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From: boyajian@akov68.DEC (Jerry Boyajian)
Newsgroups: net.comics
Subject: Comics Reviews (llloooonnnggg!!!!)
Message-ID: <251@decwrl.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 13-Dec-84 14:05:01 EST
Article-I.D.: decwrl.251
Posted: Thu Dec 13 14:05:01 1984
Date-Received: Sat, 15-Dec-84 01:47:42 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   |
********************************************************************************


ACTION COMICS #565	[Ambush Bug "story": C]

	This isn't really a story, so much as an extended "ad", in which our
hero(?) asks Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman if they would make guest
appearances in his forthcoming mini-series. It doesn't have quite the utter
lunacy of the previous AB stories, which is why it only gets a "C", but it's
still got some hilarious moments. This "review" is more or less just a notice
that the Bug is back again (he seems to be popping up in every other issue of
ACTION. If you've never encountered the Bug before, give him a try. He makes
Moon Roach/Wolverroach/etc. in CEREBUS look like the very pillar of sanity.
	Oh, and there's a Superman story as the lead feature, but I gave up
on it after just a few pages. This is one the few times in living memory that
a comic was worth the full price just for the back-up (the only other time I
can think of off-hand is when the Huntress was being done by Levitz and Staton
in the back of WONDER WOMAN).


BATMAN AND THE OUTSIDERS #19	[D+]

	Enh. It was better than the last couple of issues, but still not all
that great. The fight between Geo-Force and Superman was fairly well-done,
except that Barr blew it --- Supes' invulnerability is *not* determined by
the gravitational pull of the Earth. GF's localized gravitational increase
should have affected Supes' strength, all right, and his flying ability, but
*not* his invulnerability. This renders the whole rest of the fight invalid.


DETECTIVE COMICS #548	[C-]

	I think that I'm a member of a very elite few (I'm in the pleasant
company of Don Thompson of CBG, though). I have been, to put it kindly, less
than impressed with Doug Moench's work on the Batman. After his work on Moon
Knight and Shang Chi, I was waiting with breathless anticipation for his
debut on Batman. Instead, I find the stories to be bland, and the writing to
be terribly self-indulgent, what with the This-of-Night, the That-of-Night,
and the Other-Thing-Over-There-of-Night. And Nocturna gets a big fat zero in
my book. God, was I glad to see that whole story over and done with.
	Anyways, sometime in the last two weeks since BATMAN #380, it seems
to me that Moench has become, well, er, "chemically enhanced". This issue of
DETECTIVE was completely off-the-wall (well, as off-the-wall as a Batman
story could get, anyway. All the characters are delightfully out of character.
Vicki and Julia, instead of being catty rivals, engage in a subtley humorous
rapport. Robin's acting a bit clownish, and even Alfred let his hair down a
little:
	Jason: "Alfred, why is it that Bruce always falls for the dark
		and dangerous dames?"
	Alfred:"I'm quite sure I don't know, Master Jason, particularly
		with two fine women like Vicki Vale and my daughter
		Julia eager to...er, 'jump his bones,' as it were."

	It's been a while since I've enjoyed a Batman comic this much.


STAR TREK #12	[C]

	This is improving with each issue (though I *still* wish I liked
the Sutton/Villagran artwork better). If nothing else, this issue was worth
it for the ranting and raving of the mirror-Kirk, as he remotely starts the
destruct sequence on the mirror-Enterprise (which the "real" Kirk has taken
over): "Good! My counterpart was foolish enough to think he could defeat
*me* in a contest of strategy--the weakling! He's merciful, like his 'Fed-
eration'--and just as soft! He'd never think of activating his destruct
sequence by remote control...never consider destroying his own ship just to
rid himself of a foe!" (Heh, heh, heh)


FANTASTIC FOUR #276	[C+]

	Byrne's really been doing wonders with this book; it's *never* been
a top flight book, in my opinion, until the last couple of years. The romance
between Johnny and Alicia is growing stronger, and what's more, it feels
*real*. The real treat of the issue, however, is the collection of Reed and
Sue's neighbors: Hi & Lois, Jiggs, Blondie, Joe Palooka, Dick Tracy, Dennis
the Menace's father, and a couple of other comic strip characters that I can
recognize, but not place (one of them is, I think, from "Gasoline Alley".
	And the art! This time, it's Jerry Ordway who's doing the inking
honor's, and while I think I still prefer Al Gordon, JO does a really top-
notch job (the page 4, panel 2 shot of She-Hulk especially stands out as a
nicely rendered drawing).


IRON MAN #192	[D]

	The long awaited clash between Rhodey in the latest IM armor and
Tony Stark in a vastly inferior "old" IM armor. I'm not sure what I expected
from this, but I certainly didn't get it. The resolution seems like the only
fair solution, but I still didn't care for it. And the fight wasn't all that
exciting, either. On the other hand, it's not quite over yet, as a future
cover proof I've seen would indicate.


ROM #64		[D]

	The latest in a series of strange inking jobs over Ditko pencils ---
this time from Craig Russell (as will next issue). Though I greatly admire
Russell's talents, this is probably the least successful result; Russell's
style and Ditko's just do not work together.
	As for the story, well, as can be expected, it sucked. Well, next
issue wraps up this whole Wraith War business. Then we'll be ffrrreeeeeee!!!


WEB OF SPIDER-MAN #1	[C-]

	Ho hum. Just another Spider-Man comic. Spidey has his final confron-
tation with the black costume. Louise Simonson's writing (which prompted me
to pick this up, otherwise, I might not have bothered) is competent, but not
extraordinary. It was nice to see Jim Mooney (inker) again; I've always had
a fondness for his work. I'm afraid that there just wasn't a whole lot of
excitement to the plot for me. And the art on the last page left it unclear
(maybe I'm just being obtuse?) just what did happen with the costume. I'll
probably buy the next two issues for Simonson's writing (I get the feeling
that her heart just wasn't in this story, having to wrap up someone else's
story). Maybe once she gets the chance to do her own stuff in the next two
issues, it'll be better.


STARSTRUCK #1	[C-]

	The same gorgeous Kaluta art as the graphic novel, and a slightly
more coherent script, though it still has parts that are quite confusing.
But certainly no more confusing than the first few issues of AZTEC ACE. If
this continues on like this, I might well take a real liking to it. It's
rather nicely bizarre. And the art *does* make it more palatable. And there's
a really nice photo of Galatia 9 (Elaine Lee??) on the inside front cover.
Quite pretty.


normalman #6	[C]

	I won't extoll on the virtues of this comic. It's either your style
of humor (it is mine) or it isn't your style of humor. If you aren't aware
by now, each issue, as it tells the latest installment of Normy's on-going
story, parodies some other comic, such as ELFQUEST, RICHY RICH, Weisinger-
period DC comics, whatever. This time, it's the Spirit's turn. Actually, as
with last issues Richy Rich schtick, isn't quite a parody. so much as an
emulation of the style. The front cover is done in the style of the front
page of a Spirit Section, and each page in the story has the legend "normal-
man by Valentino" hidden Eisneresquely somewhere in the artwork. And there
is usually a panel filled with the likenesses of other comic characters.
Here we have a collection of "dead" characters on page 15: Nighthawk, Ferro
Lad, Mar-vell, Terra, Spider-Woman, Mr. Terrific, Phoenix, Manhunter, the
Earth-2 Batman, and Warlock, among others. And page 13 has a "pin-up" of
the Agents of S.C.H.M.U.C.K.*, including the Flaming Carrot, Al (or is it
Al?) from the Space Gophers, Inc., Herbie, Dick Tracey, Bozo the Clown, and
Boris Badenov(?). I always get a kick out of normalman.
	* stands for nothing in particular


ALIEN WORLDS #8		[D+]

	This is the first of the final two issues, published by Eclipse in
the wake of Pacific's demise. Like most issues of this title, it's a rather
uneven collection of stories. There are two gems, however. A rather humdrum
William F. Nolan story is accompanied by some very nice Al Williamson art.
Man, that guy can draw when he wants to! The second is a rather humdrum Ken
Steacy art job accompanying a delightful story about a kid who is determined
to get a full set of "Venus Invades" bubble gum cards. Any collector should
get a kick out of this one. "Number 14: 'Roasting the Family Cat'", indeed.


SOMERSET HOLMES #5	[B+]

	Boy, am I glad that Eclipse picked this one up. Of all the Pacific
titles, this is the one that I couldn't have lived without (except for the
Rocketeer, that this). This book has probably Bruce Jones' best work ever
(yes, even counting KA-ZAR --- KA-ZAR was more entertaining, but this is a
much more strongly plotted and written book). Here, we finally learn what
Somerset's background is, and how she got into her predicament. Of course,
there is still a resolution to come, one that I'm eagerly anticipating. This
is one limited series that deserves to be collected into a graphic novel
format. Hell, it *is* a graphic novel, in the true sense of the word, and
one of the best ones, to boot.
	And Brent Anderson's no slouch in the art department, either.
	This comes highly recommended.


OMAHA THE CAT DANCER #1		[C]

	This is another biased review, since, like CAPTAIN PHIL AND HIS
INTERGALACTIC SPACE PALS, this comic is published by two friends of mine
as Steeldragon Press, and is written and drawn by another friend, Reed
Waller. Anyways, this is definitely an ADULTS ONLY comic, so if you don't
care for undergrounds, you can skip this review. The Omaha story started
out as a full-length story in Dennis Kitchen's BIZARRE SEX #9, and was
followed by a short sequel in BIZARRE SEX #10. Just recently, a prequel
of sorts showed up in Kitchen's DOPE COMIX #5. Now Steeldragon Press is
starting off with a regular comic, picking up where the BS #10 story left
off. The two protagonists are Chuck and Omaha, two humanoid felines (in
this milieu, the world is inhabited solely by humanoid "animals", who seem
to get along rather well (by which I mean, you don't have each species
sticking to its own kind and being antagonistic to other species, like
you get in most humanoid-animals-in-control-of-the-world type stories)).
	In the first Omaha story, Chuck and Omaha get innocently stuck
in the middle of a scandal of large proportions, involving an underground
"entertainment club" (where Omaha was an exotic dancer) and numerous "men"
of high social and political standing. They flee their home town of Mipple
City (Minneapolis, where Reed Waller lives), and trek to San Francisco,
hoping to keep a low profile until things blow over. Unfortunately, one
of the hometown gang bosses would rather see them dead, and in this issue,
we see Chuck and Omaha, arrive in Frisco and deal with a thug of Andre
de Roc's, who's out to get them.
	Waller's storytelling is quite good, and his characters very likeable
--- or very unlikeable, in the case of the villains. And the artwork is much
better than most underground artwork is (though don't expect another Byrne,
Perez, or Adams). A rather nice, erotic comic book.

	I repeat, though: this comic has some quite explicit sex scenes in
it, though I wouldn't say that they were in bad taste. Keep that in mind if
you're tempted to look at this comic, but are turned off by sexual matter.


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

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