The West Coast Avengers #23

TITLE: The West Coast Avengers #23

PUBLISHER: Marvel Comics

COVER DATE: August 1987

COVER PRICE: $0.75

22 pages


WHAT I REMEMBER...

Now, the West Coast Avengers...I have a lot of love for the West Coast Avengers. The funny thing is though, is that that the title has always been mediocre at best. Aside from the Byrne run in the 40's and 50's, and Roger Stern's original mini-series, I can't really think of another run on this series that sticks out for me. I'd probably give Roy and Dann Thomas the benefit of the doubt for the longevity of their run, and for the fact that they kept a personal favorite of mine around in the form of U.S.Agent.

So why does this title generate so much good will in my collection? First off, I've always assumed for the last decade or so that X-Factor was the first new title launch that I collected as a week-in and week-out comic book buyer. That turns out to not be true, as West Coast Avengers beat it to the punch by almost six months.

I'm sure that's part of it.

The other thing, is that it always featured some of my favorite Avengers.

Hawkeye? Naturally.

Vision? I, for one, loved the pale-Byrne Vision.

Scarlet Witch? I always dug her hex powers.

U.S.Agent? The Damian of the Avengers.

The Great Lakes Avengers? Their debut issue is one of my favorite books from the 80's.

These were all characters that didn't have their own book, so most of the time this title was the only place you could catch 'em.

But we're here to talk about this issue, and to tell you the truth, when I reread it to prepare for this review it turns out that I had literally no memory of this issue whatsoever. I'm sure the only reason that I remember the Mockingbird/Phantom Rider showdown was that it has gotten so much play in the recent issues of Hawkeye & Mockingbird.

So how could this issue have slipped through the cracks so completely, on a title that I generally read month in and month out? Let's find out...

Showtime!
Lost in Space-Time: Conclusion!

• Writer: Steve Englehart
• Penciller: Al Milgrom
• Inker: Romeo Tanghal
• Letterer: Tom Orzechowski
• Colorist: Christie Scheele
• Editor: Mark Gruenwald
• Editor-in-Chief: Jim Shooter

As you can tell from the title of this issue, this is the last chapter dealing with a time-strewn team of Avengers. Hawkeye and that gang are stuck in ancient Egypt, while Mockingbird's being stalked in the old west, and the only one that can save them is Hank Pym and some WCA also-rans. And here we get my first clue as to why this issue is such a cypher to me. Hank Pym comes to the Fantastic Four for help, but why he comes dressed in disguise is beyond me.

That disguise is so good, it totally made me forget this meeting (or anything else about this issue) ever happened.

But seriously, doc...who told you that Phantom Stranger meets Where's Waldo was a good look? Fortunately for him, that's not the worst costume design in this issue.

With his help, Mr. Fantastic soon fixes up the FF's time machine so that Hank and company can act on a clue left for them by Hawkeye from over 5000 years in the past. Off they go, leaving the FF to look after Hank's fancy new Quinjet that's been outfitted with an artificial intelligence based on a loyal ant that he had known named Korr.

How could I have possibly not remembered that? It just gets curiouser and curiouser.

Now, remember that costume I mentioned earlier? Let's catch up with Avengers in ancient Egypt.

Look at that awesome costume on Wonder Man...and by awesome, I mean horrible.

Anything that makes this look downright dapper by comparison is a lost cause.

So the Avengers are on the run in Egypt, and end up taking refuge in a local temple. Coincidentally enough, it's the temple of the shunned god Khonshu, patron saint of Moon Knight. Trapped in the temple, with no hope of rescue anytime soon, Hawkeye sets out to build some weapons with which to arm the acolytes for the oncoming siege from the restless natives.

Wait a minute...Did that statue just wink at Hawkeye?

Two pages of tedious recapping of Moon Knight's origin later, we find out exactly why Khonshu was so keen on Hawkeye. He was only using him for his toys.

That's right...Hawkeye created the weapons that were handed down millenia later to Moon Knight. How could I have forgotten about something as random, coincidental, and completely out of the blue as that? I actually know the answer to that question, as I've never been able to muster up much enthusiasm for Moon Knight. I'm sure I probably saw these two pages and flipped forward until I got to the good stuff.

And speaking of good stuff, here's Mockingbird having her big throw down with the Phantom Rider. I don't feel quite comfortable cracking wise about her plotline here, so let's let her have her moment of vengeance and move on.

We're back to the present, just in time to catch up with Mr. Fantastic sending Hank Pym, Moon Knight, and Firebird Espirita back to rescue Hawkeye and crew.

It's nice to know that you can always count on Reed to help send you through time when you need it. He may have a snide comment or two about you after you leave, but he's got your back.

Now that we have a working time machine, this issue should be wrapped up in no time. A quick jaunt back to ancient Egypt sees the West Coast Avengers reunited. Unfortunately, most of their reunion is taken up with the Priests of Khonshu speaking gibberish about prophecies and fists and vengeance...and honestly, I just can't be bothered to wrap my head around it.

I'm with you Hawkeye, let's get movin' already.

Trading in his time machine for a form of transportation more appropriate to the old west, Hawkeye swoops in and rescues his girl.

Now, with the team finally reunited as a whole, they're off to the time stream one last time to head back to the present and deliver a good smack down to Dominus for sending them all back to the past in the first place.

SO, WHAT DID WE LEARN...

A couple of things, actually.

First, don't piss off Mockingbird. She'll take you down. Just ask the Phantom Rider, it's a long way down.

Second, don't underestimate Hawkeye. No sooner are you stuck in the past, and he figures out a way to get help that would do Grant Morrison proud.

Third, don't let Hank Pym or Wonder Man help you with your wardrobe. Ever.

I gave this issue a fair amount of grief during the review, but it wasn't that bad. It's biggest sin is probably that it's decidedly average on most counts. The only aspect of this issue that's had any lasting effect is Mockingbird's story, and that gets a scant four pages. All the rest is Hank and his crew talking about the emotional journey they've been on, and why this time they're good enough, smart enough, and doggone it people like them! And then there's all of that Khonshu nonsense.

So yeah, not much to see here. If you really want to know about Mockingbird's vengeance, pick up the Hawkeye & Mockingbird trade as you'll get a much better story out of it.

All characters and artwork reproduced are (c) Marvel Comics

Fantastic Four #347

TITLE: Fantastic Four #347

PUBLISHER: Marvel Comics

COVER DATE: December 1990

COVER PRICE: $1.00

23 pages


WHAT I REMEMBER...

There's two things that I remember about this issue. One of them, it turns out, I've remembered incorrectly.

I'd always assumed that this issue was the start of Walter Simonson's run on Fantastic Four. I'd read a little bit of the Fantastic Four here and there, but never followed it with any sort of regularity. This issue was the start of me buying this title on a monthly basis, and I guess I always attributed that fact to jumping on at the beginning of Simonson's run, but it turns out that he started his tenure on this title back on issue #334!

As much as I hate to admit it, I guess I jumped on with this issue because it had Wolverine and Ghost Rider in it. Don't judge me...it was the early 90's and I was a naive comic book reader.

Luckily for me this was an awesome issue in the middle of an awesome run. Which leads me to the second thing I remember about this issue, which was that it turned me into a Fantastic Four fan. To put it more correctly, I guess I should say it turned me into a frustrated fan as Simonson would be off the title only eight months later.

To me, Simonson set the bar incredibly high with his run. Yes, It was wacky, goofy, and tongue in cheek; but most of all it was intelligent and incredibly entertaining at the same time. Not many other creators have managed to achieve that balance, which is why my collecting history with the title is full of holes.

The closest we probably got was with Waid and Wieringo's tenure earlier in the decade, which unfortunately had it's consistency marred by some overactive editorialial influence. John Byrne had a highly entertaining run, but I don't know how intelligent it actually was, while Hickman's run currently is striving for intelligent, but leaving the fun behind. I've never read any of Stan and Jack's original run (I know, I know...I'll get around to it someday), but I can only assume that it hit the mark seeing as how they were the ones that defined the target.

To me, Walter Simonson's short run is the apex of greatness, and the fact that there are twelve more issues that I never knew existed before today have me chomping at the bit to go do some longbox shopping tomorrow. In the meantime, however, we'll tide ourselves over rereading this issue.

Big Trouble On Little Earth!

• Writing: Walter Simonson
• Penciling: Arthur Adams
• Inking: Art Thibert
• Lettering: Bill Oakley
• Coloring: Steve Buccellato
• Editing: Ralph Macchio
• Editor in Chief: Tom DeFalco

This issue begins in space, as the silence between the Earth and the Moon is broken by the arrival of a damaged ship that emerges from lightspeed, only to crash land on Earth.

The attractive female pilot (hey, she's drawn by Art Adams...she's gonna be pretty) escapes with her life, swearing vengeance on those that betrayed her and marooned her on Earth.

We'll find out exactly who (and what) she is in a bit, but first let's check in with the Fantastic Four at Four Freedoms Plaza who are enjoying some down time after being away for the last couple of weeks. Like any typical family, however, there's some dysfunction hiding in the background.

Johnny seems to be infatuated with an alien woman that they met a few issues back, even though he's married to Alicia Masters. Johnny Storm married...I had forgotten all about that.

A human Ben Grimm seeks to console his girlfriend, Sharon Ventura, who is currently She-Thing and trapped in her rocky form. She-Thing...I had forgotten all about that.

That right there is the sign of a good writer. You got two things that by all rights should hamper your ability to tell a good Fantastic Four story, and he makes 'em work. So much so, that I had completely forgotten that they were even an issue.

Seeking to take advantage of everyone's distracted attentionzs, our mysterious crash survivor arrives at Four Freedoms Plaza. Using her ability to change shape and her telepathy, she easily slips inside and begins to take the FF down one by one.

Changing her from into Nebula, Johnny's blue-skinned alien infatuation from earlier, she appears before him and gets close enough to shock him into unconsciousness with a hand held taser device.

Similarly, she does the same thing to Ben. Only this time appearing as Johnny's wife, Alicia Masters, his old flame who fell in love with Johnny when Ben was off-world. He obviously still has feelings for her, as the shapechanger is able to take advantage of that to get close enough to use the same device on Ben.

...and we all know the conflicted feelings that Sue has always had for Namor.

Second verse, same as the first...and down goes Sue to the shapechanger.

After drugging She-Thing with a knock-out brew of tea, the mysterious alien sets her sights on Reed. It turns out that the alien actually has a little crush on Reed, and takes the form of his wife to seduce him into unconsciousness.

Unfortunately for her, Reed is too quick and notices her deception and manages to bend his body away from her taser at the last second. As perceptive as he is, however, he's never been that good of a hand-to-hand fighter and he soon finds himself unconscious with the rest of the Fantastic Four before he can alert the Avengers.

Meanwhile, we find out exactly who the mysterious alien attacker was running from as a Skrull warship enters Earth orbit, hot on her trail.

Scanning the planet for De'Lila, they soon find a plethora of Skrull-like lifeforms centered on a small island in the pacific. Cloaking their ship, they head to the island to investigate. Unfortunately for them, that small island is none other than Monster Island, which they find out the hard way.

It turns out that the monsters of Monster Island all have a primitive Skrull like brain, which was the source of the Skrull life readings. The Skrull in charge seems less concerned about why that is, than with using that fact to his advantage to smoke out De'Lila from hiding. Using neural disruptor darts, they tag each monster and teleport it to various cities around the globe. Using the disruptors to increase the ferocity of the monsters, they hope to drive up the mental stress planet-wide and flush her out.

Little do they know, there's a monarch of Monster Isle...and he's none to happy about the current turn of events.

Still in the form of Sue, De'Lila uses the FF's computers to familiarize herself with Earth's superheroes. Reed's files are complete enough that they allow her to pick and choose among them a group of recruits with which she hopes to achieve her destiny. Using her telepathy she sends a mental summoning out to the four heroes who soon arrive at the door of Four Freedoms Plaza.

The Grey Hulk, Spider-Man, Wolverine, and Ghost Rider are soon brought in to see "Sue", who tells them the tragic (and altogether false) tale of how she returned home to find her home in ruins and the rest of the Fantasic Four dead or dying. Using one of her husband's inventions, she called to each of them to come to her aid to help avenge the recently deceased members of the Fantastic Four.

By now, the "new" members of the Fantastic Four have fallen for De'Lila's story and agree to help her find the monsters that did this. Playing right into her hand, she arms them with another of Reed's gadgets that will allow them to track down the energy signature of the attackers. Little do they know, the attackers they're being sent to hunt down are the Skrulls that are hunting De'Lila.

SO, WHAT DID WE LEARN...

This comic was as fun, if not more, than I remember. Maybe it's the fact that there is so little new Marvel that I find readable for three bucks anymore, that I'm starting to get nostalgic for the characters that I grew up with.

Or maybe it's the fact that it's been so long since I enjoyed a good Fantastic Four book, that this issue seems to shine a little brighter. Hell, it's been even longer since I've enjoyed a Wolverine book, that his brief appearance here actually made me miss the old canuck.

Whether it was any of those reasons, or an amalgam of others, this book just pleased me to no end. Even though the Fantastic Four get punked out relatively early in the book, it's got alot of the earmarks that make a great story...Skrulls, Monster Isle, crazy inventions, family drama, space travel, etc...

And speaking of the Skrulls...they're an antagonist I like best when they are played for laughs. They've never been the most dangerous of foes in the FF rogue's gallery, but they are entertaining none the less. The over-the-top inclusion of some of the 90's most overused guest stars let you know right away that this is going to be a fun issue. So with the Skrulls and Mole Man as the villains, we have the perfect blend of absurdity and comedy with which to have a little fun at their own expense.

This is the first part of a three parter, so unfortunately we have to spend most of our time setting things up. Luckily for us, we have Art Adams supplying the pencils for this issue, so even the dialogue heavy pages are fun to look at.

One thing that is distracting about the art, is that the combination of the paper quality and the coloring tended to give this book an over-saturated look on the page. I'd love to see this book recolored using today's technology, as I'm sure it would give Art Adams' beautiful pencils even more attention.

Now we just have to wait for the Randomizer to pick another book from this run, so that we can continue on with one of the best runs from the 90's. In the meantime, I'll be happily looking through some back-issue bins for the issues that I missed.

Holy crap! Simonson had Kang show up during his run?! How the heck did I miss that? Now I'm definitely hitting the comic book store tomorrow.

All characters and artwork reproduced are (c) Marvel Comics

Sea serpents, bullets, and gimmicks!

It's the first of the month, which means a a clean slate of fresh challenges that await us. It's also a Wednesday, which means a clean slate of new books to read. Before we get lost in the ongoing adventures of comic book day, let's take a trip back into the past to see exactly what the kids were reading in Comic Book Days of Wednesdays Past!

We've reset the Randomizer to pick a year from 1938 to 2009, so where's our first stop?

1954!

If you were growing up in the early 50's and took your dime to the general store, there's a chance you may have walked out with Out Of The Night #17.

At first, I was worried for Peter Parker on that cover. To begin with, I think he's been slacking on his mythological studies as I don't ever recall Minotaurs ever being drawn as sea serpents.

Secondly, it's a freaking sea serpent! Run!

Third, it's breathing fire! Oops, my bad...that minotaur serpent isn't breathing fire, but being hit by some sort of exploding projectile thrown by our hero.

In that case, I think he gets what he deserves. Anyone walking around an underground labyrinth with flaming projectiles is just itching for a fight, in my opinion.

Let's leave him to his fate and see what year we're off to next.

1942!

Yes, when political correctness was just a gleam in society's eye, we had Bulletman #9 on the stands. And really, who better to take on a pack of wild dogs than two heroes modeling themselves after bullets. As outraged as PETA is right about now, I'm sure you could take any cover of Bulletman from this time and make it seem vaguely inappropriate.

It's not as bad as it first looks however, as what I originally mistook for a hail of gunfire surrounding the canine bank robbing gang is just jewels falling from their ill-gotten gain.

Nothing to worry about here after all. Although it does remind me that it's been far too long since I've caught The Doberman Gang on cable t.v. Do they even replay that anymore?

So let's use the power of the Randomizer for good, and pick the next random book from my collection to review. Take it away Randomizer...

...and that book is Fantastic Four #347 from December 1990, published by Marvel Comics!

Hey, it's our old friends the Fantastic Four! Remember them? They were the star of our very first review here at the Random Longbox, and they've been surprisingly absent in the intervening fifteen months.

Come to think of it, it wasn't even the "real" Fantastic Four as the book that we reviewed fell smack dab into the Heroes Reborn Jim Lee reboot. It's a good thing we get another crack at the FF, with the 616 version of them--

Wait a minute...is that Ghost Rider on the cover? And Gray Hulk?

Yes, it's the goofiest line up of the FF ever with Ghost Rider, Hulk, Spider-Man and Wolverine taking over for a couple of issues.

I could feign outrage at Spider-Man and Wolverine being part of the team too, but that argument's getting a little stale. Besides, if I remember correctly this storyline was a parody of sorts of cash-grabbing guest stars that were all the rage at this time, so their inclusion here actually makes sense.

See you in a day or two for the review.

Comic Book Review: Fantastic Four (Vol. 2) #6

TITLE: Fantastic Four (Vol. 2) #6

PUBLISHER: Marvel Comics

COVER DATE: April 1997

COVER PRICE: $1.95

23 pages

WHAT I REMEMBER: Heroes Reborn was a linewide concept that I remember enjoying. Of the four titles that participated, I remember enjoying The Fantastic Four the most. I'm sure it was mostly due to Jim Lee's pencils, as the scripting was a little rough. I even remember enjoying the Liefeld titles too, although more in the way that you enjoy a good train wreck when you're not actually driving the train.

The only other thing I remember, is that I recall they had Reed Richards and Dr. Doom working together in the same think tank from the beginning. I always liked that idea. For all I know that's the way it was in the 616 universe as well, as I've never read any of the classic Lee/Kirby 104 issue run.

All right, enough rambling. Let's get to it.

"Retribution"

• Plot & Pencils: Jim Lee
• Script: Brandon Choi
• Inks: Scott Williams & JD
• Colors: Joe Chiodo & Martin Jimenez
• Computer Colors: Wildstorm FX
• Letters: Richard Starkings & Comicraft/DL
• Editor: Mike Heisler
• Editor in Chief: Bob Harras

We open up with Alicia Masters being stood up for a date with Ben.

By the way, the Silver Surfer called...he wants his shirt back.

...and his lingerie.

Ben is obviously away on a mission with the Fantastic Four, which we get to on the very next page.

The big bad for this storyline is the Super Skrull. This isn't your Secret Invasion style Skrull, as Jim Lee has buffed him up to Hulk like proportions. He's also made him look a little more monstrous, which suits his style pretty good. The one re-imagining that I like is that they gave him the Power Cosmic.

How did that happen, you may ask? Lee and Choi definitely adopt the adage that "every issue is some body's first issue" as they break down in four panels everything that's happened up to this point.

When was the last time you read a modern comic book that spelled everything out so linearly.

I love how each different character takes a part of the recap as well. That's choreography that would make some musicals jealous. On a side note, I understand why the Torch's dialogue balloon is red and orange, but why is the Black Panther's dialogue colored blue?

The Super Skrull starts to take on both The Fantastic Four and Dr. Doom at the same time in a nice two-page spread. Doom talks a big game about regaining the cosmic power that he claims is rightfully his, only to have Super Skrull overload Doom's circuits, putting him out of commission.

The Skrull does the typical villain bloviating and explains to Reed that this is about revenge against the Silver Surfer and Galactus, who were responsible for the destruction of the Skrull homeworld. No big redesign on either the Surfer or Galactus...if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Over the course of the next few pages the Thing, the Human Torch, and the Black Panther keep the Super Skrull distracted while a revived Dr. Doom and Reed come up with a plan to steal back the Cosmic Power. This involves using Black Panther as bait and channeling the Power Cosmic through one of Sue's invisible tubes back into the Silver Surfer.

I wonder if he's pissed because the Super Skrull stole his Power Cosmic or because Alicia Masters stole his shirt?

The Silver Surfer and the Super Skrull have their tete-a-tete, which abruptly begins to destroy Castle Doom. Doom explains that the reactor core is going to blow, and I quote...

I must do what I can to salvage the reactor core. But should a single innocent Latverian die today...I will hold you and the other members of the Fantastic Four personally responsible!

So what does Reed do? Does he push Doom aside and fix the reactor core single-handily? Hell, does he already have it fixed? No, he just makes his body into a slide for the rest of the FF to escape the castle on.

It wouldn't even be that lame of him, if he didn't say this just two panels later...

I doubt that even Victor could have [shut down the reactor core] so quickly.

It's revealed a couple of panels after that that the Surfer was the one who used his powers to seal the reactor, but it's good to know that Reed is there in a pinch when you need him.

Right Reed? Dr. Richards?

Anyone?

Johnny? Ben..?

Oh, that's right...Ben had a date. I forgot.

On to the next story...

"Industrial Revoluton Prologue"

• Story: Scott Lobdell
• Pencils: Brett Booth
• Inks: Tom McWeeney

The second story in this issue picks up with Doom after the destruction of his castle. One of his Doombots interrupts him with some important news.

Apparently the Avengers and their mansion have been destroyed...You think Marvel would have known better than to give the editorial reins over to Rob Liefeld and his studio.

Doom soon discovers that it is the Hulk that is responsible for the destruction of Avengers Mansion. He uses "the world's most advanced computers" to deconstruct the image of the Hulk and is shocked to see the Hulk is none other than one of his old Atomic Knights of the Round Table compatriots, Bruce Banner.

So shocked is he, that he inexplicably does his best C-3PO imitation..."We're doomed!"

We then get a brief history of the Atomic Knights, specifically focusing on Victor and Bruce's disagreements about the proper use of gamma radiation. This was one of the few things I actually remembered about this run, and the idea that Victor, Reed, Bruce and Tony Stark were part of the same think tank was a novel idea, I thought.

One thing I didn't remember, was the addition of Rebel O'Reilly. Who the heck is Rebel O'Reilly? Google is no help, so I guess I'll have to do some more reading to find out.

The prologue ends with some villainous laughter from Doom, as he plans to watch his former allies tear each other apart, leaving the world ripe for him to take over.

SO WHAT DID WE LEARN...

Visually, the book holds up quite well to today's standards. This was Jim Lee at the height of his popularity, and if anything he has just gotten better.

Storywise, it's a little light. Everything from the previous five issues gets wrapped up in half of this issue. The scripting is a little rough, and I question some actions now and again...but this was Jim Lee re-imagining the Marvel Universe, so for all I know he nailed it exactly like he wanted to.

Overall, I still have some fondness for this Marvel event. Am I going to pull the rest of the issues out and reread them? Eh, probably not...but if the randomizer ever pulls another Heroes Reborn issue to be reviewed, you can bet I'll look forward to it.

Related links for your surfing pleasure

• Marvel's official Heroes Reborn website
  
  

All characters and artwork reproduced are (c) Marvel Comics

Up first...Fantastic Four!

The randomizer program has spoken and the first book up to be reviewed is...

Fantastic Four (Vol. 2) #6

Ahhhh, Heroes Reborn...I remember it well. Or at least I remember that the Fantastic Four title was the best of the bunch. Whether that's damning with faint praise or not, we shall find out.