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Post by Nowhere Man on Jun 10, 2016 14:11:14 GMT -5
Glad you're enjoying it. Like I said earlier, I'm sticking with it. Once we get into the meat of 1964, my enthusiasm will pick up. It's issues like TOS #47 that I'm wading through right now. And I decided to go by cover date and alphabetical order for sake of simplicity.
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Post by the4thpip on Jun 10, 2016 15:07:48 GMT -5
We need more evil jazz musicians in comics. Maybe the Hypno Hustler could return as a mesmerizing George Benson?
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Post by Nowhere Man on Jun 10, 2016 23:55:02 GMT -5
We need more evil jazz musicians in comics. Maybe the Hypno Hustler could return as a mesmerizing George Benson? Could you imagine a modern version of Trago that's a techno-based DJ or rapper? I can't and I hope I never can!
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Post by Nowhere Man on Jun 11, 2016 8:42:54 GMT -5
The X-Men #1 Story Title: “X-Men" Cover Date: September, 1963 CreditsScript: Stan Lee Pencils: Jack Kirby Inks: Paul Reinman Colors: Stan Goldberg Letters: Sam Rosen Cover Art: Jack Kirby (pencils); Sol Brodsky or Frank Giacoia (inks) Synopsis: As the story opens, we’re introduced to the four male members of the X-Men: Cyclops, Beast, Angel and Iceman. After Professor X puts them through their daily training regimen, they are introduced to a new student to Professor X’s school, Jean Grey. The X-Men then go on their first assignment—stopping a mutant named Magneto from taking over an Air Force base located at Cape Citadel. Magneto erects a force field around the base that the military is unable to penetrate, but thanks to Cyclops’ optic blasts, the X-Men gain entrance and manage to drive Magneto off through teamwork, but fail to capture him. Character Appearances: Professor Charles Xavier (first appearance); X-Men [Cyclops (first appearance); Beast (first appearance); Angel (first appearance); Iceman (first appearance); Marvel Girl [Jean Grey; first appearance]]; Magneto (1st for all appearances) Comments: The first issue of X-Men isn’t quite as good as the first issues of the Avengers, but the banter and teenage dynamic of the group is more interesting from a characterization standpoint. I’m sure that Spider-Man’s success as a teen hero had a lot to do with Stan and Jack trying their hand at team comprised of teenage heroes and I have to say that it was a success. The opening training sequence is fun, if a little overlong and unfocused, but once Jean Grey arrives things pick up. Jean comes off a bit better than the other early Marvel heroines and seems no-nonsense and strong-willed from the start. When the Beast kisses her on the cheek, she puts him in his place with her telekinetic powers very quickly. Later, while she’s admiring her costume, she clearly isn’t amused when she discovers the boys spying on her. As simplistic as this issue is, it lays the basic groundwork for what the X-Men will ultimately become. Magneto, while not nearly as complex as later incarnations, is a very interesting villain visually and in terms of his power set. He’s “beaten” way too easily and unconvincingly, but that’s par for the course with most of these early Marvel stories. Character Development: We get a pretty good view of each of the X-Men’s personalities from the start: the Beast is playful and outgoing, Iceman is the youngest and a bit of a prankster (he’s also not into girls… ), Warren is a bit of a playboy hotshot and Scott is the serious one. Professor X’s stern “You have three seconds!” commands make him appear to be a bit of a hardass, but it’s clear that he has the groups best interests in mind. Literally. He also apparently encourages the X-Men to make sure he’s tucked into his recliner properly before a training session. Slightly dickish...but somehow it works. Personal Rating: 6. Overall, it’s a solid above average issue, but there just isn’t enough here yet for me to give it a higher score. What drags it down a bit for me is the art. Kirby’s art on X-Men and Avengers was never as solid as his FF work, mainly due to him basically doing layouts, and this opening issue is no exception. It’s by no means terrible, and there are some interesting action set-pieces, but it’s just not on the level of his better work from this period. The humor also falls a bit flat, but I won’t fault Stan too much since these were new characters he was dealing with. The X-Men is one of those rare Marvel Age series that wouldn’t come into its own until later creators got their hands on the characters. Historical Rating: 10. Obviously this is a monumentally important issue in the annals of the Marvel Universe. Virtually all the core basics of the X-Men universe are here from the start: the school, the Danger Room training, the hints that normal humans fear mutants, Magneto, etc.
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Post by wildfire2099 on Jun 11, 2016 9:12:22 GMT -5
So you didn't feel like Beast was totally different here than he turns out it be? I thought he was a total carbon copy of Ben Grimm until a couple issues later when they make him smart.
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Post by Nowhere Man on Jun 11, 2016 10:15:12 GMT -5
So you didn't feel like Beast was totally different here than he turns out it be? I thought he was a total carbon copy of Ben Grimm until a couple issues later when they make him smart. I did. I was going to wait to comment on that when he starts using all those big words later on. I didn't view him to be a carbon copy of Grimm in personality so much as in looks, though. Good point, though. Hank becomes much more interesting once he's made a genius. I also wanted to keep the X-Men, Cap, etc, reviews fairly brief and basic since others are going into far more depth in those review threads. If I fail to mention something like this, I welcome the reminders, though
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Post by Nowhere Man on Jul 12, 2016 20:07:57 GMT -5
Wanted to update to say to look forward to far more frequent reviews most likely starting tonight. I've got the itch again and I'm trying to get back on schedule in terms of reading classic and current comics.
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Post by Nowhere Man on Jul 13, 2016 7:59:13 GMT -5
The Amazing Spider-Man #5
Story Title: “Marked for Destruction by Doctor Doom!” Cover Date: October 1963 CreditsScript: Stan Lee Pencils: Steve Ditko Inks: Steve Ditko Colors: Stan Goldberg Letters: Sam Rosen Cover Art: Steve Ditko (pencils & inks) Synopsis: The story opens with J.J. Jameson hosting a television program intending to expose Spider-Man as a threat. Peter Parker is with this high-school friends at a local bowling alley and pretends to side with Jameson on the issue. This riles up Flash Thompson, who happens to idolizes Spider-Man, and causes him to mock Peter. Doctor Doom, receiving the transmission from a nearby secret base, hatches a plan to trick Spider-Man into helping him defeat the Fantastic Four. Using a transmitter interfacing with a spider, Doom is able to communicate with Spider-Man directly which leads Spider-Man to Doom’s lair. Doom suggests that they join forces, but when Spider-Man turns him down, a battle ensues resulting in Spider-Man being forced out of the lair and into the river. Before Spider-Man can resume his attempt to thwart Doom, the abandoned building Doom was using as a base explodes, allowing Doom to escape. Meanwhile, Flash Thompson dresses up as Spider-Man in an attempt to scare Parker as a prank. Doom decides to track and capture Spider-Man and use him as bait for the Fantastic Four. Just before Flash can scare Parker, who happens to be walking on the other side of a fence, Doom arrives and mistakenly captures Flash. Doom takes control of the local television stations and announces that he has captured Spider-Man and demands that the FF disband and surrender to him or he’ll kill Spider-Man. Parker sees this, and after deducing that Doom has captured Flash, he manages to get away from his Aunt May by removing a fuse is the basement. Under the pretense that he’s going out to get a new one, he changes to his Spider-Man garb and heads for the final confrontation with Doom. An epic battle ensues with Doom employing various technological devices against Spider-Man, with Spidey using ever bit of his power to stay alive. Just as Doom seems to be getting the upper hand, the Fantastic Four arrive, and not being prepared to battled Spidey and the FF at the same time, Doom escapes. Remembering that he left his Aunt May, Spidey quickly leaves for home, having forgotten all about Flash Thompson. The FF arrive and find Thompson free of his prison, but the Human Torch, having had several run-ins with Spider-Man, quickly tells the team that there is no way Flash is the real Spider-Man. The next day, Parker goes to school assuming that Flash will be seen as an embarrassment, but to his surprise, Flash has spun the story to make himself look like a hero. Character Appearances: Spider-Man [Peter Parker]; Dr. Doom [Victor Von Doom]; J. Jonah Jameson; Betty Brant (first name revealed); Flash Thompson (last name revealed); Liz Allen (last name revealed as Allan); May Parker; Fantastic Four [Mr. Fantastic [Reed Richards]; The Thing [Ben Grimm]; Invisible Girl [Sue Storm]; Human Torch [Johnny Storm]] Comments: The most interesting aspect of this issue to me is how it sets up Doom as the premiere super-villain of the Marvel Universe. This is the first time Doom has appeared outside the pages of Fantastic Four and he works surprisingly well as a temporary Spider-Man villain. At this point we're still being told, rather than shown, how superior Doom is compared to your average villain, but you can’t help but feel that he’s not just boasting given his presence. He actually tells Spidey at one point that he’s more than his usual “insipid” adversaries. If it wasn’t for the arrival of the FF he probably would have defeated Spider-Man. That’s basically a victory in Silver Age terms. I have to admit that I don’t care for Ditko’s rendition of Doom in this issue. He just doesn’t have the style to properly display the grandeur and menace of Doom in the same way the Kirby does. To be fair, Ditko, like Kirby, was still being overworked at this point and his art greatly improved by the time his was focusing on Spider-Man and Dr. Strange. I’m still amused at Stan’s habit of apologizing to the reader for what he seems to view as a slow start to the issue. Here’s the example from this particular issue: Now from what I’ve always understood of the Marvel Method, Stan would usually come up with the plot, but the pace and storytelling was left up to the artist. So, basically, the choice of pacing was all Ditko. I can’t help but think that this would have irked most artists and perhaps even insulted them. This sort of thing was somewhat frequent in the early half of the Marvel Age but seems to disappear later on. Either Stan learns a lesson at some point or it’s yet another byproduct of Kirby and Ditko being overworked. Whatever the story is behind these editorial comments, I find it fascinating. (This sort of thing would never happen today! Could you imagine the butt-hurt if someone did this to Bendis or some super-star artist?!) Character Development: This issue marks the beginning of the ill-fated Parker/Brant romance. Betty speaks up for Peter twice in the presence of Jameson and Parker, for the first time, notices how attractive she is. At this point Liz does little more than chide Peter for not being a “he-man” like Flash Thompson. We also see clearly that Flash, while having great taste in superheroes, is little more than a cowardly blowhard when put in real danger. Personal Rating: 7. The issue has its flaws, mainly with the somewhat underwhelming art, but the story is engaging and does a good job incorporating most of Spider-Man’s supporting cast in interesting and clever ways. Historical Rating: 10. The main significance is the first meeting of Spider-Man and Dr. Doom and to a greater extent the use of Doom outside the pages of The Fantastic Four. This is the issue that establishes Doom as the greatest villain in the Marvel Universe outside of the context of the Fantastic Four and would influence the approach of numerous creators to come. Since Spider-Man’s stories have always been famous for their use of romance, the beginnings of Peter Parker’s first real relationship is a key development in the series.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 13, 2016 21:49:45 GMT -5
Robert the Unconquered - The Amazing Spider-Man #5 is without a doubt one of my favorite Spider-Man stories and I wished that I still had my own copy and what you have written in the Personal Rating area is right on the nose.
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shaxper
CCF Site Custodian
Posts: 22,726
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Post by shaxper on Jul 14, 2016 0:33:48 GMT -5
Character Development: We get a pretty good view of each of the X-Men’s personalities from the start: the Beast is playful and outgoing I always felt The Beast came off as aggressive and unsettling in that first appearance, far more like a cliche strongman than the character we'd get to know better next issue.
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Post by Nowhere Man on Jul 14, 2016 6:18:54 GMT -5
Character Development: We get a pretty good view of each of the X-Men’s personalities from the start: the Beast is playful and outgoing I always felt The Beast came off as aggressive and unsettling in that first appearance, far more like a cliche strongman than the character we'd get to know better next issue. I suppose is later characterization was playing on me a bit when reading it, but his flirting with Jean struck me as being "playful." I can see your point about him being aggressive. He did hall off and give Jean an unsolicited kiss!
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Post by Nowhere Man on Jul 14, 2016 6:19:45 GMT -5
Robert the Unconquered - The Amazing Spider-Man #5 is without a doubt one of my favorite Spider-Man stories and I wished that I still had my own copy and what you have written in the Personal Rating area is right on the nose. Thanks for the kudos. So you had an original Amazing Spider-Man #5? Wow.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 14, 2016 11:11:36 GMT -5
Robert the Unconquered - The Amazing Spider-Man #5 is without a doubt one of my favorite Spider-Man stories and I wished that I still had my own copy and what you have written in the Personal Rating area is right on the nose. Thanks for the kudos. So you had an original Amazing Spider-Man #5? Wow. Robert, I've had an original copy of the #5 of Amazing Spider-Man - but, I suspected my Dad threw it out! ... I don't have it any more - what a bummer!
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Post by Nowhere Man on Jul 14, 2016 11:18:16 GMT -5
Thanks for the kudos. So you had an original Amazing Spider-Man #5? Wow. Robert, I've had an original copy of the #5 of Amazing Spider-Man - but, I suspected my Dad threw it out! ... I don't have it any more - what a bummer! Ah, so you've been there since the beginning? Still...that's harsh. So many parents threw away so many millions...but it's about the stories...it's about the stories...
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Post by Nowhere Man on Jul 15, 2016 0:32:46 GMT -5
Fantastic Four #19
Story Title: “Prisoners of the Pharaoh!” Cover Date: October, 1963 CreditsScript: Stan Lee Pencils: Jack Kirby Inks: Dick Ayers Colors: Stan Goldberg Letters: Sam Rosen Cover Art: Jack Kirby (pencils); Paul Reinman (inks) Synopsis: The story opens with the FF skirting the skyscrapers of Manhattan in the Fantasticar while searching for Ben and Alicia. The Torch finds the couple taking a leisurely stroll and lets them know that Reed wants them to head to the Baxter Building for something important. When they arrive, Reed explains that during his recent research into Egyptology, he discovered that there was a century or so of unrecorded time. Also, according to some hieroglyphs Reed had studied, a rare radioactive herb that had the power to restore sight to the blind. Intending to gain access to this herb to restore Alicia’s sight, the FF determine to travel back in time to ancient Egypt. The FF, with Alicia, head to Doctor Doom’s abandoned castle since it alone houses the world’s only known time travel device. Leaving Alicia behind to operate the controls, the FF are sent back through time and arrive near the legendary Sphinx. The FF are soon attacked by Egyptian warriors, but Reed notices that there is something strange about their armor. The FF make quick work of the soldiers, but are suddenly stricken down by some unseen force that robs them of their powers and their will to resist. They are taken to the palace of the pharaoh, Rama-Tut, who was responsible for defeating them with some sort of high-tech ray gun. Rama-Tut then reveals that he is actually from the year 3000, and having found his ancestors (none other than Dr. Doom) abandoned time-travel device is some ancestral ruins, repaired it and traveled back through time in a time-machine shaped like an idol, thus explaining the origins of the Sphinx. He enslaves the three male members of the FF and forces them to do various tasks: the Thing is forced into manual labor, Mr. Fantastic is tasked with being a look-out for his armies and the Torch is relegated to court jester. However, he desires that Sue be his queen and she is sent away to be dressed to fit the part. Rama-Tut’s plan goes awry when the hot Egyptian sun causes the Thing to transform back into his human form off Ben grim, which releases him from the will-sapping properties of the ray. Ben fights his way to freedom and busts in on the Pharaoh and Sue in the throne room just in time to take the gun and zap Sue before he reverts back to the Thing and is once again under the control of the ray. However, Sue manages to zap the Torch with the gun, and with him free, they manage to free the Thing and then Reed. With their will returned, the FF pursue Rama-Tut to the Sphinx but fall to capture him before he can escape in a small circular craft that is actually his time-travel ship. The technological components of the Sphinx are then remotely destroyed, erasing all trace of Rama-Tut’s existence in the ancient past. Sue discovers the rare radioactive herb and the FF are the transported back to the present. Unfortunately, Reed deduces too late that nothing with radio-active properties can be transported through time. Ben is initially distraught, but Alicia comforts him and Ben is nonetheless greatly moved that his friends would risk so much for the girl he loves. Character Appearances: The Fantastic Four [the Invisible Girl [Sue Storm]; the Human Torch [Johnny Storm]; the Thing [Ben Grimm]; Mr. Fantastic [Reed Richards]]; Pharaoh Rama-Tut (villain, introduction); Alicia Masters; Doctor Doom [Victor Von Doom] (cameo) Comments: Rama-Tut’s debut would have far reaching effects on the Marvel Universe. Not only was he, apparently, a descendent of Doctor Doom, but he’d later be connected to Kang, one the Avengers greatest villains. The story itself is a fun time-travel jaunt and I love how it uses continuity to tie directly into FF #5. This story does bring up an interesting problem in regards to Alicia’s blindness. In a world of super-scientists who can invent time-machines, master genetics and build space-craft that can traverse solar-systems, Reed not being able to cure basic blindness simply doesn’t make much sense. Obviously this is a case when the internal logic of the concept (in this case scientific breakthroughs the Marvel Universe) has to take a backseat to relevance and basic, real-world, human drama. Character Development: This issue is unique in that it features a sort of group development. The FF take it upon themselves to help Alicia, Ben’s girlfriend, and even though they fail to secure a cure, Ben’s moved that they’d risk so much to help her. I also think this sheds even more light on the guilt Reed feels about not being able to transform Ben back into his human for on a permanent basis. If he can’t help his closest friend, why not try to help the one he loves? Personal Rating: 8. Yet another quality issue of the FF. The only knock I have is the somewhat hokey ending when Reed suddenly realizes that radioactive materials can’t be transported through time. Damn it, Reed! Historical Rating: 9. This is an extremely important issue, as mentioned above, that would send ripples throughout the Marvel Universe. It expands on the mythos of Doctor Doom and would eventually lead to some interesting developments in the pages of the Avengers and beyond. I’m also guessing that it was the catalyst for later creators making specific time-travel rules to explain how Doctor Doom, the FF, and other travelers through time, could make drastic changes to history with little or no repercussions in the present: basically, when you travel backwards in time, you create an alternate timeline and are unable to directly affect your actual timeline. Of course that’s all out the window nowadays.
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