jaydonsjam - Tumblr blog

[jaydonsjam]

Blue Beetle I

So I decided to do a mid-00’s reading of DC comics during the era of Infinite Crisis and post-Infinite Crisis which includes Green Lantern, Green Lantern Corps (which I’ve already read previously so I won’t be posting about those on this blog), Booster Gold, Shadowpact, Secret Six (won’t be talking about it either because I’ve already read them), etc. So expect some more DC posts coming up! Just a note for those of you who are finding my blog months in: I only post about comics I’m reading for the first time whether they be decades old or brand new. So that’s why I won’t be making posts about GL or Secret Six for example.

Blue Beetle #1-7

Blue Beetle #1-7 - writer(s): Keith Giffen (#1-6), John Rogers (#1-7) | penciler(s): Cully Hammer (#1-2, 4, 7), Cynthia Martin (#3, 6), Duncan Rouleau (#5), Kevin West (#6) | inker(s): Cully Hammer (#1-2, 4, 7), Phillip Moy (#3, 6), Duncan Rouleau (#5), Jack Purcell (#6)

Blue Beetle (vol. 7) is one of those series that I’m reading for the first time. I enjoyed it so much that I wanted to post about it. First things first there was a bit of a revolving door of artists working on these seven issues but I think since they all seem to draw a similar style, it worked for me. I really love that Cully Hammer draws a little cartoony and I think it fits the tone and writing of this book really well.

I like how we get two timelines (present and past) being explained for the first chunk of issues with what happened to Jaime during and post-Infinite Crisis. Just for context btw, my experience with Blue Beetle (Jaime) is from the Young Justice show, Smallville, Batman: Brave and the Bold show and his short-lived New 52 series (Blue Beetle vol. 8). I also love how we open the first issue mid-fight with Jaime and Guy Gardner. We also meet his family and close friends Brenda and Paco which I enjoyed. We’re introduced to a crime boss La Dama who’s the aunt of Brenda. One thing I found funny and a little dangerous for Jaime was the fact that every supporting character already knows that he’s the Blue Beetle. They also spend the majority of the issues believing that the Scarab and Jaime’s suit is magical but we get the reveal in issue 6 that it’s alien in nature. So maybe we’ll meet the Reach and learn that stuff coming up soon. I enjoyed the Infinite Crisis tie-in and the idea that Jaime felt like the other heroes left him in space was heart-wrenching. The coolest part of this version of the Blue Beetle is his high tech alien suit which can allow him to fly and make all sorts of weapons and shift the armor in different ways. I loved the recurring joke about Jaime’s transformation where the Scarab crawls inside of his skin into his spine. It’s pretty gross. It was interesting to see an unrecognizable Peacemaker and I’m curious to see where and how he fits in moving forward. Overall I enjoyed this read and I can’t wait to continue this series!

[jaydonsjam]

Werewolf By Night XII

Werewolf By Night #22-23

Werewolf By Night #22-26 - writer: Doug Moench | penciler: Don Perlin (22-26) | inker: Vince Colletta (22-24), Don Perlin (25-26)

The Werewolf fights a disfigured actor! Steve Rand is out for vengeance on everyone who worked on the movie that caused his disfigurement. I gotta wonder if Jason Voorhees’ face was based on Rand’s (or Atlas as he calls himself) because it’s a spitting image of Jason. I checked the dates cause it was bothering me and Friday the 13th didn’t release until 1980 while this comic came out in 1974. Just to put it to bed, since you aren’t hearing my voice or tone, I’m kidding but look at that resemblance!

Anyways, I liked the story here but it does hit on the same type of themes that we’ve seen this comic cover already. Jack fights another monster and accidentally plays hero. I did enjoy the framing around Hollywood and movie sets. That made for an interesting backdrop into the motivations for the villain. Don Perlin did a great job drawing the action sequences and fights. A fun read but it’s also been a couple weeks since I last read this comic so maybe I just missed reading this series but either way, I liked this arc. Plus Buck Cowan actually had stuff to do and a real reason to be in this storyline which I loved.

Werewolf By Night #24-26

The Hangman returns! We get two antagonists in this three issue arc which ends in a three-way-fight at the end of #26. We find out a Doctor by the name of Winston Redditch has developed a serum which is meant to remove the “evil” animalistic side of humans leaving only the “good side”. The problem is that he’s a terrible scientist and doesn’t label his own beakers so he accidentally mixed it wrong and in a Jekyll and Hyde type situation he drinks the evil one! Seriously this dude is an idiot but whatever I can look past it. He then becomes DePrayve and starts wrecking havoc on Los Angeles. Now what does this have to do with Jack Russell? Well Buck wants to get the serum and see if it cures Jack of his lycanthropy. Spoiler alert: it doesn’t work. How does The Hangman come into the story? Well he tracks the carnage that DePrayve had wrought and found Redditch and Werewolf fighting. Instead he bides his time and strikes at Jack when he’s running through the city and in a callback to his previous appearance, strings Jack up by his noose. It was interesting to see The Hangman come back but he ultimately gets captured by cops. I still find the idea that he sees everything as black and white and if you stray in between at all, it means you deserve to be punished and dead. The three-way-fight was cool enough. I dug all of the action and I’m glad they took care of The Hangman pretty quickly because that was already starting to feel like a retread. The Jekyll and Hyde wannabe DePrayve plot line with the serum ended up not working so it felt like a waste. It was just another reason and monster for our Werewolf to fight. It does seem like Lissa is going to take center stage soon so I’m interested in that Werewolf plot line with her to be tied up but besides that and Moon Knight coming up, this book seems to just cycle through similar antagonists a bit too much.

[jaydonsjam]

Man-Thing IX

Man-Thing #13-14

Man-Thing #13 - writer: Steve Gerber | penciler(s): John Buscema, Tom Sutton | inker: Tom Sutton

Man-Thing #14 - writer: Steve Gerber | penciler & inker: Alfred Alcala

Man-Thing fights pirates in the sky! I really enjoyed this arc because of how bonkers it was. It reminded me of some of Steve Gerber’s really strange and mystical Man-Thing stuff which I find myself enjoying more than the typical inter-personal stories Man-Thing gets involved with in the swamp. We meet a crew of people who are venturing into the Bermuda Triangle because a scientist wants to investigate the mystery of it. Man-Thing finds himself on the ship because he feels anger coming off of two crew members. Maura Spinner is the name of the scientist and she turns out to be a pirate queen who was granted immortality by a Satyr named Khordes. She had no memory of her previous life though. When Maura was a pirate queen, she and her crew including Captain Fate had found treasure in a tower but then Khordes appeared and offered them a choice between leaving Maura with him and they could take all of the treasure. Her crew jumps at the chance and leaves her in the tower. She curses them to endlessly sail forever which Khordes then makes happen. Although she stabs him. It’s better if you read it because I know it’s a lot of information and I think it’s interesting enough to check out. There’s a cool backstory here and I think the exposition does a good enough job to explain the pirates and the Satyr. There’s some cool moments of Man-Thing regenerating with the help of the magical tower from ooze to monster again. The action is your typical Man-Thing fighting where he’s just smacking, slapping and throwing fools left and right. This was just a fun horror adventure story.

Giant-Size Man-Thing #3

Giant-Size Man-Thing #3 - writer: Steve Gerber | penciler & inker: Alfred Alcala

Yes! Dakimh, Jennifer Kale and Korrek return in this Giant-Size issue! This was by far the best and my favorite giant size issue of Man-Thing that I’ve read so far. It felt like a continuation of my favorite arc of Man-Thing and it had a great ending. I was sad to see Dakimh die but since he’s a wizard maybe he’ll come back? I guess we’ll see. Alfred Alcala’s art was great although I wish it would’ve gone weirder since they were back to the castle in the sky and Korrek’s homeland. I loved how Man-Thing dispatched the evil wizard and the trope where he didn’t believe Jen that something was behind him. There was a lot of great action with sword fighting, magical spells and Man-Thing just smashing people. I hoped there’d be more of an interaction between Jen and Man-Thing but she was more focused with Dakimh and Korrek. I definitely want more Jen and Korrek so I hope they come back before the end of Gerber’s run. This was definitely the best of the batch of Man-Thing issues I read for this post.

Man-Thing #15

Man-Thing #15 - writer: Steve Gerber | penciler(s): Tony DeZuniga, Alfred Alcala, Rico Rival | inker(s): Alfred Alcala, Rico Rival

A candle gives off hallucinations to an old friend of Ted Sallis. This one was weird. I don’t know if what I read was the true account of Ted and Sainte-Cloud’s relationship or if it was mixed with false hallucinations. I gotta say this one was weird and unethical because when Sainte met Ted she was 17 and he had to have been in his mid to late twenties-thirties and even asked her to marry him. I just found the underage aspect of this story to difficult to enjoy or move past. I didn’t look up age of consent laws in the 60’s but maybe it was fine back then but it’s just gross and wrong in my eyes. This was probably one of my least favorite issues I’ve read of this comic and if I ever do a reread of Man-Thing, I’ll skip this one. I liked seeing the differences of thought and politics between Ted and Sainte but there wasn’t much here for me to enjoy. I will say it’s pretty scary when she sees Man-Thing come out of Ted’s bedroom and chase after her. That was excellently done but that’s about it. Next up is Werewolf By Night!

[jaydonsjam]

Hellstrom VI

Marvel Spotlight #23

Marvel Spotlight #23 - writer(s): Steve Gerber and Mike Friedrich | penciler: Sal Buscema | inker: Dan Green

Hellstrom fights a nihilist wizard in this issue! I gotta say that the action in this issue which was drawn by the great Sal Buscema was the highlight. It was cool to see Hellstrom snap a Griffon’s neck as they free fell out of the air. Hellstrom burns a hell of a lot of cultists which was another great moment. Daimon had a cool fight with an Angel (which turned out to be a demon cause angels have to be good) which was ironic. This was a fun issue action-wise but I didn’t care about the evil nihilists who also had demonic powers which means nihilists = satanists, I guess. What got me excited was seeing the tagline at the end of the issue which teased a confrontation with Satana! I can get with that. I’ve been wanting and waiting for Daimon to interact with his sister more so I’m definitely looking forward to the next issue! Next up is more Man-Thing!

[jaydonsjam]

Man-Thing VIII

Man-Thing #9-10

Man-Thing #9-10 - writer: Steve Gerber | penciler: Mike Ploog | inker: Frank Monte

Man-Thing fights demonic trees, alligators, snakes, skeletons and a ghost in this arc. I have to say that this two-issue arc is one of the big reasons I love Man-Thing. Just like so many other Man-Thing comics being written by Steve Gerber, this is a simple story about a couple and their dog who are having troubles with the fantastical elements added in as a spice. I really like that Man-Thing is a silent observer in so many issues who will often fight a creature or demon but other than that, Gerber uses the majority of a comic to explore relationships and situations. It’s so clearly about exploring humanity through the eyes of an empathetic “monster.” That’s another reason why Man-Thing is becoming one of my favorite characters and why Gerber’s writing works so well. Man-Thing feels others’ emotions and is drawn to strong feelings because of curiosity and empathy. I just love this book and Steve Gerber deserves his flowers for his work with this character. Anyways, we meet an old couple who fight all the time because Maybelle believes her husband, Ezekiel loves their dog more than her and spends all his time with Dawg (I know it’s a great name for your dog.) I liked the backstory here that we get. Ezekiel believes that Maybelle has been mad at him since they moved from the city to the swamp and she hates it. Man-Thing battles with a ghostly apparition in the form of a Gorgon who looks like Maybelle. Some of the supernatural elements of this arc didn’t make total sense but this is a horror comic book so it doesn’t bother me too much. I mean, this is Man-Thing and he has crazier adventures than Doctor Strange sometimes. Mike Ploog’s art suits this book so well too. I prefer his work on Werewolf but it’s good here too. I can tell that his art is much better after the years that he’s been doing it. I really enjoyed this arc overall and Man-Thing continues to be one of my favorite characters to read from this 70’s era.

Man-Thing #11

Man-Thing #11 - writer: Steve Gerber | penciler: Mike Ploog | inker: Frank Monte

Richard Rory is back for these next two issues. I gotta say while I don’t mind this “bad luck Bryan” character but I really really miss Jennifer and her brother and grandfather more and more as this book goes on. I don’t think any of the other supporting cast have been nearly as good as those three were. Anyways, there’s a woman named Sybil who’s in trouble with a group known as the Demons of Liberation and she comes in contact with Richard who gets the help of Man-Thing. I didn’t really like this issue as much as the previous arc. The antagonists seemed like they were in the wrong book and ultimately were just lame. Gerber did touch on the Vietnam War again but the explanation that is used for the villains don’t really make much sense with what he was going for. I think he’s written better stuff using Nam as a theme or reference than he did here.

Man-Thing #12

Man-Thing #12 - writer: Steve Gerber | penciler: Sal Buscema | inker: Klaus Janson

A writer named Brian Lazarus believes himself to be a dead man and because of this everything he writes creates physical apparitions that haunt and attack him. He meets Sybil (she was introduced in the previous issue) who convinces him and treats him with humanity which helps stop the ghosts. Also Man-Thing. Ted fights the ghosts off a few times. This was a better issue than the last and it included a half page of reading Lazarus’ poetry and I actually kinda enjoyed it. Sal Buscema’s art really comes to play but I did miss Ploog’s work. Good stuff. Next up is Hellstrom!

[jaydonsjam]

Fables II

Fables #6-10: “Animal Farm”

Fables #6-10 - writer: Bill Willingham | penciler: Mark Buckingham | inker: Steve Leialoha

I finally got to see the Farm that I’ve heard so much about from The Wolf Among Us! First off, not much Bigby in this arc because he is not allowed to go to the Farm. I ended up loving the focus on Snow White and exploring her relationship with her sister, Rose Red. I also liked the Farm characters who mainly consist of talking animals and basically all of the fairy tale characters they can’t explain away like the humanoid ones. Part of the reason I really liked this arc so much was the genre shift, the last arc felt like a noir detective story and this one was a war story. Goldilocks was a good antagonist as the leader of the revolutionary farm forces and her motivation for wanting to take back their lands from the Adversary made logical sense. Snow White getting shot in the head shocked me but she ended up okay. I did like the explanation that since Mundys believe in Snow and keep making films and media that she can always come back and never die unlike Rose Red who is basically forgotten by the Mundys. I missed Bigby but I do like the idea of this comic being bigger than him and I hope we get to follow more characters in this world. Snow continues to be one of my favorite characters and I can’t wait for what comes next. I’m really looking forward to seeing more of the Adversary and I’m curious to see if the Fables get their lands back and what that looks like. This arc got me more interested in getting a deeper and better look at Rose Red so I hope she gets to shine more. Great arc and I can’t wait to read more!

[jaydonsjam]

Fables I

Fables #1-5: “Legends In Exile”

Fables #1-5 - writer: Bill Willingham | penciler: Lan Medina | inker: Steve Leialoha

Before I get into my thoughts on the comic I wanted to give some context on my experience with Fables. So, this is my first time reading through this series and before I finished this first arc, my only knowledge of this world comes from Telltale’s The Wolf Among Us which is one of my all-time favorite video games. I’ve been interested in reading this book ever since I played that game back in 2014 but there’s so many issues and I have never had the chance or time to collect all the trades but there is a wonderful app called DC Universe Infinite which if you subscribe to, you can pretty much read most of the DC and it’s other imprints’ library including Fables (obviously not sponsored by DC just a recommendation for DC fans). I also didn’t know that The Wolf Among Us is a prequel to the comic which honestly got me even more excited to start reading. I didn’t know if the game was an adaptation of the first arc of the comic so I was pleased to learn that it’s 20 years before the first issue.

The comic, like the game, follows Bigby Wolf who is the fairy tale character, Big Bad Wolf investigating a mysterious murder of Snow White’s sister, Rose Red. We meet many fairy tale characters like Jack (Beanstalk), Beauty and the Beast, Pinocchio etc living in exile because their lands were taken over by a demonic being called “The Adversary”. What I love about this world so much is how Bill Willingham infuses different genres like noir detective with fantasy and also this book is really funny. There’s a quick scene with Pinocchio at a party explaining his disdain for the Blue Fairy (see panels below) and it was genuinely hilarious.

Bigby Wolf works as a sheriff for Snow White and honestly the best part of this comic is the scenes between Bigby and Snow. I could not put this comic down and I enjoyed every second of it. There’s even a cool twist when the “Parlour” chapter in issue five happens where we get the reveal with what happened to Rose Red. I don’t want to ruin the twist just in case people are interested in checking Fables out for the first time. For me though, I didn’t see the twist coming and I loved it. It’s a simple detective story when you really boil it down but it was fantastic. I’m so interested in the backstory and I can’t wait to see what happens with The Adversary and if the Fables will get their lands back. Also before I finish I have to mention the art which was penciled by Lan Medina. It really fits the storybook/fairy tale aesthetic and blends the noir real world setting brilliantly. I love the way they drew Snow White especially. So yeah, a great beginning arc to a comic that I can’t wait to continue reading.

[jaydonsjam]

Blog Update!

Hey everyone! I just wanted to update the people who like reading my posts that starting in January, I’ll be posting daily again. I took some time off due to burnout and some other personal reasons. My posts about the Marvel series I was reading (Doctor Strange, Man-Thing, Tomb of Dracula, Werewolf By Night etc.) will continue. But I do have some new ideas where I’ll be branching out to include some other comics because I felt like my blog was super Marvel focused. Some of these new comics (new to me) I’ll be reading and posting about are Hellblazer, Swamp Thing, The Sandman and Fables to start out. Eventually I’ll delve into some Etrigan, Doctor Fate, Zatanna, Spectre, etc. so that’s it! I wanted to open my blog up to more DC/Vertigo books and I think eventually I’ll be reviewing new comics when I can. I’m so behind on current Marvel and DC that it’s a lot to get caught up. That’s why I like posting about retro comics cause I can read at my own pace. Thanks for the support and I’ll be back soon!

[jaydonsjam]

Hellstrom V

Marvel Team-Up #32

Marvel Team-Up #32 - writer: Gerry Conway | penciler: Sal Buscema | inker: Vince Colletta

Daimon Hellstrom teams up with Johnny Storm to exorcise a demon that is plaguing a reservation in Oklahoma. Daimon loses control of his evil side and fights with Human Torch. I liked the fight and it was cool to see that Torch’s fire has no effect on Hellstrom. The nova light that Torch ignites lets Daimon know who is possessed and it was a cool plot device. This was a fun read and added more of Marvel’s rules on demons. I gotta say one negative about this issue is the pink skin tone that was used for indigenous peoples is on display here and it’s really unfortunate and took me out of the story. I don’t understand why this was such a common occurrence in the 70’s. It’s annoying and gross if I’m being totally honest. Other than that, this was an enjoyable read. I like it when Hellstrom interacts with other superheroes and this might be the best team-up I’ve read with Daimon.

[jaydonsjam]

Ghost Rider IV

Ghost Rider #11

Ghost Rider #11 - writer: Tony Isabella | penciler: Sal Buscema | inker(s): John Tartag, George Roussos

Ghost Rider fights The Hulk! Yeah not much here. All the racers involved in the Desolation Run have issues that they are working through and when The Hulk shows up, they all work together to help Johnny beat him. I guess this had a good message but I just found this issue boring. I’m missing Ghost Rider’s other abilities like his penance stare, chains etc. now maybe he doesn’t have them until Ketch but I can’t wait that long. I just find this series to be the least interesting out of the 70’s stuff I’m reading. Some of it even just being plain bad. The art was great but I always say that about Sal Buscema.

Marvel Two-In-One #8

Marvel Two-In-One #8 - writer: Steve Gerber | penciler: Sal Buscema | inker: Mike Esposito

Ghost Rider teams with The Thing! Now I did enjoy this issue more than the fight with the Hulk in GR #11 but it’s just your average team-up. I gotta say that I love The Thing, he’s awesome and I can’t wait to do a FF reading starting with the first issue someday. But we’re not doing that currently. It was ironic that this issue is a Christmas/holiday story so I guess it worked on that level reading it in December. Miracle Man was lame and his “evil” plan was nonsense. Yeah that’s all I’m gonna say cause I don’t have much good to say! I apologize to the people who like reading my blog that I had some personal stuff pop up so I wasn’t able to post anything for 2 days. I’m back though! Thanks for reading my moronic thoughts and next up is Hellstrom!

[jaydonsjam]

Morbius IV

Adventure Into Fear #20-26

Adventure Into Fear #20-26 - writer(s): Mike Friedrich (#20), Steve Gerber (#21-25), Doug Moench (#25-26) | penciler(s): Paul Gulacy (#20), Gil Kane (#21), Rich Buckler (#22), P. Craig Russell (#23-24), Frank Robbins (#25-26) | inker(s): Jack Abel (#20, 24), Vince Colletta (#21, 23), Luis Dominguez (#22), Frank Giacoia (#25-26)

I’m back with another Morbius post! So I read seven more issues of Adventure Into Fear but now Morbius has taken Man-Thing’s place. For those of you who haven’t read my previous posts about Morbius, I’ve covered his initial debut in Spider-Man through his Vampire Tales appearances and now we’ve arrived at his next solo adventures in Fear! While I didn’t enjoy this arc as much as the stuff in Vampire Tales, this was different enough that I really liked it. What I love about Morbius and his solo stuff is how different it is from Tomb of Dracula. Morbius, besides the whole biting people thing, is an anti-hero which is why I’ve had an issue with his appearances in Spider-Man comics being your run-of-the-mill villain. These solo stories give him more depth and complexity than his mainstream comic appearances. Steve Gerber wrote 5 of the 7 issues (see above creative team info for issue numbers) and I gotta say the man is a great writer. He’s the best writer I’ve read of Man-Thing and while I prefer McGregor’s work for Morbius, he’s great here too. I also really love the distinction between Morbius and the other vampires. He became a vampire through science and he doesn’t seem to have the ability to make other vampires like Dracula and his legion. He also can’t turn into a bat so he flies without transforming. He also is more tormented by feeding on his victims unlike Dracula who does it to create other vampires without remorse. Blade makes an appearance in this arc and he’s spouting off stuff about supernatural vampires and Morbius doesn’t believe it and thinks he’s insane. It’s hilarious. I would love to see Morbius come into contact with Dracula or any supernatural vampires. I’m also begging for more Blade appearances.

So most of this arc deals with the Caretakers and their war against Daemond the demonic sorcerer. Morbius gets caught in the middle of this conflict and goes on an interdimensional adventure and learns that both sides suck. There’s a lot of information and exposition that I didn’t quite get if I’m being honest. I like the idea of Morbius dealing with vampires over this cosmic weirdness that he dealt with. The art was good and done by several different talented artists. I gotta say that it’s hilarious that Marvel’s go-to villains in the 70’s are to make the villain satanic. It just makes me laugh when we’re introduced to another satanic cultist that our hero has to battle. Like I’ve said a bunch of times, the Satanic Panic had this era by the fucking throat. There’s a reveal at the end that the little girl he’s dealt with since the end of issue 1, is actually the key to destroying earth. Why? I didn’t quite understand. I did enjoy her wrecking the Caretakers and Daemond at the end but so much about the reveal didn’t make much sense and seemed like them trying to just throw a curveball at the reader. I do like that Gerber decided to make both factions a different level of evil because often in conflicts, it’s not usually black and white or good vs evil. But anyways, I enjoyed this arc but I definitely prefer the previous Morbius stuff. I am excited to read more Fear though because this was very good. Morbius continues to be a great character full of conflict and inner turmoil that makes him more interesting than a lot of leading Marvel superheroes. Next up is Ghost Rider!

[jaydonsjam]

Defenders VII

Defenders #17-19

Defenders #17-19 - writer(s): Len Wein (#17-19), Chris Claremont | penciler: Sal Buscema (#17-19) | inker: Dan Green (#17-18), Klaus Janson (#19)

The Defenders (with Power Man) fight The Wrecking Crew! This was a great fight and Sal Buscema’s art is so fitting for a team book. Valkyrie leaves the team in the beginning to find herself. I was sad that Val only had two moments in this arc. We later saw her walking by herself and a dude in the shadows makes a call about her. So we’ll find out what happens with her in Marvel Two-In-One! Doctor Strange has several great character moments in this arc which I enjoyed. For one, he gave a homeless man a buffet and when the Defenders find the Wrecking Crew and the fight starts, he stops it when there are a bunch of kids around. I liked both of those moments. I loved when the Gamma Bomb was introduced cause it really raised the stakes. They kept fighting even with the Gamma Bomb in play which was weird cause I would’ve hoped for something more interesting like with them all working together to get the bomb. You could’ve had them find the bomb but then Wrecker gets it and turns against the Defenders at the last second. That would’ve been more interesting than the two teams racing to get to the bomb first and fighting again. Nighthawk taking out bulldozer by attaching his jet pack to his back and letting him fly straight into the sky only to fall back down, knocked out. Doctor Strange continues to prove his power in this arc and I loved how he took control of the Wrecker’s magical crowbar and used the mystical force against him blowing him backwards. So yeah I had a lot of positives with this arc. Great action and it was really cool to see Power Man team up with the Defenders. But you know me, I gotta be honest. I had two problems with this arc. One being the way Luke Cage’s dialogue was written. I thought how Marv Wolfman wrote Blade in his early appearances was bad well Luke Cage in this arc makes Wolfman’s Blade seem minor. It’s pretty bad. My other problem is Luke Cage completely refusing to hear Dr. Strange and Nighthawk out when they first come into contact. They basically fight the whole seventeenth issue. I just found it annoying and it pushed the believability factor.

Marvel Two-In-One #6-7

Marvel Two-In-One #6-7 - writer: Steve Gerber | penciler: George Tuska (#6), Sal Buscema (#7) | inker: Mike Esposito (#6-7)

Doctor Strange and Thing team up to find a magical harmonica. Then it ends up in the hands of the Enchantress and The Executioner! Im gonna be honest, the whole destiny stuff always loses me and it’s no different here. It’s a little too convoluted for my tastes but I did love seeing Valkyrie’s storyline come to a new conclusion. Also, anytime Enchantress and Skurge make an appearance, you’ve got my attention. I still think my favorite Defenders issue is the fourth issue with the Black Knight/Enchantress/Skurge arc and the rebirth of Valkyrie. Plus, as I’ve said in a previous Defenders post, Val has, by far the best storyline out of the characters in that team book (Dr. Strange has his own book so that’s different). I loved the fight between Thing and Valkyrie vs Enchantress and Skurge on the broken bits of floating earth. Sal Buscema’s art in issue 7 was awesome and he’s one of the best artists in this era at showing action and he’s great at splash pages. Barb (Val)‘s father in the midst of the fighting has a heart attack and dies. It’s actually one of the more interesting developments in Val’s storyline and definitely has a big effect on her. We see the ramifications of it in Defenders #20. Overall I really enjoyed this arc for the villains and the focus on Valkyrie’s backstory. I kinda hoped we’d get to see Enchantress fight Dr. Strange but sadly, he’s not in the battle in issue 7.

Defenders #20

Defenders #20 - writer: Steve Gerber | penciler: Sal Buscema | inker: Vince Colletta

We start off the issue with Val distraught over her “dad’s” death and she gets mad at Thing when he offers to help take her dad into town with her. I liked this because she was grief-stricken and one of the people who knew Barb the most had just died leaving her feeling even more alone. I loved the opening to this issue because Enchantress and the Executioner haven’t left yet so we get Skurge just saying some foul shit about Val’s dead father and I just dug the dialogue between Skurge and Thing. They transport away though. Val walks into town and we meet all the people who knew her as a Barb. Also just a note once Val sheathed her sword so Strange’s spell came back into effect so she appears to be Barb to others. I loved the reveal that Barb had a husband and I’ll be interested to see where that goes. Then we get MORE UNDYING ONES. Damn I can’t escape these guys huh? At least they tried to make them more interesting by making Val’s mom Celestia the owner of the harmonica and a member of their cult. I liked the moment when Thing breaks the harmonica and she turns to ash. I feel like once Dr. Strange and Valkyrie are freed the quick way that Strange does away with the cult felt out of nowhere. While I agree that Strange is very strong and is better than the majority of sorcerers I just felt like the ending to this issue was really abrupt. I like the furthering and focus on Val here but I could do without The Undying Ones.

Defenders #21

Defenders #21 - writer: Steve Gerber | penciler: Sal Buscema |inker: Sal Trapani

Black rain pours down and turns everyone into raging lunatics. Nighthawk gets mad at Val when she chooses to seek out her/Barb’s husband because he likes her. That was a weird choice and his outburst and offense felt childish to me. She just found out she had a husband and he walks off angry talking about you should’ve told me. Well she just found out? Idk the reaction was strange. Nighthawk also slaps a woman later when she’s freaking out. If you have read some of my previous posts, you’ll know that I hate that shit and it happens all the time in this 70’s era. I also forgot to mention in a previous issue but Nighthawk forcibly kissed Valkyrie when she’s leaving and that made me cringe. There’s been some very unlikable moments for Nighthawk in this series so far but I also chalk it up to him being a “reforming villain”. Nothing really happens in this issue. Nighthawk fails to stop a heist (by the people who caused the rain) and that’s about it. It just… ends? Yeah this is one of the weaker issues of this series.

Giant-Size Defenders #3

Giant-Size Defenders #3 - Writer(s): Steve Gerber, Jim Starlin, Len Wein | Penciler: Jim Starlin | Inker(s): Dan Adkins, Don Newton, Jim Mooney

The Defenders and Daredevil have to enter a game started by the Collector! This was a fun issue full of action and I loved seeing Daredevil (he’s one of my favs). The penciling by Jim Starlin is masterful but he’s one of the best so who’s surprised? My favorite moment of the issue the end when Daredevil has The Collector wage the fate of Earth on a coin toss. Turns out he knew how to win a coin toss which required some suspension of disbelief. One more thing: Hulk fights a tiny alien and keeps calling him the m-word which will definitely bother people so just keep that in mind if you plan on reading this one. Not much to go into because most of the comic is a bunch of different fights but it worked well enough for a filler issue. Next up is Man-Thing!

[jaydonsjam]

Tomb of Dracula XIII

Tomb of Dracula #30

Tomb of Dracula #30 - writer: Marv Wolfman | penciler: Gene Colan | inker: Tom Palmer

This issue starts off with a hilarious ironic scene with Dracula “paying his respects” to Shiela Whittier. I couldn’t help but roll my eyes and laugh reading his thoughts on Shiela (see panels below). He’s so sanctimonious and egotistical and you can tell there’s an undertone of “it’s not me it’s you” which just works for this character. He’s a great villain and this scene really showed that. Now, if they were actually trying to portray genuine sympathy coming from Dracula then they failed.

Most of this issue is Dracula reading and writing in his diary so it serves as flashbacks. One of the stories was a husband “accidentally” murdering his wife and Dracula takes vengeance for their (the couple’s) little girl. I like the choice not to show what happened. We only see and hear what Dracula does. I also like the idea that Dracula takes “justice” into his own hands and kills the dad and the daughter freaks out when Vlad tells her what he did. He killed him “for her”. All we get from the dad is him saying it was an accident and that she was hitting him over and over and he tried to stop it. I like the idea that Wolfman plants some doubt that the father killed his wife and it was a simple murder. It was interesting. Either way he did kill his wife, accident or no so it’s bad no matter what. We then change scenes to the first meeting between Blade and Dracula. I loved this part but I also love Blade. If you’ve read my prior ToD posts with Blade, you know that. It was cool to see Blade and his crew trick and attack Dracula. I found it weird that he got out of it though. But Blade continues to be great and I want more of him. I just like the explanation of the history between our favorite vampire slayer and the king of vampires. This was a good issue overall with some much needed backstory but I definitely prefer moving the plot forward. Defenders up next!

[jaydonsjam]

Doctor Strange XX

Doctor Strange #6-9

Doctor Strange #6-9 - writer: Steve Englehart | penciler: Gene Colan | inker(s): Klaus Janson (#6), John Romita (#7), Tom Palmer (#8), Frank Monte (#9)

THE RETURN OF UMAR AND DORMAMMU! I finally got the reveal that Clea’s mother is Umar (so I was wrong) and father is Orini.

This 2nd volume of Dr. Strange continues to be fantastic. I loved the reveal with Clea and it explained why she refused to return home. I absolutely cheered when Umar flipped on Dormammu once he came out of the Earth. Honestly I think Dormammu and Umar are neck-and-neck when it comes to my top two Strange enemies. I have been itching for a Strange battle with Dormammu since Avengers vs Defenders (cause they didn’t even fight, Dormammu took out Strange immediately) and while this fight wasn’t as good as their previous battles, this was still awesome. I liked the twist that Dormammu had captured Mother Nature which was causing weird weather to happen on Earth. Clea continues to rise the ranks as one of my favorite characters and I love that she really showed her powers in this arc even helping to save the day. I like that she’s got so many layers (more than most female characters in the 70’s books I’m reading) and I thought it was realistic that she couldn’t face her father after she left to go with Stephen all that time ago. I found the relationship between Clea and her father to be so interesting especially since he genuinely seems to hate her now. This arc felt so important to Clea and I think that’s why I liked it so much. I will say that I didn’t get the “junkie” storyline and it kinda fell flat by the end of issue 9. That’s probably my only criticism for this whole arc. Gene fucking Colan is a force. He’s not only my favorite artist from this era but he’s becoming one of my all-time artists the more I see his work.

Yeah this was all around a great arc and I can’t wait to see what Steve Englehart has planned next. Tomb of Dracula up next!

[jaydonsjam]

Tomb of Dracula XII

Giant-Size Dracula #2

Giant-Size Dracula #2 - writer: Chris Claremont | penciler: Don Heck | inker: Frank McLaughlin

Alright I know I just said in the last ToD post that I don’t like when Dracula has to fight someone else who’s evil. But Chris Claremont pulled it off. This is definitely the best Giant-Size comic I’ve read so far. I loved the fight that Dracula had with Y’Garon and the fact that Vlad went insane and thought he was fighting the man who killed his wife. This explained why Dracula was trying to save Katherine and it worked for me. Katherine is a psychic that resembles Dracula’s second wife and love, Maria. Katherine is going to be the sacrifice to bring forth Y’Garon’s brothers and so she’s tied to a cross above a pit. After Dracula throws Y’Garon into the pit he goes to save Kathy and gets a glimpse of the Elder Gods but as a reader we don’t see what he sees, we just see his reaction. I loved that choice. It really goes along with the Lovecraftian gods which humans can’t comprehend when they see them. This felt similar to that. Anyways, I liked Dracula’s heroism being explained through him going mad at the sight of “Turac” sacrificing his wife “Maria”. This was a great issue that I thought I wasn’t going to like but it won me over. And it did move the plot forward by confirming to Chelm that Dracula isn’t dead.

Tomb of Dracula #24

Tomb of Dracula #24-29 - writer: Marv Wolfman | penciler: Gene Colan | inker: Tom Palmer

I loved this issue. Frank Drake makes the decision to leave and try to find himself now that Dracula is dead. I was a little confused at this development but I’ll have to see where it goes. Shiela Whittier is the new Clifton Graves except she’s in love with Dracula and she believes Dracula isn’t evil like everyone says cause she’s seen the “true side” of him. My favorite moment in this issue is Shiela talking about Dracula being misunderstood while he’s feeding on a victim. It was just pure hilarious irony. Vlad knows how to pick his familiars. Blade fights Dracula in bat form but isn’t sure if it’s Dracula or someone impersonating him. I loved this whole scene of Blade trying to survive the onslaught of attacks from the vampire bat. He does get a good stab on the bat’s arm. We also see Blade take out one of Dracula’s legion which was cool. I gotta say I love Blade and I wish he was in this series more. No Quincy this issue just a mention. Taj abuses his wife in India which was really annoying and made me like him less. Spousal abuse is shown to be frivolous so much in the 70’s that it’s so disgusting. But we find out that his son is dying so it’s definitely taking a toll on Taj.

Tomb of Dracula #25

HANNIBAL KING!? Hannibal King was the star of this issue and boy did he shine. Holy shit. I loved this comic and it’s my favorite ToD issue in a while. Hannibal King is hired by a woman whose husband got killed by Dracula and asks Hannibal to find out why he was killed. King has a great moment where he finds one of Dracula’s thralls and has to break his arm to get him to tell him where Vlad is having coffins sent. Hannibal then takes out 2 vampires with a wooden stake and an axe. There was great action with blood splatter and all the stuff you want from this book. Hannibal is already a great character and I can’t wait to see more. He’s a badass and the ending reveals that he’s a vampire. I was floored with how much I enjoyed this issue. One more thing: Hannibal mentions finding out vampires are real when he saw a long white haired man kill people. I have to think this is the vampire that Blade is hunting. So I guess we’ll see if Blade and King hookup and hunt that vampire together. Great stuff. My favorite issue from this bunch that I read.

TRIGGER WARNING: SUICIDE

Tomb of Dracula 26-29

I bunched these four issues together because they serve as the next arc. I don’t think his name is confirmed in this arc and only referred to as “The Master” but we definitely saw the return of Dr. Sun. Unless they did confirm it and I’m just a moron. I liked this arc a lot. It was cool seeing Shiela realize that Dracula had no love for her that he was just using her. She falls for David which I think helps her realize the truth but of course tragically David can’t return the love and just wants to be friends. And it’s such a tragic ending because once Dracula shows her that David is dead, Shiela not wanting him to control her anymore, jumps out a window to her death. It was such a tragic and heartbreaking end. Good horror trope here where Shiela answers the door and sees the corpse of David standing in front of her with Dracula holding him. She does the most heroic deed she can by destroying the Chimera statue after seeing the horrible things it can do in the wrong hands. So Shiela actually turns out to be a great character and I was saddened by her end. Dracula continues to be a piece of garbage and I continue reading this comic with the hope that someone finally kills him. But it also points out my main issue with the book when in moments where he has to fight another villain. I can’t root for a dude who just constantly murders and tries to take over the world. So it makes issues like Giant-Size Dracula #2 look dumb when he’s just doing evil in the regular book. I liked the return of Dr. Sun and I’ll be interested to see where it goes next with him cause again, there isn’t a confirmation that he’s The Master but I’m pretty sure he is. Especially when they never showed a body, we just heard his voice. There’s a great moment where Dracula is trapped in a metal room with holy water flooding the environment and he has to turn into mist to escape but still manages to get burned. I loved seeing Taj’s backstory and motivation for wanting to kill Dracula plus how he met Rachel. He had his throat slashed by a vampire which serves as the explanation of why he’s mute. We meet his wife who was paralyzed by a wagon when they were attacked by Dracula and two of his vampires. Taj’s son is then bit and turned into a vampire. I loved how Wolfman slowly revealed Taj’s sick son being afflicted with vampirism and honestly, as a father this was terrifying and gave a lot more depth to Taj. According to his wife, the villagers have stopped giving blood and now out of fear want to kill him. Just a note: why are Indians colored grey? It’s such a bizarre choice. We also saw Frank leave Rachel to find himself and ends up in Brazil. We don’t really know anything past that so I guess I’ll wait to see what happens. We got brief moments with Quincy and Rachel but there’s not much to get into there. This arc really served as a way to dive deeper into Taj and Shiela Whittier as characters. I enjoyed this one and I can’t wait for more! Next up is Doctor Strange!

[jaydonsjam]

Werewolf By Night XI

Werewolf By Night #21

Werewolf By Night #21 - writer: Doug Moench | penciler: Don Perlin | inker: Vince Colletta

I really love that Jack and Ray now run together as werewolves. At least, Jack isn’t as lonely. I was also right about Detective Hackett being a werewolf! There was a great 2-on-1 fight in the latter half of the issue that had a jaw-dropping end. Coker tosses Hackett over a railing into a vat of molten steel and transforms back into a human. I loved the ending and found it bittersweet yet touching when Jack in werewolf form puts his hand on Coker’s shoulder and says goodbye. That he can no longer run with him since he’s human that he lost his brother. God that was such a great way to close up Coker’s storyline. Coker even ends the issue saying he wishes he was a werewolf so that Jack could kill him and be cured. I loved this issue. Great action and a closing to the Detective and Coker storylines so I’m very curious to see where it goes next. Next up will be a Tomb of Dracula post!

[jaydonsjam]

Hellstrom V/Defenders VI

Marvel Spotlight #18-19

Marvel Spotlight #18-19 - writer: Steve Gerber | penciler: Gene Colan | inker(s): Frank Monte (#18), Mike Esposito (#19)

This was EXACTLY what I wanted from this series! Steve Gerber knocked the last arc out of the park and I’d say he did even better with this exorcism arc. Gene Colan is my favorite artist from the books I’ve read from this era (late 60’s-70’s) and I was so excited to see that he did the art for these two issues. He brings that horror aesthetic that his art excels in Tomb of Dracula to this book. This felt like the first time where the Son of Satan has truly gone in the horror genre and it just enraptured me. Daimon goes to a party with Dr. Reynolds and meets Wilfred Noble and his dog, Cerberus. I really liked Noble and felt so bad when the demon killed his dog. I’m glad they didn’t show it and kept the dog’s body shadowed. It still had the same affect. I love the idea that Allatou the demon who possessed Melissa Manners to burn Noble’s house down and murdered his dog had the ability to body jump. It made the exorcism more interesting when Daimon is trying to banish the demon, he’s having to contend with several different people. I loved this story and it was effective in making me care about Reynolds and see more of her.

Marvel Spotlight #20-22

Marvel Spotlight #20-22 - writer: Steve Gerber | penciler: Sal Buscema | inker(s): Al McWilliams (#20), Joe Giella (#21), Bob McLeod (#22)

I’m not gonna lie, this arc came off very problematic. They drop the g-slur countless times. I found myself losing interest as we got deeper into the arc just because it felt so stereotypical and kinda gross honestly. There’s an “evil witch”who’s called the g-slur the whole time and they even go the whole way by saying she g’d them. You guys know that I’m always honest in my thoughts and opinions on this stuff and this storyline has just not aged well at all. The only part I liked about this arc was Daimon having to fight his other half inside his own head. I loved how he realized that they are better together because otherwise they are going to be stuck in an endless loop of fighting. It was actually a really cool idea. Also we finally got to see Satana and Daimon together even though I’m not sure if she was really in his head or just a construction of his mind. I love her powers by the way. I read her appearance in Vampire Tales and I love that she’s a succubus who sucks the soul out of people and their soul comes out in the form of a butterfly. I want more Satana cause she’s awesome. So yeah, I’m not gonna go through the plot here just cause I didn’t like it and it’s clearly outdated. If anyone wants to read it, you have the issue numbers above so you can see for yourself. Also I gotta say Sal Buscema did the art and it was fantastic.

Giant-Size Defenders #2

Giant-Size Defenders #2 - writer: Len Wein | penciler: Gil Kane | inker: Klaus Janson

This was a fun crossover. I loved seeing Doctor Strange meet Daimon. I gotta say it’s weird how there’s a Satan, Satana, Satannish, Mephisto, Baphomet, etc. like I would love a comic to explain these demons and which one is actually Satan. I’m a little confused right now. Asmodeus returned at the main bad guy for this issue which was cool. I like his design a lot. I love how he tried to use his powers on Daimon but it didn’t work because he was holding his trident. That’s a cool touch that just adds to the mythos surrounding Daimon. Also, I didn’t mention up top but I love how Daimon flies holding the trident with flames shooting out. I liked that this continues Valkyrie’s struggle with her identity through the hellish visions she’s struck with. The highlight of the whole Defenders comic so far is Valkyrie’s arc. The guilt of her existence and identity when she took the body of someone else and does she deserve to live inside someone else? It’s masterful storytelling and I fucking love it. She’s probably my favorite Defender (not named Dr. Strange). This was a cool team-up with the Son of Satan and has lots of fun action and it left me wishing Daimon would’ve joined the team. This was a fun issue and I can’t wait to see what comes next with Val and the rest of the team.