Chaos At the Coffee Bean!

The Amazing Spider-Man Annual #011

There's nothing particularly remarkable about the story (or the awful dialogue) but the artwork is interesting because it's the first Marvel work for John Romita Jr. Even if it's not quite his style just yet, it's still some very good art. He draws a nice Mary-Jane (lovely breasts) and the action stuff looks suitably dynamic.

It's an average six-page story, with a so-so twist.

And, I must repeat, awful dialogue.

The Secret Of The Silver Surfer!

The Defenders #002

Another winner.

Two months on from Issue One and The Defenders are still looking for The Silver Surfer. Or, at least, Namor is. With occasional assistance from Dr. Stranger. The search is yielding nothing, and then... the Surfer finds them! (Handy, that.) This leads to a battle between Namor and the Surfer. The battle could be seen-it-all-before boring, instead it's fast-paced and interesting. Maybe it's just cos I love these characters and find their squabbling interesting. Who knows?

Before long, Namor and Dr. Strange are back at Strange's place trying to pick up on the trail of the Surfer again. Again, it must be said: these characters are cool. There's something special about their team up. And it only gets better (a page later) when they add Hulk to the team.

They do eventually find The Silver Surfer and they do accuse him of being part of the bad stuff that happened in Issue One. His denial, and the argument, make very interesting reading.

Then we have the twist, which exlains everything that has been going on. It's a big twist. And, to be honest, it is a tad far-fetched. Not so far-fetched, however, that it takes away from my enjoyment of the issue, or of the final battle.

Beware The Claws Of... The Cat!

The Cat #001

Dated, but good.

Despite all the references to "womanhood" and so forth, this is a pretty okay origin story, with an interesting villain.

Greer Grant Nelson makes a likable lead. Most of the story is told in flashback, as she goes up against the guy who killed her mentor. This way, we get to see her various powers in action. It's by-the-numbers superheroics, but well-told and well-paced. Some of it is a tiny bit crap, yes, but - overall - it's well worth reading. Mal Donalbain is an interesting villain, and his demise is superb.

Ultimately, the question after any first issue is: do I want to read issue 2? And, in this case, the answer is: Yes, I want to find out what happens next.

Spawn Of The Spider

The Amazing Spider-Man Annual #011

Goofy, but good.

Spidey helps out after an accident on a film set, and ends up joining the film crew as a means to make extra money (to pay his rent).

It's a very basic, episodic story but it hold together just fine and has one nice twist at the very end. The bad guys are mediocre (as Spider-Man notes himself) and the whole story is very small in nature. It's only action sequences are (1) a guy falling off a fire escape, (2) a scuffle in the middle of the film set between Spider-Man the the three bad guys, and (3) the final "battle" which is low-key because Spider-Man is virtually incapacited. But the low-key aspect of the whole affair works just fine. There's a nice balance between this kind of story and the kind where Spidey fights giants in New York in the world of Spider-Man and I like that.

My one gripe is the idea that this guy who make costumes for movies could make suits powerful enough to hurt Spider-Man. I'm willing to accept a lot, here, but that's pretty far-fetched. It's also a tad over-goofy that Peter's financial woes are because Aunt May has been thrown in jail.

On the whole, though, this is good fun. A story they could have easily adapted for the 70s TV series.

Whom Gods Destroy!

Marvel Team-Up I #070

Superb.

The action picks up directly after the cliffhanger. It is early morning and Spider-Man is now fighting a giant. A giant who is out and on the loose in rush hour New York. Spidey is totally outclassed, but - as luck would have it - Thor happens by. Makes sense. He was close-by in the last issue.

After that the battle takes place on two fronts. The battle between Thor and the foe is spectacular. Huge. Exciting. Spider-Man, meanwhile, searches for a way to contribute. On a smaller scale. And, ultimately, manages to snatch victory for the good guys.

The art is fantastic. The story is thrilling and fast moving. The good guys are really up against terrible odds and - yet - the writer is able to create a logical solution/resolution.

A perfect comic.

I Slay By The Stars!

The Defenders #001

Good story. Nothing fancy, but good.

A foe from the past wants to gain revenge so he sends someone to do the job. More or less. The reasoning behind getting the team back together makes sense and there is something very cool about seeing these guys together again. Or, in this case, just Doc Strange and The Hulk.

The ending, and the method of defeat, is also very good. A great start to a great series.

Night Of The Living God!

Marvel Team-Up #069

Another perfect outing in this fantastic Claremont-Byrne run.

Starting the story in Scotland gives the whole thing a nice epic feel. Our first introduction to Peter Parker is good (it's 2am and he's studying alone at ESU). It's good character work and it helps get the story off to an interesting start.

Beast and Thor appear, but neither are part of the action. Which I like. Good to see the guest-stars totally head in the wrong direction and miss out on the action.

Spidey and Havok are good in battle together, and it's a good battle, too. The end is a great cliffhanger. Didn't expect that (neither did Spider-Man!).

The Measure Of A Man!

Marvel Team-Up #068

Another winner from the Claremont/Byrne team-up.

The opening is a bit clumsy (with it's use of a flashback to enable the comic to have very surprising first page) but the heart of the story is strong. Spidey wants to help a friend (of sorts) who is in trouble: Man-Thing is being held captive and Spider-Man arranges to take him back to Florida where (after a few hours treking through the swamp) they get into a pitch battle with a bad guy.

For one we truly get to see a Spider-Man who is rattled by his foe. But, being Spidey, he rises to the occasion (with some very quotable lines) and wins the day.

Loved it.

Tigra Tigra, Burning Bright!

Marvel Team-Up #067

No frills, basic super-hero action. And very enjoyable, too!

Spidey is attacked (and beaten) by Kraven, who sets up a duel-to-the-death between our hero and a brainwashed Tigra. Nothing more, nothing less.

Superb writing and superb art makes for a superb comic.

A Titan Walks Among Us!

Marvel Feature I #003

What a pile of rubbish!

One of the strangest stories I have ever read. Also one of the worst. It's a total mess from start to finish.

Two astronauts return to Earth from outer space, and nearly die at the hands of a giant squid (!). While all this is going on, writer Roy Thomas clumsily adds Jim Wilson, Namor and Thunderbolt Ross into the mix. Namor saves the astronauts, but then attacks innocent bystanders, and Jim Wilson steps in to save them (!). Before long, the astronauts have left the space program and graduated to Saturday Morning TV (!). Their show, however, is being used to brainwash the children of America. Cue the addition of Dr. Strange to the story, when Jim Wilson goes to him for help.

None of this makes any sense. And it rambles on and on and on. Until The Hulk arrives at the end for a pitch battle with a big white alien that is planning to blast off into outer space with hundreds of children, hoping to re-populate a dead planet.

Crazy nonsense.

Anguish, Once Removed!

Iron Man #116

Things pick up pretty well from the cliffhander which ended the previous issue. Tony's battle with the Ani-Men is engrossing enough because he is without his suit and totaly at their mercy. Sadly, the part where they stand back to let him change into Iron Man is stupid.

Never mind, a nice bit of criss-crossing of plots brings Spymaster to the (unintentional) rescue.

The aftermath of the penthouse explosion is where the issue picks up steam. The sight of a distraught Iron Man waiting on an elevator (and later dashing up flights of stairs) is unusual and very good. Probably the highlight of the issue.

Tony's romance with Madam Masque makes the final battle more than just another battle. The ending is sad, but reads less like a couple breaking up and more like a new writer getting rid of series elements that he doesn't like.

Dark Congress!

Fantastic Four #336

The stuff in congress drags on a little longer than it should. It's not as funny as it thinks it is, either.

By contrast, the climactic battle with Doom and The Super-Adaptoid is good, but seems rushed.

Apart from that, not much to say: Sue looks nice in her black dress (which does wonders for her cleavage!) and the idea of Ben wearing a big Thing-suit is just plain dumb. The scene with Dr. Doom, at the end, formally links the story to Acts Of Vengeance, however. Up to this we had no acknowlegement of the chaos elsewhere in the Marvel Universe. Now we get Doom's views on it.

Two Dooms To Destroy Me

Thor #410

Pretty cool.

Dr. Doom stops time and goes after Kristoff, The Imposter. To stop time he needs the use of Thor's Hammer, which brings Eric Masterson, Hercules and She-Hulk to Latveria on it's trail.

It's fast-moving action-adventure all the way. With an interesting fight between Doom and Kristoff. All three heroes are very likable. Eric is brave, Hercules is funny and She-Hulk is... She-Hulk! Ya gotta love her.

And the ending nicely dove-tails into the Acts Of Vengeance storyline.

Contrast In Sin

The Punisher War Journal #012

Interesting experiment.

The first few pages of this story draw a strong visual parallel between the actions of The Punisher and Bushwacker. One one side we see Bushwacker tracking and (brutally) killing an innocent woman, while on the other side we get to see Frank Castle taking out a group of drug smugglers.

As the story progresses, Carl Potts goes to extreme lengths to keep up the idea of this parallel, with varying degrees of success. Bushwacker is just a nut. Frank, at least, has a purpose.

About the weakest part of the issue is the conversation between BW and his wife. Nothing much about it rings true. Likewise, the conversation between Frank and Microchip. Seems a bit on-the-nose for the tone of this book.

It is only in it's final sequence that the issue gets truly enjoyable: A one-on-one fight between the two guys.

Death By Debate

Fantastic Four #335

This is a lot of fun.

The FF testify before Congress. And, as part of Acts Of Vengeance, various non-entity super-villains attack them. It's all very amusing, and the debate about registering super-powered individuals makes for entertaining reading.

Shadows Of Alarm...!

Fantastic Four #334

Walter Simonson takes over and gets things off to a fun start.

The opening scenes are classic Ben Grimm (even if he's not The Thing any more). He's grumpy and bad-temptered, and Reed seems to get the worst of it. So nothing much has changed with these guys, really.

The fun starts, however, when random bad guys start attacking The Four. Only two attacks take place in this issue, but we see lots of other Bad Guys winging their way towards the FF and the effect is quite funny. Sure, it all ties into Acts Of Vengeance very nicely but, in point of fact, it's all quite amusing.

It also must be said that the art is great.

The Weakest Point

The Avengers #311

Quasar takes center stage as Acts Of Vengeance picks up speed and Avengers Mansion is destroyed.

It's a fast-paced, large-scale issue. I mean, a whole island is sunk! That BIG.

Quasar has always been one of my favourite characters and this is a good outing for the character (all cosmic powers and insecurities hand-in-hand).

Starfox, likewise, is one of my favourites and it's great to see him pop up here for a snippet of the Nebula storyline. I like her, too!

Apart from that we get to see Loki and the villains doing their plotting-in-darkness thing.

But most of the issue is Quasar and the Avengers Support Staff trying to fend off the robots and save the island. Michael O'Brien, Peggy Carter and Fabian Stankowicz come off very well in the story.

Tales From The Vault

Avengers Spotlight #026

A mixed-bag of an issue to kick-start Acts Of Vengeance.

The first half features a fight between a Guardsman (Frank Ensign) and The Wizard, who has been prompted by an mysterious figure to break out of The Vault (a big underground prison for powerful bad guys). Ensign is an interesting enough character, and we get to see him pretending to be a "bad cop" type to intimated The Wizard when he first arrives.

The second half moves the story over to Iron Man and Hawkeye, who team up to help injured Guardsmen and get them out of The Vault. Hawkeye and IM have a bit of personal conflict to sort out first, though.

In the middle of all this, there are few non-sequitors like an apparent mis-dialled phone call to Damage Control (what was that about?) or the complete disabling of Iron Man at the very end. By accident. Huh?

What Lurks Behind the Beehive?

Fantastic Four #066

Average enough.

Alicia has disappeared. Queue lots of self-loathing from Ben, who hits Reed and storms off to brood. Yawn.

While Ben's storyline finds (trite) resolution, Reed puts together some technology to find out where Alicia vanished to. All of this is far from exciting.

Much better are the portions of the issue devoted to Alicia and her benevolent kidnappers. They need Alicia to perform a (somewhat goofy) task for them and it all builds to a nice cliff-hanger.

Nightmare On Bald Mountain

Marvel Feature #002

Now, this is cool. Seriously cool.

When Doctor Strange's body is stolen while he is out of it (in astral form) Clea summons Namor and The Hulk to his aid. So, for the second time, The Defenders are together. And this time, unlike their first outing, they are proactive and heroic.

And cool. Seriously cool.

Strange might be a bit dim (getting duped so easily early in the story) but it's still a buzz to watch him and take a jump into his odd world. Once he is out of the picture, the story advances at rapid pace. We get to watch Namor and The Hulk make their way towards Clea and, eventually, meet up with her and Wong. With Banner taking the place of The Hulk we then get to watch this fascinating quartet work together and track down the missing body of Doctor Strange.

It all leads to a fight (a cool one) with a demon (a cool one) and the revelation of where Strange's astral form has taken reguge.

All very cool indeed.

Murder World

Marvel Team-Up #066

Perfection.

One of the best ever Spider-Man stories. Spidey and Cap trapped inside Murder World. It just doesn't get any better than this.

The location (and, indeed, the villain) is larger than life. Spider-Man is at his best. In over his head and fighting against the odds.

Cap doesn't get a lot to do in this issue, but we do (at least) get to see his love for Courtney Ross (which is so strong, Arcade is able to use it against him).

Jean DeWolff makes another appeareance. Once again, she's a likable supporting character, helping Spider-Man whenever she can.

But the issue belongs to Murder World. It's way cool. So is the issue.

Betrayal!

Iron Man #115

Excellent issue.

We start off with Iron Man and the Avengers recovering from last issue's battle. There's a nice bit of conflict between Iron Man and The Beast before Tony heads off on his own. Mantlo does a nice job with the backstory on The Unicorn and some good character work on Tony Stark.

Then, Tony heads home and falls victim to a suprise attack. Surprising to Tony and to us! Yikes, but there are a lot if bad guys on the go in this issue. All moving around in the background. It's really unusual to see Tony fighting super-powered villains but that is exactly what happens as the issue builds to (shocking) conclusion. Great change-of-pace.

And a great cliff-hanger, too.

Introducing Captain Britain

Marvel Team-Up #065

Flawless super-hero fare.

Spidey meets Captain Britain for the first time and - rather than ignore them - the story cheerfully draws attention to the implausible coincidences that brought the two guys together.

We get another insight into the hassled life of Peter Parker and a (re)telling of the origin of the good captain.

Great reading. Lots of fun.

A Life Too Far

The Spectacular Spider-Man #011

A nice break from formula, which - sadly - relies on an improbable (and all-too common) situation to generate the conflict.

Spidey is trying to get an antidote for a sick boy. Medusa steals the antidote. She won't explain why. They fight. And, in the end, she explains why. And it's all good again.

The problem is: why the frak didn't she just explain to begin with??!!

Lost And Found, Part 1 of 2

Runaways #011

Two groups of super heroes meet, have a stupid misunderstand, then fight.

Couldn't have put it better myself!

Flores sends Cloak & Dagger after our heroes, who (as it happens) have just decided to become heroes. They are out and about stopping crime (well, vandals) when Cloak & Dagger (cool as ever) pop up and... a fight ensues.

Great fun.

The Menace Of... Arsenal!

Iron Man #114

The issue gets off to a good start when Iron Man takes the fallen Unicorn back to Avengers Mansion for medical treatment. It's heroic. And typical of The Avengers.

Unicorn is soon up and about and running loose about the place. Until, that is, the mysterious Arsenal shows up and blasts him (and everyone else, except Iron Man) to kingdom come.

Lots and action and mystery in this one. And Iron Man comes off looking very well indeed. Nothing wrong with any of that.

The Day Of The Defenders

Marvel Feature #001

It's great to see the formation of The Defenders, and it's cool to see The Hulk having a purpose for his actions that is heroic, but - ultimately - they are nearly responsible for the destruction of the planet so it's not exactly the most heroic of beginnings!!

Yandroth is a great villian and his plan is somewhat inspired: create a machine that will utter his name and thus end the world. Now that's an ego!!

But, as I said, it's disappointing to learn that The Defenders have been duped and have - by their actions - placed the Earth in peril.

Aside from that all three characters come across very well. Particularly The Hulk.

If Death Be My Destiny...

Marvel Team-Up #064

Above average super-hero stuff. The thing here is that Misty Knight, Coleen Wing and Spider-Man stand back and let Iron Fist fight the fight on his own because of what it's about and what it means. You don't see that very often.

Apart from that it's always cool to see Misty Knight and Coleen Wing in action, and it's nice to see Spidey up against a foe that outclasses him.

Good.

...Where Stalks The Night-Crawler!

The Incredible Hulk #126

This is more like it!

Top-notch stuff from the get-go. It's been a couple of years since I read this Hulk issue for the first time and I'd forgotten how good the series was at this stage in the run.

Banner is kidnapped by a cult. They want to send The Hulk to a dimension to fight a demon which will, in turn, help the demons they worship secure a passageway to Earth. I love it. It's goofy, sure, but it's big in scope and told with great style. Banner, unlike the issues I've been reading lately is written as heroic. As is, when he appears, The Hulk. Plus he's strong and way cool. His battle with the Dark-Crawler is exciting from start to finish.

All told: A great issue.

Night Of The Dragon

Marvel Team-Up #063

Excellent stuff.

Peter Parker meets Danny Rand for the first time. When Rand seems upset and cancels their appointment, Peter gets suspicious and follows (as Spider-Man). Cool to see Spider-Man being nosey and intrusive and - most of all - having great instincts. Normally I'd hate to see a coincidental meeting like this, but - to be honest - seeing heroes meeting by accident is part of what I love about the Marvel Universe.

Misty Knight also plays a large part in the issue and the cliff-hanger is guaranteed to make you want to find out what happens next.