Confusion through the ages

It's the week of getting back on track, and since this is Wednesday we better strap in for another time-traveling blog post known as Comic Book Days of Wednesdays Past!

First up is a trip back to the tail end of the Golden Age of comics in 1954! So what were the kids reading, unaware of what great comic book characters were waiting to be re-imagined in two short years?

Hmmm...now I'm confused. It's an appearance of the 50's Cap, hero of the teabaggers! This is actually the third appearance of his return, so why didn't his return herald the birth of the Silver Age?

To be fair it wasn't a true reimagining. Actually, I don't think this Captain America got re-imagined until some two decades later when they tried to reconcile his non-continuity appearances here with the modern stories. At the time, this was a commercial failure that didn't catch on. I guess the kids just weren't ready for the Silver Age yet, and this title went down as a failed relaunch.

So that's not confusing at all. Let's try again and hope for something a little more straightforward. And forward in time it is, to the hurly-burly days of 1983!

So much for not being confused.

Here's a title that I have never heard of before, even though it went for twenty-seven issues during the time when I first started collecting comics.

Two things strike me as curious about this book.

First, this book is written and drawn by William Messner-Loebs. I had no idea that WM-L had any pencilling talents. I've enjoyed his stories over the years, so that caught me completely by surprise.

Second, I can't imagine Marvel legal allowing a comic book character being called Wolverine these days.

And while we're talking about odd things, who knew that anybody other than Dave Sim ever published a book through Aardvark-Vanaheim?

All right, it's time to use the Randomizer for the power of good, as we pick the next completely random book to review. Take it away Randomizer...

...and that book is Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man #110 from January 1986, published by Marvel Comics!

It's good to see the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man again, as the last time we reviewed one of his books was way back in July!

While that's reason enough to be optimistic, this issue actually delivers in a couple of other areas as well.

First, it'll be the debut appearance of Daredevil at the Random Longbox. I dont' have a ton of book with Daredevil and Spider-Man, as both titles are ones that I collect more for the creators who are working on them, than a slavish devotion to the character. I'm a fan, just not enough of one to wade through the average stuff.

Which brings me to the second item of interest. The four-part Sin-Eater storyline that comes to a close in this issue just happens to be the debut work of Peter David.

It's been a while since I reread this story, and Peter David has obviously gone on to make quite a name for himself, so it should be interesting to see a hungry young creator looking to make his mark. See you in a day or two for the review.