Wizard 85

Posted by John Klein III on March 23, 2016
Posted in: Reviews. Tagged: , . Leave a comment

Wizard 85

Cover Dated September 1998

http://uncannyxmen.net/secrets-behind-the-x-men/changing-x-men-directions

UncannyXMen.net has this great series of, Secrets of the X-Men, feature.

There are several Wizard issues that are referenced.  So I rescued this issue from my For Sell list from Lonestar Comics.

Other issues that are on my Wishlist are – 90, 159 and 219.  My collection has several before and after 90, so I am not sure where issue 90 is.  I own the Elektra / Jennifer Garner cover instead of the Cassaday Astonishing X-Men cover for 159, so on the For Sell pile it stays.

The Chris Claremont interview is on pages 46 – 50.  In it, there is a sidebar where Claremont wanted Kitty Pryde for his terrific Fantastic Four run.  The X-Office turn down his request.  The entire interview is about his Fantastic Four run, that is just starting, along with his short Wolverine run.  The run that marries Wolverine and Viper, that we will review here one of these Novembers.

Other points of interest in this issue :

The first five pages are ads for Marvel that I really wanted to own when I was at San Diego Comic Con that year.

Ad Uncanny X-Men 360 Ad X-Men 80

These were celebrating the X-Men 35th Anniversary issues.  Uncanny X-Men 360 and X-Men 80.  MC2 is just about to start.  As is Mutant X and yet another Blade miniseries.  Along with a checklist for all of Marvel’s August comics.

I harassed the Marvel stage guy for a little bit, trying to take these two cardboard posters home with me.  I’m sure they were thrown away soon after the convention.

Wolverine and Superman cover is by Kevin Maguire, and they are promoting the Top 25 Moments in Comics.

There are several DC Comics’ ads promoting how they are the Original Comic Universe.

I love how much this is a time capsule of what was happening at the time.

Beastie Boys’ Hello Nasty came out.

Halloween H2O came out, it is only okay.  Though it will turn out to be the last good one in the franchise.

There is a poll result with which Marvel Knight book is most anticipated –

Daredevil 74%

Punisher 11%

Black Panther 10%

Inhumans 5%

Only Punisher is not good.

Dark City is on DVD now.

There is another poll asking if we would buy a second Green Lantern title and if we would support a Hal book and a separate Kyle book.  Oh, how I have forgotten the Hal v Kyle debate.  Kyle, for me.

October will be Deadpool month, which was awesome.  Joe Kelly’s run, go buy it!

Rumor that Gambit will join the 35th Anniversary team.  He does.

Vampirella is getting a revamp, mostly getting a full body armor.  Which I can only imagine that putting clothes on her is the go-to idea to revamp her. I am sure that it is never successful.

Battle Chasers is hitting big.  I really liked it.

Generation X 40, the infamous issue that explains the complicated Penance and Monet origins.  It is not very good.

Last Man Standing – Superman v Spawn.  Superman wins.  Drawn by Barry Kitson.

Joe Casey interview on pages 38 – 44, I wonder if Chad Nevett knows about this.  I just love Casey’s Cable run – which the interview covers.

The 25 Most Memorable Moments –

25.  Hal Jordan destroys the Green Lantern Corps from Green Lantern 49 (I’ve read it and owned it for some time)

24.  Terra revealed as a traitor from New Teen Titans 34 (I own it from the Judas Contract trade)

23.  Flash dies saving the Universe from Crisis of Infinite Earths issue 8 (I own the trade)

22.  A Man Without Fear from Daredevil 229 (I own the Born Again trade)

21.  Death of Krypto from Action Comics 583 (I own the Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow two issue trade)

20.  Thor threatens Loki’s head from Thor 359

19.  Cap defies Thanos from Infinity Gauntlet 4 (I own the trade)

18.  Galactus Falls from Fantastic Four 243

17.  Doom outwits the Devil from Doctor Strange and Doctor Doom : Triumph and Torment (I own this)

16.  Reed Richards learns his baby died from Fantastic Four 267

15.  Morpheus leaves Hell from Sandman 4

14.  Return of Kid Miracleman from Miracleman 15 (I own the trade, 3 : Olympus)

13.  Superman to Mongul : Burn from Superman Annual 11 (I’ve seen the Justice League episode :  For the Man who has Everything)

12.  Elektra dies from Dardevil 181 (I own the Frank Miller Visionaries trade)

11.  Thunderbolts revealed as Masters of Evil from Thunderbolts 1 (I use to own the entie run until the stupid Fight Club storyline)

10.  Gwen Stacy Dies from Amazing Spider-Man 121 (I feel like I use to own this in various editions and trades)

9.  Batgirl Shot from Batman : The Killing Joke (I own this)

8.  Cap decapitates Baron Blood from Captain America 254 (I own this in the War & Remembrance, I believe)

7.  Wolverine Dead from Uncanny X-Men 142 (I own this issue)

6.  Captain Marvel arrives at the Gulag from Kingdom Come 3 (I own this trade)

5.  Spidey discovers Burglar that killed Uncle Ben from Amazing Fantasy 15 (a story I own and read in numerous reprints.  It is only a 15 page story, so Marvel has tacked it on, so many times)

4.  Wolverine emerges from sewer from Uncanny X-Men 132 (I own this in the Dark Phoenix Saga trade.  It is also the first appearance by Kitty that I don’t own.  She appears via flashback)

3.  Phoenix kills herself from Uncanny X-Men 137 (I own this via the Dark Phoenix Saga trade)

2.  Ozymandias Victorious from Watchmen 11 (I own the trade)

1.  Batman beats Superman from Dark Knight Returns 4 (I own the trade)

Decent list

Danger Girl gets the Casting Call treatment.  This and Battle Chasers, I was a huge fan of.  I didn’t get the vampire title Cliffhanger released.

These are pretty decent.

Charlize Theron as Abbey Chase

Who is Gena Lee Nolan?

Elizabeth Hurley as Sydney Savage

Claire Danes as Silicon Valerie

Who is Dan Schneider?

Sean Connery as Deuce

Timothy Dalton as Donovan Conrad

Jon Polito as Peach

Billy Zane as Johnny Barracuda

Cheech Marin as Kid Dynamo

Richard Moll as Mr. Giggles

Coming Attractions, oh boy, this brought me back.

FOX had the Captain America and Avengers movie rights.

Batman the Animated Series is entering its final season.

Marvel is still in bankruptcy at this point.

Dilbert, the cartoon, is coming to UPN.

Doctor Katz is entering its fifth season.

Futurama is just starting.

King of the Hill is starting its third season.

Men in Black, the cartoon, is starting its second season.

Micronauts is slated for a movie on the SciFi channel – it never came out.  Nor the cartoon series.

Simpsons are starting their tenth season.

South Park starting its second season.

Spawn is also starting its second season.

In Trailers,

Tom Cruise is working on an Iron Man treatment for FOX.

Bryan Singer is getting close to finalizing an X-Men film.

Matt Damon is rumored to be Daredevil, which I would have preferred.

Batman / Superman Adventures won a Daytime Emmy for World’s Finest.

Rumor is Alan Moore’s League of Extraordinary Gentlemen is going to be made into a film.  Oh dear

Fantastic Four 1/2 is being offered.

Basic Training with Dale Keown, how to draw proportions

Toy Chest

JLA toys based on Rock of Ages, I own both sets

Video Games

Sega Dreamcast is coming

X-Men fighting game coming to PlayStation One.

Tomb Raider film is coming, no actress has been chosen yet.

Superman is coming to Nintendo 64, oooof

Metal Gear Solid is also coming

Top Ten Heroes and Villains

1.  Batman

2.  Wolverine

3.  Witchblade

4.  Spawn

5.  Captain America

6.  Deadpool

7.  The Darkness

8.  Green Lantern, Kyle Rayner

9.  Savage Dragon

10.  The Demon, which is Gene Simmons in the KISS comic

Comic Picks

Untold Tales of Spider-Man : Strange Encounter

300 : 4 of 5

Astro City 17

Avengers 9, si close to the better 10

Battle Chasers 4

Hitman 31

Iron Man 9

JLA 23, Grant Morrison and Howard Porter – Starro the Conqueror

JLA Year One 10 of 12

Justice League of America : The Nail 3 of 3

Preacher 42

Strangers in Paradise 17

Superman For All Seasons 2 of 4

Thunderbolts 19

Uncanny X-Men 360

X-Men 80

Character Profile – Angel Supergirl

Top Ten Creators

I always wished there was a way to get the two to work on a project together

Writers / Artists

1.  Kurt Busiek / Joe Madureira

2.  Joe Kelly / Michael Turner

3.  Mark Waid / Jim Lee

4.  Grant Morrison / J. Scott Campbell

5.  Grant Ennis / Alex Ross

6.  Steven T. Seagle / Andy Kubert

7.  Peter David / Chris Bachalo

8.  Kevin Smith / Adam Kubert

9.  Matt Wagner / George Perez

10.  Christina Z / John Romita Jr.

I’m pretty sure none of those pairings have happened.

Top Ten Comics

1.  Battle Chasers 1

2.  Oni Double Feature 1

3.  Thor 1

4.  KISS : The Psycho Circus 1

5. Danger Girl 1

6.  Clerks 1

7.  JLA 1

8.  Witchblade 1

9.  Uncanny X-Men 350

10.  Mage : The Hero Defined 1

June Top 100

1.  Uncanny X-Men 358

25.  X-Factor 128

75.  Legends of the DC Universe 7

100.  Ka-Zar 16

Price Guide

Uncanny X-Men 129 … $28.00

Uncanny X-Men 166 … $6.00

 

Siege Volume Two Issue 2

Posted by John Klein III on March 22, 2016
Posted in: Reviews. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

Siege V2 2

Writer Kieron Gillen

Artist Filipe Andrade

Color Artist Rachelle Rosenberg

Double Page Spreads Yasmine Putri, Kyle Strahm & Jesus Aburtov; In-Hyuk Lee

Letterer VC’s Clayton Cowles

Siege V2 2 Magik 1

The Shield.  Brand is trying to get Leah to not go after Magik.  Leah has to go, she loves her.  As she should!  Leah is sure she can find Thanos, before Kang could.  Brand isn’t looking forward to having to work with Kang, at all.  Leah believes she can find Magik and come back, before the 20th day, when the Shield is philosophized to fall, from a future Kang.  If Leah can find Magik, then Illyana can use a stepping disc to come right back.  Which, if she could do that, Illyana would be there right now.

Siege V2 2 Magik 2

How great is this double page spread?  So many pages like this, in these first two issues!

Brand’s Journal.  Brand likes Magik, immediately – who wouldn’t?  Leah and Illyana got together, as they worked well together, as they both employ magic.  So they were paired up, quite often.  Look how happy Illyana is there!  I didn’t even know she could smile!

Illyana’s prescense brings out the lighter side of Brand – which I like.

I really need to learn more about Leah, Marvel Database makes it seem like she has a complicated short history.

Siege V2 2 Magik 3

Leah is determined to go after her special lady friend.  Leah takes off, confident that she will, both, find Magik and return.

Siege V2 2 Leah Missing

15 Days Later.  5 days Before the Shield Falls.  Which is a crazy time jump!  Kang takes great pleasure in announcing his promotion, as Leah and her Hel-Ranchers have gone missing.  This news takes Brand to her knees.  She is super angry at how Kang went about telling her the news.

Apparently, if Brand fights anyone, if the other person wins – they become the Commander of the Shield.  Summers attacks Kang, so that Brand wouldn’t have to.  This makes Kang believe that Brand is weak.

Summers doesn’t live with any fear, he is like the thousandth clone, so he can be replaced.  Summers reveals that Brand doesn’t make friends easy, or at all.  She has lost few and has even lost her love of her life.

This leads to another two page spread.  Hank McCoy, Beast, has returned to the Shield.  Except he did it as a giant gross worm like creature.  Brand had to kill him with a laser, through the head.  Head shot, boom!

Brand hasn’t loved anything, ever since.  Kang respects Brand now, as her underlings have such loyalty for her.

Later.  Leonardo Da Vinci reveals that Thanos is seeking a glove, one might even call it – an Infinity Gauntlet.  Kang suspects the future Kang was a fake, as any Kang should be a master of the timestream.

Brand wonders what would Fury do, and this segues us to a flashback. Fury believes that Brand is too hard on people.

Brand asks the robots, Unit and another Unit.  There is no Thanos in their database.  Units access the Perfection database, the Ultron database.  This is what the Ultrons have been waiting for, as the Unit robots are bombarded.  The Units believe in 47 years, the Ultrons will own the wastelands – but not the Wastelands where Old Man Logan is from.   Every week, the Ultrons attack one part of the Shield, severely weakening it.

Siege V2 2 Kitty Pride 1

I had to read this page, so many times!

Ms. America calls the pride of blue kitties, Kitty Pride – but I thought she was calling Kate of Bishop, that she was Kitty Pryde.  It was pretty confusing.  I think the cats being blue, like Beast – really threw me off.  Hopefully they appear in anther issue, so that I can make sense of it all.  So it is like five cats, that share a hive mind, like the Cuckoos?  That’s my guess.

On the Wall.  The issue ends with Brand seeing who is leading the Ultrons.  It is Nick Fury!  It looks like the Fury, as he did as the final boss fight of Avengers Alliance 2, but all purple.

Siege 2’s Last Page –

Siege V2 2 Fury Robot

Ultimate Alliance 2 –

Ultimate Alliance 2 Nick Fury Boss Fight

Well, I guess they are not that similar but that was the impression I got.

The official countdown, in Two Days, the Shield will fall.

Bragging Rights : Heroclix – Shadowcat

Posted by John Klein III on March 21, 2016
Posted in: Bragging Rights, Heroclix, Toy. Leave a comment

I own this, from the Sinister collection.  At one point, this was the only Kitty we had in the game.  She wasn’t given much love with the paint job.

Heroclix Shadowcat Sinister

Master of Kung Fu Volume Two Issue 4

Posted by John Klein III on March 20, 2016
Posted in: Reviews. Tagged: , , , , , . Leave a comment

Master of Kung Fu V2 4

Writer Haden Blackman

Penciler Dalibor Talajic

Inker Goran Sudzuka

Colorist Miroslav Mrva

Letterer VC’s Travis Lanham

Issue opens with Shang Chi giving us his origin story.  Emperor Zu forged his heart out of the ebon blade, his eyes are made of infinity gems, his mind is a cosmic cube, he was baptized in in the River Styx.  Shang Chi was still born, until his father breathed the Phoenix force into his lungs.  His training was intense – If he wanted some water, he had to fight foes, every time.  Every night, was a terror.  Every playmate was an assassin.  He grew to be the greatest student.

Master of Kung Fu V2 4 Kitten 1

I like how, after three pages of amazing art – he just shrugs this off.  He mostly likely was born from one of Zu’s many women.  Why he is explaining this to Red Sai and Iron Fist, is beyond me.  Iron Fist comes at Shang Chi hard and fast.  He’s still upset that Chi killed his master.

Master of Kung Fu V2 4 Kitten 2

Shang Chi reveals Zu’s master plan, to have Chi and Iron Fist beat each other, so that they are weak for Zu.  Red Sai gets a cheap shot, as Red Sai’s blade slices Shang Chi’s forehead.

Master of Kung Fu V2 4 Kitten 3

Shang Chi falls to his knees.  Red Sai states that the blade has poison on it.

Master of Kung Fu V2 4 Kitten 4

I can’t believe, that I didn’t see this reveal coming . . . Red Sai is Elektra!  She is the other most famous fighter in the Marvel Universe, who hadn’t been in this series.  Elektra was suppose to kill Tuan, the Master of the Iron Fist, but she couldn’t.  Zu threatened to kill her but Shang Chi stepped up and did the deed.  It is a pretty awesome reveal.  Red Sai, it was so obvious but I wasn’t thinking about it.

Master of Kung Fu V2 4 Kitten 5

Kitten pleads with Iron First to heal Shang Chi, as he had no choice but to kill Tuan.  Iron Fist states that there must have been another way.

Master of Kung Fu V2 4 Kitten 6

Iron Fist knows that Shang Chi is the best hope for K’un Lun, so he does heal him.

Master of Kung Fu V2 4 Kitten 7

This drains Iron Fist, good thing he isn’t needed for the rest of the issue.

Master of Kung Fu V2 4 Kitten 8

With Elektra’s head band, for luck, Kitten and Shang Chi enter the Thirteenth Chamber.

The fight between father and son, is rather intense.  The art team out does themselves here.  Neither Zu or Shang Chi hold anything back.  Zu makes the mistake of making fun of Shang’s new school, the Lower Caste (the X-Men).  This inspires Shang Chi to just wail on Zu.  There may be ten rings but he has learned an eleventh!

Master of Kung Fu V2 4 Kitten 9

This new move is very much like Grey Gargoyle’s power, to turn a living thing to stone.  He has learned this move, so that he can turn Kitten solid, again.  As she is like a sprite, or a shadow.  Haden has worked all of Kitty Pryde’s nicknames, into one sentence!  Well, I guess, Ariel, isn’t used but that’s okay.

Master of Kung Fu V2 4 Lock 1

Issue ends with Shang Chi as the emperor.  This was a very great series, probably my third favorite behind Star Lord & Kitty Pryde and Years of Future Past.  Inferno and Giant Size Little Marvel AvX are up there too, I guess I just made a top five list.  The only other series I’m reading, thus far, is X-Tinction Agenda.

This creative team should be given a shot at the X-Men, or a Kitty Pryde solo series!

Lock shows up on the last page too!

Letters Page

Posted by John Klein III on March 19, 2016
Posted in: Uncategorized. Tagged: , , . Leave a comment

Marvel use to do a better job of having a Letters Page in their titles.  I was lucky enough to get two letters printed!

Deadpool 56 – September 2001

Deadpool 56 Letter Page

New Exiles 11 – November 2008

New Exiles 11 Letter Page

As you can see from the Deadpool letter, I was quite young and from New Exiles, that I was a hardcore Kitty Pryde and Lockheed fan.  I do like how it timed out so that Cat Pryde responded to my letter.  That was a great day!

I know some titles still offered to send an e-mail to the title, and I really need to do that with these titles that I buy as I want to make sure editorial knows they have a fan out there.

Deadpool 56 is a fun issue (I am a sucker for the Siryn / Deadpool relationship) but I will eventually review issue 11 of New Exiles.

I also got my letter printed in Groot 3 –

Groot 3 Letters Page

I told so many people at Hastings!

Groot 3

Posted by John Klein III on March 18, 2016
Posted in: Reviews. Tagged: , , , , . Leave a comment

Groot 3

Writer Jeff Loveness

Artist Brian Kesinger

Color Artist Vero Gandini

Letterer Jeff Eckleberry

I own this, just because they printed my letter at the back!  Thanks editorial team!  Before that page, these events happened!

Last issue ended with Silver Surfer and Dawn Greenwood, colliding with Groot.  She is concerned, as all he can say is, I am Groot.  Surfer trie to explain that is all he says.  Surfer references Guardians Team-Up 8, as the last time the two heroes have seen each other.  Surfer starts “surferizing” which is the best term I’ve seen for his sweet soliloquies Dawn wants to help Groot.

What are the chances of two people running into each other, in the vastness of space?

Surfer agrees to help Groot find the person he is looking for.  We know that person to be Rocket.  Groot has a tracker, but it seems to be defective.  Groot is super sad, and Dawn decides to let the two space super heroes have a moment.  She takes Toomie, the name of his board – I should read Dan Slott and Mike Allred’s Silver Surfer, for any questions that I may have.  .

Loveness and Kesinger, and the rest of the art team – give us a nice page origin story for Silver Surfer.

I do like Dawn calling him, Norrin, they are clearly friends.

A planet is in danger of a cosmic storm and the trio go to try to save lives.  The planet inhabitants are pigs, who are awfully cute.  This was all a trap, caused by Acari.  I guess he is a villain, he didn’t think he would get an A-Lister like the Silver Surfer.  Acari enjoys absorbing the power cosmic.  This is Acari’s first appearance.  Since Silver Surfer is losing his powers, Dawn can no longer breathe on this alien planet.

Acari isn’t afraid of Groot, as he is a tree and Acari feeds off of suns.  Groot is fought off but Groot makes time to grow some leaves, so that Dawn can breathe.  A young piglet gives Groot an extensive cord.  He plugs one end into the green cloud like matter, that is Acari.  Groot holds the other end, essentially grounding the electricity that is Acari.

Acari blows up, just in time as Silver Surfer was losing his chrome.  He starts regaining his strength and permanetly gives Dawn the gift of air, sweet breathable air.

Dawn puts a blanket around Norrin, a new sensation for him.  It looks like they were about to kiss but Groot ruins the moment.  Norrin starts to monologue but he places his head on Dawn’s shoulder and falls asleep.

The inventive piglet has fixed Groot’s tracker.  The adults give Groot a sweet tractor like ship.  Before Groot takes off, Dawn tells him that if he is ever in Massachusetts, she knows a good bed and breakfast.

Midway through the comic, I was wondering how Loveness was going to write Norrin and Dawn out of the series, as why wouldn’t Surfer see the rescue of Rocket, through to the end.

Groot 3 Letters Page

If I see a Letters Page in a back of a comic, I will definitely throw an e-mail at mheroes@marvel.com and let them know it is okay to print.  Now, I’m not sure if that works for every comic or just comics that are overseen by a particular editor.  Devin @edevinlewis, printed this one but my letter for Howard the Duck 4, wasn’t printed in five.  Five was the last issue, of that series, but they looked to have printed letters that encapsulated the series.

Other Looseleaf letters are – Ashely, Derick T, me!, Alex, Rick O and Scott K.  I’m not sure why mine was the only one that listed their city and state, maybe I’m the only letter writer over the page of 30?  That’s my guess.

ROM 65

Posted by John Klein III on March 17, 2016
Posted in: Reviews. Tagged: , , , , , , . Leave a comment

ROM 65

Story Bill Mantlo

Art Steve Ditko & P. Craig Russell

Letters Janice Chang

Colors Petra Scotese

Cover Dated April 1985

It is St. Patrick’s Day, and we continue to celebrate it here, at S&FwM with a spotlight issue of . . . Shamrock!

The cover states this is the “Final Conflict” but it isn’t the final issue, there is one more after this.  This is, though, my last issue that I have of the series.

I didn’t know that Steve Ditko did the art for this issue, that’s outstanding – as is the art!

Inside front cover ad is for Bill Mantlo’s Cloak and Dagger, that is now going bi-monthly!  Art by Rick Leonardi and Terry Austin.

ROM 65 recap

We get a brief recap bubble of what has happened.  The Dire Wraiths, ROM’s greatest foes, have cast a spell that has frozen him in place.

The event known as, WorldMerge, is occurring.  The Dire Wraiths can’t go home and they can’t take over the Earth – they are going to merge the two worlds.  The Dire Wraiths have even corrupted our Sun!  Poor ROM is forced to watch this process unfold.

The human race, not willing to depend on costumes, has spent billions of dollars (in a matter of days) to create a space station that is a giant weapon, as well.  The station is called, The NeoNeutralizer.  Forge, of the X-Men, helped build it and is on the station.  Henry Gyrich is also up in space with Forge.  Forge needs ROM’s Neutralizer, to power the weapon.  Gyrich wants all of the aliens off the planet, then he wants Forge to turn the weapon onto the superhumans – both mutants and regular folks with superpowers.

As ROM is stuck in his space, hordes of Dire Wraiths have come to taunt him.  Every Dire Wraith is present.  If only ROM could fire his gun, he could send them all to Limbo – but not Magik’s Limbo.

There is a half page ad for Rocket Raccoon’s first miniseries – by Bill Mantlo, Mike Mignola and Al Gordon.

ROM, the greatest of the spaceknights of Galador, has been fighting Dire Wraiths for two hundred years.

As soon as ROM wonders why Earth’s heroes haven’t come yet, they come!

ROM 65 Kitty Pryde 1

All of the big names are there!  That’s Kitty Pryde on the left there, in that very generic purple shirt.  She’s below Captain (Monica) Marvel and Valkyrie’s knife and above Mockingbird there.  I’m struck with the thought about how many of these characters are in Facebook’s Avengers Alliance game.  Captain America, Beta Ray Bill, Scarlet Witch, Hercules, Tigra, Vision, Mockingbird, Shadowcat, Valkyrie, Beast, Hercules, Iceman, Colossus & Wonder Man (the worst!), Wolverine, Iron Man, Angel and Black Knight.  Others who are not in the game are – Moondragon, Namor, Starfox (which makes sense as potential rapist, doesn’t seem like a great character to play as) and that Etrigan looking fellow to the right.  Now that I’m looking closer, that’s Nightcrawler between Colossus and that off model Wolverine.

We’ll know that is Shadowcat by the next image.

There is a sweet two page spread but my computer is ruined by this two page ad (that must be a pull out) for Mark Jewelers.  Who was reading this issue, saw this ad, and threw down $540 on a ring?

I’ve already scanned the right side of the page, before I realized the setup.

We get team pages –

The West Coast Avengers – Tigra, Wonder Man, Iron Man, Mockingbird and Hawkeye.

ROM 65 Kitty Pryde 2

The Avengers – Captain Marvel, Hercules, Black Knight, Captain America, Vision, Scarlet Witch, Beta Ray Bill (when was he an Avenger?) and Starfox.

The Uncanny X-Men!  Colossus, Kitty Pryde (really not sure why she didn’t get a costume), Rogue, Nightcrawler, Professor Xavier (even!) and Wolverine, who is purposely in a Ditko designed costume.

ROM 65 Shamrock

The Dynamic Defenders – Iceman, Angel, Valkyrie, that Etrigan fellow, Beast and Moondragon.

From Russia, the Sensational Soviet Super-Soliders.

And as this clearly came out after Mantlo’s Contest of Champions – Shamrock and Captain Britain (in that horrible costume!).  This is the only time Shamrock appears in the comic, but it counts.

A slew of humans arrive too including ROM’s supporting cast – Rick Jones, Brandy Clark and Cindy Adams.  Cindy’s mind is being shared by a Dire Wraith – that will be important later.  Brandy has a thought of how to break the Dire Wraiths’ spell.  She kisses ROM (driving Rick to jealousy) and that does break the spell!  The Dire Wraiths are evil, so a act of kindness, undoes their magic.  Sort of like a Care Bear Stare, I guess.

ROM starts sending Dire Wraiths to Limbo.  We see Captains America and Marvel helping out.

Cindy gets a headache, as the alien voice in her head, tells her that they need to stop fighting on Earth and go stop the actual threat in space.  ROM realizes she is right and takes off.

There is an ad for the Power Pack and Amazing Spider-Man Tips on Ways to Prevent Sexual Abuse.  Essentially, don’t let anyone touch your body.  If no one believes you, you keep telling someone until they do believe you.  Also, it isn’t your fault.

Forge and Gyrich are arguing about the mutants’ motivation in fighting for Earth.

ROM plugs his gun into the cannon.

Bullpen Bulletins.  Web of Spider-Man 1 is coming, making three monthly Spider-Man titles.  ROM 65 is also promoted.  It’s been building up for over five years, and now it’s coming to a mind-numbing conclusion!  That’s right, it’s the end of the Wraith War, with the Dire Wraiths making an all-out assault on mankind!  Standing between them and victory are ROM, the Avengers, the Defenders, and the X-Men!  (But where are the Fantastic Four?  Find out in FF # 277!) Story by Bill Mantlo!  Art by Steve Ditko and P. Craig Russell!

The Checklist, the ones I’ll be interested in –

Fraggle Rock 1
Thing 22
Daredevil 217
New Mutants 26
Web of Spider-Man 1
Iceman 3
Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars 12 – The end of the war to end all wars!
Amazing Spider-Man 263
Captain Ameica 304
Indiana Jones 26
Power Pack 9
Micronauts 7
Alpha Flight 21
Doctor Strange 70
Dune 1
Incredible Hulk 306
Avengers 254
X-Men 192
Power Man / Iron Fist 116
GI Joe 34
Fantastic Four 276
Iron Man 193
Spectacular Spider-Man 101
Defenders 142
Star Wars 94
Thor 354
KItty Pryde and Wolverine 6
Doctor Who 7
Marvel Age 25

I wonder if this issue is suppose to take place after Kitty Pryde and Wolverine, when Kitty was inbetween hero identities, and possibly outfits?

Gyrich, if you give him two pages to talk, gets more and more racist with each new panel.  During Gyrich’s madness, the cannon ray is undoing all of the damage from the MergeWorld event.  The day is saved!

I imagine the next and final issue is used to wrap up any subplots that may have needed to be tied up.

Back cover ad is for Star Comics, with five new titles coming!  Planet Terry, Peter Porker the Spectacular Spider-Ham, Wally the Wizard, Top Dog and Royal Roy.  They join favorites – Heathcliff, Ewoks, Starberry Shortcake, Get Along Gang, Muppet Babies and Fraggle Rock.

Giant Size Little Marvel AvX 3

Posted by John Klein III on March 16, 2016
Posted in: Reviews. Tagged: , , , , , , . Leave a comment

Giant Size Little Marvel AvX 3

Words and Art Skottie Young

Colors Jean-Francois Beaulieu

Letters Jeff Eckleberry

The issue opens with the theme song getting weaker and lazier.  There is a fun editor note, stating that Young has been punished.  The twins, Zoe and Zack, are going to visit both Clubhouses, the X-Men get to go first.

The X-Men have a 400 inch television, that is in 6-D, so Fing Fang Foom, can come out of the television set to kill them.  Iceman has made a very dangerous roller coaster.

Giant Size Little Marvel AvX 3 Lockheed 1

Look how cute Kitty and Lockheed are, in that top panel!  I love it so much!

Wolverine is trying to sell the fastball special, as not being dangerous but it really is!

Beast turns Zoe into a Hulk like character and Zack is turned into a mouse.

Giant Size Little Marvel AvX 3 Magik 1

The final stop on the tour, is the Danger Room!  Zoe handles herself well.  Magik gets to make an appearance, so she is three for three!

Avengers Clubhouse.  Iron Man isn’t sure why everyone loves the X-Men’s training simulation room.  Cap has to explain that is is because it is called, Danger!  Iron Man reverses Beast’s transformation.

On the page that has the Capture the Flag game, does anyone else have black ink spots on the rope, next to Hawkeye?  It doesn’t look like part of the page.  As there are light ink spots on the opposite page.

The clubhouse is also connected to Asgard.  Captain America has a sad fitness room, but they have to pass it so that they can go into the super bouncing room, that Spider-Man provides with his webbing.  Wolverine is in the room too, as they let anyone be Avengers.

Iron Man has made a special suit of armor, so that the twins’ minds can control, at the same time.  Zoe tries to explain that twins’ minds don’t work like that.  Their duel brains make the armor blow up.

The twins are rocketed out of the clubhouse.  They end up in the hand of Galactus, who has Thanos in his other hand.  I imagine this is the Proper Thanos.  Thanos reveals that their sky has a ceiling, that is invisible.  Which has been a question that I’ve had, about Battleworld.  If you fly high enough, wouldn’t you see the giant walls that keeps the regions apart?  Apparently, there are invisible barriers.

Issue ends with the Guardians of the Galaxy, making a play for the twins to join their team.  Which, on the opposite page, has an ad for the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy cartoon, coming to Disney XD, September 26.

Issue four has Illyana’s soulsword on the cover, so I’m for sure committed to the next issue.

Bragging Rights : Heroclix – Shadowcat

Posted by John Klein III on March 15, 2016
Posted in: Bragging Rights, Heroclix, Toy. Leave a comment

I got this for Christmas, from the Wolverine and the X-Men collection.  They made her removable from the base so that she can be included in the Excalibur set.

Heroclix Shadowcat Wolverine and the X-Men

Star Lord and Kitty Pryde 1

Posted by John Klein III on March 14, 2016
Posted in: Fun With YouTube, Reviews, Songs. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , . 3 Comments

Star Lord and Kitty Pryde 1

Writer Sam Humphries

Artist Alti Firmansyah

Colorist Jessica Kholinne

Letters VC’s Joe Sabino

Cover Yasmine Putri

I was really hoping that the Action Figure variant was going to be this Kitty Pryde but it makes sense that Quill gets the first action figure variant.  I’m hoping she gets the next one.  This comic isn’t quite the ride I thought it was going to be.

Star Lord and Kitty Pryde 1 Recap

As of Secret Wars 2015 4, Quill is still with the Proper Marvel Universe Characters – Spider-Man, Black Panther, Reed Richards, Captain Marvel and Thor.  So I’m not sure how Quill separates from the main group, to make this issue possible.  Maybe issue five explains that.

Issue opens in a nightclub.  The bartender wears a shirt that resembles Black Bolt’s symbol.  Quill is a lounge singer.  In this region, no one knows Disney songs, so he comes off like a genius.  Quill recounts the end of the universe, he doesn’t quite understand how all of this happen.  We are suppose to ask Reed, if we want answers.  He says that “in the chaos, he got separated” so that might be all the explanation that we get.  Not sure how Secret Wars 2015 4 delayed this title, so much, as it seems like this one page doesn’t spoil nor tie in, to the series, at all.

Quill is in Manhattan, so it must be on that region of Battleworld.  A lady offers to buy him a martini, but he turns it down.

Outside, a Drax with a hair style that will put Conan O’Brien’s hair to shame, it is so high!  Drax calls Quill “Steve Rogers” as it was the first name Quill could come up with.  Doom’s goons are looking for him, so he has to go by a different name.  Drax knew a Steve Rogers, from a few domains over.  Which is an odd comment, as I thought no one was suppose to know about the other domains.  This Drax likes to tell jokes like how the proper one likes to fight.

Star Lord and Kitty Pryde 1 Shadowat 1

We get to the co-star of the title!  Look at that dress, it is clearly inspired by the Proper Kitty Pryde’s cosmic upgrade.  There have been interviews stating that this is suppose to be the Age of Apocalypse Shadowcat, but I’m not sure if that is obvious, with this issue.

Kitty Pryde is here to meet with someone.  That person is . . . Gambit, the Collector!!  Gambit has ordered a St. Croix.  Which Google only tells me there is a bottled water but maybe I’m not doing a search right.  Kitty wants to keep this, strictly business.  Gambit states that she is an agent of Valeria Von Doom’s Foundation, so that makes sense, as AoA Shadowcat was leading Generation Next.  This does make me want to track Runaways better, but she wasn’t mentioned or seen, in the first issue of that series.

Shadowcat is after an anomaly, and Gambit wants his reward.  He hands her a lock of hair, the origin of the hair is unknown.  She also calls this “Doomforsaken Manhattan.”   Since the Foundation doesn’t know the origins, it proves that the Gospel of Doom may not be completely true.  The students of the Runaways title, come from various regions – so they know what is up.  Plus, Valeria lives with God Doom, so she sees him – all the time.

Gambit’s reward?  Longshot empowered blades, made from his very own bones!  That’s pretty intense!  Gambit takes back the lock of hair, apparently.

Star Lord and Kitty Pryde 1 StarKat 1

Quill is about to start his next set, we see that Strong Guy is part of her band.  Not sure who the wolf guy is and maybe that is Polaris, with the green hair?

Quill starts to sing, Once Upon A Dream, from Sleeping Beauty.  Which is the song he sung, before proposing to the Proper Kitty Pryde.

Thanks to YouTuber LordDaine, for hosting this video!

Which is something that you get, when you have the same writer write the Secret Wars Tie In series, that wrote Quill’s last series.  Good for you, Humphries!

Quill then sees Kitty Pryde!

Star Lord and Kitty Pryde 1 StarKat 2

I love reading Quill’s mental commentary.  Kitty is the best lady in the galaxy.

Firmansyah does a good job of recreating many of Paco Medina’s moments.  I’m surprised her wearing the banana costume didn’t make it.

Star Lord and Kitty Pryde 1 StarKat 3

Quill leaves the stage, so fast!

Gambit tries to make a move on Kitty but she pops some metal claws – so that should be enough to prove she is AoA Shadowcat.  How she isn’t dead, is beyond me but I’m also cool with it.

Gambit and Kitty did hook up, once in New Avalon but Kitty is quick to tell him – that was a mistake.

Quill tells Gambit to back off.  Gambit isn’t happy that Kitty brought someone.

Kitty doesn’t recognize this blonde fellow.  I really do wish that we saw Gambit take back the lock of hair, I feel like this is an important story beat, but wasn’t shown.

Star Lord and Kitty Pryde 1 StarKat 4

Gambit charges the champagne bottle and throws it at the non-couple.  Drax, is the club owner.  Gambit quickly throws the Longshot blades, so he didn’t get to keep them long.

Strong Guy is the drummer of the band.  Storm is at the club, she was enjoying a drink.

Star Lord and Kitty Pryde 1 StarKat 5

Kitty wants Gambit to be stopped, but he is too quick.  Kitty is worried about the backlash of Valeria, who for all purposes, is the daughter of God Doom.  So I would be afraid of her wrath, as well.  The hair is gone as are the blades.  Quill doesn’t pick up on the importance of what is happening.

Star Lord and Kitty Pryde 1 StarKat 6

Quill, gets caught up in the moment, and kisses Kitty.

Star Lord and Kitty Pryde 1 StarKat 7

She does not like that!  His face gets punched, so hard!  His blood falls on the machine, that detects origins.

Star Lord and Kitty Pryde 1 StarKat 8

Issue ends with Kitty learning that Quill is a living anomaly.  She handcuffs him to her and starts running towards Doomgard.  The last place Quill wants to be!

Such a great first issue!