#IReadsYou Review: X-MEN GOD LOVES, MAN KILLS Extended Cut #1

X-MEN: GOD LOVES, MAN KILLS EXTENDED CUT #1 (OF 2)
MARVEL COMICS

STORY: Christopher Claremont
ART: Brent Eric Anderson
COLORS: Steve Oliff
LETTERS: Tom Orzechowski
EDITOR: Louise Jones (original); Jennifer Grunwald (extended cut)
EiC: Jim Shooter (original); Akira Yoshida a.k.a. C.B. Cebulski (extended cut)
COVER: Salvador Larroca with Guru-eFX
VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Brent Anderson; Rod Reis; Giuseppe Camuncoli and Erick Arciniega
44pp, Color, $4.99 U.S. (June 2020)

Rated T+

The X-Men created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby

The X-Men are a Marvel Comics superhero team and franchise created by writer-editor Stan Lee and writer-artist Jack Kirby.  In The X-Men #1 (cover dated: September 1963), readers were introduced to a professor who was also team-leader to his students.  Each student had unique powers and abilities because he or she was a “mutant.”

X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills (Marvel Graphic Novel #5) was an original graphic novel published in 1982 by Marvel Comics.  It was written by Christopher Claremont and illustrated by Brent Eric Anderson.  Colorist Steve Oliff and letterer Tom Orzechowski completed the graphic novel's creative team.  The story pits the X-Men and their longtime enemy, Magneto, against a fanatical religious leader bent on exterminating “mutantkind.”  The graphic novel went on to become one of the most popular and beloved X-Men stories of all time.  Elements of the God Loves, Man Kills were used in the 2003 X-Men, film, X2: X-Men United.

Back in 2020, Marvel republished X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills as a two-issue miniseries, entitled X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills Extended Cut.  The series divides the story in two parts and brackets it with a new ten-page framing sequence or story produced by the original story's creating team.  The first issue of this “extended cut” opens with five pages of the framing sequence and the second issue ends with the other five pages.

In this new sequence, the member of the X-Men known as Kitty Pryde and her pet dragon, Lockheed, are in southwest Texas.  There, Kitty visits a young woman named Kate who met Erik Lehnsherr a.k.a. “Magneto.”  Kitty has decided to tell the young woman the story that is X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills.

X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills Extended Cut #1 opens in the “Gold Star Cafe,” somewhere in southwest Texas.  There, Kitty Pryde of the X-Men meets Kate, a friend of Magneto, and decides to tell her the story of a time when Kitty was new to the X-Men and was known by the code name, Ariel.

Once upon a time, there was a popular and fanatical religious leader named William Stryker who led a religious organization called the “Stryker Crusade.”  Under the guise of evangelical Christianity, Stryker hatched a plot to destroy all mutants on Earth.  To begin, Stryker targeted Charles Xavier a.k.a. Professor X, the lynch pin to his plot.

To get to Xavier, Stryker will have to go through the X-Men:  Cyclops, Storm, Wolverine, Colossus, Nightcrawler, and Kitty Pryde/Ariel.  To fight the X-Men, Stryker had a strike force, a form of armor-wearing men he called the “Purifiers.”

Professor X and his X-Men were unaware of the danger to their lives.  Colossus' younger sister, Illyana, was also living with the team.  After Professor X and two of his X-Men are captured, the X-Men begin to fight back, but they will find themselves needing help from the greatest enemy, Magneto.

THE LOWDOWN:  I read X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills several times in my youth, but prior to reading this reprint series, I don't think that I had read it in decades.  I didn't read the sequel to it that Chris Claremont wrote for his former X-Men comic book series, X-Treme X-Men (2001-04).  Entitled “God Love, Man Kills Part II, it ran from X-Treme X-Men #25 (July 2003) to X-Treme X-Men #30 (October 2003).  The entire story line was collected in the trade paperback, X-Treme X-Men Vol. 5: God Love, Man Kills (October 2003).

It turns out that I had forgotten quite a bit of “God Loves, Man Kills.”  That includes the action-packed final battle against the Purifiers and that final debate with William Stryker at the “Stryker Building.”  I also had forgotten that Claremont has Kitty Pryde use the term “nigger-lover” in anger at Stevie Hunter.  An African-America woman, Stevie was a recurring, non-mutant character, who mostly appeared in The Uncanny X-Men and New Mutants in the early 1980s.  Four decades later, I have to say that I don't like that scene very much and I'm not happy about the use of that term.  I'm not surprised that Marvel did not remove it, but I am sure that it would not be used today in a scene of a similar context.

X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills is a pivotal point in the publication history of the X-Men.  I believe that the X-Men began as a group of costume adventurers and superheroes who were defined by the fact that they were mutants and who faced prejudice because of it.  However, the original X-Men comic book series also focused on the action and was essentially an adventure serial.

After the debut of the “new X-Men” in 1974, writer Chris Claremont wrote the X-Men comic book as a serialized soap opera, although the X-Men team of the time traveled around the world having adventures and facing one peril after another.  Under Claremont, the X-Men and mutants, in general, became outcasts because of their mutant status.  No matter what they did as superheroes, being a mutant overshadowed or defined their actions.

Eventually, the X-Men, which was eventually re-titled “Uncanny X-Men,” became a comic book in which the narrative focused on prejudice, bigotry, racism, and hate.  The X-Men's struggles were a metaphor for the struggles of persecuted and hated minority groups fighting to be accepted by the wider society.  What made them different did not make them “less human” was a recurring theme, even as the traveled around the world and off it.

X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills was the point of no return.  Never again would the The Uncanny X-Men and its various spin-off series really be about adventure.  Past, present, and future – even future-past – would be about the mutant struggle and what forms the struggle would take.  Eventually, the X-Men would become a franchise that was insular and redundant.  I think that is why over time the Uncanny X-Men went from being a bestselling comic book franchise to being in the shadow of titles like Avengers, Batman, and Justice League, to name a few.

The mutant struggle became repetitive and tired and it began with a really memorable story, X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills.  The X-Men were once mutants who really wanted to prove that they could be the kind of superheroes who protected both mutants and humans and fought to save a world upon which both shared.  Then, the X-Men became just mutants.

Apparently, individual issues of comic books that are reprints of other individual comic books have been popular with buyers for more than a decade.  That is the only reason to reprint X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills Extended Cut.  The X-Men are not as relevant as they once were, and the original X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills was rendered irrelevant by repetition of its themes long ago.

As for the new framing sequence:  there is a kernel of something relevant in Claremont's scenario.  And Brent Anderson's art reminds us that he is still an important artist in the history of X-Men publications despite his small output in the franchise.  If one of the themes of X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills was and still is “hope,” then, X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills Extended Cut, at least for me, suggests that there is hope for the X-Men  It is hope that the franchise can be more than what it is now – a consumer product, an intellectual property (IP), and for some, a fetish.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of the original X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills will want to give X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills Extended Cut a try.

[This comic book includes two interviews, one with Chris Claremont and one with Brent Anderson.]

A-
★★★½ out of 4 stars

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


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The text is copyright © 2023 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and  syndication rights and fees.

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#IReadsYou Review: VOID INDIGO #1

VOID INDIGO #1
MARVEL COMICS

STORY: Steve Gerber
ART: Val Mayerik
COLORS: Val Mayerik
LETTERS: Carrie McCarthy
EDITOR: Archie Goodwin
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Jim Shooter
32pp, Color, $1.50 U.S., $1.95 CAN (November 1984)

Void Indigo created by Steve Gerber and Val Mayerik

Book Two: “Spikes and Demons;” Part One: “Killing to Be Clever”

Void Indigo was a short-lived and controversial comic book series written by the late Steve Gerber (1947-2008) and drawn by Val Mayerik. It was published by Epic Comics from 1983 to 1984.  The series began life as Marvel Graphic Novel No. 11: Void Indigo (1983), also from Gerber and Mayerik.

Void Indigo the graphic novel is set 11,000 years in Earth's past.  The story takes place in a kingdom called “Kur,” which is ruled by a quartet of sorcerers known as the “Dark Lords,” whose place of origin is apparently Atlantis.  Their names are Koth, Hemuth, Eeoyd, and Zepharr, and they recently conquered the nine “Citadels” kingdoms that had been at war with one another.

In order to gain even more power, the Dark Lords engage in blood sacrifice in service of their demon lord, “Kaok.”  The sorcerers slaughter great masses of people, but they don't gain the power they expected.  Their focus turns to Ath'Agaar, the fiercest of the barbarian chieftains, and his woman, Ren.  Although they kill Ath'Agaar and Ren, their ritual goes awry, and the Dark Lords, Ath'Agaar, Ren, and the entire kingdom is destroyed.

Over the next 11,000 years, the Dark Lords are reincarnated on Earth at different times.  Ath'Agaar is also reincarnated, but his reemergence occurs 50,000 light years away as the space warrior, “Jhagur,” from the planet, “Gebura.”  “Void Indigo” is the spiritual plane toward which all dead souls gravitate for reincarnation.  The Dark Lords magical activities have upset a delicate balance that must be rectified.  Jhagur returns to Earth in a spacecraft as the agent who will ensure that this balance is restored.  He is a spirit of vengeance from the Void, against the four wizards who had tortured and killed him in his previous life.

Once on Earth, Jhagur rescues a woman named Linette Cumpston, and they travel together to Los Angeles.  There, Jhagur finds the first of the Dark Lords and kills him, now a man who had been reincarnated as the Olympic medalist, David Trepper.

Void Indigo #1 (“Killing to Be Clever”) opens as the Void Indigo continues to call for revenge, and Jhagur commits another murder, this time as a warning to the remaining three Dark Lords.  Jhagur has also disguised himself as a human named “Michael 'Mick' Jagger,” and he works construction.

Meanwhile, other players have entered this game.  One of Mick's coworkers, Pete Mulgrew, found the jeweled spike that had been involved in Ath-Agaar's murder 11,000 years ago.  Now, Pete's daughter, Colleen, discovers that she is sensitive to the spike's mysticism.  Detective Wallerstein of the LAPD is investigating the second homicide that Jhagur committed.  Linette connects with a wild female psychic named “Raka.”  Taro is the leader of the Death Guild, a cult that awaits the reawakening of the Dark Lords, and he has begun to make the movies that will permanently remove any obstacles to his plans.  And the machinations of the Beyond-World emerge.

THE LOWDOWN:  Apparently, Marvel Graphic Novel No. 11: Void Indigo was “Book One” of the Void Indigo saga.  The first issue of the Void Indigo comic book series was the start of the second book.  I originally only read the graphic novel, and although I had planned to, I never got around to reading the comic book series.  Once I heard that it was canceled, I didn't bother to read the two issues that had been published.  Still, I often thought about Void Indigo as the years went by.  Eventually, I heard that Steve Gerber had planned to make the Void Indigo comic book only six-issues in length – only two of which were published.  I think that intrigued me all the more.

Reading Void Indigo #1 and #2, I find it hard to believe that the series was originally only meant to run six issues.  Gerber fills the first two issues with numerous subplots and and introduces a large cast of supporting characters.  Gerber's synopsis for the remaining four issues is available on the Internet, so, yeah, Gerber, did plan a six issue run for the second book.  Would there have been a third book?

I can also see how some people would have been put off by Void Indigo in the mid-1980s.  Murder and death are depicted as sudden, brutal, and savage.  The depictions of sex are frank, explicit, and lack romantic sentiment.  The world of Void Indigo is a hard world, but I think that does one important thing for the narrative.  It tempers Jhagur's power over the narrative.  By making him somewhat vulnerable to the violence that other characters in the narrative experience and by making him not all-powerful, Gerber leaves space in the narrative for the other characters.  The result is a comic book in which the other characters are as interesting and, in some cases, more interesting than the lead.

Val Mayerik, an extremely underrated artist and storyteller, gives Void Indigo a unique graphical look and style.  Mayerik's compositions are gritty and edgy, so the story really seems to take place in the natural world, which makes the emergence of the supernatural that much more jarring.  Mayerik's storytelling corals Gerber's narrative eccentricities, and his coloring makes the magical elements pop and crackle like wild electricity.  Mayerik's covers for this series offer some of the most visually striking cover images published by Epic Comics in the 1980s.

Void Indigo, as Gerber and Mayerik had planned it back in the 1980s, went into the Void long ago.  Still, I believe that there is a new life for that concept, a reincarnation or re-imagining that will both celebrate and re-imagine what once was and could have been, but never was.  Besides, I think those readers curious about a bygone time in Marvel Comics and in the Direct Market of comic books sales would do well to peek into the Void Indigo.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of 1980s creator-owned comic books will want to try Void Indigo.

A
★★★★ out of 4 stars

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


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The text is copyright © 2022 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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#IReadsYou Review: MARVEL GRAPHIC NOVEL No. 9: The Futurians

MARVEL GRAPHIC NOVEL NO. 9: THE FUTURIANS
MARVEL COMICS

STORY: Dave Cockrum
ART: Dave Cockrum
COLORS: Paty
LETTERS: Jim Novack
EDITOR: Al Milgrom
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Jim Shooter
80pp, Color, $6.95 U.S., $7.95 CAN (1983)

The Futurians created by Dave Cockrum

“Marvel Graphic Novel” (MGN) was a line of paperback original graphic novels published from 1982 to 1993 by Marvel Comics.  The books were published in an oversize format, 8.5" x 11", similar to French comic book “albums,” which generally had cardboard covers, full-color interiors, and slick pages.  [In response, DC Comics would also establish a competitor line known as “DC Graphic Novel.”]

Dave Cockrum (1943-2006) was an American comic book artist, who made significant contributions to both Marvel and DC Comics.  Cockrum is best known as the artist who helped Marvel Comics and writer, the late Len Wein (1948-2017), relaunch the X-Men comic book series with a new team of X-Men, first in Giant-Size X-Men #1 (cover dated: May 1975) and then, in X-Men #94 (cover dated: August 1975).  Cockrum co-created and designed the new X-Men:  Storm, Colossus, and Nightcrawler.  Cockrum was also known as one of the best designers of comic book character costumes in the 1970s and 1980s.  He updated the costumes for DC's Legion of Super-Heroes when he began drawing the series in 1972.

Dave Cockrum entered the realm of creator-owned comic books with his unusual superhero team, “The Futurians.”  The team made its debut as the ninth entry in the Marvel Graphic Novel line.  Cockrum wrote and drew the debut story of the Futurians.  His wife, Paty Cockrum, colored the story, and the great Jim Novak lettered the story, with Al Milgrom editing.

Marvel Graphic Novel No. 9: The Futurians opens in the distant future of the planet Earth.  Hundreds of empires have risen and fallen, and at its zenith, human civilization was a melange of human, alien, and robotic cultures.  Mankind conquered and colonized the stars dozens of times before finally returning to Earth and forgetting the stars.

As the story opens, Earth is dominated by two city-states, Terminus and Ghron.  Terminus is a city-state of “scientist-generals,” and Ghron is ruled by the “Inheritors” and their mutant army.  After nearly destroying the entire Earth, the Inheritors travel into Earth's past in a bid to conquer the Earth.

In response, the “Terminus Grand Council” sends “genetic time bombs” into the past.  These “bombs” will increase human potential in select bloodlines.  Scientist-General Callistrax, via “discorporeal transmission,” sends his mind three million years into the past to the year 1940 AD.  Callistrax's mind takes over the body of a homeless man known only as “Vandervecken” or “The Dutchman.”

By 1962, Vandervecken has built an advanced technology corporation called “Future Dynamics,” and its motto is “Tomorrow is Now.”  Vandervecken then begins gathering up those who have been empowered by the genetic time bombs.  They are the seven humans that he begins to prepare for a series of historic battles against the Inheritors and their leader, Lord Temujin.  Vandervecken activates these seven humans' powers with the help of Sunswift.  She is an immortal fire elemental who lives in the sun and travels back in time as an ally of Vandervecken.

The first of the seven is Avatar, an immortal (unbeknownst to Vandervecken) who gains the powers of flight, super strength, and invulnerability.  African-American geologist Harry Robins becomes “Terrayne” a living mud-man who can manipulate rock and earth.  Marine biologist Tracy Winters becomes “Silkie,” a green-skinned amphibian with the ability to breathe underwater at great depths, fire bio-electrical blasts, control and shape water, and transform into a humanoid manta ray-like form, which allows her to fly or swim at great speeds.

Matthew Blackfeather, an Native American of the Dakota tribe, becomes “Werehawk,” a clawed, flying hawk-like humanoid.  Former spy Jonathan Darknyte becomes “Silver Shadow,” a living shadow that can merge with, animate, or teleport through shadows and darkness.  Dana Morgan becomes “Mosquito,” who can fly and generate ultrasonic energy.  Walter Bonner becomes the lion-like “Blackmane,” who has razor-sharp talons and superhuman strength and agility.

The Futurians are immediately sent into action when the Inheritors strike four locations in a bid to obtain the technology that Lord Temujin will use to complete a doomsday device.  However, the Futurians cannot stop the Inheritors if they cannot learn to work together.  Plus, only two of the Futurians realize that Vandervecken has a strange power over them.

THE LOWDOWN:  One thing that Marvel Graphic Novel No. 9: The Futurians certainly confirms is that Dave Cockrum was perhaps the most inventive and imaginative designer of comic book superheroes of his time.  The Futurians are a beautiful collection of superheroes, and it is a shame that these characters have largely been kept dormant in the nearly four decades since their debuted.

Here, as a writer, Cockrum did not have the smooth storytelling chops of the elite writers of superhero comic books of that time, such as Chris Claremont, John Byrne, Frank Miller, Marv Wolfman, Gerry Conway, and Jim Starlin, to name a few.  Still, in The Futurians, Cockrum created an intriguing universe that was as much science fiction as it was superhero, and what his script lacked in “mature audience” theatrics, it made up for in imagination and pure, old-fashioned superhero fun.  This story is dialogue and exposition heavy, but every bit of it serves the story by establishing the setting, defining the characters, or advancing the plot.  I have to admit that I really enjoyed reading Cockrum's dialogue, which gets even better in The Futurians, the short-lived ongoing comic book series that followed the graphic novel.

The Futurians actually reads like a comic book from the 1960s.  It is filled with a sense of mystery, a touch of magic, and a streak of cosmic wonder and imagination.  The Futurians is like a crazy blend of elements from the X-Men, the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents, and the Fantastic Four.  The Earth of the Futurians has a complex “future-history,” and Cockrum also teased an intriguing deep history that recalls the kind of science fiction to which Cockrum may have been exposed as a teenager and as a young man.

In retrospect, Dave Cockrum made an unfortunate decision in moving The Futurians from Marvel Comics to Lodestone Publishing, Inc., an independent publisher that ultimately could maintain neither its promises nor its business model.  Lodestone published three issues of The Futurians ongoing series from 1985 to 1986.  Cockrum produced a fourth issue that Lodestone could not publish, so it was later included in the collection, The Futurians Volume 2.  Published by Eternity, this trade paperback also collected the Lodestone published, The Futurians #1 to #3.  That unpublished fourth issue was published again, this time as The Futurians #0, which also included a character profile section and a new Futurians story drawn by Cockrum and written by his associate, Clifford Meth.

In 2010, writer-artist David Miller published a three-issue miniseries, Avatar of the Futurians, which Miller wrote and drew, through his company, David Miller Studios.  In 2011, Miller collected the miniseries in the trade paperback, Dave Cockrum's Futurians: Avatar.

What could have been?  How long could Dave Cockrum have produced an ongoing comic book featuring The Futurians?  How long would Marvel have published it?  Would Cockrum and his characters been welcomed into the fold by Image Comics?  It's all speculation, but we have Marvel Graphic Novel No. 9: The Futurians, and it was part of a line that, for a few years, delivered some very interesting and memorable comics.  Here is to hoping that The Futurians indeed have a future.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of Dave Cockrum will want to read Marvel Graphic Novel No. 9: The Futurians.

A
8 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


https://twitter.com/Marvel
https://www.marvel.com/
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The text is copyright © 2021 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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I Reads You Juniors: September 2021 - Update #98

by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"

You can support Leroy via Paypal or on Patreon.

NEWS: 

MARVEL - From BleedingCool:   Ike Perlmutter, the Chair of Marvel Entertainment, is among three men accused of breaking the law by Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives. This involves Perlmutter's stint under former President Trump as an advisor to the United States Department of Veterans Affairs.

DC COMICS - From GamesRadar:  Writer Tom King and artist Greg Smallwood's upcoming 12-issue series, "The Human Target," is a "whodunit."

EN MEMORIAM - From ANN:  Takao Saito, the creator of the long-running manga, "Golgo 13," has died at the age of 84.  Saito died Friday, September 24, 2021 from pancreatic cancer.  Saito launched "Golgo 13" in 1968 and it went on to become the oldest manga still in manga still in production.  Saito reportedly wanted the series to continue after his death.

COMICS TO FILM - From Deadline:   Alice Waddington ("Paradise Hills") is set to direct Netflix’s adaptation of "Dept. H," which is based on the popular Dark Horse Comics comic book series. Mike Richardson, Keith Goldberg and Paul Schwake of Dark Horse Entertainment will produce.

COMICS - From BleedingCool:  There are apparently problems with printing and distribution in the comic book industry.

COMICS TO ANIMATION - From YouTube:  This is a teaser trailer for Netflix's anime, "Super Crooks," based on the Mark Millar comic book.  The trailer is in Japanese, and the anime is produced Japan's "Studio Bones."

COMICS TO TELEVISION - From Deadline:  Amazon Studios has given a formal series greenlight to a YA spinoff from the Emmy-nominated superhero drama "The Boys," produced by Sony Pictures Television.

COMICS - From Bloomberg:  An article about the dispute between comic book artists and Marvel and DC Comics over NFTs (non-fungible tokens).

STAN LEE - From WeGotThisCovered:   Marvel has filed five lawsuits against the families of Steve Ditko, Gene Colan, and Stan Lee, claiming that the superheroes they created are ineligible for copyright termination as they were created as works for hire on a contractual basis.

MARVEL COMICS - From BleedingCool:   On August 26th, 2021, Patrick S Ditko, a relative of the comic book writer-artist, Steve Ditko, and administrator of his estate, registered two notices of copyright termination against Marvel Entertainment for the first appearances of Doctor Strange and Spider-Man, two characters Ditko co-created, in comic books.

DC COMICS - From GamesRadar:  Here is a preview of "Batman: The Imposter #1."

COMICS - From BleedingCool:  Jason Pearson is promising the return of his "Body Bags" comic book ... again ... this time for 2022 ... although he took nearly $40,000 in Kickstarter money from fans in 2015 ...

MARVEL - From BleedingCool:   Science fiction author, Victor LaValle, is writing a "Sabertooth" comic book for Marvel Comics.  The first issue is due in December.

DYNAMITE - From BleedingCool:  Writer Scott Lobdell and artist Ariel Medal are launching a new "Evil Ernie" comic book for Dynamite Entertainment's "Chaos Comics" line.

From BleedingCool:  Vampirella and Dracula unite for "Vampirella/Dracula: Unholy!," a new comic book series by Christopher Priest and Donny Hadiwidjaja and Dynamite Entertainment.

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JACK KIRBY - From BleedingCool:  Chuck Rozanski, owner of Mile High Comics, has obtained a copy of the manuscript of "The Horde," an unpublished novel by the late comic book legend, Jack Kirby.

MANGA TO FILM - From THR:  "Pacific Rim: Uprising" actor, Mackenyu, and Madison Iseman, as well as Sean Bean, Famke Janssen, Nick Stahl, Diego Tinoco and Mark Dacascos, are among the cast of "Knights of the Zodiac," a live-action adaptation of the 1980s manga and anime series, "Saint Seiya," being made by Toei Animation and Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions.

MANGA - From OtakuStudy:  Seven Seas Entertainment announces several new manga acquisitions for 2022.

COMICS - From WTXL:  Florida State University’s Strozier Library is missing thousands of comic books and literature. Most of the books missing are from the 1950s and 1970s. They were part of the Robert M. Ervin Jr. Collection.

MARVEL - GamesRadar: Marvel Comics' current "Guardians of the Galaxy" comic book series just ended with the publication of its 18th issue.

MARVEL - From GamesRadar:   The sites talks about "Avengers Forever," which features a "multiversal" Avengers team.

IMAGE COMICS - From BleedingCool:  The site has a first-look at Geoff Johns and Bryan Hitch's "Redcoat," which debuts in the "Geiger 80-Page Giant #1," which is due Nov. 24th.

IMAGE COMICS - From GamesRadar:  Artist Greg Capullo's cover for Todd McFarlane's "The Scorched #1" has been revealed.  The comic book is due Dec.15th.

DC COMICS - From GamesRadar:  Batgirl/Barbara Gordon hits the streets in a new costume in "Nightwing #84."

MARVEL - From BleedingCool:  There will not be any "Predator" comic books from Marvel Comics in 2021.

MARVEL - From BleedingCool:  Scholastic Books offers a preview of art from its Marvel graphic novel, "Captain America: The Ghost Army."  Written by Alan Gratz and drawn by Brent Schoonover, it is due August 2022.

#BATMANDAY - From GamesRadar: Will Brian Michael Bendis be writing DC's flagship, "Batman."

From DCBlog:  Meet the new Batman, "Jace Fox."

From DCBlog:  Get the details on the upcoming DC Black Label, three-issue comic book, "Batman: The Imposter."

MARVEL/IDW - From BleedingCool:  Marvel Comics has withdrawn IDW Publishing's license to produce "Marvel Action," a line of comic books featuring Marvel characters, but aimed at "All-Ages and middle-grade readers.

IDW - From BleedingCool:  IDW Publishing and Penguin Random House Publisher Services  today announced an exclusive worldwide multi-year sales and distribution agreement for IDW's newly published and backlist comic book periodicals, trade collections, and graphic novels to the Direct Market comic shops beginning June 1, 2022. 

ARCHIE COMICS - From BleedingCool:  Archie Publications and WEBTOON's first collaboration is "Big Ethel Energy."  The first three episodes of this webcomic will debut Sept. 21, 2021.

MARVEL TV - From PinkNews:  According to the showrunner, Freeform's planed "New Warriors" TV series was cancelled because one executive thought it was "too gay."

IMAGE COMICS - From BleedingCool:  Artist Denys Cowan is drawing "Nocterra Special: Blacktop Bill," which is being written by "Nocterra" co-creator and writer, Scott Snyder.

DC COMICS - From BleedingCool:   Jeff Lemire will write and Doug Mahnke will draw "Swamp Thing: Green Hell," a three-issue miniseries for DC Comics' "DC Black Label" imprint.

DC COMICS - From BleedingCool:   Becky Cloonan, Michael Conrad and Jorge Corona are launching a new "Batgirls" series from DC Comics.  It will star Cassandra Cain and Stephanie Brown as the Batgirls, with Barbara Gordon as Batgirl Prime/Oracle, guiding their paths.

DC COMICS - From BleedingCool:  Writer Robert Venditti and artist Michael Avon Oeming are reviving the classic DC Comics title, "World of Krypton."

MARVEL COMICS - From BleedingCool:   Marvel Comics reveals some details about its Daredevil event, "Devil's Reign."

COMICS - From BleedingCool:  Matt Wagner's classic comic book character, Grendel/Hunter Rose," and his story will become an eight-episode, live-action TV series via Netflix.  Wagner and Dark Horse Entertainment (Grendel's current publisher) will be among the series' executive producers.

VIZ MEDIA - From ScreenRant:   This is an article about "Ultimo," the manga the late Stan Lee created with Hiroyuki Takei, the creator of the manga, "Shaman King."

BOOKS -  From MentalFloss:   Here is a list of 11 classic books that were adapted into graphic novels, including "A Wrinkle in Time."

MARVEL - From TheWrap:   A near-mint copy of “Amazing Fantasy #15, which featured the debut appearance of Spider-Man, was auctioned for $3.6 million, breaking the sales record for a comic book previously held by "Action Comics #1" (1939), which featured the first appearance of Superman.

DARK HORSE - From BleedingCool:   Mike Mignola will write and draw his first full-length comic book since "Hellboy in Hell" (2016). "Sir Edward Grey: Achero" is scheduled to arrive in December.

DC COMICS - From BleedingCool:  Here is a preview of "Titans United #1."

MARVEL - From GamesRadar:   Marvel spokesman tells "Newsarama" that artist Joe Bennett will not be working with the company on "any future Marvel projects."

DC COMICS - From BleedingCool:   The site is reporting that DC Comics will launch a new series, "Batman Beyond: Neo Year" in April 2022.

DISNEY+ - From TheDirect:   Today (Mon., Sept 13th) is supposedly the day in which a trailer for the Disney+/Marvel Studios series, "Hawkeye," will debut.

MARVEL STUDIOS - From ShadowandAct:   Fans, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige, and "Blade" reboot director (Bassim Tariq), aren't having it with the erasure of the importance of "Blade" 1998 to 21st century superhero movies.

COMICS - From BleedingCool:   The superstar team of writer Ed Brubaker and artist Sean Phillips has turned down an "Substack Pro" offer.

DC COMICS - From BleedingCool:   "Batman: Wayne Family Adventures," the first WEBTOON series based on DC Comics characters, has made its debut.

MARVEL - From BleedingCool:   Marvel has released a trailer and preview art for "Amazing Spider-Man #75."  That issue apparently sees Peter Parker leaving the starring role in the series.

COMICS - From CBR:  Jeff Lemire announces "Fishflies," his first comic book series for "Substack," the online newsletter platform.

DC COMICS - From GamesRadar:   Meet Marvel Comics' weirdest pet hero, Jeff the Land Shark.

MARVEL - From BleedingCool:   Artist Joe Bennett has been dropped as one of the artists on Marvel Comics' "Timeless" one-shot.  Because of  his anti-Semitic controversies, Marvel may no longer associate with Bennett.

COMICS - From BleedingCool:   Mirage Studios, the original home and publisher of the "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles," is ceasing business this month.

COMICS - From GamesRadar:  "Batman Day 2021" (Sept. 18th) plans revealed.

MARVEL TELEVISION - From ComicBook:   One of the Marvel Comics series that almost had a TV series was "New Warriors," which was being developed for Freeform, but the pilot was cancelled and the series could not find another home.  Series creator Kevin Biegel has provided a look at the costume for Doreen Green/Squirrel Girl, who was to be played by actress Milana Vayntrub.

BOOKS - From BleedingCool:   "Hellboy" creator Mike Mignola is illustrating a new edition of Carlo Collodi's "Pinocchio."

KODANSHA - From BleedingCool:   Kodansha will publish "Akira: The Art of Wall" in June 2022, which will collect the "Akira" collage art of series creator Katsuhiro Otomo and artist Kosuke Kawamura.

MANGA TO LIVE-ACTION TV - From CrunchyRoll:   A live-action TV drama adaptation of Wataru Hinekure (story) and Aruko (art)'s shoujo manga "Kieta Hatsukoi / Vanishing My First Love" is set to be aired on Japanese terrestrial stations in October 2021.

MANGA TO ANIME - From ANN:   Sakuya Kuroda's "Rich Police Cash" (Rich Kaikan Cash) manga will have an anime that will debut on the "Coro Coro Channel" YouTube channel this fall.

MARVEL - From GamesRadar:    Miles Morales' new Spider-Man suit profiled in Chase Conley design variant for "Miles Morales: Spider-Man #30."

SONY MARVEL U - From Deadline:  In the wake of the huge box office success of Marvel Studios' "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings," Sony has moved up the release date on its "Venom" sequel, "Venom: Let There Be Carnage," from October 15th to the new release date, October 1st.

Inverse's Eric Francisco on "SHANG-CHI": 

PART ONE:  How Marvel's Shang-Chi had to "destroy" its own racist origins

 

PART TWO: Shang-Chi was your favorite superhero’s favorite superhero. (Here's why he vanished.)

 

PART THREE: How Asian American internet trailblazers gave new life to Shang-Chi - The final story in a series on Shang-Chi’s origins, rise, fall, and rebirth.

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MARVEL STUDIOS - From BleedingCool:   Bassam Tariq, the director of Marvel Studios' reboot of the "Blade" film franchise, may be suggesting that the next Blade film will not follow the comic books.

DC CINEMA - From Deadline:   On Instagram, "Aquaman" star Jason Momao has revealed two costumes from the upcoming sequel, "Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom."

COMICS - From BleedingCool:  Rich Johnston gives Bryan Seaton of problematic publisher, Action Lab Comics, a chance to do some explaining about the complaining of his comics creators.

comiXology - From BleedingCool:  The "comiXology" website will shut down this coming fall.  Visitors will be redirected to a digital comics section at Amazon.com.

IMAGE COMICS - From BleedingCool:   Italian comic book artist, Matteo Scalera, will draw Mark Millar's "King of Spies," a comic book spinoff of a movie that Mark Millar created for Netflix.

COMICS - From BleedingCool:  Grammy Award-winning recording artist, Alicia Keys, will join co-writer Andrew Weiner and artist Brittney Williams for a young adult graphic novel, "Girl on Fire."

MARVEL - From BleedingCool:   "Timeless" is a Marvel Comics initiative which will see several times published in 2021 and 2022 that celebrate the publication of Marvel Comics #1 in 1939.

MARVEL - From BleedingCool:   Legendary X-Men comic book writer, Chris Claremont, is reportedly writing a new comic book series featuring a member of the X-Men that he co-created, Gambit.

COMICS TO FILM - From Deadline:   Disney is reviving one of its cult favorite properties, "The Rocketeer" (1990), with a new Disney+ movie titled "The Return of the Rocketeer."  David and Jessica Oyelowo are producing under their Yoruba Saxon banner.  The project, written by Ed Ricourt, will also be a possible starring project for David Oyelowo, who starred in "Selma."

DC TV - From Variety:   The CW's “Batwoman” has cast actress Bridget Regan as the iconic DC Comics supervillain, "Poison Ivy," for the show’s third season.

CANADA - From TVO:   Here is the story behind Canada's very first comic book, "Better Comics #1," from Maple Leaf Publishing.

MARVEL - From BleedingCool:   Former Marvel Comics Editor-in-Chief Jim Shooter talks about signing away "Secret Wars" and "Venom" for $10,000.

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SEPTEMBER 2021 COMICS SOLICITATIONS:

From BleedingCool:  Ablaze Publishing for September 2021

From BleedingCool:  Action Lab for September 2021

From BleedingCool:  Archie Comics for September 2021 

From BleedingCool:  AWA for September 2021

From BleedingCool:  Black Mask for September 2021

From BleedingCool:  BOOM Studios for September 2021

From BleedingCool:  Dark Horse Comics for September 2021

From BleedingCool:  DC Comics for September 2021

From BleedingCool:  Dynamite Entertainment for September 2021 

From BleedingCool:  Heavy Metal Magazines for September 2021

From BleedingCool:  IDW Publishing for September 2021

From BleedingCool:  Image Comics for September 2021

From BleedingCool:  Marvel Comics for September 2021

From BleedingCool:  Oni Press for September 2021

From BleedingCool:  Scout Comics for September 2021

From BleedingCool:  Source Point Press for September 2021

From BleedingCool:  Titan Comics for September 2021

From BleedingCool:  Valiant Comics for September 2021

From BleedingCool:  Vault Comics for September 2021

From BleedingCool:  VIZ Media for September 2021

OCTOBER 2021 COMICS SOLICITATIONS:

From BleedingCool:  Aardvark Vanaheim for October 2021

From BleedingCool:  Action Lab for October 2021

From BleedingCool:  AfterShock Comics for October 2021

From BleedingCool:  Ahoy Comics for October 2021

From BleedingCool:  Antarctic Press for October 2021

From BleedingCool:  AWA Studios for October 2021

From BleedingCool:  Behemoth Comics for October 2021 

From BleedingCool:  Black Masks for October 2021

From BleedingCool:  BOOM! Studios for October 2021

From BleedingCool:  Dark Horse Comics for October 2021

From CBR:  DC Comics for October 2021

From BleedingCool:  Dynamite Entertainment for October 2021 

From BleedingCool:  Heavy Metal Magazine for October 2021

From BleedingCool:  Hero Collector for October 2021

From BleedingCool:  IDW Publishing for October 2021

From BleedingCool:  Image Comics for October 2021

From CBR:  Marvel Comics for October 2021

From BleedingCool: Oni Press for October 2021

From 2000AD:  Rebellion for October 2021

From BleedingCool:  Titan Comics for October 2021

From BleedingCool:  Valiant Entertainment for October 2021

From BleedingCool: VIZ Media for October 2021

NOVEMBER 2021 COMICS SOLICITATIONS:

From BleedingCool:  Ablaze for November 2021

From BleedingCool:  AfterShock Comics for November 2021

From BleedingCool:  Archie Comics for November 2021

From BleedingCool:  Bad Idea Corp for November 2021 

From BleedingCool:  Behemoth Comics for November 2021

From BleedingCool:  Black Mask for November 2021

From BleedingCool:  BOOM Studios for November 2021

From BleedingCool:  Dark Horse Comics for November 2021

From BleedingCool:  DC Comics for November 2021

From BleedingCool:  Dead Good Comics for November 2021

From BleedingCool:  Dynamite Entertainment for November 2021

From BleedingCool:  IDW Publishing for November 2021 

From BleedingCool:  Image Comics for November 2021

From BleedingCool:  Kodansha Comics for November 2021

From BleedingCool:  Marvel Comics for November 2021

From BleedingCool:  Oni Press for November 2021

From BleedingCool:  Rebellion for November 2021

From BleedingCool:  Red 5 Comics for November 2021

From BleedingCool:  Scout Comics for November 2021

From BleedingCool:  Silver Sprocket for November 2021

From BleedingCool:  Titan Comics for November 2021

From BleedingCool:  TOKYOPOP for November 2021

From BleedingCool:  Valiant Comics for November 2021

From BleedingCool:  Vault Comics for November 2021

From BleedingCool:  VIZ Media for November 2021

From BleedingCool:  Yen Press for November 2021

DECEMBER 2021 COMICS SOLICITATIONS:

From BleedingCool:  Ablaze artbooks and manga for December 2021

From BleedingCool:  AfterShock Comics for December 2021

From BleedingCool:  BOOM! Studios for December 2021

From BleedingCool:  Dark Horse Comics for December 2021

From BleedingCool:  DC Comics for December 2021

From BleedingCool:  Dynamite Entertainment for December 2021

From BleedingCool:  IDW Publishing for December 2021

From BleedingCool:  Image Comics for December 2021

From BleedingCool:  Marvel Comics for December 2021

From BleedingCool:  Oni Press for December 2021

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#IReadsYou Review: The Death of Captain Marvel

THE DEATH OF CAPTAIN MARVEL (MARVEL GRAPHIC NOVEL #1)
MARVEL COMICS

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: Jim Starlin
ART: Jim Starlin
COLORS: Steve Oliff
LETTERS: James Novack
EDITOR: Al Milgrom
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Jim Shooter
COVER/BACK COVER: Jim Starlin
68pp, Color, $5.95 U.S. (1982)

Captain Marvel (Mar-Vell) created by Stan Lee and Gene Colan

Introduction by Al Milgrom

“Marvel Graphic Novel” (MGN) was a line of paperback original graphic novels published from 1982 to 1993 by Marvel Comics.  The books were published in an oversize format, 8.5" x 11", similar to French comic book “albums,” which generally had cardboard covers, full-color, slick pages.  [In response, DC Comics would also establish a competitor line known as “DC Graphic Novel.”]

The first Marvel Graphic Novel was released in 1982.  Entitled The Death of Captain Marvel, it was written and drawn by Jim Starlin, who had been the comic book creator most associated with the character of Captain Marvel up to that time.  The rest of The Death of Captain Marvel's creative team included colorist Steve Oliff and letterer James Novak.  The late Allen Milgrom was the graphic novel's editor and also provided a short introduction to the story.

Captain Marvel is a Marvel Comics superhero and science fiction and fantasy character.  He was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and designed by artist Gene Colan and first appeared in Marvel Super-Heroes #12 (cover dated: December 1967).  He is the original bearer of the name “Captain Marvel” within the world of Marvel Comics.

Before he became Captain Marvel, he was named “Mar-Vell,” and he was a member of the alien Kree race.  Captain Mar-Vell came to Earth to spy on humans, but he eventually rejected the Kree, and took the name “Captain Marvel.”  While living among humans, he also used the identity of “Walter Lawson” and was a member of the Avengers.

As The Death of Captain Marvel opens, Marvel has been living a live of semi-retirement on Titan, one of the planet Saturn's moons (satellites).  Marvel is recording a mini-autobiography of his life while on board a spaceship belonging to his allies, the demigod, Mentor, and his son, Eros.  Mentor and Eros are also the father and brother of the recently defeated and killed, Thanos, the mad warlord of Titan.

The trio is heading to the command central ship of Thanos' space fleet.  Inside, Thanos is dead and encased in stone (because of events depicted in Marvel Two-in-One Annual 1977), and they want to make sure he has stayed that way.  A surprise meets these heroes, however, as they discover that followers of Thanos live aboard the ship, awaiting what they believe will be the inevitable resurrection of the mad Titan.

The intense battle to defeat these alien zealots inadvertently reveals the secret that Marvel has been keeping from his closest friends, Mentor and Eros.  Marvel is dying of cancer – what the Titans call the “Inner Decay” and the Kree call “the Blackend.”  [Captain Marvel was exposed to the nerve gas that would lead to this cancer in Captain Marvel #34 (cover dated: September 1974)].  Now, Marvel must also share his diagnosis with his lover Elysius, the woman with whom he had hoped to share his life.  He must also inform, Rick Jones, the young human who once shared an existence with Marvel.  When he shares this news with the current members of the Avengers:  Black Panther, Iron Man, Thor, Vision, Wonder Man, Beast, and Yellowjacket, they immediately spring into action, bringing all their scientific knowledge to bear in a bid to save Marvel from death.

As the greatest heroes of the Marvel Universe gather on a deathwatch, Captain Marvel still has one final battle.  The hero must face his greatest enemy, Thanos, and Thanos' dark mistress.

THE LOWDOWN:  I first discovered the existence of The Death of Captain Marvel via in-house ads published in various Marvel Comics titles that I read at the time.  Those ads made me quite interested in the book, but it was only sold in comic book shops via the “Direct Sales” market.  At the time, I bought all my comic books at the now-defunct K&B drug store chain (headquartered in New Orleans, LA), and a few other places that sold comic books, mostly other drug stores and grocery stores.  They all placed the comic books in those old “spinner racks.”  I didn't know if there were any comic book shops near me, although it turned out that there was one about a 45-minute drive from where I lived at the time.

When I first started visiting comic book shops, I sometimes came across a copy of The Death of Captain Marvel,  By that time, however, I wasn't really as interested in reading it as I was when I first heard about it.  I recently decided to go back and re-read the Marvel Graphic Novels that I had previously read and read the ones that I had not.  On eBay, I found a nice copy of the second printing of The Death of Captain Marvel, which went through several printings just in the first decade of its original publication.  The second printing was apparently published within months of the first printing.

I am glad that I read The Death of Captain Marvel now, as I don't know if I would have appreciated it decades ago the way I do now.  The way comic book stories are told and structured has radically changed in the four decades since the debut of The Death of Captain Marvel.  This had made me appreciate what Starlin did with only 66 pages, which is more than most modern comic book writers do with over 100 pages.

Jim Starlin was certainly a good comic book artist.  His drawing style has similarities to some of the most popular comic book artists that came before him.  Still, Starlin's style is unique, and his illustrations always grab me.  The background elements, the figure drawing, the landscapes, the backdrops, the costumes, the alien and fantastic landscapes:  the way Starlin illustrates a comic book page is like nothing anyone else did or does in superhero comics books.  Starlin has created a unique visual and graphical language, and no other artist's work could be mistaken for his.

Surprisingly, Starlin may be an even better comic book writer than he is a comic book artist.  The stories that he writes and other artists illustrate maintain Starlin's imaginative and inventive storytelling.  Starlin was one of the best mainstream comic book writers of the last quarter of the 20th century.  Yes, he was right up there with Alan Moore, Chris Claremont, John Byrne, Marv Wolfman, Steve Englehart, and Grant Morrison, to name a few.

You can discover this for yourself, dear readers, in The Death of Captain Marvel.  This stand-alone story references the past, but is singularly focused on Captain Marvel's final battle.  It is philosophical, thoughtful, and contemplative.  It is surreal and also matter-of-fact in its realism, all of it leading to the last act, a breathtaking death-dream that gave me pause.

Starlin offers some melodrama, mainly involving the characters to which is he intimately connected – from the bitter and frustrated anger of Rick Jones to the quite acceptance of Elysius.  I am surprised that Marvel Comics published a story in which a superhero must face his imminent death – and one executed with such honesty.  Captain Marvel freely admits that he does not want to die, and that he thought that when death came – a long time in the future – it would be a warrior's death.

Instead, the hero died in bed, ravaged by disease.  Still, The Death of Captain Marvel gives the title character the kind of epic story of his end that would be befitting of elite superheroes.  We know, however, that such superheroes don't stay dead.  Instead, the story of Captain Marvel/Mar-Vell's death is one of Marvel Comics' greatest stories, and he did stay dead.  I'd like to believe that Jim Starlin created a story so powerful that even the most arrogant Marvel editors and superstar creators could not summon the gall to undo it.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of the greatest Marvel Comics stories ever told will want to read The Death of Captain Marvel.

10 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


https://twitter.com/Marvel
https://www.marvel.com/
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https://www.comixology.com/Marvel_Comics


The text is copyright © 2021 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Review: THOR #337

THOR #337
MARVEL COMICS – @Marvel

[This review originally appeared on Patreon.]

STORY: Walter Simonson
ART: Walter Simonson
COLORS: George Roussos
LETTERS: John Workman Jr.
EDITOR: Mark Gruenwald
EiC: Jim Shooter
32pp, Color, .60¢ U.S. (November 1983)

Thor, the Marvel Comics character, is based on the Norse mythological deity of the same name.  Marvel's the mighty Thor is the Asgardian god of thunder; possesses the enchanted hammer, Mjolnir; and is also a superhero, as well as being a member of The Avengers.

Thor first appeared in Journey into Mystery #83 (cover dated August 1962) and was created by editor-plotter Stan Lee, scripter Larry Lieber, and penciller Jack Kirby.  For most of his 53 years of existence, Thor has possessed Mjolnir, which, among other superhuman attributes, grants him the ability of flight and of weather manipulation.

Thor has possessed that “enchanted hammer” for most of his comic book existence, but there have been times when Thor:  the Prince of Asgard, the one true God of Thunder, and the Odinson, has not possessed Mjolnir.  In fact, the current wielder of Mjolnir is a woman, Jane Foster, which means that she is now Thor.

Before this female Thor, the most famous example of someone wielding Mjolnir occurred in a story that started in Thor #337 (cover dated: November 1983).  This was the first chapter of the saga of Beta Ray Bill, and the first issue of comics creator Walter Simonson's acclaimed run as writer-artist of Thor, which was also known as The Mighty Thor.

Early in The Mighty Thor #337, Dr. Donald Blake, Thor's human guise, receives a surprise visit from Colonel Nick Fury, boss man of S.H.I.E.L.D.  Blake taps his cane, transforming into Thor, as he is whisked to the SHIELD Helicarrier.  Thor learns that a strange alien ship, with immensely destructive capabilities, is headed toward Earth.  Thor travels through space and forces his way into the ship, but he discovers that the ship can defend itself and it has Beta Ray Bill!

Although I owned several issues (and even a trade paperback) of Walter Simonson's run on Thor, I never owned issue #337.  Recently a friend of friend gave me a copy because he said that he had a duplicate.  Of course, I was grateful.

I think I did read #337 in trade paperback form, but I don't really remember it.  I don't know why there is a memory lapse, as #337 is an especially memorable issue of Thor.  Visually and graphically, Simonson recalls Jack Kirby's Thor comic books, but in his own inimitable style.  In a way, Simonson is a fantasy artist who can take weird and ludicrous people, beings, creatures, and environments and transform them into awe-inspiring art that seems plausible... even if they are only plausible in some fantastic world.

I think that this is what Simonson did.  He returned Thor to the fantastic world of Jack Kirby and expanded upon it.  The epic lettering of the great John Workman practically makes this comic book ring with thunder, especially when Workman adds sound effects.  Some of George Roussos' coloring hides the power of Simonson's compositions, but there are moments when the coloring perfectly gives a sense of the fire in Simonson's graphical storytelling.  After reading Thor #337, I am ready to find more duplicate issues...

A

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


The text is copyright © 2015 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

I Reads You Review: Marvel Super Heroes: SECRET WARS #1

MARVEL SUPER HEROES SECRET WARS #1
MARVEL COMICS – @Marvel

WRITER: Jim Shooter
PENCILS: Michael Zeck
INKS: John Beatty
COLORS: Christie Scheele
LETTERS: Joe Rosen
EDITOR: Tom DeFalco
32pp, Color, $.75¢ U.S. (May 1984)

Everything old is new again and again and again...  Marvel Comics launched its latest everything-is-changing event comic book miniseries, Secret Wars, this week.  However, neither the event nor the  title is new.

A little over 31 years ago, 1984 was the year Marvel Comics released Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars (Secret Wars, for short).  Not everything about that Secret Wars was new.  For instance, Marvel had apparently contemplated and attempted this type of comic book event – a large number of super-heroes taking on a large number of super-villains – in the comic book, Contest of Champions (1982).  For all intents and purposes, however, Secret Wars was the first its kind, a successful gathering of a comic book publisher's most recognizable heroes and villains in a special comic book series.

So this is how the story goes.  Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars #1 (“The War Begins”) opens as a large group of Marvel Comics' biggest superheroes arrive in an unknown and distant part of the universe.  Members of the Avengers, Fantastic Four, X-Men, and also Spider-Man find themselves aboard a large and mysterious space ship of some kind.  Meanwhile, some of Marvel Comics' biggest super-villains find themselves transported aboard a similar ship.

Both groups watch an entire galaxy being destroyed and, almost immediately afterward, watch a planet being built.  The one who brought the heroes and villains to the far depths of space and who is also the builder of this new world finally speaks.  The voice says that he is “from beyond.”  He promises both heroes and villains that if they slay their enemies, “all you desire shall be yours.”

That is an easy proposition for this “Beyonder” (as Galactus calls him) to make, as he knows that many of his listeners are spoiling for a fight.  Heroes and villains know that their most hated adversaries are members of the group on the other side, and that even within their own ranks are people whom they dislike... maybe even enough to kill.  Let the battle royale begin!

I had not read Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars #1 in ages, but when I read that Marvel Comics' big 2015 event would be entitled “Secret Wars,” I found a copy of the original on eBay at a decent price.  I don't remember what I thought of Secret Wars #1 after reading it for the first time all the years ago.  I do remember that by the time I got to the halfway point, I was disappointed in entire series.

Marvel hyped Secret Wars as the event that would change everything.  I think either TIME or Newsweek magazine covered the series in short article.  Other than a new costume for Spider-Man and some fights, nothing changed, however.  In fact, Spider-Man's new costume, the original version of the black costume that was actually an alien symbiote, appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #252 (cover dated: May 1984) comic book before it “first appeared” in Secret Wars #8.

Reading Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars #1 now, I find myself ambivalent.  I am curious to read the rest of the series, but this first issue is neither especially bad or particularly good.  Mike Zeck was not the right artist to draw the large number of characters and big action scenes required for Secret Wars, although he proved to be quite good at drawing solo Spider-Man comics and The Punisher.  In fact, I still think of Zeck, an especially talent artist, as the definitive Punisher artist.

As for the story and script by Jim Shooter, it is more inconsistent than imaginative.  In a few spots, the character drama is good.  In some places, Shooter presages the kind of superhero revolution that was about to explode via Alan Moore (Watchmen) and Frank Miller (Batman: The Dark Knight Returns).

Ultimately, Shooter and Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars did introduce something to American superhero comic books that remains to this day – the big event as a big, money-grabbing lie.  For the most part, big event miniseries change little.  When one does bring change to our favorite superhero universes, that change usually lasts until the next big event.  There are exceptions, such as DC Comics' Crisis on Infinite Earths (1985), which is why it is fondly remembered by those who read it.

The truth is that Secret Wars showed American comic book publishers that they could create an atmosphere via a publishing event in which fans and readers, i.e. their customers, feel the need to buy (literally) into an event.  That includes purchasing the main event series and many, if not all, of the related or tie-in publications.  The sequel to Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars, Secret Wars II (1985), had tie-in issues (as did DC's Crisis), some of which only had a tenuous connection to the main series.

I bought into events for a few years, but lost interest in world-changing comic book events a long time ago.  When I returned to reading superhero comic books some years ago, I found myself still disinterested in comic book publishing events.  A few times, a friend or store owner passed a freebie that was part of an event, and I read them.  Thirty years after Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars, the writing in comic books is supposed to be so much better than it was in the past.  Still, even when a golden boy writes a crossover, line-wide, event, it tends to amount to sound and fury signifying...

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux (support on Patreon)


The text is copyright © 2015 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for syndication rights and fees.

I Reads You Review: ROCKET RACCOON #1 (1985)

ROCKET RACCOON (1985) #1 (OF 4)
MARVEL COMICS – @Marvel

WRITER:  Bill Mantlo
PENCILS:  Mike Mignola
INKS:  Al Gordon
COLORS:  Christie Scheele
LETTERS: Ken Bruzenak
EDITOR: Carl Potts
EiC: Jim Shooter
32pp, Color, .75¢ (May 1985)

Rocket Raccoon created by Bill Mantlo and Keith Giffen

Rocket Raccoon is an outer-space based Marvel Comics superhero.  He was created by writer Bill Mantlo and artist Keith Giffen and first appeared in Marvel Preview #7 (cover dated: Summer 1976).  The character was initially known as “Rocky Raccoon,” and it was later revealed that “Rocky” was short for “Rocket.”  Rocket Raccoon is an intelligent, anthropomorphic raccoon and is an expert marksman and master tactician.

Apparently, fondly remembered by fans, the character made very few appearances in comic books during the first three decades of his existence.  In 2008,  Rocket Raccoon appeared in the relaunch of the superhero comic book, Guardians of the Galaxy.  Rocket is a prominent member of the Guardians of the Galaxy team, and is now a breakout star thanks to the 2014 live-action film, Guardians of the Galaxy.  In the film, Rocket is a CGI character and his voice is provided by Oscar-nominated actor, Bradley Cooper.

I was a fan of the 1985, four-issue, Rocket Raccoon comic book miniseries, written by Bill Mantlo, drawn by Mike Mignola and Al Gordon, colored Christie Scheele, and lettered by Ken Bruzenak.  I am not sure if I had heard of the character before the miniseries.  I think one reason I wanted to read it was because the creative team, especially Bill Mantlo (who co-created the character) and then-emerging artist, Mike Mignola.

Rocket Raccoon #1 is a humorous comic book set in a walled-off section of space known as the “Keystone Quadrant.”  The story opens in Spacewheel, a toy manufacturer that is a division of Dyvynicies, Inc., owned by Lord Dyvyne.  We meet the Chief Toysmith, who is soon killed a murderous clown.  The blame falls on Dyvyne's rival, Judson Jakes, who oversees Mayhem Mekaniks, a toy-making corporation.

The story then moves to Halfworld, where we meet Rocket Raccoon, Llyla (Rocket's lady, who is an otter), and Wal-An (a walrus).  Rocket's main concern is making sure that there is a steady flow of toys for the humans of Cuckoo's Nest.  Now, it seems as if Dyvyne and Jakes are about to go to war, but they want more than just control of the toys.  Rocket and his friends are also targeted.

I lost my original copies of the Rocket Raccoon miniseries, but I managed to replace them about a decade ago during a sale at Mile High Comics.  I got them for next-to-nothing; in the wake of the hit Guardians of the Galaxy movie, I think it might cost at least $100 or more to buy a complete set.

I remember liking this miniseries when I first read it, but I wonder if I really understood it.  Decades of reading comic books later, I think I have a better grasp of it.  This is a humor comic book that is a bit satirical, and the first issue has some pop culture references, especially regarding the Oscar-winning film, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (which was based on on Ken Kesey's 1962 novel of the same name).

In a way, Rocket Raccoon the miniseries is similar to crime fiction, as it features Rocket as a kind of cop who has to stop a war between two mob bosses before they destroy the city.  The difference is that this comic book features anthropomorphism and juvenile science fiction and space opera elements.  I don't know if I'd recommend it to anyone but fans of Rocket Raccoon.  This miniseries is such an odd-duck that it is hard to figure out what the target audience for it is.  I guess that back in the mid-1980s, Marvel's target for Rocket Raccoon was the “Marvel zombies,” readers who bought practically everything that Marvel Comics published.

B

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


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