Showing posts with label Fantastic Four. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fantastic Four. Show all posts

Tuesday, 11 October 2016

'Acts of Vengeance' (1989) - 2


(I originally read these comics between mid October/early November 2015)

After having read Marvel's 1989 crossover event 'Acts of Vengeance' recently, this time I read all the other stories from across the line that tied into it, most quite loosely. Again, the ongoing theme is the heroes facing off against villains with whom they have no familiarity, though the original legislative attempt at a Superhuman Registration Act is a sub-plot (and one that would be returned to years later in 'Civil War'). The Wolverine issues dragged, but all the others were pretty enjoyable. Even the New Mutants and Alpha Flight issues, teams for whom I have limited interest, hooked me by using classic Spidey villains (the Scorpion and the Vulture, respectively). I'd only read the Hulk ish about six months back, but was happy to revisit it. The Uncanny X-Men issues feature Jim Lee's first extended work on the characters from when he was a hot, new up-and-comer and they sure are pretty. However, the story, where Betsy Braddock is merged with a ninja assassin, is hard to follow in parts, at least for somebody not mired in the convoluted X-Men continuity of the time. 


   
   
   
   
  
  
  


As an extra, here's Alan Davis' combined art for the two Acts of Vengeance Omnibus covers:




Fantastic Four (1961) # 334-336, Wolverine (1988) # 19/20, Doctor Strange (1988) # 11-13, Incredible Hulk (1968) # 363, Punisher (1987) # 28/29, Punisher War Journal (1988) # 12/13, Marc Spector: Moon Knight (1989) # 8-10, Daredevil (1964) # 275/276, Power Pack (1984) # 53, Alpha Flight (1983) # 79/80, New Mutants (1983) # 86 and Uncanny X-Men (1963) # 256-258 are collected in:

Hardcover:

Fantastic Four (1961) # 334-336 are collected in:

Softcover:

Wolverine (1988) # 19/20 are collected in:

Hardcover:

Softcover:

Incredible Hulk (1968) # 363 is collected in:

Softcover:

Punisher (1987) # 28/29 are collected in:

Softcover:

Punisher War Journal (1988) # 12/13 are collected in:

Softcover:

New Mutants (1983) # 86 is collected in:

Hardcover:

Uncanny X-Men (1963) # 256-258 are collected in:

Hardcover:

Softcover:



Posted by at
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Saturday, 8 October 2016

'Atlantis Attacks' (1989)


(I originally read these comics in early October 2015)

I did plan to take a lengthy digression from DeFalco's and Frenz's Thor run by reading Marvel's massive 'Acts of Vengeance' line-wide crossover that took place in summer 1989 and to which three Thor issues were dedicated. However another big event, 'Atlantis Attacks,' mostly told in that year's annuals, concludes just before 'Acts of Vengeance' kicks off.

I can't be arsed providing much of a summary. It's an artificially extended tale that doesn't really reward the time spent reading it. Heroes pop in and out of the ongoing plot for just as long as their annuals last (the Surfer, the Punisher, the X-Men and Daredevil aren't seen again after their respective chapters), so there's a disjointed feel to it. The primary antagonists are the Deviant High Priest Lord Ghaur (mistakenly referred to as a 'pervert' by Ben Grimm for one of the story's few laughs) and Llyra, an underused Sub-Mariner villainess. 

The good thing about these events/crossovers is that even if one chapter doesn't appeal (for example, I have little affinity for the New Mutants characters), there are different characters to look forward to in upcoming chapters. Some of the chapters were entertaining enough in isolation. Also, a story like 'Atlantis Attacks' provides a good snapshot of where the publisher was 'at' at that given point in time. 


  
  
   
   
   
 


As an extra, here's Mike Mayhew's gorgeous original art for the cover of the Atlantis Attacks Omnibus:



Silver Surfer Annual # 2, Iron Man Annual # 10, Avengers West Coast (1989) # 56, Marvel Comics Presents (1988) # 26, X-Men Annual # 13, Amazing Spider-Man Annual # 23, Punisher Annual # 2, Spectacular Spider-Man Annual # 9, Daredevil Annual # 5 (mistakely labelled as # 4), Avengers Annual # 18, New Mutants (1983) # 76, New Mutants Annual # 5, X-Factor Annual # 4, Web of Spider-Man Annual # 5, Avengers West Coast Annual # 4, The Mighty Thor Annual # 14 and Fantastic Four Annual # 22 are collected in:

Hardcover:

Avengers West Coast (1989) # 56, Avengers Annual # 18 and Avengers West Coast Annual # 4 are collected in:

Hardcover:

Avengers West Coast (1989) # 56 is collected in: 

Softcover:

Marvel Comics Presents (1988) # 26 is collected in:

Softcover:

X-Men Annual # 13 is collected in:

Hardcover:

Softcover:

Punisher Annual # 2 is collected in:

Softcover:

New Mutants Annual # 5 is collected in:

Hardcover:

X-Factor Annual # 4 is collected in:

Softcover:



Posted by at
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Thursday, 22 September 2016

Fantastic Four (1961) # 104-125


(I originally read these comics in late July 2015)

I read the Lee/Kirby FF at least a couple of years back and thought I should get around to picking up the post-Kirby era, with art by Johns Romita and Buscema. They're comparable to Kirby's last twenty or so less inspired issues on the title, but not his best. Stan Lee soldiers on, but they're definitely missing something. The only new characters of note are the Over-Mind, who doesn't seem to pose nearly as dire a threat as the characters would have you believe, and Gabriel the Air-Walker, Galactus' latest herald, revealed as a robot (*yawn*) after two drawn-out issues of battle. This time the Big G has come to reclaim the Silver Surfer after long since condemning him to earth. I guess a good herald is hard to come by, as Gabriel clearly wasn't it. There's also the introduction of Janus the Nega-Man in a confusing story cobbled together from leftover Kirby pages (issue # 108). Brief returns from Doom, Annihilus and Diablo (unseen since # 35) don't add up to much and it's clear an air of predictability has settled over the title; there's another doomed attempt to cure Ben, another Thing vs. Hulk slugfest, etc... 

Issue # 119 is pretty good, however, with Roy Thomas attempting some of that oh-so-hip early '70s social relevance in a story where the FF must rescue T'Challa, the Black Panther (here having temporarily renamed himself 'The Black Leopard'), from imprisonment in a segregated African nation. Thomas takes over as writer full-time from issue # 126 onwards. 

These issues are moderately entertaining, but they seem a long way from the title's peak five or six years prior.


   
   
   
   
  
  


Fantastic Four (1961) # 104-110 are collected in:

Softcover:

Fantastic Four (1961) # 104 is collected in:

Hardcover:

Softcover:

Fantastic Four (1961) # 105-116 are collected in:

Hardcover:

Fantastic Four (1961) # 105/106 are collected in:

Hardcover:

Fantastic Four (1961) # 111-125 are collected in:

Softcover:

Fantastic Four (1961) # 111/112 are collected in:

Hardcover:

Fantastic Four (1961) # 116 is collected in:

Hardcover:

Fantastic Four (1961) # 117-125 are collected in:

Hardcover:

Fantastic Four (1961) # 119 is collected in:

Hardcover:



Posted by at
Labels: , , , , , , ,
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)