2.235 (600) Fantastic Four vol 2 #7 ...

SPOILER ALERT

There! I decided to put that right at the start because I have no idea how we can do this without that. So after six issues of non stop running and fighting and dodging and blowing things up, can we expect life to slow down for our Fabulous Foursome? Yes

Reason is because after the nightmare of the crossover with the other Heroes Reborn titles, we see Ben aka the Thing with severe radiation burns on his hands and recuperating. Lucky thing for him (no pun intended) that the beautiful Alicia Masters who is blind yet seemed to have an awesome ability to dress up and pair off clothes and make up wonderfully (colour not texture) has a thing for the Thing (pun intended) and she is visiting him

Thus creating the opportunity for the rest of the team to go back and do some stuff

Unfortunately whatever they may wish for was not meant to be as before they know it BANG they have split up and each appear to be in a different time or place or universe. Reed, Sue and Johnny had to face some cold hard truths

The biggest shocker of all is the arrival of Mr Non Intervention, the Watcher as apparently he was the one who orchestrated their temporary displacement and after what he deemed to be enough, he whisked them back leaving them with cryptic messages. It's always thus, isn't it? Hehehe!

So yes there is some drama and action ... but not all out war here ... I guess that's as good as it gets with the FF. Oh yeah! Jim Lee has vanished from the art side and given the reins to Brett Booth who generally does a good job except for his facials

Ratings: 6/10

2.234 (599) Fantastic Four vol 2 Heroes Reborn #6 ...

Waaaaay back then or about 20 years ago (damn has it been that long?), when this book was coming out, it was a huge hit regardless of what some critics were saying (originally). We have artistic superstar retelling the original tales of the FF and updating not only costumes but storylines. In fact, rather than decompression storytelling, this is like an overload trying to cramp as much as possible into each issue and the surprising thing is inspite of the amount of dialogues, it is still a very good looking book thanks to the entire creative team from penciller to inker to colorist

In issue 6, as the book approaches its half year point, we see the end of one tale, the start of another that will crossover into the other books and also the start of yet another thread for issue 7. In short, this is one heck of a comicbook storywise

First up, we see the conclusion SPOILER ALERT to the Silver Surfer issue as we see that the Super Skrull has mistakenly thought (so childish - seriously) that by absorbing some of the Surfer's powers, he will have enough to challenge Galactus himself. The FF proved him wrong by wakening the Surfer and letting Surfer kick Skrull butt

Unfortunately the place they were having their all-out was Latveria because it was Doom who originally kidnapped the Surfer hoping to syphon the Surfer's Power Cosmic for himself. That ended in a dramatic explosion where once again probably owing to lack of pages we see the FF depart without clear conclusion on outcome or even following up later

So we have a potential ticking timebomb underground, Surfer surviving with potential world devouring status coming to pass and finally, an enraged Doom who as usual will plot his revenge. Unfortunately as if that isn't enough, we get a whiff of something going horrendously wrong in USA where it affects a certain green-skinned monster. So what book is next for you to buy?

Avengers #6 and all the others that has #6 before coming back here for 7

Ratings: 8/10

2.220 (585) Thing vol 1 #18 ...

After liking number 19, I actually tried to buy what I could on the discount bins and naturally this was one of the easier finds.

This is an interesting tale.

Here we see Ben continuing on his journey with that leggy female warrior from the Battleworld of the Beyonder.

If you are new to this, basically, after the first Secret Wars, Ben Grimm decided not to go back to Earth with the other heroes because here he can transform from Ben to the Thing at will. So armed with a gadget from Reed that will allow him to go back to Earth any time he wants, he stayed back and before he knew it, there is a strange shadowy figure somehow tracking him and putting him through various challenges.

But not everything is bad.

On the plus side is this woman whom he came across who seemed attracted to him as both Grimm and Thing and this issue continues their journey as they come across even more crazy turns on Battleworld.

Artwork is acceptable and easy to follow not so much flash though

Ratings: 5/10

2.100 (465) Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars #6 ... Marvel ... #secretwars, #avengers

Wooo-weeeee we hit our 100th review with this post in our second year. So finally we are doing things on a consistent basis. For me, personally, it is an achievement because somehow or other, I have always started and stopped and re-started things. Even this blog is a good example. There is an earlier comic blog that I started but not kept up regularly. So even though I may wish for more followers, what is more important is the sense of achievement and the discipline to finally do something properly

Anyway, for this our 100th issue, we jumped back to the first Secret Wars as it hits issue 6 the middle mark and so far, there is no let up in the formula. Great artwork, character developments all serve to propel  an action driven storyline and this is no exception

Basically, this issue serves as a breather so there is no big action sequences but hey in this series no big action sequences is still full of action. Example: in the opening pages we see the Wasp piloting a ship out of control and crashing in a magnificent explosion only to encounter a mentally deranged Lizard whose strength seems to be increasing and she has to use her charms to calm him down while inside Doom base as he continues to study and understand Galactus, who should intrude but Klaw, the master of sound whose mind is also altered thanks to his body being blown to its essential building blocks in other series? See? Lots of happening

Meanwhile, as Colossus recovers from his earlier beating SPOILER ALERT his dreams started merging between Ezaji the alien healer and Kitty Pryde while the Torch being who he is merely swoops down literally and picks up the woman of his current dreams right in front of an embarrassed Peter

As if that isn't all, we see that Prof X decides to take the initiative to attack the villains and all these came at a price of fighting with Storm who is naturally upset as the Prof has cast her official field leadership role aside at his own convenience. And ... what's up with the intelligent Hulk? He is continuing to show signs of aggression

O and to end this review or rather a review that gives you highlights of what is going on within, if you think the action is not intense, how about Rogue getting whupped? Or Wolvie slashing someone open leaving them near death? Hehehe! Awesome!

Ratings: 8/10

2.20 (385) Fantastic Four vol 1 #275 ... Marvel ...

Check out that cover and you know you are in for an offbeat story if the contents are indeed as per the cover and in this case, that ain't no over-hype. The story is pretty straightforward but entertaining.

New York has a spell of the sun and girls all over the city are trying to catch a bit of that welcoming ray. We saw that in Marvel Team Up where Peter Parker took pictures of the 3 gals sunbathing and actually submitted to the Bugle and here, we have She Hulk taking time out from super heroing ...

Except that in this case the paparazzi had been alerted to her routine and actually been staking out for a shot of her ... however, a regular photo is not enough oh nooo ... they want her in all her naked glory ... and so they used a helicopter to zoom down on her and blow everything away ...

The fun is when Jenn tries to use both super heroics and her alter ego as lawyer to fight this and stop the press. However, nothing can and the end is the photo in a magazine that the Torch went out and bought ...

Trust Byrne not to let us down as he actually has an ingenuous yet most logical twist towards the end!

Ratings: 7/10

2.19 (384) Fantastic Four vol 1 #274 ... Marvel ...

For some reason, Ben Grimm aka the Thing has always been hugely popular and if you are to read today's views of his series at the time of this review, you will find that present day readers or even those who were from that era (wow makes me sound so old, eh?) somehow do not like his Space Ranger forays. I am not sure why. I personally think it entertaining and much better than before he was stuck in Beyonder World ... ah well ... to each his own, eh?

So here in this issue based on that cover you would be thinking that Ben is coming back to Earth, eh? Well, not yet ... it's a misleading cover ... all the cover means to say is that the second chapter of a tale that began in the Thing's solo series continues here and for fans of FF who do not buy that series, well, at least you get a glimpse of Ben. Get it?

Okay ...

So in this issue it's basically as the cover indicates. Ben is going through a part of Battle World ... where it resembles the B-grade horror movies of earth. A dark and dimly lit road, a horse drawn wagon and spooks that go bump in the night such as Frankenstein monsters and what-not. About the only thing different is that here ... SPOILER ALERT ... while the monsters may look freaky and nasty ... there is someone else even nastier after them ... years later, Rick Remender (if I am not mistaken) created a similar but more in-depth tale on the regular Marvel U with Punisher versus monsters and monster hunters too

So was this tale enjoyable? Yes. Yes it was for me ... again nothing special or new but just a comic told well

Ratings: 6/10

2.18 (383) Fantastic Four vol 1 #273 ... Marvel ...

And heeeeeeere we are ... finally ... right back to volume 1 the start of it all and where better to start than with the 2nd man who manages to revive the FF back to its glory days ... we are talking John Byrne. This is also the time when I was first introduced to his work ... and though it may look spartan at times ... and a bit harsh the lines ... but I love them all!

In this issue, it is a continuing chapter of a longer story arc where the FF (with She Hulk who came
onboard after the Thing decided to continue staying on the Beyonder's world after the first Secret Wars) went traipsing to a different time/ space/ dimension ... call it whatever you want

The cool bits are space cowboys ... we kid you not ... cowboys talking in drawls riding metallic steed and facing huge problems with a master bad guy ... and NO spoiler alert ... as Reed found out in this issue the baddie is none other than his estranged dad who is equally smart but not as moral ... what he deems best he does without regard for his fellow mortals is Nathaniel Richards

Naturally to ensure his dad doesn't disappear into obscurity ... there is one more reveal in this comic ... SPOILER ALERT NOW ... and that is that Nat's position has been more or less usurped by his younger, hotter lover! Hahaha! What a cliche!

Ah well ... still an enjoyable read anyhow

Ratings: 6/10

2.16 (381) Fantastic Four vol 2 #4 ... Marvel ...

There are some artists who can really do awesome cover after cover (Jim Lee) and there are some artists whose covers are generally average (Bryan Hitch) ... personal opinion naturally. Hehehe! Don't get me wrong. I am a HUGE fan of Hitch having his 2 runs on Ultimates and buying once more in TPB and then collecting his FF run and also the issues in Authority

Well here in this issue once more Lee and crew doesn't give you time to breath as he pushes forward that Reed's suspicions has borne fruit and that the space anomaly that gave them their powers ... well there is a being emerging and so the 4 go forward to discover what this is

SPOILER ALERT

SPOILER ALERT

It is none other than the  Silver Surfer ... can Galactus bee far behind then? Well at this point in the storyline, YES! But to ramp up the excitement, the Surfer's potential point of landing is in Wakanda where the Black Panther resides. So it's guest star time

And for a real villain of the piece ... it's DOOM yes yes yes! And Lee does an awesome DOOM

Ratings: 8/10

2.15 (380) Fantastic Four vol 2 #3 ... Marvel ...

The cover says it all! In this, our foursome's third issue, it's time for over-the-top action as if the past 2 issues were slow burners, eh? So basically here as the entire world goes nuts thanks to Namor and as even the Thing found out that his awesome strength doesn't amount to much if he doesn't use some brains ... and they are in deep, deep shit time ... Nick Fury (the original) pulls out his bunny from the hat ... in the form of the Avengers to the rescue

And while everyone is scrambling around trying to either fight or find some way to resolve the situation SPOILER ALERT TIME ... what happens but Namor is struck by the beauty that is Sue Storm. Hahaha! Yeah, right!

And then Thor lays down the law

But ... the ending has both good and weaker points. The good is that Ben is ready to be self-serving along with Nick Fury and the bad? Captain America has a history with Namor and manages to calm him down and guess what? Once more, with all the death and damages Namor and his people are free to go. Say what?!?!?!

But enough of this actual issue's main thrust on the storyline because what we hinted at in our review of #2 gets even more space time and we see it building up for ... net issue as we see more of Doom (finally) and naturally more of the anomaly that gave the 4 their powers!

Ratings: 8/10 (we would have given it even higher if not for the fact that everything is so rush. This is one issue that would have benefited from extra pages)

2.14 (379) Fantastic Four vol2 #2 ... Marvel ...

Ok, readers. Brace yourselves. We feel guilty and are going to make up for it with a HUGE slew of FF and FF related reviews and to kick it off, for those who thought we DID NOT like the Jim Lee run on Heroes Reborn, you couldn't be more wrong. We loved the first 11 issues and here is a good example of what we mean

After the opening arc where our fantastic foursome gained their powers and have a big brawl with the Mole Man and his monster crew and simultaneously appear to be the new heroes of the Earth ... well without slowing down for even one bit ... Jim and his team takes us on another rip-roaring cram session of comic story telling as ...

Namor and his Atlanteans are not happy with what we topside humans are doing. So in retaliation, he decided to teach us a lesson and his lesson is to bring his own slew of monsters to kick our butts not counting his own army as well as the very sea itself

And all this while, our fantastic family is still struggling to come to terms with who they are now and their own powers and the extent of their powers and Reed being Reed ... he is feeling that there should be something more in the space anomaly that causes this

So if you find yourself enjoying this very issue, then you should most definitely read the next few issues as Reed's suspicions are proven right and in such a loud way!

Ratings: 8/10

2.13 (378) The Thing vol 1 #15 ... Marvel ...

Well since there is a request for a bit more information about the old Thing ongoing, here is our next review ... as we followed Ben after his last victory onwards ...

In this issue, he and Tarianna's recovered spaceship finally gives out and they landed in a space port of sorts hoping to find parts but money is in short supply and even then Ben goes to a tavern for a drink. Well if that isn't looking for trouble I don't know what is

Naturally there is some sort of bad guy who then goes to hassle Tari only to be taken care of by Ben in the form of Bengrimm not the Thing

That sort of tells you the quality and seriousness of this issue ... and as they walked onwards, throughout the issue, Ben keeps getting set up for minor pranks sort of like banana peels strewn across his path and what-not making him think of the Yancy Street Gang i.e. the neighbourhood where he grew up where a gang of kids are always trying to give him a hard time

About the only other interesting bit here is the green girl whose mates discovered a weapon only to have it disappeared in her hand and appearing in the hands of the bad guy from the bar ... this indicates that something else is controlling Ben's misadventures ... something more serious than pranks but as to who or what this is ... we are not even given the usual shadowy presence

Ratings: 4/10

2.11 (376) Fantastic Four vol 2 #13 ... Marvel ...

Wow am I feeling bad right now. I was going to do this review and checked to my archives master control list thingie to ensure that we do not do a double review and to my absolute embarrassment, I found that over the past year plus ... I have hardly ever done any FF even thought I have most of vol 3 and all of vol 2 and a few hundred issues of vol 1. UGH!

So here it is the final issue from the Heroes Reborn era as Marvel attempts to consolidate all the one year old universe storyline into one major arc and bring all these heroes back into the regular Marvel Universe

If you have not been following the series or at least the past issue of this and its three sister titles of Avengers, Iron Man and Captain America, it is going to be confusing but basically you just need to know that there was a bad guy named Onslaught who was created when Xavier shut down Magneto's mind. And this chap created a huge powerful energy arc that is going to wipe out creation. Many heroes then rush into the arc to absorb and block with their own mortal shells and thus BANG "died" only to be reborn in another universe called Heroes Reborn where their back stories are being told from scratch albeit with alterations from the regular universe

Got it?

At this, the 13th issue in all 4 series what we do get is that since Jim Lee is now headlining all 4 titles, he brought his own Wildstorm characters onboard and that's where it got really confusing. We see different versions of our regular heroes as they fight an alien menace all the while ... something else big is going on and I have no idea why even the Heroes Reborn universe is suddenly mixed with Wildstorm because if you read the first 12, this is not in

So for me, it's a total FAILURE for the 13th issue - sorry to all who liked it

Also the artwork changed from Jim Lee and Brett Booth to Mike Wieringo and sorry to Mike but this looked so below his norm. I am a huge fan of Mike and loved his Robin works and later on when he took over the regular FF (years after this run) but this single issue looks so not like his normal

Ratings: 2/10

2.10 (375) The Thing vol 1 #14 ... Marvel ...

Now you may be wondering why after all that rash of reviews on Avengers, why we switched to the Thing? Well, the reason is simple. Before the Avengers movie hits, we saw the internet being inundated with comments about the relaunch of the fab four (no not the beatles) and this is because while the origins are similar, this relaunch has taken liberties with the actual four human persona making one even African American

When I saw the trailer in the cinemas, I actually enjoyed it and thought it had the feel of when X-Men was first brought to the screen. Less flashy costumes and more focus on storytelling and a dose of realism

And that's why I decided to take a nose dive waaaay back into my back issue bins and found this issue - where Ben Grimm is stuck on the Beyonder's World after the first Secret Wars ... which coincidentally is Marvel's 2015 big event that supposedly changes everything about the Marvel universes!

Anyway, here Ben is staying behind and exploring more of the planet in accompaniment of a tall warrior woman. The story is interesting though not compelling to make you put this series on your must buy list. It is basically another chapter in his time traveling through this planet and here he encounters a group of spaceships flying and attacking another civilization. To Ben's utter amazement the latter did nothing to defend themselves and explained that these attacks happen every month for years untold until no one remembered how to fight or why they fight. Hmmm

And naturally Ben stood up for the under-dogs - bah!

Ratings: 5/10

2.5 (370) Avengers vol 1 #300 ... Marvel ...

On this monumental issue ... we present to you some new members to the hallowed halls of the Avengers ... and none are more interesting and awesome than the one, the only (drum rolls please) ... Gilgamesh, the Forgotten One!

Yes, he is the one in that weird armour uniform with bull's head horns and what-not ... and the one with strength and a bit of other abilities ... and if you don't remember him, well he is also known as the Forgotten One and obviously has been forgotten ... no pun intended!

Okay ... so issue 300 ... it is meant to be a significant milestone. And here the storyline is once more building until this the climax where someone has corrupted the very fabric of the world itself turning everything dark and slimy and there is even an artificial construct that got in the way of the Avengers but ... and this is a big but ... it feels like any other tale ... nothing special except that the threat happened when there is almost no more Avengers left to combat it

Enter: a ragtag bunch where Steve Rogers is now known as the Captain (Yup that inventive a name), Thor (thank goodness), 2 of the Fantastic Four who is on vacation and got drafted (but never changed their uniforms throughout their short tenure in the Avenger) and finally ... Gilgamesh

Yes, boring story ... boring characters ... Epting's artwork also failed to lift matters

Ratings: 5/10

361. Marvel Two-in-One Annual 5 ... Marvel ...

Look at that cover and especially at the Thing's face! Haw!

Well, this annual is dated 1980 which means this is before Marvel went experimental on their annuals. So what can we expect? A decent story and art that doesn't deviate too much from the monthly issues except that it is double sized or as the cover proudly proclaims 48 big pages!

So ...

As the stars are the Hulk and the Thing, the story naturally starts at 2 different points with the FF coming home and getting zapped. So the Thing couldn't revive his mates and decided to enlist the aid of one Bruce Banner ... while on the flipside the Hulk is jumping across country and who should he encounter but his sweetheart and her father and before anything else could happen ZAP ... they are out too!

While waaaaay aways, the Stranger realizes that there is a huge problem dawning reaching catastrophic size and he decided that only the Hulk and Thing could help him. SPOILER ALERT. Who is the villain of the piece? Pluto from Olympus mythology as he is busy constructing something that will give him the opportunity to tear down Olympus ... regardless of its affect on others ...

While all this is good and entertaining, now comes the illogical part ... as you read, you will find that the natural animosity between Thing and Hulk kept on materializing and they keep on taking bits and pieces out of each other ... and in fact, their help wasn't much help but more of luck ... so WTF was the Stranger thinking, eh? Hmm


Ratings: 5/10

356. Secret Invasion #1 to 8 ... Marvel ...

And now for something totally different, we are going to review the entire series of a limited series instead of issue by issue ... so over the past decade, both Marvel and DC have decided on 1 big major yearly event that has implications (almost) line wide and at the end of each series, the so-called universe will have a new setting to play on ... until next year's big event. In the cast of Marvel, sometimes if the event is not so all encompassing, then there will be several like one for the mutant books, one for the cosmic books and one for the remainder of the Marvel U ...

But this series encompasses all the titles!

It continues from where Civil War left off and ends by giving us Dark Reign ...

What's it about? Basically Marvel awesome scribe, Bendis decides that years ago, after the nonsense with the Skrull war and intervention by earthlings, they wanted to get even and established a long term plan that studied how to come and invade earth without being detected by magic, science and telepathy ... all the while having other conflicts in space ... this came to a head as their empire fell apart and so they decided to officially adopt earth as their new home

What made this a pain for the heroes and serve as the tension point?

Who do you trust?

When word came out at first, each hero began to question friends around them especially since the first confirmed Skrull was when Elektra was killed and before then, Elektra was everywhere including SHIELD, Avengers, and even DD's world ... with that happening, what else can be wrong?

And then when the Skrulls unveiled their hand, the entire world was taken completely unawares! From even non super powered beings and family, the Skrulls have put plans in motion. And they provided for contingencies like Stark tech, Maria Hill, Shield and even Sword!

So it's a long scramble as the disparate parties try to run away, find a breathing space, recuperate and hopefully find a way to turn around the invasion

It's a decent read BUT ... the biggest letdown for me are 2 things:

1. The end is one slugfest between heroes of earth and skrulls with powers? I mean, that's it? You are an alien race, advanced, years in the planning and your intention is to slug it out with earth's heroes and decided to do it in USA where the most heroes are?

2. Yu's artwork - sorry but it is too scratchy for my taste

Don't believe me? Look at back issue prices online. Of all the past decade's worth of crossovers, this is by far the cheapest to buy still

Ratings: 6/10 (would have been 7 if not for Yu)

305. Alpha Flight vol 1 #4 ... Marvel ...

This is John Byrne at his best ... seriously!

Anyway, as the cover indicates, we are treated to the continuing saga of Alpha Flight where as the premier team of Canada, they have spent the past two issues dealing with internal problems that somehow got them encountering a new super-villain who had apparently been part of humanity from the early ages i.e. the dawn of civilization! And the origin story of that including Alpha member, Marrina is now told in full ... as she too is an alien not of Earth!

This issue sees the guest-stars that appeared briefly (cameo) in the last issue making their presence felt as Namor and Invisible Woman enter the fray ... very good fighting sequences as we see the Flight finding each other in the maze, working to help each other out before the final big clash with the villain du jour

This is comic story telling at its best! (Sorry we just loved this issue so)

Ratings: 8/10

302. Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars vol 1 #1 ... Marvel (naturally) ...

Well, with the impending arrival of this year's main Marvel event where Marvel will ape DC by having a company wide event that will obliterate all their existing titles (more or less) and restart everything else, including using the title and concept of a limited series from their past (imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, eh?) ... so it is only timely that we review the first volume (of which there are 3)

And basically, in this first issue, we are shown that all those heroes who encountered that huge alien device on Earth only to disappear upon walking through its entrance have reappeared in a planet far, far, far away from home

And they are not alone

We have the FF, Avengers, XMen and a ton of villains and to top it all off, even Galactus is brought forth. And while everyone is puzzled and fearful, a voice boomed forth from out of nowhere ... asking them to defeat their foes ... and this said voice will grant them whatever their wish is

Naturally, immediately sides are drawn as parties try to see who will compromise and work with whom best ... will Magneto join the villains or the X-Men? Will the X-Men join the Avengers? Will Spider who at this point in time is still a loner join anyone? And what about Galactus?

With that to lead us off, Marvel knows that we are going to look forward to the future issues as the potential for huge slam-bang action scenes are outlined even though the premise is kind of weak ...

Ratings: 7/10

293. Alpha Flight vol 1 #3 ... Marvel ...

Check out the cover first! Here's a voluptuous woman fully clothed yet managing to look o-so-sexy! All you bad girl pin-up artists should learn a thing or two here especially as you can see even though she has tights on there is no nipple! Don't get me wrong! I do collect the 90s comics from Image a lot

Anyway, in this the third issue, the primary highlights are that we get to see an aspect of Snowbird's abilities that are largely ignored throughout Alpha's issues which is certainly refreshing as I too have forgotten until I re-read this issue

Aside from that, each Alphan finds themselves being challenged with their worst fears by the revealed villain from last issue, the Master of the World ... and he even shares his origins with Marrina (and no it is not cliche) ... and what an unexpected origin it is too ... something I would never have dreamt of

And as for a cliffhanger ending ... yup ... I thought when the word balloon popped up it would be an Alphan ... what an unexpected but delightful surprise! We will not SPOIL it for you by disclosing who are the guest stars since even the covers kept them out of it

Finally, on the flipside, we see more development in Weapon Alpha in Dept H as Mc develops his suit and other operatives come onboard including a certain mutant with claws

Ratings: 8/10