94. Foxfire #1 ... Marvel Malibu ...

Once upon a time, there was a company competing with Marvel and DC and it was called Malibu. They had some average ideas and artwork then came the 90s. Star artists from Marvel broke away and formed Image and Image partnered with Malibu as their initial publishers before going really, really, really free

And once upon a time, Marvel acquired Malibu ... and published some of its stories and characters ...

And once upon a time, Marvel tried creating new characters for Malibu ... and in the age of scantily clad bad girls who are good ... we have naive newbie called Foxfire who somehow has perfect idealistic fanboy's perception of a woman perfection ... and found herself transformed into Foxfire ... from the cover you can see why she is named thus ... there is all that fire swirling and she is a definite fox ... although why she would call herself that when she is not a PRO is beyond some of us

How is the actual comic? Average

I like Kevin West's art from GOTG and followed his work here. I collected it and read it and it was what you would call a traditional comic where we are told a bit about how she got her abilities but not everything and we are sorta learning as she comes to grip with her abilities while there is foreshadowing of greater villainy afoot ... at the end of this issue ... that's about all you get ... and an ad telling you that the Ultraforce is guest-starring in issue 2

Ultraforce at that time is Malibu's answer to Marvel's Avengers ... sigh ... you know it's not going to survive the year, right?

It didn't

Ratings: 6/10 (purely for the art)

93. Supreme Power Nighthawk #1 ... Marvel ...

Several years ago, in the midst of revamping all their old concepts, one that got given the miniseries treatment and expanded upon is the Squadron Supreme - a group of heroes similar to Avengers/ Justice League except that they lived on a world that they decided to use their powers to not only do good but to rule!

Anyway, in this particular mini-series, it just tells ONE adventure of Nighthawk and this dude in not like the regular Nighthawk. This is a black dude not white. He doesn't have powers emerging only at night but rather dresses up like a bird and fights with fists and weapons (think ... Batman?)

And this particular story ... feels more like a Warren Ellis tale ... so it's a nice surprise to see the name of Daniel Way ... because it is definitely mature story time ... we have excessive violence (love it), we have racism, we have gays, we have blowjobs, we have people poisoning kids?!?!?!?!?!??!

Damn!

In the first issue, we see our friend Nighthawk fighting the usual low life and having a chat with someone in power similar to Bats. Then we are introduced to a pharmacist (yes you read that right) who is a brilliant psycho. However as he was caught, and got shafted (literally), he became even worse ... and then he got out! So at the end of this book ... if you like it ... you will definitely come back for more

Me? Love it!

Ratings: 8/10

92. Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars vol 1 #3 ... Marvel ...

Talk about people who are supposed to strive for unity but through their actions are actually causing greater diversity. By reading this issue, that's what you get when you think about Prof X. I mean, the rules are simple. A force from Beyond used a device on Earth to attract those curious and brought them to this freshly created/ melded planet

The task is simple. All these superpowered good and bad guys are to fight and winner get a price - whatever their wish, the Beyonder can grant!

So you have the traditional good and bad guys, right?

Well in this issue, to create unnecessary tension, Prof X decided that for some weird reason, he doesn't believe that the X-Men will fit in and that somehow the heroes won't trust them. WTF?!?!?! And he is thinking of even inviting Magneto, his arch nemesis who has yet to be on the good guy side to join him?!?!?!?!? So just because you are a mutant i.e. born with powers, you must be apart from everyone else even if they also have powers from other means? Does it mean those magic and science must also stay apart???

Prof X is soooooooooooooooooooooooo ...........................

Tirade aside, so from the cover, you can tell that dear ole Spider eavesdropped and tries to get away only to be attacked by the X-Men. Thanks to his super senses, they couldn't nail him and thanks to his agility, he got away!

Sigh!

Ratings: 6/10

91. Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars vol 1 #8 ... Marvel (obviously) ...

Once in a while, a character change is so significant that it takes on a life of its own and that's exactly what happens here. This particular limited or maxi series contributed to three more or less major things to the Marvel Universe:

1. It started off with the mega-crossover concept of the 80s that has off-and-on continued until today with one main storyline each year affecting multiple titles

2. It introduced a major villain/ character that has returned once in a blue moon until today in the form of the Beyonder (s)

3. It introduced a change in the heroes that remained relevant until today ... in the form of a new costume for Spider-Man

As the cover shows, this is how Spidey first dressed in black. Basically trapped on an alien planet, Spider Man sides with the Avengers and other assorted good guys trying to defend themselves against the bad guys and have his uniform torn. So what does he do? He saw and a gizmo and tinkered with it and voila out comes a black sphere that grew all over him and becomes a new costume that responds to his very thoughts

As Spidey himself said ... perhaps he was influenced by Spider Woman's black costume for indeed it does seem derivative ... of course until end of this issue nothing much else is done with the costume or even until end of the series ....

But we all know that it subsequently becomes Venom and a symbiote and that led onto other symbiote related tales including Carnage, Maximum Carnage, Planet of the Symbiotes and what-not

Ratings: 8/10

90. X-Factor vol 1 #2 ... Marvel ...

Okay so the first issue was based on Marvel Girl aka Jean Grey's return from the dead and that naturally notch up huge sales. But as anyone who follows the muties closely, you will remember that the original 5 in their first run failed to make the numbers on the sales charts until they had to do reprints in the ongoing X-Men issues before the new X-Men boosted them to the top of the comics heap for years on end

So how does this second issue hope to prevent that slump like in the past?

Well, first is they introduced a new villain: Tower and some subplots that hint at even bigger villains than Tower is waiting in the wings ... and that maybe not everything is going according to plan even their intention to be mutant hunters in order to catch mutants and bring them in for rehabilitation and training

But without spoiling future issues, let's focus on this and it's basically a super strong guy who can grow to gigantic status. Think ... the bad guy Goliath, not the Hank Pym chap and you will have an idea of his abilities ... and the reason he clashed with X-Factor? Because he was hired to kidnap Hank McCoy aka the Beast ... and the reason he was hired to do so? Because of a scientist type character ... but we cannot delve any further to avoid spoiling a future review ... suffice to say, at the end of it all, the Beast is gone and Cyclops is pissed off ... and Jean Grey is confused in this brand new world she finds herself in because everyone has moved on and because of her ... they are now torn between their new concerns and her

Example: Cyclops left his wife and newborn babe to be there for her

Example: Angel left his girlfriend to mind the store while he is there for her

See? Soap Opera but without the power to back it up for the action scenes

While this is entertaining, you get the feeling that it may not be enough to carry the story forward unless a really good villain is forthcoming. Otherwise it will quickly slip to middle of the charts

Ratings: 7/10 (only because of the villain's fight)

89. X-Men vol 2 #31 & 32 ... Marvel ...

Okay. Let's go down and do more X-related reviews, eh? This review is another blast from the past and it is literally a blast. It concerns Psylocke who used to be boring back when she first joined the X-Men (vol 1) wearing a hooded cape and mask and cannot do almost anything physical. In addition, she had this butterfly energy signature?!!?!?! Ugh!!!!

Anyway, she came back after a few years with the team as an Asian looking assassin who kicks major ass and dresses skimpily. We always wondered WTF happened, right? Thinking that it's due to her journey through the Siege Perilous ... well these two issues finally answered the question and what an answer it is

You see, there is Betsy, the English psychic and then there is Kwannon, the assassin and without spoiling the details, somehow their minds and bodies got ... more than a simple switcharound ... but even their abilities. Hence that's why now both ladies can fight and have psychic powers. Of course the full tale is much more convoluted. Otherwise, it cannot qualify as an X-tale, right? Hahaha!

But these 2 issues are GOLD. You have sexy bitches in skimpy clothing whirling around with swords and trying to kick the tar out of each other and you have all the manipulative blokes thrown into the mix. The ending? A bit of a wrencher, I kid you not

Definitely worth your time picking this up

Ratings:8/10

88. X-Men vol 1 #29 ... Marvel ...

Although this is adjectiveless, if you are collecting the X-Men series, then this is the original i.e. from the first 5 i.e. the Uncanny stream of issues. Clear?

Okay. Our first recollection of this was actually we bought a copy of small, black-n-white publications from the UK where they would put a couple of comics per copy and it's cheaper. I cannot recall what the second comic was but this one stood out

The Mimic - once a villain, who is now trying to adjust to life outside of the X-Men - even after he tried to be good, the X-Men rejected him. So feeling sore, he decided one day to go back to Westchester to kick the X-Men's ass and teach them what a huge mistake they did for chucking him out. Yeah, real heroic, right? Hahaha!

The Super Adaptoid - a construct that can mimic (pun intended) a target's abilities - and resurrected or resuscitated, he comes out of hibernation only to encounter the X-Men having a good time chilling out. Naturally when they saw this gigantic abomination, they spring to action. And the Adaptoid retaliated fast! Uncoordinated, the X-Men were easily taken down ... and just in time for our friend the Mimic to come on the scene .. and be the hero instead of fighting against the children of the Atom

So the Mimic has all the powers of the X-Men while the Adaptoid has all the powers of the Avengers ... who is mightier? Read the book. This is one you will like

Ratings:7/10

87. X-Force vol 1 #2 ... Marvel ... Rob Liefeld!!!

Deadpool is back! Waaaay back in the day when Deadpool was introduced in the final issues of New Mutants, I thought he was the coolest bad dude ever! Even though he was defeated by one-eye Cable. And Rob had introduced a load of characters by then including Cable and Domino

So I was thrilled to see Deadpool back here and boy what a return it was!

Forget about the naysayers on Rob's artwork. This is how a good comic should be. Entertaining. Enjoyable. Lots of energy and tells the tale. If you want proper artwork, go buy a book on anatomy or biology or some such and leave us to enjoy this issue

In this issue, there is no main or core theme to the story and in fact, we have lots of scenes involving lots of characters. So in a way you can say that this is a downtime book except that because it is Rob, there is no real quiet issue

First up, we open with Kane trying to stop some goon squad only to encounter Deadpool and they have a fight. Naturally. Then you have Bridge trying to get a team up to take down Cable. Somewhere along the way, you have Sunspot and his new buddy, External Gideon facing problems in the corporate world. And because of Black Tom, good buddy of Juggernaut

And finally we move on to the X-Force team ... they are having a field exercise where everyone is supposed to find and tag Feral only ... she decided to be her name sake and literally tore Sam's guts out! Whoo-hooo! Naturally Shatterstar and Domino jump in but hey it's Cable's show all the way and he takes her out with a blast from the gun!

See? A quiet issue in-between big adventures?

Rob's the man!!!

Ratings: 8/10

86. Ravage 2099 vol 1 #10 ... Marvel ...

I admit here that I am guilty of picking up this title sporadically. It's the only one I actually followed and it's the only 2099 title that's independent of any existing Marvel Heroes. Example: FF2099, XMen 2099, SPidey 2099 ... get it?

Is it because Stan Lee wrote this?

Maybe but I doubt it. I liked it because this is the one main book that always promises to deliver a no holds barred kind of action like what Wolverine promises frequently but rarely ever shows. Well here in issue 10, Ravage did the job! Now the artwork is servicable and there are some nice scenes of kick ass action. But imagine if we get someone who can do more detailed work on this issue? WOW!

Anyway, the short and long is that Ravage has just mutated further into a creature from another era ... super tough beast like creature that roars and has claws but can still think ... so naturally the future era law enforcement are after him including an ex-colleague of his ... and guess what?

Ravage massacres them!

I kid you not. First up is 2 police dude who are mistreating some bums when they saw him and Ravage dove into them and even used his horns to gore one chap. Then queue another scene where the law busts up an illegal assembly and Ravage attacks the first police car killing the 2 men within. When the rest came upon the scene, Ravage attacks them and kills almost everyone

How's that for violence eh? Hehehe!

Ratings:8/10

85. New Avengers vol 1 #1 ... Marvel ... David Finch ...

David Finch is on art and this is after his super hot stint from Moon Knight! If you haven't guessed, I am a huuuuuuuuuuuuge David Finch fan. Imagine, when I first saw his work, it was in Cyberforce but I thought it was crap and made the book muddy. Then he launched his own title in Image and that was still kind of ... muddy?!!!?! But when he joined Marvel and gave us Moon Knight, WOW!!!

I am a huge fan until today

So anyway back to the title at hand ... for a looooooooong time, the Avengers was popular but never as popular as the Mutants. Even when they have spin off titles, it was only WCA. Of course unlike the Mutants, a number of the Avengers started off with their own titles and they still carry them. So in an effort to jumpstart popularity, Mr Bendis was brought on board along with Finch in the old Avengers series and they kicked things off by showing the Avengers being killed

Trouble abound without pause until in the end, the Avengers decided that perhaps their day is come and gone and for the first time in a long while, it's time to bid the adventure goodbye. They disbanded

Naturally, those issues sold very well

And here comes the relaunch. Check out the killer artwork. It all starts off with no Avengers. So on a good fine day, someone sets up a scene and before you know it, all hell broke loose at Ryker's Prison - an island prison for super powered folks. Fortunately for the good and innocent but unfortunately for the baddies, some heroes happen to be around and they naturally swing into action (in Spider's case literally) ... and as I am sure you know it ... there at the end of the riot is a consideration that perhaps those around should forge a new team ... a team that has its heart with the small people and not just the loftier goals of going against Aliens in outer space while living in a multi-million dollar mansion ...

Of course they will form a team. If not, what's the point of this title right?

And what a team it will be! Just check out these pages!

Ratings: 9/10

84. Daredevil vol 1 #260 ... Marvel ... JR Jr ...

I did collect Uncanny X-Men and loved it but at that time, it was more the storyline than the artwork. However, when John Romita Jr was on this title, it was WOW and I started collecting DD on a regular basis even after he left, I followed it off and on when Ann Nocenti was still the writer because she made DD go on very off-the-beaten track style of stories

Anyway, in this issue, we see a DD that has been having a bad few days and still trying to recover. Unknown to him, thanks to the Kingpin, he is a marked man and all the villains are lined up waiting to see him. And see him they do

So one by one, they come at him - from some common psycho thugs that he encountered earlier, to some nasty crazies without superpowers but with super weapons. They all beat our DD to bits and as he try to get away, he encounters even more of them until as the cover shows, he fell ... and was to be found only by Typhoid Mary. She loves him, she kills him. She is schizophrenic with huge mental abilities and ninja like moves

It's beautiful because the story telling this time is straightforward and the action is street level grittiness ... and the ending? Leaves you wondering how he is going to pick himself up at the end of the issue. At least, here they didn't pretend that there may or may not be a next issue. Mary didn't kill him. She knew he was badly beaten and bruised and she decided to just drop him off and let him fall and let him lie there ...

Ratings:8/10

83. Batman vol 1 #608 ... DC ... Jim Lee

So we are 83 reviews in and finally I reached the big bad daddy of comicdom - Batman! Yup! Why did it take me so long to review this title? Aside from the fact that I loved the movies but not the comics, there is just waaaaaay tooooo maaaany Batman takes for me to enjoy. However, once in a while, I would read a decent run on Batman

And this run is great! Sure when it first came out, people were eagerly awaiting for it and there were a fair share of negative reviews but you know what? F-them all! You want comics to enjoy, right? If it gives you something to think about, great. If not, it's still meant to be a medium of joy and this particular run, starting at a normal number of #608 is fantastic because it combines Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee

As a writer, Jeph is good at giving you stories that almost can be read as standalone, filled with action and yet somehow, moves the plot along. You will read it fast because that's how good the story is. You will come to the end and wondered what the heck?!?!?! But still it is a guilty pleasure sort of read. After this series, other highlights for me would be the Wolverine run in vol 3 if I am not mistaken and the Red Hulk series

And as for Jim ... well he proves to everyone here he can do a monthly and do it well. In the story, there is a flashback sequence to Bat's childhood and here Jim and team showed 2 different techniques in the artwork

Okay

That's enough about the creators. As for the story, it is a whodunit sort of tale but with lots of guest stars and villains and action. For this, the first chapter, we have Killer Croc kidnapping a boy and Batman coming to the rescue except Bats didn't understand why Killer Croc is kidnapping for money. Money for??? And while he is trying to figure that out, someone is going out of their way to sabotage Bats and then disappearing and leaving him to wonder who the F can it be? Has there been a leak in his team? Because whoever this mystery chap is, he knows a lot more about the Bat family than most people would

And there you have it! The first issue in a nutshell

Ratings: 9/10

82. Red Sonja ... Goest East ... Dynamite ...

A loooooooong time ago, to keep our Barbarian Conan company on the comic shelves came the tale of warrior woman, Red Sonja. However, in the world of Marvel, inspite of her scantily clad costume, her series never lasted a year. They tried once, then again and it failed

Time passed

And like all things, it comes around again and this time under the auspices of Dynamite Entertainment and ... it survived. In fact, it was such a huge hit when it first launched that it had multiple covers, prices skyrocketing, great TPB editions, one-off, mini-series and what not and lasted for years before any subsequent relaunching ... which at the time of this review is still being published. So what does this mean? That the past 10 years is the era of scantily clad women?

We don't know but we loved it and here we explore the one-shot. It's a tale told of the time when Sonja found her way in the East. Forget the hows and whys but suffice to know that the East is not just about ninjas or as the cover says Monguls but see the interiors. They show her facing the courts and being defeated by kung-fu folks which is much better and a bit more realistic eh? Most comics have fake ninjas as it seems like everyone can defeat ninjas even with little training in any form of unarmed combat. Heh!

So there you have it. It's a straightforward tale of her coming to the east, fighting, get defeated and finding a way to free herself and earn her keep so that she can ride for another day!

Ratings: 6/10

 

81. Robin Ongoing #59 ... DC ...

Our second back-to-back review on old Robin issues and this one is a doozy: teen pregnancy. Yup. You read that right. And that's the drama referred to on the cover. And no, the baby is not Robin's! Yes, Robin is not Superman of the movies .... remember the relaunch from a few years ago when Supes apparently left Earth and came back to find an old sweetheart who has a super powered kid? Whose kid do you think it was? Way to go, Supes! Bang a gal, get her preggers and flee planet Earth!

Anyway, aside from all the villains and what-not, what made this such a special issue is that Stephanie aka Spoiler has a crush on Robin while Robin is in love with another gal, Arianna. So naturally Stephanie decides to "try other blokes" and unfortunately as this cover shows, she found out that she is preggers.

So this issue deals with the fallout but the best thing about this series is that though this is the main thrust of the story it doesn't end here. We get to see her getting pregnant and deciding to keep her baby. The drama with her mom and Robin coming by to give her moral support in her civillian identity. Robin came not as Tim Drake but disguised as Alvin and her mom wondering if Alvin is the dad. Hah! All this you have to read the forthcoming issues as the story unfolds ... yes it's a teenage soap opera ... but told with a lot of heart and sensitivity

Ratings: 7/10

80. Robin Ongoing #35 ... DC ... Staz Johnson ...

Staz Johnson - while he is not the creator of this particular Robin, Tim Drake; for me, he is the definitive artist. And I am saying this even though I started collecting Tim Drake's run as it comes out and not from back issues. What it meant is that I have seen other creators' take and this is my fave. Why? Because his Robin is just that - a teenager who exercises and not too cartoonish in facial features

So this issue?

The cover says it all. While it may be a tie-in to some large drama in the DCUniverse called Final Night (sorry no idea what it is about), the issue is good enough as a standalone. All you need to know is that the city (the world?) is plunged into freezing cold with snow and ice. Robin is all dressed up and patrolling to help pockets of problems. Spoiler (Stephanie) who wants him to be her BF so bad ... follows him along ... even though he tries to ditch her several times (awwww ...) and finally they encountered a serious problem ... though not supervillains

The story is told in such a charming yet engaging manner that by the time I reached the end, I realized that there was no huge drama, no big plot, no super villain out to ruin Robin's day and yet it was a good, enjoyable read. I do understand for a series to continue it cannot always be like this. But once in a while, it is enjoyable to see the character behind the mask

Oh yeah the kissing? Did it happen?

Go buy the book!

Ratings: 8/10

79. Thor vol 3 #1 ... Marvel .... Oliver Coipel ...

This is officially the third volume of Thor and one would think it would stick around a little longer but nope, thanks to all the relaunch trends at Marvel and DC, this particular run also lasted only a few years before, for no particular reason, it's relaunch time but for me, I didn't give a damn.

Why?

Oliver Coipel

Sorry, Marvel, I know you kept on throwing up a number of artists and touting them as the next big thing but Oliver doesn't quite cut it for me. Yes, he has fans but come on! This is the mighty Thor we are talking about. We want grittiness, we want our warrior to be huge and chunky and our battle scenes to be awesome instead of his sparse artwork

Don't believe me? Just click on some interior pages and you will see what I mean and as for the writer, well, he is good but this first issue is sooooooooooooo slow and plodding, it feels like a waste of time. Certainly not a good return to form for the God of Thunder

Anyway, enough ranting from me. Basically at the end of volume 2, supposedly Ragnarok happens i.e. end of the "Gods". So all the Gods of Asgard have gone bye-bye. We open this series with a chat between Thor and Blake (Yes his original alter ego) ... and they are talking about end of the world and why is Thor being called back ... so while they chatted, they also waded through different scenarios with some requiring some muscle action (yup that's how they keep you from getting bored) but it's too thin, know what I mean?

So naturally as this is the first issue of volume 3 you can guess the predictable ending. Thor is convinced that he wants to be back in the land of living and WHAM he is back. And so is Blake except that is Blake his alter ego or 2 people sharing 1 corporeal body?

In addition, we see Blake appearing in some country hick of a town ... guess they will try to find a new place as a base while Thor goes about waking up the rest of his "godly" family, eh?

Sigh! Too decompressed

Ratings: 2/10

78. Dazzler vol 1 #10 ... Marvel ...

The cover has the words Enter Galactus and we see Dazzler about to be seized by Galactus. So naturally that kind of cover means you have to buy and see what's the content, right? I mean, our mutie gal can transmute sound into light but we are talking about the big Galactus here, right? Right!

So hype is done

And for the contents? It actually is quite riveting. A lot going within. We see the main thrust of the story with Galactus and one of his drones studying Alison Blaire (Dazzler) and determining that she is the right candidate for Galactus' small task

And that task?

To enter a dimension where Galactus' current herald, Terrax has gone and not returned for the nasty F***er has decided to be ruler supreme there thanks to the power cosmic he got from Galactus. So Galactus wants him back for judgment or some such shit and they nabbed Dazzler. Naturally being a super powered being (I didn't say heroine) she had to put up with some kind of defence but that all crumbled quickly as she understood what's going on and deciding to go ahead with it

All the while, as this is an ongoing series from Marvel, sideplots abound including Wendell Vaughn or Quasar and Project Pegasus

So a lot going on, a little action ... as it is a build up issue for the clash with Terrax in the next issue. For a build up issue, it isn't quite a bore and the cover ... isn't entirely misleading

Ratings: 5/10

77. Iron Man vol1 #206 ... Marvel ...

Yes, yes, yes - third Iron Man review in a row and for this we jump back to vol 1 where for the first time in a long time, Iron Man is not the golden Avenger but the silver/ white and red Avenger in a chunky armour

Why did I buy this particular issue from online shops?

Goliath - the villain. I always liked him because not only is he big but he has subsequently imbued himself with Ionic energy like Wonder Man which makes him more powerful than most of the powerful powerhouses in the Marvel U

In this issue, some stupid lawyer and cops want to transfer him to a regular cell and because of legality, Hawkeye and Mockingbird have to release him. There are some lighthearted quips from H and M including feeding Goliath and you get the feeling that they were more like adversaries in a sporting game than trying to kill each other

Still as the cover shows, Goliath did finally break free while en route to police station and it's up to Iron Man, singlehandedly, to take him down (naturally) as apparently both H and M have nothing in their arsenal for heavy hitters. Ah well ... it takes all types to be Avengers, right? Hehehe!

Love this issue - the art and colours are so vibrant!

Ratings: 6/10

76. Iron Man vol 3 #1 ... Marvel ...

Okay. This is positively the last volume of Iron Man that resembles any form of uniformity for the casual fan and by this I mean if you are new and you want to go online and shop, at least you know what to buy. After this series' run, there are so many relaunches that I have lost track on how to follow the storyline as it seems that Marvel now relaunches every 2 years or less in many of their titles

Firstly after that whole Heroes Reborn universe going on for a full 12-months or so, there was a limited series that brought all the Heroes trapped there back into our regular world

And so ... this falls flat. In my opinion. I collected this from back issues and even then it feels so bland. It's just odd because I do like both writer and artist but here, their combined efforts isn't enough. We have a Stark coming back and finding that the world has moved on. So he goes about trying to find his place in the world including covering for his absence that coincided with Iron Man's. Of course there are the corporate developments of whether he should seize power or not but nothing monumental here and then there's his supporting cast but again no serious dramas

And as for villains of the day, well, after the awesome launch of vol 2, this is just kind of run of the mill thugs. Sure we get hints of maybe something else but it is sooooo vague that you just don't give a damn and basically that's the problem. Yes they are trying to build for the future but it's too little to make a casual non-fan a follower

Ratings: 4/10 (would have been 5 but the new armour is kind of bleurgh too)

75. Iron Man vol 2 #1 ... Marvel ...

When I started collecting comics at the age of 11, I had a small budget (obviously) and somehow or other, Iron Man was never on my list of must buys. In fact, it is on my list of read if I can find an unstapled copy in the local bookshop (yes they stapled the mags back in that particular shop). However, aside from the final run up to 200 in vol 1, I was never really hooked on Iron Man ... not until the relaunch and you have awesome Whilce Portacio artwork and a kickass story ...

Of course, back then, before RDJ's hit movies, the back issues were affordable. Now? Pfaughh!

So back to this issue, for those who didn't know, about 20 years ago, Marvel decided to jumpstart its non-Mutant titles by having a being called Onslaught (from the mutant titles) threaten the entire Marvel U and shoving all the Avengers/ Thor/ Captain America/ Iron Man/ FF into a side universe. Everyone in the main U thought they died. They all existed in that other universe without remembering their past existence. So all regular titles were cancelled and relaunched with this new number ones. What made it more unique is that these titles were then farmed out to ex- Marvel chaps who are now in Image i.e. Jim Lee and Rob Liefeld's studios

Iron Man belongs to Jim Lee's team and what a great choice it is

We start off with Tony being rich and a nasty prick celebrating success after success while his old mates including Banner looked like a downright loser. Unbeknownst to him, somewhere in the greater economic field, Hydra and its Madame are making plans for a hostile takeover of sorts. Thrown into this mix is a field of supporting characters including Pepper Potts and others

While we know Portacio has a fixed look about his work these days that is very stylized, yet here in this series it works. Well except for certain characters like Madame Hydra but his Iron Man, Hulk (yes Hulk) and even the wardens or security guards who got blown away? Awesome

Lots of action sequences and I even love the way he does the energy signature whenever Iron Man flies! And let's not forget the equally awesome colouring

Ratings: 9/10

74. X-Force vol 1 #1 .. Marvel ... Rob Liefeld

This is a classic and one that I have read numerous times over the years. Why? Because it exudes the true-est sense of a comicbook. Over-the-top characters, lots of energy in the artwork, lots of unrealistic posing and snarling and ... that's why we read comics - escapism. So thanks Rob for an excellent first issue!

Basically this is a spin off from New Mutants ... Mutants are now growing up and finally ended at issue 100. This is the next series where we see almost all the Mutants gone and in their place a team that is grim, gritty and takes big guns to the faces of their enemies ...

And speaking of enemies, we are introduced to Stryfe (guy with huge complicated helmet design ala Galactus) ... and his flunkies the Mutant Liberation Front ... with some interesting and some ... hopeless members (the guy with multiple arms is merely big size and gets the floor each time they meet) ...

In this issue, we see the team being assembled to take down enemies and naturally the MLF is their first challenge. The main problem being that ex-Mutants' members, Skids and Fireboy Rusty are now members of MLF. So what do they do?

Fight

And FIGHT some more

That's the joy of reading a Rob comic - don't think too much, don't analyse - just have fun!

Ratings: 8/10

73. X-Factor vol 1 #1 ... Marvel ...

Similar to our review of Wolverine Origins, there was a time when a new X-Title was something to be anticipated rather than today where you have to decide which title you want as there will be heroes who appear in more than one and there must be at least over 10 Mutie titles a month including the current style where they also form special ongoing with various Avengers' members

In this series, the X-Men has had only 1 spin off in the form of the Mutants. So when X-Factor was announced, there is anticipation especially since it picks up on the story of Jean Grey/ Phoenix. For those not in the know waaaaay back then Jean Grey became the super powerful Phoenix on one of the X-Men's mission. Subsequently she sacrificed herself to save the universe and it became one of the X-Men's instant classics

Here, the story starts in Fantastic Four and Avengers before continuing here ... something deep in the waters where the X-Men first crash landed back on Earth after their outer space mission with Jean before her transformation ... well, the waters have started to boil and there is something at the seabed ... something that is retrieved and subsequently burst free to be ... (SPOILERS) the one, true Jean Grey

So like everyone else, we are left asking WTF?!?!?!?!

Of course now we know the answer but back then? It was a good yarn. So aside from Jean, we see the other 4 of the original X-Men, where they are today and how they are summoned back to help in the wake of Jean's return. The only one not so committed is Scott as he now has a baby with another woman whom he married and he feels guilty being with Jean now

Anyway, the costumes you see them wearing is when they decided to reform the old team and fight for Prof X's dream ... peace between humans and mutants ... as they believed the X-Men to be gone ... yet all the while they want to track down new emerging mutants to train them ... however (and here's the really stupid part) ... they bought the PR bloke's story of using a mutant-hunting human team as their cover. I mean, come on! You are pretending to be humans? And hunting your own people? Of course all this does is stoke the flames of hatred! D'uh!

Ratings: 7/10 (not so much for the remark above but for the overall package)