COMICS AIN'T CHEAP! 4/27/11

BATMAN INCORPORATED #5 – 4 ½ whiskers
At the top of the mondo heap of books this week sits my fave Bat-title, Grant Morrison’s wacky and wonderful ode to all things Batman. I’m going to have to read this a few more times to really get everything that’s going on, but I love it nonetheless. The new hero, The Hood, is very cool and I totally dig that Morrison’s Batwoman fits neatly with Rucka’s version – I’d seriously like to see another team-up between those two. Also, huge props for Morrison’s inclusion of the black Batman from waayyy back: BATMAN #250 (1973), “The Batman Nobody Knows!”

JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA #50 – 4 whiskers
Okay, I liked this issue. JSA’s been on the fence for a while now, and I’ve actually considered dropping it more than once, but Guggenheim kicked it into gear for the big #50 and along with a coterie of top-notch artists delivered an issue worthy of the landmark. Although I really enjoyed his new take on the classic JSA Vs HUAC scene, I think his more-ambiguous ending – which lacks the famous “Our identities, our lives, are our own…” disappearing act – soured it a bit, so I took off some points. And, admittedly, I like the idea of Jay Garrick as the mayor of a city…but oh does that suck-ass Alan Scott costume have to go. This issue only proved how clunky it is.

BRIGHTEST DAY #24 – 4 whiskers
Isn’t a half-year 26 issues? Oh, well, regardless, here’s the big wrap-up and it delivered. There was a whiff of by-the-numbers-get-everything-in here, but overall it was a solid ending and I think overall the book was worthwhile. I think I’ve become an even bigger Ivan Reis fan because of this title, if that’s possible. So glad Deadman’s back to being, y’know, dead, and I might even consider trying Aquaman’s upcoming series.

FF #2 – 4 whiskers
Marvel enters the ring with the second issue of their experimental book, FF. I say “experimental” because, face it, this is dicey territory. Thankfully, I think Hickman’s doing a good job and he knows how to write a good Doom scene, something not every writer can claim. This is a good balance of humor and drama and I like the art, just wish it was a bit more compressed – too often his stuff seems too airy.

PLANET OF THE APES #1 – 3 ½ whiskers
I wanted, really wanted to like this book – and I did. Whew! Too often, these licensed titles just fall flat and fail to deliver, but I’m happy to say that writer Daryl Gregory held my interest throughout this first issue, despite the fact that I’m not too thrilled with the time period they chose to set the story in – much rather have seen something closer to the time of one of the films. But, it is in original movie continuity and it does feel that way, so that’s a plus. I can’t totally dig Carlos Magno’s art – hated it on COUNTDOWN TO FINAL CRISIS – but at least it appears as if he’s grown a bit since then. Just needs to work on his monkey faces and move them closer to the classic makeup of the films.

RUSE #2 – 3 ½ whiskers
Okay, true confession: I never did any Crossgen back in the day. But, that said, RUSE is totally something I thought I’d enjoy and, lo and behold, it is. Mark Waid’s dialogue is crisp and witty and I really enjoy the interaction between Archard and Bishop. I just wish they’d get a different artist on this book; Mirco Pierfederici’s just bringing me out of the fiction way too many times. I see we get a “special guest artist” next issue, which is weird considering this is just a miniseries…good thing we have wonderful Butch Guice covers.

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #659 – 3 whiskers
I’m still here and I still enjoy this book, but Mr. Dan Slott needs to do two things: simmer down with Spidey’s constant-constant-constant wiseacre comments and tighten up the continuity between this and FF. I’ve never truly felt as if the two books jibe, seeing as how they are now so closely related. I dig all the Lee-Kirby homage, but I’m left a little nonplussed by the whole pirate zombies thing…and Dan totally ruined Carlie Cooper for me this time out. Why sabotage something like that? I just don’t get it. Ah, well.

AVENGERS #12.1 – 2 ½ whiskers
Top of the heap last week, almost at the bottom this week: total letdown. Oh, Bendis; wha’ happen? Lackluster overall and this is an “insertion point” issue for new readers? And what’s with that art? Worst Hitch Art Ever. Disappointed.

GODZILLA #2 – 2 whiskers
The tallest star in this week’s pantheon resides at the list’s lowest point. I want, want, want to LOVE this book, but I just can’t. Really bummed out by the first issue, but I gave it another try and it once again tasted like stale soup. This thing is all over the map and doesn’t know what it wants to be – it introduces even more monsters when the star, Godzilla, is barely doing anything. Add to that a total lack of developing human characters and more stupid, inane scenes with President “Ogden” – what, you draw him as Obama but you can’t say his name??? – and you get this mishmash of political rhetoric. I didn’t feel a damn thing for the guy who gets fried at the end because instead of growing him throughout the two issues and making me CARE about his demise, Powell and Marsh run around hither an thither adding a bunch of pointless ingredients into the mix. Maybe, just maybe, Godzilla truly cannot be translated well into comics. Yeah, maybe that’s the truth.

COMICS AIN'T CHEAP! 4/20/11

AVENGERS #12 – 5 whiskers
Standing tall at the top of the very short stack this week is the wrap-up of the “Infinity Gems” storyline by Bendis and Romita Jr. Wow. The arc has had its ups and downs, but mostly ups and this issue was definitely an up – I’m pretty sure that both creators are doing some of the work of their careers currently in this title. I’ve really grown to appreciate what Bendis does in his scripting, something that really surprises me because I’ve never been that big of a fan of that kind of “flip-hip” style of dialogue. But, Bendis makes me almost believe these characters are real and that’s a pretty cool deal. With the ending of this issue, he hit me right between the freakin’ eyes. I mean, it’s like I painted a target directly between both my eyes and he just BLAMMM punched me right there in the middle. It made me work up emotions about what happens – and that ain’t hay.

GREEN LANTERN #65 – 4 whiskers
Again, here’s another fantastic last page, courtesy of the Master of Last Pages, Geoff Johns. I don’t know how he does it, but he’s managed to build event after event in the pages of this book for YEARS and I just sit and gobble it all up, happy and content. The scope of the GL universe is immense and though I used to get a bit miffed that the book seemed to be very little about Hal Jordan himself, now I just don’t give a damn – this stuff is classic space opera. The scene of the choosing of the rings among our GL heroes was wonderful…though I wonder at the somewhat-stereotypical choice of costume for John on the last page.

BATMAN #709 – 3 whiskers
This issue was just okay. I feel a bit foolish because I bought this two-part “Judgment on Gotham” story by accident – see, last month I grabbed BATMAN thinking I was getting Tony Daniel and his continuing saga and got a guest-writer and artist and a story that was shoe-horned into the title. Looking back, it appears as if this thing was originally supposed to play out in the other Bat-titles, but I assume that Tony needed some time to catch up – no argument from me, do what you have to do, Tony – and David Hine and this story filled the gap. I should have looked more closely at the cover credits, and that gaffe is completely on me. But, that said, I thought that #708 was okay enough to buy the second part. March’s art is actually pretty nice and the story wasn’t half-bad. Now, let’s get back to Daniel and the fantastic work he’s been doing lately, which is five times or so past what Finch is failing to deliver in his own Bat-book.

COMICS AIN'T CHEAP! 4-13-11

UNWRITTEN #24
– 5 whiskers
At the top of the stack this week stands another Mike Carey and Peter Gross masterpiece. This story comes as a break from the ongoing narrative, but it’s no slacker; it pushed almost every single one of my fiction pleasure buttons. An army of talking animals ascends a staircase that goes on forever and is waylaid by a foul-mouthed human in a rabbit’s body and soon he becomes a kind of charismatic dictator over them. Extra points for the inclusion of Piglet. If you haven’t jumped on this series, go back and get the trades, dammit!

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #658 – 4 whiskers
I’ve been enjoying Spidey’s inclusion in the Fantastic Four…err…”Future Foundation,” but Marvel needs to watch their continuity between books: there’s some odd gaffes between this book and FF on Peter’s initial interactions with the team after Johnny’s death, mostly concerning Ben’s attitude towards him. Anyway, I loved this issue’s nod to FF’s of the past and I’ve really grown to like Javier Pulido’s art. Spidey’s in good hands with Dan Slott, too.

NEW AVENGERS #11 – 3 ½ whiskers
I think the book’s suffered a bit with this new storyline and the absence of Immonen’s art, but overall Bendis is still rockin’ it. Not really sure where this is all going, and I don’t care overly much that the name of “Avengers” wasn’t unique to Thor, Iron Man, Hulk, Giant-Man and Wasp all those years ago, but the dialogue still sparkles and Deodato’s art is nice to look at. There have been better issues; I’m sure there’ll be more.

JOHN BYRNE’S NEXT MEN #5 – 3 whiskers
I have been lovin’ what Byrne’s been doing with this book and compliment him on its timeliness – take that, young whippersnappers – but this issue landed on the dull side. Not sure exactly why. Still, John’s art has never looked better and I think he’s really enjoying himself on the series, so all is good.

ADVENTURE COMICS #525 – 3 whiskers
How cool is it to have not only a regular title from Paul Levitz and Phil Jimenez – that actually arrives mostly on time! – but have it sport such a cool, classic old name? I don’t know what it is about this book, but I dig the combo of writer and artist, despite its sometimes pedestrian plot. See, I don’t get the regular LEGION book, but I do like this one – maybe its Jimenez’ incredible worlds and vistas…though I could have done without the giant penis on page 4.

January 1973

Another of my favorite MTUs this time, a story I first read in one of those great, over-sized Marvel Treasury editions of the 1970s. I remember digging the art but realizing that Gil Kane’s work looked…different, little realizing he was being inked by Mike Esposito. Makes for an interesting combo, eh? And speaking of interesting combos, how about that Batman/Wonder Woman team-up? As I say there below, this one signals the end of the “mod” WW era – fascinating time; too bad the story was fairly lukewarm.

MARVEL TEAM-UP #6 4 ½ whiskers

DATE: January, 1973

TITLE: “…As Those Who Will Not See!”

STARS: Spider-Man & The Thing
VILLAINS: The Puppet Master & The Mad Thinker

WRITER: Gerry Conway
EDITOR: Roy Thomas

PENCILLER: Gil Kane
INKER: Mike Esposito

STORY: At the Baxter Building Ben Grimm, the Thing, discovers Spider-Man crouched over the insensate form of the Puppet Master and demands an explanation. Ben’s blind girlfriend Alicia Masters explains to the wall-crawler that the villain is her step-father while the Thing interrogates him about her blindness. With a small hope that Alicia’s condition may not be permanent the two heroes, the girl and the Puppet Master fly to his old lab in Pennsylvania. En route, the story of the Puppet Master’s guilt in the accident that stole his step-daughter’s sight comes out. At the lab, Spider-Man and the Thing are taken off-guard by security defenses while their prisoner slips away. Following him into the underground lair, the Puppet Master’s partner-in-crime is revealed: the Mad Thinker.

COMMENTS: Picking up moments after the end of the previous issue, with this story Conway attempts to impart some humanity into an otherwise base villain. The particulars behind Alicia’s blindness and the Puppet Master’s treachery are revealed here for the first time.

Spider-Man and the Thing will go onto many team-ups after this initial one, and though their relationship is characterized as a bit strained it’s not nearly as tenuous as that between Spider-Man and the Thing’s teammate the Human Torch. The web-slinger’s presence in the story is a bit odd, with only a brief comment by him about how he’d like to trust Ben Grimm and using the adventure as a way to gauge such possible trust.

The Mad Thinker’s been an opponent of the Fantastic Four almost as long as the Puppet Master, having first fought them in 1963’s FANTASTIC FOUR #15. His android servants change throughout the years but are usually gigantic and mute, such as the one in this story. The Thinker’s background has yet to be fully explored by writers and he remains a villain of unspecific power and motivation.

The team-up herein between the super-villains is atypical in that they share a laugh together but also typical in that the one betrays the other – the Puppet Master truly does love his step-daughter and when he perceives that she is threatened, he lashes out at his partner the Mad Thinker and brings their brief alliance to a ruinous close.

Conway’s story is strangely open-ended, offering a presumed suicide by the Puppet Master and no real explanation as to the supposed cure for Alicia.


THE BRAVE & THE BOLD #105 three whiskers

DATE: Jan-Feb, 1973

TITLE: “Play Now…Die Later!”

STARS: Batman and Wonder Woman
VILLAIN: El Moro

WRITER: Bob Haney
EDITOR: Murray Boltinoff

ARTIST: Jim Aparo

STORY: Mod Diana Prince, the de-powered Wonder Woman, plays duenna to a beautiful girl caught in the middle of a Latino war transplanted to Gotham. Batman believes he’s being targeted with an old con called the “Spanish Prisoner Game” but the San Sebastian nationals he’s keeping a close eye on might just be on the up-and-up, desperately seeking a ransom for their father, the guardian of a treasure that may tip the scales of the war.

COMMENTS: This issue coincided with the end of the “mod” Diana Prince era of Wonder Woman, which lasted five years total. Diana has a strange “guardian angel” in this story, an Amazon warrior who helps her with advice and even saves her life. This issue is also a good example of the type of sophisticated story Haney had achieved by this time, eschewing super-villains and world-busting threats and concentrating on street-level drama. Keep a look-out for a semi-truck with the name HANEY emblazoned on its sides.

November 1972

Two fantastic co-stars this month for our Web-slinging Wonder and Dark Knight: the Vision and Deadman. Gil Kane’s still hanging out in MTU and his artistic counterpart over at DC, Jim Aparo, returns to B&B after an unfortunate break. Now that I think of it, aren’t Kane and Aparo truly counterparts? Same universe of style and level of artistic merit, right? Also, check out my comments about some of the wonky stuff Haney was trying to insert into the Bat-mythos...

MARVEL TEAM-UP #5 - four whiskers

DATE: November, 1972

TITLE: “A Passion of the Mind!”

STARS: Spider-Man & The Vision
VILLAIN: The Puppet Master

WRITER: Gerry Conway
EDITOR: Roy Thomas

PENCILLER: Gil Kane
INKER: Mike Esposito

STORY: The android Vision is laid low by what he categorizes as “epileptic seizures,” a condition which literally throws him at the feet of night owl Spider-Man. Moved by the android’s plight and wishing to help, the web-slinger takes him to a local hospital for a covert EEG and computer probe. The results are startling: the Vision suffers from an extra set of brain waves. The two heroes track the unique frequency of the brain waves to the Baxter Building, headquarters of the Fantastic Four, where they discover the villainous Puppet Master and his new thrall, a hulking alien robot he calls the Monstroid. While Spider-Man battles the giant the Vision struggles against both the painful seizures and the evil manipulations of the Puppet Master.

COMMENTS: One of Marvel’s most unique characters, the Vision makes his debut in 1968’s AVENGERS #57 and soon becomes the comic book poster child for synthetic beings searching for their humanity. It’s of little surprise that he’s chosen for the first truly warm team-up for the series; he and Spider-Man’s interactions are friendly and sincere, despite this being their first meeting. Eschewing the by-now-clichéd “fight of misunderstanding,” Conway presents a desperate android who the web-slinger’s good nature embraces and which sets the stage for a true team-up of convenience.

Conway also ties plot elements to both the Visions then-occurring troubles in AVENGERS #105 and the famous Kree-Skrull War, penned by his MTU editor Roy Thomas. For the second issue in a row Peter Parker’s roommate Harry Osborn appears, again at their shared apartment – where Spider-Man quite oddly initially takes the weakened Vision, hoping Harry will continue to slumber through their tête-à-tête.

The Puppet Master was already a longtime Fantastic Four foe at the time of this story, first appearing in FANTASTIC FOUR #8, in 1962. The stepfather of the Thing’s girlfriend Alicia Masters he provides not only the villainy here but also the link to the subsequent issue of MTU, a team-up with the Thing.

Note the opening of the tale, in which our insomniac wall-crawler swings off his frustrations over the night-darkened city and which also will become something of a standard Spider-Man story-opener.


THE BRAVE & THE BOLD #104 - four whiskers

DATE: Nov-Dec, 1972

TITLE: “Second Chance for a Deadman?”

STARS: Batman and Deadman
VILLAINS: Lilly Lang and Richie Wandrus

WRITER: Bob Haney
EDITOR: Murray Boltinoff

ARTIST: Jim Aparo

STORY: Batman uncovers a fantastic “spa” that provides facelifts and identity changes for criminals, but its heavily-guarded island in Florida proves unbreachable. Enter Deadman as Batman’s invisible agent. The restless ghost takes up residence in spa owner Lilly Lang’s lover and while gathering evidence falls in love with her – hard. The game reaches a deadly conclusion when Deadman must choose between friend Batman and a real, physical life with Lilly.

COMMENTS: Aparo returns though B&B’s schedule is still off, a situation that would last until issue #107. Look for a reference to Deadman’s first B&B appearance in #79, a mention of Batman’s “bat-sense,” Commissioner Gordon referring to the Caped Crusader’s code against guns as “idiotic” (right after Batman brandishes one, albeit with blanks), and an interesting argument between Batman and Deadman wherein the spook tries to cut a deal that will allow Lilly to go free. In the end, he actually kills her, hoping to join with her ghost.

Zeroids #1 - Review

ZEROIDS #1 – four whiskers

If I know you as well as I think I do, you’ve recently bemoaned the lack of comics that revive old 1960s robot toys and combine them with sexy young co-eds, zombies and soldiers in Afghanistan – am I right?

Good, because Moonstone and Captain Action Enterprises have a new comic for you: ZEROIDS. But I warn you; its crazy-ass stuff.

One huge good thing right off the bat is that you don’t have to know anything about the Zeroids toys from the 1960s to read this. Which is good because barely anyone knows anything about the Zeroids toys from the 1960s. If you want to know, look ‘em up on Wikipedia – we’re talking about the comic book here. ZEROIDS #1 kicks right off with some backstory on the chunky-funky ‘roids and in a fairly interesting way, too. It’s all wrapped up with that old chestnut, the 1947 Roswell, New Mexico flying saucer crash, but the narrative manages to make it seem fresh and gets you up to speed. You’ll have to put up with a scientist named Zero – you can imagine what his school days were like – and a reference to the 1970s toy revival of the Zeroids – look it up – but overall it’s easy to follow.

Then the crazy-ass stuff happens. And happens. And happens.

Flash-forward to two separate yet somewhat concurrent stories of a houseful of cute girls in short-shorts and tank tops fending off a zombie plague and the misfortunes of two tough-as-nails soldiers in Afghanistan fending off a – yes – zombie plague. What the actual connection is between the two tales is held in abeyance for the nonce but as in the intro-backstory part, things move along nicely and then the alien ship arrives along with the robots.

Yep.

I dug it all – its presented with some really nice, clean art by Roberto Castro and Craig Henderson that erred just this side of cartoony yet helps the crazy-ass proceedings gain a little traction in your brain matter. The downside is while the dialogue by Aaron Shaps is often smooth and engaging it also delves wayyy too many times into smug “hip” slang and awkward self-referencing – as in “Dude, if this was a horror movie, we’d be…” etc, etc. It’s kind of cute the first time but it gets old quick. For example, one of the soldiers is black and at one point he makes it known that in horror films the black guys always gets offed, no matter how nice they are. That sort of thing. Anyway, like I said, it’s not deal-killer but Shaps seems to be trying a bit too hard to appeal to one segment of the intended audience, i.e., “young people,” and this aging fanboy was taken out of the fiction one too many times.

I’m pretty sure that Moonstone and the Captain Action guys have a potential nut-job sleeper-winner on their hands here, if they can maintain the nuttiness and almost-camp that’s evident in ZEROIDS #1. Not sure if the sexy co-ed thing is anything more than just a bit of male-fantasy fluff but I guess time will tell if this first issue is a promise – or a threat. Regardless, this issue made me want to know what happens next, which is always a good thing for an ongoing comic.

Oh, and one more thing: not enough Zeroids. Just sayin’. I want to see how those old clunky toy designs will work in such a “hip” new world – you know, kind of like all of us aging fanboys.

September 1972

And the Morbius Saga in MTU finally comes to a close, with the help of the then-homeless X-Men. Over in B&B, the Metal Men check in with Batman – what would B&B be like without the Metal Men?

Marvel Team-Up #4 three and 1/2 whiskers

DATE: September, 1972

TITLE: “And Then – The X-Men!”

STARS: Spider-Man & The X-Men
VILLAIN: Morbius the Living Vampire

WRITER: Gerry Conway
EDITOR: Roy Thomas

PENCILLER: Gil Kane
INKER: Steve Mitchell

STORY: While a still-ill Peter Parker thrashes through nightmares in his sleep, Morbius the Living Vampire returns to State University to abduct Prof. Jorgenson. Unfortunately, Spider-Man’s found investigating the scene after the fact and is blamed for the kidnapping. In Westchester, Professor Charles Xavier sends his mutant students, the X-Men, to rescue his old colleague Prof. Jorgenson. The mutants track down Spider-Man and winning a battle with him take him back to Prof. X, who after searching the young hero’s mind realizes he’s not the kidnapper. Now with Morbius as their target the X-Men confront and beat the vampire, recover Prof. Jorgenson who in turn saves Spider-Man’s life from the toxins in his blood from a previous encounter with Morbius.

COMMENTS: The Human Torch team-ups come to an end this issue as the X-Men join Spider-Man for an adventure. The mutant heroes’ own stories hit a kind of hibernation as their title ceases to publish new adventures almost two years previously, and at this time in the middle of more than four years of reprints. During that time, the X-Men guest-star in various other Marvel series until their triumphant return in 1975’s GIANT-SIZE X-MEN #1.

Sadly, there is no real team-up here between Spider-Man and Cyclops, Marvel Girl, Iceman and the Angel. As is becoming par for the course with MTU, the two sides battle over a misunderstanding – Spider-Man losing due to his illness – and never get the chance to fight side-by-side. By story’s end there’s no real animosity between them over the earlier fight and Spider-Man makes a quick exit, claiming he’s “anti-social.”

For the first time in MTU one of Spider-Man’s supporting cast makes an appearance – namely Harry Osborn, Peter Parker’s friend and roommate. This is most likely due to the fact that scripter Gerry Conway was at the time the newly-minted writer of AMAZING SPIDER-MAN, also. Conway also makes heavy use of the events of ASM #102, wherein Spider-Man was cured of extra arms by a dose of serum made from Morbius’ blood – here the cause for the hero’s illness.

The “next issue” blurb trumpets “The Eye of the Basilisk!” though no such story appears in MTU #5. A villain called the Basilisk will appear in issue #16, more than a year later and written not by Conway but by fellow scribe Len Wein.


THE BRAVE & THE BOLD #103 two and 1/2 whiskers

DATE: Sept-Oct, 1972

TITLE: “A Traitor Lurks Inside Earth!”

STARS: Batman and The Metal Men
VILLAIN: John Doe

WRITER: Bob Haney
EDITOR: Murray Boltinoff

ARTISTS: Bob Brown and Frank McLaughlin

STORY: Having killed his creator, the USA’s ultimate robot-computer John Doe blackmails the entire country from its lair deep beneath the desert. Batman recruits the Metal Men to infiltrate John Doe’s location but the robots are captured, forcing the Masked Manhunter to find his own way in. The super-computer will not be easily beaten, though, for once its own personality is destroyed its takes on that of its late creator.

COMMENTS: This issue marks the first time since B&B’s inception in 1955 that it failed to meet its bi-monthly schedule, due to Aparo’s personal emergency. The Metal Men had been “retired” for almost three years previously, after their series was put on hiatus in late 1969, but a year after their team-up here their book was re-activated. There are echoes in the story of B&B #74 and its “robot convention” and also of “2001: A Space Odyssey” and its runaway computer Hal – though John Doe sings “Yankee Doodle Dandy”, not “Daisy”.