Tag: marvel masterworks

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Marvel Masterworks Daredevil Volume Three

This is a review of Marvel Masterworks Daredevil Volume Three. You can read my reviews of the first two volumes here and here. Thus far, this series has been uneven. I can sum up this particular volume in four words: great art, awful writing. Matt Murdock takes his identity hijinks to the next level when he starts pretending that he has an identical twin brother named Mike Murdock.

Matt tells Foggy Nelson and Karen Page, his law partner/friend and secretary/potential lover, that Mike is Daredevil and not him. Apparently they believe him, even though Matt and Foggy roomed together in college and Matt never mentioned having a twin brother. Oh, and Matt and Mike are never in the same room. Writer Brian Michael Bendis adapted some of this material as fodder for his own Daredevil series, where DD’s secret identity is treated as an open secret and he’s portrayed as an out-and-out narcissist.

In this volume, Matt’s antics are portrayed as funny – I guess? To me, it seems a little weird to be lying to friends, coworkers, and potential lovers. This seems like the type of storyline a kid might find funny. The Cobra/Mr. Hyde storyline starts out dopey, with Daredevil swinging around Manhattan dressed as Thor, but becomes interesting when Mr. Hyde manages to deaden DD’s other senses. Unfortunately, the climax of this storyline strains credulity.

On the plus side, we have the debut of the Leap Frog, another great weirdo Daredevil villain. The Leap Frog dresses up in a green frog costume and hops around as he robs banks. He joins the Stilt Man, The Owl, The Gladiator, and The Purple Man in the pantheon of Daredevil’s rogue gallery. Verdict: you can see the holes in the writing a mile away, as the writer is so obviously phoning it in, and the art can only take this series so far.

For Daredevil completionists only.

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Marvel Masterworks Iron Man Volume Two

This is a review of Marvel Masterworks: Iron Man Volume Two. I expected nothing from this graphic novel. That’s because the first volume – read my review here – was a mish-mash of bad art, clichés, propaganda, and poorly developed characters.

I am happy to report that the series finds its legs in the second volume. We have the usual Marvel love triangle, this being between Tony Stark, Pepper Potts (secretary), and Happy Hogan (chauffer). We have the introduction of Marvel mainstays The Black Widow and Hawkeye, as villains. The Black Widow is a Russian spy and Hawkeye is her boy toy.

I like the characterization of Hawkeye, here. Think Captain America, without Cap’s brains and sterling moral compass. In the Black Widow’s first appearance, she’s teamed with another spy named Boris (the Black Widow’s first name is Natasha). Since I watched Rocky & Bullwinkle as a kid, I found this very funny but YMMV.

We also have our first Iron Man multi-issue storyline. If you read my review of the first volume, you’ll know that Tony Stark has shrapnel in his chest and the only thing keeping him alive is his chest plate. When Tony’s heart problems worsen, he can’t take off his Iron Man armor, and his employees/only friends Happy & Pepper begin to suspect Iron Man of doing away with him!

I should mention my favorite scene of this volume. Tony invents an anti-gravity machine, but doesn’t recall exactly how he did it. When the Black Widow visits, Tony knows she’s a Russian spy, but little Tony makes him demonstrate the anti-gravity device in an effort to impress her. Thus, it is the Black Widow and not Mr. Doll or Jack Frost who comes closest to ending Iron Man’s life. Instead of putting a bullet through Tony’s head, Natasha merely gasses him and steals the device. It’s a lot of fun watching his increasingly frantic efforts to get it back.

There’s also the time Tony leaves the briefcase with his Iron Man armor behind. The armor is stolen, and Tony must use his ugly old golden armor to fight the interloper, who goes crazy during the course of their battle. Instead of telling the world that Tony Stark is Iron Man, he tells everyone that he’s Iron Man. Whew, that’s a lucky one!

Stark is written as being careless at best, unreliable at worst. I am unsure if the word ‘narcissist’ was used much back then, but it describes Tony to a tee. He’s a self-centered workaholic who is obsessed with money and has no real relationships to speak of. Maybe it’s because he’s living on borrowed time, or maybe it’s just the way he is.

A decent volume, especially if you like Iron Man!

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Marvel Masterworks: The Mighty Thor Volume Two

This is a review of Marvel Masterworks: The Mighty Thor Volume Two. I was nervous reading this graphic novel, because the first volume was so wretched. You can read my review, here. Disappointing, but I hoped it would get better, because Jack Kirby’s Thor run is regarded as a minor classic and I’d already bought the first ten volumes.

Lucky for me, this volume did get better! Jack Kirby does most of the penciling, and – if you believe him – the plotting and dialoguing as well. There’s a back-up feature called Tales of Asgard, that fleshes out the world of Asgard and adds new characters. Besides Thor, Loki and Odin, we now have Balder the Brave, Heimdall, Hela, etc.

The secret to Thor’s success, in a nutshell: moahr Asgard. The stories involving Thor’s homeland and his extended family are so much more interesting than the stories set on earth. In one issue, Loki unleashes a pair of demons on New York City. Odin the All-Father uses his powers to transport all the humans into Limbo as he and Balder the Brave join Thor in a battle royale!

We still have the Don Blake/Thor/Jane Foster/Odin love mélange. Don Blake loves Jane Foster, who loves the mighty Thor, who can’t love her back because the all-seeing Odin has cock-blocked him. Odin is supposed to be all-seeing, but his dislike of Jane Foster hinges on a misunderstanding.

There are still Thor stories set on earth. Cobra and Mr. Hyde appear in a few issues, leading to the tried-and-true formula of Thor dropping his hammer and transforming back into Don Blake. Some sequences strain believability, as when Don Blake tells Cobra and Mr. Hyde to look out a window, and transforms into Thor when their backs are turned. Neither villain is none the wiser. With great power comes great stupidity, apparently.

Recommended for Thor and Jack Kirby fans.

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Marvel Masterworks: The Amazing Spider-Man Volume Two

This is a review of Marvel Masterworks: Amazing Spider-Man Volume 2. You can read my review of the first volume, here. In this volume, the classic Ditko/Lee run continues. The rogue’s gallery fleshes out, as we meet Mysterio, Kraven the Hunter, and The Green Goblin. Spider-Man has a great rogue’s gallery, right up there with Batman and The Flash.

Speaking of rogue’s galleries, who is Spidey’s arch-nemesis? I myself think it’s Doctor Octopus, but the Green Goblin is a fine choice also. Spider-Man’s first two encounters with the Green Goblin end in a draw, whereas by that point Spidey had beaten Doctor Octopus multiple times already. OTOH, Spider-Man has a longer history with Doc Ock, because Norman Osborne spent over a decade on the shelf (read: dead) before the powers-that-be resurrected him. Bottom line: they’re both good choices.

Peter’s personal life changes. He starts dating, Betty Brant and Liz Allan. Aunt May, who at this point is only 40,000 years old, has a heart attack. Peter also quits being Spider-Man for a few issues. Spider-Man throwing his costume in the trash has happened often enough that at this point it’s a cliché, but it wasn’t back then. Bottom line: this is a creative team working at the top of their game. A must-read for fans of Spider-Man and fans of superhero comics.

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Marvel Masterworks: The Sub-Mariner Volume One

This is a review of Marvel Masterworks: The Sub-Mariner Volume One, starring the Sub-Mariner, aka Prince Namor, aka the guy with wings on his ankles. The first storyline spans over twelve issues, so points for ambition. The art is mostly done by Gene Colan, an artist I adore, but I wasn’t crazy about his inker. My main issue is Stan Lee’s script, which repeats itself and is all over the place.

The plot involves Warlord Krang’s attempts to seize the throne of Atlantis. He does this while Namor is off gallivanting on the surface world. Namor must find the Trident of Neptune, aka the MacGuffin, to regain his throne. For some reason Krang – who has Namor in his power – lets him go. Since finding the trident involves punching things, Namor is in his element.

After finding the trident and winning his crown back, the Sub-Mariner banishes Warlord Krang, who simply bides his time and awaits another opportunity. That opportunity comes when Krang tells Dorma, Namor’s beloved, that he’ll kill Namor if she doesn’t marry him, and this evil plan – uh, works. For some reason Dorma believes Warlord Krang. She and Namor are made for each other, in that they are both unbelievably gullible.

At one point Namor even wonders if he’s fit to rule, a rare moment of self-reflection. The answer is no. For all his faults Warlord Krang – Namor’s foe in this volume – would make a much stronger ruler. This is mainly because Namor has no control over his emotions. If the Hulk is a toddler, the Sub-Mariner is a 12-year old going through puberty.

Like many Marvel strongmen, he’s vulnerable to mind control, brainwashing, and amnesia. He doesn’t listen and refuses to admit when he needs help. This gets taken to ridiculous extremes in this volume, as Namor is manipulated by both the Puppet Master and the head of the Secret Empire.

The two people the Sub-Mariner most resembles are Dr. Doom and the Marvel version of Dracula. Namor is better than them in that he’s not as ruthless and doesn’t murder people for fun. He carries a streak of nobility that neither villain possesses. There are several points in this volume where Namor avoids hurting or killing humans. That’s great, but judging by this volume, he’s not an interesting enough character to sustain his own title.

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Marvel Masterworks: The Avengers Volume Two

This is a review of Marvel Masterworks: The Avengers Volume Two. You can read my review of the first volume, here. This series has the distinction of being the only title I’ve reviewed so far that finds its legs twice.

I will be honest: the first few issues of this volume are pretty wretched, mostly because of the art. But the stories aren’t great, either. In one issue the Avengers fight a Spider-Man robot in Mexico; Spider-Robot has been sent from the future by Kang the Conqueror. The Wasp is shot at the very end of an issue, mostly for shock value (it happens off-panel), and the Avengers’ search for the specialist to save her leads them to space aliens living in the North Pole. The Wasp is back the very next issue, none the worse for wear, and nobody refers to this issue again, although it does foreshadow the first signs of mental instability in Hank Pym.

The Masters of Evil make another appearance, giving Jack Kirby a chance to tie up the Baron Zemo storyline, and then the book’s creators shake the book up. They disband the old team, which wasn’t working, and give us a new lineup – Captain America, Quicksilver, The Scarlet Witch, and Hawkeye. This is a much more interesting lineup and pays dividends immediately. This volume also gives us the first appearance of The Swordsman, an intriguing character.

Uneven, but good.

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Marvel Masterworks: The Mighty Thor Volume One

I have been reading comics since 1978, and I’m here to tell you that there’s a lot of bad comics out there. By bad, I mean racist, sexist, misogynistic, homophobic, full of clichés, nonsensical, and violent. Don’t get me wrong. There are also good comics, but Marvel Masterworks: The Mighty Thor Volume One does not number among them.

Here’s the good: Jack Kirby drew some of these issues. That sums up the good. I rate Thor above the first volume of Iron Man, but that’s not a high fence to hurdle. Thor’s creators were still figuring him out as a character, which means his powers fluctuate according to the needs of the plot. In one issue Thor destroys half the earth, and in the next he’s laid low by a mobster. Thor’s personality is also in flux, in that he doesn’t have one. Sixty years later and he still doesn’t!                                                                                         

These stories reminded me of the first volume of Iron Man, a never-ending series of twelve page one-shots. The most memorable villain in this volume is Thor’s evil step-brother Loki, who gets chained up as much as Wonder Woman. Other villains include The Cobra, Mr. Hyde, a lone Lava Man, and The Radioactive Man. Most of the plots revolve around 1. Thor losing his mighty hammer and transforming back into Donald Blake, usually in the middle of a fight; 2. Thor mooning over Jane Foster.

Thor’s alter ego, Dr. Don Blake, can’t express his love to his nurse Jane Foster because he’s lame and there’s no way she could love a cripple. That’s what he tells himself, anyway. When Blake musters up the courage to tell her he’s secretly Thor, his father the mighty Odin cock-blocks him.

Two things stand out in this graphic novel. The first is an extended fantasy sequence wherein Jane Foster imagines domestic bliss as Mrs. Thor, wherein she polishes his hammer, irons his cloak, and gives him a nice, short haircut so he doesn’t look like one of those beatniks. I hope the creators were laughing their asses off when they created that sequence, because I sure was.

I can sum up the second standout in two words: chromosomatic gland. Loki hits Thor’s chromosomatic gland, which reverses Thor’s brain and leads to him raising his hand against the mighty Odin and then destroying the earth with his crazed half-brother. The issue ends with Odin hitting Thor’s chromosomatic gland and re-reversing his brain, which leads to our beloved hero regaining his nobility. Of course, the earth is still destroyed, but Odin undoes all the damage and erases everyone’s memories of the event. I’m unsure if he raises all the people his sons killed from the dead, but am assuming the creators would say nobody died.

This issue might be the worst comic I’ve ever read, and (as mentioned) I’ve read a lot of comics. I wouldn’t be surprised if this is where they got the idea of retconning Spider-Man’s marriage.

For Thor junkies only.

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Marvel Masterworks Daredevil Volume Two

This is a review of Marvel Masterworks Daredevil Volume 2. I read the first volume back in January. The second volume contains the SINGLE GREATEST DAREDEVIL STORYLINE OF ALL TIME. Emotionally, I was unprepared. If you read my review of the first volume, found here, you know of the love triangle between Matt Murdock (aka Daredevil), his partner Foggy Nelson, and their secretary Karen Page. Perhaps ‘love triangle’ is misleading, as there’s no actual love or sex involved.

No, what we have is three adults acting like lovesick teenagers, which admittedly was Daredevil’s audience at that time. Things are at an impasse until the entrance of supervillain Masked Marauder, a purple-plumed goon who gets the bright idea of dressing his menagerie of thugs up as Daredevil and having them attack Spider-Man, so the two heroes will fight while he robs banks or whatever.

His plan works. Spider-Man bursts into the law offices of Nelson & Murdock and dangles Foggy out the window because he thinks he’s Daredevil. Foggy is not Daredevil, but he starts hinting to his secretary Karen Page that he is in order to impress her. It’s a version of the ole’ ‘I was in the CIA but can’t talk about it’ bit.

Foggy takes it a step further and buys a Daredevil costume. Unfortunately, he buys the costume at the shop of The Gladiator, frustrated tailor and budding supervillain, who suggests that Foggy hire a pretend thug to beat up when he’s dressed as Daredevil, in order to impress Karen. With me so far?

The Gladiator’s plan is to eviscerate Foggy, because reasons. Unaware, Foggy and Karen take a cab to a deserted wharf, where the Gladiator awaits. Will the real Daredevil arrive in time? Will true love – or whatever this is – triumph?

I have been reading superhero comics for decades, and I haven’t read many dopier storylines, but somehow the creators (Stan Lee & John Romita) pull it off. Foggy is on the portly side, and thus can barely fit into his Daredevil costume, just one of all sorts of magical details contained within. My second favorite storyline features The Owl, a supervillain who builds an enormous mechanical owl to attack Daredevil. Later in the volume, Daredevil rides that owl like a bronco.

My biggest issue with these issues is that this version of Daredevil is dead and buried. I do think writer Mark Waid’s version of Daredevil hearkens back to these issues, but for better or worse, artist/writer Frank Miller left an indelible mark on the character.

Read this!

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Marvel Masterworks Fantastic Four Volume 2

This is a review of Marvel Masterworks: The Fantastic Four Vol. 2. This volume continues Jack Kirby (artist/plotter) and Stan Lee’s (plotter/writer) run of The Fantastic Four. Standout villains Doctor Doom and The Sub-Mariner return, coupled with appearances by newcomers such as The Super Skrull, The Impossible Man, and The Red Ghost and his Super Apes. There’s also the first of many fights between The Thing and The Incredible Hulk. The Thing comes out on top (with a little help), but I believe it’s the last fight he ever wins with The Hulk.

The characters continue to develop in interesting ways, with the creative team sanding the rough edges off The Thing and making him more like a big ole’ lovable lug. Ben Grimm can still be a nasty customer, no doubt about it, but getting a girlfriend has mellowed him out. Reed Richards’ judgment is as bad as ever. In one issue, he and the FF time travel to ancient Egypt to find a cure for Alicia Master’s (the Thing’s girlfriend) blindness, only to be imprisoned by Rama-Tut, the Pharaoh from the Future (actually Kang the Conquerer). For a guy with such a high I.Q., Reed has serious impulse control issues.  

Johnny Storm is still Johnny Storm, brainless teenager, and Sue Storm still can’t decide whether she loves Reed Richards or The Sub-Mariner. This is a head-scratcher, because whenever Sue and Namor meet The Sub-Mariner is either a) trying to destroy the Fantastic Four; b) trying to conquer humankind; c) using her as a hostage object to accomplish goals a) and b). To me, this seems stupid, but I’m no Sue Storm.

Anyway, this is the good stuff. Highly recommended.

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Marvel Masterworks Iron Man Vol. 1

This is a review of Marvel Masterworks: Iron Man Volume One. Tony Stark is a millionaire industrialist who designs weapons for the U.S. military. Some of his ideas might seem stupid to me (roller skates that allow troops to travel at 60 m.p.h.), but I’m not a genius like him.

Tony is touring Vietnam (1963, during the Vietnam War) when he’s hit by a landmine. The shrapnel penetrates his chest and injures his heart. He only has days to live, but that’s not a problem to a doer like Tony! He and another scientist design a suit of armor that also acts as a pacemaker under the not-so-watchful eye of the warlord who takes them prisoner. The less said about the warlord, the better. Suffice it to say he’s an offensive racial stereotype. Anyway, the chest plate acts as a pacemaker and the armor enables Tony to escape from the warlord. Thus, Iron Man is born!

I am unsure if anyone who made these comics is still alive…so let’s start with the positives. The twelve-page format works well (the page number is expanded in later issues). The stories are big, loud, dumb, and pretty entertaining. In one episode, Iron Man fights alongside Cleopatra, Queen of the Nile!  Iron Man’s villain gallery is goofy, mostly in a good way – Jack Frost, the Crimson Dynamo, The Melter. The standout is Mr. Doll, who shapes a lump of clay into effigies of his enemies, which he then squeezes. Mr. Doll was originally called Mr. Pain, but the Comics Code Authority wouldn’t stand for that!

The stories aren’t as well-written as other Marvel stories of that time period. Character development is minimal, and the stories are bare-bones basic. Things perk up when we meet two supporting cast members, Happy Hogan and Pepper Potts. Happy is a never-been prizefighter who acts as Tony’s chauffer. Pepper is Tony’s secretary. Happy and Pepper’s banter is entertaining in that they seem quite sincere in loathing each other. We never meet Tony’s parents, and as far as I can tell he has no friends, so he’s not living a very balanced life!

The beginning of this series is overtly political. Many of Tony’s enemies are communists, aka commies, aka Reds (the writers’ words, not mine). Stan Lee expresses regret for this in the introduction to this volume, which is interesting. I think he’s saying he regrets spreading propaganda, which World War II comics were.

Anyway, this volume was worth the ninety-nine cents I paid for it. It’s not perfect, but you can’t hit a home run every time!