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Thursday, May 28, 2020

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe Minicomic Collection (Fantasy)



By Various Authors and Illustrators

Publisher: Dark Horse Books (November 3, 2015)

Hardcover, 1232 pages

Amazon Link

For those who grew up playing with toys in the 80s, you probably picked up a few He-Man characters. Maybe you played with Ram Man, or Evilin, or Man-E-Faces, or Triclops, or Fisto, or Stinkor - not to mention the titular He-Man and Skeletor - and so on. If you did, then you also received a mini-comic with the purchase. A little twelve page booklet, depicting the figure you just bought in a violent story. As you can guess, this volume collects all of them together for the first time, plus two which were never released, and a script for a minicomic surround the Faker He-Man character - a notoriously unpopular toy, which was supposed to be a clone replica of He-Man made by Skeletor, so it was just the He-Man model painted blue. 

I bought a lot of the first and second edition of figures in the Master of the Universe line, so most of the initial ones in this book, I was familiar with - or vaguely remember from the dim memories of youth - but after that it was a discovery of old characters and toys which I had completely forgotten about. The purpose of the mini-comics was to introduce the reader to how the new character fit into the developing MOTU world. Kids often mimicked what they read in the books, and then developed new adventures afterwards based on these first premises. These mini-comics were the key to He-Man’s longevity, as you bought the toy not just for the figure, but the story that went with it. 


He-Man came out before the toy industry had standardized how to sell a toy line as they did in the 80s. Usually, the toy line, cartoon, and comic book were all coordinated together with a corresponding story bible. He-Man had the mini-comics and the toys. All the rest came later, including the story bible. So eventually there is a certain amount of retconning as the world developed. 

First thing you’ll notice is that He-Man’s name is just He-Man and he leaves his barbaric tribe looking for adventure before coming across the Sorceress and Man-at-Arms (which is his real name then, not a title). It isn’t until the Filmantation cartoon do we see a whiff of Prince Adam and Orko. The most amount of retcons deal with Skeletor’s past. First he comes from an alternate dimension where his features are normal for his race. Then he is an acolyte of Hordak - this is when Hordak was meant to be a foe of He-Man, rather than She-Ra. Then he is possibly the brother of King Randor of Eternia and thus He-Man’s uncle. And so on, and so on. Personally I believe they should’ve just kept things ambiguous like DC did with the Joker. 

The mini-comics cover a thirty year span of publication and so the art and writing varies. The first ones are the best art wise, in my opinion, then slag off a lot, before roaring up to greatness again by the end. What you have to keep in mind, those readers not touched by nostalgia, is that most of these were written for 8-year-olds, while the last few were written for people in their thirties.  

  For more readings, try books by Rex Hurst.


Thursday, May 21, 2020

Alpha Flight Omnibus (Superhero)



by John Byrne (Author & Illustrator)

Publisher: Marvel (February 14, 2017)

Hardcover, 1248 pages

Amazon Listing

Why do people constantly laugh at me when I tell them I collect Alpha Flight? Somehow among comic’s collectors the series became a joke title, something subpar, like The Champions or Power Pack. Is it because their Canadian? Or where they compared to the X-titles and found wanting. It’s true that this group has not measured up to the Avengers, but since they originated in the pages of the X-Men (Wolverine used to be a part of Alpha Flight) they were always the also-rans of the mutant titles. 

Well let me tell you, your negative opinion of the series is wrong. These issues here, mostly written and drawn by John Byrne, are hard hitting, brutal at times, and examples of some of the best hero comics done by an artist in his prime. If you don’t believe me, take a gander in this book. There are over twelve hundred pages to prove you wrong. Granted these omnibuses are expensive and hard to carry around, but they are made with top notch quality, and I don’t regret the twenty five dollars I spent on it - We are in a buyer’s market for comics. 


The omnibus collects Alpha Flight 1 - 29; X-Men 109, 120-121, 139-140;  ; X-men and Alpha Flight 1-2; X-men/Alpha Flight 1-2 -which is a retro story fitting between issues 6 and 7 of the original series. Incredible Hulk 272, 313, and Annual 8; Marvel Two-In-One 83 - 84; Machine Man 18; Materials from Marvel Team-Up Annual 7 and Secret Wars II # 4. Quite a lot and all of it presented in chronological order as per the Shooter style, except for the last two issues. 

While the art is amazing, the writing is of its time. As the comics progressed over the years, less and less written material, fewer and fewer captions, appeared on the page. John Byrne is old-school and there are descriptions galore. This isn’t bad, in fact I found it damn refreshing, but buckle up those who just like to look at the pictures. 


Alpha Flight was a Canadian government sponsored superhero team, founded by James Hudson and Department H, to protect Canada’s interests. They are introduced in the pages of X-Men and expand to their own series after the funding is pulled by the government, and Hudson decided to go rogue, continuing the group independently. Strangely, the first ten issues are more of an anthology of the various characters' solo (or near-solo) adventures, than a team book. Alpha Flight rarely appears all together in a cohesive unit. Not that the stories are bad, but it’s not exactly what I expected. 

The series does not pull any punches. Characters are killed- a lot more than you remember.  It’s obvious from the start that Northstar is gay. Aurora constantly grapples with mental illness. However, apart from those on Omega Flight, most of the villains are forgettable. Does anyone remember Deadly Ernest, Gilded Lily, or Master of the World? I’m sure if you read the comic back in the day, these villains slip your mind. Still, I’m glad I have this volume. 

  For more readings, try books by Rex Hurst.


Tuesday, May 19, 2020

Solar, Man of the Atom: Second Death (Superhero)



by Jim Shooter, Don Perlin (Illustrator), Barry Windsor-Smith (Illustrator)

Publisher: Valiant (1994)

Softcover, 150 pages

Amazon Listing

This is the four issues of the second arc rebrand by Valiant comics of Dr. Solar: Man of the Atom. It was written by Jim Shooter after his ignoble exit from Marvel, where he help to solidify some of the best plots for Marvel and steered it to number one in the industry. Plus he wrote Secret Wars, which was my introduction to the comic industry. That and G.I. Joe # 24. Shooter attempted to recreate the second golden age of comics (the 1980s) over which he founded and presided over a new company.

Unlike the other company to attempt to do this in the 1970s - Atlas/Seaboard - Valliant made a valiant effort. Its downfall was the same reason nearly every other small publishing company went bust in the mid-1990s, the implosion of the comic industry. The company was sold off to Acclaim Entertainment and while Valiant is technically still around, it isn’t the same company. But then what comic company is nowadays?


Dr. Solar, if you remember, was originally published by Gold Key comics in the 1960s and it reads as such. It was a cut above the others with a consistent villain and some of the best covers ever produced for comic. When reincarnating the character however, Shooter took the route that D.C. did when reintroducing the Flash back into their fold. The old series was a comic that the new protagonist of the series used to read as a kid. In this case however, his nuclear accident, giving him powers over all energy, also allowed him to cause the manifestation of the original fictional Man of the Atom.

What has happened previously is that the new Solar, has accidentally destroyed the world and now travels back in time to prevent himself from recreating the accident. Not only does he have to struggle against his younger self, but the new Solar, unaware that he is fictional, brands him a villain. A decent story, but it might get a little confusing if you hadn’t read the previous volume Alpha and Omega. Still if you like the older Solar, you will appreciate this. The author has obvious affection for the character, while still making a few jokes at the old series expense.

  For more readings, try books by Rex Hurst.



Wednesday, May 13, 2020

Starve (Science Fiction)



by Brian Wood  (Author), Danijel Zezelj (Artist), Dave Stewart (Artist)

Publisher: Image Comics (January 19, 2016)

Softcover, 120 pages

Amazon Listing

This is part one of a two-part series. In a dystopian future, the most popular TV show is Starve, a decadent, often illegal, cooking show using violence and illegal animals to create truly exotic dishes. Its creator returns after years in self-imposed exile and believes the show is now a stain on a once-noble profession. He is ready to go to war to stop it. Three things stand in his way: his arch rival, his revenge-fueled ex-wife, and his adult daughter Angiel.

Every time Brian Wood comes up with a new comics, it's always something which hasn't been done in comics before. From alternate history, to stories of the Vikings, to a future warzone that was once NYC, etc. This story is no exception. The premise sounds like a boring idea, but the execution is amazing. Somehow the artist and writer made the preparation of food gripping and drama ridden on the flat page.


Zezilj's art is moody and expressive, perfectly suited to the dystopian nightmare world where the financial divide is nearly irreparably distant. There’s always something deeper going on than the surface layer of the story that Brian Wood tells. Starve is about the gap between the rich and the poor. It’s about the over-consumption of resources by the privileged. It’s about the waste and excess and greed that kills the environment and assures that the poor will continue to starve. It’s about the difference between pride in doing something well and the desire to be recognized for doing something well.

  For more readings, try books by Rex Hurst.



Monday, May 11, 2020

Confessions of a Cereal Eater (Autobiography)



by Rob Maisch  (Author), Bo Hampton (Illustrator), Scott Hampton (Illustrator)

Publisher: Nbm Pub Co (February 1, 1996)

Hardcover, 64 pages

Amazon Listing

This is an unusual book. People seem to either love it or hate it, depending on how close in age and economic situation they are to the author. This is a collection of five autobiographical tales of varying success, detailing the misspent youth - more or less - of the author. The stories range from when he was very young, to early middle age. The stories of early age and high school are the best, ones which everyone can relate to easily. However, he shows himself to be sexually repressed, socially awkward, and kind of a jerk as he grows older. One who still has passions for the joys of his youth, but can’t emotionally handle adult situations and setbacks without childish explosions or sulking.

 

Each story is drawn by a different artist, but there is a consistency in look and tone running across all of the stories, and remains one of the strongest reasons to read the book. The first story, “Slow Dance” deals with the author’s tribulations at a middle school dance where he’s bullied by jerks, turned down by girls, but eventually the miracle of a first kiss occurs. In “Mean Old Man” the author and some of his buddies take on the neighborhood crank and eventually do enough to run him out of town.

The next tale, “Griffin Love and the Hooker” is a hearsay story about how a pal of the author claims he lost his virginity. A time jump happens in the next story, “Klingon Battle Helmet”, where the writer is in his 20s. He and a friend rip-off a kid with a fake Star Trek collectible. Finally the last one, “Back in the Saddle” is a retread of the old homily “never meet your heroes.” As the author, now manager of a plaza, brings the star of an old Western TV show to promote it and deals with all normal problems surrounding an alcoholic washed-up celebrity. A decent read for the right price.

   For more readings, try books by Rex Hurst.

Wednesday, May 6, 2020

Cycle of Fire (Superhero)


by Rik Levins  (Author)  

Publisher: Paragon Publications (1991)

Softcover, 41 pages

Amazon Listing

A good old fashioned superhero comic. The kind, it seems, the modern "pros" have forgotten how to write - or else it would take them an extra hundred pages to get the story across. This is essentially a double sized issue packaged as a graphic novel. There is no more to the story. This is all that was ever published and that's a little sad for it was a solid story.

This obviously was meant to be the first part of a series in an expanded universe by its publisher Paragon - a victim of the comic market crash in the mid-90s. The art is one rung below Marvel or DC, but still decently drawn. The action is fluid and keeps your interest. The dialogue is good and the story moves at a decent pace. It shows how much material could be placed in a single issue.

A woman gains superpowers after accidentally getting caught in the middle of a ritual with an alien God. She reluctantly picks up the superhero mantle called Dragonfly, but spends most of her time dealing with a psychotic cyborg, who killed her predecessor.

   For more readings, try books by Rex Hurst.



Monday, May 4, 2020

Pariah, Missouri: Answering the Call (Horror)


by Andres Salazar  (Author), JL Pescador (Illustrator)  
Publisher: Salazar Entertainment (2014)
Softcover, 112 pages

The supernatural Western has been done before, but it is still uncommon enough to be an interesting development. This book is a cut above many of its rivals due to the amazing, stylistic art and character development. It’s interesting how many of these types of stories don't bother to make interesting characters and rely on the old Clint Eastwood chestnut of the-man-with-no-name trope, the gruff barely talking man alone with a mysterious past who defeats the evil. None of that crap here.


This is the first of three books and while the story for the next is set up in this volume, a complete story is presented as well. Taking place four years before the Civil War, the boom town of Pariah is riddled with secrets. An undercover Pinkerton, recovering from a massive tragedy, arrives to investigate an underground society and runs into monsters instead, and ends up saving the town with the help of a group of social outsiders.
The town feels fully realized, with the art and water-coloring making it feel fully realized on a physical and emotional level. An excellent effort and one of the best in the genre. Well worth a look.
   For more readings, try books by Rex Hurst.