One reason I wanted to re-read this period is that I remember liking the issues either Friedrich or Drake wrote (or maybe it was both). It felt a new energy injected into the title after the first Thomas run. 

Captain America #273-284


I recall buying #282 off the rack many moons ago yet somewhere along the line I must have traded it away with a neighborhood friend. So recently I wanted to get it back and ended up getting this bundle of Cap books. 

With J.M. DeMatteis writing the majority of these issues and David Anthony Kraft writing #273-274, all of them were solid fun reading. #273-274 featured a Howling Commandos reunion against a reborn Baron Von Strucker & Hydra. #275-279 is the introduction of the second Baron Zemo who with the help of Arnim Zola unleashes a diabolical plan to destroy the life of Steve Rogers. #280 is a solo confrontation against a insane Scarecrow. #281-283 features the latest dastardly threat by the Viper and Jack Monroe takes over the Nomad identity. #284 is a coda to those events. 

Plenty of action indeed but where DeMatteis shines more brightly is within the sub-plots. Bernie Rosenthal loves Steve Rogers yet she discovers his secret identity of Cap! No hysteronics, no mania ensues only a conversation and dialogue between two adults trying to figure out how to develop this new-found love. One of Cap's best friends, Arnie Roth, finally gives Steve some piece of mind about Steve's ongoing self-pity about being a man (and superhero) out-of-time. With Steve's help, Jack Monroe begins finding hope & direction for a new life in the new time of the 80s after deciding being a replacement Bucky isn't all that it's cracked up to be. Then in a set of back-up tales, Sam Wilson deals with mental issues surrounding his 'Snap' persona when his initial bid of running for Congress cranks up the stress level. The way these dramatic plots are weaved into the action of saving the day is handled wonderfully. 

Wrap up all of that in great art by Mike Zeck and John Beatty and it all makes for a terrific title. I hate to admit it but I never knew till now that Cap's book can be this good.  

Oops! I stand corrected and have corrected, thank you. 

One interesting aspect of those two issues is that with the exception of Fury obviously, the Howlers were all showing their age in spite of their zeal for action and duty. This carried over into the Viper three-part story with Dum Dum realizing that he's no spring chicken anymore regardless of his drive and that he may be more of a liability in the field now. Fury arrives at a needed solution to keep Dum Dum at his side but I thought it was a nice progression to see with those particular set of characters. 

Grey Morrow art is always a treat. 

I re-read (pre-Uncanny) X-Men #43-53 and Avengers #53. This is the aftermath of the "death" of Professor X that leads to a Brotherhood of Evil Mutants story, then the split-up of X-Men into smaller units at the behest of FBI Agent Duncan, then the team getting together again for the Polaris storyline and a one-off featuring Blastaar. The backups here are the feature on Cyclops's powers, the whole Iceman origin, and the whole Beast origin. In a very short time, we get the end of Roy Thomas's first run, all of Gary Friedrich, and all but one issue of Arnold Drake.

It’s fascinating every time I read a story with scenery-chewing evil Magneto after reading Claremont’s later more nuanced take on him. Although this Brotherhood story has its moments (particularly the action), it drags a bit at times. Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch don’t generate sympathy with me by going back to Magneto. Angel’s meeting with Red Raven is a strange interlude. Since it was scripted by Friedrich but plotted by Thomas, I’m assuming Thomas wanted to revive an obscure Golden Age character regardless of fit. The art team of Don Heck layouts, Werner Roth pencils, and John Tartaglione inks that starts around this time works better than just Heck or Roth alone on pencils. Surprisingly, I actually like how the panels are laid out better than John Buscema large figures in the Avengers issue.

In #46, the Juggernaut returns to menace the X-Men, and I love the ridiculous tragedy of his realization that Xavier is gone. This is also the issue that FBI Agent Duncan, who name is suddenly Amos instead of Fred, orders that X-Men to split up for some ridiculous argument that they’ll be harder to attack. Apparently, his name became Fred Amos Duncan to explain the discrepancy. I can’t believe the X-Men accepted his ridiculous plan. At least the writers had the good sense to show Hank expressing doubts about the plan. The Beast/Iceman story in #47 and the Cyclops/Marvel Girl story in #48 are both reasonably good though.

That brings us to the Polaris/Mesmero epic in #49-52 that quickly brings the split-up team back together. Arnold Drake’s writing feels more lively than what had come before in much of Thomas’s run. It’s also cool to see Lorna’s story unfold, although Bobby falls in love with her pretty quickly. I like the reveal of her true hair color. When Steranko takes over the art for a couple of issues, it feels like a hallucination. Looking up info on this run, I read that Steranko was underwhelmed by his own work here. He did it, because Sol Brodsky need a couple of stories quickly.

Steranko’s art feels very different than anything that’s come before on the series. It’s wild. It feels like a hallucination. There’s all sorts of alien-looking scenery. The characters have wild dynamic poses. There’s some creepy imagery. Sometimes the backgrounds are lacking. His covers are really awesome. But also, there’s a bunch of elements that don’t make sense. What’s this desert that’s near San Francisco? How did these alien looking buildings get there? Why is Magneto’s helmet suddenly purple? How are Mesmero’s army mutants when they just seem to have guns and armor and no powers? Who are the weird, spooky dudes looking at Lorna at the start of #50? Why is that when the other X-Men intentionally got captured to track down Iceman, there were then allowed to roam free but Iceman was kept imprisoned? Where the heck did Cyclops come up with that insane Erik the Red outfit and how did he shoot lasers from his fingers? I guess if you’re going undercover, buy into the wildest gimmick possible and people will believe you.

Drake’s writing feels vibrant. Sometimes it comes at the cost of consistency. For example, Scott’s dialogue gets a lot more colloquial.

The Blastaar story in #53 is a weak follow-up. It feels like a fill-in. Barry Smith (pre-Windsor) handles the penciling, and his obvious attempt to ape Kirby does not work out well. Jean’s legs and feet in one panel look positively Liefeldian. I’m not that big of a fan of the mid-level FF rogues gallery. The one bright spot in the story is that write Arnold Drake allows Jean some assertiveness.

As far as Origin backups go, I like the Iceman story much more than the Beast one. It’s interesting to see Bobby’s parents, the dynamics in his Long Island town, and the anti-mutant prejudice there. It might be interesting sometime to read the various appearances of Bobby’s parents back-to-back, because I feel like their portrayal has varied drastically over time. It interesting that Beast’s story features an explanation of the source of his genetic mutation while the other don’t. Notably, the Angel is already on the team during the Beast arc. A caption notes the surprise of out-of-order storytelling given that we haven’t seen Angel’s origin yet. I forgot if there was a reason for this or it was just a goof, but I’ll see when Angel’s origin arc starts.

Don’t give in to the gray side.

Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #133-139 and #141-148. The Kirby issues (digital) This was the one Fourth World book I didn't read at the time because I wasn't a Superman fan then. I missed out on the most fun book Kirby did. It might be my second favorite of the 4 books. The initial story arc, over the first 6 issues as we explore The Project with Jimmy and the New Newsboys is a great ride (in the Whiz Wagon) There is a lot of sub plots with Morgan Edge and Apokolypse, keeping the Fourth World all connected. And yes, the latter issues are a let down from that first burst, but they are still good. Even the silly fun of the Don Rickles issues.
There were Colletta inks in all but 2 issues, and the redrawing of Superman by Plastino and Andersen was always jarring and unnecessary.