wktf's and Sam Wilson's Reviews 6/2/06

[wktf]

Sam Wilson’s Reviews

A decent week in comics, topping the list is the always sexy Daughters of the Dragon (I personally can’t wait for the new “Hero’s for Hire book), Greg Rucka’s excellent and highly underrated Queen and Country and a trio of ultimate books including Ultimate Fantastic Four (love Greg Land’s art), Ultimate Spider-Man and my pick of the week, Ultimate Extinction (part three of the “Ultimate Galactus” trilogy). Be sure to check out our semi-regular column this week, “Ask a British Dude”, featuring statueforum’s very own jdh.goodgrief, famous for being a master cartoonist and an accomplished ballroom dancer. That being said, on to the reviews…

The Incredible Hulk issue #95
Marvel Comics
Written by: Daniel Way
Drawn by: Carlo Pagulayan

If you were to ask me what The Incredible Hulk has been about in the last few years, “fu$# if I know” would be my answer. Bruce Jones took over and started some weird conspiracy crap and brought in a reanimated Betsy Ross, Dr. Sampson, Nadia Blonsky, some mechanical rats and a bunch of other strange sh$# that didn’t make any damn sense. The Hulk, well, I was never sure if he was savage, intelligent, cunning, above average, whatever. Then Peter David came back for a second, but with him came the “House of M”, and well, I’m not even going to get into that. What’s wrong with consistency? Linear storytelling? A Hulk we can understand? Can someone just make a decision as to which Hulk Bruce Banner is, how he transforms, and what the deal is? Anything well done will do? Man I yearn for the old Peter David days with the Pantheon and Margo and Rick, is that asking for too much? Some solid storytelling and a Hulk we can understand? Please? Well, with Daniel Way and Carlo Pagulayan on the case, we just may have that.

Daniel Way’s first Hulk storyline had him stuck in outer space; recruited by Nick Fury to stop a rogue AI controlled satellite that could potentially destroy the Earth. What Nick Fury didn’t tell the Hulk was the satellite was made by SHIELD and had gotten away from their control. Anyway, the Hulk did what he does best, “smash”, and Nick Fury’s problem goes bye-bye. Then things take an interesting turn. At the end of last issue Fury seizes the opportunity and decides to dump the Hulk out in space. At the start of issue #92, Nick Fury and the rest of the “Illuminati” (Reed Richards, Dr. Strange, Tony Stark, Black Bolt, Professor X, see past issues of the “New Avengers” for more info on them) inform Dr. Banner the world is safer with him off the planet, so they have decided to exile him to another world void of and sentient beings but lush with vegetation and a breathable atmosphere. Needless to say, the Hulk is gets kinda PO’d and starts to smash, sending the ship off course. He ends up crashing on an inhabited planet, and is captured by its residents and is quickly made a slave. Then the Hulk is forced to fight as a gladiator, and after kicking much a$# he squares off against the emperor of the planet and defiantly whups on him, until he is overcome by someone in body armor. As punishment, the Hulk is sent to the “maw”, a place where gladiators train (but mostly get killed. It appears the planet is in turmoil, and its dissidents receive word of the “green man” who faced off with the emperor). The Hulk goes through “the maw” with ease, smashing like you wouldn’t believe and becoming unwillingly associated with a ragtag group of gladiators who fight through the maw with him. Tales of his exploits spread, and revolution comes knocking on the Hulk’s door. Soon the Hulk and his band of gladiators have beaten all of the challenges the emperor has laid fourth for them and find themselves at the last challenge, combat with the Silver Surfer? Yes, that Silver Surfer, aka Norrin Radd, the bald dude with the surfboard who was once a herald of Galactus. It turns out he was drawn to the planet by some mysterious force and found himself under the emperor’s control, serving as one of his gladiators. The Surfer is implanted with a control disk, the same device stuck on the Hulk and his crew, which forces them into gladiatorial combat against each other. Of course the Surfer and Hulk have met before, but do they fight to the death, or unite as revolutionary brothers? Read the damn book and find out I guess… 

So the Hulk is back, he is bad a$#ed and smashing up some sh$#. There is really not much else I can (at least not as eloquently). So pick up the book. Get the trade of Way’s first storyline (I’m sure it will be out shortly). The Hulk, at least in my opinion, is back to being a “must read” title again.

The Thing #7
Marvel Comics
Written by: Dan Slott
Drawn by: Andrea Di Vito

As most of you already know, “The Thing” has been cancelled. I guess the public has spoken, they want more crossovers and mutants and less storytelling and decent art. Oh yeah, and apparently the masses have no sense of humor either. So it’s with a heavy heart that I write what may be my final review of “The Thing”. For the luva Mike, I can’t believe Aunt Petunia’s favorite blue-eyed nephew is going out like this...

I have to say, I love the Thing, aka Ben Grimm. Many people have said I’m the black Ben Grimm, gruff on the outside but with a heart of gold. I digress though. Dan Slott’s book is something the comic book community needs. It’s fun. Yes fun, comics can still have that quality. Everything is crossed over lately, “event” based if you will. The powers that be think that “sh$# has to happen” for books to sell. Bah I say. Foxy chicas, square jawed heroes, cigars, and lots and lots of clobberin’ are all you need for entertainment, and Slott’s The Thing provides that in spades. So far Ben Grimm has romanced Hollywood starlets, whupped a$# on murder world, and made a lifelong friend with the Inhumans faithful pooch Lockjaw. For those of you who haven’t been keeping up, I’ll mention real quick that Reed set aside some kind of trust fund for Ben, and now he is a billionaire and he’s learning some hard lessons, but for the most part he’s staying true to his ever-lovin’ blue-eyed heart.

Issue seven of The Thing starts out with Ben trying to win back his old girl, Alicia Masters, the blind sculptress and daughter of the Puppet Master. Alicia has become smitten with this architect, and it turns out this isn’t one of Puppet Master’s evil schemes she really is smitten with him. Or course this breaks Ben’s heart, so he devises a pretty cool scheme to win her over, which involves Dr. Doom’s time machine, Hercules and a few great scenes with Lockjaw, the Inhuman’s dog and now Ben Grimm’s new best friend.

So yeah, buy this freakin’ book. Who cares if it’s been canceled? It has heart and is about something. Something personal anyway, it’s the Ben Grimm’s story, and damn if his story isn’t the most “real” in the Marvel U. Rocky exterior and space adventures notwithstanding, Ben is the most Human character in Marvel’s roster and he deserves his day in the sun. Add this book to your pull list, it’s damn entertaining and it’ll put a smile on your face. Now say it with me, IT’S CLOBBERIN’ TIME….

“Ask A British Dude”
with Jess Harold

Before we get into the main review for “Ultimate Extinction” I’d like to take a time out for our semi-regular column “Ask A British Dude”, featuring my friend and yours, a two time UK Cha-Cha champion and statueforum columnist/moderator (check out his cartoons at http://yearone.spiderspawn.com/ and http://www.statueforum.com/forumdisplay.php?f=45) Jess Harold, aka jdh.goodgrief. So Jess, what is your opinion on Warren Ellis’s “Ultimate Extinction”?

What do you expect from an Ultimate ongoing series? Ultra-consistent art, some of the best storytelling in comics, and the pleasure of seeing a cohesive Universe take shape. What do you expect from an Ultimate limited series? Below-par art, very little actually happening, and, in crossover minis, a failure adequately to explore the inter-relationships of characters we don’t see together month-on-month. So, it was less through expectation than through the completist in me (a whole Marvel Universe in one long box – how cool is that?) that made me order the Ultimate Galactus trilogy of minis. After all, when the first issue was solicited, I hadn’t even been turned on to the glory of Warren Ellis by NextWave (buy NextWave!) Imagine the pleasant surprise that resulted when the three series provided an engaging read, with great art and, finally, some Ultimate Team-Ups worth seeing. The modernisation of the Galactus story makes sense – a giant guy with a big purple hat will always be cool, but the Ultimate planet-eater heads to Earth with a developing sense of menace. The first and second parts of the trilogy introduced Carol Danvers, developed Ultimate Sam Wilson (hmmm, what would Ultimate Sam Wilson be like…?) and gave us a superb new take on Captain Mar-Vell; witty, charming, and tailor made for his own series. Ultimate Extinction hasn’t let us down on the Ultimatization front – Misty Knight is bionic armed and dangerous, we get a novel reinterpretation of Silver Surfer’s role in the Galactus Saga, and we even get to see Ultimate Moondragon. Worry not, she’s still bald. Better yet, great character interactions like Cap and Sam, and Reed Richards standing up to Nick Fury (and making Nick feel like his dad…) Finally, an Ultimate limited series that has me looking forward to the ultimate issue. But will we see the Ultimate Ultimate Nullifier? Or should that be the Penultimate Nullifier? Or better yet, will we see the ultimate accolade – a lasting impact on the Ultimate Marvel Universe. No Ultimate limited has had one yet, fingers crossed for this one.

Ultimate Extinction #5 (of 5)
Marvel Comics
Written by: Warren Ellis
Drawn by: Brandon Peterson

Ultimate Extinction is the third part in Warren Ellis’s “Ultimate Trilogy”, which is all about the coming of Gha Lak Tus (that’s Galactus for you regular Marvel U folks). The first part, Ultimate Nightmare, was about the X-men and the Ultimates tracking down an alien distress signal from the dead of Siberia, they soon found out this beacon came from the “Ultimate Vision”, whose alien android body was being used by the Russians for all kinds of cold world nastiness. Sam Wilson (the “Ultimate Falcon”), who was on the recovery team is also a scientist, and Nick Fury charges him with figuring out what exactly this “Vision” was sent to Earth for. The second part, “Ultimate Secret”, I actually will review later in the tpb, so I guess you can just read that for a recap/review of that storyline. Then as a back up story in recent “Ultimate Marvel” books, the story of the Vision is told (who turns out to be a she). The Vision is on Earth to warn it’s populace of Gha Lak Tus, the world destroyer, she was created by one of the worlds he destroyed and then sent out into space to warn other worlds of his coming. Apparently there is nothing you can do to stop the coming of Gha Lak Tus, and she suggests to Sam Wilson the populace of Earth get out while the getting’s good, which brings us to the last part of the trilogy, Ultimate Extinction.

Thus far in Ultimate Extinction Sam Wilson, Captain Marh-vell and Reed Richards have briefed Nick Fury on how exactly Gha Lak Tus is going to destroy the Earth. It wasn’t pretty. Meanwhile, Misty Knight was just hired to find a rich dude’s wife who was apparently skirted away by a charismatic leader of a money-hungry cult. Misty tracks down said wife, but finds a weird silvery naked dude has taken her (hmmm…). Then there is a gun battle and a bald chick. Which leads us to issue two, Fury and Richards are butting heads, Cap is coming to grips with his mortality and Misty Knight and Captain Jean DeWolff (fresh from the pages of Ultimate Spider-Man) are hot on the trail of the bald chick (who we find out is named Heather Douglas, aka Heather Moon. Hmm…). Misty Knight gets a visit from the silvery dude, and the sh$# hits the fan, Captain America is alerted by the battle and speeds off to fight something he can finally get his hands on, and Sam Wilson (aka the Ultimate Falcon) ditches the lab coat to join him and in issue three they are jumping out of a SHIELD helicopter to put foot to a$# on said silvery dude. Cap lands shield first on the beyotch and Falcon swoops down on him and lays into him with TWO FULL MAGAZINES FROM THE TWO MP5’s HE’s CARRYING DUAL HANDED CHOW YUN FAT STYLE WORD. Of course there is more techy stuff with Reed Richards and company, Professor X makes mental contact with Galactus, and there are hints of an “Ultimate Weapon” to be used. Issue four continues with the “Ultimate Weapon” stuff with Reed blowing a few gaskets and demanding all kinds of andamantium and other techie type stuff from Nick Fury, Captain America and company are hot on the trail of the “silvery dude” and their strange cult and get a crapload of info from Heather Douglas, who is a clone of her mom (but that is really here nor there), and then Captain America and Captain Marvel capture a silvery dude and torture the living sh$# out of him. Issue five features the big finale, and well, I can’t really say anything. You are going to have to buy the damn book.

The “Ultimate Trilogy” kicks a$# in my humble opinion. It is the first big crossover of the Ultimate Universe; we got the Fantastic Four, the Ultimates, and the X-men. Captain Mahr-vell, Carol Danvers, Misty Knight, yeah, things are cooking in the Ultimate Marvel U. Cap and Falc are teaming up (did I say WORD?). Yes, there are plenty of Ultimate haters out there, fine, hate away, but this is seriously some of the best stuff to come from the house of ideas in a long, long time, and if you don’t want to pick it up, well, that’s your prerogative, but I for one will be buying every issue, and the trades, and will enjoy every minute of it. FYI “Ultimate Extinction” has also been listed in this months Marvel Previews in tpb form, so if you don’t want to check out the individual issues, grab the trade. Word.

[wktf]

A moderate comics week for me. No trade which seems like an anomaly and, in addition to the three books I’m reviewing the only comics I picked up were The Thing and The Incredible Hulk, both reviewed by my stalwart partner, and Action Comics which continues the simply stunning “Up, Up and Away!” post Infinite Crisis “Superman Returns” story arc running across the two Superman books. But this week we are offered a truly unique comic book experience in the form of my first review.

Superman/Batman #26
DC Comics
Plot by: Sam Loeb
Written by: Jeff Loeb, Geoff Johns, Brian K. Vaughan, Allan Heinberg, Paul Levitz, Mark Verheiden, Richard Starkings, Brad Meltzer, Audrey Loeb, Joe Kelly, Joe Casey, Joss Whedon
Drawn by: Ed McGuinness, Jim Lee, Tim Sale, Pat Lee, Carlos Pacheco, Mike Kunkel, Duncan Rouleau, Ian Churchill, Rob Liefeld, Joe Madureira, Art Adams, Joyce Chin, Jeff Matsuda, John Cassaday, Pat Lee, Michael Turner

Sam Loeb, Jeff Loeb’s son, was born on April 13, 1988 and died from cancer on June 17, 2005. This story was plotted out by Sam, who’d already published in the comic book world, but he never lived to script it. The comic book creative community rallied together to finish Sam’s work and this book is the product of the collaborative effort of the staggering number of creators, many of them top shelf creators, that are credited in this book. While priced at $3.99 compared to the more typical $2.99 I certainly hope it will be a colossal seller as either revenue or profit (I’m not sure which) from its sales will go to The Sam Loeb College Scholarship Fund. All the art in this issue also will be auctioned at Wizard World Chicago this August with the proceeds’ going to the same fund.

The first story is kind of a hoot. It seems that Batman has lost track of Hiro Okumura, the new 13 year old Toyman introduced in the very first Superman/Batman arc. Hiro was supposed to deliver a new Batmobile to the Dark Knight but neither the new wheels nor the boy have shown up. Both Batman and Superman call upon Robin and Superboy to find and secure Hiro and what we get from that point on is the superhero equivalent of the old Bob Hope/Bing Crosby “Road” movies. Or, if you prefer, your favorite cop buddy movie (Danny Glover and Mel Gibson’s “Lethal Weapon” comes to mind for me). Much misadventure, danger and hilarity ensues but the real story is the close relationship between the two young Titans as they banter back and forth and trade good natured insults with each other as they battle for their lives in one unexpected crisis after another. Yep, it’s a hoot, except that it is bookended front and back by Robin mourning the loss of Superboy after the events of Infinite Crisis, an ironic metaphor for Sam Loeb himself whom his parents regarded as their own Superboy. This story, in fact, is Robin’s mournful, nostalgic recounting this example of when “We really did some stupid things together…” and it’s as poignant as it is fun.

The second story is by the dynamic creative duo of Jeff Loeb and Tim Sale and this one really reached down into your gut and pulls at every chord that makes you human. Jonathan Kent recalls a time when his son Clark was still in high school and befriended a young boy name Sam who had the gift to always make Clark laugh. While Pete Ross who, along with Lana Lang, was Clark’s oldest and dearest friend, found his humor in making fun of Clark, Sam made Clark laugh by making fun of life. And Clark sometimes would laugh so hard with Sam that milk would spray from his nose. But, suddenly, Sam needed crutches. And then Sam lost his hair. And then Sam told Clark his terrible secret. And, in one of the most touching images I’ve seen in comics, Sale’s massively drawn teenage Clark crumbles sobbing into his father’s lap on their porch swing. Anyone who’s read “Superman For All Seasons” knows how beautiful Tim Sale draws a Kansas farm, landscape, and sun set. His art is equally beautiful here, too. We learn with this vignette that Sam was an important part of Superman’s make up and at least a piece of the Man of Steel is influenced every day by Sam’s friendship. My hope is that future Superman writers make use of this piece of information as it could lead to some powerful future stories and character development.

The last page of this comic, the one with the creative credits, also has a photo of the late but smiling Sam Loeb. How could any other comic by my pick of the week?

Infinite Crisis Aftermath: The Spectre #1 of 3
DC Comics
Written by: Will Pfeifer
Drawn by: Cliff Chiang

Okay, if you were asked who the single most powerful character was of any comics universe your mind would likely toggle through a pretty short list that might include Superman, Thor, Captain Marvel (Shazam!), The Silver Surfer, Galactus, Darkseid, Thanos, The Beyonder. But how many of you would think to name The Spectre? Come on! Sure, those other characters have power enough to shake whole worlds or even whole universes, but The Spectre was formerly the angel Raphael who became the mystical embodiment of God’s wrath, the very biblical spirit that destroyed Sodom and Gommorah and spread Moses’ ten plagues across Egypt. He is, in truth, God’s Spirit of Vengeance. You just don’t get bigger or badder than The Spectre. His only limitation, though, is that he must bond with a human host in order to focus his activities. And when he lost Hal Jordan as his host he also lost his way and was influenced by Eclispo, during Infinite Crisis, to commit acts of such evil that he eventually drew the ire of God who sent him plummeting into the newly dead body of one of the few good cops in Gotham City.

Crispus Allen had been murdered in the last story arc of the late and lamented Gotham Central. Partner of Renee Montoya, now featured in 52, he was an honest cop and a loving husband and father. While building a case against dirty copy Jim Corrigan, Allen was shot in the back by Corrigan himself. Now, in this short Crisis Aftermath mini series, we see Allen and The Spectre coming to terms with each other, sort of. Allen’s spirit is walking the Earth, unable to be seen or heard or affect any changes. In a surprise move, one not made by any of The Spectre’s prior hosts, Allen rejects the spirit’s offer to join together to mete out judgment and justice. He is given one year to roam the Earth after which he must decide. Of course, it wouldn’t be much of a series if Allen didn’t finally agree, but what’s interesting here is the relationship between God’s spirit of vengeance and Allen, both of whom exist separately even when they share the same body.

Allen’s family, especially his young teenage son, is furious that Corrigan got away with his murder. Crispus wants vengeance and sees The Spectre as the way to get it. However, it seems that The Spectre has other plans and, now that Allen’s agreed to act as the needed host, he’s beginning to consider his role and power in this relationship. I’m a big Crispus Allen fan. I’m very happy to see this fine character find new life in this series and, hopefully, beyond. Pfeifer is giving us a clean and compelling story and Chiang’s simple but dark and moody art feels perfect. I don’t know how this series can go only three issues but, based on this issue, I’ll be along for the full ride.

Books of Doom #6 of 6
Marvel Comics
Written by: Ed Brubaker
Drawn by: Pablo Raimondi

Since Brubaker started scripting the Winter Soldier story for Marvel’s Captain America, it seems like everything he’s touched turns to gold. He’s just knocking the lights out on Daredevil, hopes are very high regarding his upcoming X-Men run and the every issue of the mini series Books of Doom, expounding on the origin of Marvel’s most dreaded villain, has been a jaw dropper. Books of Doom finishes up with this issue whose ending is nearly as strongly as its run up to this point, proving Brubaker has the goods to close the deal as well as initiate it.

To get to this point Doom had lost both his mother’s soul to hell and father to exposure, forsaken his love Valeria, battled a demon for his mother’s soul, been driven out of an American university where he both met Reed Richards and destroyed his own face, and returned to Latveria to seize the crown from the man responsible for his parents’ death. The now armored and always charismatic Doom gained full control and support of the Latverian people and stormed the ruling castle with little incident other than the deaths of those targeted by Doom. But though this series ends with Doom’s victory and Latveria moving toward prosperity there is still the matter of the person to whom he is giving this interview and his never ending quest to battle a particular demon for his mother’s soul. And, throughout this series we have seen Doom loyalists imprisoned in Castle Doom. What can cause anyone to fall so far out of favor with Doom that they’d find their life confined to prison cell walls? Our reporter, whom we finally meet with this issue, learns this lesson too well. And Doom, himself, is not all that he appears in this one story.

In truth, this issue was a little anticlimactic compared to the prior issues which were all far stronger. But only a little. Still, this will make a must-have trade for any Doom or FF fans (maybe also reprinting the classic Doom origin story from FF Annual #1?) who are looking for a more intimate and detailed portrayal of the Latverian despot, his history, and how he came to be the man he is today

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http://www.statueforum.com/showthread.php?t=29347

[wktf]

With Spider-Man 3 now in full movie production, and one of the movie’s villains slated to be Venom, we thought we’d review the multi-faceted, intricate, multiple story lines that, taken as four separate trades, represent four distinct and important arcs but, taken together, yield the sequence of events that lead to Venom’s origin. In truth, despite his pretty substantial fan base, neither of us have ever had any great love for this character. Venom is most definitely a product of his time, the late 1980s early 1990s, and his two-dimensional characterization and gross overexposure seemed to make him less than relevant after only a few years. And, up until Mark Millar’s recent innovative reinvention of the character in MK Spider-Man, we’d seen neither hide nor hair of him in years, really. But the twisting and turning tales that lead to his origin, that took place over an incredible period of four years, from 1984 to 1988, make for some of the most entertaining and intricate comic book reading around, especially when you read them all as the long, persistent and inexorable path to the creation of this Spider-Man staple villain.

So, in these reviews we’ll take a look at all four trades in sequential order along this journey, starting with these two. Tune in next week for the third and fourth installments in this series!

Sam Wilson’s Review

Marvel Superheroes Secret Wars
Marvel Comics
Written by: Jim Shooter
Drawn by: Mike Zeck & Bob Layton

Not to throw anyone for a loop, but the unleashing of “Secret Wars” onto the comic reading masses is a direct result of the ‘80’s action figure craze. No really, it’s true. According to Tom Defalco’s 1999 intro to the “Secret Wars” tpb, a rival toy company wanted to produce a line of Marvel action figures in response to Kenner’s successful “Super Powers” line. They also wanted a comic series to support it (kinda like the mega-successful “GI Joe”) and they wanted to include all the major players in the Marvel Universe. A few meeting down the road and the first major all-company crossover was born, “Secret Wars”. Yes, we all know the “Secret Wars” toy line died a slow and painful death (those lenticular shield thingy’s were hella stupid), but the comic series was one of the most successful limited series of all time and has been imitated time and time again over the years in Marvel and DC (much to our chagrin sometimes). Arguably, without “Secret Wars” there would have been no “Crisis”, “Infinity Gauntlet”, or “Hero’s Return” (ugh). As a comic series itself, “Secret Wars” spawned many changes in Marvel Comics continuity, some of which we’ll talk about now…

The plot of “Secret Wars” is simple enough. An omnipotent cosmic being, the Beyonder was intrigued by humanity and their concepts of good and evil. To more closely observe these phenomena he kidnapped Earth’s greatest heroes and villains and put them on a world of his own design and pitted them against each other in combat. There were a few great moments, like when Dr. Doom psyched himself out of godhood and created his own demise, and when Molecule Man, pretty much a third tier FF villain, grew a pair and started kicking a$#. When it comes down to it though, Secret Wars is mainly known for one thing, in issue eight we get the first appearance of Spider-Man’s “black” costume, and alien “creature” of some sort that can create webs without a web shooter and can mold itself to Spidey’s every thought, costume, street clothes, whatever. For more on Spidey’s “black” costume, check out my partner’s tpb review. Anyway, my personal favorite “moment” to come out of “Secret Wars” was the Thing opting to remain on “Battleworld”, where he could change to Ben Grimm at will, and the She-Hulk taking his place in the Fantastic Four. “Shulkie” had quite the memorable run in the FF in the ‘80’s when John Byrne was at the helm, and I wonder sometimes if people remember it was one of the last panels in “Secret Wars” that began that journey.

“Secret Wars” is a part of Marvel history, and love them or like them, was also the birth of the company-wide crossover. This tpb is recently back in print and available for $29.99 from most major retailers, it’s definitely worth checking out.

Wktf’s Review

Spider-Man: The Saga of the Alien Costume
Marvel Comics
Written by: Tom DeFalco (with assistance by Roger Stern)
Drawn by: Ron Frenz (with assistance by Rick Leionardi)

This trade begins right after the disappearance of the Marvel superheroes to The Beyonder’s Battleworld. The Daily Bugle’s headline screams: “Where are They?!? Still No Word on Missing Heroes” and sports the visages of Thor, Spider-Man, Captain America, She-Hulk and a host of other Marvel heroes. However, in only a couple of pages, a bizarre structure appears in Central Park out of which leaps Spider-Man, to the shock and surprise of three police officers, holding a stunned Doctor Curt Connors in his right arm. This dynamic full page image shows our hero for the first time in his now all too familiar black symbiote costume. While this costume is well known today, try to think back to when you first read Amazing Spider-Man #252, the issue following Spider-Man’s first defeat of The Hobgoblin, assuming you started reading comics before 1984, and how truly startling and dramatic this image was. Soon The Avengers appear and Spider-Man and Doc Connors begin to converse mysteriously about their shared experience on Battleworld. This experience is referenced continuously throughout this trade because, remember, though our heroes have returned to a time only moments after they vanished in the previous isse, the Secret Wars comic book series was running in parallel at the time these issues were published. What better way to build sales back then than to keep plugging it in Marvel’s ongoing titles, right? There were no internet fan sites back in the mid-1980s, after all.

“The Saga of the Alien Costume” really stands out on my shelf due to its sheer size. Unlike today’s trades that capture four or six issue story arcs designed to fit into a trade format, this one collects the eight issues from Amazing Spider-Man #252-259. And it’s rare to find a set of stories, especially from a consecutive run of issues, which offer up so many important milestones in a character’s life. It does start a little slowly, though, following Spider-Man’s explosive entrance. Peter has made the decision to discontinue his graduate studies which creates a rift between him and Aunt May. And there are a couple of throw away individual stories involving a football star who’s paid to throw games and even a battle with the Red Ghost and his super apes. But the vast majority of this trade is pure Spidey history gold. We get the introduction of The Rose as well as his alliance with The Hobgoblin and fateful encounter with The Kingpin, a battle with Jack ‘O Lantern who (we now know, with hindsight, eventually becomes the second Hobgoblin) over The Hobgoblin’s impounded battlevan, and the introduction and first battle with Puma. While Spider-Man has been plagued by questions concerning the new alien costume he acquired on Battleworld, and all its strange properties, it is during his battle with Puma that his fears about his costume become sharper. To Spider-Man’s great surprise, Puma’s enhanced senses reveal that the costume’s webbing is organic! Following the battle with Puma we are treated to the now classic dream sequence, used in the Spider-Man Animated Series as well, where the black and red/blue costume attack Peter and each other for control of their host. And this dream occurs not only when Peter is sound asleep but also is swinging around New York fully possessed by the symbiote! And then we experience another classic Spidey moment, following Mr. Fantastic’s analysis of the symbiote, wherein we not only discover its vulnerability to fire and sonic waves but get to see Spidey in one of his shortest lived but most famous substitute costumes yet, courtesy of The Human Torch: an FF uniform, a paper bag mask with two eye holes cut out, and a “Kick Me” sign on his back!

But, perhaps, Peter’s most significant milestone in this trade is the reuniting with Mary Jane that puts the two of them on track to be married shortly thereafter. MJ finally reveals to Peter that she’s known for years about his secret and relays to him her terrible history of family abuse and neglect, something the Spider-Man movies have tapped into as well. As the Hobgoblin and The Rose make their attempt to wrest control of New York’s underworld from The Kingpin, Peter and Mary Jane walk together through Central Park coming closer together as they go. Though Peter thinks he’s in love with The Black Cat, who also appears in this trade, he discovers his feelings for Mary Jane are rekindling as both bear their most important secrets to each other.

Tom DeFalco’s pacing, plotting and scripting is just terrific. This writer really gets how to script action-packed, humorous, dramatic and angst-filled Spider-Man stories. Curiosity keeps building throughout this story as Spidey’s costume starts acting in weirder and weirder ways and its true nature and danger is finally revealed. But special kudos must go to Ron Frenz. His style has changed considerably over the years, but it was his stint on Spider-Man that was my favorite even more so than on The Mighty Thor where he had a pretty long run as well. I swear in this work his art channeling Steve Ditko by presenting a lightning fast, incredibly agile and powerful Spider-Man who really seemed to get off exercising his amazing abilities to his full extent. Here we have a leaping, somersaulting, cart wheeling, and jaw punching Spidey who could have come out of the first 30 issues of this title’s run. This trade retailed for $9.95 when it was published but, sadly, it is long out of print. That said I’ve seen it occasionally on eBay or the various online bookstores. Pick it up if you can. You’ll be glad you did.

In the mean time, having been wrenched from its host, the alien symbiote remains trapped in Mr. Fantastic’s laboratory…“And, even as it assesses its current situation, it begins to plan - - ! To hate - - ! To hunger for revenge - - !”

[Jesse321]

I have to tell you guys, both of the stories in Batman/Superman made me cry ... and that's something that no comicbook has ever been able to do before. It's the most touching book I've ever read, bar none!

[Babytoxie]

Great reviews, guys!

I'd love to see a reprint of the Saga of the Alien Costume; however, the recent reprint of Secret Wars drove home an important point... just because a series is groundbreaking doesn't necessarily mean it's well-written. Some great stuff came out of it, but the series itself was a real pain.

Still, from a purely historical perspective, both are good to have, or at least to be familiar with.

[bat_collector]

The spectre rocks! I want more than just three issues, dang it!

Great review joe

And I love Secret Wars!!!!

[JDH]

I haven't read it in a while, but I always considered Secret Wars the best Doom story I ever read. I've been meaning to dig it out and cherish it again -maybe now I will. There is so much that is great about that series, and I still think it has the best premise and arguably best execution of any crossover of its kind. The insight into the villains was pretty groundbreaking, at least in my experience. I even loved the figures, the only Marvel toys I was ever the right age to collect, even if we never seemed to get the later ones over here in the UK. But even aged around 8, I never understood those ridiculous shields...

[Sam Wilson]

$@$#@. I am so PO'd I missed Supes/Bat, I'm going to the LCS to pick that book up today. Dammit.

And ladies and gents, how about that new semi-regular column? It's bad enough no one chimed in on my wifes Birds of Prey tpb last week, but no one has any love for our very own jdh.goodgrief? Damn...

[JDH]

Originally Posted by Sam Wilson

$@$#@. I am so PO'd I missed Supes/Bat, I'm going to the LCS to pick that book up today. Dammit.

And ladies and gents, how about that new semi-regular column? It's bad enough no one chimed in on my wifes Birds of Prey tpb last week, but no one has any love for our very own jdh.goodgrief? Damn...

We ballroom dancers always get stigmatised...

[Sam Wilson]

Originally Posted by jdh.goodgrief

We ballroom dancers always get stigmatised...

like ultimate extinction, ballroom dance is underappreciated my brother.