Category Archives: So Random!

So Random! Captain America 293

26 Sunday May 2024

Posted by in So Random!

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, ,

Captain America 293
“Field of Vision!”
Publisher: Marvel
Published: January 1984
Writer: J.M. DeMatteis
Pencils: Paul Neary
Inks: Eduardo Barreto
Letters: Diana Albers
Colors: Bob Sharen
Editor: Mark Gruenwald


Editor’s note: It’s been a while since I did one of these, so as a refresher: In So Random! posts, I pick a comic more or at less at random from my collection to re-read and analyze.

Synopsis

As Captain America tries to reconcile Bernie Rosenthal’s marriage proposal with his feelings for former love interest Sharon Carter, the villains Mother Superior, Baron Zemo and the Red Skull conspire to get their revenge on Cap. They transform Cap’s pacifist friend Dave Cox into the Slayer, who ambushes Cap and his sidekick, Nomad.

What’s going on here?

Captain America 293 came out pretty early in my collecting days, and about the time of the first Secret Wars series. J. M. DeMatteis was still writing the book and his plots were dark and intricate, particularly compared to his successor, Mark Gruenwald (RIP), who had a much more light-hearted take on Cap.

This would be a tough comic for a new reader to jump into, since so much of the story involves the back stories of Baron Zemo and Dave Cox (and Sharon Carter), but the plot moves along, and there’s plenty of action to go along with the introspection. The art by Neary and Barreto is serviceable, although it never really soars.

What I liked


I liked this scene of Cap dropping into to visit an old friend out of the blue, and disrupting his domestic life. We then get some revealing panels about Cap discussing his love life with Dave, and (oddly) skipping stones from his knees.

In group books like the Avengers, Cap tends to take on a larger-than-life quality, as he serves not just as a leader but a symbol of the American Way. But successfully written, in his own book at least, Steve Rogers is very much a human who is wrestling with his personal life. (Batman suffers from similar problems as a character who can be more symbol than person).

What I didn’t like

DeMatteis’s writing tends toward the purple and overwraught, particularly in the sequences with Zemo and Mother Superior. Consider this elaborate double page splash that attempts to sum up the history of human evil, for example:


Also, the Slayer concept feels vaguely ridiculous, and continues a longtime comic trope of taking civilian characters and making them heroes or villains. I much prefer it when ordinary people remain ordinary.


Anything else?

I always enjoyed these Q & As they ran in the letter pages of the books Gruenwald edited. This one was inspired by a recent Cap arc where he wound up in a post-apocalyptic future with Deathlok.


Overall

Standard mid-80s Marvel fare

So Random! Uncanny X-Men 489

21 Friday Jul 2023

Posted by in So Random!

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, ,

Uncanny X-Men 489
“The Extremists, part 3” (main story)
Publisher: Marvel
Published: Aug. 2007
Writer: Ed Brubaker
Artist: Salvador Larocca
Letters: Joe Caramagna
Colors: Jason Keith
Cover: Larocca

Synopsis

Storm leads a band of X-Men in pursuit of the morlock Masque, while Professor X and Nightcrawler search for Magneto.


What’s going here

This issue is a bit of a jumble, and made more so by there being a back-up story featuring the Beast’s attempts to restore mutantdom in the wake of M-Day. It had been a long time since I read this issue, so definitely felt dropped in the middle of a few storylines I couldn’t quite grasp. Despite all that, I enjoyed the comic, in part because Ed Brubaker does a good job of setting the scenes, and deploying his noir sensibility to create an atmosphere of moody forboding. Brubaker isn’t an obvious choice for an X-Men writer, but when the action calls for paranoid creeping around sewers, he’s perfect.


What I liked

Larocca’s cover. I’ll even relax my normally strict stance against portraying Ben as a giant (he’s only about six feet tall, according to Kirby) to allow for this slightly gigantic Thing. Or I will assume Storm is standing in a hole.

This issue takes place during the brief period when Storm and the Black Panther—who were then married—replaced Reed and Sue in the Fantastic Four, and there’s some fun interactions between Ben and Ororo, as seen above, and between Johnny and the other mutants, in this case Warpath, Caliban and Hepzibah (technically an alien and not a mutant, I think).

I also liked the undercurrent of menace surrounding Masque and his campaign to disfigure New Yorkers. It’s sinister and creepy and something Brubaker does very well.


What I didn’t like

The backup story, featuring Beast and I think Dark Beast (it’s never said explicitly) is talky and not very fulfilling. It’s the sixth installment in an 17-part (!) ongoing story running n the mutant books and as I recall it was hard to follow then and impossible now.


Overall

A fun, somewhat different X-Men story from a talented team.

So Random! Daredevil No. 501

17 Saturday Jun 2023

Posted by in So Random!

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Daredevil 501
“The Devil’s Hand”
Publisher: Marvel
Published: Oct. 2009
Writer: Andy Diggle
Art: Roberto De La Torre
Colors: Matt Hollingsworth
Letters: Joe Caramagna
Cover: Esad Ribic

Synopsis

A guilt-wracked Daredevil takes control of the Hand, even while sacrificing his sensei Master Izo to do so.


What’s going on here?

Daredevil 501 marks a new beginning of sorts for the book, with the new creative team of Diggle and De La Torre taking over after a long run by Ed Brubaker and Michael Lark. At this point, Matt Murdock has descended even further (or further than usual) into obsessive introspection and despair, and takes the radical step of assuming control of the Hand, a band of ninjas, to protect Hell’s Kitchen from his enemies.


What I liked

It’s a little hard to make too many judgments in the first issue for a new creative team. They are obviously leaning hard into many of Daredevil’s established elements, but having Matt take over the Hand is at least new twist. De La Torre’s art is stunning — reminiscent of Alex Maleev’s work on DD but with more dynamism.


What I didn’t like

Frank Miller’s Daredevil run of the late 1970s and early 80s casts such a long shadow that for decades, DD writers and artists seemed unable to escape it. Diggle and De La Torre are no exception, and have have plundered the Miller toybox for all his plot devices. Ninjas? Check. Crusty old sensei? Check. Matt on the verge of a breakdown? Check. Catholic guilt? Check. Foggy, Becky, Kingpin and Turk? Check check, check and check. It’s like they’re playing Daredevil bingo and got the winning card.

Again, it’s the first issue of their run—and one I barely remember—so maybe I’m being hard but it feels awfully derivative of lots of other Daredevil runs. He’s such a great character and it’s unfortunate that so many creators seem trapped in the same story lines.


Overall

A lukewarm re-hash of familiar material.

So Random! Dreadstar No. 14

14 Wednesday Jun 2023

Posted by in So Random!

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, ,

Dreadstar 14
“Resolution”
Published: Aug. 1984
Publisher: Marvel (Epic)
Story: Jim Starlin
Pencils: Starlin
Inks: Sam De La Rosa
Letters: Jim Novak
Colors: Christie Scheele
Cover: Starlin

Note: I don’t have access to a digital copy of this comic, so I had to take photos. Apologies if it looks a bit wonky.

Synopsis

Lord Papal, along with minions Infra Red and Ultra Violet, confront Vanth Dreadstar and his companions. After a pitched battle, Papal destroys Dreadstar’s mystical sword, defeating him and causing him to rapidly age.


What’s going on here?

I came to Dreadstar a little late in its run, but once I discovered it, I was hooked (I’m pretty sure I bought this one as a back issue). In retrospect, many of its elements are derivative of other works of fantasy and space opera, but at the time I didn’t know it and I just loved the action, the characters, the ambitious scope of the story and Starlin’s art. I kept on collecting after Starlin stopped drawing it and the comic moved from Epic to First, but as with most comics, it peaked early. The high point is probably the first six issues of the Epic series (later re-printed as Dreadstar & Co.).

Issue 14 represents a turning point, a semi-final confrontation between Papal and Dreadstar that wraps up the first dozen or so issues of the series. In some ways it remind me of Nexus 75, which I looked at a few weeks ago, in they both conclude lengthy storylines with lots of pyrotechnics and not much nuance.


What I liked

Most of it? It’s a fun comic, full of action and big panels and, believe it or not, no ads! The battle breaks down into two fights, between Papal and Dreadstar, and between Ultra Violet and Infra Red vs. Syzygy and the rest of Dreadstar’s crew. The Papal/ Dreadstar fight gets a bit repetitive, but the other skirmish has more twist and turns. The end is a genuine surprise, too, since we are so accustomed to the good guys winning. Here, they lose. Badly.

I also liked the little editorial sketch in the front of the book. Normally they were done by Archie Goodwin, Epic’s editor, and they’re a reminder of the little touches Marvel would include that kept fans engaged and feeling part of the club. (Note the extremely topical Menudo reference).


What I didn’t like

Not much? Really, the only thing worth mentioning is how obvious it is to me now that Papal is just a facsimile of Starlin’s Thanos, who in turn was a copy of Darkseid. In case there was any doubt, consider Papal’s version of Omega Effect in this panel:

Likewise, the stuff about Dreadstar’s sword prolonging his life feels a lot like Elric or other sword-and-sorcery books. But ultimately, so what? Most genre fiction borrows from predecessors, and it’s really about what the creator can do with the elements at their disposal.

Overall

A blast from the past!

So Random! Captain America No. 601

07 Wednesday Jun 2023

Posted by in So Random!

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, ,

Captain America 601
“Red, White and Blue-Blood”
Publisher: Marvel
Published: July 2009
Writer: Ed Brubaker
Artist: Gene Colan
Colors: Dean White
Letters: Dave Lanphear
Cover: Colan

Synopsis

In a story that is mostly flashback, the Winter Soldier, aka Bucky Barnes, tells Nick Fury of the time he and Captain America confronted vampires in a Belgian village during World War II.


What’s going on here?

This story falls in the middle of Ed Brubaker’s long and acclaimed run on Captain America. I’m not sure if it was an inventory story or something scheduled, since it comes right after issue 600, making it a logical time for the creative team to take a break. But it has the classic signs of an inventory story, as it falls outside of continuity and features a guest artist.

It’s notable for being the last story penciled by Gene Colan, a comics legend who was in his 80s by 2009 and had been drawing comics for 61 years, or since the end of the Golden Age. The story was either written with him in mind, or chosen for him, because of his lengthy association with vampire stories and particularly his Tomb of Dracula run from the 1970s. In some ways, the whole comic feels like a memorial to Colan, who died a few years after it was published, and it included this nice testimonial at the end.


What I liked

Despite some uneven art (more on that later), Colan still delivers a darkly atmospheric story. The Belgian village is gloomy and claustrophobic, and the action scenes are chaotic and violent, befitting the nature of the threat faced by Cap and Bucky. I’m not familiar with Colan’s war comics, if any existed, but he certainly seems at home with the genre. I also liked seeing Brubaker’s version of World War II-era Bucky, where he is less a sidekick and more of a partner to Cap.


What I didn’t like

As a horror story, it’s just OK, without a lot of suspense and a pretty obvious answer to the mystery of who was turning the US soldiers into vampires. The framing story, with Bucky and Nick Fury, also feels clumsy and unnecessary.

And sadly, Colan’s pencils at times are uneven, particularly when he is drawing the faces of Cap and Bucky. The layouts are at times confusing, and the story can be hard to follow from panel to panel. It feels churlish to point it out, but it’s clear that by this point Colan no longer had his A game.


Overall

A bittersweet tribute to one of the giants of comics.

So Random! Uncanny X-Men No. 251

31 Wednesday May 2023

Posted by in So Random!, Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, ,

Uncanny X-Men 251
“Fever Dream”
Publisher: Marvel
Published: July 1989
Story: Chris Claremont
Pencils: Marc Silvestri
Inks: Dan Green
Letters: Tom Orzechowski
Colors: Glynis Oliver
Cover: Silvestri and Green

Synopsis

Wolverine is captured by the cyborg Donald Pierce’s Reavers in the Australian Outback, and attached to a cross, hallucinates about his past and possible future.

What’s going on here?

This comic falls in the X-Men’s “Outback Era,” when, following the events of the Fall of the Mutants, they abandoned Xavier’s school in Westchester and went off the grid in Australia. It was an odd period, when Dazzler and Longshot were members, and they traveled via teleportation provided by Gateway, an aboriginal Australian.

This issue, which features an iconic cover by Marc Silvestri and Dan Green, open with Wolverine essentially crucified, and only through confusing flashbacks do we learn that he was captured by the Reavers. The group features the return of a number of Wolverine’s past enemies, including Lady Deathstrike and the Hellfire thugs he ripped apart way back in issue 133 and who have been reassembled into cyborgs. Most of the issue is a series of flashbacks and / or hallucinations as past friends and foes of Wolverine parade past to taunt or console him. The issue ends as he frees himself and joins forces with Jubilee, in one of her earliest appearances.

(Edited to add: Upon reading some other bloggers reviews of this issue, it seems that the appearances of the X-Men, who travel through the Siege Perilous, is not in fact a hallucination but actually happened. As I’ve said, this stuff is confusing as f@ck).


What I liked

This issue features both the best and worst of Chris Claremont’s X-Men writing. On the positive side, he creates a fantastically gripping scenario for his (and most of the readers’) favorite character, and he launches into the story right away. Putting Wolverine in impossible situations and having him (literally) claw his way out is a Claremont specialty and this is a prime example. Silvestri isn’t my favorite X-artist, but he does a great job here. Oliver’s colors are noticeably atmospheric and moody, too.


What I didn’t like

The flip side of Claremont deep immersion into his characters is his relentless plumbing of their psyches, and his unraveling of their reality through mental manipulation, sorcery or in this case, hallucinations. It’s almost always confusing, over-the-top and tedious. It’s such a part of his legendary, 15-year run that it’s hard to imagine his X-Men without all the psychodrama, and yet as a reader it felt like it was the price we had to endure to get to all the cool stuff.

Another Claremont tic that appears in abundance in UXM 251 is his weird dialogue, where characters seem to be acting in a play instead of , you know, talking to each other. Here’s a classic example of Claremont-ese (featuring a pre-Asian-ninja Psylocke, and Havok):


Overall

A good reminder of what I loved, and couldn’t stand, about the late ’80s X-Men.

So Random! Nexus No. 75

24 Wednesday May 2023

Posted by in So Random!

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

,

Nexus 75
“Blowout!”
Publisher: First Publishing
Published: Aug. 1990
Story: Mike Baron
Pencils: Hugh Haynes
Inks: Arne Starr
Letters: Clem Robins
Colors: Les Dorscheid
Cover: Steve Rude

Synopsis

Horatio Hellhop, the original Nexus, confronts an erratic successor, Stan, who is powered by the Bad Brains. Sparks fly as they face off in the orbit of Mars.

What’s going on here?

In the 1980s, few comics were as cool as Nexus. At its peak, written by Mike Baron with art by the legendary Steve Rude, it was a science fiction epic, with a sleek vigilante hero who slaughtered his enemies with cool flair. He was an art deco Punisher. By issue 75, however, Nexus was past its prime and on the downside. Rude had left long ago—although he contributed a gorgeous cover—and the book was just five issues away from cancelation. It’s still a solid comic, and the high points remind you of why Nexus was such a fun read, but it feels a bit like a classic band with some new members. It’s not quite the same.

This issue is the fifth of a five-part arc featuring the rise and fall of Staislaus Korivitsky, a replacement Nexus. I have no recollection of any of this, and I may have just read this comic for the first time (by 1990, I was in college and reflexively buying comics without reading them). Despite that, the story isn’t hard to follow, and features some pretty impressive art from Haynes, who had a short career, mostly at Marvel in the early 90s.


What I liked

As mentioned, the art reaches some impressive peaks. The big, double page splashes feel like an early iteration of the wide-screen style later embraced by artists like Bryan Hitch, but the big stakes in the story justify it. And it’s fun to see Nexus and Judah Maccabee, his occasional sidekick, back in action. Oh and that cover [chef’s kiss].


What I didn’t like

Not much. It feels unfair to subtract points for what it isn’t, but unfortunately Nexus hit such great highs a few years prior that even a solid effort like this feels like a let down.

Overall

Not bad, but only really of value to Nexus completionists.

So Random! Spectacular Spider-Man No. 138

22 Monday May 2023

Posted by in So Random!

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

,

The Spectacular Spider-Man 138
“Night of the Flag!”
Published Jan. 1988
Story: Gerry Conway
Art: Sal Buscema
Letters: Rick Parker
Colors: Bob Sharen
Cover: Our Pal Sal


Synopsis

Captain America partners with Tarantula to bring Spider-Man to justice after he aided a woman suspected of terrorism in Tarantula’s home nation.


What’s going on here?

This is the second half of a two-part story, and at times Spider-Man feels like a guest star in his own comic. The story focuses on Tarantula, a vicious thug, and his uneasy alliance with Captain America. It’s never said outright, but this is the John Walker version of Cap, an authoritarian happy to do the government’s bidding, which explains why he’s willing to work with Tarantula. Regular readers of Marvel in 1988 probably would have known that automatically, but after 35 years it took me a while to figure it out.

The story and art are by two old pros, Gerry Conway and Sal Buscema, and the issue has a sturdy, predictable feel to it. There’s some heavy-handed editorializing about the plight of immigrants, a sub-plot featuring Robbie Robertson and Tombstone and a page or two of Peter Parker and MJ, now happily married. At the end, Spidey cheats death to beat the bad guy and Walker-Cap has a moment of moral clarity.


What I liked

I confess that Sal is my second favorite of the Buscema brothers. I’ve generally found his pencils to be workmanlike and the faces on his women always look pained. There’s some of that in this comic but he also inked the issue, and it makes a big difference (I don’t know if I can remember another issue he both penciled and inked.) The opening sequence, a Tarantula revenge fantasy, is dramatically inked, and we get glimpses of what Buscema might be capable of if he hadn’t been chained to Marvel’s production engine for decades.


What I didn’t like

Conway’s social-justice message about the flawed immigration system is well-intentioned but feels clumsy. In this issue, at least, we don’t have any sense of these migrants as people, just as victims. Plus, calling them “illegals” as a bit cringey in 2023. (Note MJ’s Buscema-face in the third panel below).

And just in case you didn’t get the message, Gerry and Sal thoughtfully include Emma Lazarus’s poem from the Statue of Liberty at the end.

Also, at some point this comic stopped being called “Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man” in favor of a simpler name. I’m not sure I approve.

Overall

A solid base hit, but nothing special.

So Random! The Thing 5

12 Friday May 2023

Posted by in So Random!

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

,

The Thing 5
“With Friends Like These …”
Published July 1983
Writer: John Byrne
Pencils: Ron Wilson
Inks: Hilary Barta
Letters: Jim Novak
Colors: Bob Sharen
Cover: Wilson and Al Milgrom


Synopsis

The Thing is attacked by Wonder-Man, She-Hulk and Spider-Man, all of whom are revealed to be under the control of the Puppet Master. The story continues in the next issue.

What’s going on here?

The Thing’s solo comic, written by John Byrne with art by Ron Wilson, followed the cancellation of Marvel Two-in-One, which co-starred the Thing and a different guest star each issue and was often very entertaining.

I’m not sure why Marvel’s powers-that-be made the change, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Byrne, then writing the Fantastic Four, wanted more control over one of his main characters. In general, the Thing’s solo book never really delivered on its promise, and after about a year of indifferent stories, took a (literal) detour when Ben Grimm was stranded in space and the stories got loopier and loopier. Byrne left the book after issue 22, Mike Carlin took over and made Ben a professional wrestler and the comic was mercifully canceled with issue 36.

I started collecting comics in August 1983, the month after this issue came out, so my first issue was Thing 6, which is the second part of the story. This issue, which I eventually bought as a back issue, feels very much like a prelude to the next issue, in which Ben battles the Puppet Master in his mind in a very dark issue (literally and figuratively). That was a challenging first issue to read, but was much more ambitious than issue 5.

What I liked

I was never a huge fan of Ron Wilson, whose pencils often felt workman-like and static to me. But there’s a lot of fun action in this comic, which he does well. And he draws a great looking She-Hulk.


Interestingly, Byrne, includes a page at the end showing how to draw the Thing. It’s a fun guide that feels like it’s out of the classic How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way. But looking back now, I wonder if Byrne was using it to answer critics who felt his Thing was too odd looking. (Also, for whatever reason, this page isn’t included in the digital edition).


What I didn’t like

As mentioned, this comic really feels like a setup for the next issue, and in itself doesn’t offer much besides nonstop fighting. That’s OK as far as it goes, but Ben is such a great character it would have been good to have more substance (besides his usual fretting about his relationship with Alicia, which gets tedious). Also, it takes him an awful longtime to suspect his friend are under the control of the Puppet Master. Given their history, wouldn’t that be his first guess?

Overall

Not terrible, but certainly not memorable.

So Random! Batman 403

08 Monday May 2023

Posted by in So Random!

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

,

Batman 403
“One Batman Too Many”
Published Oct. 1986
Writer: Max Allan Collins
Pencils: Denys Cowan
Inks: Greg Brooks:
Letters: John Costanza
Colors: Adrienne Roy
Cover: Cowan and Dick Giordano

Synopsis

An insane former cop believing he’s Batman escapes from Arkham Asylum and, discovering the Batcave, steals a Batman costume and the Batmobile. The real Batman hunts him down.


What’s going on here?

This is an interesting issue, for a few reasons which editor Denny O’Neill very helpfully explains in a note at the end. First, this is the last issue before Batman: Year One, the Frank Miller/ David Mazzucchelli tour de force that would rock my (and lots of comic readers’) world starting with Batman 404. Secondly, it’s written by Max Collins, who I knew was the writer of the indy Ms. Tree comic but who also wrote the Dick Tracy newspaper strip. The man knows detectives!

Thirdly, the art is by a relatively young Denys Cowan, drawing his first Batman comic on his way to a long and distinguished comics career.


What I liked

This is an entertaining noir-ish comic that is technically a sequel of the previous issue but works as a one-and-done comic. This was written before the “Bat-God” of Grant Morrison—the all-knowing, all-powerful character without humor or pity—and instead Batman here is pretty much a normal hero, juggling a secret identity, telling jokes and having his car stolen by the bad guy.

Collins has fun playing Bruce Wayne against his secret identity and he wins and dines Vicki Vale, who has no patience for masked vigilantes.

Here he is hanging out with Jason Todd —yes, this is when Todd was Robin—and telling him about his date.


Collins also has fun with the two Batmen and the stolen Batmobile, first with the imposter finding it:

And the real Batman recovering it:

Cowan’s art looks great here, too. It’s appropriately dark and gritty but easy to follow.


What I didn’t like

Not much! I suppose the action wraps up pretty conventionally, and there’s not a lot of angst about the Batcave being discovered, but I’d rather the story be told in 22 pages than over six issues, like it would be today. And I’m not sure the cover does a great job of capturing the story, but these are quibbles.

Overall

Almost a text book version of a great Batman story.