Discount Bin Finds: Wetworks v.2

Comic book fans of a certain age most likely remember Wetworks, Whilce Portacio's supernatural-themed Image title.  More accurately, most remember the title's enormously delayed launch.  Initially supposed to be part of the inital Image launch, Wetworks was continually pushed back and put off -- the delay beginning due to Portacio mourning the death of his sister and growing from there -- until it became a common joke in the pages of Wizard.  "Will Marvel ever get their act together?  Sure, right after Wetworks #1 ships."  

The series eventually did launch in 1994, two years after it's first solicitation, and had a respectable if unremarkable run of 43 issues before it was cancelled in 1998.  The title lay dormant for nearly a decade until being revived under the WildStorm imprint once more, this time at DC.  This is the series will be looking at here.  

The basic gist of Wetworks betrays its 90's origins.  The Wetworks team, lead by the towering Colonel Dane, is a para-military strike force who became bonded to golden symbiotes which protect them from damage.  Dane and his crew use their considerable arsenal of heavy weapons to battle against non-human foes, including the various Vampire Nations.  In practice, this usually translated to Dane (and other tough-sounding soliders such as Grail and Dozer) getting into firefights with monsters.  Fun stuff, if not exactly "top shelf" comics.

The new series picks up some time after the old series ended.  Dane is still fighting monsters, but with a new crew: the reformed vampire Persephone, AKA Red, who uses her sword with deadly efficiency, the mysterious Ab-Death, a strange, golem like being, and the returning Mother-One, the team's cybernetic co-ordinator.  They initially have to deal with the invasion of Vascar, an uber-vampire who has escaped from Thea Mater, an alternate world populated by fantastical beasts.  Vascar is not only more powerful than any vampire the team has ever faced, but his presence threatens to upset the uneasy truce between humanity and the Vampire Nations and plunge the Earth into unholy war.

Much like the original series, Wetworks is a fun action title but otherwise nothing all that special.  Portacio's art has a high energy, highly cross-hatched 90's style, but he really seems to be in his element drawing his own creations.  Unfortunately, he is not on the series all that long, leaving at issue #6 (though he does handle the covers for a while longer).  Similiarly, Carey's handling of the characters is more grounded and less mega-macho than the older book, but he too leaves, after issue #9.  The team who comes on after that point, DeMatteis and Gomez, have an interesting take, with an entire city taken over by a vampire army, but the writing apparently was on the wall at that point.  The main problem the title has is a lack of reader engagement; it's well written and fun as far as the action goes but it doesn't make much of an impression.  The second volume of Wetworks is a great example of a modern take on a 90's action property, and has plenty of gunplay and setpieces to keep you entertained, just don't expect to remember all the details when it's finished.

Discount Bin Finds -- Beowulf, Dragon Slayer #1-6

Every now and again, you come across a random comic book or series which is just so far off the map that reading it is a pure joy.  Something just so beyond the norms and conventions -- for whatever reason and in whatever dimension -- that you find yourself grabbing each issue in rapid succession, wanting to keep the high going, and, once finished, going back and doing it all over again.  I have found such a comic book title.

It is DC's Beowulf, Dragon Slayer, and it is a thing of pure beauty.  I discovered this title thanks to the DC Implosion article on Dial B For Blog (a very informative and useful article on the topic, I might add!) from the house ad for DC's new line of sword and sorcery comics.  I had heard of Tor and Claw The Unconquered, but I was intrigued by this title.  A comic book adaption of Beowulf from DC in the 70s?  At the very least I thought it would be a quaint and amusing read.  I did some research and saw some glimpses into how this series worked, and decided that I had to own it.  At HeroesCon I picked it up, and I am so glad I did.


Let me tell you just the through-line story for this title, and then you tell me what you think, alright?  Beowulf, responding to the call from Hrothgar to come to the Mead-hall to fight Grendel, ends up picking up a Swedish barbarian princess (Nan-Zee) and then being sidetracked by Grendel's master, Satan.  Satan, the ever-powerful chessmaster, sends Beowulf on a quest to find the venom of the Black Viper to the West, and then the Zumak fruit to the East, and only then may he fight Grendel.  Traveling West, Beowulf first runs into a band of pygmies, and then has to fight the giant serpent.  In the East, Beowulf runs into the lost tribe of the Israelites, who are currently at war with Vlad the Impaler.  Satan snatches Beowulf and his men back to the Mead-Hall to placate Grendel, whom he promised a battle with Beowulf, but Grendel is unable to finish the job before Satan sends them back to the dessert to fight Vlad.  "Big Evil" is impressed with Vlad, so he kills him and turns him into his new apprentice, Dracula.  This angers Grendel, who now plots to murder Satan, while Beowulf and his crew end up being abducted by aliens at a duplicate version of Stonehenge, and being sent to Atlantis, where they cause it to sink.  Beowulf then heads to Crete and wrestles a minotaur while Grendel makes good on his threat and kills Satan, assuming control of Hell.

Needless to say this is the most heavy metal comic book ever written.

Seriously though, as far as sword and sorcery comics go, this series is a real change of pace in the way it mixes elements from different mythologies together with such reckless abandon.  It gets to the point where each twist and turn is simply accepted by the reader (of course there are aliens!) and you find yourself just wanting to see what outrageous chain of events is going to unfold next.  It's too bad that this series only lasted six issues before being caught up in the DC Implosion, otherwise, it makes me happy to know that somehow, someway, Beowulf and Nan-Zee would have fought in the Crisis.  

The series itself is very silly (no!), and very over-the-top.  Scribe Michael Uslan explains in the editorial pages that he is working from not only the original poem but also various other adaptions of Beowulf over the centuries, trying to create something new and different from everything which has come before.  And while I do not doubt those motivations, it soon becomes clear that Uslan was just cutting loose and having fun, and the work shines because of it; the writer is having fun, and so it follows that the reader too has fun.  The art is also quite nice for the era.  Peruvian Ricardo Villamonte's work is dynamic and weighty, without aping the styles of say Windor-Smith or the Severins, and is a very good fit for the fantastical elements as well.  His depictions of beasts such as Grendel and Satan are memorable and unique (his Grendel looking like something of a mix between a 50s Marvel monster and something from Stan Winston Studios), and his backgrounds range from lush and artistic to harsh and immediate.  

I picked up the entire series, all six issues, for $5.  And let me tell you, gentle readers, that it is quite possibly the best $5 I have ever spent on comics, no joke.  The amount of enjoyment and pleasure I got from reading these overblown, inane adventures of the Prince of Geats is beyond off the charts.  And with Beowulf recently returning to the pages of DC Comics over in Wonder Woman, now is a perfect time to track down his original adventures.  Anyone looking for a fun short series, looking for something out of the ordinary, or some s&s stuff which is unlike anything else should definitely seek out Beowulf, Dragon Slayer.  You will be glad you did!

(For more info on this series, check out BeowulfTranslations.net and Beowulf In Comics!)

Discount Bin Finds -- "Conan The Barbarian" #195

My RL- and online-pal Adama snagged this one for me, along with several other issues of Marvel's long running sword-and-sorcery epic, during a quarter-bin hunt at one of his local comic shops down in Atlanta, Galactic Quest. See, it pays to have friends who are also into comics, as they will find stuff like this for you even when you are not around. Thanks, Adama!

Anyway, our story opens in a temple with the remains of the Devourer of Souls, who was defeated by the hero Kaleb The Destroyer, leaving only his cloak, cowl, and massive sword. A looter decides to pick up the sword, and faster than you can say "bad idea," the Devourer is reborn, and swears his vengeance as is typical. Meanwhile, Conan, who has been traveling with a group of soldiers and a princess named Annika, broods uncontrollably, much to the dismay of Annika. Another member of the party, an Eastern prince named Kobe, clashes with the captain of the soldiery, Shapur, after Kobe allows the command horses to run free. Sending Kobe to retrieve the horses, the prince is set upon by bandits lead by the warlord Bahkt.

Shapur eventually sets out to find Kobe, only to discover that Conan has gone ahead to confront the well spoken Bahkt. Our favorite barbarian easily defeats the bandit lord, while Shapur rescues Kobe from the poison-spiked prison he was being held in. Back at the camp, Kaleb's daughter Solaise has some strange -- that is, arcane -- interactions with her cat, causing several blinding flashes of light at the bandit's camp, while off in the capital, Emperor Strabonus hires a certain She-Devil with a Sword to hunt down Conan and bring an end to his travels in this region.

Overall, this issue is confusing on the details but decent on the action. There's a ton of characters, most of whom are not introduced very well or expanded upon all that much. This makes it very difficult for a reader coming in without having read the previous chapters to make heads or tails about the relationships of these characters. Why is Conan traveling with these soldiers? Who is Annika, and why is she so concerned with Conan's brooding? What is the Emperor's connection to all this? It's all very dense reading which is hard to comprehend, and scribe Jim Owsley doesn't seem interested in explaining all that much.

Beyond that, though, this is a perfectly fine example of the long-running series. Valdis Semeiks, who's name sounds like a character one might encounter in a Conan story, turns in a good set of pencils which portray the Hyborian setting nicely. His Conan is big and beefy, as he should be, and the action sequences, though bloodless, flow nicely. The Andy Kubert cover is nice, too. It's a simple enough story underneath the details -- just a rescue, essentially -- and it moves along at a good clip while setting up some future conflicts at the same time. In a sense it's nice to see some thought being given to driving the bigger story forward instead of 22 pages of hack-n-slash; even if the end results end up being confusing to the casual reader, I suspect that the long-term subscriber would enjoy such developments.

If I had the other installments in this saga, I think this issue would have been much better. But as it stands, this can be safely skipped as a single -- look for a run, instead.

Discount Bin Finds -- "Steel, The Indestructible Man" #2

My blog-pal Frank asked if I could take a look at Steel #2 after he looked at the first issue. Frank, ask and ye shall receive!

Our story opens with Hank Heywood, USMC, writing in his journal about reconciling with his pacifist girlfriend Gloria, daughter of Dr. Giles Gilbert, who helped Hank become Steel thanks to their "bio-retardent" formula. Gloria doesn't want to think about the war, pretty handily setting her up to get dumped at some point, I imagine. Anyway, Dr. Gilbert himself ponders how the vigilante Steel showed up right after he helped "fix" Hank... but how there just couldn't be a connection between the two events.

Meanwhile, everyone's second favorite Commander Steel nemesis who happens to be a Baron -- that is, Baron Death, out of costume -- and his henchman Bruno pay a visit to Dr. Moag, an America First member who was researching a strange device he happened to create which could transmute inorganic matter into animated, controllable golems. Thinking that selling this technology to the Germans -- oh, excuse me, the Prussians -- during wartime is a bold move for peace, Moag gives them a demonstration. But when Bruno tries to push the doctor away and steal the device, Moag is shoved into the beam (of course!), and trans-morgified into a blue-and-black skinned brute. Luckily, his clothes also morphed into a supervillian costume, as he quickly found that he could control and transmutate any item with any mineral content, and dubbed himself the Mineral Master.

Checking back in with Steel, Hank is performing a stunt to show off his usefulness to the Brass. (Huh?) Leaping from one plane, Steel body-glides down to a lower plane, almost losing it in a cross-wind but utilizing his iron-grip to grab the wing and make it. Once on land, we get to meet some more members of the supporting cast, including the doubting Senator Kulhammer, his daughter and obvious rival love interest Kathy, and her wormy newspaper-man beau Edward Runyon. The Senator blows the whole thing off, claiming it was a trick, while Kathy slips Steel a note documenting her interest. Steel is not left much time to ponder this, though, as Mineral Master hits the scene to destroy an airplane hangar. Ranting about how he would destroy the world's machines of war, he was confronted by Steel, who the Master called a "war hawk" in his rage. Battling on a rising ledge of stone, Steel eventually took a spill, but luckily the Senator's car broke his fall.

The Mineral Master would pop up the next day, taking over a radio station and broadcasting his ravings for all in the New York metropolitan area to hear. Hearing this from his desk at the base, Private Heywood snuck off, leaving his requisition forms behind, and ran from Long Island (although, I am not sure what USMC base is on Long Island) to Manhattan in 20 minutes. Busting in on the still-ranting Mineral Master, Steel rushed his foe, crashing through the wall and into the thin air of 40 stories up. The Master used his powers to transmute a handy save, while Steel, remembering how he gripped the plane's wing, digs his hands into the exterior wall and slows his fall. Unfazed, Mineral Master pulls a Green Arrow and busts out a trick arrow, transmuting a lamp post into a small ballista to attack The Indestructible Man. Steel redirects the projectile, only for Mineral Master to demonstrate his superiority by once again transmuting the arrow into twittering birdies. Showing surprising insight to a guy he had been in contact with for about 10 minutes all told, Steel deduces that the Mineral Master needs to be in contact with the Earth to be at full power; one heavy fist-fall later and Steel had hoisted the Master up above his head, pressing him straight up. For twelve hours, Steel presses Mineral Master high, until slowly his foe's powers fade, and he is unceremonously dumped on the street. Steel, exhasusted from his exertion, is left only to consider that love and being a soldier, indestructible or otherwise, just cannot mix.

This issue was my first proper introduction to Steel, and I just happened to find it in the 3/$1.00 bin at the Borderlands sale in 2007. Luckily, Dr. Gilbert helpfully retells the hero's origin for those of us who came in late. Anyway, it's pretty plain that this is a second issue; with the origin done and recapped, we get the introduction of a new villian, the ongoing machinations of the "big bad," a general idea of the series formula, and a few new supporting characters to round out the cast. Conway has a lot of enthusiasm for the character and the story, and doesn't play things too far from the norm for a patriotic-type character. This portrayl is aided by Don Heck's pencils, which give the story a vintage much more, how do you say, "classic" than the 1978 publishing date would typically suggest. The Captain America influence shines through all the way, but in a good way that is not too derivative, overall -- at least as non-derivative as these things can be given the ubiquitous nature of Cap.

Mineral Master is a pretty good villian, his goofball appearance not withstanding. The twisting of a pacifist into a lunatic is something of a novel change of pace from your typical Ratzi-goon types who normally get punched out by WW2 era heroes. His powers make him a formidable opponent, and his weakness would allow him to easily have returned had the series not gotten the axe. Interesting also is how Steel defeats him; it's commonplace in Superhero comics to showcase how physically strong your hero is, or his great durability, or agility, or intelligence. But it is a relatively rare case where you see his absolute endurance, as you do here. It is a cool switch-up which plays to further round out Steel's powers (and a bit of character as well) moreso than if he had simply punched Mineral Master into submission.

There's some awkwardly handled elements as well, unfortunately. The interplay between Gloria and Hank is stiff and blatant; it's obvious that they cannot be together because of her isolationist pacifism and his moral outrage. So the reader simply marks the time that they are together and moves on, since we know that he'll meet a girl better suited soon enough. And soon enough comes quickly indeed, as we are introduced to Kathy Kulhammer (in tow behind her milquetoast fiance) not even 10 pages later. Yeah, it's early on in what I am sure Conway thought would be a long running story, but the interplay is rough. Similarly, Dr. Gilbert's denial of Hank being Steel just sounds silly, although that storyline would at least turn itself around fairly quickly.

All in all, though, this issue was more than enough to make me a fan of the character and drive me to learn about the dubious legacy that he has had. Using this as a template to the series formula, I have no doubt that, as I said on Frank's Justice League Detroit blog, had the DC Implosion not gone down, that Steel, The Indestructible Man would have probably run for about 50 issues of hardcore, Nazi-busting action. Not the greatest run, but certainly respectable, especially given the relatively tough sell of WW2 era stories in general.

Commander Steel is waiting for the right concept for a revival. After his disaterous series of appearances in Justice League of America, he needs a new lease on life to redeem him. I think Frank has a point in the Commie-Smasher concept. But even if it's just the further adventures of the man busting up Fifth Columnists or smashing things up behind enemy lines, there's more Commander Steel stories to be told, and the concept is just sound enough to deserve it.

Now, if you will excuse me, I need to work on my pitch.

Discount Bin Finds -- Batman And The Outsiders #21

This is another find from the Borderlands sale, one of only a handful of Outsiders comics I have ever found in the shop. It would seem that I am the main Outsiders fan for their clientele, and considering I only became an fan last year, well... let's just say I have first crack at all the slim pickings.

As far as a single issue to find in a discount bin, though, this is an excellent candidate. Not only is it entirely self-contained, but as promised on the cover, it's a trio of short tales, each with a different artist and focusing on a different member of the team -- Katana, Geo-Force, and Black Lightning. Amusingly, on the first page, Halo and Metamorpho complain that they don't get features, but remind the reader to come back next month for the third part of "The Truth About Halo." It's worth nothing that while Trevor von Eeden had done some work on this title, Outsiders co-creator Jim Aparo is not found here, nor would he work on this title any more in the future, replaced with Alan Davis (who draws the intro). I know he came back for the Baxter paper series, but that was a while away still, so I am not sure why he's not on board here. Still, the three artists here (Jerome Moore, von Eeden, and Ron Randall, respectively) all turn in some nice pages, each one different enough from the others to really stand out.

The first tale, "Silent Treatment," stars Katana, who is charged with transporting a rare vase to a museum and keep it from harm. The gimmick is that there is no spoken dialogue; instead, the "narration" is the radio play-by-play of Gotham's footbal team, which just so happens to match up with the action. Barr always seemed to like Katana, and this story shows off her strengths very well, as she is not only able to elude capture through her fighting skill, but her intelligence and guile as well. It's a fun short, and the football angle makes for some great puns, but if you don't like gridiron than this may not make a whole lot of sense.

Up next is a story with everyone's favorite Markovian prince, Geo-Force, called "Jaws, 4--Gotham, 0." Clearly inspired by Jaws 3-D, released about a year and a half earlier, we find Brion visiting a Sea World knock-off and meeting up with a pretty reporter who is unhappy to have "minor celeb" duty. Things take a turn, though, when the developer of a mechanical shark turns his creation on the park, and Geo-Force flies into action to save the day... and get a date. von Eeden's roughish pencils give this short a lot of energy, and Barr's satire is biting without sounding over-the-top or too silly. Stories like this, which show Geo-Force as a likeable sort of goof, really show off the character's strength. He's like Wonder Man in that respect, which is probably why I have grown to like him.

Finally, Black Lightning stars in the the last story, entitled "The Roar Of The Ghetto-Blaster." Barr and Randall slip a little "Created By" credit in for Isabella and von Eeden, though why von Eeden didn't just draw this one I don't know. Anyway, Jefferson Pierce is not having a good week. When trying to track down on of his dilenquient students, he runs into a violent, costumed anti-slum protestor named the Ghetto-Blaster, who is destroying the run down tenements in Gotham City by force. Black Lightning is less than impressed with his disregard for the safety of those arounf him, and stops him -- earning him the ire of the frustrated and angry crowd. Beating a retreat, it seems that Jefferson's more moderated views are rejected, even by his straying students. Lightning is able to win the day, though, when he finds out that the Ghetto-Blaster is not destroying the slums to help the neighborhood, but trying to find the money he stashed after a bank-job a decade earlier. It's worth nothing that this story reads like something which would not have been out of place in Black Lightning's mag in the 70s, and that BL figures out that Blaster is a criminal through his use of prison slang, not entirely unlike that one issue of World's Finest starring Green Arrow!

Overall, I really enjoyed this comic. Three short stories make it almost like a superhero anthology, especially with the three different artists and the vastly different tones in each feature. Barr still seems to really enjoy writing his characters, and gives each one a definite and distinctive voice (well, not Katana this time out, but you know what I mean!). This also serves as a good introduction to the Outsiders for someone who is not already familiar with them (similar to The Brave And The Bold #200, but in solo environments instead of as a team). If you happen across this issue for a good price, buy it.

Discount Bin Finds -- Darkhawk Annual #2

Picked this one up for a buck one day while killing time at Borderlands. I was suitably impressed by the fact that whomever had bought it originally, and anyone who may have had it between that point and it's eventual deposit in the discount bin, never actually opened up the polybag. Because lord knows Darkhawk Annual #2 was going to be one of those in-demand sealed bag books. In any event, this oversized Annual features, like all of the Marvel offerings of this type from 1993, the debut of a new character -- in this case the villain Dreamkiller -- who is enshrined on a trading card. And I am willing to bet that this is the only Dreamkiller trading card in existance.

In the main feature, entitled simply "Dreamkiller!" teenager Danny Powell (secretly our hero, of course!) is living with his mother and two brothers in a run down Queens boarding house after their house had been destroyed in a fire. He is disturbed from his slumber and summoned to Westchester county by the daughter of one of Darkhawk's adversaries, who claims to be the victim of an extortion scheme to return one of her father's mystical "Objects of Power." Turns out the Object is now in the possession of one Alex Tennyson, who uses it to summon his subconcious to the corporeal plane in the form of the hulking monster known as Dreamkiller, who, appropriately, seeks to destroy the hopes and dreams of his enemies. Darkhawk clashes with the hugely powerful Dreamkiller, and promptly gets tossed from pillar to post. A little quick thinking on Danny's part, though, and Dreamkiller has to beat a hasty retreat. Danny's not in the best of shape, but I guess it's not easy being a hero as a teenager, huh?

The three backup stories are all shorter, but still somewhat interesting. The first, "Force of Evil," has Ocsh, the sentient Darkhawk ship, fighting off an assualt from the evil Darkhawk, foreshadowing the villain's eventual return. Next is "Taking a Stand," where Danny gets his two brothers tickets to a Mets game, where he is working as a vendor, and things turn ugly. Finally, in "Savage Is The Night!" we see the creation of the new Savage Steel, who intends to use the Stane Industries-product armor for good instead of turning into a bloodthirsty killer like the previous owners.

Darkhawk was a title I picked up occassionally when I was a kid. The character's looks and personality appealed to me as a "tween" and young teenager, and his adventures were usually pretty fast and fun. So it's not too surprising to me that I liked this Annual well enough. It's not great by any sense of the word, but it has four stories which would have no doubt been welcome to a Darkhawk fan in 1993. The main feature is pretty strong, even if it is mainly just an extended normal issue. Dreamkiller, despite being a product of a gimmicky "event," is actually a pretty decent setup for a bad guy. It's too bad he got used exactly once more (ironically, in Darkhawk Annual #3). His looks is pure 90s goofiness, but I think you could work with it. It wouldn't even be that hard to change it around, really. The second and fourth stories are of the "sneak-peek" variety, giving readers a little glimpse of stories that will come forth later, and to that end they both do a good job. The idea of Ocsh having to store the Evilhawk android on board and yet be constantly vigil of it is pretty cool. The third feature is a nice piece of characterization of the Brothers Powell, which is pretty welcome in between all the action but ultimately meaningless out of the context of the series.

All of the stories are penned by Darkhawk creator and regular scribe Danny Fingeroth, so the tone and characters remain consistant throughout. The art, handled respectively by Aaron Lopresti (!!), Don Cameron, Larry Alexander, and Scott Kolins (!!), is a mixed bag of early-90s Marvel house style... but at least there is nothing too outlandish or bizarre to complain about! Actually, in all fairness, the art is not bad, but a lot of modern readers won't be able to relate to it, I don't think.

In any event, for the dollar I paid for this, I was certainly satisfied with the quality of the stories and the art. And, to be honest, if I had paid $2.95 for this back in that summer of '93, I'd have probably been pretty darn happy with it then as well. And no doubt, my Dreamkiller card would be in a hard plastic card case, and I'd be lamenting his lack of further appearances. Kinda like I am doing now.

Discount Bin Finds -- Unknown Soldier #266

Picked up this one at the Borderlands "Big Annual Sale" last month, and let me tell you, it's not too frequent that I spot a War book in them discount bins, so I snatched it up.

Like any good comic featuring tough as nails fightin' men, this is an anthology. The first story is our cover feature, and finds the Unknown Soldier in the deserts of North Africa, with an American tank batallion opposing Rommel's offensive. After a member of the unit was murdered, the Soldier has handcuffed himself to the Commander -- who is the prime suspect. There's a rat in the company, and it's up to the Soldier to sort out who it is before the Desert Fox bulldozes them all with a couple hundred tons of rolling steel! Haney's script is your usual Unknown Soldier fare, filled with testosterone and bravado, but not too over-the-top. The main weakness of the story is Dick Ayer's art -- there's a crucial plot point which is based around a betrayl, but his soldiers are hard to tell apart, which makes it confusing. It's not impossible, but it took a second reading to get it straight. I am a sucker for the Soldier and his adventures, so I enjoyed this one quite a bit. I always hear Lee Marvin's voice when he talks.

The second tale is everyone's favorite Hammer of Hell, Enemy Ace. German WW1 ace Hans von Hammer has been tangling with a wild American pilot, who seems more cowboy than flyboy (Balloon Buster!). While his Fokker is being repaired from their previous encounter, von Hammer has time to mull over the nature of war, and of this unusual man he finds himself set against. Setting out to engage his rival one-on-one, the Ace may have bitten off more than he can chew this time out! Enemy Ace was always one of the stronger War features at DC, and this little story is a good example of that. John Severin's moody pencils evoke Joe Kubert without aping him, and set the tone very nicely for this aerial tale. And despite a Bob Kanigher script, things remain relatively low-key in this outing, again, as is typical for the Enemy Ace.

That whole notion of "low-key" gets tossed aside in the final story, starring none other than the Viking Commando! Viking Commando? For those not in the know, our star is Valoric, a Viking who was killed before his time, and sent by Odin back to the land of the living -- in World War 2. Oh wait, it gets better. Because, you see, since he's a viking, he fights the "Huns" with an axe. Not a gun, not an axe-gun, but just a normal axe. Oh, and did I mention that he has a spectral Valkyrie who follows him around, jealously commenting about his living love interest? Not all of them were Sgt. Rock, folks. Unsurpsingly, the story involves the Viking Commando being declared legally insane and unfit to serve! Written and drawn by his creators, Bob Kanigher and George Evans, this is a silly tale, almost comic relief. I think that Kanigher had big plans for the Commando (he was the star of All-Out War, which was canned after 6 issues in 1979... in fact, I think this story is a leftover from that period), but time has not been so kind to poor Valoric.

Overall, this comic was a lot of fun to read. You have everything from the sublime to the ridiculous all in 22 pages. All three features are enjoyable in their own way -- Unknown Soldier for the in-your-face, Dirty Dozen style war story, Enemy Ace for the more pensive approach, and good ole Valoric for the inane. Save for the slight confusion in the first story, the art is nice throughout, with each artist having a distinct and unique style. But most interesting to me is that this comic was published in 1982, and yet the kind of stories being told in it could have just as easily been the 70s, or 60s. For most readers, World War 2 (and heck, World War I for the Ace) has such a timeless feel to it that the stories about it (fictional or otherwise) never seem to grow stale or old. It's the strength of the setting and one of the strengths of the genre. The end was in site for this title (it would last but two more issues), but it does make me happy to see that DC was still publishing above-average quality genre comics during my lifetime. Not long into my lifetime, but during it nonetheless.

Discount Bin Finds -- Kull The Conqueror #3

Kull The Conqueror #3

Thought I'd start dipping into the large pile of non-superhero comics I have picked up in the last month with this little beauty from '72. I don't know how long it had been sitting in that Discount Bin at Borderlands, but it's in pretty decent shape considering.

Our story opens, as is appropriate for Kull, at the court of Valusia, with the barbarian King engaged in a sparring match with his close friend Brule, the Pict. After Kull wins the fight, he returns to his throne to think about his recent adventure, where he obtained a powerful gem, the Eye of stone Serpent Idol, which grants it's holder invulnerability, and how the other Eye was missing. His revelrie is disturbed by the arrival of a guest at his court, Thulsa Doom.

That night, Kull's consort Shiva, seduces and then murders the sentry outside the King's bedchamber, then sneaks in to steal the Eye. When Kull discovers this, she transforms into a harpie and tries to escape! But Kull is too crafty for her, and grabs ahold of her, grabbing the gem and escaping in time to find Doom, his true skeletal face revealed! Recovering his wits, Kull sets out to give the Eye to his trusted friend, the King of the Picts, Ka-Nu. But he is assaulted by Thulsa's illusions again and again, until finally Kull hands the Eye over to the sorcerer, who has taken the form of Ka-Nu! Thulsa, possessing both Eyes, is now powerful beyond all belief. Needless to say, our hero wakes up the next morning, chained in his own court, and Thulsa Doom plans to achieve ultimate power by combining the two Eyes. But has ole Skull-head bitten off more than he can chew? And can Kull save Valusia from the wrath of the ancient sorcerer?

The script is Roy Thomas all the way, filled with his usual Hyborean Age flourishes. It still reads well enough, but it's a little over the top taken in the modern context. I can't hold it at too much fault, though, since I am a big proponent of a genre having a distinctive voice, and that certainly is the case here. Speaking of distinctive, the artwork by Marie and John Severin looks like something of a mix between Barry Windsor-Smith and Joe Kubert, and it looks absolutely fantastic. I mean, the sinewy, muscled look of Kull is masculine without being outrageous, and the bizarre illusions cast by Thulsa Doom -- heck, even Doom himself -- are of the best type of fantasy illustration for the medium.

Thomas does a good job of differentiating Kull from the more well-known and popular Conan, making sure to include scenes of the barbarian king brooding over his fate and his station. There's plenty of action to go along with the thoughtful stuff, and the story has a definite beginning, middle, and end -- always a plus. These sword-and-sorcery comics are not for everyone, but if you enjoy a good hack-n'-slash adventure from time to time, you should take a break from Conan and check out a Kull now and again.

(Thanks to the awesome Appendix to the Marvel Universe for the picture of Thulsa Doom!)

Discount Bin Finds -- Iron Man #195

You ever notice that you tend to find certain back issues with more frequency than others? Now, I know what you are saying. "Of course, Luke. There's a massive pile of old X-Force and Brigade and Secret Weapons comics at my shop!" But that's not what I am getting at here. No, what I mean is, have you ever noticed that certian particular issues show up with more frequency than others? It's an odd phenomenon, and one which I have seen multiple times with this particular issue, Iron Man #195.

For whatever reason, this cover, with it's eye-catching split-face graphic dominating, seems to pop up a lot when I go back issue hunting. It was one of the first back issues of Iron Man I ever got from a discount bin years ago, and yet I keep on seeing it. I don't really see any of the issues around it all that often, only this one. What could the reason be? Maybe this issue had a slightly higher print run? More non-regular readers bought it due to the cover? Shaman being hugely popular at one point and then his fandom crashed? I don't know the answer. It's one of those great unexplainable head-scratchers of American comics, like how Jack Kirby designed costumes for two different guys named "The Sandman" at two different companies.

Anyway, onto the actual comic, brought to you by Denny O'Neil on words and Luke McDonnell on pencils. As implied by the cover, this is during the period when Jim Rhodes was wearing the red-and-golds, and he is going through a bit of a personal crisis. For months now, Rhodey has been having intense, debilitating headaches every time he puts on the Iron Man armor. Having exhausted his medical options, he heads north of the border to seek out Shaman, thinking a mystic might be able to help him. Shaman acts as Rhodey's guide of sorts on a journey into the metaphysical, which brings our hero into some dangerous territory inside his own psyche. Meanwhile, recovering alcoholic Tony Stark is inspired by his old Hawkeye to work on a new armor, as a sort of therapy technique.

This era of Iron Man was blessed by having not one, but two really strong creative teams working on the title. Starting from when "Bob & Dave" (Layton and Micheline) took over, through O'Neil's tenure, then back to Bob afterwards, it was one of Marvel's superior titles in the late 70s and early 80s, before the rise of the mutant franchise and the decline of the "heroes" books. Denny O'Neil's run is characterized by Tony Stark's collosal collapse off the wagon, and the ascension of long time second banana Jim Rhodes into the armor. And unlike a lot of other identity swaps, it works out well and holds up to re-reading. (It helps that Stark, in his alcoholic state, remained a supporting focus of the title, and that Rhodey himself was so well built and characterized since his introduction.)

Taken on it's own, this issue is a satisfying Marvel comic, with lots of self-doubt and heroic flaws on display. The main story of Rhodey's "vision quest" (of sorts) is filled with trippy visuals of the kind one doesn't normally find in this feature. In an oblique way, this issue reminds me of one of a few other favorite issues of Iron Man which deal with similar themes: #232, the epilogue of "Stark Wars/Armor Wars," and #300, where Tony overcomes his paralysis (which takes up about half of the oversized length). All three deal with the nature of the men wearing the armor and just what the armor is protecting them from, a central theme in the Shellhead mythos going back to the Tales of Suspense days. The issue does lack the main focus of most Iron Man comics -- that is, technology and armored action -- but you don't mind too much as you are reading since it allows the characters to shine through instead.

So, the next time you are perusing a discount bin and you happen to see this title (and trust me, at some point, you will!), pick it up and try it out. Even if you are not an Iron Fan, I'm willing to bet you might find something worthwhile inside.

Discount Bin Finds: Justice League of America v.1:no.245

I couldn't get to Borderlands this past Friday, so I did not end up getting any new comics this week (shock piles upon shock!). So, thanks to a little inspiration from my fellow comics blogger and Martian Manhunter enhtusiant Frank, I figured I would bust out this little gem, which I picked up for a cool 33 cents back last spring. Enjoy!

Justice Leage of America #245 -- "The Long Road Home," by Gerry Conway and Luke McDonnell

In this "Crisis on Infinite Earths" tie-in, Steel (Hank Heywood III) is mysteriously thrown into a strange and alien world, where he must battle weird creatures and technology! We meet up with young Hank (scribe Gerry Conway politely slips in a note that our hero is but 19 years old), he's disoriented and just about dead on his feet. Unluckily for him, some strange bugs have the notion to change his situation to dead in their stomachs. Steel is saved by a mysterious (and beautiful natch) woman named Olanda, who takes him back to her high tech shelter to recover. It turns out that he is in fact on Earth, in the faaaar future, thanks to a time warp effect from the Crisis, and his host is none other than the Lord Of Time, and that he has come here to the year 1,000,000,000 (!) to live out his years. I suppose so that he wouldn't feel lonely, Lordy also cloned himself several times, producing six "sons," and Olanda, his favored "daughter." Needless to say the Six didn't take too kindly to this, and stole the LOT's Time Cube, amassing an army of technology with which to get their revenge. Too bad they didn't count on one hot-headed hero to bust things up!

Meanwhile, back in the present in a storyline no one really cares about, the remainder of the Justice League stands and watches J'Onn J'Onzz drop some knowledge on the hospitalized Commander Steel's backside. You know, because it's a Justice League comic and not and issue of Showcase.

As a standalone issue, this is a nice enough Steel story, with a lot of action and some history thrown in for good measure. Steel gets his second costume here, the one which exposes his hair, but with little fanfare and I doubt much reader concern. It's a nice touch to have the baddies not be just generic Futurans, but to tie back to the old, old, incredibly old school JLA foe the Lord of Time. Too bad that I'm pretty sure neither the Six nor Olanda ever showed up again. Luke McDonnell's pencils are nice enough for the era, but there are some weird anatomical examples on display here, including the cover (itself part of a nice little tradition of showing the Heywood family in tremendous pain). Nothing eye-aching, but a few panels require a double-take. Conway though. Oooh Mr. Gerry Conway. I mean, it's plain that he really likes the character of Steel, and as such his portrayl of an angry young hero is pretty good. The main story is a nice twist on the "dystopian future" premise, as well, even if it does fall victim to a few of it's trappings. The rest of the League doesn't fare as well, as the female team-members have three lines total, with Gypsy not even getting to say "boo." Dale Gunn has a bigger role. Still, there's a few instances in the 23 pages of story here where one is forced to wonder if he being totally sincere with the reader, or that he is playing around. What do I mean?

Let me just say that any comic featuring the line "Send a Kill-Bot. We need the interloper alive." is either genius or madness. I leave it to you to decide.

Perfectly servicible comic which is only very loosely tied to "COIE," but that's okay since it would be indecipherable otherwise. Worthwhile if you like Steel, or the Heywood clan, otherwise it's safe to pass.

Discount Bin Finds: Outsiders v.1:no.4

I picked this one up almost at random one day at Borderlands. I had been awaiting the release of the Outsiders Showcase volume, and decided to pick this up as a sort of prologue to that. Well, that didn't work out, as I didn't get to read this until this week, but better late than never I always say -- just like Joe Quesada!

Our story opens with the shady Bad Samaritan speeding on a jet over the Pacific, being closely pursued by the Force of July, who in turn are being pursued by our heroes -- Geo-Force, Katana, Black Lightning, Halo, Metamorpho, and Looker. Turns out that the Samaritan has stolen printing plates for both American and Markovian currency, and intends to deliver them to the Soviets in order to wreak havoc on the Western economy! Forced to put their differences aside for the good of their respective missions, the Outsiders and the Force have to work together to stop the Samaritan as well as the stinkin' Commie bastards. But can two teams with so much bad blood co-operate at all?

Mike W. Barr and Jim Aparo (who else?) present a fairly typical Outsiders tale, as we get a Barr team of bad guys, a plot involving political crime, and the specific use of the Cold War as a backdrop to the Soviet threat. There's two big action sequences -- one atop a Soviet submarine, and the other at a remote facility deep inside the Soviet border -- and both teams get to show off their various skills at kicking butt. Barr (that magnificent bastard) shines the spotlight on his creations, as is typical, but we get some nice moments out of it, a nice relief in the middle of all the combat. The Force of July gets a little screen time as well, and, honestly, though Barr got a lot of flak from Conservatives (including in the lettercol this issue) about them, I really like them as a team. They make a nice counterpoint to the Outsiders and deserve better than the fate they each eventually ended up with. Are they jingoistic? Yeah. But they are patriots too, and it becomes a question of ends and means, which is more depth than I think most suspected of them.

Aparo is Aparo; he could probably have drawn this team in his sleep at this point, but that's no reflection on the dynamism and power of his work, which is still super-pleasing to the eye, especially on the heavier Baxter paper it's printed on. Funny how even in today's world of high gloss paper, the Baxter still has a nice, heavy feel to it -- a nicely tactile experience.

There's also a short Metamorpho backup, done in the old Fradon-Haney sytle by Barr and Joe Staton. It's amusing but for an eight page back up it's a little light. That's okay though, since it's mainly a comedy piece with a little bit of that "Morpho Charm," so to speak.

I liked this comic quite a bit, but in the last few months I have in short order discovered and became a fan of the Outsiders, so that's not really surprising. Maybe its the "honeymoon" period as a new fan, but if Dixon's new BATO was in this style, I would be a very happy reader. Barr and Aparo pull off a nice balancing act of "social awareness" and superheroics, and it looks crisp and clean even 20 years after publication thanks to the "deluxe" pricepoint. Outsiders fans or those looking for a little DC action could do a lot worse than to check this comic out.

Discount Bin Finds

Magnus, Robot Fighter #32

Well, that certainly was a long Turkey Day break, from work as well as from blogging. I thought that after being MIA for almost a week, I should ease my way back into things. And what better way to ease into comic book blogging than by talking about a guy fighting alien robots with karate in the far future? And we all know that when that is the taste you are craving, you turn to none other than Magnus, Robot Fighter.

A little catch-up for those unfamiliar: Magnus fights robots. using karate. In the future. In all seriousness, this story takes place during the invasion of the Malevs, evil space robots who attack Earth and manage to capture and enslave NorthAm, the giant city consisting of the entirty of North America (Magnus' traditional stomping ground). As the issue opens, Magnus and several of his freedom fighter allies are in SouthAm, where the Malevs are trying to spread their conquest by destroying the rain forests in an effort to choke out all resistance. In the aftermath of stopping this plan, however, a most curious event takes place: A Malev drone develops Free Will, and is forced to ask the question of Why am I killing?

For a stand-alone story which takes place during a larger arc of an even larger ongoing saga, this comic is surprisingly easy to read. There is some continuity-stuff which will confuse new readers (who is Talon and his Steel Legion, for one), but I think most readers familiar with certain science-fiction trappings will be able to enjoy this one. Anthony Bedard (better known around these parts as Tony Bedard) poses some heavy questions for a comic from 1994. Talon, a Freewill robot, accuses Magnus of genocide, for his countless deactivations of other Freewills, while Magnus believes he acted in the best interest of humanity. The Malevelent Emperor Malev-7 questions the ramifications of a Malev gaining sentience and emotions. And poor Unit 2438, who must come to grips with the fact that it (he?) is little more than an engine designed to murder humans and harvest their base elements for fuel -- and finds quite a few people very interested in it's very existance.

Califiore's pencils are not showy or ostentatious, but he seems to enjoy rendering the various robots and sci-fi tech on display as well as the action. In a lot of ways Bedard's script embodies a lot of the strengths of a property like Magnus -- or, really, a lot of science fiction settings -- by mining the surface premise for the allegorical core. That is a generally superior aspect of this series from it's revitalization by Valiant, but here, stripped of some more commonplace superhero window dressing, the meaning rises the tope easily.

If you find this one in a discount bin someday, give it a shot. Even if you don't normally like Valiant or Magnus, this is a thought-provoking tale about morality and freedom.

Discount Bin Finds -- "Robocop" #2-4

I hate starting so many posts with variants of "when I was a kid." But sometimes there's just no other way to address a topic. Like this post, for example. In the summer of '87, not too long after I had turned 7, my family and I went to a sneal preview double feature which strongly influenced a lot of my interests and is still felt today. That double feature? Predator and Robocop. (And no, my wife does not understand why my parents took their 7- and 9-year old sons to a pair of hard R movies.)

Predator was a known commodity to my brother and I -- it was Schwarzenegger, for one, and the film was hyped a lot of WWF programming because of Jessie Ventura. But Robocop? Never heard of it. Needless to say I enjoyed it. A lot. I even had the one sheet on my door for many years, before it was eventually replaced with Darkman. So when I received these comics (along with most of the rest of the run) from my brother after one Con or another, I was very intrigued to see how Marvel handled ol' Robo. The answer: surprisingly British.

Oh, don't get me wrong, Robocop still patrols the streets of Old Detroit. But the creative team -- penciller Lee Sullivan and scripter Alan Grant -- both have a decidedly British feel to them. And why not: Sullivan is English, Grant is Scottish, and both cut their teeth working on 2000 AD like all good British comic pros. And they bring that Dredd sensibility to these comics featuring the decidedly American take on the Future of Law Enforcement.

The stories herein are surprisingly good for a licensed comic from 1990. In Old Detroit, OCP is still trying to build Delta City, but in the meantime, crime runs rampant. The police force is overworked, outgunned, and overwhelmed, and the success of the Robocop program has inspired some competition. One of OCP's rivals, Nixco, has introduced a new kind of cop: the brutal robots called Nixcops. To make things worse, there are factions inside OCP who still think the ED-series is the future, and have access to ED-209s. Thrown into this mix is the insane genius Dr. Cybex, who once consulted for not only OCP, but Nix and the other Detroit Megacorporations, and created the preliminary designs for many of their most successful products -- including Robocop! Needless to say there's a lot of moral ambiguity, not to mention violence, robots, and robot violence.

The series is both surprisingly and unsurprisingly violent. There's plent of gunplay, and both innocent citizens and perps are gunned down. This is surprising considering the fact that this is a licensed book; but, really, it's unsurprising given both the license in question, and the timeframe of publication. Truly more surprising is the amount of care given by Grant in his writing and Sullivan in his rendering. This is a mature comic, despite the subject matter -- not exactly Frank Miller, but leaps and bounds beyond Marvel's other attempt at the Robo-license, the cartoon series. The tone connects with the Verhoven original as well as the first sequel, with frequent Media Break broadcasts and shady white collar criminals mixing with the more outlandish elements of Robocop 2, like a pizza pie eating slob of a ganger named (I kid you not) Joe Pizza. Grant handles the action, violence, scheming and satire equally well (more 2000 AD influence), and even handles some of the idiosynacracies of the license fairly well (ie, we never learn The Old Man's name, so he has to be referred to "The Old Man" by everyone.)

Sullivan's work is very interesting, looking back at it some 17 years after the fact. At first blush, he doesn't look all that different from a gaggle of other Marvel artists from the era. But his storytelling skills are stronger, and it soon becomes evident that his work suits the subject matter far better than his contemporaries on various superhero or mutant titles. Everything has a layer of grit and grime on it, and there's a lot of shadows in this dark, decaying city. Occassionally, there's some inconsistancy (The Old Man has a moustache in one issue), but his linework is strong and works very well in this science fiction setting, without sinking into lurid gore or splatter. He's helped out somewhat by his inker, Kim DeMulder, who works at a nice, variable weight -- humans are easily differentiated from their robotic castmates based on the heaviness of their inking, which is nice.

Overall, these three issues (read in one sitting) were a lot of fun to this Robocop fan. They're not on the same level as the films or the Dark Horse comics, but they are fun, with a lot of action and some humor mixed in. They may not be the greatest pieces of comics literature ever produced -- in fact let me go out and say that no, they are not -- but considering how cheaply you can probably pick them up for, you can't go wrong with these tales. Plus, one story has cybernetic apes in it. Cybernetic apes!

Discount Bin Finds

Weird Science #13/2

The kids these days, they don't know how good they got it.

As anyone reading this probably knows, back in the days of Newsstand distribution, there was a postage fee involved for publishers putting out a new #1 -- obviously, Marvel and DC as we know it would never be able to function in such an environment. But publishers at the time took this in stride, including Bill Gaines over at EC. See, Weird Science was one of the many horror, crime, and science fiction format mags which EC was starting to put out to an eager audience of boys in the early 1950s. Before transitioning into aliens and mad scientists, this series was known for it's first eleven issues as Saddle Romances (I think there is something to be said that WS replaced not just a Western book, but a Western Romance book). Well anyone expecting prarie love and heartache was in for a big shock with #12, and it continued in the next installment, which is what we are looking at today.

Now, obviously, I didn't find an original copy of Weird Science #13/2 in a discount bin. But my brother did happen to find a Russ Cochran/Gemstone reprint copy while at a comic book show, and he was kind enough to give it to me. I'm a big fan of the "Big Three" EC horror books -- Tales From The Crypt, The Haunt of Fear and personal favorite Vault of Horror -- but I unfortunately had never read much of their "weird" books, which also included Weird Fantasy. I like science fiction almost as much as I like horror, so I was eager to check out this blast from the past.

Like any good EC title, this is an anthology, with four main features, plus a pair of single-page text pieces to keep us entertained. Each is lettered in the classic EC all-caps block style, which, combined with the "house style" of the art (from the EC mainstays) and Al Feldstein's unstoppable brain, makes for a unique comic experience.

The first feature is titled, straight-forwardly enough, "The Flying Saucer Invasion," which is written and drawn by Feldstein. People all over the country start to see UFOs in the sky, and, like all good Americans, report them to the government. A federal investigator is called in to quell the "UFO panic," and using deductive reasoning, is able to dismiss the "wild" claims of the gullible dupes who have bought into this UFO stuff. So once can imagine the egg on his face a government space observation station spots a giant fleet of saucers heading straight for the unarmed and unprepared Earth! Read enough EC comic books and you will quickly get familiar with this type of character archetype: The Smug Smart Guy. Too smart for their own good, they inevitably "prove" something to be untrue, only to have that untruth come back to bite them where it hurts.

Next up is "The Meteor Monster," which reminds me of a mix between The Thing From Another World and The Beast With A Million Eyes. A small alien crashlands on Earth, and quickly dominates the mind of any human whom it looks in the eyes. Quickly taking over the entire town, our astro-fiend has designs to control the entire planet, but they don't really stick when the town's one blind guy manages to break everyone free from his control -- unleashing their righteous anger in the process. Needless to say there is a little nest of the aliens hiding out that the humans don't notice, but you knew that, right? Alliterative artists Wally Wood and Harry Harrison (who would later go on to pen the inspiration for Soylent Green) team up for this quirky little story.

The next installment is our first text peice, ominously entitled "The Experiment." Like most of these quickie stories from the period, it's not very good, but it's not entirely unreadable like some, either. Considering that a lot of these were done to get the content count up for postage purposes, it's usually a roll of the dice anyway. Essentially, scientists trying to observe the heavens end up sending the entire universe out of whack (as scientists will do).

Our third feature is entitled "The Micro Race," and if this Feldstein and Jack Kamen effort was not the inspiration for the classic Simpsons bit "The Genesis Tub," I'd be really surprised. A scientist (using RADIOACTIVITY!) creates a microscopic race of organisms who live at an accelerated rate in order to study the history of humanity. Needless to say, the tiny race is much more humanlike than the scientist initially predicts, and they begin not only to settle their internal conflicts violently, but also to aggressively defend their very existance against "higher powers." A story like this seems quaint now, but in 1950, this was pushing it. It's a familiar theme but a nice riff on it.

The second and last text story, "Sands of Time," is better than the first one. Dealing with a strange kind of sand which began in a farmer's yard in South Carolina, the silicate substance spreads to cover the entire East Coast. Told as a series of AP articles, everything is presented very matter-of-factly, with no embellishment or explanation beyond the facts. Pretty interesting considering the brevity, really.

Finally, the fourth feature, "The Man Who Raced Time," drawn by none other than Harvey Kurtzman (of Mad fame), stars a somewhat-mad scientist of the "Fools! I'll destroy them all!" school. Repeatedly spurned by the pretty young professor he lusts after, he uses his experimental machine on himself, speeding him up faster than the eye can see. This allows him to causes all sorts of trouble in a (failing) effort to win his lady love's affections. But when the gal decides to marry her handsome suiter, the scientist's attempts at engineered vehicular manslaughter go all sorts of wrong. The simple moral here -- chasing pretty girls will inevitably be the death of you -- is pretty universal. Seriously though, I really liked the ending to this one, which is pretty immediate in it's impact and also touches on the Smug Smart Guy archetype a bit too.

All in all, you get 31 pages of weird fun, a pretty good return on investment considering that this reprint cost $1.50 when it was published, and only put my brother back a buck or so. That's the value of anthology titles right there. None of the stories are really outstanding, but they make for diverting reading and are short enough that you can read one without getting too involved. The art is strong throughout, with the four artists each unique but thematically tied together. Of course, we all know what would befall EC a few years after this was initially published, but that doesn't mean we can't all enjoy the fruits of their labors some 50 years after the fact. With RC and Gemstone reprinting various EC titles in the early-to-mid 90s, plus the new hardcovers in stores now, it's a good time to go on a little hunt for something just to the left of center. And while the "glory days" of EC might have been short-lived, it makes me happy to know that we can still re-live them today to our strange little hearts' content.

Discount Bin Finds

This is a special All-Iron Man Edition! Dollar dollar bill, y'all!

Iron Man v.1:no.169 -- Denny O'Neil's hellish journey for Tony Stark takes a turn here, as Tony is so drunk that he can barely control his armor as he is trashed by B-list baddie Magma. Given the choice between his creation and another drink, Stark chooses the latter... leaving James Rhodes holding the helmet! This leads directly into the next issue, where Rhodes offically becomes Iron Man, a position he would hold pretty much for two and a half years. Can you imagine something like that today (except maybe the outing of Matt Murdoch over in Daredevil)? Having bought the majority of this run over the last two years, I have a soft spot for this story about Tony's Big Bender. Not the greatest individual Shellhead story ever but still very enjoyable and the prelude to a milestone.

Iron Man Annual #4 -- It's a 48 page GIANT as Shellhead tracks down MODOK with the help of the Champions. Yes, folks, its the 70s. This book is more a house ad for the Champions than anything else, which is alright since I'm sure they needed the help. Its not bad but not great; in a lot of ways this is a typical Marvel Bronze Age story just beefed up. The Champions always struck me as team you might find in a pencil and paper game where none of the players talked beforehand about what level or type of character to play. This issue also sees the debut appearance of Stryke, AIM cyborg/android guy who holds his own against Iron Man, then thinks he will be a hero in AIM, and is promptly never heard from again. The Knauf's should bring him back! There's also a very short backup featuring Midnight, the other son of Fu Mancu, trying to recruit the old Shellhead foe Half-Face. What this is doing here, and not in the pages of "Master of Kung-Fu," I have no idea. Fun but not really substantial.

Force Works #1 -- In the wake of the forced closure of Avengers West, Iron Man decides that now is the time to think outside the box. Assembling a team of team of similarly displaced Earth's Mightiest (Scarlet Witch, Spider-woman II, USAgent, and Wonder Man), he pitches his Force Works concept, where instead of just reacting to threats, the team would actively try to prevent them from become full-scale disasters. Unfortunately, a Kree strikeforce has other ideas! Force Works is often criticized for its art and storytelling, and while I can understand the first part, I really can't see the second part from this issue. The art is a product of the times (1994), with exagerrated anatomy and lots of scantily-clad babes (Wanda's new outfit is all sorts of wrong, though the gazongas on display here put some of today's cheesecake artists to shame!). But the story by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning is actually pretty compelling. There was a lot of enthusiasm from the creators and from Marvel itself about this title. It may have been a response to the popularity of the Image team books which were selling like hot cakes at the time, but its a well-thought out response if nothing else. Ultimately the book failed, but this first issue showed a lot of promise insofar as driving things in new directions, even if *sniff* it seemed like Simon got killed (again).

Of some note is that I not only got the first issue, but also the Ashcan preview. The Ashcan tells a little bit more of the story as the Agent and Spider-Woman meet up with the Starstealth outside the compound while the rest of the team is inside. Its not much but its a nice touch and we get introduced to the Agent's new photon-shield. More interesting is Tony's files on the team members and the little comments from the creative team, which supports my claim about enthusiasm. Iron Fans and 90s kids will like this one.

Where I come from, this is 3 bucks well spent! Anyone else have any good Discount Bin Finds?

Discount Bin Finds

Justice League Task Force #1-3 -- One of the venerable classics of the DC universe, rarely has there been a time when there wasn't a Justice League title of some sort on the stands. From the original series, to the Giffen/DeMatteis reworking, to the franchise branding of the 90s, to Morrison's return of the Big 7 to the current series, there's always something out there with DC superheroes sitting around a table. But none of the eras are truly as odd as the mid-90s.

Right around the time of Superman's death at the hands (fists) of Doomsday, there was a lot of shake-ups going down involving the League. There were 3 titles: Justice League America, Justice League International (formerly Europe), and Justice League Quarterly (which were a popular idea at the time). Into this mix was thrown this series, Justice League Task Force, which promised a rotating cast of characters picked for each mission. It got worse in 94, when International and Quarterly were cancelled in favor of Extreme Justice, which was one of those tremendously bad ideas with which one is left to simply shrug and say "It was the 90s."

In any event, the first three issues of Task Force deal with everyone's favorite Martian, J'onn J'onzz, being recruited by skeevy UN rep Hannibal Martin to put together a strike force made up of Leaguers but without official League presence. The Manhunter from Mars pulls in an eclectic group: old Detroit-League pal Gypsy, fellow founder Aquaman, the Flash, and, taking Batman's place, Nightwing. Their mission: infiltrate a South American republic and stop the rebel freedom fighters from toppling the government of the US-allied dictator. Too bad they don't know that a certain benefactor has provided the rebels with a "death wave generator" device, which they intend to use on the capital!

Sounds heavy, right? Well, being as these were published in 1993, not so much. There's a strong play at being relevant and weighty, but in the end it's little more than an excuse to get the team together to bicker and argue their way through a mission. It's also not just a little cliched -- it's South America so of course there's a drug lord with a lush private estate -- and characterization consistantly takes a backseat to guys getting chin-checked. Don't get me wrong: Michelinie has a good handle on the characters and writes solid action. But those looking for philosphical debate should seek elsewhere. The point here is the spandex and the fighting, which, considering the fact that the title says Justice League, sounds right to me.

Sal Velluto's art is typical of DCs from the period, trying to be a little more ostentatious but generally more low key than their Marvel or Image contemporaries. And honestly, for a few bucks you could do worse than the story here within. It's a fun concept, and there's not a lot of tacked on baggage before things get chugging. I enjoyed these a lot more than I expected I would, and maybe that's partially because of when I got into comics. But DC fans who are old enough to this period with any fondness at all will not be disappointed by these comics, and you can probably find them pretty cheap.

Discount Bin Finds

Predator vs Magnus, Robot Fighter #1-2 -- Two of the big players in the 90s, Dark Horse (who's still kicking it solid today) and Valiant (who one can imagine is lurking in the shadows, waiting to strike after the Acclaim fiasco) join up to bring us this two part series about warrior's honor, the hunt, and duty.

In the 40th century, on the continent-spanning city of NorthAm, a group of rich and powerful 'robot hunters' get their jolly from stalking and blasting robots. But when one of their number becomes the prey for a Predator, Magnus is called in to save the day. But will Magnus, whose disgust with the "Cloud Cloppers" of NorthAm is evident, do the right thing? Or will he let the Predator finish its hunt? Shooter and Ostrader cover all the bases here, as we get to see Magnus 1) fight robots, 2) bemoan the rich and powerful of NorthAm, and 3) mack it on Leeja, and we get to see the Predator 1) hunt people, 2) kill people, and 3) make trophies out of people. Sounds about right to me. What more could you ask for? Well, I suppose you could ask for a Robot-Fighter-fu versus Alien-kata throw down, and you get that as well. Lee Weeks' art is solid, but has that sketchy, almost washed-out look a lot of Valiants had at this point. It's not bad, but to a younger reader, used to the glossy and shiny colors of todays comic books, will be taken aback.


Magnus was always a fun series to me, since with the exception of Rai it was pretty much out on its own, telling Sci-fi stories which read like a lightweight version of Phillip K. Dick but with more kung-fu. And really, my main criticism of Dick's work has always been the lack of robots being chopped in half by a guy in one piece and white go-go boots. It's a basic concept but it works well; there's a lot of stories to be told given the setting and premise alone, and the Robot Fighter was one of Valiant's main draws for the life of the company. Similarly, in the 90s Dark Horse was more than content to mine their horror and sci-fi licenses (including Aliens, The Terminator, and even Robocop) as much as possible. It seemed like there was a constant stream of new Predator miniseries. That was more my brother's area than mine, but they must have been doing something right.

The story sounds generic and to a certain extent it is, but its still a lot of fun. Seeing the Predator being hunted down by PolRobs is neat (if totally ineffective from a strategic standpoint), and the revelation as to why the Predator is there is intriguing. Plus we get to see two icons of the "Big Indies" square off. A fun if ultimately meaningless romp, I'd gladly recommened this to fans of both Predator and Magnus.