Review- MAGIC WIND VOL. 2: CLAWS

MAGIC WIND VOL. 2: CLAWS (Epicenter, 2013; Softcover)

Collects Magic Wind No. 2 (cover date August, 1997)

Writer: Gianfranco Manfredi

Artists: Giuseppe Barbati and Bruno Ramella

Colorist: Sergio Algozzino

When a giant eagle swoops down and steals a child from the Sioux, it is up to the white man that the tribe has accepted as one of their own, Magic Wind, to try and right things. The tribe is in disarray, with everyone blaming one another. This is a story about betrayal on a very human level, but it is the mystical and supernatural elements which add spice to the proceedings.

We see Magic Wind and Poe become a sort of Sherlock Holmes and Watson type pair of sleuth/adventurers this time out, with Poe becoming more of the comic relief. I really enjoyed the werewolf aspect, even though I always thought of werewolves as more of a European thing. In any case, this was great and I am in for volume 3. 

These roughly 100 page “issues” were originally issued in Italy in the European album format. There are 123 of these released to date overseas, but they are in black and white while the North American English language translations are being presented in color for the very first time. We are now 2 down, with only 121 more to go!

Junk Food For Thought rating: 4.5 out of 5.

The OCD zone- Epicenter makes really nice books.

DVD-style Extras included in this book: None.

Paper rating: 5 out of 5. Beautiful, thick glossy 105 pound paper stock.

Binding rating: 4.5 out of 5. I heart sewn bindings on softcovers.

Cardstock cover coating rating: 4 out of 5. The cover has that dull matte finish coating which seems to be all the rage with the kids these days. I'm not crazy about it myself. Having said that, this dull matte coating is of the scuff resistant variety, so we will just have to chalk this up to being not my cup of tea.

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Review- THE LOST BOY

THE LOST BOY (Graphix/ Scholastic, 2013; Softcover)

Original Graphic Novel

Writer and Artist: Greg Ruth

The gist- A family moves into an old house. When Nate, the couple's son, goes in to pick out his room, he steps on a creaky, loose floorboard which the real estate agent, city inspectors, and property appraisers all seemed to have missed and discovers an old reel to reel tape recorder. Mysteriously, the boy seems to know how to activate this archaic device and gets the tape to play, revealing the story of the recorder's previous owner, Walt. Walt tells tales of talking insects, talking squirrels, and other bizarre, unbelievable things. Rather than thinking that this was the musing of a delusional child, Nate decided to look more into this magical forest kingdom thing. 

Tongue in cheek “criticisms” aside, The Lost Boy is a brilliantly constructed story. Ruth's writing and artwork are both excellent, conveying mood and a sense of uneasiness while being all-ages friendly, hence the Scholastic imprint. The ending is a set up for future books, and it wouldn't surprise me to see a movie come out of this. I hope that we see more graphic novels first, though.

This is Horror tinged, with creepy, eerie black and white artwork set against an Americana backdrop. I especially enjoyed this aspect, as I am a sucker for Americana. I live in a historic neighborhood, with some houses going back as far as 1900. Mine is one of the newer constructions, a 1925 arts and crafts bungalow. My house is huge and weird and seems haunted at times too. Maybe I should try prying a few floorboards loose. Who knows, maybe I'll find a cool mystery. More than likely I'll just destroy the California oak hardwood floors and tick my wife off. 

Junk Food For Thought rating: 5 out of 5.

The OCD zone- The term Graphic Novel is thrown around recklessly these days. A Graphic Novel is a comic book that was originally published in book format. Nearly every single comic book that is published these days is reprinted and slapped between two cardstock (or hardback) covers and branded as a Graphic Novel. This is a marketing term, but it is a false one and I do not subscribe to this incorrect use of the term. Those would be called trade paperbacks or collected editions. Books with original comic book content published in the book format first, such as The Lost Boy, are true Graphic Novels.

Paper rating: 5 out of 5. Beautiful thick coated glossy stock.

Binding rating: 4.5 out of 5. Sewn binding on a softcover makes me smile.

Cardstock cover coating rating: 4 out of 5. I'm not particularly fond of the dull matte finish coating found on so many books these days. They feel coarse and are not pleasurable to hold. If we are indeed going to continue having physical books then we need to make sure that they are things that people want to hold and own. The white lettering on the cover and spine has a thin screen print coating to it. Everything seems scuff resistant but I do not like the aesthetic choice of the cardstock cover coating. Your mileage may vary.

Review- CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS TP

CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS (DC, Eighth Printing, 2012; Softcover)

Collects Crisis On Infinite Earths Nos. 1-12 (cover dates April, 1985- March, 1986)

Writer: Marv Wolfman

Artists: Penciler- George Perez; Inkers- Dick Giordano, Mike DeCarlo, and Jerry Ordway

Re-Colorist: Tom McGraw

You know the old adage: Marvel innovates, DC imitates. This is, of course, patently false, since both companies have borrowed liberally from one another over the years, but so the saying went when I was growing up. Stepping back and looking at the output of both companies from the 1930s to the present, one can point to which decade which company owned. Marvel did the first Limited Series and company wide crossover with Marvel Super Heroes Contest Of Champions in 1982, followed by a 12 issue mini-series Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars in 1984. Marv Wolfman states in his introduction that he envisioned this series prior to either of those, which may or may not be true. Either way, DC's first line-wide crossover beats Marvel's hands down.

By 1985, Marvel had all but mopped up DC in terms of sales. Jim Shooter may have financially righted Marvel, but he chased away many of Marvel's brightest stars by the early '80s. Greats like writer Marv Wolfman and artist George Perez. Both are at the top of their game here. While Wolfman's epic Tomb of Dracula remains my favorite work of his, this is right up there. Perez is always incredible, period. 

While I was buying comics off of the spinner racks when this series was originally released, I was what is now referred to as a “Marvel zombie”. Make mine Marvel and all that jazz. When comparing Crisis On Infinite Earths to Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars, it is apparent to my adult self that this series kicks the crap out of Marvel's big crossover. Wolfman's story is so dense and layered that it makes Jim Shooter's writing on Secret Wars seem almost sophomoric by comparison.

I am a casual DC fan with a marginal grasp of the DC Universe. I have read much of the Golden Age Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Hawkman, Sandman (who is probably the only character absent in this series), and Spectre (or at least as much as has been collected in Archives and Chronicles) and have cherry picked other eras. DC's biggest hindrance has always been it's convoluted clusterfuck continuity. Wolfman made a mind-boggling attempt at streamlining DC's myriad continuities into one seamless universe, and you know what? It worked. I bought it hook, line, and sinker. I have read the post-Crisis Superman and Wonder Woman reboots, and they are great. It is my understanding that DC has long since undone this reboot and done other reboots. Whatever. Marvel used to have seamless continuity, once it's strongest argument over DC having forty Superman variations and twenty Flashes. Nowadays it's Red this and She that and it's every bit as bad as the worst that DC has to offer. 

This is a super dense read, clocking in at 368 pages. No wasted space, no bloated double page spreads featuring nothing more than an explosion. So-called 'sophisticated' modern comic readers criticize older comics which have “too many unnecessary” words. This much story would be spread across 200 comic books today.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 5 out of 5.

The OCD zone- I would re-buy this if DC issued it with the original color palette.

DVD-style Extras included in this book: Three page introduction by Marv Wolfman from July 15, 1998. One page Afterword Dick Giordano from September 10, 1998. Two pages of character sketches by George Perez.

Linework and Color restoration rating: 3 out of 5. There is a segment of the comic book buying population that would love to see all old comic books recolored with modern computer coloring techniques. I am not among that segment of the population. The reason why is evidenced in this very book. When I look at a collected edition of old material and see the flat four color process, I think Coloring may have been primitive, but this is authentic to how the material was originally published. When I look at this book, recolored for the 1998 hardcover with then-state of the art but now woefully outdated computer coloring techniques I think Wow, this looks dated and garish by modern standards. Worse still, not only does it look outdated but it is not authentic to the original publications. This is the ultimate lose-lose scenario. The folks who think that recoloring classic material with “modern” coloring is a good idea are the same folks who applaud George Lucas for making the original Star Wars trilogy Special Editions, replacing those “outdated” special effects with “state of the art” CGI...which is now also outdated by modern CGI standards. Folks should leave art alone. 

A shining example of the ridiculous overly rendered computer coloring. Why do modern colorists think that primary colors are stupid?

There are some pages where the recoloring is tasteful and effective, but most of it is garish airbrush gradient blends, which look cheesy and dated. Sadly, DC uses them when they recolor their collected editions to this day.

The linework is excellent except for the smaller panels, where the cheesy airbrushing obliterates it.

Paper rating: 4 out of 5. While this book has a good weight coated stock, it is way too glossy for vintage material. Of course, the garish recoloring doesn't help matters much, either. This looks like the paper Marvel used to use in their collections of vintage material circa 2005-2006 but has thankfully done away with.

Binding rating: 4 out of 5. Glued binding.

Cardstock cover coating rating: 5 out of 5. Nice laminated cardstock cover.

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Review- SPIDER-MAN: THE COMPLETE BEN REILLY EPIC BOOK 4 TP

SPIDER-MAN: THE COMPLETE BEN REILLY EPIC BOOK 4 (Marvel, 2012; Softcover)

Collects Amazing Spider-Man Nos. 411-413, Daredevil No. 354, Sensational Spider-Man Nos. 4-6, The Spectacular Spider-Man No. 234, Spider-Man Nos. 68-70, Spider-Man: Redemption Nos. 1-4, Spider-Man: Team-Up No. 3, and Spider-Man Unlimited No. 12 (cover dates May- December, 1996)

Writers: Tom DeFalco, Karl Kesel, Dan Jurgens, Todd Dezago, Howard Mackie, J.M. DeMatteis, and more

Artists: Pencilers- Mark Bagley, Cary Nord, Dan Jurgens, Sal Buscema, John Romita, Jr., Bob McLeod, Mike Zeck, and more

Inkers- Larry Mahlstedt, Al Milgrom, Matt Ryan, Klaus Janson, John Stanisci, Al Williamson, Bob McLeod, and more

Colorists: Malibu, Bob Sharen, Christie Scheele, Gregory Wright, John Kalisz, Kevin Tinsley, Tom Smith

This is significantly darker than volume 3 was, with Ben Reilly seeing his world falling apart all around him. Volume 4 focuses on the dynamic between Spider-Man (Ben Reilly) and Kane, particularly the Spider-Man: Redemption mini-series. More of the spaces of those “Lost Years” get filled in during that story. I was thrilled to see the creative team behind the legendary Kraven's Last Hunt arc, J.M. DeMatteis and Mike Zeck, reunite for that one. Whatever happened to Mike Zeck, anyways? He did some tremendous stuff and then just seemed to vanish. 

I enjoyed the Hobgoblin, this being the third one (Jason Macendale, formerly Jack O' Lantern), a sort of cybernetically enhanced hi-tech Hobgoblin as opposed to the truly demonic version that was Hobgoblin III. Gaunt, who is pulling the strings, is something of an enigma. He hints at being someone who Spider-Man knows, but his face is obscured by his exoskeleton suit.

While the overall tone of this book is darker than before, there are still a few fun, whimsical stories, such as Amazing Spider-Man #413, a done in one called Bug Story. In it, we see an updated riff on the classic issues 66 and 67, with Mysterio once again convincing Spider-Man that he shrank him down to 6 inches tall. 

The writing and artwork are all pretty solid, although there is an occasionally weak issue here or there. I found myself really enjoying Dan Jurgens' stuff, though. On the artwork side, John Romita, Jr. is a treat as always. While all of the crossover issues, one-shots, and mini-series seem excessive, I still do not see why this era of the title is so widely derided by fans. So far. If there is a train wreck coming down the tracks, let me stumble upon it for myself.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 4 out of 5.

The OCD zone- I love these big honking trade paperbacks. 464 full color pages. I am excited about all of these Epic Collection trade paperbacks coming out and plan on buying them all, unless the material has already been covered in another format.

DVD-style Extras included in this book: Early cover version of Amazing Spider-Man #413. Recolored images used on front and back cover of this collection minus the trade dress.

Linework and Color restoration rating: 5 out of 5. Everything looks excellent.

Paper rating: 4 out of 5. Thin semi-glossy coated stock, not quite as glossy as Volume 3 had. It holds the color well and the thinner stock helps...

Binding rating: 4.25 out of 5. ...the book to lay pretty flat. The binding, combined with the thickness of the book due to the page count, gives this book a malleability that allows it lay flat in one hand like a giant periodical, which is just incredible for a softcover book.

Cardstock cover coating rating: 5 out of 5. I love the thick, waxlike lamination that Marvel uses on their cardstock covers.

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Review- STITCHED VOL. 2

STITCHED VOL. 2 (Avatar Press, 2013; Softcover)

Collects Stitched Nos. 8-13 (cover dates August, 2012- March, 2013)

Writer: Mike Wolfer

Artist: Fernando Heinz Furukawa

Colorist: Digikore Studios

Dare I say it, but I enjoyed this as much if not more than Volume 1. While Furukawa's artwork isn't as polished as Mike Wolfer's was in Volume 1 (issues 1-7), I found the story to be maybe a bit more cohesive than the Wolfer/Ennis collaboration on Volume 1. Maybe I am just more comfortable with the premise this time around, or maybe the change of locales was a breath of fresh air. Either way, this was like an ancient black magic cursed Jurassic Park.

A wealthy collector offers to buy the half dozen remaining “stitches”, as they are called. As he is discussing terms with the seller, he informs the seller that he is well aware of what they are and how they became what they are. We get the full scoop on them in this arc, as well as a helluva surprise toward the end.

As is the case with all Avatar Press titles, this is over the top in terms of gore and violence, but what do you expect? All ages reading this is not, and I am happy for that. While I believe that superhero comics which have toys marketed to children should be accessible to all ages, I have no such compunctions about Stitched. It's not like my son is begging me to buy him a Stitched lunch box at Target.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 4 out of 5.

The OCD zone- Like Ferals, Volume 1 was offered as a hardcover and a softcover. Like Ferals, this series suffers the same fate of not having a hardcover offered because of low sales. Thanks a lot, stupid comic book buying public! You scurry around like rats for 3D covers but can't buy Stitched in hardcover. Thanks to you clowns not buying more copies of Volume 1, my shelf now suffers with a softcover following a hardcover. I lay awake at night, counting the rotations of my ceiling fan, asking myself Why does God hate me?

DVD-style Extras included in this book: A cover gallery in the back of the book with the following variant covers-

Stitched No. 9 Gore variant

Stitched No. 3 wraparound cover

Stitched No. 4 wraparound cover

Stitched No. 5 wraparound cover

Stitched No. 6 wraparound cover

Stitched No. 7 wraparound cover

Stitched No. 8 wraparound cover

Stitched No. 9 wraparound cover

Stitched No. 10 wraparound cover

Stitched No. 11 wraparound cover

Stitched No. 12 wraparound cover

Stitched No. 13 wraparound cover

Stitched No. 11 Gore variant

Paper rating: 4.5 out of 5. Decent weight glossy coated stock paper. It works for modern material.

Binding rating: 4.5 out of 5. Sewn binding on a softcover? Yes please.

Cardstock cover coating rating: 5 out of 5. A nice thick, waxlike laminated coating on the cardstock cover.

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Review- Morbius The Living Vampire #9

Morbius The Living Vampire #9 (Marvel, cover date November, 2013)

Writer: Joe Keatinge

Artist: Richard Elson

Colorist: Antonio Fabela

The universe is a strange and often cruel place. For instance, Deadpool can somehow support an ongoing series, sometimes several at one time, while my beloved Morbius The Living Vampire can only last nine issues. Morbius will be mothballed until exhumed, and Deadpool fans will still get their monthly fix. This is concrete proof that either A) God hates me or B) There is no God.

In any case, this more human take on our Living Vampire has been a fun ride. Aside from the two issues marred by the appearance of the so-called Superior Spider-Man, this series has maintained a consistent level of quality month in and month out. Everything is tied up neatly and, dare I say it, Morbius might finally have found a little happiness, if not a happy ending.

While It! The Living Colossus was not in the final issue as I had hoped and dreamed, we do get to see the Manphibian, which was pretty darned cool. Marvel needs to bring It! The Living Colossus back. It's time for It. Like smartphones, people simply don't realize how much they need It in their life until someone shows it to them. It was cool seeing Morbius go wild in this issue. A few of the scenes are pretty darned gruesome. I loved it. Let's just say that the Rose gets a what for. 

While showing Morbius the man was an interesting idea, I would like to see a series featuring Morbius the monster. Shoot, I'll write it myself! Let's see...one issue would have a witches coven who possesses Morbius to ward off the Werewolf By Night, who is a threat to them because of his curse tied to the Darkhold. Can't forget the huge 6-part arc featuring It! The Living Colossus. Nah, those made for the trade arcs suck. Maybe it'll be a two-parter. Have to figure out a way to work in the Living Mummy and the Frankenstein Monster. I'd have to bring back Helleyes. Who wouldn't love one of those cool faux-Satanic cults conjuring a monster of some sort for Morbius to battle? Lots of rams heads and pentagrams and wavy-bladed daggers for sure. It would be sweet.

Ridiculous flights of fancy aside, I enjoyed Joe Keatinge's writing and Richard Elson and Antonio Fabela's tasteful artwork and coloring. I'll miss seeing my pal Morbius around, but at least we got 9 issues of it. If you would have told me a year ago that Morbius would have his own series in 2013 I'd have laughed at you. I would have wanted to believe you, but I would have laughed at you.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Review- SPIDER-MAN: THE COMPLETE BEN REILLY EPIC BOOK 3

SPIDER-MAN: THE COMPLETE BEN REILLY EPIC BOOK 3 (Marvel, 2011; Softcover)

Note: Actually released in 2012

Collects Amazing Spider-Man Nos. 409. 410, Sensational Spider-Man Nos. 2, 3, The Spectacular Spider-Man Nos. 231-233, Spider-Man Nos. 66, 67, Spider-Man: The Final Adventure Nos. 1-4, Spider-Man Team-Up No. 2, and Spider-Man Unlimited No. 11 (cover dates December, 1995- April, 1996)

Writers: Fabian Nicieza, Roger Stern, George Perez, Todd Dezago, Dan Jurgens, Tom DeFalco, and Howard Mackie

Artists: Pencilers- Darick Robertson, Dave Hoover, Tom Grindberg, Sal Buscema, Dan Jurgens, Mark Bagley, and John Romita, Jr.; Inkers- Jeff Albrecht, Josef Rubinstein, Bill Anderson, Al Milgrom, Klaus Janson, Larry Mahlstedt, Al Williamson, Jimmy Palmiotti, Arne Starr, Greg Adams, Chris Ivy, Dick Giordano, Randy Emberlin, Art Thibert, and John Stanisci

Colorists: Gregory Wright, Tom Smith, Chia-Chi Wang, Bob Sharen, Kevin Tinsley, John Kalisz, and Malibu's Hues

I was on sabbatical from the hobby when all of these issues were originally published, so this was all new to me. After purchasing eleven of these chunky trade paperbacks (five Complete Clone Saga Epic and six Complete Ben Reilly Epics) and reading eight of them (while currently working on the ninth), I must say that these are some solid, enjoyable comic books. I would honestly rather read about Ben Reilly than Doc Ock inhabiting Peter Parker's mind, the so-called Superior Spider-Man. 

The writing and artwork are good, although some dated aspects of the '90s rear their head every now and again. This is acceptable, since some of those pop culture references in the '60s comics don't hold up much better today. The biggest drawback that this material has going for it is the hand lettering. Lettering took a turn for the worse during this decade, so much so that Richard Starking and ComiCraft's computerized fonts were a breath of fresh air. The then-state of the art computer color separations look limited by today's standards, but one must take into account how revolutionary these were at the time. No longer were comics limited to four colors or even the expanded palette of the flexograph printing process. The sky was now the limit and the colorists went wild. 

The thing about the writing that blows me away is how tight a ship editorial must have run at this time. Nearly every month was a four part crossover, running across all four titles, meaning that you had a new “chapter” each week. More amazing still is how there is not one continuity gaffe here, despite the fact that each book had it's own individual writer. That's just crazy. We saw something similar, albeit on more of a rotating arc basis, with the Spidey Brain Trust of writers in the Brand New Day era of Amazing Spider-Man. It must have sucked for fans in the '90s being forced to buy all four titles every month, though.

There are many enjoyable moments throughout the book. Peter Parker loses his super powers, seemingly setting the stage for Ben Reilly to take over as the one and only Spider-Man forever. The Mad Thinker/ Silver Surfer/ Quasimodo story in Spider-Man Team-Up # 2 was a blast. I love the juggling act of the “game” which involved Kane and the Rhino. The Spider-Man skeleton found in the smokestack where Peter dumped the clone comes back to haunt him. The skeleton is proven to be another clone. If you listen closely, you can still hear faint echoes of fanboys gnashing their teeth across the ether. Jessica is proving to be an interesting love interest for Ben. Things come to a head with her in the next book. The Carnage/Spider-Carnage arc is great. There is an overall sense of fun here, with heroes being heroic. Sad to say that this seems like a novelty in this day and age. Not everything is roses here. The Ravencroft Institute is blatant ripoff of the Arkham Asylum over at DC, for instance. There is more to rave about than complain about, though. 

This was a very enjoyable read. I can't see why fans hated the Clone Saga so much. Sure, it may have gone on for a good while, but the stories and artwork were solid enough. There is a huge uptick in the artwork in this book over volume 2. I just hope that Marvel doesn't go and slap all of these in Omnibus hardcovers now that I have bought them all. Knowing their propensity for double dipping I'm certain that my money will leave my wallet again for this same material...and I'll thank them for it. Kill me.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 4.25 out of 5.

The OCD zone- I love these chunky trades. 432 pages of full color goodness! Bring on the Epic line!

DVD-style Extras included in this book: Spider-Man: The Clone Saga Made Easy. Yeah, Right! article (four pages)

Sal Buscema variant for The Spectacular Spider-Man No. 231.

Linework and Color restoration rating: 5 out of 5. There are a few pages that look merely good, but all in all everything is excellent.

Paper rating: 4 out of 5. Thin glossy stock. I'm not crazy about it but it holds the color well and the thinner stock helps...

Binding rating: 4.25 out of 5. ...the book to lay completely flat. The binding, combined with the thickness of the book due to the page count, gives this book a malleability that allows it lay flat in one hand like a giant periodical, which is just incredible for a softcover book.

Cardstock cover coating rating: 5 out of 5. I love the thick, waxlike lamination that Marvel uses on their cardstock covers.

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