MYSTERY MEN (Marvel, 2011; Hardcover)
Collects
Mystery
Men
Nos. 1-5 (cover
dates August- November, 2011)
Note: Book actually released in early 2012.
Writer:
David Liss
Artist:
Patrick Zircher
Colorist:
Andy Troy
Try
as I may to keep up with everything going on in comic books, things
get by me. Things like this mini-series, Mystery Men. Not to
be confused with the abysmal 1999 film of the same name, these
Mystery Men are The Revenant, The Operative, The Aviatrix, Achilles,
and The Surgeon. Set in The Great Depression of the Marvel Universe,
these five pulp inspired heroes battle evil in a pre-Timely Comics/
pre-Golden Age world.
There
are tips of the hat to the Marvel Universe here, from the main
adversary, Nox, to a pre-Nazi Baron Zemo. This can be read as it's
own thing, though. The main difference with this series and The
Twelve is that all five of these heroes were created specifically
for this series, as opposed to resurrecting long defunct Golden Age
characters.
The
writing, artwork, and coloring are all great. My favorite character
is The Surgeon, if only because of how deranged he is. There's a fair
amount of graphic violence in this book, adding to the pulp/Noir
vibe. I love series like this and DC/Vertigo's Sandman Mystery
Theatre. I enjoyed the Horror-tinged aspects of this series as
well, such as Lysseus, a werewolf-esque monster. Very cool.
So
I enjoyed this a lot, even though I was so late to the party that it
was over and everyone else had already gone home. That's okay,
though. Good comics are good comics, no matter when you discover
them.
Junk
Food For Thought rating: 4.25 out of 5.
The
OCD zone- This is from the old-tymey days of Marvel Premiere
Edition hardcovers having dustjackets on them.
DVD-style
Extras included in this book: Text page by
David Liss from issue 1 and text page from issue 5.
Paper
rating: 5 out of 5. Wow, flipping through these older Marvel
Premiere Edition Hardcovers makes it apparent how much they've
downgraded the paper stock over the past year or so. Decontenting and
cost saves suck. This has the old thick glossy coated stock which is
perfect for modern material.
Binding
rating: 4 out of 5. Glued binding. Ain't no one got time for dat.
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