Review- FANTASTIC FOUR: OVERTHROW OF DOOM

FANTASTIC FOUR: OVERTHROW OF DOOM (Marvel, First Printing, 2011; Hardcover)

Collects Fantastic Four #192-200 (cover dates March- November, 1978)

Writers: Len Wein, Roger Slifer, Keith Pollard, Bill Mantlo, and Marv Wolfman

Artists: George Perez and Keith Pollard with Inking by Joe Sinnott, Dave Hunt, and Pablo Marcos

I had this book sitting in my backlog for so long that the Marvel Masterworks line actually caught up to it. This collection butts up perfectly against Vol. 17 in that line. Indeed, the issues collected in this book have been announced as part of the forthcoming Vol. 18, due out this September. I decided to bump this and two other collections up in order to give me a complete run to read going up to issue 214, which I will review over the coming weeks and months.

If The Thing had problems with a rotor ring phone, imagine his difficulty with a smartphone.

This is not the high point of the title by any stretch of the imagination, but these are still solid, well-crafted comics. Building off of the events at the end of issue 191, the Fantastic Four are no more. The four of them have all gone their separate ways, and their exploits are all woven together through scene changes. This almost feels like four separate stories in each issue that become more and more entangled until the team gradually gets back together.

#192 is basically a Human Torch solo story where he tangles with The Texas Twister. I have always had a soft spot for the Texas Twister ever since I encountered him in the West Coast Avengers back in 1985. #193 and 194 are a Thing solo story where he battles Diablo and learns the truth about Darkoth The Demon. #195 is a solo Invisible Girl story featuring the Sub-Mariner.

The threads all being to come together and the foe behind it all is Doctor Doom, all part of a plan to have his son become his successor to the throne of Latveria. This is one of the more satisfying Doctor Doom epics outside of Kirby's run. Like I said before, this was solid and enjoyable stuff even if this era isn't the strongest in the history of the title.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 3.75 out of 5.

The OCD zone- The late, lamented Marvel Premiere Classic Hardcovers were a sort of junior Masterworks line. While they weren't quite the “Blu-Ray” version of these issues like you would see in a Marvel Masterwork, they are still excellent. Marvel made too many of them in too short a period of time, resulting in many of these books being dumped to retailers at liquidation prices, killing the line off.

Linework and Color restoration: While the color palette is faithful to the original publications, there are spots where the linework could (and certainly will be once MMW FF Vol. 18 is released this fall) be improved upon.

Paper stock: Thick coated stock with a slight sheen.

Binding: Smyth sewn binding. The book lays mostly flat.

Dustjacket and Hardback cover notes: The dustjacket has that annoying frosted finish to it that scuffs if you breathe on it too hard. The images have spot varnish. The letters on the cover and spine have a type of embossed foil look and feel to them. The hardback itself has that faux leather grain on the casewrap and dye foil stamping for the letters.

Review- VAMPIRELLA ARCHIVES VOL. 4

VAMPIRELLA ARCHIVES VOL. 4 (Dynamite, First Printing, 2012; Hardcover)

Collects Vampirella #22-28 and 1972 Vampirella Annual (cover dates Annual 1972- October, 1973)

Writers: Don Glut, Bill DuBay, Doug Moench, Steve Englehart, Tony Isabella (credit given to Len Wein; Isabella ghost-wrote the story for him), J.R. Cochran, Esteban Maroto, Dube, Steve Skeates, John Jacobson, Ed Newsome, Kevin Pagan, Gerry Bordeau, Jim Stenstrum, Robert Rosen, Nicola Cuti, W. Eaton, George Henderson, James Crawford, Lynn Marron, Jose Toutain, Flaxman Loew, Fernandez, Jose Bea, James Crawford, and Bruce Bezaire

Artists: Jose Gonzalez, Esteban Maroto, Rafael Auraleon, Bill DuBay, Jose Bea, Ramon Torrents, Munes, Fernandez, Escolano, and Felix Mas, with cover paintings by Aslan, Enrich Torres, and Sanjulian

Vampirella is the star of this series. Her story takes up a chunk of each issue and she hosts the rest of the stories a la the Cryptkeeper. She is all cheesecake and helped usher adolescent Baby Boomers through puberty. In all honesty, she is the least interesting aspect of the series to me, as I don't read comic books for that kind of inspiration. I much prefer the non-Vampirella stories. They are interchangeable with the stories found in the other Warren Magazines (Creepy and Eerie), meaning that they are well executed EC-inspired Horror.

Artwork by Auraleon.

The 1972 Annual, which was omitted from Vol. 3, is thankfully included here. Stories which were reprinted from earlier issues in the series are omitted from that issue, which is fine. #23's Cobra Queen is one of those morality type stories that is so familiar that it must be derived from a fable. Don Glut is a great writer and pulls it off fabulously.

A quick look at the list of writers above shows that this is a proverbial who's who of Bronze Age stars before they were stars. Doug Moench's talent was already fully formed, as his stories are a cut above the rest. All of the stories were good, and the art is top notch as well. Younger fans may not recognize many of the names above, but all of these writers and artists deserve your notice.

Artwork by Auraleon.

Rafael Auraleon's artwork is without peer. His art in #24's The Choice is fantastic, so photo realistic that if it were done today I would swear that he was a Photoshop cheat of an artist. I wonder if he used models for photo referencing. Look at that splash page from #25's The Haunted Child. He crams so much atmosphere into each panel, truly cinematic stuff. His panel composition is like a camera angle, with each panel being a different shot. Absolutely brilliant. I could sit here all day and gush about his work.

Artwork by Auraleon. 

Munes is another artist whose artwork is museum worthy, as evidenced by #26's Blood Brothers! He uses solids to paint colors in your mind more effective than using actual color. #28's Old Texas Road is another creepy one.

This is fun, old-fashioned Horror, heavy on the haunted houses, werewolves, and the like. It is interesting to see slasher type Horror begin to creep in. Anxieties about the Viet Nam War and the Cold War would soon usher in a new breed of Horror movie the following year. Movies like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre would forever change the standards of what is considered Horror, but that is a different conversation altogether. I prefer the old school to what passes as Horror these days. Now get off of my lawn!

Junk Food For Thought rating: 4 out of 5.

The OCD zone- Dynamite lists the creator credits in the table of contents by the names used in the original issues. Some of these, such as Dube, were pseudonyms for creators. (Dube was Bill DuBay.) There is a difference between a pseudonym and a “stage name”.

Other credits are not included. For example, the artists who did the painted covers that made the series so famous are not listed in the table of contents of the book (although they are credited on the original issue letters pages, which are included). Dynamite should have an intern do five minutes of Internet research so that proper credit can be given to the creators. Cripes, I'd be willing to do it for a comp copy of the book.

This book is presented in the dimensions of the original magazine publications, meaning that this is the same height and width as Dark Horse's Creepy and Eerie Archives as well as their EC Archives.

Linework and Color restoration: These are all cleaned up high resolution scans of the original issues. Covers and the handful of pages originally presented in color are in full color here.

Paper stock: Thick glossy coated stock. I like the smell of these Chinese made books.

Binding: Smyth sewn binding, lays perfectly flat. This book will outlast me on this Earth.

Dustjacket and Hardback cover notes: Dustjacket is fully laminated. Hardback has faux leather casewrap and dye foil stamping on the cover and spine. 

Review- MARVEL MASTERWORKS: FANTASTIC FOUR VOL. 17

MARVEL MASTERWORKS: FANTASTIC FOUR VOL. 17 (Marvel, First Printing, 2015; Hardcover)

Collects Fantastic Four #176-191 (cover dates November, 1976- February, 1978)

Writers: Roy Thomas, Len Wein, Mike Friedrich, Gerry Conway, Bill Mantlo, Jim Shooter, Archie Goodwin, and Marv Wolfman

Artists: George Perez, Sal Buscema, and Ron Wilson with Inking by Joe Sinnott, Dave Hunt, and Tony DeZuniga

Many of these issues were collected in the Fantastic Four Visionaries: George Perez trades, which I dumped years ago in anticipation of the Masterworks line reaching this era. Things start out strong with four Roy Thomas-penned issues. Roy brings back the Impossible Man, who had not been seen in years. From there he goes into the return of the Frightful Four, who hold auditions for their new fourth member in the FF's headquarters, the Baxter Building. Their new fourth member is The Brute, who is really (!!!SPOILER!!!) Reed Richards of Counter-Earth. Evil Reed Richards hitched a ride to this Earth unbeknownst to the FF in the issues collected in the previous volume. Counter-Earth Reed Richards/ The Brute ends up tricking the team, sending the real Mister Fantastic into The Negative Zone.

I really enjoyed this scene from issue 178, where the Frightful Four were holding the then cash strapped city of New York for ransom. The mayor reached for out for financial help from the soon-to-be president Jimmy Carter, the then-current president Gerald Ford, and the at the time eliminated presidential candidate and future president, actor turned politician Ronald Reagan. This issue was on the stands in October of 1976, and Roy Thomas was all Nostradamus, with Carter predicting his election the following week.

#180 was a reprint of #101, and only the cover is presented here. Marvel did this a handful of times during the '70s. Jim Shooter rectified deadline problems like these in the '80s by commissioning inventory issues which were whipped out in lieu of reprints if the current creative team missed their deadline. #181 is near and dear to my heart, as it was a quarter box find circa 1983 and served as my introduction to Annihilus. Agatha Harkness also returns as a supporting cast member in that issue.

Things develop with Agatha Harkness, coming to a head in #185. The Fantastic Four are led to New Salem, a town hidden in the Colorado Rockies which was not on any map. Oh, the days before Google Earth, when things like hidden towns were a possibility. The witches of New Salem kidnapped Agatha Harkness to try her for her “crime” of venturing into the outside world. There is lots of great faux occult goodness, including animated gargoyle stone statues and even a group of super-powered witches called Salem's Seven, the type of adversaries considered too silly for so-called sophisticated 21^st century readers.

#187 and 188 are a two-parter where the FF take on Klaw and the Molecule Man. The Fantastic Four break up at the end of that issue. #189 is another reprint fill-in issue. Only the cover is included here. #190 is a waste of time, a recap issue slapped together to fill in what has happened so far. I remember enjoying those back in the pre-Internet days. This issue features some of Sal Buscema's most phoned in work. #191 cements the end of the Fantastic Four, with all four members going their own way at the end of the issue.

This is of course not the end of the team or the title. Modern day advance solicits would have sucked all of the life out of this storyline, but fans back in 1977 had no real way of knowing what was coming next. While I enjoy the online fan community I sometimes miss the more solitary nature of this hobby, at least in terms of spoilers and advance solicitations.

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 are nuts.

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.

Review- PIRACY ANNUAL VOL. 1

PIRACY ANNUAL VOL. 1 (Gemstone, 1998; Softcover)

Collects Piracy #1-4 (cover dates November, 1954- May, 1955)

Writers: Carl Wessler and other, unidentified writers

Artists: Wally Wood, Reed Crandall, Al Williamson, Angelo Torres, Jack Davis, Bernie Krigstein, George Evans, and Graham Ingels

Piracy is either a latter day New Trend title or a precursor to the New Direction titles, depending on who you ask. I tend to lump it in with the New Direction titles, the ones where EC was attempting different things to distance themselves from their Horror output which was under fire at the time. As was the case with those titles, the writing and artwork are head and shoulders above the output of anything else on the stands at the time, even if the material in this title wasn't as strong as the New Trend stuff.

This comic book does exactly what is says on the tin: “Sagas of the sea, ships, plunder and...Piracy”. These are stories of high adventure and ruthless men whose greed and ambition show us the worst traits of mankind. Some of the stories are historical accounts while others are loosely based on historical events, using them a launchpad for the story. Man's inhumanity toward his fellow man is on full display here.

Artwork wise, this book boasts some of George Evans and Graham Ingels' finest artwork. Having said that, many fans tend to dismiss the New Direction stuff. I have never heard any EC fan claim that Piracy is their favorite title. It is merely a footnote in the history of EC Comics. EC remain the gold standard for comic books in my mind.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 4 out of 5.

The OCD zone- Gemstone overprinted their single issue reprints in the '90s with an eye toward selling their own back issues. They re-purposed this overstock by trimming and gluing 5 entire issues into a cardstock cover. While this is not technically a trade paperback (it has no ISBN), it is squarebound and has the title on the spine. Close enough for Rock and Roll in my book.

Linework and Color restoration: Shot from the original artwork with a color palette authentic to the original publication. If you want to see EC Comics in full color then this is the best way to do so, as these look superior to the originals in terms of print quality.

Paper stock: Standard pulp paper of the day. The pro is that this looks and feels like a real comic book. The con, and it is a very large one, is that this will age and yellow, just like real comic book paper. I am admittedly less and less worried about this sort of thing as time goes by, as I will likely be dead and gone before this book deteriorates too badly. Sorry fans in the year 2068.

Binding: Perfect bound trade paperback.

Cardstock cover notes: Thick cardboard with minimal coating. There are signs of wear after years but all in all very solid.