Avengers #88Issue(s): Avengers #88 Review/plot: Ah, Harlan Ellison. The famous science fiction writer that i've never heard of outside of the terrible comics he's written for Marvel. The only other thing i know about Harlan Ellison is that he sues everybody. He sued James Cameron for Terminator, claiming that the idea of someone coming back in time to fix an apocalyptic future was his. That's like DC suing anyone using a super-hero in a cape. Anyway, his comics are awful. This one starts off promisingly enough, with Reed Richards and Professor Xavier working together using Tony Stark's equipment in order to try and cure the Hulk. Then it devolves into the Avengers investigating black people in New Orleans, who are inevitably engaged in voodoo. This results in them facing a bunch of silly monsters (although drawn by Sal Buscema, they look pretty cool)... ...and then the subterranean Psyklop, who at this point has also kidnapped the Hulk. There's an attempt at some Lovecraftian references (should Lovecraft's estate sue Ellison?), and then the Avengers are teleported away with their minds wiped, and the Hulk is accidentally shrunken into the microverse. This is the Falcon's first meeting with the Avengers. Quality Rating: D Chronological Placement Considerations: Considering the Avengers all get mindwiped i don't really care where it goes, but it needs to fit in a gap for the FF, Cap, Thor, and Iron Man. It continues directly into Hulk #140. References: N/A Crossover: N/A Continuity Insert? N My Reprint: Marvel Super Heroes #90 Inbound References (2): showCharacters Appearing: Black Panther, Captain America, Falcon, General 'Thunderbolt' Ross, Glenn Talbot, Hawkeye, Hulk, Iron Man, Mr. Fantastic, Professor X, Psyklop, Quicksilver, Redwing, Scarlet Witch, Thor, Vision 1971 / Box 6 / Silver Age CommentsMarvelmania was Marvel's first house fanzine. It ran for one preview issue and 6 regular issues from 1969-70 and was only available through the mail. Marvelmania came to an end because the guy Marvel hired to run it(from outside the company) embezzled a bit and ran off. Posted by: Mark Drummond | August 13, 2011 1:13 AM The Ellison piece in Marvelmania #4 was actually called "In The Grip Of Syklop", and it was a 3-page plot synopsis of #88 and Hulk #140 rather than an actual story. Syklop(no first P) is described as half human, there's no scene in New Orleans, no Falcon, and the Avengers see the statue on a small island near Easter Island. Posted by: Mark Drummond | December 30, 2012 7:53 PM I believe Lovecraft actually encouraged people to do their own takes of the mythos or create shared universe and so on. Sometimes something good is added sometimes something bad. Posted by: David Banes | April 6, 2014 2:04 AM You've never seen/heard of "City on the Edge of Forever"? That's Ellison's "Star Trek" episode. Hugely praised...and hugely rewritten by Gene Roddenberry from Ellison's original. Harlan complained, complained, might have sued someone, eventually had his original script published on its own, and both versions won awards (I forget which ones). Harlan is, absolutely, a nut, a crank, and a pest. (Isn't there an issue of Daredevil or Iron Man where there's a totally obnoxious "writer" p.o.v. character, whom Conway admits was based on Ellison?) But he's also quite brilliant, and any failures in his Marvel Comics product should be taken as an indictment of the process, not his talent. JMO. Posted by: Dan Spector | August 1, 2014 2:53 PM Justice League of America #89 was published/on sale at around the same time as Avengers #88 and its story (by Roy's buddy Mike Friedrich)included a character named Harlequin Ellis, a TV writer who had the hots for Black Canary. ;) Posted by: Shar | August 1, 2014 3:20 PM Possibly OT, but that issue of JLA is just painful to read these days, and not for a good reason. Friedrich described the Ellison analogue as "Hollywood's most eligible bachelor" who "had his heart broken by three women", even though Harlan's long since admitted that the failure of his first 3 marriages was all his fault. Posted by: Mark Drummond | August 1, 2014 8:31 PM So are the Psyclops similar to the Hive mind of the BORG in Star Trek and in their case taking instruction from the Dark Mystical forces that instruct them? Definitely could have been a cool concept with some tweaking in how they exist and operate between realms as a Insectoid race of Lascivious conquerer's Posted by: rocknrollguitarplayer | March 22, 2016 1:35 AM This really blows and there's loads of spelling and grammar errors in it. That one page of Psyklop's P.O.V. is just about the only interesting thing in it. Posted by: AF | April 20, 2016 3:15 PM Is this the first time Iron Man teamed up with Mister Fantastic and Professor X? This is a prelude to the Illuminati that form after the Kree-Skrull War. Posted by: Steven | December 27, 2016 12:39 PM Comments are now closed. |
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