Review- MARVEL MASTERWORKS: GOLDEN AGE MYSTIC COMICS VOL. 1

MARVEL MASTERWORKS: GOLDEN AGE MYSTIC COMICS VOL. 1 (Marvel, 2011; Hardcover)

Collects Mystic Comics Nos. 1-4 (cover dates March- July, 1940)

Writers: Will Harr, Joe Cal Cagno, Robert O. Erisman, Leo Stalnaker, Norman Daniels, S.S. Bedford, Bill O'Connor, George Kapitan, Andrew McWhiney, and others

Artists: Jack Binder, Fred Schwartz, Alfred H. Newton, L.F. Bjorklund, Fred Guardineer, Arnold Lorne Hicks, E.C. Stoner, Gus Ricca, Eddie Heron, Malcom Kildale, Ben Flinton, Leonard Sansone, Harry Sahle, George Harrison, Bill Everett, Russ Lanford, Alex Schomburg, and others

I have read a pretty fair amount of Golden Age comic books, thanks to wonderful collected editions like this one. The novelty of something being old, and of reading something solely for historical value, is enough to draw me into buying these books. Having said that, this book falls short on entertainment value in the first two issues. They were filled with excess inventory strips from various sweatshop comic packaging companies, and were a chore to get through. Issue 1 especially sucked. By issue 3, things were picking up, and by issue 4, I was in. The Black Widow? Dynamic Man? The Thin Man? I am a sucker for this type of cheesy goodness. 

I am also a sucker for the politically incorrect, excessively violent nature of these old-tyme comic books. Heroes killed villains at every turn, and you cheered them on for it. I can't cheer on the X-Men doing that because it goes against the foundations of the characters, but for these post-Pulp heroes, it's kosher. 

If you have read The Twelve and are curious about the origins of Dynamic Man and the Black Widow, then this is book is a must read. Dynamic Man's origin is incredibly stupid, even by Golden Age standards. He was a synthetic man created for a better tomorrow. So rather than just going out and bashing in the heads of the bad guys, he gets a job with the FBI. Wouldn't the FBI have had rigorous background checks in place, even back in those days? Its as nonsensical as the Golden Age Human Torch, who starts out as an android, becomes a cop, and is never referred to as an android again until the '60s. 

The Black Widow is great. I love the whole servant of Satan angle, as it must have been super cutting edge at the time. The Spectre was going on during this time over at National Periodicals (DC), and I am curious what other macabre heroes existed during this era. Can anyone point me in the right direction? The Thin Man pre-dates Plastic Man, and contorts his body in many of the same ways as ol' Plas. Influence or happy coincidence? Who can really say, since these cats are mostly dead and gone. 

The OCD zone- Superb color and linework restoration faithful to the original issues, godlike paper, and sewn binding, all of which make my heart flutter. 

Review- THE TWELVE VOL. 1 and VOL. 2

THE TWELVE VOL. 1 (Marvel, 2008; Hardcover)

Collects The Twelve Nos. 1-6 (cover dates January- August, 2008)

Writer: J. Michael Straczynski

Artist: Chris Weston

Colorist: Chris Chuckry

It had been so long since this book came out that I had to re-read it before diving in to Volume 2. I was pleasantly surprised at how great this is. I remember really enjoying this the first time, but was blown away by the quality of the writing and especially Chris Weston's artwork this time out. The computer coloring here is a perfect example of how, when done right, it is infinitely superior to the old flat four color printing process. It's incredibly rich and tasteful, making each and every panel pop. 

The Twelve are a hodgepodge group of Timely's Golden Age superheroes. I was familiar with most of them because I buy all of the Golden Age Marvel Masterworks. Straczynski employs a deconstruction approach similar to Watchmen, and re-reading this series makes it abundantly clear that he was a perfect choice for the Before Watchmen prequels currently being unleashed upon an unsuspecting, unwilling world. I look forward to reading his take on those characters.

I remembered how disappointed I was when this series became mothballed because JMS had better things to do than honor his obligations to Marvel and the fans. This series was set to a boil, everything was ready to explode, and then...nothing. Issues 7 and 8 were out, and then nothing for years. No class.

The OCD zone- Standard Marvel Premiere Edition hardcover, with the same nice paper and glued binding. 

THE TWELVE VOL. 2 (Marvel, 2012; Hardcover)

Collects The Twelve Nos. 7-12 and The Twelve: Spearhead (cover dates October, 2008- June, 2012)

Writers: J. Michael Straczynski and Chris Weston (TT:S one-shot)

Artist: Chris Weston

Colorist: Chris Chuckry

Things rapidly fall apart for our cast of characters, as they are faced with the realities of the 21^st century with 1940s values. So many things have changed for the worse, while some are obviously better. There is a killer among them, and it becomes a whodunit. J. Michael Straczynski is a very clever writer, making this a can't-put-it-down page turner. I plowed through both of these hardcovers in two days. 

I honestly did not figure out who the real murderer was, by the way. I love the fate of Rockman. Questions are better than answers. I would be interested in seeing more stories with these characters in the future, particularly by the same creative team. I know that will likely never happen due to J. Michael Straczynski's falling out with Marvel, but a guy can dream, right?

The OCD zone- Standard Marvel Premiere Edition hardcover, with the same nice paper and glued binding.

Originally posted on my myspace blog on 3/15 & 3/26/2009

THE ASTOUNDING WOLF-MAN VOL. 1 (Image, 2008)

Collects The Astounding Wolf-Man Nos. 1-7 (cover dates May, 2007- July, 2008)

Outstanding! Equal parts old-school superhero comic and ironic wink and nod, this series appeals to Silver Age comic lovers as well as the too-cool-for-superhero hipster crowd, and it works! It actually frickin' works. Great writing by Robert Kirkman and great art by Jason Howard which falls somewhere between old school superhero and cartoon-y, Gen Y friendly. it can be read as a serious superhero comic or a silly nod to it. (I choose the former) This series has real potential, and I am chomping on the bit for Volume 2 (which I own but haven't got to yet in the backlog).

SPIDER-MAN J: JAPANESE KNIGHTS (Marvel, 2008)

Collects selections from Spider-Man Family Nos. 1-6 (cover dates April, 2007- February, 2008)

Oohhh, and then there's this. Note to self: always read Previews solicitation copy before placing your order! I used to pre-order everything Spider-Man and X-Men, but no more! This craptastic shitfest reprints and adapts Japanese Manga Spider-Man, and it totally sucks. So much so that I couldn't even read more than a few pages before I closed and the book and decided to get rid of it. No, this was not a true review since I couldn't stomach the vomit-inducing mangacrap artwork, but it's as close as I will ever get to reading this! Needless to say, I did not order Volume 2.

THE FANTASTIC WORLDS OF FRANK FRAZETTA VOL. 1 (Image, 2008; Hardcover)

Collects Frank Frazetta’s Creatures, Frank Frazetta’s Dark Kingdom, Frank Frazetta’s Dracula Meets The Wolfman and Frank Frazetta’s Swamp Demon (cover dates April- August, 2008)

These were decent one-shots with good artwork. Lots of extras in the back of the book with the same high quality presentation of the Death Dealer Hardcover (minus the slipcase and built-in bookmark...also minus $20 off of the MSRP!).

THE WALKING DEAD BOOK 1 (Image, Hardcover Second Printing 2008)

Collects The Walking Dead Nos. 1-12 (cover dates October, 2003- September, 2004)

This was a X-Mas gift, and was an okay read. I am neither running out to buy the rest of the series, nor did I throw the book against the wall in disgust when I was done reading it. Or for you netspeakers out there...meh . 

X-MEN: THE COMPLETE ONSLAUGHT EPIC BOOK 3 (Marvel, 2008)

Collects Avengers No. 402, Cable No. 35, Incredible Hulk No. 445, Iron Man No. 332, Thor No. 502, Wolverine (Vol. 2) No. 105, X-Force (Vol. 1) No. 58, Uncanny X-Men No. 336, X-Man No. 19 and X-Men No. 55 (cover dates August- September, 1996)

Marvel sucked during the '90s. Not only did they suck, but they tried really hard at it! You cannot tell me that these guys were not trying to outdo each other in trying to make crappy comic books. The dialogue is overly written, littered with those annoying* boxes that serve as footnotes, as if you are supposed to stop where you're at, sift through dozens of long boxes, and peruse the point of reference. Just awful. 

The artwork is a train wreck of Liefeld influenced dreck. The Richard Strakings/ ComiCraft computerized fonts look gimmicky, as does the severely dated computer coloring enhancements by Malibu Studios. I guess that these were breakthroughs at the time and precursors to modern day techniques, but they have not aged well. The artwork by Andy Kubert, Joe Madureira, and Angela Medina are all varying degrees of suckiness. 

Every single costume is changed except for Captain America. Thor's enchanted Uru Hammer now has a chain attached to the handle instead of the stirrup that used to be at the end. Every hero has long hair that seems to "float" in the air like it's underwater...thanks for pioneering that look, Liefeld. Thor's hair is past his ass, and even the Sub-Mariner has long hair. Why? He never did before. The devolved Wolverine was a horrendous idea. 

What were comic book creators on in the '90s? The dialogue by Mark Waid, Scott Lobodell, and Peter David are all laughable, being unintentionally funny. Actually, all of the writing is bad, but I am too lazy to list everyone's name, ditto all of the terrible "artists". Anthony Castrillo's pencils in X-Force #58 were so Byrne-esque that I had to do dome research online to see if this was some Byrne pseudonym. He really has the look and feel down, almost coming off as a tracing of Byrne's pencils at times. He was the only bright spot, aside from the teaming of a neophyte Mike Deodato, Jr. and veteran Tom Palmer. Deodato's early style was very much of the era, and he was also busy drawing every single hero as an overly musclebound, long hair floating in the air like it were underwater, character as the rest of these hacks. I feel sorry for you kids who grew up on this decade's comics, and I am glad that I sat it out.

X-MEN: THE COMPLETE ONSLAUGHT EPIC BOOK 4 (Marvel, 2008)

Collects Fantastic Four No. 416, Cable No. 36, Onslaught: Marvel Universe, Uncanny X-Men No. 337, X-Men: Road To Onslaught and X-Men No. 57 (cover dates September- October, 1996)

What's that smell? Oh wait, it's the writing in these issues! I like my comics as serious as the next guy, but when the characters are this serious, this dramatic, without any trace of humor whatsoever then it's totally laughable. If I were buying monthlies back then I would have quit!

THE TWELVE VOL. 1 (Marvel, 2008; Hardcover)

Collects The Twelve Nos. 1-6 (cover dates March- August, 2008)

…and here we have Marvel’s answer to Dynamite's Project Superpowers, and Marvel wins hands down. This is superior in every way, shape and form, thanks to J. Michael Straczynski's excellent writing and the team of Chris Weston and Gary Leach turning in finely detailed artwork that is absolutely beautiful. I really enjoyed seeing characters that were cheesy back-up features from various Golden Age Masterworks dusted off and brought back to life. I think that perhaps that is one of the reasons that this trumped PS; the characters weren't just some ad-hoc conglomerate, but they all retroactively existed in the Marvel Universe. I don't mind ret-cons in this respect. Unfortunately, this series has been put on hiatus for science knows how long, as JMS is busy doing some movie or whatever. This is one of the Marvel Premiere Edition Hardcovers, and I gotta say that I love the format. Sure it has glued and not sewn binding, but these are usually on the skinny side so it is not an issue to me.

CLANDESTINE: BLOOD RELATIVE (Marvel, 2008; Hardcover)

Collects Clandestine (Vol. 2) Nos. 1-5 (cover dates April- August, 2008)

Another solid batch of tales of the Destine family and their adventures. Alan Davis' warm writing and artwork make this an enjoyable read. I dislike how the covers are collected in a gallery in the back of the book rather than their proper location as chapter markers. This whole thing reads like one giant story, so maybe that was the point. Who knows?

ESSENTIAL MARVEL TWO-IN-ONE VOL. 2 (Marvel, 2005)

Collects Marvel Two-In-One Nos. 26-52 and Marvel Two-In-One Annual Nos. 2, 3 (cover dates April, 1977- June, 1979)

Nearly every single Bronze Age journeyman handled this title, and it didn't miss a beat. The Thing is entertaining as the star of his own series, and I hope that they keep the phone books coming all of the way through his solo series in the '80s.

MARVEL ADVENTURES SPIDER-MAN VOL. 10: IDENTITY CRISIS (Marvel, 2008)

Collects Marvel Adventures Spider-Man Nos. 37-40 (cover dates May- August, 2008)

This series remains a satisfying, if continuity challenged, read. It's a treat to see Swarm again!