Review- HULK: PLANET HULK

HULK: PLANET HULK (Marvel, Seventh Printing, 2013)

Collects Incredible Hulk #92-105, Giant-Size Hulk #1, Amazing Fantasy #15, and Planet Hulk: Gladiator Guidebook (cover dates January, 2006- June, 2007)

Writer: Greg Pak

Artists: Penciling by Carlos Pagulayan, Micahel Avon Oeming, Alex Nino, Marshall Rogers, Aaron Lopresti, Gary Frank, and Takeshi Miyazawa with Inking by Jeffrey Huet, Mike Allred, Alex Niino, Tom Palmer, Danny Miki, Sandu Florea, and John Sibal

Colorists: Chris Sotomayor, Laura Martin, Lovern Kindzierski, and Christina Strain

Everyone has raved about this event for years, but this was my first time reading it. There are so many comic books published every week that it is impossible to read them all. My 9 year old son checked this out of the library and wanted to read it with me. He has been on quite a kick lately and I have spent more time reading comic books with him than I have spent on reading my own backlog. It is interesting to read something that I did not pick out.

Everyone knows the gist of this, but for the Johnny-come-latelys like myself, humor me. Mister Fantastic, Doctor Strange, and Iron Man trick the Hulk into a spaceship under the guise of him saving the world, only to trap him in it to send him out of our solar system to a world where he can harm no one, not even himself. Of course the Hulk loses it, starts smashing the ship, and things go horribly wrong.

The ship goes off course and lands on a world called Sakaar, where the Hulk is temporarily weakened by some effect of the planet. This is a hard world under tyrannical rule of the Red King. He forces the Hulk to fight in his gladiator arena. It is here that the Hulk meets what will become the team that help him overthrow the king: Korg, one of the Stone Men Of Saturn who fought Thor way back in his first appearance; Miek, a bug-like creature who provides the light-hearted counterweight to the often oppressive tone of the story; Brood, one of the few surviving Brood; Captain Lavin Skee, one of the “pink skins” of the dominant race of the planet; Elloe, also one of the “pink skins” and former noble turned rebel; and Hiroim the Shadow Warrior. The Silver Surfer and Death's Head 3.0 are also featured here.

The Hulk is revered by the locals, who believe him to be either the savior or the worldbreaker. His green blood spawns plant life which the planet doesn't have and they think that he is the chosen one. They end up rallying behind him and help him overthrow the Red King. Things are going okay and then warp drive of the ship that brought the Hulk here explodes, killing almost everyone and everything on the planet that he loved. The Hulk was finally at peace and again the puny humans ruined it for him. He boards one of the ships belonging to the once-enslaved Spikes and heads back to Earth for revenge.

This was a good read with decent artwork, but it honestly went on way too long for my tastes. If you like epic battles that go on and on then this is for you. I am a casual Hulk fan and a little goes a long way for me. The Mastermind Excello (Amadeus Cho) story from Amazing Fantasy #15 was a nice coda to the event.

My son's take: It was pretty good. I liked all of it. I disliked the swearing (which I edited out as I read it to him). It took us a while to plow through this but it was a good time. My local library does not have World War Hulk in stock, so we won't be reading that one unless someone wants to loan us their copy.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 3.5 out of 5.

The OCD zone-

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

Binding: Perfect bound trade paperback. There are times where I lay awake at night and worry about the glue in my trade paperbacks disintegrating and them falling apart. Checking out a book like this from the library, which is handled by countless hands far less careful than mine, has given me peace of mind. My books are going to be just fine.

Cardstock cover notes: Laminated cardstock cover. It is interesting seeing how these hold up after being subjected to countless humans at the library.

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- INCREDIBLE HULK: REGRESSION

INCREDIBLE HULK: REGRESSION (Marvel, 2012; Softcover)

Collects The Incredible Hulk #286-300 and The Incredible Hulk Annual #12 (cover dates August, 1983- October, 1984)

Writer: Bill Mantlo (#286 adapted from a story by Harlan Ellison)

Artists: Sal Buscema (Penciler) with Inkers Kim DeMulder, Chic Stone, Jim Mooney, Joe Sinnott, Carlos Garzon, Gerry Talaoc, Danny Bulanadi; Artwork on Annual #12 by Herb Trimpe

I had a blast reading this. The M.O.D.O.K./ Abomination/ A.I.M. arc was great, ditto the Circus Of Crime and Dragon Man one. There is so much character development, in the true sense of the term, between Dr. Banner, S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Dr. Kate Waynesboro, and the Recordasphere. By true character development I mean events occur which change all involved, not endless conversations about nothing which fans of modern comic books mistake for character development. That is called “padding the page count” and it is the hallmark of clueless lazy writers. Boomerang gets his ass handed to him by the Hulk, which was fun to read.

A subplot which had been slowly developing was Dr. Banner's discovery of an energy burst of significant and unknown power. This burst happened a few times, and was ultimately revealed to be (SPOILER!!!) The Beyonder, all of it leading up to the Marvel Super-Heroes Secret Wars maxi-series. All of the heroes were drawn into “the stonehenge-like construct” in Central Park and whisked away to Battleworld and then dropped back into Central Park at the beginning of the next issue of their respective titles, in this case #294 and 295. It seems like this was a bother to Mantlo's tightly constructed long-term plans, as it is apparent that he had planned on these issues being a cliffhanger with the Boomerang kidnapping of Dr. Waynesboro. The Hulk issues read like it was mere moments, whereas over in Amazing Spider-Man the heroes were gone long enough that it was mystery reported on the front page of The Daily Bugle.

#296 is presented in an abridged form due to the fact that ROM, Spaceknight was a guest star. ROM is a licensed character, a strange case of the comic book tie-in being more interesting and successful than the toy which spawned it. Unfortunately for the rights holders (and Marvel) writer Bill Mantlo created so much backstory and so many characters owned by Marvel that whoever owns the rights to ROM cannot reprint the series. Likewise, Marvel cannot reprint anything which ROM was a part of, which was quite a bit during the 1980s. It's really a catch 22, and I wish that Disney would just gobble up whoever owns the rights so I can get my ROMnibus, which remains a dream of mine. Only pages 4-13 out of 22 total pages are reprinted here, as the cover and the rest of the issue has ROM in it. There are text recap pages for the rest which refer to ROM as an “alien cyborg” and not by name.

I have enjoyed the Hulk's trials and tribulations with the intellect of Bruce Banner in control. Bill Mantlo has put the Hulk and Banner through their paces while not destroying anything about the series. This is the definition of characters development, folks. The Hulk goes back to his savage self at the hands of (SPOILER!!!) Nightmare, who has been manipulating him for a while to get back at Doctor Strange. This all leads up to a mindless Hulk attacking New York City in #300, with literally every hero in the Marvel Universe taking a shot a stopping him. While it was a double sized issue, I couldn't help but chuckle at how this would have been an event mini-series with a ton of crossover issues and tie-in mini-series and one-shots. I liked comics better back when universe-altering events occurred within a regular series. Number don't lie though, so modern fandom must get off on big dumb endless events and being gouged with endless tie-ins and mini-series. You go, fanboys*.

*Term used in the original pejorative.

Credit where credit is due: Chic Stone is one of the most solid inkers in the business. Everything that he touched received a spit-shine to it. Only Joe Sinnott did such solid inking on a consistent basis. Gerry Talaoc settles in as the regular inker, and I was never a fan of his work. Serviceable is as kind as a description as I can give.

I never bothered with the Hulk back when these issues were originally published. Maybe it was the memory of the television series that turned me off, but more likely it was that I didn't have enough money to buy every single comic back then. These covers, many done by Al Milgrom, never leapt off of the spinner rack at me. Most of them are just plain bland, and I fail to see why Sal Buscema didn't do them himself.

Mantlo was a favorite of mine as a kid, and his writing holds up thirty odd years later. These “proto-Epic” thick trades are a joy. My Hulk marathon will conclude with Crossroads.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 4.25 out of 5.

The OCD zone- I love big trades and I cannot lie.

Linework and Color restoration: Excellent work, not quite Masterworks-level but solid enough that if they never get this far then I am good.

Paper stock: The same great matte coated stock found in softcover Masterworks and Classic line trade paperbacks. It's perfect.

Binding: Perfect bound trade paperback. The binding in these fat books seems more sturdy than it does in the thinner books.

Cardstock cover notes: Laminated cardstock cover.

Review- INCREDIBLE HULK: PARDONED

INCREDIBLE HULK: PARDONED (Marvel, 2012; Softcover)

Collects The Incredible Hulk #269-285 (cover dates March, 1982- July, 1983)

Writer: Bill Mantlo

Artists: Sal Buscema, Mark Gruenwald (#279 only) and Inkers Joe Sinnott, Greg LaRocque, Andy Mushynsky, and Chic Stone

I was never much of a Hulk fan growing up. Sure, I had the 8” Mego doll as a kid and loved the television series when it was originally aired, but he always seemed to be to two-dimensional for my tastes. I rarely bought the title as a kid, but the lure of this “proto-Epic” chunky monkey trade paperbacks that offered a large run between two covers was too much to resist.

The first few issues in this book are about as much fun as chewing chalk, with the mindless Hulk at his two-dimensional best (or worst). Bill Mantlo always did solid and sometimes great work. Rocket Raccoon was introduced in the beginning of the book, which is more interesting than it sounds. He is ridiculous, a one-note Bealtes gag, and I felt like I was in for a long, boring read when reading those issues.

It took Mantlo a few issues to find his groove with the character, but once he did, he was off to the races. Turning the Hulk into a thinking hero with Bruce Banner's brain instead of the raging, petulant child yielded results for me immediately. The Hulk and Sasquatch teaming up against the Wendigo was awesome. The return of the U-Foes shows how deadly and weak this new thinking Hulk could be. I really enjoyed Banner's reluctance at accepting his love of being the Hulk as well as the treatment the Hulk received from his friends and the world at large.

I can't help but think how many events and lame crossovers Marvel would milk out of the events in these stories were they published today. The Avengers teamed up with the Hulk to fight the Leader for a few issues. Now it would be a mini-series tied into a flagpole event collected across a dozen trade paperbacks.

Sal Buscema is a solid artist and good storyteller layout-wise, but he lives and dies by his Inker. The first few issues in this book are self-inked, and his lines are weak and unconvincing. When paired with an inking wizard like Joe Sinnott, though, he is really good.

These are solid, fun stories that hold up fairly well. Modern comic fans picking these issues up for the first time will have to keep two things in mind when reading them: 1. The seemingly repetitive nature of recapping the events of the previous issues within the first few pages of the story, either by flashback or the character thinking “How did I get here?” 2. The occasional spoonfed feeling in terms of powers and character origins. Comics were meant to be read a month apart, and were also designed for every issue to be someone's first. Comic shops were few and far between and trade paperbacks were non-existent for the most part. There was no Internet to research a character if you were unaware of their history. If a younger fan can keep these things in mind while adapting to read the third party narrative captions they will find this book to be enjoyable.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 4 out of 5.

The OCD zone- I love big fat trades.

Linework and Color restoration: Excellent work, not quite Masterworks-level but solid enough that if they never get this far then I am good.

Paper stock: The same great matte coated stock found in softcover Masterworks and Classic line trade paperbacks. It's perfect.

Binding: Perfect bound trade paperback. The binding in these fat books seems more sturdy than it does in the thinner books.

Cardstock cover notes: Thick waxlike lamination.

Review- X-MEN: FALL OF THE MUTANTS

X-MEN: FALL OF THE MUTANTS (Marvel, 2011; Hardcover)

Collects X-Factor #18-26, Captain America #39, Daredevil #252, Fantastic Four #312, Incredible Hulk #336, 337, 340, Power Pack #35, Uncanny X-Men #220-227, and New Mutants #55-61 (cover dates July, 1987- March, 1988)

Writers: Louise Simonson, Peter David, Ann Nocenti, Mark Gruenwald, Steve Engelhart, and Chris Claremont

Artists: Pencilers- Walter Simonson, June Brigman, Todd MacFarlane, Sal Buscema, Jon Bogdanove, John Romita, Jr., Kieron Dwyer, Keith Pollard, Marc Silverstri, Kerry Gammill, and Brett Blevins; Inkers- Bob Wiaceck, Randy Emberlin, Jim Sanders III, Hilary Barta, Al Williamson, Tone DeZuniga, Joe Sinnott, Dan Green, Todd MacFarlane, and Terry Austin

When is an Omnibus not an Omnibus? When it is the Fall Of The Mutants oversized hardcover. Clocking in at over 800 pages, this beast is an Omnibus in all but name as far as I'm concerned. While past trade paperback collections only collected the three main tie-in issues of each of the X-titles (9 issues total), reading that book felt like coming in 15 minutes late to a movie. The set up had already occurred and you spent the rest of the time trying to play catch up. This book goes in the opposite direction, adding so much of the set up that the plot sometimes feels lost by the time that you get there. It basically reads best in thirds (X-Factor and assorted tie-ins, Uncanny X-Men, and New Mutants).

The only issues that I bought when they originally came out were The Uncanny X-Men and Power Pack ones, and I honestly didn't feel like I was missing anything since this crossover didn't jump across each title. In all honesty, these crossovers and the emerging new breed of artists like Marc Silverstri soured me on the hobby. I was dropping comics throughout 1989, until by late 1989 or early 1990 I was done until Marvel Masterworks sucked me back in a dozen years ago. Look at me now...

"Artwork" by Marc Silvestri. 

Silverstri's layouts and storytelling ability are clear, but his artwork just leaves me cold. Wolverine was now the leader of the team and becoming overly wordy and heroic. Psylocke was still a British telepath. This was before that racist, Jim Lee, would change her into an Asian ninja. Can you imagine if someone today changed the ethnicity of an Asian character into a Caucasian? All Hell would break loose! I enjoyed the battle with Freedom Force, the Government-sanctioned renamed New Brotherhood Of Evil Mutants. This was back when Wolverine battling Sabretooth was exciting and new. Now it is as common as a cold and would cause me to fall asleep.

This was one of those “things will never be the same again!” type crossovers, back when those were still fresh and not the boring cliche which fans suffer through one after another after another. Storm gets her powers back, The X-Men “die”, and Cypher gets killed over in The New Mutants. Oops, quarter century old spoilers. Speaking of that title, going from June Brigman's clean, beautiful artwork to Brett Blevins' super-stylized art is jarring to say the least.

This was a pleasant enough trip down memory lane, back to the old world when things seemed to make more sense. I was 13 and 14 when this crossover went down. The Uncanny X-Men were one of my favorites back then. Now they are dead to me, ruined by careless writers. This book holds up well enough today and is better than anything currently being published with a 'X' in the title.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 4 out of 5.

I wonder if the corner was cut off of the film. This looks like a patch job done using a floppy.

The OCD zone- Triple dip! I bought (some of) the original issues, the 2002 trade paperback, and now this. I can't wait to rebuy the UXM issues when the Masterworks get there. Kill me now.

Linework and Color restoration: Pretty good for the most part. There are a few spots that look iffy but not bad.

Paper stock: Wonderful coated stock with a slight sheen.

Binding: While this has smyth sewn binding and lays mostly flat, it seems to lay flat in “chunks”, like this book is three books sewn into one. Weird.

Hardback cover notes: Faux leather casewrap with foil die stamps.

Review- HULK BY JOHN BYRNE & RON GARNEY

HULK BY JOHN BYRNE & RON GARNEY (Marvel, 2011; Softcover)

Collects Hulk Nos. 1-11 and Hulk Annual 1999 (cover dates April, 1999- February, 2000)

Writers: John Byrne, Erik Larson, Jerry Ordway, Ron Garney, and Fred Hembeck

Artists: Pencilers- Ron Garney, Ron Frenz, Lee Weeks, John Byrne, Dan Jurgens, Sal Buscema, Mark Texeira, Mike Miller, and Fred Hembeck; Inkers- Dan Green, Sal Buscema, John Byrne, Scott Koblish, Mark Texeira, Klaus Janson, and Fred Hembeck

Colorists: Steve Buccaletto, Tom Smith, and Mark Bernardo

Believe it or not, a series being rebooted with a new #1 was actually a big deal at one time. I couldn't even tell you how many Hulk #1s there have been now. This is less of a reboot and more of a fresh starting point. While it may seem hard to believe to younger fans, there was a time when Marvel as we know it was at the end of it's rope financially, and this was that era. When you are owned by Disney and your movies basically print money for you it seems impossible, but back in the late '90s things were different for the House of Ideas.

John Byrne is the writer for the first seven issues of the series. Byrne has a long running arc which unfolds over the entire book in which Tyrannus manages to seize control of the Hulk's mind, causing destruction, mayhem, and murder. Indeed, Byrne manages to pen a bone-chilling foreshadowing of the 9/11/2001 terrorist attacks when the Hulk knocks down an airliner. The outcome and vibe of that issue are downright eerie once you realize how accurate and realistic it feels, and that it was published two years prior to the event. 

While wrestling with Tyrannus for control of the monster, Banner/Hulk encounters the Man-Thing (or an avatar of it), the Avengers (who come to deal with the Hulk for his crimes), Wolverine (in all of his bone claw-era "glory"), and a battle royal with the Thing. The highlight of the book for me was not any of these battles, but the introduction of Archer Leopold, a moonshiner and recluse who befriends the Hulk. Leopold, a union man, convinces Tyrannus' minions to stick together and form a union, because the many have power over the one. I loved the whole working man sticking together vibe, something that doesn't exist in the real world today. The powers that be have brainwashed the masses into doing the bidding of the company, and have also convinced them to be thankful for getting paid less while defending CEOs who have increased their salaries exponentially in the meantime. The pie used to be sliced more fairly when I was growing up. Corporations were not people in the 1990s.

Annual 1999 is one of those retelling of the origin and early issues of the title stories that you don't see anymore. Byrne wrote that story, and updates several things about the Gargoyle as well as the origin. While I am big stickler for continuity, sometimes you just have to let things slide, lest these characters become dated Cold War relics. Byrne changes a few Cold War/Russia things but otherwise remains faithful to the source material. This is the win-win scenario for continuity buffs and newer readers alike.

Ron Garney's artwork wasn't to my liking at first glance but it quickly grew on me and I now consider myself a fan. There is also some nice Ron Frenz and Sal Buscema artwork here. I found everything about this book to be enjoyable with the exception of the lettering, which was atrocious. While sterilized computer font lettering can be a snore, not every old school letterer is an Artie Simek or a Tom Orzechowski or a Bill Everett. Those guys all did things pleasing to the eye, and I would buy a font of their hand lettering and use it for my blog if I could. 

This book is a great package and a fun read. At the end of the day, isn't that what you want out of comic books?

Junk Food For Thought rating: 4.5 out of 5.

The OCD zone- I like these chunky, 300 plus page trade paperbacks. They make me happier than two thinner books for some reason.

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

#1 sunburst variant.

#1 Dynamic Forces variant.

#2 variant.

#2 original cover art by Ron Garney and Dan Green.

Linework and Color restoration rating: 5 out of 5. Marvel has a comprehensive library of this stuff from this era, so restoration is seldom done. It's all digitized and ready to go. Sometimes a file gets corrupted or an issue gets lost, but that is not the case in this book.

Paper rating: 5 out of 5. Thick glossy coated stock which looks great for this material.

Binding rating: 4 out of 5. Perfect bound trade paperback.

Cardstock cover coating rating: 5 out of 5. Laminated cardstock cover.

Buy HULK BY JOHN BYRNE & RON GARNEY TP at InStockTrades!

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!