Son of Junk Food For Thought

DANGER UNLIMITED (IDW, 2009)

Collects Babe Nos. 1-4, Babe 2 Nos. 1, 2 and Danger Unlimited Nos. 1-4 (cover dates February, 1994- April, 1995)

This was a fun read, chock full of John Byrne goodness. Unbeknownst to me, Danger Unlimited was cancelled with Issue 4, with no resolution to the first arc. AAaRrRRgGGhhHH!! Since these are creator owned properties, I hope that Byrne finishes it, ditto the Next Men. On a side note, this book has a wonderfully toxic smell, the result of that magical Korean printing. I imagine children working the sweatshop presses, pouring asbestos tiles, mercury, and lead paint chips into a vat that will be mixed and become the ink on these pages. Whatever it is, I had to stop every so often and just smell this book. 

RUNAWAYS: DEAD WRONG (Marvel, 2009; Hardcover)

Collects Runaways (Vol. 3) Nos. 1-6

This was godawful crap by Terry Moore with "artwork" by Humberto Ramos. Ramos is the worst artist in comics today. I cannot stand manga, or even manga-influenced art. This was painful to read and to look at, with it being difficult to tell which sucks more: the art or the writing.

RUNAWAYS: ROCK ZOMBIES (Marvel, 2009; Hardcover)

Collects Runaways (Vol. 3) Nos. 7-10

OK, that does it, screw you Runaways, my money is staying home. Ramos' vomit-inducing artwork is thankfully gone, but another mangish artiste replaces him. The Brian K. Vaughn era was tops and had real heart. Moore's run is just plain dumb. Unless Marvel can convince BKV or Joss Whedon to come back, then I am done with this title. Look for these two books on eBay during my next purging.

EDUARDO RISSO’S TALES OF TERROR (Dynamite, 2007)

Collects eleven foreign language comics translations

This was okay, but Risso's artwork is not really my cup of tea. The cover grabbed me, but most of the artwork in this book didn't hold up. The writing was entertaining for the most part, but not "terrifying." I dislike pseudo-clever, wiseass humor Horror. Give me Creepy or give me death! Look for this on eBay in my next purging.

SAVAGE (Image, 2009)

Collects Savage Nos. 1-4 (cover dates October, 2008- January, 2009)

Amazing stuff by Steve Niles, Jeff Frank, Dan Wickline, and Mike Mayhew. Mayhew's old school artwork is jaw dropping, and the levels of graphic violence portrayed here are shocking. Graphic violence + monsters = a winner. This simply cannot be the end of the series, though. There are so many unanswered questions, and I want more more more! I have searched the Net trying to find further information and have come up empty handed.

MARVEL ADVENTURES SPIDER-MAN VOL. 12: JUMPING TO CONCLUSIONS (Marvel, 2009)

Collects Marvel Adventures Spider-Man Nos. 45-48 (cover dates January- April, 2009)

Another enjoyable read, but the fact that this series is set outside of mainline continuity and the ever increasing lines of high end hardcovers have forced me to drop this title. I picked up Vol. 13 recently, so I will read that and then that is it.

SPIDER-MAN 2099 VOL. 1 (Marvel, 2009)

Collects Spider-Man 2099 Nos. 1-10 (cover dates November, 1992- August, 1993)

Spider-Man 2099 definitely has it's moments. Unfortunately, they are few and far between. Peter David's futuristic Marvel Universe seems like little more than a Judge Dredd retread, and Rick Leonardi's artwork is serviceable, if unremarkable. This series came out during my sabbatical from comics, so this was all new to me. Not to be too harsh on it, though, because when compared to other Marvel Comics during this time, this was a bright spot. I really dislike Spider-Man 2099's costume, and his supporting cast is pretty forgettable. This series is a sort of pre-cursor to Ultimate Spider-Man, with the organic webbing, etc., and was likely seen as a sort of fresh continuity to try and entice new readers.

GIANT MONSTER (Boom, 2008)

Collects Giant Monster Nos. 1, 2 (cover dates, 2005)

High art this is not, but it is fun and entertaining. Who doesn't like to see a giant monster go on a rampage? What? You say that you don't? You're lying! Everybody loves giant monsters.

THE ASTOUNDING WOLF-MAN VOL. 2 (Image, 2009)

Collects The Astounding Wolf-Man Nos. 8-12 and Invincible No. 57 (cover dates September, 2008- February, 2009)

This is such a great series that I am seriously bummed that Robert Kirkman is 86-ing it with Issue 25. One can only hope that he will come back and revisit this character and concept again in the future. At least I know that I can always do that via these trade paperbacks.

SPIDER-MAN: SPIDER WOMEN (Marvel, 2009)

Collects selections from Amazing Spider-Man Magazine, King-Size Spider-Man Super Special No. 1, Spider-Man Family No. 1 and Spider-Man Family Featuring Spider-Clan No. 1 (cover dates 2005- 2008)

Horrible, horrible, horrible non-continuity drivel. Marvel published a line of hardcovers years ago called The Best of Spider-Man. They could collect all of this crap and call it The Rest of Spider-Man. Even the Spider-Girl story was a throwaway that has no bearing on anything.

The Return of Junk Food For Thought

SKRULLS VS. POWER PACK (Marvel, 2009)

Collects Skrulls Vs. Power Pack Nos. 1-4 (cover dates September- December, 2008)

This was a disappointing semi-tie-in to Secret Invasion. The original 20 or so issues of Power Pack in the '80s had real heart to them. They were geared towards children but were not dumbed down for them like this is. This version simply panders to them.

SPIDER-MAN: CRIME AND PUNISHER (Marvel, 2009; Hardcover)

Collects Amazing Spider-Man Nos. 574-577 and selections from Spider-Man: Brand New Day-Extra! No. 1 (cover dates September, 2008- January, 2009)

Yet another handsome hardcover in the Brand New Day line of Premiere Hardcovers. The story is great, but Chris Bachalo's manga-crap artwork is a total buzzkill. I subscribe to the notion that every issue is somebody's first issue. Building on that train of thought, let's say that little Tommy, an 8 year old kid from Anytown, USA, sees a Spider-Man movie or cartoon and decides that he wants to read a Spider-Man comic book. If he is lucky enough to live near a comic shop or Borders, he may actually convince his parents to plunk down $3-4 on a floppy, and then find...this? Bachalo is not meant to draw a mainstream superhero comic book like this. And this is the most mainstream superhero comic book on the market, and as such, should only have top flight artists working on it.

THE GREEN LANTERN CHRONICLES VOL. 1 (DC, 2009)

Collects Green Lantern Nos. 1-3 and Showcase Nos. 22-24 (cover dates October, 1959- December, 1960)

I bought this on a whim, and was pleasantly surprised to find that Gil Kane did the artwork. His artwork was nowhere near the grandeur he would achieve in the late '60s and early '70s, but it's like listening to an early Beatles album; all of the ingredients are there, but haven't simmered enough yet. John Broome's writing has a fun, zany flavor that could only come out of the Silver Age of Comics. A lot of the faulty science that makes the Silver Age so funny is in play here. I mean, his Power Ring can't affect anything that is yellow? I am sure that some writer in the last 50 years has addressed this with a better explanation. I'll have to wait for the Chronicles line to get there to find out, though.

SPIDER-MAN: DEATH AND DATING (Marvel, 2009; Hardcover)

Collects Amazing Spider-Man Nos. 578-582, Amazing Spider-Man Annual 2008 and selections from Amazing Spider-Man No. 583 (cover dates December, 2008- March, 2009)

The winning streak continues on this, the third Golden Age of the Amazing Spider-Man! These guys get it. Stories unfolding over multiple issues while having something actually happen in each and every issue. None of this Bendis talking head, feeble set-up, and then something happening in the 4th issue of the arc nonsense. No sirree, not only do I want to keep reading this title, but re-read it as well! Mark Waid and Marcos Martin's Shocker arc was fantastic. Everything looked and felt like a comic book, not the crappy double page "wide angle" Michael Bay style explosions that seem to mar many comic books nowadays. The artwork is crisp and clear throughout, servicing the story first and foremost. Of particular note is the team of Mike McKone and Andy Lanning, who deliver a great rendition of Spider-Man. Beloved scribe Roger Stern (from the first half of the second Golden Age of Spider-Man) returns for a done in one. Yes, a done in one. No 6 part 'arc', no tie-in to Dark Secret Planet or whatever the current crossover is. Dan Slott also deserves a mention here. He is one of the bright spots at Marvel in the 21st Century. To all of the naysayers, please give Brand New Day Spidey a chance! It truly does rock.

SPIDER-MAN: FAMILY TIES (Marvel, 2009; Hardcover)

Collects Spider-Man: Fear Itself and selections from Amazing Spider-Man Family Nos. 1-3 (cover dates October, 2008- March, 2009)

Ehhhhh, I don't know, man. This title screams sub-par from top to bottom. The Fear Itself one-shot (not to be confused with the Fear Itself original graphic novel from 1992) is somewhat enjoyable because it features the Man-Thing. The rest is pretty forgettable, and it is no wonder that this title has already gotten the axe.

SPIDER-MAN: ELECTION DAY (Marvel, 2009; Hardcover)

Collects Amazing Spider-Man Nos. 584-588 and selections from Amazing Spider-Man No. 583, Amazing Spider-Man: Extra! Nos. 1, 3 and Gettysburg Distress online only comic (cover dates September, 2008- May, 2009)

The core series stuff was great as usual, but the Obama story pretty much sucked. At least I didn't plunk down $100 for the floppy on eBay like some idiots did the week it came out.

SECRET INVASION: AMAZING SPIDER-MAN (Marvel, 2009)

Collects Secret Invasion: The Amazing Spider-Man Nos. 1-3 and Amazing Spider-Man Annual No. 35 (cover dates October- December, 2008)

Before I begin my tirade, please allow me to clarify one thing: This was an enjoyable read with solid writing and artwork. While it was a good read, the title of this book is entirely misleading. The Secret Invasion mini-series focused on Jackpot and Spider-Man's supporting cast, with Spider-Man himself being featured on only a handful of pages. The story did tie in to events occurring in both Secret Invasion and Amazing Spider-Man, but I was disappointed because this was essentially a Jackpot mini-series. I was also disappointed to see Marvel double dip and reprint the ASM Annual here, as it was recently reprinted in the Death and Dating Spider-Man hardcover. It does tie-in to Jackpot, but that just lends further merit to my argument that this is a misleadingly titled book.

X-MEN: SECRET INVASION (Marvel, 2009)

Collects Secret Invasion: X-Men Nos. 1-4 (cover dates October, 2008- January, 2009) and Fantastic Four Nos. 250 (cover date January, 1983)

This was a decent read, but the real question is why is FF #250 included here? Sure, it is a Skrull story, but I would have rather seen this mini and the Spider-Man Secret Invasion mini collected together in one trade. Maybe they could have called it Secret Invasion Companion or whatnot? The FF issue was collected in the Byrne Visionaries line some time ago, so it seems pointless to include it here, especially when it is superior to the marquee issues in the book!

NEW MUTANTS CLASSIC VOL. 4 (Marvel, 2009)

Collects New Mutants (Vol. 1) Nos. 26-34 (cover dates April- December, 1985)

I bought Nos. 30, 33 and 34 off of the stands back in the day. I am not a fan of Bill Sienkewicz's hyper-scratchy artwork. Sometimes "progress" as an artist is bad! Steve Leialoha steps in and is a breath of fresh air. Chris Claremont still had his craft at this time, but when you read a bunch of these issues in a row it wears thin. His repetition worked well in monthly intervals, not so well in marathon sittings.

BORIS KARLOFF TALES OF MYSTERY ARCHIVES VOL. 1 (Dark Horse, 2009)

Collects Boris Karloff Thriller Nos. 1, 2 and Boris Karloff Tales of Mystery Nos. 3, 4 (cover dates October, 1962- July, 1963)

A somewhat tame but always charming collection of Gold Key reprints. The artwork and writing are below the quality of EC but are worth preserving in this format for posterity. I hope that Dark Horse can finagle the rights to Gold Key's Twilight Zone as well.

The All-New, All-Different Junk Food For Thought

OK, not really. What I meant to say is that this is the first all-new blog post since I signed up for Blogspot last month. All of my other posts have been re-posts from my myspace blog (RIP). My last post over there was on July 4, and since then I have been sitting on my reviews. Here we go...

THE ZOMBIE FACTORY (Idea Men Productions, 2007)

Collects selections from Tales From The Tomb (Vol. 2 ) No. 2, (Vol. 4) Nos. 4, 5 (Vol. 5) No. 1, Tales of Voodoo (Vol. 3) Nos. 1, 2, Terror Tales (Vol. 2) No. 5, (Vol. 3) No. 3, (Vol. 4) No. 6, (Vol. 6) Nos. 1, 4 (Vol. 9) No. 1 and Witches’ Tales (Vol. 6) No. 1 (cover dates January, 1970- January, 1978).

This is an interesting collection of mostly B and C level black and white Horror from the '70s. Credits are nearly non-existent, which is a pet peeve of mine. It would be nice to know what issue which story came from, as well as who wrote and/or penciled it. The scans are way too dark, likely done to compensate for the deterioration of the pulp paper used back then. I'm sure that a C-level publisher like Eerie (no relation to Warren Publishing's superb Creepy and Eerie) didn't bother archiving their stats for later use. This is an okay read if you can find it, although I would have preferred a more comprehensive hardcover collection.

CAPTAIN BRITAIN AND MI-13 VOL. 2: HELL COMES TO BIRMINGHAM (Marvel, 2009)

Collects Captain Britain and MI13 Nos. 5-9 (cover dates November, 2008- March, 2009)

This series is worlds better than most of the current stuff being put out by Marvel. It's a shame that this wasn't the first arc, rather than the always gimmick-y crossover spin-off that it had. Maybe if Marvel would let a series find its own footing rather then being shoved into crossover after crossover we wouldn't see the amount of launches, re-launches, and cancellations that we currently do.

SIN CITY VOL. 4: THAT YELLOW BASTARD (Dark Horse, 2005)

Collects Sin City: That Yellow Bastard Nos. 1-6 (cover dates February- July, 1996)

SIN CITY VOL. 5: FAMILY VALUES (Dark Horse, 2005)

Collects Sin City: Family Values Original Graphic Novel (cover date October, 1997)

SIN CITY VOL. 6: BOOZE, BROADS & BULLETS (Dark Horse, 2005)

Collects Sin City: The Babe Wore Red, Sin City: Silent Night, Sin City: Lost, Lonely & Lethal, Sin City: Sex & Violence and Sin City: Just Another Saturday Night (cover dates November, 1994- October, 1998).

SIN CITY VOL. 7: HELL AND BACK (Dark Horse, 2005)

Collects Sin City: Hell and Back Nos. 1-9 (cover dates July, 1999- April, 2000)

This is a super fast paced read, and it works for this type of series. Frank Miller's artwork is growing on me, as he makes excellent use of black and white and solids. The occasional color inserted into the black and white color scheme is interesting as well. I really like the paper that these books are printed on, as it has an intoxicating smell. I like how all of the characters and settings all circle around and intersect in each other's stories without becoming directly involved with each other, and without it being necessary to know any of the previous stories. One could literally pick up any book in the series and have an enjoyable read.

BLAZING COMBAT (Fantagraphics, 2009; Hardcover)

Collects Blazing Combat Nos. 1-4 (cover dates October, 1965- July, 1966)

The Warren magazines were the natural successors to EC Comics. Frontline Combat and Two-Fisted Tales depicted the horrors of war in often unfavorable ways, and this series ups the ante with it's early anti-Vietnam angle. The title was blackballed by distributors and cancelled, which is a damn shame considering the quality. The EC stable turns in fantastic artwork all around, and Russ Heath does what is, in my opinion, his finest work ever. The book is a super high quality presentation, with superb uncoated, thick paper stock, spotless art transfers from pristine sources, and luxurious sewn binding, all in hardcover to boot. The only gripe that I have is that the Frazetta covers are shrunk down to 1/4 page in the back of the book. Aside from that, this is the definitive document on this series for the ages. Interviews with James Warren and Archie Goodwin provide invaluable insight into the minds of the men who made it happen.

SWAMP THING VOL. 7: REGENESIS (DC, 2004)

Collects Swamp Thing (Vol. 2) Nos. 65-70 (cover dates October, 1987- March, 1988)

SWAMP THING VOL. 8: SPONTANEOUS GENERATION (DC, 2005)

Collects Swamp Thing Nos. 71-76 (cover dates April- September, 1988)

This series doesn't seem to miss a beat after the departure of Alan Moore. I was delighted to see Alfredo Alcala's finely detailed artwork grace these pages.

THE MONSTER OF FRANKENSTEIN (Idea Men Productions, 2006)

Collects The Monster of Frankenstein Nos. 18-33 (cover dates March, 1952- October/November, 1954)

This collects the obscure series by Dick Briefer, and is outstanding! Gruesome, gory and violent, this is not some campy or watered down version of the monster. Briefer's artwork is unusual, but has a style that is pleasing to the eye. I wish that this series was collected in a full color, high end hardcover rather than this black and white trade. Oh well, when you are dealing with comics as obscure as this, you have to take what you can get. I highly recommend this book to all fans of Horror comics.

Originally posted on my myspace blog on 6/18 & 7/4/2009

UNCANNY X-MEN: MANIFEST DESTINY (Marvel, 2009; Hardcover)

Collects Uncanny X-Men Nos. 500-503, X-Men: Free Comic Book Day 2008 and selections from X-Men: Manifest Destiny Nos. 1-5

The core UXM issues are a good read, with decent artwork. For some reason, though, I cannot stand the stubble-laden Cyclops. He has always been clean cut. Emma Frost/ the White Queen still needs to be evil again, too. The short stories from the X-Men: Manifest Destiny issues are pointless character sketches with mostly crappy artwork. 

FANTASTIC FOUR VISIONARIES: BYRNE VOL. 0 (Marvel, 2009)

Collects Fantastic Four Nos. 215-218, 220, 221, Marvel Team-Up (Vol. 1) Nos. 61, 62 and Marvel Two-In-One No. 50 (cover dates September, 1977- August, 1980)

Superb! The Marvel Team-Up issues are Claremont/Byrne in their prime. Every single story is a winner, especially the Blastaar/ Futurist "arc" in the main title.

JOHN BYRNE'S NEXT MEN: THE PREMIERE COLLECTION VOL. 1 (IDW, 2009; Hardcover)

Collects John Byrne’s Next Men Nos. 0-12 (cover dates February, 1992- February, 1993)

OK, so I got suckered into buying this $50 hardcover less than a year after the black and white phone books came out. This is such a great read that I simply had to have it in full color and in hardcover. This is a nice package with heavy duty paper and sewn binding.

SPIDER- GIRL VOL. 10: SEASON OF THE SERPENT (Marvel, 2009)

Collects Spider-Girl Nos. 52-59 (cover dates December, 2002- June, 2003)

I got nervous when they hadn’t solicited one of these digests in a while. Once again, Tom DeFalco, Ron Frenz, and Pat Olliffe deliver the goods. Oh, and my copy is cooler than yours because Tom DeFalco and Ron Frenz both signed it at this year's Motor City Comic Con.

SUPERMEN! THE FIRST WAVE OF COMIC BOOK HEROES 1936-1941 (Fantagraphics, 2009)

Collects selections from Amazing Mystery Funnies (Vol. 2) No. 3, Big Shot Comics No. 1, Blue Bolt Comics (Vol. 1) Nos. 5, 10, Comics Magazine No. 1, Detective Picture Stories No. 5, Fantastic Comics No. 12, Jungle Comics No. 4, Mystery Men Comics No. 4, Pep Comics No. 3, Planet Comics No. 5, Science Comics No. 4, Silver Streak Comics Nos. 4, 7, Star Comics No. 5, Target Comics (Vol. 1) No. 11 and Wonderworld Comics No. 8 (cover dates May, 1936- March, 1941)

This is a totally sweet collection of public domain Golden Age superheroes. When I am in the right mood, Golden Age comics have so much charm that I can't get enough of them. The rawness of the artwork and the lack of refinement in the storytelling make this a blast to read. 

There are some gems in this book: The Face is a really good concept, and Project Superpowers' Death Defying 'Devil is found in his second appearance as The Daredevil. The always brilliant Bill Everett's Sub-Zero tangles with "Professor X". The Comet also pre-dates Cyclops of the X-Men by some 25-odd years, with his visor and eye beam look and powers. 

It's interesting how much Marvel swiped from the various Golden Age publishers who let their copyrights lapse. There are some stories in this book that I am dumber for having read, too. Stardust, the Super Wizard being one. It's tough to follow, and the artwork is Rob Liefeld bad. Instead of feet and the number of digits, Fletcher Hanks has trouble with necks. Stardust looks like a frickin' giraffe. 

Spacehawk, Superhuman Enemy of Crime by Basil Wolverton is enjoyable. I've got to hand it to Fantagraphics, this is a great package. It's a softcover with heavy duty uncoated paper stock with sewn binding! Unfortunately, due to the thickness of the paper and the glue required to hold the softcover on, it does not lay flat. 

The restoration was done rather interestingly. Rather than scan and clean up/ recolor old comics like Marvel does, this is straight up high resolution scans. For better or worse, you see the color limitations from the old oil based inks, the line bleed, the inconsistencies, and you know what? I love it! I like seeing this stuff spit-shined and restored, but this is like getting a mp3 rip off of vinyl. It has a different tonal quality that is somehow appealing, although I wouldn't want a steady diet of it. Whatever the case, it works here. 

This is a first rate collection and I hope that it sells well enough for further exploration. I would also like to see character-centric collections, i.e. any of the names I dropped above.

INDIANA JONES OMNIBUS: THE FURTHER ADVENTURES VOL. 1 (Dark Horse, 2009)

Collects The Further Adventures of Indiana Jones Nos. 1-12 and Raiders of the Lost Ark Nos. 1-3 (cover dates September, 1981- December, 1983)

This collects the Marvel run, and the core title was a decent read. The Raiders of the Lost Ark adaptation sucked, though, with what must have been the worst art of John Buscema's career. Klaus Janson is a terrible inker, and I'm sure that he didn't help things any. I bought Issue 7 off of the stands back in '83.

THE BATMAN CHRONICLES VOL. 7 (DC, 2009)

Collects Batman Nos. 12, 13 and selections from Detective Comics Nos. 66-70 and World’s Finest Comics No. 7 (cover dates August- December, 1942)

Batman was the best comic around during this time period. The stories and artwork are more sophisticated than anything over at Timely (Marvel as they came to called later on). Early Batman villains are cool, too. The Joker, the Penguin, Two-Face...these are all great. A fun, economical read.

THE AVENGERS: THE INITIATIVE VOL. 3: SECRET INVASION (Marvel, 2009)

Collects Avengers: The Initiative Nos. 14-19 (cover dates August, 2008- January, 2009)

This was pretty enjoyable. Dan Slott is a solid writer and has a pretty good grasp on the Marvel Universe. It's a shame that it took this many issues for this series to find its footing. I am dropping the title as I really dislike the whole Initiative angle and am no longer an Avengers completist.

X-FACTOR: SECRET INVASION (Marvel, 2009)Collects X-Factor (Vol. 3) Nos. 33-38 and She-Hulk No. 31 (cover dates September, 2008- February, 2009)

Good stuff by Peter David and company. The artwork is done by a rotating crew and is inconsistent but competent. I appreciate the fact that this series takes place in Detroit. Marvel should let Peter David take tour of the 'real' Detroit. I'm sure he could write some insane stories if he saw what the residents see.

AVENGERS: NIGHTS OF WUNDAGORE (Marvel, 2009)

Collects Avengers Nos. 181-187 (cover dates March- September, 1979)

Absolute brilliance by David Micheline and John Byrne! Art of the highest order. Five stars. 10 out of 10. Someone needs to hand this trade to Bendis and say "Here, read this. This is how you write comic books. He would have stretched this out to like 3 or 4 trades worth of issues. 

This is the third time that I have bought this material in trade. First was the black and white "Backpack Marvel"* trade Knights of Wundagore. (*Backpack Marvels was a short-lived black and white softcover format, smaller than a standard trade, yet larger than a digest. They were released circa 2000 and vanished with 4 titles released.) Then was the full color hackjob Yesterday Quest trade, which omitted entire issues, covers, splash and recap pages, etc. Horrible. Some of those '90s Marvel trades really, really sucked. 

This one is first class all the way, though, with several DVD style extras in the back. Of particular interest is the alternate page of Avengers 182, which is way cooler than the one that was used. Boring nostalgic rambling: On one of our trips to my grandparent's cottage circa summer 1979, my brother picked up #187 at the IGA. He later gave it to me, and the cover has always stuck in my head as being super cool. I still have that comic book to this day.

DEATH: THE HIGH COST OF LIVING (DC, 1994)

Collects Death: The High Cost of Living Nos. 1-3 and Death Talks About Life (cover dates March- May, 1993, 1994)

Wow, this was the tenth printing of this book!?! This is an enjoyable Sandman tie-in that you don't have to know much about Sandman (like I don't) to understand what is going on. Not a fan of Chris Bachalo's pencils, but they are better here than they are in his more recent Marvel stuff.

SECRET INVASION: CAPTAIN BRITAIN AND MI13 (Marvel, 2009)

Collects Captain Britain and MI13 Nos. 1-4 (cover dates July- October, 2008) and Marvel Team-Up (Vol. 1) Nos. 65, 66 (cover dates February- March, 1978)

This series has a decent concept but it was undermined from the get-go by it being spun out of a crossover. I have always enjoyed Captain Britain because he was a lovable buffoon, but that charm is nowhere to be found here. Still, it is nice to see the Black Knight (a/k/a Dane Whitman) back in action. This was all in all a solid read, but it has already gotten the axe, so I won't get too attached to it. The classic MTU stories from the '70s are prime Claremont/ Byrne and are worth the price of admission alone.

Originally posted on my myspace blog on 6/8 & 6/18/2009

MARVEL MASTERWORKS: ATLAS ERA STRANGE TALES VOL. 2 (Marvel, 2009)

Collects Strange Tales (Vol. 1) Nos. 11-20 (October, 1952- July, 1953)

Time was, I could never have dreamed of reading these stories. Now, thanks to the Masterworks, I have! These are inferior to EC's output at the time, but are decent and will help hold me over while Russ Cochran shops the EC license around since Gemstone has essentially collapsed. 

MIGHTY AVENGERS VOL. 4: SECRET INVASION BOOK 2 (Marvel, 2009)

Collects Mighty Avengers Nos. 16-20 (September, 2008- February, 2009)

Another sucktastic, bloated, made-for-the-trade "arc" by the Michael Bay of comic books, Brian Michael Bendis. I will suffer through whatever this man wrote that is currently in my backlog, but after that, I am done. The '90s are made fun of because of Liefeld's laughable "artwork". The 2000s will be laughed at because of Bendis' laughable "writing". Decompression is the writing equivalent of stylized '90s art.

SANDMAN MYSTERY THEATRE: THE TARANTULA (DC, 1995)

Collects Sandman Mystery Theatre Nos. 1-4 (cover dates April- July, 1993)

This was an enjoyable Golden Age/ crime/ noir flavored comic. I'm on board for Vol. 2, and can't wait to get to it in the backlog.

AMERICA’S BEST COMICS PRIMER (DC, 2008)

Collects Promethea No. 1, Tom Strong No. 1, Tom Strong’s Terrific Tales No. 1, Tomorrow Stories Nos. 1, 6 and Top 10 No. 1 (cover dates June, 1999- April, 2003)

This is one of those off-brand (sort of; Wildstorm, whose parent company is DC, puts this line out) $4.99 sampler trades that I am such a sucker for. The bulk of this is written by Alan Moore, whose ideas here are hit or miss but never uninteresting. Tom Strong, Tom Strong’s Terrific Tales, and Promethea were all fun reads, and the Tomorrow Stories anthology stories were hit or miss. My friend loaned me the first Top 10 trade a while back, and I didn't much care for it then and I don't much care for it now. This book is an entertaining read, and at $5.00, you can't go wrong.

MARVEL ADVENTURES SPIDER-MAN VOL. 11: ANIMAL INSTINCT (Marvel, 2008)

Collects Marvel Adventures Spider-Man Nos. 41-44 (cover dates September- December, 2008)

This series remains an enjoyable read. Why can't Amazing Spider-Man feature some more light-hearted, done in one stories like these, with some of the lesser villains? Man-Bull, the Puma, Orka, and the Lizard are all great.

EERIE ARCHIVES VOL. 1 (Dark Horse, 2009; Hardcover)

Collects Eerie Nos. 1-5 (cover dates September, 1965- September, 1966)

Eerie, along with it's sister title Creepy, are the finest post-EC Horror comics ever made. Most of the EC stable of artists contributed to this title, along with many Silver Age greats.

FANTASTIC FOUR: THE BEGINNING OF THE END (Marvel, 2008)

Collects Fantastic Four Nos. 525, 526, 551-553 (cover dates June, 2005 and January- March, 2008)

This was a X-Mas gift, and I really enjoyed reading it. I like the Fantastic Four, but haven't followed them since Byrne's run. These arcs featured two of the all-time great FF villains: Diablo and Doctor Doom. Fun for the whole family!

ESSENTIAL POWER MAN AND IRON FIST VOL. 2 (Marvel, 2009)

Collects Daredevil No. 178 and Power Man and Iron Fist Nos. 76-100 (cover dates December, 1981- December, 1983)

B-level ‘80s Marvel is still better than most A-level ‘00s Marvel. We get to see Kurt Busiek cut his teeth on this title. Most of these issues are self-contained, but multi-parters become more common towards the end of the book. Ernie Chan's artwork is good, and can be great, depending on the inker. Power Man and Iron Fist are street level heroes and, as such, typically fight street level villains. That is something that is missing from many modern comic books: the street level villain. Now, everything is some kind of Skrull invasion or Norman Osborn led conspiracy. These issues are dated, but lovably so.

SECRET INVASION (Marvel, 2009)

Collects Secret Invasion Nos. 1-8 (cover dates June, 2008- January, 2009)

Crossovers, “events”, and Brian Michael Bendis all suck, and I am done with all three. This mini-series could have been so much more than it ended up being. I mean, they really could have undone most of the messy continuity and ret-cons* that have plagued Marvel in recent years, but it looks like they are instead going to super-size them with the whole Norman Osborn/ Thunderbolts Initiative garbage. It looks like I will be saving more money by not buying more modern Marvel comics. (*ret-con is short for retro-active continuity, where they will insert a back story into continuity that was never there before, often flying in the face of canon and logic.)

HOUSE OF MYSTERY VOL. 1: ROOM & BOREDOM (DC, 2008)

Collects House of Mystery (Vol. 2) Nos. 1-5 (cover dates July- November, 2008)

This is the new Vertigo series, and it is a very interesting read. This isn't the way that I would have re-launched a beloved "brand" like House of Mystery, though.

SPIDER-MAN: AMAZING FRIENDS (Marvel, 2009)

Collects selections from King-Size Spider-Man Summer Special No. 1, Spider-Man Family Featuring Spider-Man’s Amazing Friends No. 1, Spider-Man Featuring the Silver Surfer Magazine and Spider-Man Magazine: Great Power (cover dates October, 2006-2008)

These stories are a non-continuity hodge-podge with varying degrees of quality. The best ones are the ones with Iceman and Firestar, "reuniting" the cast from Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends animated series from the early '80s. This was a bit on the light side in terms of content, and I am going to be more selective with these sidebar releases in the future.