Case Closed: Fanboy and Sidekick

I read Case Closed, Vol. 49

I posted a review at the ComicBookBin (which has free smart phone apps and comics).

I Reads You Review: THE INCREDIBLE HULK AND WOLVERINE #1

THE INCREDIBLE HULK AND WOLVERINE #1
MARVEL COMICS – @Marvel

WRITERS: Len Wein, Mary Jo Duffy
PENCILS: Herb Trimpe, Ken Landgraf
INKS: Jack Abel, George Perez
COLORS: Christie Scheele
LETTERS: Artie Simek, Michael Higgins
EDITOR: Roy Thomas, Jim Shooter
EIC: Jim Shooter
COVER: John Byrne and Jack Abel with George Roussos
48pp, Color, $2.00 (October 1986)

In the summer of 1986, Marvel Comics published The Incredible Hulk and Wolverine #1.  This was a one-shot, single-issue comic book that reprinted The Incredible Hulk #180 and #181 (cover-dated November 1974).  Issue #180 (cover-dated October 1974) contained the first appearance of Wolverine, as a cameo in the final panel of the last page.  Issue #181 features the first full appearance of Wolverine.  Of course, Wolverine is a member of the X-Men and one of Marvel Comics’ most popular characters.

The Incredible Hulk and Wolverine #1 also includes the short story, “Wolverine and Hercules,” which originally appeared in Marvel Treasury Edition #26 (1980).  “Wolverine: The Evolution of a Character” is an essay at the back of this comic book.  It is written by former Marvel writer and editor, Peter Sanderson, and details the creation of Wolverine and also provides a fictional biography of the character.  This text piece includes spot illustrations and other art drawn by John Romita, Paul Smith and Joe Rubinstein; John Byrne and Terry Austin; John Romita, Jr. and Dan Green; and Frank Miller and Joe Rubinstein.

The Incredible Hulk #180 finds the Hulk returning to Canada.  There, deep in the Canadian woods, the emerald behemoth finds himself caught in a conspiracy involving Marie Cartier and Georges Baptiste.  Marie’s brother, Paul Cartier, bears the curse that transforms him into “the hideous cannibal beast,” known as the Wendigo.

Marie has devised a plan to transfer the Wendigo’s form to the Hulk.  Events don’t follow her planning once Hulk and Wendigo engage in an epic battle.  Meanwhile, at a top secret Royal Canadian Air Force Tracking Installation, military authorities are not about to allow the Hulk to rampage through Canada again.  They’re sending something called “Weapon X” to take care of the green giant.

The Incredible Hulk #181 begins with Wolverine revealing himself to the Hulk and the Wendigo and launching himself into their battle.  This three-way fight devolves into a death match between the Hulk and the Wolverine.  Meanwhile, Georges Baptiste makes a fateful decision about him and Marie Cartier’s plan to save her brother from the curse of the Wendigo.

When The Incredible Hulk and Wolverine #1 arrived on newsstands and in comic book shops, it gave me a chance to read the story in which Wolverine made his first appearance, and I was ecstatic about that opportunity.  I would read the story again in a single-issue facsimile reprint of The Incredible Hulk #181.

I long ago lost or sold my original copy of The Incredible Hulk and Wolverine #1, but a recent at sale at super comics retailer Mile High Comics’ website allowed me to get another copy.  I had forgotten that even with a $2.00 cover price, The Incredible Hulk and Wolverine #1 was just a cheapie reprint.  At a time when comic book publishers, large and small, were moving to heavier and whiter paper stocks, Marvel Comics printed The Incredible Hulk and Wolverine #1 on newsprint.  The print quality ranges from mediocre to tolerable, and the colors don’t “pop” off the page the way they do today.  With newsprint, things like details, borders, and lettering can fade or even not fully print.

I think that at the time this was originally published Marvel Comics was printing anything that would help with their market share and that could make a lot of money with little investment.  The Hulk stories here were bought and paid for over a decade earlier, and who knows if the creators got any royalty payments from this reprinting.  Like I said, high return on low investment.

That aside, I like these old Hulk comics.  Writer Len Wein’s ability to create a compelling story out of monster comics and supernatural melodrama is a sign of the skill that made him a standout comic book creator and editor in the 1970s and 1980s.  Penciller Herb Trimpe, one of my favorites, mixes the dynamism and fury of Jack Kirby (who was obviously an influence on Trimpe) with the cartoon mysticism of Steve Ditko.  This is classic comic book art and graphical storytelling – monster comics and mystic mumbo-jumbo.

It is also fun to look at this early Wolverine-in-the-raw, which is practically nothing like what the character would become in the decades that followed his first appearance.  So I grade this comic book not on the cheap newsprint reproduction, but on the fun old comics.

B+

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


The text is copyright © 2014 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for syndication rights and fees.

07-Ghost: Memory Quelle

I read 07-GHOST, Vol. 8

I posted a review at the ComicBookBin.

I Reads You Review: SCOOBY-DOO, Where Are You? #41

SCOOBY-DOO, WHERE ARE YOU? #41
DC COMICS – @DCComics

STORY: Scott Gross, John Rozum, Keith Champagne
PENCILS: Scott Gross, Scott Neely
INKS: Scott Gross, Jorge Pacheco, Scott Neely
COLORS: Heroic Age
LETTERS: Saida Temofonte, Sal Cipriano, Randy Gentile,
COVER: Scott Gross
28pp, Color, $2.99 U.S. (March 2014)

Rated “E” for Everyone

I currently subscribe to DC Comics’ most recent Scooby-Doo comic book series, Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? (2010).  I bought the subscription through a fundraising drive by the school my nephew attends.  I just received the third issue of my subscription.

Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? #41 opens with “Annunaki” (written and drawn by Scott Gross).  The story finds Mystery Inc. on the road and lost.  The gang ends up in the small Ohio town of Chillicothe.  There, they discover that an “ancient astronaut,” is terrorizing locals and keeping them away from the area’s pride and joy, local Indian mounds.  Faster than you can exclaim, “Jinkies!” Velma Dinkley has a plan.

In “Chupacabra-Cadabra” (written by Keith Champagne and drawn by Scott Neely), the gang takes a road trip to celebrate Shaggy Rogers’ birthday.  No-thanks to the legendary “El Chupacabra,” which has a penchant for kidnapping, Shaggy is about to have his worst birthday ever!

Once again, I experience the joy of reading a Scooby-Doo comic book.  Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? #41 offers three good stories, although some of this material is not new.  Some of the comics here were previously published in Scooby-Doo (1997) #130 and #140.

Even at eight pages, “Chupacabra-Cadabra” is a complete and fully developed story.  However, “Annunaki,” at 10-pages in length, is the victim of a rushed ending.  The story is a good idea, but it should have been a full-length, single-issue story of at least 20 pages in length.  The last two pages are crunched together, when this last act needs at least six pages.  Talk about compression.

Overall, Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? #41 is a good issue.  And I’m ready for the next issue – as usual.

B+

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux

The text is copyright © 2014 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for syndication rights and fees.

Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal: Messenger from the Moon!!

I read Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal, Vol. 4

I posted a review at the ComicBookBin.

DC Comics from Diamond Distributors for January 22 2014

DC COMICS

NOV130206 ANIMAL MAN #27 $2.99
OCT130282 ANIMAL MAN TP VOL 05 THE MEANING OF FLESH (MR) $24.99
NOV130172 BATMAN #27 (ZERO YEAR) $3.99
NOV130174 BATMAN #27 COMBO PACK (ZERO YEAR) $4.99
NOV130221 BATMAN 66 #7 $3.99
NOV130189 BATMAN AND TWO FACE #27 $2.99
NOV130220 BATMAN BEYOND UNIVERSE #6 $3.99
OCT130237 BATWING TP VOL 03 ENEMY OF THE STATE (N52) $14.99
NOV130192 BATWOMAN #27 $2.99
NOV130183 BIRDS OF PREY #27 (GOTHTOPIA) $2.99
NOV130202 GREEN LANTERN NEW GUARDIANS #27 $2.99
NOV130171 HARLEY QUINN #2 $2.99
NOV130123 JUSTICE LEAGUE #27 (EVIL) $3.99
NOV130125 JUSTICE LEAGUE #27 COMBO PACK (EVIL) $4.99
SEP130279 PLANETARY OMNIBUS HC $75.00
OCT130293 PREACHER TP BOOK 03 (MR) $19.99
NOV130194 RED HOOD AND THE OUTLAWS #27 $2.99
NOV130214 SCRIBBLENAUTS UNMASKED CRISIS OF IMAGINATION #1 $2.99
NOV130163 SUPERGIRL #27 $2.99
NOV130132 TRINITY OF SIN PANDORA #7 (EVIL) $2.99
NOV130260 UNWRITTEN VOL 2 APOCALYPSE #1 (MR) $3.99
NOV130148 WONDER WOMAN #27 $2.99

DC COMICS/DC COLLECTIBLES

AUG130364 BATMAN BLACK & WHITE BATMAN EARTH 2 STATUE $79.95

Marvel Comics from Diamond Distributors for January 22 2014

MARVEL COMICS

NOV130551 ALL NEW INVADERS #1 ANMN $3.99
NOV130612 ALL NEW X-FACTOR #2 ANMN $3.99
NOV130557 ALL NEW X-MEN #22.NOW ANMN $3.99
NOV130579 AVENGERS #25 ANMN $3.99
NOV130577 AVENGERS WORLD #2 ANMN $3.99
NOV130593 BLACK WIDOW #2 ANMN $3.99
SEP138293 CABLE AND X-FORCE #19 $3.99
NOV130675 CAPTAIN AMERICA #15 $3.99
NOV130657 CATACLYSM ULTIMATE X-MEN #3 $3.99
NOV130673 FF #16 $3.99
NOV130635 GEORGE ROMEROS EMPIRE OF DEAD ACT ONE #1 $3.99
NOV130637 GEORGE ROMEROS EMPIRE OF DEAD ACT ONE #1 SUYDAM NYC $3.99
OCT130716 HAWKEYE #16 $2.99
NOV130619 INDESTRUCTIBLE HULK #18.INH $3.99
OCT130755 INDESTRUCTIBLE HULK PREM HC VOL 03 SMASH TIME $24.99
OCT130762 INDESTRUCTIBLE HULK TP VOL 01 AGENT OF SHIELD $19.99
NOV130620 IRON MAN #20.INH $3.99
NOV130666 MARVEL KNIGHTS X-MEN #3 $3.99
OCT130772 MARVEL UNIVERSE ULT SPIDER-MAN DIGEST TP VOL 05 $9.99
NOV130681 MARVEL UNIVERSE ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #22 SYU $2.99
NOV130614 MIGHTY AVENGERS #5.INH $3.99
NOV130682 ORIGIN II #2 $3.99
NOV130663 SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN TEAM UP #9 $3.99
NOV130684 WOLVERINE AND X-MEN #40 $3.99
OCT130766 WOLVERINE BY HAMA AND SILVESTRI TP VOL 02 $29.99
OCT130769 X-FACTOR BY PETER DAVID TP VOL 01 COMPLETE COLLECTION $34.99
NOV130689 X-MEN #9 XFV $3.99
OCT130765 X-MEN TP VOL 01 ROAD TO ONSLAUGHT $39.99
OCT130761 YOUNG AVENGERS TP VOL 02 ALTERNATIVE CULTURE $15.99