indeed part of the story. Still cracks me up. AndrewDecember 7, 2015 8:49 PM Spider-Woman #17-18 I liked these issues, but Waxman is a note-for-note rip-off of the Batman villain Clayface 3. Max_SpiderDecember 7, 2015 8:45 PM Marvel Team-Up #100 “There is no man, really, in the Marvel universe who’s good enough for her, who is her equal,” Claremont thought in The X-Men Companion. “She would not be taking a step down by falling in love with the Black Panther, perhaps." We keep having royalty lust for her. This includes Doom and the Age of X incarnation of Namor. What exactly is going on here and what is Claremont talking about? Is she... I dunno, hesitant to bow down to anyone or something (which I suppose fits in with her tearing off Malice's necklace or whatever)? clydeDecember 7, 2015 8:02 PM Fantastic Four #68-71 FNORD - when you wrote - "There's an odd panel in #69 that clearly shows the silhouette of Crystal looking on while Reed and Sue get attacked by the Thing." To me that looks like it's her walking away - i.e. we're seeing her facing away from us. That would explain why she didn't help. TuomasDecember 7, 2015 11:35 AM Marvel Team-Up #100 I get it that many Marvel characters have these kind of connections in their past, but the majority of them at least live in the same country (USA), and roughly in the same area (New York and its surroundings). But the history between Storm and Black Panther is the equivalent of Captain Britain and Scarlew Witch having had a youthful romance, because they're both from Europe. FF3December 7, 2015 9:48 AM Marvel Team-Up #100 It looks really bad, and I think they shouldn't have done it for that reason, but so many Marvel characters have seemingly non-sensical coincidental meet-ups and connections in their backgrounds, by the weird rules of fate that govern the MU it's more excusable. What I find more problematic is the fact that they were and are the only two (black) African characters of note, and one of them is a woman, so they therefore must have a romantic relationship. That strikes me of the same kind of "benevolent" racism that drives a group of high schoolers try to get the two exchange students together because it's "cute." I think even that is alleviated by the fact that (A) Storm has romantic tension with basically every male character she's ever worked with (which is itself a kind of Orientalism and racism -- look how sexually free she is because she's so close to nature!), and (B) their marriage and break-up actually does lead to poignant soap-opera in the modern age. Omar KarinduDecember 7, 2015 6:34 AM Iron Man #86-87 Mantlo seems to have had plans for Blizzard: he uses him again in a Marvel Team-Up story where Electro fuses his suit to his body by accident, and then much later has him turn up as Jack Frost, who can create a kingdom of animate ice-people. Everyone else just writes him as an also-ran with an ice gimmick. Omar KarinduDecember 7, 2015 6:29 AM Amazing Spider-Man #161-162 I suppose this is an indication of how Wein saw the All-New, All-Different X-Men characters, and it's also Wein indulging in some cross-promotion in the Mighty Marvel Manner. He gets some criticism in the letters pages for ignoring the limitations he and Claremont established for Nightcrawler's powers Omar KarinduDecember 7, 2015 6:25 AM Doctor Strange #15-16 This issue and the Dracula story have Strange calling on Judeo-Christian figures (albeit that Adam Kadmon is also Eternity in the MU). This seems to presage Engelhart's somewhat New Agey take on Christianity from the Firebird stories in West Coast Avengers some years later. Omar KarinduDecember 7, 2015 6:19 AM Hulk #196 That moon buggy looks an awful lot like the Jupiter Landing Vehicle that plays a role in Count Nefaria's "death" a few years later. Omar KarinduDecember 7, 2015 6:16 AM Amazing Spider-Man annual #10 As far as I know, the "challenge" was never actually addressed in the comics, despite promises of No-Prizes. The Fly does have a nice design, but he doesn't add much to Spidey's rogues' gallery at this point. I'm not sure we needed Bill Mantlo and Gil Kane to retell Amazing Spider-Man #20. TuomasDecember 7, 2015 1:18 AM Marvel Team-Up #100 The idea that Storm and T'Challa have a shared past reeks of Eurocentrism... Here we have the only two (at the time) major African superheroes, so of course they must've randomly met in their youth, because, you know, Africa is such a small place. Morgan WickDecember 7, 2015 1:13 AM Spider-Woman #17-18 Even if it is "realistic" to show off Jessica's skin, that doesn't really excuse you for showing it off. FF3December 6, 2015 10:17 PM Marvel Team-Up #100 I wonder if the idea that there'd be these two Vietnamese characters, one good, one evil started rooted in a Vietnam War analogy that got ditched at some point in the creative process. That sounds like something Frank Miller and Chris Claremont would talk about, when they weren't talking about how awesome Japan is, or how sexually appealing they find strong women. (grimace) The disclaimer (given in narrator voice) at the end of the Storm-T'Challa story seems really final. I wonder if someone on the team wanted to try discourage any further efforts to hook them up (perhaps out of feeling that having two of the three most prominent black heroes would seem too trite). I think it works out okay, though. Omar KarinduDecember 6, 2015 9:17 PM Amazing Spider-Man #156 Len Wein recycles the resolution of the fight with Mirage in a DC comic, Gunfire #6, many years later. At least that time the antagonist is the Mirror Master, an established baddie. Omar KarinduDecember 6, 2015 9:04 PM Marvel Two-In-One annual #1 Thomas has a thing for creating Nazi counterparts of DC, Quality, and other Golden Age titles. Master Man is Superman, Merrano is Aquaman, Warrior Woman is Wonder Woman, and Baron Blood...well, he wears a bat costume, at any rate. Reading this annual, it seems to me that there was no need for it to spill over into MaTIO #20; there's an awful lot of setup, an it's something like half the annual before the plot really starts moving. Omar KarinduDecember 6, 2015 8:18 PM Fantastic Four #168-170 The "Fantastic Four charter that requires four super-powered members", Sadly, this is not a joke; it's literally a plot point from the story. Also, it's worth recalling that the Wrecker was never supposed to be Thor's equal. His first fight is against a depowered Thor, and Thor flat-out defeats and depowers him in their second go-round. Oh, and this story also shows Luke Cage taking the Wrecker's crowbar and using it himself; I'm pretty sure Brian Michael Bendis read this comic as a youngster. Omar KarinduDecember 6, 2015 8:06 PM Tomb of Dracula #41-43 "Nova 23 reveals that it was really Juno's brain that was destroyed this issue." It's set up here, as Rachel discovers Juno's decapitated body at one point during the raid in Sun's HQ Dan H.December 6, 2015 7:30 PM Giant-Size Defenders #4 The footnote about Pym last wearing the Yellowjacket suit in Avengers #74 is incorrect. He wore that costume in #90 and what was left of it in #91. I always assumed the costume being destroyed, as much as wanting to answer the call for the "original Avengers," is why he showed up as Ant-Man in #93. I'm guessing the editor just forgot about that quick Yellowjacket appearance prior to Ant-Man making his crazy and memorable trip through the Vision's innards. FF3December 6, 2015 6:36 PM Marvel Two-In-One #40-41 Tom Defalco's first Marvel credit, I believe, but he was already an Archie writer. MichaelDecember 6, 2015 3:57 PM X-Factor #12 But that just gets us back to the question of why the Right did nothing with Sara/her body until after Warlock died. Dan H.December 6, 2015 3:22 PM Thor #280 The "what's in a name" bit is just Roy Thomas having one of his characters randomly quote Shakespeare as a way of NOT answering why he'd changed his name from American Eagle to Cap'n Hawk. Omar KarinduDecember 6, 2015 3:20 PM Ka-Zar #14-20 Doug Moench *always* writes Klaw as a standard-issue thug for some reason. See also Marvel Two-In-One Annual #6. Omar KarinduDecember 6, 2015 3:07 PM Defenders #31 I've always liked the use of the Headmen; since they're a bunch of 1950s mad scientists, they can do the kinds of stuff that only happened in 1950s B-movies. And I suspect the reference is not to "Spock's Brain," but rather to Donovan's Brain. Omar KarinduDecember 6, 2015 3:03 PM Fantastic Four #164-165 This is a rehash of Roy's Sub-Mariner plot for the Red Raven: a minor character from a hidden civilization who hasn't been seen since the pre-Marvel era returns, having gone mad in the interim in connection with the deaths of his adopted people. The mad superhero then dies fighting the Marvel heroes thanks to his own recklessness. Omar KarinduDecember 6, 2015 2:55 PM Spider-Woman #11-12 "Bringing back Mr Doll is unnecessary, and doesn't really explain the difference in personalities. Plus it gives them a very limited criminal motivation." I think the idea is that one of them is Dolly's rational side, and the other is his irrational side, sort of like the recently discredited "left brain-right brain" hypothesis. It seems rather likely that their successors in Denny O'Neil's Iron Man run are more Gru's doing that Denny's. ChrisDecember 6, 2015 12:49 PM Spider-Woman #21 This is the second reboot of the series. So we've had three status quos's by now - Wolfman's, Gruenwald's, and now Fleisher's. Flesiher took a lazy way out by not setting this up, but it could work. However, the real problem is that there is no obvious direction for the Spider-Woman title. Each writer is simply using the character to tell their own stories. Fleisher's angle could work with almost any kind of character, nothing unique to Jessica as we've known her. These multiple elements could work together, but the problem is we have a very generic Jessica Drew here even though her origins are extremely unique. People seem to want to write generic stories here, but we have a very distinct origin. I think this is why the individual parts are not gelling together. ChrisDecember 6, 2015 12:42 PM Spider-Woman #17-18 Gruenwald is obviously going for the full-out horror angle here. It's not a bad decision to go with a theme that her villains have a horror theme. However, this character does not work. Gruenwald needed to do a better job than simply taking old horror movies and reinterpreting monsters as supervillains. Spider-Woman needs more than just new villains, she needs villains who can reappear and give her a hard fight. The Brothers Grimm could, but Gruenwald's new villains really can't. Nekra was a good choice, but unfortunately her learning Jessica's secret identity presents complications as a recurring villain. The pills angle for the pheromones is a good out. We already know her pheromones sometimes work and sometimes don't depending on the person. We have the unknown that this is a new drug. We also have the unknown that her own bio-chemistry may treat them. Writers now have the option of ignoring this element, or using it depending on what they need. However, I think it is just forgotten about after this which is a shame. It was one of the more interesting things about the character. ChrisDecember 6, 2015 12:34 PM Spider-Woman #13-15 This is a good start at creating a new status quo. Jessica finally gets a job. New supporting cast members are introduced. And a new villain is introduced along with the others he's done - Gruenwald is trying to build a new rogues gallery. Ultimately though, it doesn't pull together. There is no "magic" here. Despite a good visual and interesting powers, Spider-Woman is lacking something as a protagonist. The panels with Jerry Huny are strange. It seems that the scene exists to keep readers informed on Jerry so he could be brought into the book later. Instead, I think these are the last shots we have of him for years until he starts cameo appearances at SHIELD. If you don't plan on using him, it'd be better to simply have left things at his last appearance. I wonder if Gruenwald intended to use him, but got back responses that indicated ChrisDecember 6, 2015 12:26 PM Spider-Woman #11-12 Gruenwald had some right ideas here. He knew the Wolfman set up wasn't working, and this is a nice send off to those elements. Gruenwald can now establish a new status quo. However, getting rid of the Brothers Grimm was a mistake. They were good villains. Granted, the magic angle meant the dolls could always be brought back (although they never were). However, the villains just don't work as Gruenwald describes. Bringing back Mr Doll is unnecessary, and doesn't really explain the difference in personalities. Plus it gives them a very limited criminal motivation. The art these issues are very good for some reason. ChrisDecember 6, 2015 12:19 PM Spider-Woman #10 There are several simple reasons why Night Shift is composed of Spider-Woman's rogues. 1) The "Dark Angel of the Night" has a lot of horror themed villains which is the Night Shift theme. 2) Spider-Woman was one of the few Marvel characters on the West Coast, so when coming up with a Los Angeles based villain team, it's mainly her characters who are available. 3) Gruenwald created Night Shift, so he naturally went back to many of the characters he created himself fnord12December 6, 2015 11:49 AM Spider-Woman #13-15 Thanks Michael. I've added some notes about that. JSfanDecember 6, 2015 9:01 AM West Coast Avengers #3 Hi fnord, "While she's chasing Tigra" Should be while 'he's' after the scan of Kraven grabbing Tigra by the hair. kvetoDecember 5, 2015 5:01 PM Hulk #276 Holy spit! Bruce Banner can take a punch from Ironclad and not be a pulp of bloody bones. Omar KarinduDecember 5, 2015 3:21 PM Marvel Comics Presents #89 (Spitfire) Obviously the Avengers and Spitfire know that Selene is under the protection of the X-Men editors. MichaelDecember 5, 2015 1:57 PM Spider-Woman #13-15 Under the Historical Significance, shouldn't it be listed "Shroud gains Darkforce powers"? Erik BeckDecember 5, 2015 1:38 PM New Warriors annual #1 Red Comet's explanation works better. I can't imagine there's a lot of public knowledge about what happened in Edinburgh, let alone good details. Also, I can't imagine Roberto knowing anything about it - he never seemed much for studying the files and Proteus was dead before Roberto came along, so it's not like he would have been told specifically about him. A lot of information doesn't seem to get shared until it's necessary - after all, have the New Mutants (including Roberto) didn't know about Legion until they had to go fight him in #44. MichaelDecember 5, 2015 1:02 PM New Warriors annual #1 Also keep in mind that it's a matter of public record that the X-Men fought *someone who could reshape reality* in Scotland. With that information, Gideon could have easily manuevered Roberto into telling him the details without Roberto becoming suspicious. Red CometDecember 5, 2015 12:51 PM New Warriors annual #1 It's a little bit of a no-prize explanation, but since Gideon was one of the guys behind everything I assume he somehow got access to the X-men's files via his alliance with Sunspot and that's how he found out about Proteus. Erik BeckDecember 5, 2015 12:35 PM New Warriors annual #1 Erik Robbins is right - Nicieza totally misses the boat here on mentioning Firestar and Warpath. Given the ending of Uncanny #193, they definitely should have acknowledged each other. Also, does this storyline ever explain why any of these villains would have ever even heard of Proteus? Erik BeckDecember 5, 2015 12:31 PM New Mutants #98-100 Forgot to mention - how does Deadpool not already have a history with Cable? Everyone else certainly does. MichaelDecember 5, 2015 12:06 PM Marvel Comics Presents #92 (Northstar) Doesn't this issue sort of contradict Marvel Fanfare 28? Marvel Fanfare 28 made it sound like Northstar wasn't really involved in anything violent- he was just a contact. But this issue made it sound like Northstar was involved in a bombing. Omar KarinduDecember 5, 2015 11:03 AM Howard the Duck #1-3 Issue #3, with Count Macho killing a kid because he's so...well, macho...is based very loosely on the real-life Dojo Wars, in which comic-bopok advertising staple Count Dante picked a fight with a rival martial arts dojo and got one of his friends killed. The satire of the martial arts craze is perhaps more biting in that light. Omar KarinduDecember 5, 2015 10:19 AM Marvel Chillers #4 "Kraven is honorable" is really an invention of early 1980s stories; in the 60s and 70s, her was basically a macho thug willing to resort to skullduggery to avenge slights to his ego, hardly above stuff like brainwashing the Gibbon into attacking Spider-Man or rigging knockout gas and electro-zappers into his weird lion-vest. Heck, his partner in his very first appearance was the Chameleon, who's hardly an exemplar of honor and fair play. MichaelDecember 5, 2015 10:15 AM Marvel Comics Presents #90-97 (Ghost Rider/Cable) One other weird thing about this story- Ghost Rider seemingly decapitates several of the servants of the Dead with his chain- which conflicts with his vow not to take a human life. Now granted, it's possible they were reanimated corpses like the girl- but later on, he seems surprised to find out the girl is a reanimated corpse. Omar KarinduDecember 5, 2015 10:14 AM Inhumans #3-6 "Shatterstar is apparently killed in this arc by the old trick-the-bad-guy-into-zapping-a-mirror trick. He shows up later in Avengers as an energy being." And when he does, they do exactly what fnord does here and call him "Arides" because the X-Foce guy is around by then. Omar KarinduDecember 5, 2015 9:54 AM Giant-Size Super-Villain Team-Up #2 This is pretty much the end of the whole "robot rebellion" subplot running through the last several years of Doom appearances. It won't be missed. Omar KarinduDecember 5, 2015 9:49 AM Fantastic Four #160-163 Leaving aside the politics, in context this story was a major breath of fresh air after the book had floundered for years. It was a story that Marvel hadn't done before, and with the scope expected of an FF book. It's even one of the better uses of Arkon, since he's clever enough to use a corporate front man rather than doing his barbarian shtick. Granted that the climax was lackluster, the rest was quite good, and even a bit "hip" tot he times what with the idea that the crisis could've been averted if the older generation hadn't "sold out." (This is probbaly also why Rockefeller is President in one of those worlds...and back to politics, I guess!) Erik BeckDecember 5, 2015 9:20 AM New Mutants annual #7 I suppose in one way this is what annuals are for. After all, I never knew this storyline existed and I had NM #100 and X-Force #1 and it didn't matter. This whole storyline could just be ignored, and given the art and story, probably should be. By the way, it's a good thing Tabitha is right there, because if I woke up with this freaky cat thing and several people with guns standing over me, I'd be freaking the hell out. kvetoDecember 5, 2015 3:42 AM Marvel Team-Up #150 Spidey does very well against two juggernauts on his own. Its only Black Tom's force bolts that overcome him in the end. It doesnt feel so much like a team up. spidey fights them for the first half, then he sits out while the xmen fight for the second half. Ben HermanDecember 5, 2015 12:42 AM Captain America #357-364 Fnord, I own the original artwork for that page featuring Diamondback scoping out Cap's rear end... http://www.comicartfans.com/gallerypiece.asp?piece=437243 I also have the artwork for the corner box image of Cap and Diamondback that was used on these issues... So, yeah, "The Bloodstone Hunt" is a favorite of mine. Part of that is undoubtedly nostalgia. Nevertheless, it is certainly one of the high points among Mark Gruenwald's very long and very uneven run on Captain America. MichaelDecember 4, 2015 11:21 PM Marvel Comics Presents #89 (Spitfire) Re: Selene and the Avengers- there were no repercussions to her nearly killing Cap and Diamondback in Cap 369-370, so why should there be repercussions to her actions this story? Thanos6December 4, 2015 10:46 PM Marvels: Eye of the Camera #4 fnord, when it comes to Galactus, Phil is saying you can't tell heroes from villains anymore; after all, restoring Manhattan sounds like something a hero would do, not a "villain" like Galactus. Dan H.December 4, 2015 9:56 PM Marvel Universe #4-7 The Max Mercury thing is a little different. His initial adoption of a second name was due to DC needing to give him an identity other than "Quicksilver" so as not to conflict with Marvel's speedster. There wasn't any costume change at the time, just a name change. It got more complicated AFTER that, of course, but the original idea was just a re-naming and not any kind of integration. Stern's Makkari/Mercury/Hurricane reveal specifically used existing characters and merged them into one (I believe there was one more: the non-costumed "Invisible Man" from a one-off story). It was a clever move, since none of those characters had been or were liable to be used (I remember one reference to the Hurricane in the story that introduced the Liberty Legion, but that was it). MichaelDecember 4, 2015 7:37 PM Fantastic Four annual #24 Erik- sorry, there was a typo in my response. I meant "it's not JUST the What If issue- FF 341 also had the Nullifier working that way". IOW, in FF 341, the Nullifier's user was also destroyed, so this issue was inconsistent with FF 341, not just the What If. ScottDecember 4, 2015 5:08 PM Fantastic Four annual #24 That is a great What If Ia highpoint for the series) but the Ultimate Nullifier revelation was incredibly lacking and unnecessary imo Dan H.December 4, 2015 4:19 PM Fantastic Four annual #24 That What If was #32 of the first series, way back in 1982. It's the reason I don't have as much of an issue with the retcons as I'm initially tempted to, since that What If issue was published years before Shooter was forced out, right in the middle of his "control freak" phase as editor-in-chief. Yet he allowed it to go forward. The story did not make Korvac look sympathetic. If anything, it just painted him as an amoral "force of nature" much like Galactus himself. I have to believe that if Shooter really thought that was out of line, even for a parallel reality "speculation" story, he still would have squashed it or insisted the story be re-written. ScottDecember 4, 2015 3:36 PM Avengers annual #20 If you look closely in Infinity Gauntlet #2 (or maybe it was #3?), you can see the Avengers had tried to call Sandman - among other reservists shown on their monitors - so, it seems off-panel they must've explained properly to Sandman the situation. MortificatorDecember 4, 2015 2:11 PM Infinity Gauntlet #4 Look at how big the floor tiles suddenly became compared to Hulk. He definitely was shrunk. ScottDecember 4, 2015 1:28 PM Doctor Strange #34-35 "The story then gets a little silly, with Dr. Druid and Dr Doom having to fight the spirit of Dr. Doom's repressed "good" side while Doom is being restored." You mean Dr. Strange instead of Dr Doom that first time, right? And I always found it funny how THESE were relevant Infinity Gauntlet tie-ins but the latter Silver Surfers were so painstakingly useless. ScottDecember 4, 2015 1:21 PM Infinity Gauntlet #4 When I read this independent from tie-ins, I never saw Hulk as being shrunk and instead it was Thanos growing bigger (somewhat supported by Vision flying behind Thanos and being smaller than Thanos too). I thought the Peter David Hulk tie-in was a incredible misreading of the scene. And another excuse for PAD to do something "wacky" and "offbeat" again with the Hulk (and probably blame it on crossovers). I don't know, though, it's certainly not made clear in the issue and the perspective on that panel isn't particularly enlightening. Erik BeckDecember 4, 2015 11:41 AM New Mutants annual #7 Glad to know these stories existed. I remember reading in Muir Island Saga that Freedom Force was defunct and Mystique was there on the island. But when I saw Blob and Pyro in the X-Force with no explanation it was a little strange. QuebbsterDecember 4, 2015 10:42 AM Power Man #24-25 Ugh. Luigi Gambonno calls Luke Cage "Senor Power Man" and then in the next panel is (correctly) identified as an Italian. Wouldn't "signore Power Man" be the correct Italian term? Or does he switch to Spanish for the hell of it? Erik BeckDecember 4, 2015 8:54 AM Fantastic Four annual #24 Thanks for that info, Michael. It still bothers me though, especially since the What If issue came first (I can't remember what it was, but I definitely had stopped buying What If by this point so it was definitely before here - I believe it was early in the second What If series). MichaelDecember 4, 2015 8:01 AM Fantastic Four annual #24 Erik- it's just the What If issue- FF 341 also had the Nullifier working that way. Erik BeckDecember 4, 2015 7:09 AM Fantastic Four annual #24 I know that What If isn't in continuity, but it bothers me that this contradicts the What If issue wherein we learn that the user of the Ultimate Nullifier is also nullified. It also bothers me that this completely messes up the Korvac Saga, which I love, but that just seems to be Macchio being a d--k. Red CometDecember 3, 2015 4:42 PM Marvel Comics Presents #89 (Mojo) I wonder if this was drawn before Jim Lee finalized the character designs for X-men #1? The team is the post Muir Island Saga line-up, but the characters are all wearing their costumes from around the time of X-tinction Agenda. Even more incredibly, I think Joe Mad was only a 16 or 17 year old Marvel intern when he did this story. I can't think of any artist who had work published this young since guys like Joe Kubert in the Golden Age. cullenDecember 3, 2015 4:32 PM Marvel Comics Presents #89 (Mojo) Do you think Reed Richards whipped up some adamantium-resistant cutting boards for his buddy Professor X? Erik BeckDecember 3, 2015 11:37 AM New Mutants #98-100 * - Since Liefeld's females aren't attractive, his cheesecake is just women in skimpy clothing, unlike say, Erik Larsen. * - It felt weird at this point for Bobby and Rictor to drop out and just leave two people standing. But it felt weirder that Tabitha is constantly referred to as if she were a student of Xavier's. * - Feral's hair reminds of the line from Fletch: "He's 6'5", 6'9" with afro." * - Deadpool was always annoying. Is still annoying. Only perfect that he's played by Ryan Reynolds. * - Fnord, I know you mock Liefeld for only having one pose. But he does have a second one - when someone in mid-air kicks someone. Domino does Liefeld pose #2. Omar KarinduDecember 3, 2015 11:00 AM Marvel Comics Presents #97 (Bar) Don Hudson's inks, which look more like finishes than mere inks, really change Bagley's penciles. And Scholly Fisch is a helluva writer; I wish he'd get an ongoing title, but he's always been relegated to backup features and licensing tie-in books. (Though one wonders if that's not more lucrative.) fnord12December 3, 2015 8:04 AM Marvel Comics Presents #81 (Ant-Man) The story is that the bomb squad is stuck in traffic, so Stark Enterprises is not confirming or denying the existence of a bomb but has evacuated all personnel except for (per a reporter) "one of its research developers, Scott Long" (the reporter gets his name wrong). So as far as the world is concerned, it's Scott that is disabling the bomb, not Ant-Man. I suppose it's a placement consideration that Scott is called a research developer for Stark, but he could just be a hired contractor, and since the reporter gets the name wrong she could have his employment details wrong as well. MichaelDecember 3, 2015 7:53 AM Marvel Comics Presents #81 (Ant-Man) The babysitter says Scott is trying to defuse a bomb. How does she know that? Scott's ID is supposed to be a secret at this point. fnord12December 3, 2015 7:41 AM Marvel Comics Presents #80-81 (Captain America) For what it's worth, Cap is able to use his shield to deflect a zap from Electro in Amazing Spider-Man #187. But maybe the vibranium only absorbs a percentage of the electrical damage, and the repeated blows from Wargod in this story are too much for Cap to handle. In ASM #187, after Cap deflects that zap, the next panel shows Spider-Man swinging in to kick Electro, so maybe that gave Cap a minute to recover. TuomasDecember 3, 2015 4:47 AM Marvel Comics Presents #89 (Mojo) I love that panel with Wolvie chopping celery with his claw! Though he should know better than to smoke while doing it; even if his healing protects him from cancer, who wants to have cigar ash in their food? Also, what's wrong with man-nipples? TuomasDecember 3, 2015 3:57 AM Thor #327 The later retcon that Tyr is also Odin's son (as he is in the Norse myths) make many of his earlier appearances problematic. For example, when Odin chastises Loki for turning against his father and brother, shouldn't he say the same to Tyr too? Jay DemetrickDecember 3, 2015 3:21 AM X-Factor #12 Candy Southern was kidnapped sometime around here by the Right and Cameron Hodge murdered her just before Inferno. Much later, she turned up as a Phalanx that was supposed to attack Warren. Her body was used as a host for it or something. The Friends of Humanity had a connection to the Right. It's entirely possible Sara Grey's husband was killed by Nanny & Orphan Maker, Sara was badly wounded/presumed dead in the attack, and the Right kidnapped her/took her body. So whatever happened to Candy and the Friends of Humanity, probably happened to Sara too. RuntDecember 3, 2015 1:43 AM Power Man & Iron Fist #123 You left off the reporter's (Sydney something or other) narrative framework and that we discover at the end that the reporter is female. In reading it, I took the narrative to have a male voice, so this was another parallel theme on making judgments and assumptions. Next to vol. 1 issue 26 of Moon Knight, this is Marvel's best 'message' issue. Erik RobbinsDecember 3, 2015 1:24 AM Marvel Comics Presents #30 (Leir) I knew who Leir was as I had been buying Thor at the time, and it had not been so long since Leir appeared in the Set Wars. Other characters in MCP who hadn't appeared in comics for a while - say Shamrock or American Eagle - were new to me at the time. Luis DantasDecember 3, 2015 12:37 AM Marvel Comics Presents #88 (Solo) For some reason the casual use of teleporting devices by Solo and (later, IIRC) Deadpool troubles me. It feels like too much of a departure from the real world to me. I assume it was perceived as a good way of keeping the characters competitive against opponents that can fly, have superhuman speed or climbing cables or webbing. But the implications are IMO much too significant to remain uncommented just like that. Teleportation is too much of a strategic game changer for it not to be commented upon. Domestic drones are a significantly lesser innovation and they seem to have made more of an impact in the real world than those teleporters did in the MU. MichaelDecember 3, 2015 12:09 AM Marvel Comics Presents #80 (DotD) According to dcindexes, Marvel Comics Presents 1 came out on 5/3/88 and Wolverine 1 came out on 7/12/88. Vincent ValentiDecember 3, 2015 12:02 AM Marvel Super Heroes #7 (Cloak & Dagger) I never heard of Gary Hartle before, but he's a pretty decent artist....reminds me of Kerry Gammill. MichaelDecember 2, 2015 11:23 PM Marvel Comics Presents #80-81 (Captain America) Can somebody please help me with something- can Cap's and USAgent's shields protect them from electricity or not? Because in Wonder Man 4, Splice's vibranium suit protects him from Wonder Man's fists but not getting electrocuted and in this issue, Cap's shield is useless against the electric mace. But in other stories, they seem to have no problem with electrical attacks. Red CometDecember 2, 2015 10:30 PM Marvel Comics Presents #93-98 (Wolverine) I got the final part of the Wolverine story somehow. I agree that the awesome Sam Kieth covers are a complete disconnect from the pedestrian art these stories usually featured. Jon DubyaDecember 2, 2015 9:28 PM Marvel Comics Presents #85-92 (Beast) If you're interested in the Constrinctor, the you should know he gets a lot of play in Avengers: Initiative Ben HermanDecember 2, 2015 9:01 PM Marvel Comics Presents #83 (Human Torch) This was another Steve Ditko story from MCP that I rather liked since it had the co-creator of Spider-Man working with Erik Larsen, who was the then-current regular artist on Spider-Man. Of course, since Hell will probably freeze over before Ditko ever does another Spider-Man story, instead we have them collaborating on the Human Torch. Well, it still looked really nice. Ben HermanDecember 2, 2015 8:50 PM Marvel Comics Presents #93-98 (Wolverine) Michael, given a choice, I'd rather pay attention to this story and just flat-out ignore Origin! Fnord, Todd Foxx worked on a handful of independent titles in the late 1980s and early 90s. Among those was Scout, the creator-owned series by Tim Truman, who also wrote this serial. ChrisDecember 2, 2015 8:44 PM Marvel Comics Presents #88 (Solo) Yet this is something that can be learned. Writing 5 page stories was done in the early days of Marvel, and many of the MCP writers had extended runs in the series. After the third or fourth story, they should know how to do it. Certainly the EDITOR should be coaching the writers on how to do it. I think it's more of a situation that 1) Marvel doesn't care to put out quality product at this point, they just want quantity, 2) the editor doesn't care or know how to either, and 3) the writers aren't interested in learning either. Ben HermanDecember 2, 2015 8:36 PM Marvel Comics Presents #80-81 (Captain America) I have a real fondness for this story, for a few reasons... First, in the early 1990s I was a HUGE fan of Captain America. At that point in time he really was my absolute favorite comic boom character. So it was a genuine thrill to see him in a story written & penciled by Steve Ditko, the co-creator of Spider-Man and Doctor Strange. Second, as Fnord points out, Ditko is both the plotter and the scripter. Usually the only times Ditko has ever scripted himself are on his Objectivist-inspired works, such as his Question and Mr. A stories. As far as I can recall, pretty much all of the Marvel and DC superhero stories that he plotted & penciled were scripted by other people. So this story is an interesting glimpse at seeing how Ditko goes about writing dialogue for a thoroughly mainstream character such as Captain America. Third, Terry Austin is one of my all time favorite inkers / embellishers / finishers. It was great to see him ink Ditko on this short serial, and the artwork turned out great. Yes, as Fnord points out, Cap is written as uncharacteristically outmatched by run-of-the-mill goons. But you can always say that this story is set a few short months after he awoke from suspended animation and was still getting his bearings. That fits the Silver Age tone of Ditko's penciling quite well. By the way, that oddball sculpture of a blindfolded, gagged, deafened human head that Ditko draws here reminds me more than a bit of the bondage / fetish artwork of Eric Stanton that Ditko provided uncredited assists on in the 1960s. But good luck getting Ditko to acknowledge those collaborations. So I seriously doubt Ditko drew that sculpture as any sort of nod to those adult comics. One last thing... Red Comet, do not tell John Byrne that any of the characters in this story resemble Norman Osborn, otherwise he'll be unable to resist the urge to write a story revealing them as long-lost relatives! Ben HermanDecember 2, 2015 8:12 PM Marvel Comics Presents #88 (Solo) I suppose one might consider Tarantula a state-sponsored terrorist. In any case, Red Comet has a good observation. There are a lot of British writers who cut their teeth writing for 2000 AD, and any of them would have been well-suited to work on MCP. MichaelDecember 2, 2015 8:12 PM Marvel Comics Presents #95 (Hulk) This is a big reason why Pak's idea that the Hulk never kills anyone because Banner's mind does the math doesn't work. The Slayer wants revenge on the Hulk for crippling his brother. So unless Banner's ability to do the math prevents the Hulk from killing people but enables the Hulk to cripple people, it doesn't work. MichaelDecember 2, 2015 7:57 PM Marvel Comics Presents #93-98 (Wolverine) Fnord, at the time this story was written, it hadn't been clarified how old Wolverine was, so him being an adult in the 1840s was entirely possible. Later, Origin revealed that he was born in the late 1880s, so there's no way the 1840s flashback could have happened. The problem is Wolverine finds Uncegila's corpse at the end of this story, which seems to confirm the flashback was real. Red CometDecember 2, 2015 4:29 PM Marvel Comics Presents #88 (Solo) Part of the problem is that American creators don't have much experience or training writing 8-10 page stories since most comics are 20-30 pages. If they wanted MCP to be halfway decent they'd have gotten Marvel UK to bring in some British writers. Feels like 99% of them got their start doing short stories for 2000 AD and most of the artists drew at least one Judge Dredd story. Red CometDecember 2, 2015 4:24 PM Marvel Comics Presents #85-92 (Beast) I think Jennifer Nyles might be the blonde that gets killed by Dark Beast in X-men Unlimited #10 when he was going around killing friends and relatives of Regular Beast. RobertDecember 2, 2015 4:21 PM Marvel Comics Presents #95 (Hulk) The few times I bought it off the rack it was more of an impulse buy based on something or someone on the cover that caught my interest. MegaSpiderManDecember 2, 2015 4:02 PM Marvel Comics Presents #85-92 (Beast) Commander Courage clearly goes to the same tailor as M. Bison. kvetoDecember 2, 2015 3:53 PM Marvel Comics Presents #30 (Leir) I wonder if Leir is the most obscure character to get a MCP feature? kvetoDecember 2, 2015 3:36 PM Marvel Comics Presents #97 (Bar) fnord, gasp! that's the Impossible man! Shock and dismay! kvetoDecember 2, 2015 3:32 PM Marvel Comics Presents #95 (Hulk) I wonder who bought MCP at this time? and what motivated them to buy it? kvetoDecember 2, 2015 3:22 PM Marvel Comics Presents #88 (Solo) It's such a pity these MCP stories arent better. They have all the elements to be an obscure character lovers dream kvetoDecember 2, 2015 3:19 PM Marvel Comics Presents #89 (Spitfire) can anyone tell me why we need a young Spitfire running around in the 90s de-aged? Not enough heroes around, you say? Bringing her back makes total sense. BerendDecember 2, 2015 2:56 PM Marvel Comics Presents #85-92 (Beast) The Constrictor is one of the characters I've really come to enjoy thanks to your project. Somehow I only read appearances of him where he is just a random thug, I never knew there was an actual personality to him! Matthew BradleyDecember 2, 2015 1:19 PM Super-Villain Team-Up #10-12 Overall, I agree heartily with FF3. But as a huge fan of this underrated series since I stumbled on #2 (which I still consider an awesome issue) forty years ago at the age of 12, I've long since decided that it is best enjoyed while totally ignoring the title, first because Namor was by no means a "super-villain" at that stage of the game, and second because, in an issue like #12, Doom and the Skull do not "team up" by any stretch of the imagination. clydeDecember 2, 2015 12:44 PM New Mutants annual #3 I loved this "battle" between Warlock and The Impossible Man. Two goofy characters trying to outdo each other. clydeDecember 2, 2015 12:42 PM Marvel Comics Presents #91 (Impossible Man) I like the Impossible Man because of his goofiness. He always reminded me of DC's Mxyzptlk. clydeDecember 2, 2015 12:38 PM Marvel Comics Presents #92 (Northstar) "Aaaand i don't care." FNORD - So, basically, you love the Marvel Comics Presents stories? ;) Ben HermanDecember 2, 2015 12:04 PM Marvel Comics Presents #71 (Warlock) Fnord, the Warlock series from 1999 was pretty funny and wacky, but it was not a comedy. It was a lot like Power Pack, in that there were certainly comedic elements, but the plots and characterization were quite serious. I really did enjoy that Warlock series, and I wish it had lasted at least a bit longer. Anyway, regarding this MCP story, I like it. Yeah, it's ridiculous, but I found it funny, and it was nice to briefly see Warlock again, since I missed him. By the way, the fact that this was published AFTER the character died is lampshaded with some dark humor on the cover, as the corner box features Warlock in the shape of a tombstone, with "RIP" scrawled on him... Jon DubyaDecember 2, 2015 11:25 AM Marvel Comics Presents #89 (Mojo) "What's wrong with this picture." Well for one thing, Joe Madureira decided to open gross creepy rock-hard man-nopples prominently on display! Gah! I suspect this took place before X-Men #1 (vol 2, of course). Remember that when we catch up to the X-men that a the obligatory "six month gap" has passed since the end of the Muir Island Saga. I assumed that the activities that happened during the interim were to banal and pedestrian to publish, which would make it a perfect oppurtunity for this story to be set. Also, I can't't imagine Wolvetine (especially 90s Wolverine) cooking and eating celery. fnord12December 2, 2015 10:23 AM Marvel Comics Presents #71 (Warlock) If you mean the M-Tech series from 1999, i did read it in realtime. That was really Douglock though, right? And at least Louise Simonson didn't play it as a comedy (as far as a recall). Jon DubyaDecember 2, 2015 10:13 AM Marvel Comics Presents #71 (Warlock) "I've always liked Warlock, but my fear about a Warlock solo series is that it would be exactly like this story." You do know that Warlock actually had a solo series, right? Warlock has always been funny because of who he is and how he talks. He didn't need bad puns. You know, even if the credits weren't listed in this entry, that would already clue us in that this was a Lobdell "masterpiece." BUDecember 2, 2015 10:02 AM Marvel Comics Presents #42 (Union Jack & DotD) [shrugs] In his introduction in Captain America #253-254, his bond with Falsworth was portrayed in exactly the We-Can't-Say-It way Byrne later used for Northstar and Maggie Sawyer. You can never be sure of anything, of course, when all you have to go on is the-kids-won't-get-it hints, but I certainly wasn't looking for it when I saw it right there on the page... Erik BeckDecember 2, 2015 7:41 AM Spectacular Spider-Man #174-175 Do the Wild Pack just hit in closets until they're called? Also, wouldn't Doc Ock have been killed had the Tremblor actually gone off with him in the building? Can't see him surviving a whole building collapsing on him - the arms are powerful - he's not invulnerable. TuomasDecember 2, 2015 2:51 AM Marvel Comics Presents #80-81 (Captain America) I think the compression/decompression dynamic in American mainstream comics is largely a product of the format. For a long time, the writers and artists had to do a self-contained story in 24 pages or less, which limited the more expressive and experimental things they could do within the format, like splash pages, odd page compositions, etc. (Of course some artists like Steranko still managed to do those things, but I think most cases compression and artistic conservatism went hand in hand.) But when those limitations began loosen up, when the writers and artists were allowed to do stories which ran for 10 issues or more, stories that were merely a part of a bigger whole ("writing for the trade"), not to mention graphic novels, it's understandable that they indulged in this freedom, and decompression was the result. But here in Europe, where the standard for comic books is not a monthly 24 page issue but a yearly "album" that's normally at least 62 pages long (and also significantly larger than American comic books), the compression/decompression thing is pretty much a non-issue. At least since the 1960s, European artists have typically used both decompression and compression within the same book, from big splash pages to tightly scripted multi-panel pages. TuomasDecember 2, 2015 2:27 AM Marvel Comics Presents #82 (Iron Man) Since Steve Leialoha has Hawaiian roots, I wonder if this story was done specifically so he could draw it? BerendDecember 2, 2015 1:47 AM Marvel Comics Presents #80-81 (Captain America) "I wish it were possible to merge Ditko's layouting and storytelling ability with better scripting and more modern looking art, but for whatever reason it always seems to be a package deal. Compression seems to come hand in hand with corniness, and the price we pay for more realistic dialogue is, for some reason, splash panels and stories that need to be stretched out." Interesting observation. I tried to come up with people who subvert this claim, and the first names that came to mind are people generally considered the masters of the comic book medium or the superhero genre: Alan Moore, Neill Gaiman, Kurt Busiek... Also, Brian K. Vaughn's Y and Saga are certainly very decompressed compared to Marvel Comics Presents, but I do think they use that decompression wisely. The series just take the time they need. kvetoDecember 2, 2015 1:29 AM Marvel Comics Presents #80-81 (Captain America) Would Cap really fall for the cigarette gas trick? Let's see, who else uses that trick all the time, hmmmm? BerendDecember 2, 2015 1:18 AM Marvel Comics Presents #80 (Mr. Fantastic) There should be more bizarre shots of Reed stretching his face in comics. Morgan WickDecember 2, 2015 12:40 AM Marvel Comics Presents #81 (Daredevil) Man, MCP was really backlogged if "this story occurred before current issues of Daredevil" in a 1991 story is such an understatement it has to take place before Inferno. Morgan WickDecember 2, 2015 12:36 AM Marvel Comics Presents #80-81 (Captain America) "I would have gotten away with it too, if it weren't for that meddling Cap!" Morgan WickDecember 2, 2015 12:33 AM Marvel Comics Presents #80 (DotD) I'm pretty sure Wolverine's ongoing (not mini) came after MCP - wasn't MCP where the Madripoor setting was established? The format really restricts what you can do with MCP - it's close to impossible to really do inventory stories in the format unless you just happen to have an eight-page backup sitting around, so everything has to be specifically built for the format. Once it started moving away from classic creators working on non-commercial concepts, there wasn't really anywhere for it to go but "Wolverine and a bunch of filler", especially since, once it started getting really backlogged, the ongoing stories that used to be its bread and butter were easier and more commercial to convert into one-shots than these filler single stories, and those are the ones that don't suck. Red CometDecember 1, 2015 11:46 PM Marvel Comics Presents #83 (Hawkeye) Reads like a Green Arrow story except he's colored purple instead. Red CometDecember 1, 2015 11:42 PM Marvel Comics Presents #80-81 (Captain America) Dude and his son look exactly like Norman and Harry Osborn. Red CometDecember 1, 2015 11:36 PM Marvel Comics Presents #82 (Luke Cage) Being wanted for the death of Iron Fist is a short term story idea mistakenly turned into a status quo for Luke Cage. I suppose I should use the term "status quo" loosely though since this is Cage's first appearance since 1986. I understand the reality was that he'd been in character limbo since the end of his comic, but it looks pretty bad in-universe that all his friends let this go on for so long and no one tried to help clear his name. BobDecember 1, 2015 9:22 PM Marvel Comics Presents #83 (Human Torch) The art is nice, though. Larsen is a good fit to ink Steve. ChrisDecember 1, 2015 8:42 PM Marvel Comics Presents #82 (Luke Cage) Cage would have been a good character to become a headliner for MCP. He's had his own series and has residual fans as a result. It could have been a good anchor. ChrisDecember 1, 2015 8:40 PM Marvel Comics Presents #80 (DotD) If you have an anthology comic like MCP, there's only a few things you can do with it. 1) Use it as means to develop new talent. New writers and artists who haven't proven their worth can be given some pages to see how they tell a story using characters they can't damage. 2) Use it as a means to allow "important" talent to tell stories that otherwise couldn't be publish because of format issues. It's a good way to reward them. 3) Use it to develop and showcase lesser characters with important stories as a tryout for a limited or ongoing series of their own. Some amount of inventory story dumping is inevitable, but it can be done in a tolerable way if there are good quality stories. However, at this point Marvel seems uninterested in any kind of editorial excellence. I would like to say that this would never happen under Jim Shooter, but he allowed Marvel Fanfare to be overpriced crap. It's just an even worse version of Solo Avengers. MCP really seems to be a way to provide an income to various hangers on at Marvel at this point - whether old classics like Ditko, loyal Bullpen members like Duffy, writers and artists who don't have consistent series, or old cronies. There is nothing that indicates the editors were doing any real work developing talent or use the opportunity to tell interesting stories. At least this story can conceivably be classified as #3. It returns an old writer to her old characters. This probably did not make anyone want a Daughters of the Dragon story, but neither is it awful. It doesn't seem that hard to do it right. Find a popular character that doesn't have his own title, perhaps an old Avenger or X-Man not currently on the published team. That is your headliner. Let your creative team know they are supposed to develop him like he had his own title - just with lower page count. Find an older creative team and let them do something non-commercial, but in high quality like when they brought back Moench on Shang Chi. Let them do extended arcs and that if they do well, they can continue with the character. Find some new talent that needs developing and give them steady work until you raise them where they can take over an actual title. If you need to dump inventory stories, keep it to a minimum every issue. MCP seemed like this is how it started (except that Wolverine already had a solo series), but it quickly declined into garbage. fnord12December 1, 2015 8:02 PM Marvel Comics Presents #82 (Luke Cage) Not in this story, which i assume was written before those Namor issues. But it probably takes a while for the arrest warrant or whatever to get rescinded anyway. I assume it must come up in the Cage series, at least by issue #9 when Iron Fist guest stars. MichaelDecember 1, 2015 7:57 PM Marvel Comics Presents #82 (Luke Cage) Did McLaurin ever explain why Luke was still wanted for murder even though Danny is back? MichaelDecember 1, 2015 7:55 PM Marvel Comics Presents #80 (DotD) The secretary isn't the only incompetent one- why didn't Colleen and Misty ask for a photo of the victim? FF3December 1, 2015 6:16 PM Super-Villain Team-Up #10-12 > Doom and Captain America (who is not a Super-Villain) Lines like that are why I enjoy this site so much. I love your deadpan. JPDecember 1, 2015 4:26 PM Marvel Comics Presents #83 (Human Torch) She's called the Moth because she's DRAWN to flames. MortificatorDecember 1, 2015 2:19 PM Marvel Comics Presents #42 (Union Jack & DotD) And the Avengers movie has Loki calling Black Widow a quim. Maybe Joss Whedon just likes exposing vulgar British slang to an oblivious US audience. Max_SpiderDecember 1, 2015 2:18 PM Marvel Comics Presents #79 (Dr. Strange) Marvel actually did release two issues of a Nightmare on Elm Street comic two years before this was published, written by Steve Gerber. It was solicited for at least five issues and had stories submitted by Buzz Dixon and Peter David before its abrupt cancellation. One story goes that someone in Marvel had it cancelled after actually reading it and finding out what it was about, although you'd think the Tomb of Dracula and Epic Comics stuff might have been just as bad, I guess Nightmare on Elmstreet was more known and therefore more easily subjected to public scrutiny. But hey, if it went on any longer, maybe we could have actually had Doctor Strange vs Freddy Krueger. Who knows? Max_SpiderDecember 1, 2015 2:10 PM Marvel Comics Presents #74 (Human Torch/Iceman) As far as wordplay goes, the "Absolute Zero" at the end is just awesome and is well set up. I approve. Max_SpiderDecember 1, 2015 2:07 PM Marvel Comics Presents #69 (Silver Surfer) Having someone use your power to kill themselves can still have story potential, something we saw a little bit of in Spider-Man vs Wolverine. Although, Surfer seems pretty quick to accept and adjust to the fact that its happened, even if he doesn't approve of it. I'd imagine the Herald stuff was probably harder to come to terms with. Omar KarinduDecember 1, 2015 1:39 PM Marvel Comics Presents #42 (Union Jack & DotD) Buffy also had James Marsters flashing the backwards V-sign in the opening credits every week for about two seasons, and no one noticed. It's essentially the middle finger, and is considered equally vulgar...but American audiences (and network executives) apparently didn't know any better. Red CometDecember 1, 2015 1:37 PM Marvel Comics Presents #42 (Union Jack & DotD) I don't think there was any gay subtext to the Chapman Union Jack. It's a modern tic to assume two male characters who show up and are friends in an old story might (or are likely to) also be gay. This was generally not the case prior to comparative literature students and tumblr users trying to find gay subtext everywhere. The point of the original Cap story was that a lower class Brit could also be a super-hero and Ken Falsworth was there as a swerve since you'd assume he would be the one to become the new Union Jack. I've often found British class themes get lost on Americans because social class in America is not perceived as being ultra-rigid by most Americans. fnord12December 1, 2015 12:05 PM Marvel Comics Presents #42 (Union Jack & DotD) BU, that may have been implied in his Cap appearance, but in Knights of Pendragon he develops an attraction to Kate McClellan. Not that he couldn't be bi. Matthew BradleyDecember 1, 2015 11:21 AM Super-Villain Team-Up #10-12 Is it worth noting that although still alive when last seen in #12, the "badly hurt" Rudolfo died of his wounds, as reported by his younger brother Zorba in FANTASTIC FOUR #198? fnord12December 1, 2015 10:36 AM Marvel Comics Presents #70 (Black Widow/Darkstar) Yep, looks like this needs to get pushed back even further. Thanks, Michael. fnord12December 1, 2015 10:17 AM Marvel Comics Presents #74 (Human Torch/Iceman) Well, i think the set-up is very efficient, but the actual story is pretty corny and has the two characters fighting machinery for 8 pages. It might have been a good formula to follow, but with a better plot. fnord12December 1, 2015 10:11 AM Marvel Comics Presents #71 (Warlock) Added the Fleshtones as characters. Thanks. Omar KarinduDecember 1, 2015 9:46 AM Avengers annual #20 (Vision/Thor) And much later we get a story where Titania is dying of cancer and the Absorbing Man keeps trying to kidnap doctors to help her. I guess he should just have absorbed it himself! Luis DantasDecember 1, 2015 9:08 AM Marvel Comics Presents #73 (Sub-Mariner) This reminds me that back in 1975's Invaders #1 Namor claimed to be capable of reading "most languages in the planet" (well, that is the translation of what the Brazilian comic said). Apparently there are some indications that language assimilation is one of his powers. But it does not seem to make him capable of speaking Russian in this story. Omar KarinduDecember 1, 2015 8:44 AM X-Factor #65-68 Why does Shinobi Shaw think his powers are like Harry Leland's? By this logic, shouldn't he think his father is really the Vision? Ataru320December 1, 2015 8:36 AM Marvel Comics Presents #75 (Dr. Doom) Eh; considering Doom has succeeded in conquering the world before and gaining absolute power (see Secret Wars or Emperor Doom), I'm not sure why Franklin would be having a nightmare about this sort of thing. Omar KarinduDecember 1, 2015 8:22 AM Uncanny X-Men annual #15 Considering that Tom Raney is the penciller, it's amazing how awful the art is. Omar KarinduDecember 1, 2015 8:00 AM Guardians of the Galaxy annual #1 "Ambassador Jacques" is a Legion of Super-Heroes in-joke; he's drawn to resemble Rene Jacques Brande, the rich dude (and secret alien shapeshifter) who funded them. MichaelDecember 1, 2015 7:54 AM Marvel Comics Presents #70 (Black Widow/Darkstar) Fnord, you placed this after Cap 352-353 but before Super Soldiers 1- shouldn't Darkstar be in a coma then? Omar KarinduDecember 1, 2015 7:47 AM Punisher #45 Granted that she's supposed to be "comic-book insane," buy the killer's motives make no sense here. "I was victimized because i couldn't get a cab, therefore I will kill cab drivers, ensuring that the same thing is *moire* likely to happen int he future!" Omar KarinduDecember 1, 2015 7:46 AM She-Hulk #24 Rather oddly, Radioactive Man is written as a parody of the "Savage" Hulk here. Thanos6December 1, 2015 6:34 AM Marvel Comics Presents #78 (Iron Man) I believe the Yeti is on the Matterhorn. fnord, you forgot the story's title. Luis DantasDecember 1, 2015 4:00 AM Marvel Comics Presents #74 (Human Torch/Iceman) You make it sound a bit better than a D+ story, Fnord. Morgan WickDecember 1, 2015 2:22 AM Marvel Comics Presents #77-79 (Dracula/Nick Fury) You have this categorized under both "1991" and "Golden Age/WWII", and don't have it in any boxes. Morgan WickDecember 1, 2015 2:17 AM Marvel Comics Presents #75 (Dr. Doom) Is it a coincidence that the plot of the dream bears a distinct resemblance to Infinity Gauntlet? Erik RobbinsDecember 1, 2015 12:41 AM Marvel Comics Presents #75 (Dr. Doom) To be fair, I think that Franklin's dreams are likely to be more accurate concerning Unca Ben than the Wasp, but yeah, dreams do odd things, so who knows? MichaelNovember 30, 2015 10:57 PM Marvel Comics Presents #78 (Hulk) The idea of either the Hulk or Selene being able to contract AIDS is iffy. MichaelNovember 30, 2015 10:54 PM Marvel Comics Presents #71 (Warlock) Only about 4 months- but yeah, that's a recurring problem with Marvel Comics Presents. Look at the Selene/Hulk story, which featured a grey Hulk but came out when the Hulk was green. Red CometNovember 30, 2015 10:21 PM Marvel Comics Presents #71 (Warlock) They should have moved this story up the schedule in Marvel Comics Presents. Warlock had been dead for, what, over a year when this issue came out? Morgan WickNovember 30, 2015 9:45 PM Marvel Comics Presents #71 (Warlock) This reads like an Impossible Man story. |
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