Tags Matching: fantastic four

Top 100 Summer Comics… #87

By admin | Published June 23, 2010

I’ve spoken highly of the Acts of Vengeance crossover before, but I sometimes forget about this very entertaining corner of the event.

Let it never be said that Walt Simonson has a lacking sense of humor.

#87 – Fantastic Four 334

In the first of three issues of hilarity, the Fantastic Four tackle pretty much every d-list villain out there. To the point that on all of the covers Simonson has Benjamin Grimm aka The Thing declaring “Yer Kiddin’, Right?”- you have to wonder if Simonson was dragged kicking into this crossover, given the flip tone to all three issues. Absolute great and fun story. Must read.

Now I just need to find a ViewMaster…

By admin | Published June 23, 2010

I think everyone in the age group of 20-40 probably owned a ViewMaster at some point in their childhood.

Looking back, it seems pretty wack, but I only have warmth in my heart for this weird toy.

I think if I had to explain this to someone under the age of 16 at this point, I would say…

“Well, it was before the internet. And before handheld mobile devices; it even predates the original gameboy. So, imagine something you could carry around and “watch” a story, but there’s no audio. You had to read along with it on the screen. You couldn’t use it in the dark, really.”

“I don’t think you’d be into it.”

But man – look at how cool those viewmaster slides look.

100 Days of Summer… #98

By admin | Published June 12, 2010

Sometimes a fill-in issue wasn’t a throw away. Though the concept is rare in the here and now, the fill-in issue was an often used trick of the trade to give creative teams a break and regroup, even catch up on work.

You could never tell when they were going to come out. Back in the pre-Previews world of comic book reading, sometimes they would drop right smack in the middle of an ongoing storyline. At times disorienting, it was generally a total bummer because the content was rushed and could even discard the current character development arcs that were being developed.

BUT… this was an exception.

#98- Fantastic Four 351

A stand alone issue to give Walt Simonson a much needed rest, this issue not only features some pretty early Mark Bagley art, but a killer self contained story by Dan Panosian, who if I’m not wrong went on to write the Image book Prophet for a heartbeat before he went on to a career as a penciller and inker. Strange – because I never thought much of Prophet, but the writing in this single issue is perfect. It has all the elements a good Fantastic Four story should have – larger than life, cosmic, and yet still found the essence of the very human members of the FF. Though I haven’t picked this issue up in well over a decade, it still stays with me as a great story. Must read for any FF fan.

100 Days of Summer Comics… #99

By admin | Published June 11, 2010

#99 – Avengers #303

Let me set this up. The Avengers are essentially Gilgamesh, Captain America, Thor, the Invisible Woman and Mr. Fantastic. Huh? Weird right? Well by the end of this issue, the Avengers are back on the good foot.

If you can’t tell, this issue has three things I’m a sucker for. One – the West Coast Avengers. Two – Nova and the Nova Corps. Three – Quasar. I kind of know both things are pretty wack. But I like them anyways, like that one lame friend who still makes fart jokes in front of girls in high school – sometimes you can’t believe you hang out with him, but you still do. This issue has all of those things and the kitchen sink. The Thing in full cragrock mode? Boom. Mr. Fantastic getting persnickety about being told what to do? Boom. A reenactment of David and Goliath starring Hawkeye and a giant SuperNova? BOOM!

All in all a romping good time and I am DYING for a collection of this era of the Avengers. Get this for $2 or less and enjoy.

That’s an ugly grimace…

By admin | Published June 5, 2010

Classic rivals.

It only makes it better that one of them almost never really wins.

The HULK is just too much for the THING. Always. Always. Always. It’s like one of those rules you find out about a week after you buy your first comic.

But the beautiful part is that ol’ Ben Grimm never gives up. He always believes that he will get him. Rather – he knows he’ll lose. But someone has to stiffen up and go push the bully.

Now go buy this poster and explain it to your ten year old son between his texts.

Arthur Adams, Chapter 3: For the refined reader.

By admin | Published May 19, 2010

My final post on the great Arthur Adams for today. (hey, I love trilogies.)

When I think of Arthur Adams work in the 80′s, three specific books come to mind. There’s a few others, but these stand out as being the best to me. I love his X-Men work, and the Asgardian / New Mutants / X-Men crossover still resonates… just not quite as much as these three issues.

X-Babies. No, really… this is THEIR story. Mojo Mayhem is a caper to end all capers, and is without question one of the most concise and FUN stories Chris Claremont ever put together. The star of the book outside of the X-Babies? Well, maybe it’s Excalibur, seeing as how this is under their heading? No. It’s Ricochet Rita. Who? Yes. Essentially, the X-Bebs sitter, she is dragged through a quick, fun, and smart adventure that reads both like a out and out adventure as well as a bit of a tongue-in-cheek, we-can-laugh-at-ourselves tale. Give it a shot – I bet you’ll enjoy it.

The story was perfect at the time. Absolutely out of nowhere, the FF go missing and the most unlikely of heroes team up to save them – The Hulk, Wolverine, Spider-Man, and Ghost Rider. Looking back, this could be looked at as playing with the same instruction guide that Brian Michael Bendis used to reform the Avengers… aka bring in the heavy hitters! What strikes me most about this issue is how perfect Adams’ Mole Man is. I’m shocked these issues of Fantastic Four haven’t been collected yet.

Days of Future Present. I can rave for days about this, and that if it weren’t for the mixed bag of artists across the storyline that this would be held in a much higher esteem. Starring the deranged, nearly omnipotent Franklin Richards and Rachel Summers, this crossover was equal parts alternaverse adventure and tragic love story. It’s a total shame that Arthur Adams didn’t do all of the art for this crossover, some of the pages he did in this issue are perfect. The splash page that opens the Uncanny X-Men Annual 14 pictured above is still one of my favorite images.

There’s the Marvel way…

By admin | Published May 18, 2010

And there’s the John Byrne way.

Either way, you’re learning from the pros.

And in fact, at certain points I think you could argue that the Marvel way was the John Byrne way. This 1985 sketchbook / guide includes such creepy weirdness as (the seller states) ”(including nudes!)”

Nudes or not, I bet this is a solid purchase. And I’m willing to bet Solson Publications didn’t make a whole ton of these…

One last 70′s retro trip…

By admin | Published April 9, 2010

I apparently woke up with bell bottoms on this morning, as well as coming across an absolute treasure chest of 70′s Marvelmania.

With vinyl making a comeback, it would be incredible if these came back.

But somehow I doubt it. Strongly.

I had a couple of these record + book combos. Both DC, one Superman, one Batman, both actually really cool. But this looks amazing. An origin issue? Who’s doing the voices? The cover art is redone, is the interior a redo of FF #1? These are questions I need answers to. At $9.00, that seems like a pretty worthwhile price tag. I’m scared off a bit by not seeing the vinyl however; given that these were primarily made for young children, I can bet that most fall well short of any passable VF/F or G/VG grade for the vinyl. Someone should take the plunge.

Dear Brian M. Bendis,

I’m not sure where your educational career ended. You seem fairly educated, but no details were divulged on your wikipedia page (you might want to update that) regarding higher education.

As I’m sure you’re aware, the Ipad has made quite a splash on the… consumerism scene this week, and at some point in the not too distant future, it could render text books nearly extinct. As someone who experienced purchasing expensive college textbooks, I am happy about this innovation. Down with textbooks.

But I know of your true passion. He’s above. He’s around. He’s… ready. Not for some new Avengers spin-off (I enjoy them all), but to be put to use before it’s too late. Do the right thing. Buy this, now. There’s an option for that. That’s actually your only option. Enroll in a class. Any class. It doesn’t matter what as long as you have a textbook. And, as Randy Bachman would ask, take care of business.

Sincerely,

RMS

Quasar + Manga = Mixed results?

By admin | Published March 22, 2010

I’m working on a Quasar (who?) mega post. Chris inspired me with his killer New Warriors post so I’m going to aim high.

Consider this an appetizer.

Wendell Vaughn was like a true life Clark Kent. Nerdy, bad hair and an even worse streak of luck. But for poor Wendell, even the quantum bands (read: fancy space bracelets) didn’t really make his life better. Or easier. Or even really cooler. So we’ll dig into that later this week, but until then, there’s this.

For the 1 quasar fan reading this, wtf? I didn’t know how to feel about this… but then I looked at it again and thought, if anything, he looks cooler than the real Wendell Vaughn ever did. And how about that Uatu (The Watcher)? Kinda works. At least considerably more than that weird as all get out FF. Anyone read this? Give me some feedback…

John Byrne’s Namor, aka Corporate Namor?!

By admin | Published March 11, 2010

It’s been established here that the Sub-Mariner rules. So cool.

It’s amazing to think about how much he smokes other sea characters. (Looking at you Aquaman…)

But here’s the thing. In most of our readership’s lifetime, he’s never had a successful series. This was probably the closest. John Byrne was coming off a decade on the top. Honestly, the eighties were enormous for Byrne. Imagine just owning the X-Men, Fantastic Four, Superman and brief appearances on Captain America, Batman, and the Avengers? Unstoppable. But then he came “into the 90′s” – and brought a whole lot of Miami Vice and Wall Street with him. Namor became a high powered corporate executive. Right down to the slicked back hair, this title felt odd even when it was on the newsstand. However, I did like it. There were certain arcs that really worked and I definitely was feeling the addition of the Griffin to the cast. If you are a fan of any of the collected works of Byrne, be it FF or Alpha Flight or Superman, you should check this run out. I would’ve loved to see where he would’ve gone with it, however he left after 22 issues – relatively short for the length of which Byrne ran on many of his classics.