New Stuff!

Just to give you a heads up, I recently got a bunch of new comic books! Yesterday, my son Tommy and my wife Melissa accompanied me to a comic book store on the west side of Madison so that they could meet a friend of mine who works there, come to find out that he was sick that day. However, while there I did pick up a couple of new comics, and on the way home, we stopped off at Half-Price Books, where I found a couple of graphic novels that I look forward to reviewing for this site.

I also happened across a bargain. When the book store has too many comic books, they take the ones they have had for a long time that simply aren't selling and wrap them in a big bundle of anywhere from 40 to 50 comic books and then sell the bundle for $5-$6! I found one of these and when I got it home I was pleasantly surprised to find 14 issues of Daredevil as well as some other stuff that looks pretty good and even a couple of graphic novels thrown into the mix.

I am attempting to get some more of the newer releases, however, I am quite limited in my funds, so generally what I have is more of the older stuff, but that's not to say that old is bad. Comics have always been known for the artistic way that they tell stories. But yes, as I get the newer comics I will post my reviews here. I'm truly looking forward to reading all the "new" stuff and I also look forward to reviewing them and posting those reviews here for all to peruse. I hope that you enjoy!

GREEN ARROW #13

***

The Green Arrow is a classic character from DC Comics.  He is millionaire playboy Oliver Queen, who learned survival skills and archery after falling off a yacht and marooned on a deserted isle with nothing but a long bow he had purchased because it was a movie prop.  Eventually, he finds his way back to civilization and creates the heroic persona known as the "Green Arrow." 

This issue of GREEN ARROW was released as DC's Holiday issue in 1988.  Written by Mike Grell and penciled by Dan Jurgens and Dick Giordano, this issue finds our hero returning home to Seatle after an extensive encounter with the Yakuza while abroad.  Right away, he begins his heroic deeds being "Johnny B. Do-Gooder," both in and out of costume.  Some of the deeds he does include rescue a cat from a tree, stop an abusive husband, help a little old lady change a tire and stop a group of Neo-Nazis from assaulting an old man on the streets.  Then we find that Oliver is being hunted down by an unknown assailant and the book ends with the classic cliff hanger.

Grell, I would say does a decent job with the story.  It's original, however at this point, not exactly riviting.  There is an element of mystery in the the whole "who's tryin' to kill him?" storyline, but that question doesn't really enter until the last two pages.  I also found that the "Johnny B. Do-Gooder" element in the middle was a bit hoaky.  I do like the beginning of the story in which he is reunited with his girlfriend.  Grell does a great job writing her range of emotions upon Oliver's return; first overjoyed at his return, then worried concern over the wounds that he has from his battle with the Yakuza, then extreme anger that he has brought this intense worry into her life--anger enough to make her knock the crap out of him with a vicious right cross, and eventually back to the feeling of relief that he is actually home.

The visuals in this one are quite good.  Jurgens and Giordano make great use of space and have a good mix of framing.  All flows quite well visually.  Also well done would be the colors added by Julia Lacquement, they really add a lot of dimension as well as warmth or mystery to the proper scenes.  In my opinion, the graphics in GREEN ARROW #13 bring it up in the ratings.  Without the rich graphics, I would have given this issue a two and a half, however, I think that the graphics bring it up to about a three out of five.

NAZRAT #1

****

Going back to 1986 with this one, NAZRAT #1 was published by Imperial Comics out of Boulder, Colorado.  Both written and drawn by Jerry Frazee, Nazrat is a character from a fantasy world in which animals are "intelligent" beings that commingle with society.  He is a rogue rat, accomplished thief and survival expert who uses his cunning to get out of sticky situations, accompanied by his friend Kipper, who is a tender-hearted, muscle-bound dog.  Together, the two roam the countryside and steal from other robbers and "miscreants" and Kipper titles them.

Though Nazrat and Kipper are rough and tumber characters, this series seems to be one part action, one part comedy.  Frazee writes the dialog for the characters very well and does a nice job of showing the friendship between the two without being corny.  He also shows the action in the story through decent artwork and through quick banter. 

I'm not sure if there it is just a coincidence that the main character's name is really just Tarzan spelled backward, but the reference really doesn't come up in the story line, I was kinda hoping for a spoof of the theme from the Tarzan stories.  However, I guess that Nazrat is a very agile rough tough fighter and has a real good instinct about how to take care of himself, maybe that's where the reference comes in.  Mr. Jerry Frazee, if you happen to read this, please let me know more about this question I have of the origin of Nazrat's name.

Even though the book was published in black and white, I thought that the artwork was very fitting of the story and the characters.  I also like that the comic was absent of any advertising, except for previews of other comics published by Imperial located on the last two pages.  That does drive up the price of the book over all, however it allows for more room for story, which I thought flowed very well in this, the first issue of NAZRAT.  All the elements above combine, in my opinion, for a rating of four out of five stars.

and now a word from our sponser:

(well not really a sponser, just a funny picture I found)

 

SPIDER-GIRL "Avenging Allies"

***1/2

Sorry that it's been so long since I have posted any reviews.  I have been pretty busy in life.  However, I have been doing some reading.  Some of that reading has included Marvel's "SPIDER-GIRL Avenging Allies," written by Tom DeFalco and drawn by Pat Olliffe.  This one is a graphic novel that collects Spider-Girl #12-16 and the 1999 Annual and is the third volume of Marvel's SPIDER-GIRL graphic novels.  To be honest I probably wouldn't have spent my time on a Spider-Girl book, but I happened across this one at my church's rummage sale for just a quarter.  Can't go wrong at that price!

May "Mayday" Parker is the daughter of Peter Parker, the original Spider-Man.  Mayday has inherited some of Spider-Man's abilities, including super-strength, some of his ability to stick to walls and most importantly, his agility and "Spider sense."  During this collection, she is in the process of learning how to use her abilities to combat crime and foes the likes of Darkdevil, the Avengers and the man named Kaine, who shows her the worst defeat she has ever known.  Spider-Girl also finds herself teaming up with Speedball to do battle with a Mr. Fantastic style villain named Mr. Abnormal.  Throughout the whole book, Mayday is battling her emotions, wondering if she is doing the right thing using her abilities in the same manner that her father did as Spider-Man.

As I mentioned earlier, typically this is not a book that I would have grabbed shopping by looking at the cover.  However, I'm glad that I was able to find this one at the rummage sale.  I was very pleasantly surprised with how much I enjoyed this novel!  Pat Olliffe  makes the book look wonderful and Tom DeFalco has always been an awesome writer in my personal opinion.  The only thing that I wasn't too crazy about with Spider-Girl, is the way that her thoughts are written in the second person.  I understand that DeFalco was trying to allow the reader to feel more like they were in fact in the story.  However, it didn't take to long to get used to how her inner thoughts were written.  I will definitely continue to look for other Spider-Girl comics.  All in all I thought that this was a very good book!  I'm going to give "SPIDER-GIRL Avenging Allies" a score of three and a half out of five stars.

DEATHLOK #6

****

It's been a little while since I have made a post for this site. For anyone secretly following this blog, I apologize. However, I finally have had some time to read another comic book. It's another Deathlok, however, not the same series of Deathlok that I have reviewed earlier. However, for background on the character, please check out my previous blog about DEATHLOK 1.

That being said, DEATHLOK #6 is written by Gregory Wright and illustrated by Denys Cowan for Marvel Comics and released in December of 1991. I don't have the previous issues for this one, but I don't think they are needed to understand the story as this is the first issue of a miniseries. We start the story as Deathlok secretly checks in on his son, Nick, who is eight years old. Unable to allow himself to be seen by Nick, he is watching him as he is on the playground at school. Suddenly, a vehicle approaches and starts blasting away at the school yard with gunfire, springing Deathlok into action. He neutralizes the situation, completely demolishing the car and the shooters end up escaping.

Later we find that the Punisher is also involved as he is investigating the shooters in a "war" on drugs. We also find that Silvermane (former head of HYDRA, currently believed deceased) is the one who ordered the hit on the school. We also discover that Nick and his friend are currently involved in the drug trafficking. During what the kids think is a pick-up, Silvermane kidnaps them. Deathlok takes chase and discovers that Silvermane is now a cyborg just like Deathlok, only not as powerful. Punisher, who is a shoot first ask questions later type of guy enters the fight and comes out guns blazing. Deathlok, trying to protect his son from stray bullets begins doing battle with Punisher. Meanwhile, Silvermane escapes on a subway car and the comic book ends on a cliff hanger "To Be Continued..."

First off, I like the look of this book. Cowan's drawing is phenomenal. The whole issue is eye-catching and full of action. He is also able to convey emotion quite well, even on a cyborg's face. As far as the writing is concerned, I thought it was quite good. I always like the banter between Deathlok's human brain (Michael Collins) and the cyborg's on-board computer. Also the whole story line of Michael Collins, who is a pacifist, and being trapped in a machine created to produce death, the whole time, not being able to be a part of his family who are too afraid of what he's become to believe that his is inside the cyborg.

This issue is entitled "Similar Machines," which can be taken in two ways. Deathlok and Silvermane are both cyborgs, one pursuing a peaceful world the other producing evil. Meanwhile Deathlok and Punisher are both engaged in a war against the drug dealers that are corrupting and poisoning the youth, however one refuses to cause the death of anyone (Deathlok's "No Killing Parameter") while Punisher is willing to play judge, jury and executioner with those whom he deems an enemy in his "War." With DEATHLOK #6, I think that I'm going to have to give a rating of four out of five stars.

GHOST RIDER: THE VISUAL GUIDE

***

Occasionally I wish to read something a little more substantial than a 24 page comic book. Enter the graphic novel! :) The last one I read is more of a informational reference book on the Marvel character "Ghost Rider." The book is called "Ghost Rider: The Visual Guide." It is written by Andrew Darling and edited by Laura Gilbert with visual designs by Lauren Egan and Jon Hall, though most of the artwork in the book is taken from the original comic book series.

This one honestly took me a long time to get through. It is 125 pages long, and for a book with pictures has an awful lot of words. Normally, I would find this to be refreshing, except for the fact that for many of the words, I needed a magnifying glass! Lots of VERY small type. In addition, the reading is generally pretty dry, as it is simply an informative look at the character, and not really a storyboard format. It felt like a graphically intense history book!

Don't get me wrong, I did enjoy the book. For someone like me who hasn't been able to find and/or afford every back issue of Ghost Rider going all the way back to 1972, this book was very informative as to the background of this edgy demonic hero in the Marvel Universe. I've always been a huge fan of Ghost Rider and his look and what he stood for - vengeance - and The Visual Guide does a great job of capturing all the eras of Ghost Rider, from Johnny Blaze to Danny Ketch.

Even though I thought that the writing was very dry and drawn out, I do think that the overall look of this book redeemed it to a halfway decent score in my book. I'm going to score "Ghost Rider: The Visual Guide" at three out of five stars.

CAPTAIN AMERICA #212

***1/2

Previously I have reviewed the issue prior to this one. Feel free to check out my review of CAPTAIN AMERICA #211. Issue #212 was written and drawn by Jack Kirby as well and was released by Marvel in August of 1977. We pick up where the last one left off, in the living castle of Arnim Zola, the brilliant but evil geneticist who is responsible for preserving the brain of a high ranking member of the Third Reich. Zola has implanted the brain into a body built for speed and strength. The plan is to put Cap's face on the newly rebuilt Reich officer, who we find out in this issue is in fact Adolf Hitler.

Kirby throws the reader directly into the action in this one. The Cap and Donna Maria are doing their best to escape the clutches of Zola as they are in a castle that was genetically engineered by Zola as a living prison with the soul purpose of holding Captain America prisoner. We find Cap's girlfriend, Sharon, being escorted by the Red Skull to the castle to witness Cap's demise. However upon escape from the castle, the Captain and Donna Maria have to do battle with some more of Zola's creations. During this battle, Captain America is blinded by a chemical explosion caused by Donna. This blinding occurs just before the Skull shows up. Now Captain America has to do battle with Red Skull while blind.

A whole lot of action! Well done Kirby! Couple that with Kirby's great artwork, and you have yourself a pretty darn good comic book. Once more I think that this one deserves a three and a half out of five stars. Gotta love consistently good comics by the masters. Of course, I guess that's why their called the masters!

DAREDEVIL #355

****
Daredevil #355 is a Marvel publication from August of 1996. This issue was written by Karl Kesel and penciled by Cary Nord and S. Epting.

In this issue, Matt Murdock and Foggy Nelson have partnered with Rosalind Sharpe's law firm, and Matt has been put in charge of defending a known killer. This is a test of Matt's ethics as he knows that Hyde, his defendant, is not guilty of the accused crime, but is guilty of numerous other crimes. During Matt's investigations, he, as Daredevil he faces off against Pyro, the mutant master of flames who is trying to destroy evidence in the case that Matt is investigating.

I've always been a fan of Daredevil stories. Kesel run at this time was no different. There are always layers to the Daredevil character. Plenty of action, and there is always light into the life of the blind lawyer and his personal coping with the death of his father, the stress of a legal career and the pressure of a secret identity.

Kesel's writing was very well balanced by the great overall look provided by Nord and Epting and the colors from Christie Scheele. All the elements really make this comic come alive, which is why I give DAREDEVIL #355 a four out of five stars.

CYBER FORCE #3

**

CYBER FORCE #3 was published by Top Cow Productions Inc., which is a division of Image Comics. Released back in June of 2006, CYBER FORCE #3 was written by Ron Marz and had an art team of Pat Lee (pencils); Erik Sander, Sal Regia (inks); Alex Milne (background design); and colors by Dream Engine.

What a slow story. Though it starts out with a dog fight between the airforce and alien crafts, there wasn't any decent action until the last page. I actually had to re-read parts of this one because I fell asleep somewhere in the first half of the issue. That's not a good sign.

I've never been too fond of comic books that are all artwork with very little written word. However, usually with comics of that nature, the story moves quickly, propelled by the drawings. Not the case with this comic. While the drawings were awesome, the story just kept dragging; one page in particular left a couple of characters talking in a bigger series of frames that were elaborately drawn, but really the dialog was next to meaningless for the amount of space that it took up.

I would say that the only thing about this book that was redeeming was the art. It was wonderfully drawn. The characters actually seemed to live on the page. The art team did an outstanding job of giving the characters emotion and depth in the visual, even if the story didn't provide it.

I think that if I found more of CYBER FORCE in a back issue discount rack, I would probably buy some more so that I can get to know the characters a bit better. Who knows, if I know the characters and the background better, maybe the slow storyline in this issue would have more meaning for me. But since I don't know the background on this one, I'll have to rate it at two stars out of five.

GARFIELD'S NINTH BOOK (Loses His Feet)

****

Occasionally, it is fun to get back to basics. I first started out reading my Mom's Garfield comic strip books as soon as I learned how to read! She had a lot of them. My wife and I happened across this gem at our church's rummage sale.

As always, Garfield is by Jim Davis. "Garfield Loses His Feet" was published in 1984 and combines the strips syndicated by Davis during 1983. This collection finds Garfield up to his ever popular antics of eating lasagna, hating Mondays, bullying Odie, courting Arlene, plotting against Nermal and destroying plants (and other of Jon's belongings!)

I know that there's not much in the way of plot in a Garfield book, nor is the artwork something of amazement, but it's a newspaper comic strip that is hilarious, and for sheer entertainment value, you can't go wrong picking up a Garfield book! I would have to give this one a 4 out of 5 stars!

CAGE #1

****

The first book of the Cage series was published by Marvel Comics in April of 1992. Written by Marc McLaurin and illustrated by Dwayne Turner, "Cage" is the story of Lucas Cage, who used to be Power Man, who used to team with Iron Fist to form the "Heroes for Hire." Cage, to me, is a fascinating character. He started out a criminal, and when he was actually imprisoned, it was for a crime that he did not commit. He volunteered himself for the Power Man Project, under the condition that he would get early release from prison. The Power Man Project is what transformed Cage into Power Man, the man with incredible super-human strength, healing factor and steel-hard, impenetrable skin.

"Cage #1" begins by telling the background of this character in a way that quickly establishes the plot of the magazine, a news team discussing Cage (we'll find out why in a little bit.) Next they blast into the action as we find Cage battling four men at one time. We find that he has been hired by a Chicago union to protect those on strike from the violence of the corporations strike breakers. During this sequence we meet a man that is sure to become a huge nemesis for Cage, a Caribbean killer by the name of Hardcore.

Hardcore is a master of martial arts and has an arsenal of modernized ancient weapon that can keep Cage at bay. These weapons include Manrikisas (chains with blades at the end) which Hardcore has outfitted with electric tazers, or explosives. The other unfortunate feature that these weapons have is their ability to pierce steel (as in steel-hard skin). Hardcore is a loud mouth and constantly is verbally badgering Cage as they fight, calling him a relic who needs to learn how to stay down. Cage is bested in the first encounter he has with Hardcore in this issue.

Cage then makes a deal with a Chicago newspaper to allow them exclusive access to photos and stories of him in action, if they put up for the expenses of his new Heroes For Hire company. Now Cage seems to have a partner in the form of Micky, a photographer who is now to go anywhere that Cage goes. Straight from the deal with the newspaper comes news of the corporations CEO (Angel) who was having issues with the union that needed Cage's protection. Cage and Micky are off to stop Angel from leaving the country. We find out more about Hardcore's involvement in the whole ordeal. He is supposedly protecting Angel's assets.

Now we have another showdown between Cage and Hardcore. Even though Cage has to stop occasionally to protect Micky, he does manage to use his raw power to defeat Hardcore, despite his massive arsenal of fancy weapons. Thinking that Hardcore is dead, as the result of an airplane explosion (masterfully drawn by Turner by the way), everyone goes home, end of story. Or is it?

I do like this story. Cage is a man who is truely trying to find out who he is. The man he was before the Power Man Project is dead, along with most of his memory of that time, so he really is trying to find out who he is. A hero of pure instinct, his style is very forceful and blunt. The contrast between him and Hardcore was very good. The over all look of the book was awesome as well, with the exception of a couple of panels that looked odd, like the News editor's monsterous hand being held up for a handshake on the bottom of page 14. Also, Mike Thomas did a wonderful job with the full, rich colors in this one. I'm going to have to give "Cage #1" four out of five stars. I look forward to reviewing the others that I have of this series!

CAPTAIN AMERICA #211

***1/2

This tale of the Captain goes back to July 1977, when Captain America was written and drawn all by one man, the legendary Jack Kirby. Pitted against the Arnim Zola in one of the Skull's master plans to bring back to life the brain of one of the higher ranking officers in the Reich. They don't tell which officer's brain they have to bring back to life, and though I could venture a guess, I'm not going to for fear that I might be wrong by the time I pick up the next issue, also in my collection.

Kirby does a wonderful job with this issue. I always did like the solidity of Kirby's portrayal of Cap, 100% rugged soldier. I also like the way the older stories are written. The writers typically used more dialogue than was necessary. The characters would speak the detail of the scene, which actually allowed you to fill in the missing parts of the picture in your mind and even give the artwork a sense of motion.

It seems more and more that the particular art of storytelling is becoming lost, so I do find it refreshing to read the older comics and see that attention to the art and the story. Too often, the concentration is more on the artwork in the newer comics and you can find yourself "reading" a full comic book in about five minutes. That's why it's nice to go back and find one of the older ones that has a story to tell! I give this issue a 3 1/2 and a thumbs up to Kirby for being a good storyteller. Thank you, Jack.

AMAZING FANTASY #15

****1/2

Originally, this one was published back in August of 1962 and was the debut of one of Marvel's most well known characters, Spider-Man. I was able to find a reprint of this gem that was published in March of 1992. The stories in this one were written by none other than Stan Lee and illustrated by Steve Ditko.

Of course this one is going to have to get a good review, especially for giving birth to one of Marvel's greatest flagships. I've always been fascinated by the Spider-Man story, but I'm actually not to concerned with that right now. This mag is filled with five stories; two of them about Spidey, and three others. To be honest, these were my favorites in the book.

One was a story about a Bell Ringer in an island community who every day was responsible for ringing the church's bell, alerting sailors of the coast line, signaling the beginning of the day and other alerts for the village. One day, the island is threatened by a volcano about to erupt and the island must be evacuated, only the man refuses to leave, "The bells must be rung, someone will hear! Someone always hears!" Just before the church is engulfed by lava, a light is shone upon the Bell Ringer and escaping islanders swear that they saw the old man being carried by the light beam higher and higher until he couldn't be seen anymore. Someone heard the bells!

Another story follows a martian invasion. The community is living in fear as a search for landed extra-terrestrials ensues. People are hiding in their homes. A man leaves his wife at home alone, knowing the dangers, but he must go to work. Against her husbands wishes, she leaves to go to the store and on her return is chased and captured. When the husband returns home he finds that she is gone and begins to panic and we find out that they were in fact the martians, they just looked human.

This comic is definitely a classic. It has awesome stories, and the artwork isn't that bad either. It looks very, for lack of a better word, comical. It almost looks like the comics were colorized and taken out of the comic strip section of the newspaper. Upon doing a little research into Steve Ditko, I found out that he started out as a cartoonist for newspapers, so that is probably where that influence comes from. Either way, I would have to give this comic book a rating of 4 1/2 stars out of five!

CAPTAIN AMERICA #397

***1/2

Released in February of 1992, this book is a continuation of CAPTAIN AMERICA #396, which I reviewed previously on this blog. Click here to check out that review. Cap #397 was written and drawn by the same team as #396, Gruenwald and Levins, however, I thought that they did a better job with this one.

First off, Levins' artwork was much better in this publication, I especially like the opening scene with Cap surrounded by a hallucination that he was put into at the end of the last one by Jack O'Lantern. It just seemed that Levins may have just had more to work with on this one. He makes Cap look wonderful, even down in the catacombs under Skull Manor.

Secondly, this story involves the Red Skull more. We actually get to hear a bit more from him, and find out more of his hobbies (you know, what he does for fun when he's not busy trying to destroy the free world!) It seems that his reck-room is a torture chamber, and he likes to put himself through his torture devices, quoting Nietche, "What does not break me, makes me stronger." Skull decides to test his new protege, the green serpent lady, (as I like to call her) and tells her to control the torture devices that he is in. I think the Sado/Masequism is the "adult" content in this one! On top of that, the cliff hanger at the end shows Cap's girlfriend, Diamondback in the clutches of Cross Bones, a diabolical murderer, hell bent on getting revenge on Cap for one reason or another. I'll be looking for the next issue in the back issue boxes at my local comic book store!

I would have to say that I like this one a lot better than the previous issue. I would have to rate this one at a 3 1/2 out of 5.

DEATHLOK #1

*****

Book one of the four book miniseries, DEATHLOK #1 is a Marvel release published in July of 1990. It was written by Dwayne McDuffie and Gregory Wright and masterfully drawn by Jackson Guice. All I can say about this book is, "Wow!" This one is awesome! It looks great and is packed full of action, intrigue, character development and heart.

Deathlok was a research scientist named Michael Collins who worked for the Roxxon Corporation. Collins thought that he was working on a legitimate cybernetics project to help people with disabilities regain the use of their limbs, but discovered that the project was really the design and implemetation of the ultimate killing machine, a cyborg with a human brain. When Collins discovered what he was involved in, he quickly backed away from the project. However, to make sure that Collins wouldn't talk about the project, they killed him and implanted his brain into the cyborg. What they didn't plan on was that he would gain control over the cyborg's onboard computers and use Deathlok as the ultimate weapon against Roxxon.

Collins shows his true calling as a hero as he creates a "No Kill" parameter to the cyborg's systems. Also, having his brain inside the grotesque body of the cyborg, Collins contacts his wife, who is freightened of his new form and refuses to be with him. Now astranged from his family, he begins his quest to hunt down Roxxon and return himself to his own body.

Again, I can't say it enough, this Marvel comic is one that continues the meaning of it's brand name, a "Marvel!" I love the character for his realism and the completely humanistic manner in which he was written. In addition, the book is beautiful, a complete pleasure to read! It's not often, but this one I have to give a full five out of five stars! It ROCKS!!!

2099 UNLIMITED #6

***1/2

Back in the early to mid nineties, Marvel Comics had a line of comic books that were futuristic. They called this line 2099. The 2099 comics took some of the well known comic book titles and revisited them 100+ years in the future and even created some new heroes for the corporately ruled monarchy of the year 2099. Included in this title were HULK 2099, GALAHAD 2099 and DOOM 2099.

2099 UNLIMITED #6 was released in August of 1994 and had different writers and artists for each of the three titles it included. HULK 2099 was written by Gerard Jones and drawn by Khato. This particular Hulk incarnation has a more grotesque Hulk who actually has intelligence. The artistry of this title was very harsh and almost abstract, but it seemed to fit the story and the characters. The story was quite good, however, I don't know much about the background of this Hulk character (which was someone other than Banner), beside the fact that there was something going on with the ever present gamma rays.

GALAHAD 2099 felt like an Iron Man revival. Ethan Shields is a brilliant scientist without an immune system. Thus he is confined to an artificial environment. He has created a type of armor called the "Galahad Armor," which hopefully will be used to protect emergency rescuers. Writer Michael Jan Friedman sends Suzanne Carter to Shields' lab to review the Galahad armor and has instant chemistry between Shields and Carter. During an outside sabatoge, we discover that the Galahad Armor can be controlled via a subcutaneous chip implanted into Shields' head. Matt Ryan's pencils are awesome in this one.

DOOM 2099 was written by Friedman as well, and drawn by Marie Severin. This particular book is centered around one of Doom's partners, Wire, who has the ability to turn himself into binary code it seems and "surf" databases as well as any kind of electrical signal type of format, in this story, he enters the world of 50's TV sitcoms. All of this is in an effort to help Doom and Fortune escape a world they have been trapped in while searching for a lost device which pulls the ambient energy out of the air.

Personally I do miss the 2099 comics. I liked the characters, especially seeing Doom as a good guy for a change, well at least kind of a good guy! I would have to give 2099 UNLIMITED a rating of 3 1/2 stars out of 5.

JASON MONARCH #1

****

This one is an oldie but a goodie! JASON MONARCH was released by a pretty much unknown comic book company back in 1979 called Omnibus Publishing Company. Inside the book were three different titles, "Jason Monarch," and "It," which were both written by Dave Lillard and "Star Menagerie" by Fred Bobb. Easily the best of the three titles was "Jason Monarch" with the other two basically as page fillers.

Though published in black and white, there is no denying Jim Craig's talent in penciling this one. His framing was wonderful and his visual story-telling a caffeinated kick in the keister! I enjoyed the story of Jason Monarch, whose parents were killed in a car accident when he was young. His grandfather, nearing the end of his time, finally initiates contact with him in order to give Jason his "Inheritance," which includes a secret lunar military base, named "Echo Base," that has been passed down through generations as a last defensive post for Earth. Immediately upon finding out this information, Jason's grandfather dies and the base is attacked by aliens and he is forced without the luxury of comprehension to wage battle alongside his new beautiful Ship Captain to defend the base.

I love the way that Lillard writes immediate chemistry into the characters and their new relationships with each other. We can already tell that there is going to be some romantic tension between Jason and the ship Captain. I also look forward to trying to find other issues simply to find out what kind of enemies that Echo Base is protecting Earth from. I certainly hope that Omnibus Publishing Company was able to continue production of this series so that there is at least a hope of being able to find later issues of this awesome rare find. I would have to say that "Jason Monarch" gets a solid four out of five stars, definitely worth looking for.

MARVEL COMICS PRESENTS SPIDERMAN

****1/2

This particular issue of Spider-Man is one of my favorites that I have in my collection. Not because of the story line, but more because of the fact that it is one of the more collectible issues in my collection. It is a Mini Comic.

It's a reprint of a classic comic book from 1963. Scripted by Stan the man himself and drawn by Steve Ditko with a bonus tale in the back of the book drawn by Jack Kirby. This Mini-mag has survived in my collection from the very first week that I began collecting. So there is quite a bit of sentiment along with this book.

However, all sentiment aside, I would have to say that I love the way Stan and Steve and Jack create flow in this book with simplistic framing, great artistry and classic story-telling that formed the Marvel empire. The only thing that I don't like about this comic is the portrayal of Spidey. Growing up with the comics I had, Spidey was always a jokester, but always had a set of morals about him. Now I know that Spider-Man has evolved over his time, but Spider-Man in this comic is cocky, arrogant, quick to anger and almost villanous as he pesters the Fantastic Four. In this story, I can see where J. Jonah Jameson is coming from with his opinion that Spider-Man is nothing but a punk criminal. Good Spidey or mean Spidey, the story telling and artistry in this book pulls a four and a half stars from five! This one rocks!

STRIKEFORCE: MORITURI #16

*

STRIKEFORCE: MORITURI #16 is a release from Marvel back in March of 1988 written by Peter B. Gillis and drawn by Whilce Portacio. I would have to say that the most exciting thing about this comic book would be the title. The Strikeforce: Morituri is a group of, as near as I can guess, military rejects who have been drafted for an experimental process that will turn them into super-humans, the catch is that they can only hold onto the super powers for the span of one year, at which point, they die. The purpose of creating these "one-year-wonders" is to be a last line of defence against and alien race known as "The Horde."

The excitement of this comic begins as our "heroes" are making breakfast. None in the crew can get along with one another and all try to use their newly created powers to cook their breakfasts and to cook each other. Speaking of arguements, I've read better dialog in Dr. Seuss books. For instance, when Walther gets offended by Burke (keep in mind that they are allies in the strikeforce) and throws an energy blast at his chest that is capable of blowing a fatal hole through Burke's heart. Intervening is the team leader, whose name isn't even mentioned, as he throws his bare hand into the energy beam. "Hold it! Watch out for the lamp! [Lamp is blown apart] If I hadn't deflected that bolt, you might have cut him badly? If we can't do something as simple as breakfast?" Keep in mind that all of this excitement basically wastes the first four pages.

Even the artwork wasn't very redeeming on this one. The characters were very plain and the women in the book were down right ugly. Honestly I got more enjoyment out of reading the advertisements which took me down memory lane, reminding me of the Captain Power Starship Blaster that I wanted as a kid. It actually shot back at the TV! How cool is that? A lot cooler than this comic book, I'll tell you that. That's why I'm only giving this one a single star out of five.

PSYCHOBLAST #5

***

Published by First Comics, Inc. in March of 1988, "Psychoblast #5" was written by Steven Grant and drawn by Robb Phipps and Al Vey.

Brian Burke, a.k.a. Psychoblast it seems is part of a scientific experiment by the Paradigm Institute along with four others for the specific purpose of creating humans with super-human powers. The five have been assembled into a group called "The New World Order." How original. Psychoblast however is more affected by the process and his brain becomes fragmented. As the different parts of his brain begin to come back together, Paradigm Institute realizes that the various parts of his brain have different personalities that function independently, and that they get more powerful and violent as his brain heals. During a mission, another member of the group, Anomoly, uses his ability to make it appear that Psychoblast has killed the creator of Paradigm and the New World Order. Unable to cope with this, Psych turns on the whole team.

I think that in my future endevors to the comic book store that I will look for any previous issues of Psychoblast that explain the back-story on this one. If the story is good, I might very well look for issues to come later. I didn't quite understand enough of Psych's power, nor what Paradigm's intentions were (I believe that they were trying to set up a super-hero rescue squad). However, the artwork was redeaming for the lack of storytelling. Well done Robb and Al. Also kudos to Les Dorscheid who colored this bad boy. Together, the artists on this one brought the rating up to a three out of five.

CAPTAIN AMERICA #396

* * *

From January of 1992 with pencils by Rik Levins and written by Mark Greunwald, this issue pits Cap up against quite a few foes.

It opens as Cap and Thor have been captured by Arnim Zola during their investigation the alleged death of Red Skull. Being detained by Zola's creation, Doughboy, they are engulfed by Doughboy's dough and flown to a nearby lake and taken under water by Doughboy in an attempt to kill them.

Not to worry, Thor throws his mighty hammer and perforates Doughboy allowing himself and Cap to escape. Thor keeps Doughboy busy as Cap goes back after Zola only to discover that the Red Skull's mansion has vanished. While investigating the scene, Cap end up doing battle with Jack O'Lantern and Red Skull's son, Blackwing.

Both enemies did put up a good fight in the empty basement foundation of the Skull's mansion, however I do think that I would have enjoyed the book better if I had known the story line a bit better, but this was one that I found in the back-issue grab bin. That aside, I thought that the artwork was quite good, though I would have like to have seen a better drawn Doughboy. I'd give this one about a 3-star rating.