Review- MYSTERY MEN

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.

Buy MYSTERY MEN HC at InStockTrades!

Also available: MYSTERY MEN TP.

Reviews- LOGAN'S RUN: AFTERMATH, Mystery Men #1, and Barack The Barbarian #2

LOGAN'S RUN: AFTERMATH (Bluewater, 2013; Softcover)

Collects Logan's Run: Aftermath Nos. 1-4 (cover dates May-August, 2011) plus the digital only 5 and 6

Writer: Paul J. Salamoff

Artists: Phillip Simpson, Mike Dorman, Carsten Biernat, and Angel Bernuy

Colorists: Aurelio Alfonso, Juan Martin, and Jesse Heagy

This is set in the continuity of the original novel but fans who only know of the movie will be able to piece things together easily enough. This book has been in limbo for years, ever since Diamond revised their policies of what size comic companies they will and won't deal with. Many small press publishers were kicked to the curb with no viable distribution to comic shops. Haven tried but comics is a tough business for the big guys, let alone for a start-up distribution company.

Boring business talk aside, this is a good read with subpar artwork and coloring. While the 2010 mini-series Logan's Run: Last Day was outstanding, the artwork here detracts from the reading experience. I enjoyed this but would have liked it more with better artwork. Many of these artists are greenhorns whose best work is likely still ahead of them, so I'll cut them some slack.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 2.25 out of 5.

The OCD zone- This is a print on demand book, making the idea of ascertaining what “printing” a book is irrelevant. It's maddening in it's own way, though.

This book is smaller than a standard trade paperback release and is what the industry calls the Graphic Novel-Trade Paperback size, whatever that means. The dimensions are 5.8 x 8.8 inches (14.732 x 22.352 centimeters for my friends in the Metric system measuring world outside of the United States, Liberia, and Burma).

Issues 5 and 6 of the Last Day mini-series remain uncollected. Hashtag sadface.

DVD-style Extras included in this book: Issue 1's Cover B.

Paper rating: 4.25 out of 5. This has a surprisingly decent weight coated stock paper, which shocked me given the independent, small press print on demand thing.

Binding rating: 2 out of 5. While the glued binding is solid and doesn't creak, man is it tight. It takes a lot of effort to hold open and read. If the book were heavier it could be used as a pectoral workout machine.

Cardstock cover coating rating: 4.5 out of 5. While the cover doesn't have a super thick lamination, it is decent and scuff resistant. I'm happy.

This is available as a print on demand book at Comic Flea Market.

Here is my review of the other Bluewater book, Logan's Run: Last Day.

The outstanding LOGAN'S RUN: LAST DAY TP is available at InStockTrades!

 

You can also buy NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD VOL. 1 TP and HC as well as EX MACHINA VOL. 10 TP at InStockTrades. (They were featured in the same posting for my review of Last Day).

Mystery Men #1 (Marvel, cover date August, 2011)

Writer: David Liss

Artist: Patrick Zircher

Colorist: Andy Troy

Green Brain Comics in Dearborn, MI was having their end of summer sale where they blow out dead inventory like this at 90% off cover price. I was curious about this series when it first came out and had thought about checking out the inevitable collected edition but things get by me. Time and money, wife and kids, folks. Anyways, I snagged it for a cool 30 cents and thought that it was really good stuff. It takes place in Marvel Universe continuity in the pulp hero era of the early 1930s when The Shadow and Doc Savage ruled the newsstands. Great writing, great artwork, and great coloring. I will make it a point to check the trade or hardcover out at some point...if I don't forget about it again.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 4.5 out of 5. 

Barack The Barbarian #2 (Devil's Due, cover date July, 2009)

Writer: Larry Hama

Artist: Christopher Schons

Colorist: Rachelle Rosenberg

Another 90% off find at Green Brain, this complements my copy of issue 1 which I got for free on Free Comic Book Day 2013. This is filled with groan inducing bad puns but I found it worth a chuckle. Fun political parody from a time when it seemed like Obama was going to fix the country. Now we're knee deep in the Government spying on our electronic communications and cellphone calls and about to enter another war. Meet the new boss, the same as the old boss...

Back to the comic at hand, this is filled with parodies of people in the political spotlight of 2008-2009. Red Sarah, Boosh The Dim, Hilaria, Harry Burden, Limbow (a creature who takes prescription potions which make him impervious to pain), and of course Choler (Ann Coulter), a barbed tongue monstrosity, among others. This comic will only become more dated as time goes on, with comic fans of the future not being able to make much sense of the gags. Oh well, for 35 cents it was a gas.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 3 out of 5.