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.