Review- VENOM: THE ENEMY WITHIN

VENOM: THE ENEMY WITHIN (Marvel, First Printing, 2013; Softcover)

Collects Venom: Funeral Pyre #1-3, Venom: The Madness #1-3, Venom: The Enemy Within #1-3, and Incredible Hulk & Venom #1 (cover dates August, 1993- April, 1994)

Writers: Carl Potts, Ann Nocenti, Bruce Jones, and Peter David

Artists: Pencils- Tom Lyle, Kelley Jones (also Inker), Bob McLeod (also Inker), and Jim Craig; Inkers- Al Milgrom, Josef Rubinstein, John Beatty, Harry Candelario, Scott Hanna, Keith Williams, Bill Anderson, and Dan Day

Ah, the '90s. It was one of the worst periods in the history of comics, particularly for Marvel and DC. The artwork was especially wretched, a bunch of people emulating the garish Image-influence from hacks like Jim Lee, Rob Liefeld, and Marc Silvestri, among others. Think of it like '90s Rock. Everyone tried to be Nirvana and wound up being Bush. Lame. I am showing my age here, though. To the 12 year olds of 1993 this is the golden age of comics, so your mileage may vary depending on your age in 1993-1994.

This book is a collection of assorted Venom mini-series and one-shots. Venom: Funeral Pyre features The Punisher. It's typical extreme 90's stuff but is entertaining enough. The Punisher was overamped and his power level was routinely exaggerated throughout the '90s.

Venom: The Madness features artwork by Kelley Jones. I've never understood the appeal of his artwork. It's dark and moody but it is so anatomically exaggerated that I can enjoy it. Venom fights the Juggernaut, and while the fight is cool the artwork is so horrendous that it detracts from the experience.

Venom: The Enemy Within is where things get cooking. Bruce Jones writes an excellent script and Bob McLeod brings it to life. My beloved Morbius The Living Vampire is featured in this mini series with an absurd plot about a cult which assembles in the Library Of Rhan. The Demogoblin also appears to do battle with the goblins that the cult releases upon San Francisco. It's a bunch of silly faux-occult stuff that basically plays as a superhero/ monster mash-up.

Incredible Hulk & Venom one shot is super cheesy and lame. It's everything that is wrong with 90s comic books. I liked Venom when he was introduced as a villain, as his first few battles with Spider-Man felt fresh and new. His popularity ultimately made Marvel do a WWF turncoat, making him into a “Lethal Protector” anti-hero which was all too common in the '90s. To the kids of the '90s (and beyond) this stuff is considered classic. It's middle of the road comics with some generally awful artwork to this old man, though.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 3 out of 5.

The OCD zone- This is the part where I go into tactile sensations and materials 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 beyond this point.

Linework and Color restoration: I am not wasting a second of my life comparing this to the originals, which were undoubtedly godawful ugly too. Everything looks clean and tight.

Paper stock: Matte coated stock of sufficient thickness and weight. This is the same stock found in the softcover Marvel Masterworks and Epic lines of books. It's my favorite paper stock used in collected editions today because it feels like something of quality while retaining an authentic comic book look and feel.

Binding: Perfect bound trade paperback.

Cardstock cover notes: Laminated cardstock cover.

Review- SPIDER-MAN BY TODD McFARLANE OMNIBUS

SPIDER-MAN BY TODD McFARLANE OMNIBUS (Marvel, First Printing, 2016; Hardcover)

Collects Spider-Man #1-14, 16 and X-Force #4 (cover dates August, 1990- November, 1991)

Writer and Artist: Todd McFarlane with Writing by Fabien Nicieza and Rob Liefeld (X-Force #4), artwork by Rob Liefeld (X-Force #4) and additional Inking by Rick Maygar, Scott Williams, and Jim Lee

Todd McFarlane's adjective-less Spider-Man series, released during the summer of 1990, was, for all intents and purposes, the opening bell for the speculator bubble of the 1990s. We all know what happened, we all know why it happened, and we all see aspects of it being repeated by the industry today.

McFarlane was a breath of fresh air when he exploded on the scene in Amazing Spider-Man back in November of 1987*. I was a first day buyer back then and was immediately taken aback by this bold new take on the character. His version was like a creepier version of Steve Ditko's Spider-Man. He had been in the business for a few years already but he was new to me .

*Comic cover dates were four months ahead when purchased in Direct Market, or comic specialty shops as we called them back then. Cover dates were three months ahead on newsstands like 7-11. By the time that this adjective-less series hit the stands cover dates had been adjusted to being two months ahead for the DM, three for newsstands.

This was among the first Marvel series to be structured in arcs, with each issue being Part _ of _ of said story title. This was done so that it could be repackaged into books for the emerging trade paperback market for mainstream bookstores. As strange as it may sound here in 2017, there was a time when Marvel did not think of the collected edition when making their comic books. The full bleed artwork was also a new thing at the time.

This dark take on the character was fascinating because it simply hadn't been done before. The Horror elements are brought to the fore in this series. While McFarlane would like to make this out to be a more adult take on the character, his sexual double entendres are adolescent and embarrassing to read as an adult. This being the dawn of the '90s, !!!totally extreme!!! thinking was the order of the day. To be fair, the action sequences are a blast. McFarlane's exaggerated anatomy and almost cartoony depictions of people give his art a unique look which would be aped by numerous artists and become a cliché. Credit where credit is due, he did this stuff first and he did it the best. Motion lines, excessive detail, and unrealistic anatomy would dominate most of the 1990s because of him.

The first arc of five issues has been repackaged numerous times as Torment. This is the Lizard as his most brutal. The endless DOOM DOOM DOOM DOOM DOOM sound effect jungle drum beats got old fast, especially since this wasn't the first time that I've read this material. My son wanted to read this book with me but bailed after five issues. He seemed bored with this, which kind of surprised me. I figured that the fast pace of McFarlane's stories would be right up his alley but I was wrong.

The second arc, Masques, has also been repackaged multiple times. I had the old original UK trade years ago but dumped it because I predicted this book once Marvel rereleased these arcs in Premiere Classic hardcovers. It may have taken several years for this to become reality but I have nothing but time and no shortage of stuff to read. McFarlane's take on the Hobgoblin and Ghost Rider both leave me cold.

The cover to the first issue of the third arc (Perceptions, also repackaged like Masques) is one of those boring, 'iconic' type of covers that have little to do with the interior and would plague comics in the early 2000s. Awful and lazy. The arc itself is very good, with Spider-Man teaming up with Wolverine to take on the Wendigo. Subtlety is something completely lost on McFarlane, and he drills his opinion of the then-emerging 24/7 news cycle into you. I'm old enough to remember when news was about reporting a story instead of creating one. The sensationalism spotlighted here seems downright tame when compared to clickbait garbage reporting that passes as news today.

My beloved Morbius The Living Vampire was the surprise villain in the fourth arc of the series, Sub-City. The writing in this one is pretty weak but there's plenty of action and Morbius so who cares. The book closes out with the godawful sideways X-Force crossover, Sabotage. X-Force sucks and Rob Liefeld sucks. Both are the epitome of everything wrong with mainstream 1990s comics, and I cannot spit enough venom at either one.

This being Marvel, there is an exhaustively researched section of DVD-style extras in the back. All variants and industry magazine covers, as well introductions and covers from previous editions of the various collections are included. This run means a lot to fans 10 or more years younger than I am. It's not the best era as far as I'm concerned but it's a fun enough read and serves as an object lesson why dark and gritty Spider-Man doesn't really work. For the younger set this is one of the defining runs for the character.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 3.5 out of 5.

The OCD zone- This is pretty “thin” for an Omnibus, clocking in at 16 issues and a another two issue's worth of extras. It's heft is little more than an oversized hardcover from a decade ago.

Linework and Color restoration: The restoration in this book is decent.

Paper stock: Fair weight semi-glossy coated stock.

Binding: Sewn Binding.

Dustjacket and Hardback cover notes: Dustjacket has the same lamination found on all Marvel Omnibus dustjackets. The hardback has paper casewrap with the image printed on it.

Review- MORBIUS THE LIVING VAMPIRE: THE MAN CALLED MORBIUS

MORBIUS THE LIVING VAMPIRE: THE MAN CALLED MORBIUS (Marvel, 2013; Softcover)

Collects Amazing Spider-Man No. 699.1 and Morbius The Living Vampire Nos. 1-9 (cover dates March- November, 2013)

Writers: Joe Keatinge with Dan Slott ( Amazing Spider-Man #699.1)

Artists: Richard Elson (#1-5, 8, 9), Valentine De Landro, Carlos Rodriguez, Felix Ruiz, and Marc Checchettio

Colorist: Antonio Fabella

This was the first series that I followed via monthly installments since late 1989 or early 1990 (hard to remember exactly when I quit buying monthly comic books). This felt radically different in a marathon reading session when compared to the monthly fix. In some ways it was better, in other ways it lacked the anticipation that I felt waiting to see what would happen next. Binge consumption of entertainment is a respectable pastime here in the 21^st century, so luckily for me I don't have to enjoy comics responsibly. It was a nice experiment reading single issues again, but I don't see me ever going that route over trade paperbacks. 

 

Things start out with Dr. Michael Morbius escaping from the Raft, the superhuman prison in New York. We see his early life in a series of flashback sequences. Morbius ends up hiding out in Brownsville, a depressed urban area not unlike my local major population centre, Detroit. Brownsville is every bit as desolate and poor as the worst parts of Detroit, and so when I read this I imagined Morbius living near Van Dyke and 7 Mile or something. Morbius immediately, if inadvertently, causes trouble by way of crossing local crime lord Noah St. Germain.

Things go from bad to worse for our poor Living Vampire. Morbius is like the Charlie Brown of the vampire set, trying to do the right thing and running to kick that football, only to have it always yanked away from him at the last minute. The Rose enters the picture, and just when Morbius thinks that he's got that figured out, another layer is revealed. Morbius is played for a sucker and loses everything, only to find out that he already has everything that he really needs. Think of this as It's A Wonderful Life for the vampire set. 

Morbius has much appeal...to me.

This series was about the man called Morbius. Now that we have established that, we need to have another series about the monster called Morbius. We need balls to the wall Horror, with Morbius teaming up with the Living Mummy and Brother Voodoo to fight...well, whatever, some monster or demon or something. Morbius could team up with Werewolf By Night to try and stop some faux-Satanic cult from using the statue from It! The Living Colossus to transport some demon entity into it, resulting in a triumphant return of It. It would be sweet to see It in comics again. We got to see a bit of the Manphibian in this series, which was cool, because you can never have too many monsters. 

With the holiday gift giving season upon us, you might find yourself wondering what to get that certain special someone for Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, the Winter Solstice, or Festivus. May I recommend getting them a copy of this book? If enough people give the gift of Morbius this holiday season then we might get more new Morbius comics. If this book moves some 3-4,000 copies like Hawkeye or Saga trades then this could happen. It's all up to you, folks. I've already bought my copy...

Junk Food For Thought rating: 4.5 out of 5.

The OCD zone- Variant covers not included as part of the extras: The 2^nd printing to issue 1 with the blue colored logo. The #1 blank cover variant. You might say that I am being a bit too anal, but this is The OCD zone for chrissakes. It's what we do.

DVD-style Extras included in this book: All are one full page.

#1 variant cover by Ed McGuinness and Marte Gracia.

#6 Wolverine Through The Ages variant cover by Patrick Zircher.

#1 variant cover by Skottie Young.

#2 variant cover by Marcos Martin.

#3 variant by Tomm Coker.

Marvel AR (Augmented Reality) legend. Has anyone actually gotten this stupid app to work? I downloaded it and followed the instructions and...nothing. Waste of time if you ask me.

Paper rating: 4 out of 5. This book has a good weight coated stock paper with a slight sheen to it. It's nicer than the paper used in the floppies. It has that stupid wavy effect that many recent Marvel trade paperbacks suffer from.

Binding rating: 4 out of 5. Standard perfect bound glued binding.

Cardstock cover coating rating: 4.5 out of 5. The waxlike lamination seems cheaper. Also, it is one of those covers that is slightly narrower than the pages inside, resulting in a really minor ding on the corners of the front and back pages, all of which could have been avoided if the cover were a millimeter wider. I guess that the printer saved .000000000008 on it or whatever. It's like the self cover of trade paperback covers. The cardstock cover itself was marginally thinner as well.

Decontenting is the death knell, babe. Vinyl records were made cheaper and cheaper throughout the '80s. My first print of Kiss Asylum on vinyl was 80g weight, which would actually wobble when you took it out of the sleeve. As demand for paper shrinks and paper mills try to maximize profits, books are going to be made more and more with inferior materials. Then once it hits bottom they will reintroduce physical books as novelty deluxe items, not unlike vinyl is today, and charge top dollar for them.

Buy MORBIUS THE LIVING VAMPIRE: THE MAN CALLED MORBIUS TP at InStockTrades!

Review- Morbius The Living Vampire #9

Morbius The Living Vampire #9 (Marvel, cover date November, 2013)

Writer: Joe Keatinge

Artist: Richard Elson

Colorist: Antonio Fabela

The universe is a strange and often cruel place. For instance, Deadpool can somehow support an ongoing series, sometimes several at one time, while my beloved Morbius The Living Vampire can only last nine issues. Morbius will be mothballed until exhumed, and Deadpool fans will still get their monthly fix. This is concrete proof that either A) God hates me or B) There is no God.

In any case, this more human take on our Living Vampire has been a fun ride. Aside from the two issues marred by the appearance of the so-called Superior Spider-Man, this series has maintained a consistent level of quality month in and month out. Everything is tied up neatly and, dare I say it, Morbius might finally have found a little happiness, if not a happy ending.

While It! The Living Colossus was not in the final issue as I had hoped and dreamed, we do get to see the Manphibian, which was pretty darned cool. Marvel needs to bring It! The Living Colossus back. It's time for It. Like smartphones, people simply don't realize how much they need It in their life until someone shows it to them. It was cool seeing Morbius go wild in this issue. A few of the scenes are pretty darned gruesome. I loved it. Let's just say that the Rose gets a what for. 

While showing Morbius the man was an interesting idea, I would like to see a series featuring Morbius the monster. Shoot, I'll write it myself! Let's see...one issue would have a witches coven who possesses Morbius to ward off the Werewolf By Night, who is a threat to them because of his curse tied to the Darkhold. Can't forget the huge 6-part arc featuring It! The Living Colossus. Nah, those made for the trade arcs suck. Maybe it'll be a two-parter. Have to figure out a way to work in the Living Mummy and the Frankenstein Monster. I'd have to bring back Helleyes. Who wouldn't love one of those cool faux-Satanic cults conjuring a monster of some sort for Morbius to battle? Lots of rams heads and pentagrams and wavy-bladed daggers for sure. It would be sweet.

Ridiculous flights of fancy aside, I enjoyed Joe Keatinge's writing and Richard Elson and Antonio Fabela's tasteful artwork and coloring. I'll miss seeing my pal Morbius around, but at least we got 9 issues of it. If you would have told me a year ago that Morbius would have his own series in 2013 I'd have laughed at you. I would have wanted to believe you, but I would have laughed at you.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Reviews- Morbius The Living Vampire #8 and Bela Lugosi's Tales From The Grave #4

Morbius The Living Vampire #8 (Marvel, cover date October, 2013)

Writer: Joe Keatinge

Artist: Richard Elson

Colorist: Antonio Fabela

Here we are, the penultimate issue of Morbius The Living Vampire. Okay, so the Rose's Ultimate Nullifier is not a real Ultimate Nullifier. That makes more sense. The Rose has an honest to gosh throwdown with Morbius. Aside from him elbowing someone in his first appearance back in Amazing Spider-Man #253, I can't recall the Rose ever being involved in physical combat. I could be wrong, I don't know. Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

Like the other two or three dozen other Morbius fans out there, I am really bummed that the series is coming to end in just one month. I'm glad to see Richard Elson back for these last two issues, as his work with Antonio Fabela's coloring was “the look” of this series as far as I'm concerned. 

Do you remember last month when I said that if I were Joe Keatinge and Marvel told me that I had two issues left I'd say screw it and throw the Living Mummy, Werewolf By Night, and It! The Living Colossus in? Well, we have the Living Mummy and Werewolf By Night in this issue, and if It! The Living Colossus appears in the next issue then I will have a nerdgasm. Bravo!

I'll try not to get too misty-eyed as the series ends next month with issue 9. We've had a helluva ride, and if you would have told me a year ago that we would have a new Morbius The Living Vampire series next year I would have laughed at you. DREAMS CAN COME TRUE! ...only those dreams end up getting cancelled because everyone loves zombies instead of Morbius.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 4.5 out of 5. 

Bela Lugosi's Tales From The Grave #4 (Monsterverse, cover date July, 2013)

Writers: Mark Finn, Lowell Isaac, Ed Polgardy, Michael Leal, and Kerry Gammill

Artists: John Lucas, Bill Sienkiewicz, Lowell Isaac, Rob Brown, Nik Poliwko, and Kerry Gammill

Colorist: Kerry Gammill

Well done Horror anthologies are an easy sell for me. The EC template of a host presenting short stories has worked for decades, from Boris Karloff's Tales of Mystery to Creepy, Eerie, and even Vincent Price Presents. This title feels most similar to these great old Warren magazines, albeit these are in full color.

Four-Way Split is glorious, reeking of classic Horror with it's band of explorers in an uncharted territory, treasure beyond imagination, and human greed. Needless to say things don't end the way that they want them to. The cherry on the top of this sundae is Kerry Gammill and Bill Sienkiewicz's Prince Vlad's Banquet, which has all the subtlety of a sledgehammer to the face. Great stuff.

This title is published roughly bi-monthly, so you have to keep your eyes peeled for it. I am hoping that this series will receive a trade paperback release down the road. I'll gladly double dip!

Junk Food For Thought rating: 4.5 out of 5.

So there you have it. Two quick reviews of books out this week that are worth picking up. I am a wait for the trade guy but sometimes grab the occasional floppy if it is intriguing enough, or if it is smaller press stuff that I fear may not get collected.

Reviews: Morbius The Living Vampire #7 and AVENGERS VOL. 2: THE LAST WHITE EVENT

Morbius The Living Vampire #7 (Marvel, cover date September, 2013)

Writer: Joe Keatinge

Artists: Valentine De Landro and Felix Ruiz

Colorist: Antonio Fabela

The so-called Superior Spider-Man (read: Doctor Octopus' mind in Peter Parker's brain) teams up with Morbius to battle Nikoletta Harrow. I wonder if she is supposed to be the daughter of old school minor league villain Doctor Jonas Harrow. In any case, her ridiculously large gloves/fists make her seem silly. Of course the Rose is still there pulling the strings. Morbius finally gets a costume, an updated take on his original duds. Things end with a bang. 

Two more issues to go and then this series will be finished. I am sad. This is likely the last shot Morbius has at his own series, as it is apparent that comic fans don't love Morbius as much as I do. If I were Keatinge, I'd say screw it and throw Werewolf By Night, the Living Mummy, and It! The Living Colossus in the final two issues and have them team up with Morbius to battle Mephisto. What's the worst thing that Marvel could do, cancel the series?

Junk Food For Thought rating: 3.75 out of 5. 

Review- Morbius The Living Vampire #6

Morbius The Living Vampire #6 (Marvel, cover date August, 2013)

Writer: Joe Keatinge

Artist: Valentine De Landro

Colorist: Antonio Fabela

I apologize for the tardiness of my review, but I was at Disneyworld in Orlando with my family when this was released last week, and I couldn't find time to hit the comic shop until yesterday. While I'm always late (sometimes years) with my reviews of collected editions, in the single issue comic book review world each day late is like a week late in Internet time.

This is a bit of a letdown after the first arc, with the dreaded “guest star” forced in to help boost lagging sales. If it were Werewolf By Night or the Living Mummy it would Rock; instead, it is the so-called “Superior” Spider-Man. The very notion of (SPOILERS) Doctor Octopus as Spider-Man still pisses me off, and I refuse to buy that title anymore. So being forced to read a story with the inferior Spider-Man annoyed the piss out of me.

So the Rose is trying to build an Ultimate Nullifier? I've never known the Rose to be that level of power player before. I'm not crazy about the developments in this issue, nor am I crazy about De Landro's artwork. It really took me out of the story when compared to Richard Elson's excellent artwork in the previous issues. This wasn't a bad issue as much as it didn't Rock my socks off. There's three issues of Morbius left folks, and I'm in it for the long haul.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 3.5 out of 5.

On a somewhat unrelated note, the new issue of Previews has a Morbius T-shirt available for pre-order. A classic '70s image without the faux overly distressed print = sold. I can't stand distressed screen prints on apparel. It's such fake bullshit. Back when I was a concert shirt wearing young man I wore my shirts until they were threadbare and the image had cracked and flaked through natural wear and tear and love. Nowadays we can't expect our special little snowflakes to wear a shirt long enough to get that beautiful vintage look the hard way, by living it. No, it's better to fake it and buy some lameass distressed fake concert shirt at Target. We manufacture nostalgia.

Like I mentioned above, my family went to Disneyworld for our vacation this year. I walked through umpteen gift shops, and looked at lots of screen printed shirts. I laughed at the ones that were vintage designs with fake distressed prints on them. It basically says I want to be overly nostalgic and reminiscent of the vacation now, not five or ten years from now. So lame.