Marvel Masterworks vol 24

Right, well, we're back to classic Uncanny X-Men. I enjoyed the other 2 volumes that covered Giant Size X-Men 1 through Uncanny X-Men 110 so much that I actually splurged and bought this one at cover price. When I started on this ride through these old tales I hadn't read I was a bit concerned I'd be in it for the nostalgia more than anything else, but the quality of the stories has really held up.

This collection actually includes two issues, 114 and 116, that I've read previously. In its entirety it's issues 111-121, which takes me close to the more sustained run I have that started with 125. In fact, my gap is down to 123 and 124. Of course, 114 and 116 were issues I'd picked up in the old 3 for 50 cents packs where the covers had been ripped off the issues. As a result, this trade is the first I'm seeing those covers in my hands. I do remember the covers from other publications or ads, especially 114 with its somber "The Day the X-Men Died".

Selecting the Pull List Roster

HAPPY SATURDAY EVERYONE!!!

This past weekend in addition to watching the thrilling Baltimore Grand Prix on TV (mainly because I was fantasizing about going that fast on the city streets), I also updated my pull list for my local comic shop. With all the new titles coming out, I have to say it was brutally hard, but I finally finished it and I hope I made some wise choices. Only time will tell.

The selection process went something like this…

New Post At WCS

13 Number Ones Week One – Ranking The New DCU

Image Preview Review for November

Thomm: What, no theme?
Lee:  Sometimes I forget.  What can I say?

HEART #1 (of 4)
story Blair Butler art & cover Kevin Mellon
32 Pages / BW
Mixed Martial Arts and comics collide when an office drone named Oren “Rooster” Redmond follows his older brother into the fiercely competitive world of professional MMA. With nothing left to lose, Oren hopes to find his purpose in fighting – but does passion equal proficiency? Does Oren truly have the heart of a champion? Find out in the first chapter of this four-issue series.
Lee: Office Drone meet Televised Fight Club. Televised Fight Club meet Office Drone. If you like MMA this could be good. It will be interesting to see if Butler can capture the drive and motivation required to actually succeed at MMA on paper.
Thomm: I am an office drone and have no interest in MMA. Maybe if they add chainsaws.

Rebooted Out

I think reboots are becoming a problem.

In any medium where different groups of creative people manage a property owned by a company, you will always have to deal with jarring changes in creative direction. For instance, when Grant Morrison took over X-Men, he came in with a new look and a new approach that largely jettisoned the feel and content of the stories that had immediately preceded it.

As long as there are new creative teams, this will always happen. Old story elements will be discarded for new ones. And that’s fine. I don’t want to live in a world without the possibility that someday, some writer of Green Lantern will choose to start ignoring the fact that Hal Jordan ever existed.

But these as drastic as creative changes can be, they aren’t reboots as we have come to know them. Reboots as we know them mean rewriting and restarting a character’s history. DC’s many reboots since 1988 are all examples of this and so is Marvel’s handling of the Spider-Marriage. What drives me nuts about reboots is how fundamentally lazy they are.

Dark Horse Preview Review for November

Lee: August was so busy for me that it’s a mish-mash of selections this month. Nothing ultra amazing but some stuff worth investigating.
Thomm: Worth investigating is good. Let’s see how good.
  
BROTHERS OF THE SPEAR ARCHIVES VOLUME 1 HC
Gaylord DuBois (W), Russ Manning (A), and Jesse Marsh (A)
FC, 272 pages, 7" x 10", $49.99
Young Natongo and his adopted brother Dan-El share a bond much stronger than blood, so when they learn of Dan-El’s true father and his lost people, they pledge to discover the secret of his birthright together. Their journey across Africa reveals danger at every turn, but nothing to match the shock of finding Dan-El’s home enslaved by an evil witch doctor. With only each other to fall back on, can the brothers of the spear survive battle, exile, shipwreck, and more to overthrow the usurper so Dan-El can take his rightful place as king? Collecting the backup stories from Tarzan #25–#67! Featuring art by comics masters Jesse Marsh and Russ Manning! A never-before-reprinted epic from comics’ golden age!
Lee: If it weren’t for Manning and Marsh’s art this would be a complete pass for me. As for the story, I betting it’s going to be pretty bad and simplistic. I appreciate that DH is reprinting this material but this is way pricey.
Thomm: But for the price, I’d like to get this. It’s from another era and I’m sure its attitudes about Africa are quite dated. Looking into the mind set of past eras is always interesting. Just not for $50.

A Fistful of Reviews

I haven't talked about online comics in quite awhile so I thought I'd revisit a few I've discussed before an touch on one that I haven't reviewed previously.


So anyone who's read this blog for awhile will have seen me reference both Gina Biggs and Sarah Ellerton's work. Gina's work has been going strong over at Red String (although she's currently on maternity leave).