Review- AVENGERS: THE LEGACY OF THANOS

AVENGERS: THE LEGACY OF THANOS (Marvel, First Printing, 2014; Softcover)

Collects Avengers #255-261, Avengers Annual #14, and Fantastic Four Annual #19 (cover dates May- November, 1985)

Writers: Roger Stern and John Byrne

Artists: John Buscema, John Byrne, Glynis Oliver, Tom Palmer, Kyle Baker, and Joe Sinnott

Oh man! This is where it got real for me. While I discovered The Avengers via my older brother's comics with #187 and picked up select issues as far back as #196, #258 was when I became a monthly buyer. This issue was a crossover with Amazing Spider-Man #270, that issue being the second part of an epic battle with Firelord. I turned 12 that summer, and the cliffhanger of ASM 269 and 270 was just too much for me. Now we had to pick up an Avengers issue too? Cynical 44 year old me hates crossovers, and yet small crossovers like this helped hook young me in an organic way. My son is 11 and he is dabbling in comics and I see various series sucking him in in the same way. God help the boy. I caution him against the crossover trick, and yet here he is buying umpteen DC Metal crossover issues, but I digress.

#259 was my introduction to the Skrulls and also served as my introduction to The Avengers as a galactic powerhouse. Unbeknownst to 12 year old me was the fact that this arc was a nod to early '70s Avengers Kree-Skrull War. There was no Internet to look this stuff up on in 1985, and we were better off in some ways. Comics existed in the now and the now only. There were no trades of vintage material kept in print. No movies or video games with these characters. Whatever version of the characters that were on the spinner rack at 7-11 were the only ones that mattered. I think that there is something to be said for that.

As much as I grumble about crossovers, #260 and 261 were both Secret Wars II crossover issues and I loved them. Little did 12 year old me realize that I was helping show the industry that crossovers and endless tie-in issues work. They would soon become the status quo before almost killing off everything. Over the past decade Marvel began pumping them out one after another, and here we are on the cusp of yet another bubble burst. Those who don't learn from history and all that.

The summer Annual crossover with the Fantastic Four remains a fond childhood memory. I must have read those two comics a dozen times each when they were released in August of 1985. 

Roger Stern is Avengers royalty and can do no wrong. He, along with Roy Thomas, Steve Engelhart, and Kurt Busiek have written the finest comics to bear the title Earth's Mightiest Heroes. This is top shelf stuff that should be in every library in the country, public and private.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 5 out of 5.

The OCD zone- This is the part where I go into tactile sensations of physical media. Those with heart conditions, high blood pressure, or women who are pregnant should exit my blog at their earliest convenience, as their safety cannot be guaranteed.

Linework and Color restoration: Everything looks good. Linework and color palette are faithful to the original comics. Books like this pose a question. As good as this looks, will the inevitable Marvel Masterworks really look any better? I'll let you know when I buy them whenever they are released. Why, god, why?

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. It's my favorite paper stock used in collected editions today.

Binding: Perfect bound trade paperback.

Cardstock cover notes: Laminated cardstock cover.

Review- WOLVERINE- OLD MAN LOGAN VOL. 0: WARZONES

WOLVERINE- OLD MAN LOGAN VOL. 0: WARZONES (Marvel, First Printing, 2015; Softcover)

Collects Old Man Logan #1-5 (cover dates July- December, 2015)

Writer: Brian Michael Bendis

Artist: Andrea Sorrentino

Colorist: Marcelo Maiolo

I am cautiously continuing on my journey down the path with Old Man Logan, buying one book at a time, reading it, and then deciding to buy the next one. I realize that this is how most of the comic book world functions, but my acquisition rate has historically outstripped my rate of reading productivity, so I usually end up with entire runs without so much as cracking one book open before beginning my marathons. I hope it's good, I usually think to myself as I crack a book open, knowing full well I have another 5, 10, 20 volumes of the series ready to go right after it.

Despite assurances that I should read this, it almost didn't happen because Brian Michael Bendis' name is on it. I survived his reign of terror on Avengers and vowed to never purchase his work again. I enjoyed the original Mark Millar Old Man Logan arc and was told that I need to read this to understand what comes next. I had to shower with steel wool and a wire brush to scrub the grimy feeling that giving my money to Bendis gave me.

To be fair, if someone handed me this and there was no mention that it was written by Bendis it would have taken me a while to piece it together. His usual ticks and pet phrasings are all but absent here, and even his once consistently nauseating “witty” writing has been pared down to something palatable, and even...dare I say it...almost enjoyable? The Bendis that I knew and loathed would pad out issues with fluff to meet a requisite six issue, made for the trade arc. While this is still a brisk read it is a far cry from his decompression days. Don't get me wrong, the guy still deserves a shot to the jaw for his Avengers run, but here he has come dangerously close to becoming a competent writer.

This spins out of Secret Wars (the new one, not the classic one), so I can only assume that Wolverine was sucked into that and then spit out into this alternate timeline. Given that, OML (Old Man Logan) stumbles through a few territories, each with their own multiverse-style set of doppelgangers and structure. I've seen those too many times to enjoy them, cynical old bastard that I am. My son digs that kind of stuff, so I take them with the grain of salt that I probably would enjoy them if I hadn't wasted my entire life  spent too much time  been reading comics as often as I have over the years.

In typical Bendis fashion, this entire book is nothing but set up. The main difference between this and his old style is that there are things that occur in each issue. In the past he would have lazy talking heads filling up pages and pages, accomplishing nothing. The times that he does go on with his long winded exposition here he crunches it onto one page. Credit where credit is due, he has tightened up his dialogue style since his Avengers run. The characters aren't all same sounding and filled with snark. Bendis does insert the occasional bit in there still, but it is not noticeable even when looking for it. Most of it even serves the story and furthers the plot. Did Marvel editorial pay for him to attend a writing class?

At one point Bendis would have milked four or more pages out of this exchange.

Andrea Sorrentino's artwork seems to model Wolverine after Hugh Jackman, which is understandable seeing that he is what the general populace associate with the character. I do enjoy her flow of action sequences across multiple panel double page spreads. Very effective. Bendis has always had the luck of the Irish when it comes to being paired with top talent.

Things end well enough and I am intrigued enough to read Volume 1. I will continue my journey through this possible future of a Marvel Universe that I have all but given up on. Have I lost my mind? Do I hate my money? Let's find out together!

Junk Food For Thought rating: 3.25 out of 5.

The OCD zone- Nothing unusual to report here.

Paper stock: Fair weight coated stock with a slight sheen.

Binding: Perfect bound trade paperback.

Cardstock cover notes: Laminated cardstock coating. I am not sure what it is with these 2013-on thinner Marvel trades, but the front cover tends to get a curl to it, even when the book is handled gingerly. 

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- INCREDIBLE HULK: CROSSROADS

INCREDIBLE HULK: CROSSROADS (Marvel, 2013; Softcover)

Collects The Incredible Hulk Annual #13, The Incredible Hulk #301-313, and Alpha Flight # 29 (cover dates November, 1984- December, 1985)

Writer: Bill Mantlo

Artists: Pencilers- Sal Buscema, Alan Kupperburg, Bret Blevins, and Mike Mignola

Inkers- Gerry Talaoc and Al Williamson

Bill Mantlo's run on this title has to be one of the most underrated runs of the 1980s. I'm not kidding. Aside from #312 and 313 (which I bought when they originally came out- more on that later) these comics were all new to me, and they are all great. Mantlo's writing may seem overly wordy to modern reader sensibilities but bear with it, kids. He crams an arc's worth of characterization into every single issue and there is one helluva payoff at the end of the day, nearly 1200 pages across these three books later.

The Hulk has been banished to the Crossroads by Doctor Strange in an attempt to save both the Earth and the Hulk. Due to Nightmare's interference, Bruce Banner's intellect was squashed and the Hulk became a truly mindless beast. When Strange intervened Banner essentially committed suicide of the id, allowing a mindless Hulk to wander through the Crossroads, which is a nexus to different worlds and dimensions. Strange implanted a fail safe spell in the Hulk's mind so that if the mindless Hulk became discontented he would be transported back to the Crossroads, free to pick a new world until he found one that made him happy.

The Hulk encounters foes of all types in this dimension. Worlds where all of his strength is useless, as he is the weakest being (#302-303). Worlds where a symbiotic creature attaches itself to the Hulk and learns to dream (Annual #13). He befriends an entity called the Puffball Collective which is trapped in the Crossroads and unable to enter any of the worlds. There is a ton of development with that entity, and it ends up helping the Hulk before revealing it/their hand. The N'Garai appear in the finale, and that battle is pretty darn cool.

Yes, the N'Gari were clearly "inspired" by the movie Alien.

As if all of this isn't enough, the remnants of Bruce Banner's psyche begin to reemerge as three personalities called The Triad (#308). Glow, a star-like creature that is Banner's intellect; Guardian, Banner's survival instinct; and Goblin, his anger, basically the devil on his soldier. These three personalities helped the Hulk when he was mindless but were of course invisible to everyone else. That's right, kids, years before the show Herman's Head set the world on fire for the fledgling Fox Network Bill Mantlo paved the road for it with this title. This is some pretty heady stuff and predates many so-called sophisticated comics. Their origin wasn't revealed until #312, which I bought as 12 year old sucker because it was a Secret Wars II tie-in. It was dry for my tastes back then, even though I enjoyed the artwork of the then-unknown Mike Mignola, who would go on to great success with Hellboy.

Herman's Head. I was one of the 20 people who watched when it originally aired, largely because my family was too poor to have cable and the Internet didn't exist.

I was suckered into buying #313 because it tied into Alpha Flight #29. AF was one of my favorite titles in 1985, and series writer/artist John Byrne was going over to The Incredible Hulk while Mantlo/Mignola/Talaoc were going over to Alpha Flight. The Beyonder set a chain of events in #312 which led to the end of AF #28 (which took place at the same time as #313) and beginning of #29. The whole thing ends with a bang, literally. It was a pretty clever way to tie up Mantlo's run as well as welcome Byrne to his ill-fated but highly advised run.

I was harsh about Gerry Talaoc's inking in my review for the previous volume, Regression. I stand by that critique, as his work in that book was substandard. He really shines here, though, having figured out how to compliment Sal Buscema's pencils perfectly. He also works well with a young Mike Mignola.

Bill Mantlo is a great writer who did what many comic book writers fail to do. Take a character, put that character through their paces, break things, and then carefully put everything back together the way that you found it. He put his stamp on the character without disowning what came before or making it impossible to follow without adhering to his take. Genius. It makes me sad that he still suffers from injuries sustained in a hit and run accident many years ago and is in assisted living. Hopefully royalties from reprints like this help him out. He is a writer whose work has always hit the mark and deserved a better fate than what he got. The driver who crippled him was never caught.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 5 out of 5.

The OCD zone- I love love love these thick chunky books! 400-500 pages is the sweet spot for me. I am sucker for complete chunks of a title. DC would do well to emulate this with their '60s-80s material. I would probably buy them all. Kill me now.

Linework and Color restoration: The film is in great shape and the color palette is faithful to the original publications. If there are variances they are minor enough that they don't bother me, so they likely wouldn't bother you since I tend to skew pretty anal about this sort of thing.

Paper stock: The same awesome matte coated stock found in softcover Masterworks, Epic books, and Classic line trade paperbacks. My favorite!

Binding: Perfect bound trade paperback.

Cardstock cover notes: Thick lamination on the cardstock cover.

Review- ALPHA FLIGHT CLASSIC VOL. 3

ALPHA FLIGHT CLASSIC VOL. 3 (Marvel, 2012; Softcover)

Collects Alpha Flight Nos. 20-29 and Incredible Hulk No. 313 (cover dates March- December, 1985)

Writers: John Byrne and Bill Mantlo (Incredible Hulk No. 313 and Alpha Flight No. 29)

Artists: John Byrne (Penciler Nos. 20-28, Inker 20, 27, 28), Keith Williams (Inker, 20, 23, 25, 27, 28), Bob Wiaceck (Inker, 21-26), Mike Mignola (Penciler, Incredible Hulk No. 313 and Alpha Flight No. 29), and Gerry Talaoc (Inker, Incredible Hulk No. 313 and Alpha Flight No. 29)

These are some of my favorite comic books from my youth. I bought every issue off of the stands within their original publication month on the spinner racks at 7-11. John Byrne has said that he never really cared for these characters, that they were two-dimensional, and other things along those lines. While the creator may not have felt that these characters meant much, they meant the world to this 11-turning-12 year old kid in 1984-1985. Issue 20 was on the stands in December of 1984, and I picked up Issue 21 at the only Direct Market shop in town, The Book Bin, on Christmas Eve, 1984, a few weeks ahead of the newsstand release. 

Issues 20 and 21 are brilliant, with Sasquatch and Aurora stumbling upon Gilded Lily in Langowski (Sasquatch)'s long abandoned family home. The cover for issue 21 was deceptive, as Diablo appeared only in the flashback portion when Gilded Lily told her origin. That scene in issue 21 with Aurora tied up while wearing a bikini made my then 11-year old self feel...funny. I liked it but wasn't exactly sure why. Let's just say that ol' Aurora became this prepubescent kid's favorite on the team back then. 

Fortunately there was a lot of other interesting storylines going on that held my interest in other, less raging hormone levels. Issue 23 was another winner, with the fate of Snowbird and Sasquatch coming to a head. I remember walking up to 7-11 with my sister on a brisk, sunny March Sunday morning and buying that one. I read it three or four times that day alone. I could not believe what happened in that issue. I was devastated. That is one of the biggest drawbacks to the Internet: the joy of discovery. In these Little House on the Prairie-esque pre-Internet days, the term spoilers did not exist. In fact, barring missing an issue, nothing was ever spoiled for me back then. It is a luxury that modern day fandom can never regain, for better or for worse.

Issue 23 was the first issue featuring the then-new flexograph printing process, which used water based ink instead of the traditional oil based ink. It also employed plastic/rubber plates instead of metal ones. The results were underwhelming to me as a kid. The colors looked overly bright and garish, the blends were horrid, with blacks just sitting there, and the printing was even less consistent than the old four color printing process. I remember this being touted as a printing breakthrough on the old Bullpen Bulletins page. The paper was a brighter white and smelled different, and everything just felt cheap to me. It was bad enough that comics had recently been jacked up 5 cents in price, but now we had inferior printing processes too? It was enough to give my 11-going-on-12-years-old OCD self the blues. 

Yes, the lighting is bad in all of these pictures.

Issue 24 was a double-sized extravaganza which found the team on a quest to recapture the soul of Sasquatch (Walter Langowski). Lots of cool battles with The Great Beasts in that issue. The return of Guardian in issue 25 made me happy, and the return of Omega Flight in issues 26 and 27 and that reveal was another jarring experience for me as a reader. I looked so forward to each and every issue, and I would devour them as soon as I got them, doing re-reading marathons every month.

It was around issue 27 when Byrne's artwork made a transition from his more polished style to a slightly looser, rawer one. This would continue until his artwork devolved into a scratchy mess in the late '90s. Fortunately he has seen a remarkable return to form over the past decade and is producing some great stuff over at IDW (Cold War, Next Men, etc.) 

The pages from Secret Wars II No. 4 are included as a bonus bridging material in between issues 27 and 28. Their inclusion is necessary because they show how the Beyonder rescued Talisman from Shaman's medicine bag. While it was recapped in issue 28, it is a nice bonus and a shining example of how Marvel's Collected Editions Department is way better at what they do than DC's Collected Editions Department.

Issue 28 was also, unbeknownst to me until reading the final page, John Byrne's final issue. I was horrified. How could Byrne do this to me? How could he leave my beloved Alpha Flight? It was announced that The Incredible Hulk creative team of writer Bill Mantlo and artists Mike Mignola (pencils) and Gerry Talaoc (inker) would be swapping titles with Byrne. Byrne went to their title, and they went over to Byrne's. Also clever was how the swap occurred during a crossover. Not only was issue 28 a Secret Wars II crossover, but a Hulk one as well! So Mantlo wrapped up his years-long Crossroads saga with the Hulk coming back to Earth. I ran out and bought Incredible Hulk No. 313 to sample this new creative team. I enjoyed how they showed what was going on from the Hulk's viewpoint before he came back to our dimension. Very cleverly orchestrated, bringing three titles in sync like that while switching creative teams. 

Artwork by Mike Mignola and Gerry Talaoc.

These days Alpha Flight and Hulk would both be given new number 1s. Back then, numbering was sacred. I miss that. Another interesting thing is how Mantlo hit the ground running on Alpha Flight. He obviously studied the entire series and came aboard full of references to past storylines and a pretty good understanding of the characters to boot. Bill Mantlo was the victim of a hit and run accident while he was on rollerblades and is living in deplorable conditions in an assisted living home. I hope that the royalties he gets from these reprints in collected editions like this help him out.

Mike Mignola was pretty much a nobody at this time. I knew of him from the Rocket Raccoon mini-series (yes, I was one of five people who actually bought it at the time). Gerry Talaoc was, unbeknownst to me at the time, a veteran DC artist. Issue 29 was completely different in tone and feel but was still really good. I stuck with the title until issue 70 or so. I really hope that this line of trade paperbacks continues, as Mignola is a big name these days with Hellboy, and later issues feature artwork by some new guy that never amounted to anything: Jim Lee.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 5 out of 5.

The OCD zone- Alpha Flight should have been given the Marvel Masterworks treatment; deluxe hardcovers, sewn binding, the whole bit.

Linework and Color restoration rating: 5 out of 5. I did side by side comparisons with my originals, and things are as spot on as can be.

Paper rating: 5 out of 5. This book uses the same beautiful dull matte finish coated stock paper that the softcover Masterworks use. I love it.

Binding rating: 4 out of 5. Glued binding.

Cardstock cover coating rating: 5 out of 5. Marvel's typical high quality lamination makes me a happy OCD camper.

Buy ALPHA FLIGHT CLASSIC VOL. 3 TP at InStockTrades!

Beneath the Junk Food For Thought

Slayer/ World Painted Blood

This is the best sounding Slayer album, period. The production is crisp and punchy without being overly compressed. The guitars are razor sharp, the drums sound natural. These are some of the best songs that Slayer has done since Seasons In the Abyss. 2006's Christ Illusion was OK, but ten minutes after you popped it out you couldn't remember a single song. Not so here. The running time is around 40 minutes, and I am liking the fact that bands are making shorter albums. It seems like bands were making 80 minute albums when CDs came out because they could, without ever thinking if they should. Slayer still rules after all these years. 8.5/ 10

THE X-MEN OMNIBUS VOL. 1 (Marvel, 2009; Hardcover)

Collects The X-Men Nos. 1-31 (cover dates September, 1963- April, 1967; Hardcover)

This was the red-headed step-child of Marvel circa 1963. Stan Lee and Jack Kirby seemed to toss this batch of also-rans off with only the occasional flair of brilliance that they are usually associated with. They did give us Magneto and the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, the Juggernaut, and the Sentinels here, though. It was not until Roy Thomas came aboard that the X-Men really seemed like teenagers, and had problems like typical teenagers (i.e. crushes, unrequited love, feelings of alienation, etc.). This is when the title started picking up steam. 
Werner Roth's artwork was serviceable for the era but unremarkable by today's standards. I had the first three Masterworks but sold them off to get the Omnibus. I usually avoid the double-dip, but the lackluster restoration and unfaithful coloring in those old Masterworks prompted me to buy this. I am glad that I did, because this has nicer paper, sewn binding, is over-sized, and features the letters pages. I hope that they collect the next three Masterworks in Omnibus format, because Vol. 6's brilliant Roy Thomas/ Neal Adams collaboration is marred by the glued mousetrap binding found in that book.

DC COMICS CLASSICS LIBRARY: ROOTS OF THE SWAMP THING (DC, 2009; Hardcover)

Collects Swamp Thing (Vol. 1) Nos. 1-13 and a story from House of Secrets No. 92 (cover dates July, 1971- December, 1974)

I first encountered the first 10 issues of this series in a digest called Secret of the Swamp Thing a few years ago in the Graphic Novel section at John King Books North in Ferndale, MI. At the time, someone was dumping off mass quantities of trades, and I was scooping them up super cheap and loving it. I was absolutely blown away by Bernie Wrightson's artwork, and have always been a fan of Len Wein's melodramatic writing. When DC solicited this hardcover collection of this, I had to jump at it. The book itself is a disappointment. Fans accustomed to high quality DC Archives and Marvel Masterworks will be sorely disappointed by the tight gutters*, glued binding, and inferior paper. The paper is OK, and worlds better than the garbage that they used in Jack Kirby's The Demon, but is still not up to snuff. 

*Gutters are the white borders on the inside of the book which fall into, well, the gutter of the book. A few minutes of re-sizing the pages so that the white borders were visible would have been nice, DC. Instead, you have the image on both sides of the page sinking down into the gutter, requiring you to almost pry the book apart to see the full artwork. I have provided pictures of my book below, so you be the judge. To me, it is unacceptable; to a casual buyer, maybe it is. Sewn binding would have greatly reduced this problem, especially towards the very front and very back of the book. I also included a picture of the glue clump that protrudes from the bottom of the ornamental cloth on the bottom of the book. 

All in all this is top shelf material in an inferior format. This would have made a great DC Archive. Using better materials and the higher than average Archive page count, they could have charged $65-70 and I would have been happy. Instead, we got this. Oh well, it's great material that you owe it to yourself to read in spite of this particular format's shortcomings.

SECRET WARS II OMNIBUS (Marvel, 2009; Hardcover)

Collects Alpha Flight (Vol. 1) No. 28, Amazing Spider-Man Nos. 268, 273, 274, Avengers Nos. 260, 261, 265, 266, Captain America No. 306, Cloak and Dagger (Vol. 2) No. 4, Daredevil No. 223, Dazzler No. 40, Defenders No. 152, Doctor Strange No. 74, Fantastic Four Nos. 282, 285, 288, 316-319, Incredible Hulk No. 312, Iron Man (Vol. 1) No. 197, New Mutants (Vol. 1) Nos. 30, 36, 37, Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man No. 111, Power Man and Iron Fist No. 121, Power Pack No. 18, Quasar No. 8, Secret Wars II Nos. 1-9, The Thing No. 30, Thor No. 363, Uncanny X-Men Nos. 196, 202, 203 and Web of Spider-Man No. 6 (cover dates July, 1985- March, 1990)

I have many fond memories of this series and the crossover issues contained herein. This was the first big Marvel crossover in terms of there being a million different issues that tied into a bigger series. I fell hook, line and sinker for the first few months, buying crap like Doctor Strange and the New Mutants that I didn't care one whit for at the time. As the months progressed, that stopped though. I was exposed to some really good reads too, like Daredevil #223, Incredible Hulk #312, and Captain America #308, all of which I read multiple times that summer. 

The core mini-series was okay, nostalgia aside. Jim Shooter's writing has many dated slang and pop culture references which are forgivable, and is mostly solid. He makes some corny jokes but also doles out some thought-provoking plots. I dug on Al Milgrom's art circa 1984 on Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man, but once you remove those rose-colored glasses you realize that he sucks. Sorry, Al, but you do. 

One of the 'DVD-style' bonuses in the back of the book are Sal Buscema's unused pencils for Issue 1. It doesn't say why he bailed, but he never did the series, and that is unfortunate. Sal Buscema has a workman-like chug, but delivers solid storytelling and decent action sequences. I have to wonder 'what if'. The Fantastic Four issues (316-319) with Steve Englehart (writer) and Keith Pollard and Joe Sinnott (artists) are great, in spite of the fact that Ms. Marvel is, for some reason, a female Thing here. The Quasar issue sucks, and I consider it nothing more than a bonus, as it really doesn't tie in with what is going on in the rest of the book. 

I am thrilled to death to see something that I loved as a child preserved in a deluxe, high-quality format like this. Nice paper, sewn binding, the only problem is the typos in the table of contents. Why would they list the wrong issues in the wrong spots? That's silly, especially when the indicia has the correct issues listed. A minor quibble, especially in light of the fact that this is a monster 1,188 book.

ESSENTIAL LUKE CAGE, POWER MAN VOL. 1 (Marvel, 2005)

Collects Luke Cage, Hero For Hire Nos. 1-16 and Luke Cage, Power Man Nos. 17-27 (cover dates June, 1972- October, 1975)

I haven't had this much fun reading '70s jive-fool smack talkin', bravado-tinged dialogue in ages. This title changed hands between all of the usual '70s workhorses, so for economy of space I'll let you surf the Internet if you're really dying to know who wrote or drew the issue (or you could click on the cover image, as most of the notables are listed there). I had never read this title but was always interested, and when I saw it in the $5 box at the Motor City Con in May I jumped at it. I would re-buy this material in color and in hardcover in a heartbeat.

SANDMAN MYSTERY THEATRE VOL. 2: THE FACE AND THE BRUTE (DC, 2004)

Collects Sandman Mystery Theatre Nos. 5-12 (cover dates August, 1993- March, 1994)

Another satisfying installment in this series. I really enjoy the tone and pacing of this book.

SANDMAN MYSTERY THEATRE VOL. 3: THE VAMP (DC, 2005)

Collects Sandman Mystery Theatre Nos. 13-16 (cover dates April- July, 1994)

Further proof that the best comics of the '90s didn't come from Marvel.

SANDMAN MYSTERY THEATRE VOL. 4: THE SCORPION (DC, 2006)

Collects Sandman Mystery Theatre Nos. 17-20 (cover dates August- November, 1994)

I don't like the paper that they use in these trades. Other than that, this is really good stuff. I really have a thing for the 1930s, even though any time that I get romantic about it I have to stop immediately. Being an Atheist, they would have likely lynched me. Also, it seems like the 'good old days', but the reality of it is that unless you were a white male, it obviously wasn't. Women and minorities were second class citizens, unable to secure jobs with equal pay, etc. So I have mixed emotions about it. I guess I just made too many trips to Greenfield Village as a child.

SANDMAN MYSTERY THEATRE VOL. 5: DR. DEATH AND THE NIGHT OF THE BUTCHER (DC, 2007)

Collects Sandman Mystery Theatre Nos. 21-28 (cover dates December, 1994- July, 1995)

This is such a great series that focuses on the ugly side of the 'good old days'. I really want to get the Golden Age Sandman DC Archives. I am bummed that I have to stop my marathon, as I haven't picked up Vols. 6 and 7 yet.

EXCALIBUR VISIONARIES: ALAN DAVIS VOL. 1 (Marvel, 2009)

Collects Excalibur (Vol. 1) Nos. 42-50 (cover dates October, 1991- May, 1992)

Exceptionally good stuff by Alan Davis (duh). This is one of those runs that I have never read until now that makes me wonder how much more great stuff I missed during my sabbatical from comic books in the 1990s.