Comic Book Reviews

Most of the comics I read are Marvels from 1994. Every time I read a comic, I post a comment. That's pretty much it.

[yetanothercomicbook]

Stress

Silver Surfer #104

Average angst from the Surfer.

"By this day's end, I vow... one way or another, the Silver Surfer will be no more!!"

The Surfer is alone for the whole issue and he spends most of his time talking out loud and detailing his feelings/thoughts/regrets to nobody. It's an overused comic book device. It fell flat here. Probably because there were so many pages of it. Mid-comic, we cut to Shalla Bal sitting and thinking. She also details all of her feelings/thoughts/regrets. At least, it's not out loud!

Finally, the Surfer decides on a drastic course of action. It felt a bit forced, to be honest.

Release date: March 28, 1995.

Diamond Top 300: #62.

Mike Lackey (3 of 9).

Tom Grindberg (4 of 15).

6/10

[yetanothercomicbook]

Into the Breach

The Avengers #388

Very good.

Everyone, including Red Skull, is running around Boca Caliente.

Both the AIM island storyline and the Cap-is-dying storyline get equal time here. And it adds to the tension/excitement.

Script finds a way to end the big threat that works perfectly.

Diamond Top 300: #82.

Terry Kavanagh (6 of 19).

Bob Harras (48 of 57).

Mike Deodato, Jr. (7 of 17).

9/10

[yetanothercomicbook]

Through the Perilous Fight

Captain America #441

Very good.

Everyone, including MODOK, is running around Boca Caliente.

This issue jumps around a lot. Maybe too much. But it still manages to escalate the tension.

Free Spirit and Jack Flag get some nice moments, and they impress.

Diamond Top 300: #88.

Mark Gruenwald (138 of 140).

Dave Hoover (16 of 18).

9/10

[yetanothercomicbook]

Island of Spirits

The Avengers #387

Good.

Everyone, including Bucky, is running around Boca Caliente.

Lots going on. Black Widow’s secrecy in previous issues makes perfect sense now.

The weird stuff happening on the island is fun.

Diamond Top 300: #71.

Terry Kavanagh (5 of 19).

Bob Harras (47 of 57).

Mike Deodato, Jr. (6 of 17).

8/10

[yetanothercomicbook]

Dawn's Early Light

Captain America #440

Good.

Cap and his team head to Boca Caliente.

Much is made of Cap putting together a special team. Then, he ends up with the regular supporting cast anyway (plus Falcon). Weird.

Continuity with AVENGERS is clunky. It almost feels like the end of AVENGERS 386 didn’t happen.

Diamond Top 300: #70.

Mark Gruenwald (137 of 140).

Dave Hoover (15 of 18).

8/10

[yetanothercomicbook]

Symbiote

Venom #36

Good story.

A former SHIELD guy has captured Eddie Brock and wants to take the symbiote from him.

Straightforward tale with a decent villain who has a good motivation for his actions. It tells us a little bit more about Eddie's unique relationship with the alien, and it ends well.

8/10

[yetanothercomicbook]

Shadow Hunt

The Avengers #386

Superb!

"The Skull thinks we have taken something very valuable from him and we have no idea what he is talking about."

The 8-page battle between Black Widow and Red Skull that dominates this issue is magnificent. It really is Natasha at her best.

The hints of the bigger story are also very exciting. Great final page.

Diamond Top 300: #67.

Terry Kavanagh (4 of 19).

Bob Harras (46 of 57).

10/10

[yetanothercomicbook]

Evil in a Cold and Lonely Place

The Avengers #385

Very cool.

"A crater scanning nearly two miles in diameter."

It makes no sense that Black Widow would be so secretive with her teammates about what's going on. It's just a contrived way to add tension. And the Nick Fury is just a way to add unnecessary conflict.

And yet this is is a very good issue. No doubt about it. Black Widow, Hercules, Quicksilver and Crystal alone and isolated in the Arctic with a giant hole in the ground. It's edge-of-the-seat stuff. Plus, Hercules is still reeling from the loss of his beloved Taylor Madison.

Diamond Top 300: #70.

Terry Kavanagh (3 of 19).

Bob Harras (45 of 57).

Mike Deodato, Jr. (5 of 17).

9/10

[yetanothercomicbook]

A Pale Fire Gleaming

Blaze II #11

Very poor.

"It's dying time, slime buckets!"

We open with 9 pages of Blaze and Punisher shooting three vampires. Over and over and over again. 9 pages of it! Not my idea of a good read.

The rest of the comic is gibberish and nonsense involving Wendigo and Baal in another reality, and Uri-El and Shelob in New Jersey.

Diamond Top 300: #240.

Larry Hama (11 of 12).

Gary Erskine (2 of 3).

2/10

[yetanothercomicbook]

The Blazing Skull & the Spearheads of Vengeance

Midnight Sons Unlimited #9

Fun. And funny.

WWII adventure starring Blazing Skull, Union Jack, and The Destroyer.

Not quite tongue-in-cheek but it gets close. There are plenty of chuckles and lots of improbable high adventure. The story takes the hero from New York to London to Germany and back to New York for the explosive finale. Along the way, he teams up with 2 other superheroes.

Like many of these WWII stories, the plot concerns a Nazi plot to do something diabolical in the USA. The witty script easily overcomes the generic plot. In a moment of madness, I feel like I could happily read this as a monthly series.

Diamond Top 300: #215.

8/10

[yetanothercomicbook]

The Sensual World

Doctor Strange #342

Inventive.

"But why did they choose Lila as the gateway for their invasion?"

Our hero finally has a cosy dinner with the investor called Lila Green, who was introduced in the previous issue, and finds that she is--unwittingly--part of an impending invasion from "an inverse mini-dimension" of pure technology. While being distracted by two hot hookers dressed as naughty nurses, he tries to figure out a way to outwit the invaders and keep Lila in the dark.

Yup, this book has definitely changed. And that's no bad thing.

Diamond Top 300: #145.

David Quinn (21 of 22).

Evan Skolnick (2 of 3).

8/10

[yetanothercomicbook]

Final Judgment

The Jury [Venom #35]

Dark.

Jenny Stewart vs. Tarantula

Definitely a fresh story idea. The battle is entertaining. And it's easy to root for Jenny. The dark ending is definitely the right ending for this storyline.

The whole Jury scenario still seems a bit silly, though.

8/10

[yetanothercomicbook]

Stand by Your Man

Fury of SHIELD #3

Entertaining.

"I want complete control of HYDRA New York by this time tomorrow--or I'll set off the mini-neutron bomb."

Fury works with Kraus (of HYDRA) to stop Kitty from killing thousands of people. The second half of the issue is a chase across the city, with the villains in a van and the heroes in jet packs. Fun!

Still don't get why HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, DEN OF GEEK, and SLINGS & ARROWS gave this series such glowing reviews.

Diamond Top 300: #173.

Howard Chaykin (3 of 4).

Corky Lehmkuhl (3 of 4).

6/10

[yetanothercomicbook]

Martial Lawyers

The Jury [Venom #34]

There is quite a lot to process in this chapter.

Tarantula on Trial!

I'm a sucker for stories like this. Various ordinary people--from previous comics--show up and give testimony about the accused. It's way better than the slugfest we had last time. It helps make the Marvel Universe seem real somehow.

Still, as much fun as it is, one cannot help but ponder on how absurd the whole Jury thing is. I mean, it's a lot of time and expense. Particularly in situations where the accused is found innocent.

In any case, that doesn't apply here because there are a couple of big twists near the end. I've no idea where this is going now but I'm eager to find out.

8/10

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Stop in the Name of Love

Fury of SHIELD #2

Slightly better.

Nick meets the mysterious Kitty Drake in a restaurant. A security team sent by Kraus attacks them. Later, Kraus meets Kitty in his love nest and she reveals who she really is.

It's a bit clunky. We're expected to believe that the security team didn't tell Kraus that they saw Kitty with Nick. Really?

Anyways, the only thing that rises above this generic action-fest is Kitty herself. Her backstory is... certainly something.

Competition: "Somewhere inside the first four issues, hidden in the art, is a camouflaged coded message." From that, I'm assuming this poor effort was meant to be an ongoing series?

Diamond Top 300: #153.

Howard Chaykin (2 of 4).

Corky Lehmkuhl (2 of 4).

4/10

[yetanothercomicbook]

Past the Bars

The Jury [Venom #33]

More generic action with people in high-tech suits.

The Jury vs. Dreadnoughts

Jenny Stewart's first Jury mission continues, with her in the Wysper suit. Because it's from her point of view, she's the only character with any personality. The others--Bomblast, Firearm, Ramshot, and Sentry--are just anonymous guys in suits. Anonymous guys in suits shooting robots. Not very engaging.

Nice reveal on the last page.

6/10

[yetanothercomicbook]

Cherchez la Femme

Fury of SHIELD #1

Bland.

There's this chip, see, and everybody wants it. Karl Kraus is the tech CEO (HYDRA guy) who stole it from Stark, and Fury is trying to steal it back. Yeah. Then there's this smokin' hot blonde, ya see, and she's after Kraus, too. And there are explosions and stuff.

Muddled first issue. It tells a very dull story, and stops in the middle to add Nick's son to the mix. This involves a few pages hastily explaining away the situation we last saw him in. This insert feels rushed and clunky. And it ruins the pace of the a-story.

Back in that a-story, we were never given any reason to care about the chip or who had it, so I found the whole comic uninvolving. And I found the art very unappealing.

I guess I'm an outlier when it comes to this publication. It got very positive reviews from HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, DEN OF GEEK, and SLINGS & ARROWS. Hey, what do I know!

Diamond Top 300: #84.

Howard Chaykin (1 of 4).

Corky Lehmkuhl (1 of 4).

3/10