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Post by pinkfloydsound17 on Sept 18, 2016 15:50:39 GMT -5
I have decided to start up a review thread! It will be a hodgepodge of stuff...basically anything new I pick up or whatever I am reading at the time, I will try to review. Sometimes, it may be a short series, a run from a title...anything and everything! I will do a synopsis, try to rate the story and art and finish with some final thoughts which will usually ask a few questions...after all, I love learning more from people here.
So, without further ado...
Silver Surfer: Dangerours Artifacts
By Ron Marz and Claudio Castellini
June 1996
Synopsis
The story begins with the Silver Surfer being summoned by Galactus. SS is told that there is a comet that has returned to the galaxy after years being “missing”. On this comet, a now extinct race supposedly had harnessed a magnificent power that Galactus of course wants to possess. At the same time that this is happening, a female bounty hunter named White Raven is summoned to a seedy planet by a cloaked figure asking her to find the comet and locate this same mysterious power.
Both SS and White Raven head out around the same time. Before reaching the comet, they both run into some Skrulls who are also trying to find out the comet’s secret. They are easily dispatched. The Surfer reaches the comet first and makes contact with the last known survivor (aptly called Survivor) of this race. He asks about the comet’s secret and is lead into a cave where there is a large crystal. White Raven also arrives and forces a robot-version of the Survivor (who was working in some control tower) to show her the comet’s secret power. She sees the real Survivor about to hand over the large gem to the Surfer and kills the Survivor who, in the process of dying, drops the crystal.
SS cannot save the Survivor. He confronts White Raven but the secret of the crystal appears behind her in the form of a demon. Apparently, the race living on the comet had trapped this demon and was using their power. Naturally, the demon wants to take out its rage on whoever is nearby. SS helps White Raven escape, stating he will stay back to prevent the demon from escaping and causing havoc in the universe. A battles ensues, Surfer is on the brink of defeat when White Raven returns and uses her spacecraft to help destroy the demon by driving it into his heart area, where it explodes and kills him.
The story ends with Surfer returning to Galactus to let him know that he could not salvage the energy source. Galactus is not happy but accepts that as long as no one else can have it, it will have to do. White Raven also returns to the previously hooded figure who is now revealed to be Thanos and he is quite upset.
Story Verdict?
I enjoyed the story. Nothing super special. Surfer tends to sympathize a lot with the demon. He also saves White Raven right after she killed the Survivor and attempts to take him on. They come to a mutual respect for their beliefs at the end. It is a nice quick one-and-done type story. White Raven, to my knowledge, has not appeared elsewhere. She has a typical 90’s type look but there is something about her that is likeable. There is a funny scene at the start when she is going to meet Thanos and there is this big brute who tries to get her to show him her breasts before passing. She handles this quite well. Overall, I would give the story a B.
Art Verdict?
The artwork is very well done. Galactus looks fantastic, as do the battles scenes against the Skrulls. The Survivor has a very odd look to him (or her as gender is not specified). It almost looks a bit too cartoony. The demon at the end is also well drawn, although it too comes across as something very 90’s and there is nothing about it that makes me say wow. Kind of a Mephisto meets Surtur meets the 90’s style mash-up. Thanos at the end looks great (you could tell it is him at the start even though he is cloaked). The backgrounds are very detailed. Overall, solid B+ for the artwork
Final Thoughts?
I would recommend it for those who are Surfer fans. The artwork alone is good enough for a pick up. Has White Raven appeared anywhere else? Again, she is an intriguing character and I am not up on my female space bounty hunters in the MCU but surely she could fit in somewhere nowadays if someone decided to revive her. I am not familiar with Claudio Castellini…has he done anything else noteworthy or spectacular for Marvel or in comics? His artwork is definitely very good.
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Post by pinkfloydsound17 on Sept 18, 2016 20:23:43 GMT -5
Two reviews in one day!?! Probably won't happen too often but here we go! Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man #64Story by Bill Mantlo, artwork by Ed Hannigan SynopsisSpidey is swinging around, enjoying his night, when he is flagged down by a guy named Simon Marshall. He begs Spidey to protect him, claiming he has done something bad. At that moment, Cloak and Dagger appear. Cloak takes care of Spidey while Dagger kills Simon. Spidey is not match for Cloak and he is left very weakened as they flee. The cops arrive and Spidey manages to slip away as they seem happy that they have this Marshall character in custody. The next bit show Parker doing a bit of research on Marshall. He learns from some guy at the paper about Ellis Island, a place where the mob hired Marshall as a pharmacist to experiment with new drugs to try and find something that young teens would become addicted to so they could sell it to make a profit. The police raided the place and this is why they were on the lookout for Marshall. Parker runs with this info and heads off to Ellis Island. Once there, he finds Cloak and Dagger rounding up others who participated in the experiments. He learns of how they came to be and busts in to stop them. One of the bad guys gets loose and grabs Dagger in an attempt to threaten Cloak. He has nothing of it and ultimately uses his mastery of darkness to lead all of the men to their deaths. Spidey tries to confront the duo yet again but they disappear at the end of the story. Story Verdict?I thought the introduction of Cloak and Dagger was very intriguing. You get the sense that even though they murdered someone, that their intensions are good. The drug based plotline sounds a lot deeper. In writing the synopsis, I recognize how thought out it is, having someone experiment to find an additive drug so that the mob can sell it..it is a pretty interesting idea. The dialogue is good and I think it is a really prominent story. The story ends rather abruptly and harshly, leaving much more to be asked about this new duo. A decent cliffhanger and leaves one wanting to read more about them. Overall, a solid A comic story in my books. Art Verdict?I love the look of the cover, it sums up the first few pages nicely. Incorporating Cloak and Dagger’s names into the buildings just works, as does the eerie green background. The interior is well done as well. Hannigan is a solid artist and I really like this era of PPTSS for that reason. I also love the design of both Cloak and Dagger. Dagger’s front reveal in the shape of a dagger is very flattering. The backgrounds and panels are nicely detailed, even when the end part takes place in an abandoned building…there are little things I notice like the inclusion of a face reflected as one of the bad guys holds up a needle during a flashback scene. It is very well done. Solid A grade. Final Thoughts? A great issue and one you should definitely read. I have also read the first mini series featuring Cloak and Dagger and found in very well written as well. I would recommend this issue and others from this time in the PPTSS series that features these two characters. This issue has seen a bump in price though (TV show news I believe is fueling speculation) so finding a copy cheap now may be hard. I would also go seek their other appearances and their first mini series from the 80’s. I wouldn’t say it’s amazing but it is worth the read. Also, where does Ed Hannigan rank amongst Spidey artists or even artists in general? I find he never gets mentioned but his artwork is definitely very good. Did he create any other notable or semi notable characters? |
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Post by wildfire2099 on Sept 18, 2016 20:43:20 GMT -5
That's a great cover for the Silver Surfer one! Is that a mini series collected, or one those 48-96 page prestige format things.
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Post by pinkfloydsound17 on Sept 18, 2016 20:52:04 GMT -5
I think it is just a one-shot...not sure on the page count off-hand but it is an original story.
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Post by pinkfloydsound17 on Sept 23, 2016 20:31:53 GMT -5
Avengers #217 Story by Jim Shooter, artwork by Bob Hall
Synopsis The story starts off with some Mechano-Marauder villain trying to challenge the Avengers. Iron Man comes out and easily handles him, all the while greeting his fellow Avengers as they arrive at the mansion (a rather funny bit). Once he has taken care of this goon, they start their meeting where they elect Jan as their new leader. This is during the whole Yellowjacket/Wasp divorce if you will. We see Hank Pym struggling to make ends meet. He tries to call the Avengers but some new secretary does not know who he is and his phone time ends before he can speak with Tony.
After this, he wallows in pity at a bar where he is followed and met by Egghead. Egghead appears just as down, saddened that his daughter does not like him (rightfully so as he tried to use her for her experiments). He tells Hank that he only wants to help her and has constructed a bionic arm for her (as she lost hers from his experiments). Egghead knows his daughter hates him and thinks that she would accept the gift if it came from Pym. He offers Hank a large sum of money to assist in doing this. Hank inspects the arm and finds nothing wrong with it so he agrees to do it.
When he meets up with Egghead’s daughter, Trish, and attaches the arm, it takes control of her. Egghead talks through Trish, telling Hank he must do as he says or the arm (which was designed to look normal so as to fool Pym) will explode and kill Trish. Hank agrees. He is ordered to drive a truck to Strategic Air Command Headquarters. Once inside, Pym takes a moment to secretly signal the Avengers. He then helps Trish (who is controlled by Egghead) inside and they steal some tanks filled with adamantium.
As they are escaping, they are cut off by the Avengers. Egghead again threatens to kill Trish if Hank doesn’t stop the Avengers, so he battles them. Eventually, he is defeated and tells them what is happening. Egghead releases his control over Trish. After inspecting the arm, Iron Man concludes it was never armed. In addition, the arm transmitted false memories to Trish to where she only recalls Hank putting the arm on her and making her steal the adamantium. As a result, Pym is arrested and the story ends with a paper showing he is about to go on trial.
Story Verdict?
Jim Shooter wrote this one and I was entertained. The beginning scene was hilarious, a good laugh to kick things off. I also liked seeing Wasp voted as leader (was this her first time as lead?). Is Hank always this gullible? I get this is a down time for him but Egghead really takes advantage of him here. His ploy was interesting enough, I was not expecting the arm to be normal after all Hank went through. The memory transmission was a nice touch but the fact that Hank missed this when he inspected it really highlights that he was that desperate for cash or really is not that smart of a scientist. It had the right mix of action and was enjoyable enough with the right mix of humour. A solid B grade from me for this tale.
Art Verdict?
Bob Hall does the artwork here, and I am not real familiar with him. A quick read up shows he did most of his Marvel work sporadically through the late 70’s and into the 80’s. He does okay, nothing flashy or any big pages where he does anything with a lot of detail. The layout is a lot of smaller boxes that are drawn well but it is not something I would call great or amazing. Maybe that is why he did not do that much work overall for any of the big two…his work just did not stand out against others from this time period. His covers also seem to lack and it almost seems like he avoids doing close up faces. Yes, there are shots of Egghead and Yellowjacket but generally the drawings of characters are in the background, nothing close up with detailed features. Because of this, a C grade is what I feel comfortable giving.
Final Thoughts?
How was Yellowjacket perceived during this time? Did fans like him or really hate him? Personally, I have yet to read anything with Hank Pym in it from the 60’s or 70’s that I have enjoyed….
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Post by wildfire2099 on Sept 23, 2016 20:49:53 GMT -5
I can't tell you what fans at the time thought, but I though Hank was pretty boring until they reformed him in West Coast Avengers as 'Hank Pym, science hero'
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Post by chaykinstevens on Sept 25, 2016 13:31:30 GMT -5
Has White Raven appeared anywhere else? Again, she is an intriguing character and I am not up on my female space bounty hunters in the MCU but surely she could fit in somewhere nowadays if someone decided to revive her. I am not familiar with Claudio Castellini…has he done anything else noteworthy or spectacular for Marvel or in comics? His artwork is definitely very good.
I'm not aware of any other White Raven appearances, but to be honest I wasn't even aware of this one. According to GCD there was a previous character by that name, an ex-prostitute with empathic abilities tied to a rare tropical albino raven. linkClaudio Castellini seems to have drawn more covers than interiors. He's perhaps best known as one of the artists on the DC Versus Marvel crossover. |
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Post by pinkfloydsound17 on Sept 25, 2016 14:40:51 GMT -5
For the 90's, his stuff is appealing to me. Especially in a generation dominated by the McFarlane/Liefield styles
West Coast Avengers I always though of as a joke, which is why I generally pass them by. Kind of the like Human Fly and a few other titles that just peak zero interest in me.
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Post by chaykinstevens on Sept 25, 2016 15:08:43 GMT -5
Also, where does Ed Hannigan rank amongst Spidey artists or even artists in general? I find he never gets mentioned but his artwork is definitely very good. Did he create any other notable or semi notable characters? Ed Hannigan was something of a renaissance man, with credits as writer, penciller, inker, colourist and editor. He co-created the Sword In the Star, also with Bill Mantlo, in Marvel Preview #4. He co-created the Vanguard with Marv Wolfman in New Teen Titans Annual #1 (vol 2). He designed Brainiac's robotic chrome look, which was introduced in Action Comics #544. He wrote and drew the prestige format series, Skull & Bones. I don't think he's highly rated by fans either as a Spider-Man artist or in general, perhaps because his figure work wasn't particularly distinctive, but I think his issues of Spectacular Spider-Man were among the best of the first hundred issues of that title (his final issue #72, Waiting For Doctor Octopus, was one of my favourites) and many of the the inventively designed covers he produced for both Marvel and DC were top notch. According to Wikipedia, he suffers from multiple sclerosis, which I was sorry to read. |
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Post by pinkfloydsound17 on Sept 25, 2016 15:28:33 GMT -5
Terrible to hear...I agree that Doc Ock ish is a solid one! And I have the issue of Action Comics you speak of. It is one of maybe 7 Superman books I own and I own it because I love the cover and also, it looks like no one has ever touched it which is hard sometimes with those square bound spines.
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Post by wildfire2099 on Sept 25, 2016 17:18:55 GMT -5
For the 90's, his stuff is appealing to me. Especially in a generation dominated by the McFarlane/Liefield styles West Coast Avengers I always though of as a joke, which is why I generally pass them by. Kind of the like Human Fly and a few other titles that just peak zero interest in me. Really? Because when West Coast Avengers were in there prime, the 'regular' Avengers were terrible. Sure, Byrne's story is not to everyone's taste, but it's a way more interesting team, IMO. |
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Post by pinkfloydsound17 on Sept 26, 2016 17:51:56 GMT -5
For the 90's, his stuff is appealing to me. Especially in a generation dominated by the McFarlane/Liefield styles West Coast Avengers I always though of as a joke, which is why I generally pass them by. Kind of the like Human Fly and a few other titles that just peak zero interest in me. Really? Because when West Coast Avengers were in there prime, the 'regular' Avengers were terrible. Sure, Byrne's story is not to everyone's taste, but it's a way more interesting team, IMO.
I mis-spoke, I meant the Great Lakes Avengers...I always regarded them as being corny/silly. I may be wrong in assuming that lol
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Post by pinkfloydsound17 on Sept 26, 2016 20:56:25 GMT -5
Amazing Spider-Man #77
Story by Stan Lee, artwork by John Buscema (cover by John Romita) SynopsisThe story begins as a carryover from last ish, as Spidey is battling the Lizard. The Human Torch interrupts, causing all sorts of problems. Spidey is trying to capture Lizard because he knows Lizard is his good friend Curt Connors, but Torch doesn’t listen. A lengthy battle kicks of the story, sort of a back and forth as Torch fights Lizard while Spidey tries to keep Torch from hurting old Lizzy. During this, we see Connors’ son, Bobby listening to the radio. He overhears the fight and takes off out the door. Back to the battle, Spidey is able to subdue Lizard and also trick the Torch, who takes off after Spidey tells him the FF are signaling for him. Spidey then takes Lizard to some warehouse. Bobby arrives and while Spidey is searching for something, Lizard breaks free and attacks Bobby. Spidey returns in time with a barrel of powder which he throws at Lizard. It dries out his skin and slowly changes him back to Curt Connors. The happy ending concludes with the Connors family home safe and Spidey swinging off, a successful win under his belt. Art Verdict?I love Romita and this cover is just great. The Lizard and Torch are front and center, with Spidey battling to hold ole Johnny back. Inside, the artwork is equally strong…just good ole classic Spidey era stuff. Lots of colour, lots of different poses. There is a good amount of detail on characters and on the backgrounds…not overly but enough where it isn’t just coloured in. There is a scene on a boat where the battle takes place and this is well drawn, as are the underwater panels where Spidey subdues Lizard. No complaints here, solid A on the artwork. Story Verdict?I also really liked the story. Now, there are a few things that seemed a bit much. First, Torch seems very intent on not listening to Spidey but having not read a lot of FF from this era, maybe that is just his general brazenness that I am not used to. The dialogue is good and not as corny as it sometimes is during this time. I also laugh at how easily Bobby runs off and somehow tracks down Spidey and his father (I GUESS the radio gave a general location but the odds of him stumbling into the same warehouse seems a bit much). Stan also did his homework as the chemical Spidey finds is CaCl2…a salt compound that does absorb water. Maybe the likelihood of it being in the right place at the right time is also a bit cheesy, but I happened to like the solution Spidey/Parker came up with. Also, the joke about Spidey “hearing” the FF signaling for Johnny was a nice ruse to simply rid him of the Torch. Overall a good tale. Solid B+ grade from me. Final Thoughts?Does the Lizard speak with exaggerated “s” sounds? He does not here, and I like that a lot. I seem to recall him doing that in later issues (or maybe I am thinking of the Iguana from PPTSS). At any rate, the no “s” is a good thing for me. I am also curious if Torch references Spidey fooling him in a later issue.
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