Mystery in Space - What I Saved

 

   When I was just a tad my Aunt Janet would sometimes look after me. It was always a treat because her son Jamie, who was a few years older than me, had some cool toys and some comic books I could read.

   When I discovered this issue, it was burned into my memory - a giant cloud was punching a hero flying with a rocket pack? No wonder I became an instant fan after reading issue 81 of Mystery in Space, which starred Adam Strange.

   (I always wondered why the character didn't appear in Strange Adventures - something DC would correct when it reprinted his adventures in the late '70s.)

   The idea of a normal human becoming a hero on a distant planet, and defeating all kinds of bizarre menaces with his intelligence and quick thinking had me hooked - and when you add the stunning art by Carmine Infantino, I was a fan for life!

   The comic's emphasis on science even helped out in school. In issue #84 Adam faces the Dust Devil, a living sandstorm (the weather just didn't like him at all), and he realized that the creature's weakness was static electricity, so he rigged a trap using a Wimshurst Machine - a real-world device that uses a spinning wheel to generate electricity.

   In Junior High (these days they call it Middle School) a friend built one for a science project, and I said, "Cool, a Wimshurst Machine." He was stunned. "How did you know that?"

   I don't think I ever admitted that I learned it while reading a comic book.

   I only have about 30 issues of prime Adam Strange adventures in my collection, but I'm hanging onto them. 

    I wonder if Jamie still has his issue? Nah.

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Grade: A

Fantastic Four #35 (60th Anniversary Issue)

 

   While I don't buy most new comics (for lots of reasons), I couldn't let this milestone pass by unnoticed, and the (once) World's Greatest Comic hit a major milestone this month, celebrating 60 years since the first issue appeared in 1961.

   The Fantastic Four comic has been through lots of ups and downs over the years, having been launched mightily for the first 100 issues (or so) by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby.

   They set a towering standard that the series continues to draw on, and many tremendous creators did their part along the way to keep the series going.

   This issue offers a nice nod to some of those high spots, as the team faces a time-spanning menace from Kang the Conqueror and his many alternate identities.

   Written by Dan Slott, the story is a nice nod to the past and future of the team, wonderfully drawn by John Romita Jr. 

   I have a few quibbles with the story, but they're not worth mentioning (and would take us into spoiler territory anyway), but it's an entertaining look back at the past and a strong modern-day adventure, too, with some nice nods to a certain recent TV mini-series.

   The FF has been hit-and-miss with me in recent years, but it's been good enough to keep me picking up the new issues, and not many series can say that. 

    They're the first family of comics and, when handled properly, can provide the kind of high adventure and heart that any fan should love. 

   Long may they reign!

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Grade: A

   

Groo - What I Saved

 

(Continuing the series about the comics I kept when I recently sold most of my collection - and why.)

    Mom always called my comic books "funny books."

     "Mom," I would groan, "They're not funny. They're adventure stories."

   Of course, that was before the first appearance of Groo!

    Created by Sergio Aragonés along with Mark Evanier (who co-writes and scripts, I guess - it's never quite clear), here was a book that combined adventure with actual, laugh-out-loud humor.

   The stupidest barbarian of all time has had a long career, parading through many comic book companies and outlasting a couple of them - he's been published by Pacific Comics, Eclipse, Marvel, Image and finally seems to have a permanent home at Dark Horse.

   It's an amazing achievement, for a (more or less) independent comic to continue after hundreds of issues - but Groo and his creative team are indefatigable. The stories are an amazing mix of humor, satire, action and unbelievable attention to detail.

   And can we all just agree that, given the passing of Jack Kirby, Sergio is now the King of Comics? Is there anyone who has created more top quality comics, an incredible volume of work, has spread more joy and earned so much love from fans around the world? Just give him the crown already!

   And I should admit an ulterior motive here - just to prove how crazy this creative team is, pick up your copy of the Groo vs Conan collection and flip over to the back page - there you'll find a pull quote from this humble blog! How can you help but love a comic with such a deliciously lowbrow taste in reviews?

   So yes, when I pared back my collection, I kept a tight grip on my complete collection of Groo, a timeless series with endless potential. They'll have to pry that series from my cold dead hand! (Ahem, hopefully not anytime soon.)

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Grade: A

Conan #39 - What I Saved

       (Continuing the series about the comics I kept when I sold most of my collection - and why.)

   By the end of its third year of publication, the Conan comic had only been illustrated (mostly) by a handful of amazing artists - Barry Windsor-Smith, Gil Kane, Neal Adams and the artist who compiled an incredible run on the series and the character - John Buscema.

   It also had only one writer - Roy Thomas (though he also adapted work by other writers, including Conan's creator, Robert E. Howard). 

   I had discovered the Cimmerian in the pages of the 1960s Lancer paperback reprints of Howard's stories from the '30s, and was thrilled when Marvel announced it was bringing the character to comics.

   I loved Windsor-Smith's take on the character (especially once he got past the first few issues), and was sad to see him leave - but I couldn't complain about Buscema taking over, since he was one of the best artists working in comics, the inheritor of the Hal Foster mantle. (This issue gives its own take on a classic story from Foster's Prince Valiant Sunday comic strip.)

   But this issue was a real shock, because - perhaps for the first time - he inked his own pencils! The results were stunning, beautiful and fierce.

   Buscema was famously something of a grouch about being a comics artist, but given the hundreds of issues of Conan he drew - and who knows how many issues of Savage Sword of Conan - he must have had a connection to the character, and certainly his work shows his enthusiasm.

   I was (and am) a huge fan of his work - and the character, of course - and that's why I held onto these comics.

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Grade: A 

   

Hulk Annual #1 - What I Saved

    As I mentioned in a recent post, a few months back I sold three-fourths of my comic collection.

   But there were comics I saved, either out of sentiment, nostalgia or just because I couldn't bear to part with it.

   As I sort through those comics (once filed alphabetically, they're now jumbled up), I hope to write posts like this one, talking about "What I Saved."

   Up first is a comic I kept because of its cover - Hulk Annual #1.

   This is a comic I bought off the newsstand in 1968, and as a reader of The Incredible one's monthly comic, I couldn't resist this cover.

   I attended a talk by Jim Steranko several years back at a comics convention, and he talked about getting the assignment to do this cover - he was told, "We don't care what it is - we just need it fast." 

   So he turned this amazing work out in very short order and turned it in - but apparently the cover was a bit too intense, because they had Marie Severin redo the Hulk's face.

   Still, it was stunning - and the interiors were impressive too! Marie Severin and Syd Shores (with additional inks by "almost the whole blamed Bullpen") provided 51 pages of story, written by Gary Friedrich. 

   It dropped the Hulk into the Great Refuge where he found himself in a Civil War (of sorts) between the Inhumans (and Black Bolt in particular) and the forces of Maximus. So, lots of action, destruction and general mayhem in view.

   Marie's expressive art is always a treat, and if things get a bit rubbery in places, it was hard to complain since you got so much story for a mere quarter!

   I enjoyed (and read) this comic so much that that beautiful cover became detached from the comic. I'm afraid I spoiled the resale value at some point, as I committed the sin of using two small bits of scotch take to reconnect the cover - and hey, it's still hanging on there!

   How could I let this one go? (Obviously, I couldn't.)

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Grade: A

   

Marvel Studios’ Hawkeye - TV Trailer

   Marvel has released the trailer for the new Hawkeye series for Disney+ and it looks like a lot of fun!

   (And we could use something more lighthearted after the zombie episode of What If...?

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings - Movie Review

 

   Back for a quick movie review! 

   

   My oldest son and I caught the newest Marvel movie - Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings - and we both enjoyed it, with a few caveats.

   I've been a fan of the character since I picked up his first appearance in Special Marvel Edition in 1973. 

   Obviously, the film version had to make some changes - so gone is his costume and his "original" father, Fu Manchu, now replaced by a modern (and no longer offensive) version of the classic villain, The Mandarin. 

   There are lots of things to like about this movie, the most important one being: the actors are all terrific! Simu Liu plays Shang-Chi, and is charismatic, charming and very convincing as an action star. 

   His best friend Katy is played by Awkwafina, a heartfelt and very funny role, and Tony Chiu-Wai Leung is amazing as Xu Wenwu, the master of the ten rings.

   The story follows Shang-Chi, who's trying to build a life for himself - but he's drawn back into conflict with his father (who has an amazing backstory), and to ultimately discover the hidden secrets behind his mother's past - and a force that threatens the world.

   Along the way there are lots of great fighting sequences (those work best when they're done in the "real world" - not via CGI). There's lots of humor and some touching moments, as well.

 

   The film's only problem is that it tries to pack too much... well, stuff... into the story, especially in the chaos of the final act. (And like any first Marvel movie, there's always some origin-itis to deal with.)

   But it's a great start for the hero and there are plenty of plot threads to continue over into the next film in the series.

   It reminds me a lot of the first Black Panther movie - a film that breaks new ground, broadens the Marvel horizons, and plants many seeds for future stories - and is centered around a hero with amazing potential. 

   I'm also happy to finally learn the proper pronunciation of the hero's name - since 1973 I've been calling him SHANG ("HANG" with an "SHH" in front of it) CHEE, and only now do I find out that it's SHAUNG CHEE. You learn something new every day!

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Grade: A-