Message-ID: <2175@usceast.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 25-Feb-85 04:14:26 EST
Article-I.D.: usceast.2175
Posted: Mon Feb 25 04:14:26 1985
Date-Received: Wed, 27-Feb-85 21:02:56 EST
Reply-To: ted@usceast.UUCP (Ted Nolan)
Organization: Csci Dept, U of S. Carolina, Columbia
Lines: 225
Keywords: More commentlike than reviewlike
Well, it's been a long while, but here I am again with more selections
for your dancing enjoyment.
Aztec Ace #9 - "Picnics At Midnight".
Ok, I admit it, I'm a Glenn Miller fan (an affliction striking
very few in my age group) and that very probably influences me
as far as AA #9 goes, but I loved it. The opening and closing
scenes of Miller playing "Moonlight Serenade" in the graveyard
struck just the right note of poignance and innocence recaptured
to frame the entire story. The characterization of Miller and
the other timelost (Amelia Earhart and Ambrose Bierce) is well
done too, though they function more as symbols than as
historical personages (I suspect that Miller, the man, would be
a stuffier and less interesting fellow).
AA has always been an interesting comic in that it's good enough
that I can forgive the fact that I don't always understand fully
what is going on. Like a good early Van Vogt novel, part of
the enjoyment is trying to figure out what Moench is up to,
trusting that in the end everything will become clear. #9
is a prime example of this. The introduction of the timelost
and their strange keeper Nero, Lamania adds a new and puzzling
element to the main story of Ace and Bridget's struggle against
Kroc. Whose side is Nero on (if any) and why? Why is it important
to him that an original edition of _The Devil's Dictionary_ be
delivered to the early 1960's for an unidentified man to get hold
of, and why is Ace willing to do Nero's bidding? Frankly, I have
no idea, but it doesn't upset me. After all, we have all time
to find out.
Also, I'm glad to see Ace over his brief and wholly unwarranted
distrust of Bridget; she may be more than she seems, but certainly
nothing worse than she seems. I wouldn't mind seeing the little
girl and cat again either, but I suppose they are one shots.
In all: A+
Crossfire #8 - "Saturday Morning Fever"
This is an issue with a message. This can be pure poison where
storytelling is concerned; writers tend to stack the deck to
make their point, and often the story grinds to a dead halt for
exposition. Happily, this is not the case here. What is Evanier's
cause? Nothing earthshaking or trendy like drug or child abuse,
race relations or famine -- or is it? Quite simply, Evanier is
mad at the sugar coated mess that parents groups and the networks
have made of Saturday morning. Well, so am I. I have always
resented the implicit message that I get from these groups :
"Well, we grew up on it and turned out OK, but our kids can't
take it." I seldom rise and shine early enough on Saturday anymore
to get the full "benefit" of the new non-violent wisdom, but
it's almost enough to make you cry to see the way the old
Warner classics are butchered in their present incarnations
and you can tell that the people making the new shows that
would seem to have the potential to be interesting are working
under impossible constraints. (Could Johnny Quest be made
today? I doubt it.) All of which is neither here nor there
(well, it is there). Evanier makes his point effectively by
not losing his sense of humor; this issue is in fact more
lighthearted that Crossfire usually is (some issues having been
downright depressing). The humor is on almost every page, from
the contrasting reactions of the two kids to cartoons on page 2
to Rainbow's attempting to call forth a picture of the cartoonist's
assailant from his mind and getting the standards and practice's
lady (Crossfire : "That's Scary"), but it is a biting humor.
Due to Rainbow's unintentional intervention, the good guys do
win this one; but there are just too many Mrs Grundy's in the
world for it to last, I suspect. The Rainbow/Crossfire romance
seems to be developing nicely and Crossfire has new competition
on the "job".
All told - B a good, entertaining read.
Beauty and the Beast #4 - "Checkmate"
I don't know why I have a compulsion to see how things turn out.
Usually I find myself unable to fight it, even when I know I'll
regret it later. Right off, I can only think of 2 recent times
I've been able to prevail over it : I walked out of "Night Patrol",
and I stopped buying Gor books, but both times I had stayed long
after my better judgement said go. It's the same with this
mini series; it started off bad and got worse, and still I had
to see how it came out. I wondered during books 2 and 3,
trying to decide if B&B were a story of repugnant events or
a repugnant story (a subtle but important difference); finally I
decided that it was a repugnant story -- and still shelled out
$.75 for #4. Well, it didn't get any better. There's something
here for everyone, dumb characterizations, sanctimonious morality
("Stop, Link. Think about what you're doing! No matter what he's
done, you can't kill him. You mustn't cross over to his side!),
feeble plotting and a stupid ending. (After sitting through 4
issues of this, Dazzler and Hank don't even get together).
Unzoom shot, until the earth is a mote in the star field :
D : I think, Hank that we'd best find out where we're headed..
alone!
There are reasons we both tried to escape together, but before
we can understand them, we need to learn what we were running
from.
H : Yes. I guess you're right, Ali. Each of us must find the
strength to stand alone on this planet.
Gads! - F
Well, capsule time again :
X-Men 194 - "Juggernaut's Back in Town"
Rather a nice issue really. The XM's first encounter with Nimrod
and their second rather friendly recent encounter with Juggernaut.
Some good personal glimpses at front and good Rogue action
at the end. I'm a little worried about Rogue though. She seems
to be getting too powerful for her own good; making the rest of
the XM look unnecessary is not good for characters; they tend
to have something drastic happen to them soon afterwards. I hope
not though; I really like her. Storm's quest is finally
starting to go somewhere.
Nightcrawler : Do we have to? [fight Juggernaut]
Wolverine : Nope. We never have to.
B
Daredevil 219 - "Badlands"
I really expected more from Frank Miller's return to DD, instead we
get a rather standard one man against a corrupt small town story
(You've probably seen it on tv 20 times, most recently I think on
"Hunter"). I suppose it's mildly innovative to keep DD out of
uniform the whole time and not have him speak a word, but it
didn't do much for me. He didn't even look a whole lot like
Mat Murdock..Hmm now that would be innovative.. suppose we just
had a whole issue of Daredevil with an unknown main character ?
C
Rom 67 - "Lifesong"
I vacillate on this series, sometimes liking it very well, other times
being indifferent. I'm at the later stage now - this issue had a
great many comic cliches. The what has gone before dialogue among
the characters was particularly bad this time and the cover
misleadingly portrays the brief obligatory fight between two characters
who misjudge each other. I really enjoyed the art on the first
4 pages though (the Earth scenes); the best I think I have
seen of Rick Jones, and much better than the rest of the issue
or recent issues. The main story was highly unlikely, to say the
least, hopefully Mantlo just needs a few issues to loosen up and
get the wraiths out of his system.
C
Conqueror of the Barren Earth 4 - "The Conqueror"
This series didn't go as I had forseen, but at least Jinail
wasn't really broken by Zhengla. The "things are not
what they seem" ending put me off some too (though very
little is really resolved). I think there was a lot more potential
here than was realized, but I think it still deserves a B
B
The New Teen Titans 8 - "There Might be Giants"
The titans meet the titans again, plus the origin of Lilith.
Good art, fairly good story. It makes me a little nervous
to see the NTT in this kind of mythological setting, but
Wolfman seems to be pulling it off fairly well so far.
As with the early Dick and Kory in bed scene, it will be interesting
to see if all of this issue makes it into the CCA book next year.
B+
Finally, a comment on revisionist comic history (ie, Reed in WWII etc).
It is quite simply necessary. Consider: you and I live at the rate of
one day per day, traveling into the future together; comic characters
live at a much slower rate (about one day per month on average) therefore
they quite "naturally" age slower than we do. However, both Marvel and
DC have decided that their main universes will be close analogs to ours.
Reagan (or some shadow standing facsimile) is president, and David Letterman
is on tv. To keep the comic universes close to ours, time must pass
at a rate much faster than the characters live. This creates a paradox that
can be resolved in only two ways* 1) have immortal characters or
2) revise origins. Since 1 is not practical (most characters powers being
well defined and not including immortality), the writers are stuck with
2). Notice, this need only be done with characters in the mainstream
universes though; characters whose universes don't interact with ours
(say Conan for example) need not go through the process.
Well, enough . Get out there and do something useful.
Ted Nolan ..usceast!ted
*) Other than ignoring it.
"I stand at your gate and the song that I sing is of Moonlight
I stand and I wait for the touch of your hand in the June night.
The roses are sighing a Moonlight Serenade.
The stars are aglow and tonight how their light sets me dreaming
My love do you know that your eyes are like stars brightly beaming?
I bring you and I sing you a Moonlight Serenade.
Let us stray till break of day in Love's valley of dreams
Just you and I, a summer sky, a heavenly breeze kissing the trees.
So, don't let me wait come to me tenderly in the June night
I stand at your gate and and I sing you a song in the Moonlight
A love song, my darling, a Moonlight Serenade."
Glenn Miller/Mitchell Parrish
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Ted Nolan ...decvax!mcnc!ncsu!ncrcae!usceast!ted (UUCP)
6536 Brookside Circle ...akgua!usceast!ted
Columbia, SC 29206 allegra!usceast!ted@seismo (ARPA, maybe)
("Deep space is my dwelling place, the stars my destination")
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