SuperPatriot #4...or bullet holes are the new black

TITLE: SuperPatriot #4

PUBLISHER: Image

COVER DATE: November 1993

COVER PRICE: $1.95

24 pages


WHAT I REMEMBER...

I actually don't remember a whole lot about this title, other than it had some killer artwork by Dave Johnson (which I touched upon here already), and that it was more fun than I thought it would be going into it.

Erik Larsen's Savage Dragon was a fun book, and was definitely the most put together of the initial Image titles. Because of the quality of that title, I tended to give his other series at least an initial read. Of those, I remember enjoying two...SuperPatriot and Vanguard.

SuperPatriot

• Creator/Scripter: Erik Larsen
• Plotter/Storyteller: Keith Giffen
• Penciller/Inker: Dave Johnson
• Letterer: Chris Eliopoulos
• Colorist: Lovern Kindzierski
• Color Separation: Digital Chameleon
• Editor: Jannie Wong

The first page is a nice splash page that reminds me instantly why I like Dave Johnson's artwork.

In the foreground is one of the Youngblood guys, whose name I can't remember. I'm sure it's Death-something or Blood-something...We'll just call him DeathBlood for now.

The visuals on DeathBlood are all right, as Johnson does the best he can with the design he's been given. The real highlights are the U.S. Soldiers in the background. I like the way he draws tech, as it's pretty unique and looks usable and used at the same time.

It seems that DeathBlood has been called in to put a stop to SuperPatriot's rampage. He's apparently an old friend, and it's up to him to talk him down. The first thing DeathBlood does is give us his name. It's Diehard. I was close.

SuperPatriot doesn't seem to remember or care about his name either, as he proceeds to blast Diehard in half. This causes one of Diehard's other android bodies to activate, this one being a prototype model, to try again.

Two pages later and the battle still rages, with neither android getting the upper hand. Diehard is not the only member of Youngblood present, as Shaft is on scene too. We find out that the reason that SuperPatriot is out of control is that he's been reprogrammed by the Covenant of the Sword. Shaft tells the suits on scene that this is Diehard's play, and no one moves until he either succeeds or fails.

Diehard succeeds in momentary getting the upper hand, and presses the advantage by ripping off SuperPatriot's weaponized arm.

It's a good thing he has two of them however, as he uses the other one to plaster Diehard with a flurry of gunfire. He leaves him for dead and begins to walk away. Diehard was playing possum, and strikes SuperPatriot from behind with his severed arm.

After Shaft gets the government suits to back down, he has to work on the other members of his own team as Badrock is also itching to get in there and do some damage.

Back to the fighting, and it looks like Diehard is beginning to realize that he can't stop him by force alone. He starts to play on their history together as WWII teammates in The Allies. He rips off his mask and forces him to confront his human side, which is still buried beneath all of his circuitry.

That's eventually enough, as SuperPatriot is finally able to overcome the reprogramming and come to his senses. His link to the Covenant of the Sword is broken.

Back at their secret base, the member in charge of controlling SuperPatriot is demoted in a rather permanent way.

Later, at a government hospital, SuperPatriot is getting fixed up with a new arm and a shiny new, bullet hole free body. He's approached by one of the government agents from earlier, who seems to think that SuperPatriot should be grateful to the U.S. Government for the fact that he is back in one piece. SuperPatriot doesn't see it that way and leaves without saying a word.

SuperPatriot heads to a diner to figure out where to go next, over coffee and pie, when he is approached by an old teammate. It seems Mighty Man is getting the old band back together from the 60's and is looking to do it right this time.

Intrigued by the idea of being able to do some good, outside of government intervention, he agrees.

SO, WHAT DID WE LEARN...

...that not all of the early Image stuff isn't worth the million-plus pages of paper it's printed on.

This series was a lot of fun, and even reading just the last issue some 15 years later, it hasn't missed a beat. It doesn't pretend to take itself desperately serious, so if you're looking for a good rip-roaring yarn, you should check out this mini-series.

You'll be more than aptly rewarded with just the artwork alone, as Dave Johnson is truly an original talent.

Up next...SuperPatriot!

So the Randomizer has finally gotten around to seeing the youtube footage of the Iron Man 2 preview from Comic-Con, and it's definitely worth tracking down.

We've gone on record as saying that Mickey Rourke as comic book villain is a brilliant bit of casting, but they've got another one that was even better. Garry Shandling as a pompous, asshole of a U.S. Senator. What a perfect foil for Downey's Tony Stark.

Anyway, back to work. Let's get the next pick out of the longboxes.

...and that pick is SuperPatriot #4 from December 1993, published by Image Comics.

Well it's about time! Today's pick has ended the recent dominance of the big two, as the last twelve books were from either Marvel or DC. I got spoiled with the first month worth of issues, where we had six different publishers in our first seven picks.

No offense meant towards Marvel and DC, but it's fun to shake things up with some of the other publishers out there. Here's hoping that the Randomizer can keep things a little more varied in the coming months.

Back to SuperPatriot, and there's really only one thing to say...Dave Johnson!

I really had no interest in SuperPatriot as a character, but I had just been wowed by the work he did in one of my favorite 90's book that no one remembers...Chain Gang War! I'm glad that I gave it a shot, as I remember this series ended up being a lot of fun.

Since then, I have had to rely on his cover art to tide me over between his all too infrequent interior artwork, with Superman: Red Son being an obvious highlight.

So come on back in a day or two for the review as we relive the heady days of Images first years on the scene.

Comic Book Review: The Avengers #189

TITLE: The Avengers #189

PUBLISHER: Marvel

COVER DATE: November 1979

COVER PRICE: $0.40

17 pages


WHAT I REMEMBER...

The 70's was an awesome period for The Avengers. For me, it doesn't get any better than this. The stories were fun and fantastic, and moved at a frenetic pace from issue to issue. If that wasn't enough, you had the likes of Neal Adams, George Perez, and John Byrne contributing to the artwork. It was truly a golden age for The Avengers.

The Randomizer gave us a treat with this pick, as it features artwork from John Byrne, with a story focusing on Hawkeye. I can't wait, so let' get right down to it.

Wings And Arrows!

• Plot: Mark Gruenwald, Steven Grant, Roger Stern, and David Michelinie
• Script: Steven Grant
• Pencils: John Byrne
• Inks: Dan Green
• Jim Novak
• Colors: Ben Sean
• Editor: Roger Stern
• Editor-in-Chief: Jim Shooter

The story opens up after The Avengers have vanquished the villainy of Arsenal!

Yeah, I had to look him up too.

I was looking at this opening page and admiring John Byrne's pencils, and I realized that he never really drew Thor on any sort of consistent basis. Or at least not that I ever remember. It's a nice opening shot, and I suppose if I never really got the chance to draw him, I'd put him in the classic hammer twirling pose as well.

Thor barely sticks around for two pages, as he is off to Asgard to deal with those pesky Celestials.

Iron man, ever the polite host, waves him off from the front door of Avengers Mansion.

So caught up in his thoughts on the troubles that await him in Asgard, he nearly flies into The Falcon, who is returning to the team after a leave of absence to deal with a personal case.

The Falcon arrives to a bit of a full house, as all of the heroes from the last adventure (minus Thor) are still hanging around. That poses a problem, as this is the period when the Avengers are running under a government charter and their roster is limited to just seven members.

Their government liason was Henry Gryich, and he was quite the taskmaster back then. Since The Falcon is back, one of the others must leave. Unfortunately for Hawkeye, that someone is him. Another unintentional victim of racial quotas.

But it's not like Hawkeye to hold a grudge, eh? Who am I fooling...that's why I love him, as he tends to act first and think later (if he remembers to).

In fact, let's start keeping track of just how much of a badass Hawkeye really is.

Case Study #1 for how awesome Hawkeye is...

He's not afraid to let the other Avengers know he's better than them...To their face, no less!

Back to the story, Captain America and Falcon head to the control room to check in with Gyrich and inform him that the roster is back down to size. Gyrich lets them know who really holds the leash, as he congratulates Cap for filling out their paperwork on time.

You see, this is why we need thought balloons to make a comeback. Where else would we get a peek into the simmering racial tensions of the Marvel universe.

Hawkeye, meanwhile, has made his way to his rented apartment to lick his wounds after being replaced on the team. He's been looking for a new job, but doesn't have any luck until he decides that maybe it should be Hawkeye, and not Clint Barton, who should be out hustling the streets looking for a new gig. He spies an ad in the paper for Cross Technological Enterprises, who are looking for a new Security Chief.

As Hawkeye is a man of action, not words, he decides the best way to interview for the job is to break into the building himself to show them just how damn good he is. The head of Cross Tech, duly impressed with Hawkeye's initiative, offers him the job on the spot.

Case Study #2 for how awesome Hawkeye is...

He has a work ethic second to none!

Luckily for Hawkeye, he doesn't have to wait that long for some action as the alarms start rattling about a break in at warehouse 12. He rushes in to find the guards unconscious and a hole burned through the ceiling. Down swoops Deathbird, with a strike of her razor sharp wing that barely misses Hawkeye.

What is it with all of these winged people picking on our boy Hawkeye?

Hawkeye lets loose with a sonic arrow that disorients Deathbird. She pulls out her energy javelins and tries to fry Hawkeye, but he fires a grappling arrow and swings himself up and around, striking her from behind.

Case Study #3 for how awesome Hawkeye is...

He knows how to keep the ladies in their place!

Sensing the battle is going against her, Deathbird resorts to a more direct attack and throws her javelins directly at Hawkeye. She connects with his shoulder, sending a shock to Hawkeye that paralyzes his arm. Unable to use his bow, he takes an electro-arrow and hurls it into a nearby fusebox.

In the darkened warehouse, Deathbird mistakenly assumes Hawkeye has fled. She decides to abandon her quest for the technology that she came to steal.

Why she's so worried that a blackout is going to bring more people to the warehouse, when a full on, no-holds-barred battle between the two of them wouldn't is beyond me. I guess that's why I'm not a galaxy-spanning super villain.

Hawkeye didn't flee, however, and he soon traps Deathbird in a titanium steel net that I guess he found laying around? I can't imagine he was able to roll that netting up tight enough to fit into one of his arrowheads. Although this is the Marvel universe we're talking about, where the laws of physics bend to the demands of the plot. If Captain America can run around with his shield strapped to his back under a suit jacket, anything is possible.

The regular security detail for Cross Tech Enterprises soon arrives and takes Deathbird into custody. Deathbird yells to him that she will not forget this encounter, as she is being led away.

Case Study #4 for how awesome Hawkeye is...

He knows what the ladies really want!

But wait, he's not done yet...

Case Study #5 for how awesome Hawkeye is...

He wears the pants around here!

Finally, back at Avengers Mansion, Henry Gyrich has paid the team a personal visit to inform them about more membership stipulations. It seems the Scarlet Witch wants a leave of absence, but Gyrich ain't having it.

That's right, Iron Man! You tell him!

It's just like Iron Man to take a stand against the government when it tries to impose it's will on who can, or can't be, a super-hero.

I know I feel safer knowing that a stand-up guy like Iron Man has my back. Right Cap?

SO, WHAT DID WE LEARN...

Just because you're a world-famous Avenger doesn't mean that you can't take the time to flirt with the ladies, even if that lady happens to be a galaxy spanning supervillain!

I told you Hawkeye was the man, right? One of these days he'll be back in the purple and blue.

So finally, let's check the facts to see if the cover was just hyperbole, or did they actually manage to cram that much story into just 17 pages.

Why must Thor leave The Avengers? To battle the Celestials, or course.

When will the government stop harassing our heroes? This one's a gimme...never, as long as Gyrich is around.

Who is the surprise super-villain Hawkeye battles alone? Deathbird, making her Avengers debut.

Where does destiny take Captain America and The Falcon? Unless I missed something, the only place destiny took them was to the communications center of Avengers mansion. Hardly worthy of a cover blurb, if you ask me.

What strange new problems plague the Scarlet Witch and the Vision? Beats me...all we find out this issue is that the Scarlet Witch wants a leave of absence, which was apparently news to the Vision as well.

Three out of five isn't bad, I suppose. A cover that's 60% accurate as to the contents inside is actually pretty good by today's standards, where the generic cover reigns supreme.

All characters and artwork reproduced are (c) Marvel Comics.

Those Bombastic Bullpen Bulletins

One of the fun things about reading comic books from decades past are the in-house ads and annoucements.

For Marvel books of the 70's and 80's, it doesn't get any better than the good old Bullpen Bulletins!


Most of the time it just reads like Stan Lee wrestling with his thesaraus, heaping compliments on just about any book no matter what the quality. But even a broken clock is right twice a day, as every once in a while his lavish praise landed on a book well deserving of it.

This was one of those instances, as that particular Iron Man story is widely considered to be one of the best Iron Man stories ever told. Even now, some thirty years later, the Demon In A Bottle storyline is being given the nifty hardcover treatment.

One of these decades I'll get around to actually reading it.

Up next...The Avengers!

So we seem to be in a bit of a rut here. We've had 11 straight picks that have been either a Marvel or a DC book, not to mention that the last five reviews were either a Superman story or an X-Men story.

The Randomizer is nothing, if not a cruel mistress. I've tried threatening it, bribing it, pleading with it, banishing it...hell, we even used a power ring once! But it picks what it wants, when it wants.

Let's just cross our fingers and hope for a little more variety with today's pick.

...and that pick is Avengers #189 from November 1979, published by Marvel Comics!

All right...so I should probably be upset with the Randomizer for going back to yet another title that we've reviewed previously. With over 1200 different titles in my collection, I thought for sure we'd get a longer run of titles before things started to duplicate like this.

I should be disappointed, but this time I'm ecstatic. Take a look at that cover! We're in for a kickass Hawkeye story!

Yes, that's right, Hawkeye! Not Goliath, not Ronin...please god, no more Ronin!

I must be one of the three people reading comics today who couldn't care any less about the current state of The Avengers. I tried to stick it out for a while, but it's just not what I want in an Avengers title.

So any excuse to read some good Avengers books, and I'm all over it. This time around, we have an issue with my two favorite Avengers in it...Vision and Hawkeye! They were both m.i.a. in the last issue we reviewed here at RL headquarters, so I need to stop writing this so I can get started reading it.

One last thing...I think we need to take a moment to admire the cover. Of course Hawkeye's a badass, but look at how much else they pack in on this one. Five different plot points are all touched upon. It's practically daring us to try to ignore it. I say we check back at the end of the review to see how well each of these questions were answered.

See you in a day or two for the review.

Comic Book Review: The Uncanny X-Men #285

TITLE: The Uncanny X-Men #285

PUBLISHER: Marvel

COVER DATE: February 1992

COVER PRICE: $1.25

22 pages


WHAT I REMEMBER...

This period of X-Men stories was really the beginning of the end of my obsession with the X-Men. I'd been reading for about 100 issues, and things had been building up to a fevered pitch over the last two years.

Jim Lee came on and took the title by storm and really rejuvenated things. Chris Claremont seemed to be refocused as well, and I was looking forward to the new titles and teams.

The actual execution, however, once everything was underway was underwhelming. After Claremont left, it didn't seem to be a cohesive universe anymore. There were too many people with too many ideas of what they wanted the X-Men to be, and not enough editorial control on what was best for the X-Men. As much flak as he gets for dangling subplots that last for years, you have to give Claremont credit that he kept that train rolling for far longer than it seems logically possible.

So Claremont was gone, with Jim Lee soon afterward, and it was a long time before any creator on the X-Men got me excited again. You can see my review here of an issue from The Age of Apocalypse storyline, which was the last gasp as far as my Marvel Zombie sensibility was concerned.

So yeah, long story short...this issue wouldn't have been on my top ten list of issues to reread, but here we are. Let's man up and see what's in store.

Down The Rabbit Hole

• Plot: Whilce Portacio & Jim Lee
• Script: John Byrne
• Pencils: Whilce Portacio
• Finishes: Art Thibert & Al Milgrom
• Lettering: Tom Orzechowski
• Coloring Joe Rosas
• Editing: Bob Harras
• Editor-In-Chief: Tom DeFalco

The story begins with Jean Grey and Colossus arriving on a different world after going through a portal of some sort. The trip puts the whammy on Jean Grey as well as their travelling companion, the Primate, who originally hails from this world.

As they try to get their bearings, they are set upon by a group of rebels who are desperate to get the primate back. Jean is able to use her psychic blasts on one of the soldiers, but there are just too many of them and it's only a matter of time before she is overrun.

They want her alive, but Colossus is not so lucky. Against a barrage of energy blasts, he falls to the ground, reverting to his human form in the process. The rebels take one look at his human face and stop in their tracks. They recognize his face as the one from the prophecy who shall return.

Elsewhere on this world, Storm has landed alone in the middle of an arid desert. She tries to coax some water from the desert winds, but fails. Weakened and delusional, she is found by a lone nomad in the desert.

He carries her back to his dwelling and offers her food and drink. Feeling she can trust this stranger, she eats and tells the tale of how she got to this world. At the mention of the portal, the stranger grows uneasy and upset. He feels her breach of the portal that brought her from her world will result in the destruction of his!

We now cut to another location on this world where a battle rages between some native soldiers and more rebels. They are all surprised by the sudden appearance of Archangel, who soon makes short order of the rebels.

The soldiers are not the only ones surprised by the ferocity of this winged warrior, as Archangel is not aware of the actions of his wings, which acted as if they were alive. Coming out of his trance like state, he is feted as a savior by the soldiers.

Finally, we turn our attention to find the last of the X-Men to have landed on this world...Iceman and Sunfire. It seems they have landed in the middle of a local tavern. That would all be well and good, but they came through the ceiling and it appears the owner is none to happy with him.

Back to the desert, and it would appear that Storm has regained her strength, at the expense of her outfit. Dressing in more appropriate desert/end-of-the-world armageddon garb, she and her new found companion are heading back to the portal to seal it before it destroys both worlds.

Colossus and Jean Grey, meanwhile, are being led back to the rebels base to spread the word of the "saviors" return.

If I was Colossus, I think I'd be starting to get a complex about going to other dimensions. If he's not being praised as it's world savior, he is being persecuted as it's destroyer.

Back at the tavern, Iceman and Sunfire have solved their problem with a little fire and ice teamwork. How these two never ended up as roommates in a 70's sitcom is a true travesty of justice.

Out in the streets of the town, there is something else that has everyone's attention. A town crier is announcing the return of the savior...a warrior forged of steel!

Archangel has arrived at the palace of the Wordly Avatar of the Triumvirate, who leads the soldiers that he has previously saved. In return for his bravery in battle, he is bestowed the honor of Protector General of the realm.

His coronation is cut short as news of Colossus' arrival is brought to the Avatar's attention. A ceremony of honor is turned to one of duty, as she turns to Archangel to lead her troops against the rebel saviour. I smell some X on X violence coming up.

Back at the rebel camp, Jean and Colossus realize that they must find their other teammates before things get any worse. Ororo beats them to the punch, as she has snuck into the compound to track them down. As surprised as they are to see her, the are even more shocked about the identity of her companion, for it is none other than Colossus' brother!

As if all of the scene changes weren't enough, we have time for one more...this time jumping to our earth where two murdered mutants lie on the street. Trish Tilby is reporting that the murderers appear to be fellow mutants, who are also tattooed with giant M's on their faces.

It would seem that Bishop is determined to stop the his future from happening, and if that means some nasty mutants need to be exterminated, thne he will not shy from his duty.

SO, WHAT DID WE LEARN...

If you would've asked me before I started this blog what some of my least favorite X-things were, somewhere on that list would've been Colossus' family and Whilce Portacio. Neither of those two have worn well with me over the years.

With Mikhail and Ilyanna and all of their dimensional and otherworldly adventures, it just seemed to not mesh well with the down to earth personality of Colossus. It was like their situations were wasted on Colossus as a foil. How many times can you go to the "farmboy in the big city" trope? It was cool and all the first time, but enough is enough.

And as for Whilce Portacio, his style seemed new at the time, but hasn't aged well. All his characters and faces seemed to look the same, and he didn't get much of a chance to refine his take on the team as he left within a year of coming onto the title.

But after reading this issue, I may have to revise both assumptions. Mikhail was nowhere near the bore that I was anticipating. Of course, he's not really in this issue too much as it's mostly just the setting of the stage for the coming conflict between rebels, soldiers, and X-Men.

And as far as Whilce Portacio goes, maybe it's Art Thibert on inks, but his pencil work seemed a bit more varied and spontaneous than I remembered. Granted, it's still not really my thing, but I found myself enjoying more panels than I grimaced through.

So there you go, an x-title that I wasn't looking forward to ended up being mildly entertaining. That sounds suspiciously like "damning with faint praise," so I better stop while I'm ahead.

All characters and artwork reproduced are (c) Marvel Comics

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• The Illegitimate Children of the Atom took a look at this very issue too