Review- WONDER WOMAN: THE TWELVE LABORS

WONDER WOMAN: THE TWELVE LABORS (DC, First Printing, 2012; Softcover)

Collects Wonder Woman #212-222 (cover dates July, 1974- March, 1976)

Writers: Martin Pasko, Elliot S. Maggin, Cary Bates, and Len Wein

Artists: Pencilers- Curt Swan, John Rosenberger, Irv Novick, Dick Dillin, Kurt Schaffenberger, Dick Giordano, and Jose Delbo; Inkers- Vince Colletta, Tex Blaisdell, Phil Zupa, Kurt Schaffenberger,and Dick Giordano

Coke Vs. Pepsi. GM Vs. Ford. Marvel Vs. DC. These were the battles that in my mind as a child there could only be one winner and one loser, seemingly oblivious to the concept that one could like both. I grew up a Marvel kid from 1979-on, snobbishly thumbing my nose up at anything published by the Distinguished Competition as automatically inferior. A friend of mine that I met in adulthood was the flipside, believing DC to be the way. I once thought that DC fans were like Jehovah's Witnesses, well-intentioned if misguided, but I have long since softened my stance.

That brings us to this book, an eleven issue beast of an arc that there is no way that Marvel would have attempted during this point in time. Wonder Woman was a role model for the girls who would grow up to become the feminists of the women's lib movement of the 1970s, and it makes perfect sense for them to give her a spin in the then-zeitgest. This touches on the late '60s reboot where Wonder Woman shed her costume and became more “now”, which was collected across four trades that I may actually get around to reading and review for you someday. It turns out that that Wonder Woman's memories were hidden by Queen Hippolyta so that she wouldn't remember being powerless in Man's World. This is what the kids call a “ret-con”.

Imagine the Internet OUTRAGE if this exchange occurred in a comic book today!

The JLA wants her to rejoin them, but Wonder Woman feels unsure of herself since she does not have all of her memories and decides to embark on “Twelve Labors” like Hercules to prove to herself that she is worthy. This book almost feels like a Justice League book, as they are featured in each issue with a different member stalking following her around and reporting their findings to the rest of the team in each issue.

My suspension of disbelief was pushed beyond the breaking point in three places. One: The fact that her Magic Lasso is elastic enough to stretch from the ground to the top of a skyscraper. If this were the case then how could it keep anyone captive? Two: Her Robot Plane (or Invisible Plane) which responds to mental waves. While not entirely without precedent in the Golden Age version of the character, something about it felt off. Three: Wonder Woman's seemingly intermittent ability to fly and/or glide on wind currents. It is this lack of consistency that cost DC early on in life for me.

This was a great read and a good time. If you are not a cynical bastard and like fun superhero comics you can't go wrong with this book...especially since it is now out of print. I enjoy the fact that it often takes so long for me to rotate books through my backlog that they are often out of print by the time that I get around to reading them. It is a scientific fact that out of print books are more enjoyable to read than in print books.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 4.5 out of 5.

The OCD zone- DC needs to get in the ring with Marvel and do more of these types of collections. Eleven consecutive issues clocking in at 232 pages. I would be all over a comprehensive line of trades that cover this kind of ground.

Linework and Color restoration: The integrity of the linework is incredible. No complaints there. The original color palette, while faithfully maintained, is marred by inauthentic gradient shade blends which have a harsh look to them. A softer, hand colored (on computer) approach would have made things perfect. The degree of cheesy, inauthentic blends vary from issue to issue, likely depending on who worked on it.

Paper stock: Typical toilet paper stock that DC uses in collections of vintage material. This stuff will brown and yellow over time and it feels cheap.

Binding: Perfect bound trade paperback.

Cardstock cover notes: Laminated cardstock.

Review- SWAMP THING VOL. 6: THE SUREEN

SWAMP THING VOL. 6: THE SUREEN (DC, First Printing, 2015; Softcover)

Collects Swamp Thing #28-34 and 12 pages from Aquaman #31 (cover dates April- October, 2014)

Writers: Charles Soule with Jeff Parker

Artists: Jesus Saiz and Javier Pina with Paul Pelletier and Sean Parsons

Colorists: Matthew Wilson with Rain Beredo

Wow, this flies in the face of modern comic book logic. Rather than have one arc stretched beyond it's logical conclusion to pad out a trade paperback, this book has several arcs under one roof. Lots of reading here, with the amount of story crammed into issue nearing pre-decompression levels. I like it.

Swamp Thing has killed The Parliament Of Trees, becoming the sole member of The Green. He is all and all is he...except for the two that he spared and made human, The Wolf and The Lady Weeds. These two are the last people he should have around him, but Swamp Thing, who is all plants, cannot see this forest for the trees.

The Sureen, a cult that serve The Green, arrive at the Swamp Thing's makeshift headquarters in a rotting plantation house. They offer him gifts, such as the ability to jump into a human being and be human again for a little while. They ask for a gift first, though: the hallucinogenic fruit produced by his body (as seen in the Alan Moore run). Like The Wolf and The Lady Weeds, not everything here is quite what it seems. Lots of political commentary about GMOs and Monsanto follow, and I always enjoy contemporary issues given wafer thin metaphors. Comics should be timely and timeless.

Capucine's origin is revealed and she gets plenty of “screen time” with a good dose of character development to boot. There is a lot of story crammed between these two covers, a real bang for your buck feeling going on here. Many times I read a modern book and it feels like a lot of empty calories, totally unsatisfying. This book was like a five course meal with an extra slice of cake after dessert.

The Aquaman issue is presented here in abridged form, with only the pages pertaining to Swamp Thing presented here. Since it is not advertised as collecting the entire issue I find this approach to be acceptable, especially when you consider that DC has already given you seven issues of Swamp Thing in this book at a MSRP of $16.99.

While the continuity for The New 52 is different than the Swamp Thing that I knew before, it is not so radically different from Alan Moore's reinterpretation that it feels alien or wrong to me. I will stick around with this title as long as it's good. Or has it been cancelled already? It's hard to keep all of these cancellations and reboots straight anymore.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 4.25 out of 5.

The OCD zone- I like how DC lists the creators for each issue at the “chapter break” page after the cover for the respective issue. This is something that tends to bother me about modern comics and their collected edition counterparts, since creator credits tend to be on a text recap page in the beginning of each issue which is omitted from the trades. While all collected editions list the creators in the table of contents it is not an issue to me unless there are multiple creative teams. Marvel always lists the issue number along with the cover in these books (since it has been industry standard for modern material since the early 2000s), something DC does not do. If they put the issue number along with the credits they would beat Marvel in this regard, at least pertaining to books with multiple creative times like this one has.

Paper stock: Glossy coated stock.

Binding: Perfect bound trade paperback.

Cardstock cover notes: Thick waxlike lamination. 

Review- POSTAL VOL. 1

POSTAL VOL. 1 (Image, First Printing, June, 2015; Softcover)

Collects Postal #1-4 (cover dates February- May, 2015)

Writers: Matt Hawkins and Bryan Hill

Artist: Isaac Goodhart

Colorist: Betsy Gonia

Flawed from the outset, Postal is a premise that my suspension of disbelief cannot buy since it is set in 2015. If they had set this series 20 or more years in the past it might have worked, but the notion of a town that has cellphone jammers and other means to keep the outside world out makes no sense in our dystopian Google Earth future of the present. But I am getting ahead of myself. Let's start at the very beginning as to why this series doesn't work.

Mark Shiffron is an employee of the United States Postal Service who delivers the mail for the entire town of Eden, Wyoming. The only Postal employee for an entire city, according to the back cover of the book. Whenever he comes across a mutilated letter it is also his job to transcribe it. Okay, right there they lost me. No one at the Post Office transcribes letters for anyone. If a letter comes in mutilated it is thrown into what is affectionately referred to as a “body bag”, which is one of those We Care plastic bags that has a disclaimer/apology on the back. Letters are automated and machine accidents happen on occasion. The Post Office handles way too much mail for something as time consuming as transcribing every single piece that gets damaged, and if it did do such a thing it wouldn't fall on the carrier to do it. It would be the job of someone else. But that's just it. There is supposedly no one else working there. No window clerks. No mail handlers sorting the mail or packages. Just one lone carrier.

This carrier is supposed to cover 2,198 stops, the entire town, by himself? Are they all PO boxes? If they were PO boxes they would be the job of a box clerk. Also, if they were PO boxes, why does he deliver the letter to the house of the person whose letter was mutilated? If this a walking or driving route there is no way that he can cover all 2,198 stops by himself. A walking route is usually 400-500 stops, more in areas with lower volume (those are usually 600-700 stops). A mounted route might be in the 600-800 stop range for an eight hour assignment. There is simply no way that a carrier could deliver the entire city himself, unless it was NDCBU cluster boxes, and even that sounds too high to me. Shiffron is shown with a satchel full of mail at one point, making this a park and loop walking route. So there is no way that one carrier can do an entire town in one eight hour day. 

The town of Eden was founded on a dark premise, one which I cannot buy in our brave new world where you can see your house online via a satellite in space. If you like your concepts with holes big enough to drive a semi truck through then Postal is for you. I would think that a writer would research the job that they are writing about and basing their entire concept on, but hey, what do I know? Needless to say I won't be buying Volume 2 of this series.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 2 out of 5.

The OCD zone- Image makes nice books.

Paper stock: Glossy coated stock.

Binding: Perfect bound trade paperback.

Cardstock cover notes: Thick waxlike lamination. 

Review- HARVEY HORRORS COLLECTED WORKS: CHAMBER OF CHILLS VOL. 4

HARVEY HORRORS COLLECTED WORKS: CHAMBER OF CHILLS VOL. 4 (PS Artbooks, First Printing, 2012; Hardcover)

Note: Book actually released in 2013

Collects Chamber of Chills Magazine #20-26 (originally published by Harvey Comics, cover dates November, 1953- December, 1954)

Writers: Howard Nostrand, Bob Powell (both unconfirmed but strongly suspected) and other, unidentified writers.

Artists: Joe Certa, Manny Stallman, John Giunta, Howard Nostrand, Bob Powell, Lee Elias (covers), Jack Sparling, Mort Meskin, George Roussos, Al Avison, and possibly other unidentified art assistants.

Dreams can come true! Ten years ago it was nothing more than a pipe dream that I would own these Pre-Code Horror comics in deluxe hardcovers. Now I have a room full of them! This fourth and final volume in PS Artbook's Chamber Of Chills line shows the title going full steam ahead with no real change from any of the earlier issues. That's fine by me, because they are all fun reads.

The writing and artwork are all great, with work by many forgotten greats. The Internet and collected editions have given some of these guys a second life and they have finally gotten their due, albeit too late for most (if not all) of them to enjoy while they were alive.

The stories all run the typical Horror gamut of the era (voodoo, black magic, zombies, vampires, etc.) and for the most part attempt to ape the EC ironic shock twist ending with varying degrees of success. While nothing can compare to EC, Harvey was one of the few who had art talent that could go toe to toe with some of the EC guys. Some of the more interesting stories are ones that veer away from the formula (there is a Sci-Fi story and even a war story with Horror accents).

There is a lot of overlap in this book. Seven of these stories have been reprinted in various Yoe Books after I bought this. I will be doing more research before buying more of those, as I see no value in rebuying material with similar restoration. One of those seven was also reprinted in Fanatagraphics' Four Color Fear: Forgotten Horror Comics Of The 1950s, which was an excellent precursor to these PS Artbooks. Fantagraphics really dropped the ball not diving deeper into the well of public domain comics. Pete Crowther and company over at PS Artbooks saw the opportunity and seized it, and now the fans of this material own dozens of books. There is overlap within this series as well, as the bulk of #25 is from issue 9 of this series and #26 is the bulk of #5. Those stories were collected in Volumes 1 and 2 of this series. That feels like a ripoff to me. I can see collecting the cover and the material not found in those issues, but to get the same stories again seems like a waste.

That aside, this was a terrific read and I am proud to have this book in my library. While I tend to aggressively prune my library to keep it at a svelte 1,100 books, complete Pre-Code Horror comics will remain in my collection until I die. I will revisit this material again someday and enjoy it every bit as much as I did this time, something that cannot always be said for modern comics, which have a good for one read only feel to them.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 4.25 out of 5.

The OCD zone- I enjoy huffing these Chinese made books. PS Artbooks smell the best. Whenever I crack one open I sit there and snort it every so many pages...oh yeah, that's the stuff.

Linework and Color restoration: Raw scans of varying quality with minimal tinkering. Mostly decent but occasionally murky.

Paper stock: Uncoated bright white stock. Given the yellowed nature of the scans an off-white would have worked better.

Binding: Smyth sewn binding. Lays flat.

Hardback cover notes: No dustjacket. Image printed on casewrap with matte finish and spot varnish.  

Review- Jesse Jones/ Jesse Jones

Jesse Jones/ Jesse Jones (Burger, 2015)

I am admittedly out of my depth reviewing this album. I picked this up because Bobby Harlow (of The Go, Conspiracy Of Owls, Magic Jake And The Power Crystals, etc.) produced it, buying it blind. Being more of a classic Rocker type, this left me scratching my head on the first spin. I always give an album three spins before I form an opinion, and I do this for two reasons. One, there have been albums that have bowled me over on the first spin but by the third I am yawning, and Two, there have been albums that went right over my head on spin one but by spin three I get it and realize what it was that the artist was trying to say and dig the shit out of it.

There are many textures and sounds that are pleasing to the ear. Jones' voice bends in a number of directions, my favorite being the Carole King direction. (Yes, I am so Metal that I can freely admit to owning Carole King albums.) Make It Spin is bizarre, bouncy and catchy while not being an obvious Pop song. It is though, at least in the traditional sense. I am sucker for Psychedelic music, and this is some trippy shit. Underneath all of the trippy table dressing you have to have songs or it is a waste of everyone's time, and this album does indeed have songs.

There are Indian or Asian scales in Prisoner's Cinema and Lady La De Da that sound very strange to my western world ears. My wife, who majored in music at one time (she has 2/3 of a music degree but switched majors way back when) was all over this album. Normally she rolls her eyes at most of what I play but dug this big time. All of this is sort of Avant Garde and a bit above my pay grade.

Twelve Hour Man is absolute genius. Think of the best big sounding early 1970s song. Pick anything off of the first Steely Dan album early Chicago, Carole King...this stands up to, if not surpasses, any of those songs. To call it bliss is an understatement. The song is a gift to the ears.

Again, I have no real reference point or a yardstick to point at for this type of music. Is it Rock? Pop? I have no idea what to call it, so let's just call it good.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 4 out of 5.

The OCD zone- This is the part where I go into nitpicking aspects of physical media. iPod or mp3 folks can feel free to leave. Thanks for stopping by, hope to see you around. For those of you still here, I am a square and so I bought this on CD, so that is what I am reviewing here. It comes in a trifold sleeve, with the CD sliding into a pocket inside. The lyrics are all printed on the foldouts as well as the album credits. Part of me wishes that I bought it on vinyl, and maybe I will grab it on vinyl too. Who knows. 

Review- Man From Atlantis #1-7

I took them out of bags and boards long enough to read them and photograph them. 

Man From Atlantis #1-7 (Marvel, cover dates February- August, 1978)

Writer: Bill Mantlo

Artists: Pencilers- Tom Sutton (first story in #1) and Frank Robbins; Inkers- Sonny Trinidad (first story in #1), Frank Springer (#2-7)

Truth be told, the only issue of this series that I owned as a kid was #4, with it being a quarter box find in 1983. Even then the television series was nothing more than a faint echo of a memory to me. I remember watching this show as a small child, and there were apparently enough fantastical elements in it to capture my mind and heart.

Fast forward to the here and now. I have long since given up hope that this series will ever be properly remastered and rereleased in hardcover and so I went and pieced together an entire run. These comics can be found for dirt cheap, scarcely outpacing inflation based on the original cover price. I am not talking beater reader copies, I am talking Fine or better condition, beautiful copies that can be had for less than a new comic.

I have no real recollection of any events from the television series, so this review will focus squarely on these seven issues. Bill Mantlo was a solid writer, even in his salad days. I can't stand the art team of Frank Robbins and Frank Springer. Their style is too cartoony and unpolished for my tastes. Oddly enough, many of my childhood favorites were done by Robbins (this title as well as the Morbius stint on Adventure Into Fear). His idiosyncrasies drive me nuts as an adult. He does clear enough layouts and his storytelling is easy to follow, so props for that. He has a lot of fans, including Ed Brubaker, who once called me out on Twitter for criticizing Robbins' artwork in a review years ago.

Issue 1 is an 80 page beast, featuring two complete stories as well as articles and interviews. Issue 4 is an adaptation of a television episode. Issues 5-7 are the best, as Mantlo and company dive deeper (no pun intended) into what makes Mark Harris tick as Skorba uses Mark to find lost treasure for him and he winds up discovering a defunct lost underwater civilization. The series was selling well enough but NBC pulled the plug on the comic when they axed the television series due to lukewarm ratings. It's a shame, because Mantlo had found a voice that worked for the character with issue 5, and we all know that Mantlo typically took several issues to find his footing, but once he did he was off to the races.

This television series was the result of failed negotiations to bring Marvel's Prince Namor, The Sub-Mariner to the small screen, so Warner Bros. made a character who resembled old Subby. It is ironic that Marvel agreed to do the comic book adaptation of a television series which was a copycat of a property that they owned! I would still buy a hardcover collection of this series. It would be even more swell if the UK strip which ran for six months in 1978 in Look-In magazine were reprinted along with it.

A page of the UK strip.

The print quality on comics during this era was among the worst ever. Line bleed and off register printing abound, and even the pulp paper was cheaper than it was even a few years earlier. These comics were a fun read in spite of this.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 3 out of 5. 

Review- SPIDER-MAN NEWSPAPER STRIPS VOL. 1

SPIDER-MAN NEWSPAPER STRIPS VOL. 1 (Marvel, First Printing, 2014; Softcover)

Collects the Spider-Man newspaper strips from January 3, 1977- January 28, 1979

Writer: Stan Lee

Artist: John Romita, Sr.

The road to this book has been long and bumpy. First we had the old Ballantine Books The Best Of Spider-Man from 1986, which cherry picked arcs. I had a copy of it but dumped it on eBay when there were rumblings of a Marvel hardcover collection several years ago. I didn't end up buying those for two reasons: One, they were presented in standard trim size and you had to flip it sideways to read it, and Two because the Sunday strips were presented in black and white. While the latter was not a deal breaker in and of itself it pushed the needle to pass. So I gladly picked this up once initial online reports were favorable. Of course Marvel has since partnered with IDW's Library of American Comics imprint to rerelease this in a properly formatted hardcover, which I bought a few weeks ago for reasons that science has yet to come up with a term for.

This strip is set in separate continuity from the main comics, although the characterizations ring true while some scenarios are altered for the late 1970s instead of the 1960s. Cultural reference points of the day abound (Star Wars, John Travolta, Disco, etc.), adding to the fun factor. Eventually comic book continuity is thrown out the window entirely.

Things start out with this playing out like a straight up superhero strip, with Spider-Man battling Doctor Doom, Doctor Octopus, a new villain, the Rattler, and the Kingpin before breaking for a retelling of Spider-Man's origin. From there the continuity relating to the comic is completely disregarded with Kraven The Hunter and Mysterio. Stan Lee begins inserting more and more of Peter Parker's personal life into the strip, as the soap opera element works well for a daily strip. This leads us into a “ripped from today's headlines!” type tale where Peter falls in love with the daughter of a terrorist. Another real world flavored strip deals with some local street hoods. Then Spider-Man has to deal with a blackmailer who discovers his secret identity. There are lots of great moments here, as Lee's writing is at it's melodramatic best while Romita's artwork is as rock solid as ever. A great pair of creators who, for my money, have done work that few have matched.

As mad as I am at myself for purchasing this material again in hardcover, at least I bought great material again as opposed to crap. You might ask yourself why I am reviewing this softcover when I have the hardcover. I started reading this before the hardcover came out because I wanted to be sure that it was worth another dip, and it is. Plus I cannot dump unread books on eBay. I tend to prune my collection several times a year, keeping it at a svelte 1100 books, and I refuse to dump something that I haven't read yet...even if it is a double dip.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 4.75 out of 5.

The OCD zone- This is the most unique Marvel trade paperback in terms of dimensions. It is shorter and wider than their standard books, being presented in landscape format to better accommodate the material.

Linework and Color restoration: The Sunday strips have full blown restoration and look great. Many of these strips are sourced from original art and film which is in good shape. A handful of these strips are from visibly inferior sources, likely scanned from newspapers. The drop in quality when those strips pop in is painfully apparent. Fortunately there are few of them. I did a side by side comparison with this and the IDW book, and while IDW used Marvel's Sunday restoration they also found better sources for a handful of the effected strips. Not all of them, but many of them are superior to this book.

Paper stock: Matte coated stock of sufficient thickness and weight. This is the same stock found in the softcover Marvel Masterworks and Epic line books.

Binding: Perfect bound trade paperback.

Cardstock cover notes: Laminated cardstock cover. 

Review- THING CLASSIC VOL. 2

THING CLASSIC VOL. 2 (Marvel, First Printing, 2012; Softcover)

Collects Thing #11-22 and Fantastic Four #274 (cover dates May, 1984- April, 1985)

Writers: John Byrne, Mike Carlin (#14-17), and Bob Harras (#18)

Artists: Penciler- Ron Wilson and John Byrne (FF #274) and Inkers- Joe Sinnott, Andy Mushynsky, Danny Bulanadi, Mike Gustovich, and Al Gordon

I have been on something of a Marvel kick lately, part of my mourning the death of these characters and the Marvel Universe as I once knew it. I am not just referring to the recent Secret Wars mini-series, but what I now refer to as Marvel A.B. (After Bendis). You can point to Avengers Disassembled as the beginning of the end for these characters. While there were certainly many enjoyable moments after 2003, the tone and feeling made a turn for the worse, growing from crossover to crossover to pointless, endless reboot after reboot. Nothing matters any more. Neither continuity nor legacy numbering nor characterization that ring true to the foundations of these characters. If it doesn't matter, then none of it matters, and I no longer feel compelled to follow the “All New All Different Marvel”. Bendis has done what DC could never do: Make me hate Marvel Comics, further cementing my conspiracy theory that he is a double agent sent by DC to destroy Marvel from within. My Marvel Comics Group is dead and gone.

Not everything needs a #1 to be a jumping on point, you know. I picked it up #19 of this title one cold rainy morning before school off of a spinner rack at 7-11. My Mom sent me into to buy her a pack of cigarettes and told me that I could get a comic. The cover of #19 grabbed me and that was it. Did I mention that I was eleven years old, and that in 1984 it was a-okay for a kid to go into a store and buy smokes as long as they said that it was for their parents? Of course I knew who The Thing was, as I read Fantastic Four back then, but I didn't know that The Thing was on Battleworld or that this was part 6 of the Rocky Grimm, Space Ranger arc or anything else that was going on. I was able to come into this series cold and have a good idea what is going on.

#19 crossed over with Fantastic Four #274 (also released on the newsstand in October of 1984) creating an awesome Monster Mash indeed. Over the course of those two issues the Thing fought a vampire, a mummy, Frankenstein's monster, and a werewolf. It doesn't get any more badass than that, and my then-11 year old self loved it to death. I read those issues countless times that fall and can almost recite them word for word to this day. I also bought #22 off of the spinner racks, likely because I had received some money from a relative for Christmas.

Aside from those three issues, these were all new reads to me. I bought #24, 30, 35, and 36 off of the spinner racks when they were released, which would be collected in a hypothetical Volume 3. One more fifteen issue trade could finish this line, collecting issues 23-36 and West Coast Avengers #10. This book is already three years old and it hasn't happened yet, so the likelihood of it ever happening is slim.

The Thing decided to stay on Battleworld following the conclusion of the Secret Wars because he could change back and forth to his human form of Ben Grimm at will due to the unique nature of the planet. He also wanted to sort out his feelings for Alicia Masters. Reed Richards (Mister Fantastic) gave him a slim card-sized device which, with the press of a button, would transport him back to Earth. With that in mind, Ben Grimm set off on a sort of vision quest.

Mild 30+ year old spoilers from here on out. It's kind of difficult to touch on a lot of points in this book without tipping my hand a little. The planet reacted to the subconscious thoughts of Ben Grimm, pulling all of his fears and desires and twisting them into bizarre scenarios and people. Ben faces many truths about himself, such as why Reed Richards being the leader of the Fantastic Four is really the best thing for them because Ben's own leadership skills are lacking. He experiences blindness at the hands of the Reckoner, giving him insight into Alicia Master's world and fatherhood when he and Tarianna find an orphaned infant, albeit temporarily for both. The biggest truth that he faces is that he is The Thing and The Thing is him. It is this realization that makes him come to terms that all of us face in adulthood: we are in truth our own best friend and worst enemy in one.

All of this heady psychoanalysis could have been painfully dull but wasn't because it was done with plenty of action and fun, something sorely lacking from modern Marvel Comics. See, we are supposed to be past this, as comic books are sophisticated and mature adult art, right? I dunno, I enjoyed this as a kid and I enjoyed reading these issues as a forty-something. I don't need profanity or sexual situations to feel that I am reading something “mature”. Those things seem painfully adolescent to me, but then again I am a dinosaur, right? Unlike modern comic creators and fans, I don't feel that superheroes are stupid, nor do I think that the people who like them are stupid. This Haha we are all in on the joke, aren't superheroes stupid? mentality has ruined comics.

John Byrne's writing is tops, and the art team of Ron Wilson and Joe Sinnott can't be beat. Wilson's Thing ranks up there with the best: Kirby, Perez, and Byrne. I cannot recommend this book enough to fans of superhero comics, fun, and life. If you hate fun or life, there are plenty of comics being produced today that will fill that void for you.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 4.75 out of 5.

The OCD zone- Nothing unusual to report.

Linework and Color restoration: Excellent and true.

Paper stock: Matte coated stock of sufficient thickness and weight. This is the same stock found in the softcover Marvel Masterworks and Epic line books, and is my favorite paper stock being used in collections today.

Binding: Perfect bound trade paperback.

Cardstock cover notes: Laminated cardstock. 

Review- MARVEL MASTERWORKS: FANTASTIC FOUR VOL. 15

MARVEL MASTERWORKS: FANTASTIC FOUR VOL. 15 (Marvel, First Printing, 2013; Hardcover)

Collects Fantastic Four #151-163 and Giant-Size Fantastic Four #3, 4 (cover dates October, 1974- October, 1975)

Writers: Gerry Conway, Marv Wolfman, Len Wein, Roy Thomas, and Chris Claremont

Artists: Pencilers- Rich Buckler, John Buscema (#160 and GSFF #4); Inkers- Joe Sinnott, Jim Mooney, and Chic Stone

Oh man! This book starts out with Giant-Size Fantastic Four #3, which I got as a .50 back issue in the summer of 1985. I read that comic a dozen or more times that summer and can still recite parts of it. It brought a smile to my face to see it hold up as an adult, although it sort of ruined the Metallica song The Four Horseman for me because Metallica screwed up the names of them.

The 1970s were equal parts insanity and fun. See issues 151-153, a nonsensical mess where a world ruled by men brings their champion, Mahkizmo, to fight the most powerful woman from the world ruled by women, Thundra. Only in the 1970s did any of the faux science, alternate worlds, and battle of the sexes stuff make the least bit of sense. In 2015 it is good, silly fun that probably offends someone somewhere.

Issue 154 was one of those Oh crap, we really don't know how to run a company and get the comics out on time, slap this reprint and reframe it as a flashback story issues. It reprints a Human Torch story from the 1960s, although only the new pages are included here. It is assumed that you already own Marvel Masterworks: Human Torch Vol. 2 and can refer to it to read it. I don't, so I can't. Major disappointment, Marvel!

Then we get one of those silly Roy Thomas and Len Wein stories where Doctor Doom tricks the Silver Surfer into battling the Fantastic Four by holding his beloved Shalla Bal hostage...only it turns out to not be her...only it is revealed that it is really her, as it is all a trick by Mephisto, who does not reveal himself to anyone. His deception is unknown to all, making his inclusion at the end of this story pointless and confusing.

Then we get another it-could-only-happen-in-the-'70s stories, where three Earths are going to collide into one another so that Arkon can start three nuclear wars and use the energy from the nuclear bombs exploding to save his world. Klaatu and the Inhumans are along for the ride in this arc...an arc that shows the Thing battling a galactic goalie named Gaard for the fate of the Earth. Silly, silly stuff, but fun and entertaining nonetheless.

We are introduced to Madrox, the Multiple Man in Giant-Size Fantastic Four #4, a character who would go on to great popularity down the road. Here he is shown with power well beyond what he demonstrates later on, and there is almost certainly some convoluted explanation somewhere along the way explaining why this is not a mistake.

Rich Buckler handles the bulk of the pencils, and he and inker Joe Sinnott do their best to maintain the Marvel House style of the day, in this case the flavor of Jack Kirby's run. Nowadays every artist wants to put their “stamp” on their “IP”. I kind of dig these old school guys who served the story rather than themselves.

Things are all set back to normal by the end of the book, with Medusa returning to the Great Refuge with the Inhumans and the Invisible Girl resuming her role as a member of the FF. A great writer can take the toys, twist and mutilate and then put them back together right before leaving the sandbox so that others may play with them in the same condition that they found them in, which is the complete opposite of crybaby “star” writers found in comics today. Marvel Now? Please. Give me Marvel Then!

Junk Food For Thought rating: 4.25 out of 5.

The OCD zone- Marvel Masterworks are my poison of choice. For Masterworks of this book's vintage, rest assured that this is the definitive Blu-Ray edition of this material. No line bleed or off register printing. No mouldering pulp paper. The art and the colors look like the artists intended and are not hampered by primitive four color printing processes.

Linework and Color restoration: Think of the post-2007 Masterworks as definitive Blu-Ray editions, with painstakingly restored linework and a color palette that is 100% faithful to the source material. Those who claim that the colors are too bright or miss the “artistic choice” of benday dots have obviously never seen an original color guide from this era.

Paper stock: Thick coated semi-glossy coated stock that has that sweet, sweet smell that all Chinese manufactured books have. I theorize that this delectable aroma is caused by the toxic stew of broken asbestos tiles, lead paint chips, heavy metal industrial waste, and mercury from recalled thermometers combined with the blood, sweat, and tears of the Chinese children working the sweatshop printing presses. The frosting on this delicious cake scent is the paper which is likely sourced from virgin Amazon rainforests.

Binding: Rounded book casing and Smyth sewn binding allow this book to lay completely flat in one hand as Godzilla intended.

Dustjacket and Hardback cover notes: Spot varnish on the dustjacket, faux leather grain casewrap with dye foil stamping.