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From: boyajian@akov68.DEC (Jerry Boyajian)
Newsgroups: net.comics
Subject: (Just a few) Comics Reviews
Message-ID: <4@decwrl.UUCP>
Date: Sun, 16-Dec-84 20:52:05 EST
Article-I.D.: decwrl.4
Posted: Sun Dec 16 20:52:05 1984
Date-Received: Tue, 18-Dec-84 07:00:50 EST
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Ratings for the comics reviewed are as according to the Mad Armenian Scale, a
shameless rip-off of the Moriarty Scale, stolen out from under the very nose of
the Napolean of Crime. Nyah-ah-ah!!

********************************************************************************
|=>A+< A veritable Classic. One of the best of All Time. Example: THE SPIRIT   |
|==>A< One of the best of the year. Ex: TEEN TITANS #39: "Who Is Donna Troy?"  |
|==>B< A very good issue, one of the best of the month. Example: CEREBUS       |
|==>C< A well done, entertaining issue.  Satisfying.  Example: JON SABLE       |
|==>D< Rather boring, or a few good spots mixed with more bad ones. Ex: ROM    |
|==>F< Boring AND stupid or childish.  Example: MARVEL SUPERHEROES SECRET WARS |
|==>Z< Actually offensive.  Example: DAZZLER --- THE MOVIE GRAPHIC NOVEL #12   |
********************************************************************************

Kind of slim pickin's this week. Some goodies, to be sure, but not much worth
reviewing, only the following four comics...


2000 A.D. #1	["Judge Dredd": C, "D.R. & Quinch": B-, "Strontium Dog": D+]

	This is a new reprint from Eagle Comics, those wonderful folks who
bring you JUDGE DREDD, NEMESIS, and ROBOHUNTER. The original 2000 A.D. as I've
described in one of my articles about British comics, is a weekly tabloid
comic with a number of different serial strips running in it at various times.
It is the source for the above-mentioned Eagle comics, but of course, those
three are not even the tip of the iceberg of what can be found in the original
comic. This new monthly, advertised as a "6 Issue Mega-Series", contains three
serials, "Judge Dredd", "D.R. & Quinch", and "Strontium Dog".
	The latter strip is perhaps the weakest, being a rather trite story of
a mutant bounty-hunter in the far future. There's nothing particularly new to
this concept presented here, but still, it's competently done.
	The Judge Dredd strip is a bit of a puzzlement. It's certainly well
done, as I would expect, but I wonder just why it's in here. I suppose that
considering that J.D. is 2000 A.D.'s super-star, that he is here to help sell
the whole package (it's likely that the regular J.D. comic far outsells the
other two that Eagle publishes. The unfortunate side-effect is that space is
taken up in this comic that could be used for another good strip. But, again,
the strip is quite good (and has some brilliant moments), so I can't complain
too much.
	The real treat here is "D.R. & Quinch". Those of you who haven't read
any British comics and only know writer Alan Moore from his SWAMP THING work
don't have any idea of the range of his talent. He doesn't write just excellent
horror stories, but excellent super-heroes, science fiction, and off the wall
humor. The latter is well represented by this strip. The two title characters
are the vilest, most irresponsible scumbuckets that you could imagine, but
their antics will leave you in stitches as they plot revenge (the very essence
of the "don't get mad, get even" attitude) against a judge who had the temerity
to find them guilty of assorted crimes (including "thirty-two offences so unus-
ual and horrible that they do not have names").
	I recommend this book. If you haven't yet gotten into British comics,
this'll serve as a nice sampler of the work that appears across the pond.


NEXUS #7	[C+]

	The comic event of the year, rivalled only by the ROCKETEER SPECIAL
EDITION, is the ressurection of the late, lamented NEXUS. So why does it only
get a C+? Well, after a wonderfully done synopsis of the previous series, we
get dropped right back into the middle of the trilogy that had Nexus and Judah
finding themselves on a bowl-shaped world. The last issue of the Capital run
had that lunatic "hero", the Badger, dropping in to join them. Mike Baron's
writing strengths were always the interplay between the characters, and that
is certainly here in full force. But, a story that started out so intriguingly
continues in a rather humdrum fashion. They say that the middle part of a
trilogy is always the weakest, and I can say that this issue doesn't help to
argue the point.
	NEXUS is still better than 90% of anything else on the market, but
compared to previous issues, this one is rather weak. I expected much better.


CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS #1	[C-]

	Well, here is yet another long-awaited comic, expected by many to be
nothing more than a "DC Superheroes not-so-Secret Wars". Well, you can rest
assured --- this is a *hell* of a lot better than SECRET BORES. There isn't a
whole lot to this first issue, it basicly sets up the situation, introduces
some new characters (Pariah, Lyla, and the Monitor --- yeah, I know that L&M
have been around for a year, but not to any significant degree), and brings
together some old ones. I question some of the choices for heroes that the
Monitor gathers together in this issue, looking more like they had more to do
with achieving variety rather than power. But at least their are no inanities,
or inconsistent characterization, as in SECRET BORES.
	The basic situation? Well, without spoiling anything, I can say that
it appears that some entity is behind the systematic destruction of the various
universes in the DC cosmos. An antimatter "wall" is swepping through the multi-
verse, destroying world after world. As a matter of fact, in the first 9 pages,
we are treated to the elimination of an Earth that we already know and love(?),
but I won't say which one.
	While I can't say that COIE is an earth-shattering comic (well, er, ah,
I guess, in a way, it *is* "earth-shattering"), it certainly isn't a chore to
read. I trust Marv Wolfman to know just exactly what he's doing (there are
hints in this issue that he's covering all the bases), and I expect that the
future issues will fare better than this one. Anyone who's decided to avoid
this one, figuring that it'll be just another SECRET BORES should at least give
this one a try. You may not like it, but you may be surprised to find that you
*do* like it.

********** The following review contains a spoiler **********


DR. STRANGE #70		[C]

	In comparison with other issues, this one doesn't seem like much, and
even seems somewhat insignificant. But I thought I'd draw your attention to it
as an example of a *rara avis*. The story uses an old trick --- that of the
dream/hoax/imaginary story --- but, son-of-a-bitch!, it *works*! Doc treats
an other-dimensional warlord to what amounts to a special showing of THE DAY
AFTER, complete with stomach-turning special effects, as a method of getting
said warlord to forego his plans of conquest. Roger Stern doesn't get preachy
or heavy-handed, doesn't present one side or another in the nuclear debate.
He merely presents the scenario, and lets the characters speak for themselves.
Definitely a comic to take a look at.

--- jayembee (Jerry Boyajian, DEC, Maynard, MA)

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