Comics are Awesome II

[Ursus mellifera]

You guys know Dom ain't buyin' that compilation on Amazon. C'mon now.

I don't know that he'll get it at all, but I'm going to give him crap about it until he does.

[andersonh1]

Time for a retro-review, courtesy of me organizing my old comics recently.

Unlimited Access #1
Karl Kesel, Pat Oliffe and Al Williamson, c. Dec 1997
I don't know how many of you remember this mini-series, but it's one of those fun crossovers between DC and Marvel, which I bought at the time just because it had Hal Jordan as GL on the cover. He was Parallax at the time, and may even have been killed off during "Final Night" by the time this was published, given the dialogue in the issue. The premise of the series follows Access, a character that can travel back and forth between the Marvel and DC universes, and in this case, time travel between them as well.

The first issue barely gets into the plot, as something is once again causing characters from DC to appear in Marvel's universe and vice versa, and Access has to find out what's going on. His girlfriend is totally not buying this, by the way. The plot is largely an excuse for characters to fight each other, so we get Spider-Man versus Mantis (who I think is one of Darkseid's goons), assisted by Wonder Woman versus Juggernaut. That gets resolved and the good guys win, but then we get thrown into a fight between the Hulk and Hal Jordan (who has some atrocious dialogue right out of the 60s). Since it's not the intelligent Hulk and Jordan should be dead, Access figures out that he's travelling through time. He then tries to get home and runs into Jonah Hex and the two-gun Kid. The cliffhanger puts Access in the future with the Sentinels trying to kill him, only for the Legion of Super Heroes to show up and intervene.

The plot is nothing more than an excuse to have cross-company showdowns, and they pack as much as they can into a single issue. The art is pretty good, and the series is printed on the modern glossy stock they're still using rather than older flat paper, so it still looks good. The dialogue is fairly standard comic-book exposition and bravado, but it's decent as these things go with the exception of Hal Jordan's dialogue, which is a throwback to the 60s. Already he was beginning to be characterized as "old school" by this point rather than as he had been depicted in his own series. Spider man wonders why so many of his villains wear green while fighting Mantis, who doesn't appreciate his witty banter at all. He really wants to swing around town using Wonder Woman's lasso, but it doesn't work out.

Overall: shallow, but fun. I haven't read this in years. I'm looking forward to re-reading the other three issues.

[Sparky Prime]

I don't know how many of you remember this mini-series, but it's one of those fun crossovers between DC and Marvel, which I bought at the time just because it had Hal Jordan as GL on the cover.

I've seen a TBP of this story. Kinda wanted to get it. I really like the Amalgam characters the stories involving Access comes up with.

[138 Scourge]

I don't know how many of you remember this mini-series, but it's one of those fun crossovers between DC and Marvel, which I bought at the time just because it had Hal Jordan as GL on the cover.

I've seen a TBP of this story. Kinda wanted to get it. I really like the Amalgam characters the stories involving Access comes up with.

I really enjoyed a lot of the Amalgam stuff, and I do remember flipping through this series, but never bought it. I didn't get Marvel Vs. DC, either, come to think of it. Both were close to the fun Amalgam stuff, but not quite close enough. Man, though. Those Spider-Boy stories were amazing. I wish that guy could have survived the universes separating, somehow. Of course, without the supporting cast, he wouldn't have been as cool, so maybe not.

More of the comics I bought yesterday:

Venom #6: Venom fights a giant Spider-Man related monster! The Jackal's got a couple giant spider monster lieutenants that have been following him around, and over in Amazing #668 he sent one of 'em out with twenty thousand spider-embryo monsters in it's belly to spread the spider-disease beyond Manhattan. Venom runs into it and brings the thing to the bunker he works out of. At which point it gets loose and disgorges it's cargo while Flash is seperated from the symbiote. Equal parts cool horror story and superhero action. I know, every time I say that I can't believe I like a Venom book this much, but seriously.

The Incredible Hulks # 635: Pak's run finishes off this issue, and the series comes to a close with the end of his run. I don't mind the way Marvel does this stuff, actually. When the big story arc that a writer's been on ends, they tend to close the book down and let the new writer just have a whole new series. Kind of gimmicky, I guess, but I don't hate it. This issue provides some good character moments for the whole cast, but more importantly, has Fin Fang Foom flying around, launching magic-infused gamma bombs out of his mouth. Way to go out on top, Greg. Well done, sir.

Amazing Spider-Man: Infestation One-Shot: Actually just got this today when I went to the comic store to get a longbox. I was gonna pass because I figured "Eh, I'll just get the Spider-Island stuff that I'm already reading, like Herc or Venom, or the stuff with characters that I'm into like Cloak and Dagger or Spider-Girl. I don't need this." Well, it's true, I don't, but after Amazing #668, I know I don't NEED to read all of Slott's Spider-Island tie-ins, but I really WANT to. And this is fun. A bunch of background stuff you don't really need, but doesn't hurt. A high-school bully learns that Spider-Powers change a schoolyard scuffle, but not how you'd think. A mid-thirties family man uses his newly acquired spider-powers to save his family, but is convinced he can't risk his neck to save his neighbors. And Miles Warren reveals that the thing where the bee population went down? He was bored, did it as a goof. Also, the dinner wherein Aunt May and Jay Jameson tell Peter and J. Jonah they're leaving New York. Like I said, nothing you need, but good stuff anyway.

[andersonh1]

The Incredible Hulks # 635: Pak's run finishes off this issue, and the series comes to a close with the end of his run. I don't mind the way Marvel does this stuff, actually. When the big story arc that a writer's been on ends, they tend to close the book down and let the new writer just have a whole new series. Kind of gimmicky, I guess, but I don't hate it. This issue provides some good character moments for the whole cast, but more importantly, has Fin Fang Foom flying around, launching magic-infused gamma bombs out of his mouth. Way to go out on top, Greg. Well done, sir.

So, are they restarting Hulk with a new #1? Who's writing and drawing? Probably no one I'm familiar with, but you never know.

[138 Scourge]

So, are they restarting Hulk with a new #1? Who's writing and drawing? Probably no one I'm familiar with, but you never know.

Jason Aaron's on writing duties, he's a relative newcomer, but he's done some really good stuff on Ghost Rider and the Mature readers version of Punisher. And on art is Marc Silvestri, who...I have mixed feelings about. Loved his stuff when he was on X-Men back in the day, but I haven't really been into it as much lately. I'll likely check out the first issue at least.

[andersonh1]

Unlimited Access #2
It's probably easier to list the fights/encounters/team-ups first. So, the Legion of Superheroes fight the Sentinels in a bad future, before going underground, led there by Wolverine. They discuss the dire situation, with Ferro and Colossus striking it off due to both being covered with metal. Access sends the Legion home and leaves, only to end up in Gotham, where Daredevil in a red and yellow suit works briefly with Batman. Then after a few pages of mixed up timelines, we get the main plot as Darkseid captures Access, and tries to recruit him. This is interrupted by the Avengers, who fight Darkseid's goons, only to end up getting help from the (then) original JLA. In the end, Darkseid leaves after one of his followers turns the two groups against each other, much to Black Canary's disgust.

As with issue 1, they pack in as many team-ups and fights as they can. You barely have time to see one group of DC characters meet a group of Marvel characters before the story moves on to the next. And in these days of decompressed comics, looking back to a story that moves at such a quick pace is actually refreshing. All the little moments are fun too, such as Hal Jordan rescuing Iron Man, or Wasp flirting with Aquaman. Meanwhile Thor wonders if J'onn J'onzz is related to the Hulk. All fun stuff.


#3
Hey, there's an ad for the Beast Wars video game in this issue. THAT sure dates it. Not to mention the ad for MIB "on videocassette!"

The issue begins with the JLA (GL, Flash, Martian MAnhunter, Black Canary, Aquaman) fighting the Avengers (Cap, Thor, Iron Man, Wasp, Giant guy) while Darkseid goes to make an alliance with Magneto and his followers. Access breaks up the fight by calling in (hoo boy) electric blue Superman. I had forgotten all about red and blue Superman. Access discovers that not only can he summon heroes from any universe, he can also combine them into an Amalgam hero, as Robin and the x-man with wings (Angel?) are combined. We get the original X-Men from the 60s in their black and yellow, btw. Magneto and Darkseid broadcast their worldwide surrender demands.

#4
The final issue is obviously going to be the showdown, and everyone decides that Amalgam heroes will be more effective. So we get fun mixes like Thor-el (Superman/Thor), Quick Freeze (Impulse/Iceman) or Green Goliath (GL/Giant Man). Jolly Green Giant? My favorite is Captain America Jr (Cap/Captain Marvel Jr.) who shouts "Uncle Sam" to get his magic lightning, and sports the wisdom of Lincoln, the strategy of Eisenhower and the trickiness of Nixon. Too funny. Also funny is Magneto's frustration as Thor-El keeps making proclamations about Kryptonian Gods and such while Magneto keeps trying to convince him that he doesn't exist.

The plot ultimately boils down to this: Darkseid wants Access to serve him, and if he can get a bunch of cross-universal heroes to kill each other off in the process, even better. Access ends up fighting a future version of himself who had accepted Darkseid's offer, leading to them seeing such realities as a universe of Bizarro Spider-Men and a cross between Superman and Mr. Fantastic. In the end, of course, the good Access wins, and Darkseid returns to his universe. And the question of how he could get to the Marvel universe, where most of issues 2-4 take place, is answered with the presence of the bad Access from the future.

Overall: Very comic-booky plot and dialogue, appealing thanks to the chance to see Marvel and DC characters interact. The art is good too. If you see it in trade paperback format, it's worth picking up.

[BWprowl]

My favorite is Captain America Jr (Cap/Captain Marvel Jr.) who shouts "Uncle Sam" to get his magic lightning, and sports the wisdom of Lincoln, the strategy of Eisenhower and the trickiness of Nixon. Too funny.

And with that, I need to track this book down.

[andersonh1]

Too bad it's just one panel. I'd buy this crossover in a heartbeat:

[Dominic]

Venom #1-#3:
Having bought no comics last week, I decided to catch up on some of the many unread comics I have.

Apparently, Flash Thompson lost his legs and picked up the venom suit at some point. This series deals with him trying to use the suit (which is recognized as a malignant party) to do the right thing while maintaining a secret identity. All things considered, this is not a bad read. I am missing issue 4, and the 3 issues I do have are in bad condition. I might pick up the compilation at some point, (assuming said compilation exists).

Grade: B/C