63. The Thing vol 1 #19 ... Marvel

The oddest thing about comics and reviewers is that sometimes with the passing of time what was once favoured can be the subject of ridicule or put down and vice versa. No difference with this title or rather this particular saga in the ongoing life of Benjamin Grimm aka the Thing of the Fantastic Four

You see, during the 80s, the first major company crossover event in comics history occurred ... called Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars. A being from another dimension whisked away a bunch of earth superheroes to a planet he created called Battleworld. Here the good guys and bad guys fought while discovering new things about themselves and the world along the way

Needless to say the good guys won and when it was time to go back to Earth, Ben Grimm decided not to join them. The reason is that while on Earth, he remained as the Thing (more or less full time) since his transformation years ago. But on Battleworld? He has the ability to switch between human and Rocky Orange form

So he embarks on a journey through the varied lands of this world in predominantly human form while sometimes transforming into his rocky alter ego. Of course as a safety he has a device that allows him to go home to Earth should he need to

In this arc, it's a first time crossover with the regular FF Series. In this story, we see Ben travelling across a horrendous landscape in search of his travelling mate, a girl and encountering spooks that look more like movie monsters than anything else. Naturally with his hide, he was a sufficient match for them though he was hardpressed to defeat the Frankenstein monster. At the end of the adventure he was close but not close enough to find out who has been sabotaging his entire journey here. He has no suspicions as to the identity although sure that there is a mastermind behind all this

Ratings: 7/10

62. Sandman vol 2 #60 to 67 ... DC Vertigo ...

WOW

That's the only word I can think of to describe this story arc. In fact, my first taste of Neil Gaiman's work is one issue in this particular arc. I was captivated by the cover and then once I jumped in, I was hooked. O don't get me wrong. I started in the middle and was so confused by all the characters and the interconnecting storylines. Then there is the jaggedy artwork that looks rushed and too ugly for my tastes but you know what? There is just so much going on in here that it caught my interest and made me sought out in later years, the TPB

And loved it I did!

I have since read it several times over the years

So!

So this is the final arc of the Sandman series in the sense that in this arc, Morpheus, the embodiment of dreams bites the dust. Literally. And the next few issues up to 75 are wrapping up all the loose ends of the diverse character storylines in the series as well as Dream's last rites, funeral and wake plus the introduction of the new Sandman

There! Spoilers, right? But you know what, it doesn't matter. Let me give you a sample of what goes on here. We have Dream moving through his kingdom as he sensed something is terribly wrong. He prepares to go to war but will he even have a chance to fight? We see the angels who are guarding hell and Lucifer who is now the owner of a club on Earth with his servant/ slave a demon

We see a lady who must be half-psychotic traipsing through all sorts of worlds looking for her baby Daniel and we see baby Daniel with some other kooks. Aside from all these, we have the 3 ladies or an embodiment of fate?

And not to forget Dream's so-called brothers and sisters such as Death, Delirium, Destiny and others some on his side while others against, some offering counsel while others praying for him to fail but in the end, it is all up to him what he does for they are not to interfere

See? So many new ideas and concepts, right?

So if you like your comic storylines with a lot of bite and backbone, this is for you. Forget the art (no offence meant to the artist) and just enjoy the story

Ratings: 8/10 (would have been 10 if not for the art)

61. Spider Man 1990 #1 ... Marvel ... Todd McFarlane

Let's be clear about something first. This particular comic is not about the story or the character but the artist because this is the boom time of comics when each artist that is successful has their chance to launch one of Marvel's "hot" properties and Mr McFarlane who has had a decent run on both Hulk and Amazing Spider Man decided to launch a new number 1 for Spider Man

When comparing his launch with that of Lee and Rob, I (though not a fan of McFarlane's while am a fan of both Lee and Rob) must admit that Mc took this opportunity and went all the way to the top determinedly showing everyone what his art is capable of. I mean just check out this one cover!

I recalled when this came out, it was such a huge rush with issues reaching into millions of copies. I couldn't afford one because it was sold out here in Malaysia and Singapore but ... years later ... after Mc is no longer hot even on Spawn and the Spider titles are going downward spiral, I managed to scoop up more or less his entire (less than 2 years) run on this new title and what a joy it was look at the splash pages and double splash pages

Here in this first issue, aside from Mc's artwork, we see a Spider-Man/ Peter Parker still happily and crazily in love with wifey, Mary Jane. However, he didn't notice the problems plaguing here i.e. career on the rocks and her constant worry for his safety ... while something else nasty is brewing in the background and you get these hints of a drum beating while the lizard is planning a resurgence. Is the lizard related to the drum beats and who is the figure all in black?

This would have been a great repackaging during the second round of Spider movies as that featured the lizard

It takes the next 4 issues for Peter to confront, fight and defeat the lizard but that's another review for another day. Enjoy!

Ratings: Splash pages -9/10
Ratings: Overall - 6/10

60. Silver Surfer 1987 #15 & 16

Wow this is my second review from this same volume of the surfer. I am reviewing these particular 2 issues because it represents one of the highlights. Basically every time the Surfer tackles something major that leads into huge cosmic warfare, the series picks up. Otherwise, it is going nowhere because the Surfer just sails out there in space aiding others whenever he comes across anything he deems requiring his brand of justice and as a character, well, there is no character development!

So these 2 issues sees the Surfer sensing something terrible

happening ... something that needs the help of his Earth friends, the FF. In comes Mr and Mrs Fantastic who travels with him ... except why does one of the Fantastic seemed a bit ... off?


The art does justice with clear facial expression and enough energy to carry off the action sequences. Where it's supposed to be metallic and shiny, it is. Great inking. And as for colours, while sometimes it appears to clash, overall it is very dynamic and brilliant. What more can a comic fan ask from a comic book, eh?

Ratings: 6/10

59. Rom #17 & 18

Rom the Spaceknight. Here is one character that originated from a toy or vice versa that had a decent run but no more remakes and until today no further new stuff which is new/ odd and refreshing

We are reviewing these 2 issues together because it is one storyline and Rom has a number of earthling guest stars. Here, he teams up with then hottest Marvel property, the X-Men

Okay ... Rom is from another planet called Galador where their people looked like Earthlings. However, to combat the menace of an evil, they merged their human bodies with robot like creations thus becoming space knights where they roam the universe tracking down their evil enemies wherever it may yet spawn and the enemies? Dire Wraiths - blob like shape changers that can whip up scientific creations and magics

Here ... apparently Rom is in a small town and found some nastiness going on ... and as it is his series, it means a Dire Wraith. We have the X-Men tracking the source of some mutation and potential menace and naturally at first they fight. That's the standard in comics, right? But the fight is short as they discover the source of both of their problems called Hybrid

Why Hybrid? Because Hybrid's parents ... is 1 Dire Wraith and 1 Human for you see, while assuming a human form, this particular alien discovered that it can fall in love and fall in love it did producing a child that unfortunately is worse than parents ... and said child not only grew fast but murdered his parents and plan to rule all including Dire Wraiths

There are some pretty good action shots and dramatic moments here. If this is done in today's comics, one can just imagine how gorgeous the artwork would be but hey, this here issue? It's good

Ratings: 8/10

58. Robin #1 ... Ongoing ... DC

Well if you are reading this in 2014 you will know that as of late there are a ton of Robins. First up we had the classic Dick who graduated into Nightwing. Then there's Jason who supposedly died and was resurrected. Next comes the most popular, Tim (the subject of this review)

He has since grown up and been replaced by Damian (Batman's real son) who unfortunately bit the dust. Of course there are alternate world Robin such as the robotic Robin in the 1,000,000 specials. And the female Robin, Stephanie who did it for only a few issues

Anyway back to Tim. At the start of it all, Tim was different from the rest. He is like the perfect human being. Super smart, super curious and super fast at learning new stuff including fighting villains using fists and acrobatics (yeah right!). He figured out Bats secret identity and was offered the role of Robin (great adult Bruce Wayne is, right? Putting kids in the line of danger and all that)

So, there were like 3 limited series before the powers that be deemed Robin to be worthy of his ongoing and this series lasted about 180 issues plus some annuals. How was this first issue?

Hmmm I love the enhanced cover (this came out in the 90s). However, the artwork was workmanlike at best and the storyline is the same. A Robin with no apparent super villain and over-the-top scheme to open a new series? Hmm ... I will be honest. I didn't follow up after this issue and bought it intermittently until there is a change in artist. However, from then on, I followed it on a monthly basis until around issue 100 when I gave up on the artist at that time, Woods

So that's how I view this - depending on artists. Otherwise on some issues, it can be very average and that's what this issue is about - we are introduced to Shotgun, a new chap who is going to be Robin's support from the police force and some regular thugs as his villain of the day

 Ratings: 5/10

57. Ravage 2099 #1 ... Marvel ... Stan Lee ...

A looooooooooooong time ago, Marvel tried their hand repeatedly in creating new "universes" and the 2099 universe is one of those that lasted longer than others. When 2099 was launched, it was basically a look at the Marvel U 100 years into the future. There were initially a small handful of titles and all inspired by existing heroes (Spider Man 2099, X Men 2099 and FF 2099) except for 2: one is from a villain (Doom 2099) and one is totally new and freshly created by Stan Lee (Ravage 2099)

So how does this rate?

Well the first issue has an awesome cover. I liked this particular concept for all the number 1 issues of the 2099 universe. But the artwork inside is rather pedestrian. It serves to move the story forward but that's about it. There is no energy or wow factor

Anyway in the world of 2099, governments have faded away to reveal the real movers and shakers i.e. corporate companies. Ravage is also a corporate geek who unfortunately got on the wrong side of the people in-charge even though he is initially a pencil pusher boss of a large company. Naturally he is targeted and before he knew what was happening, he is running around trying to survive. Of course what story would not be complete without introducing potential supporting casts. So we have a girl and a black kid (African American?)

It's interesting at this stage because we have no idea of what Ravage will end up being i.e. where is the spandex moment? And whether this will be just a sci-fi book only or with the usual superheroics? Of course in the months to come, we see him developing and mutating, not once but twice and more in the course of a couple of years

So at least you can say that there are changes in this book, eh? Just like back in the early days of the Marvel U when Stan the man Lee was around. Ah well ...

Ratings: 5/10

56. Quasar vol 1 #1 ... Marvel ...

If you want to know what's an average comic, this is the perfect example. We have Wendel, a young man who is energetic and enthusiastic about life. He has a thriving career and a somewhat love interest going on. However, out of nowhere, he found something called the Bands and becomes protector of the universe (yes, the universe though how a pair of lame ass energy absorbing bands can make him protect the universe is beyond me). So basically he can make all sorts of constructs in addition to blasting things away (think Marvel's answer to the GL mythos and you will sort of have it)

So in this issue, we have Wendell's origin and a brief glimpse of a few bits and pieces here and there and now ... we come to the average comments ...

1. Name - Quasar/ Wendel - hmm - average right?
2. Powers - energy bands that allow him to make light constructs more or less - copycat GL DC
3. Costume - nothing special
4. Storyline - average
5. Artwork - average at best
6. Coloring - average
7. Cover - average too!

So do you think this series will be at the top of the charts? Hahahaha! Average at best too. It survived for slightly more than 5 years though. There were a few good issues towards the end of its first year but that's about it

Ratings: 3/10

55. Power Man & Iron Fist vol 1 #108 ... Marvel ...

During the mid 80s when this series came out as a monthly, if you are to tell any reader that Power Man is going to be a major character in the Avengers or that the Fist can be a huge seller as a solo character, people would say you are F-ing nuts. It's a book that was barely scraping by when they were 2 solo-es and when combined together, same problem

All that changed when Bendis brought Luke Cage aka Power Man to his New Avengers and Luke not only fit in but became some sort of group leader! And when Matt Fraction took hold of the Fist, he and David Aja expanded on the myth to become a full fledge complex character instead of just using the kung fu and mystical lore as some cheesy backdrop. So it seems like a character in the right hands can be a hit!

With that said, why did we select 108 for review? It's a personal reason because this is the first issue of the characters we encountered back when we were 11 years old and cycling around to the neighbourhood roadside magazine shack looking for new stuff to read

However, even though the cover and colours were good to attract an 11-year-old, sad to say the story while entertaining was not enough to pull us back on a regular basis and we dropped it within a few issues

As for 108, we see a Power Man and Iron Fist, Heroes for Hire, always short on clients and money with bills mounting. So when someone hired them for a job they took it. Turns out that there is someone mental who has been hurt and has this power to shoot fiery bolts from his eyes. So he decided to go take it out on the world starting at a building where Heroes for Hire has their mates within. Naturally a guy with fiery eye bolts cannot stand up to the steel-hard-skin of Cage, right? So no surprises there in terms of how fast the fight was over. This more than anything led to the downfall of the book. With one martial artist and one street fighter, one would hope for more brawling and fisticuffs, not just a few panels. The soap opera element may be fine for older readers but not for 11-year-olds

Ratings: 5/10

54. Pitt #5 ... Image ...

May 1st - international labour day and this book is a definite labour of love (and a lot of labour definitely hahaha) for its creator, Dale Keown. I loved, loved, loved this book. I remembered the tons of delay and the amount of internet bitching but you know what? I don't give a damn because every issue when it is finally out is a satisfying eye-candy in terms of artwork.

Dale was doing Hulk before he started PITT @ Image. You can tell that this is how Hulk should have been. Savage, muscles, tons of action, fights and generally slamming and destroying things

This issue is no different. Even though the lead character doesn't do much and the bulk of the action is on the villain of the piece, this is so good. On hindsight, the characters here do have some significance later on the series but for the moment, you can enjoy it as it is

It basically takes place after the first story arc in what is a downtime between the next arc. Instead of giving us a filler issue, this is one filler that rocks as Pitt tries to find his role on Earth and hearing a damsel in distress he goes to help only to find a damsel that is not scared by his appearance. After he departs from the scene, he hears another commotion only coming back to find said damsel is something more and what glorious artwork it is making even a normal creature look monstrous and beautiful!

Love, love, love this issue! Get it. Get multiple copies please!

Ratings: 10/10