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From: boyajian@akov68.DEC (JERRY BOYAJIAN)
Newsgroups: net.comics
Subject: More Jayembee Reviews
Message-ID: <612@decwrl.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 1-Oct-85 03:16:59 EDT
Article-I.D.: decwrl.612
Posted: Tue Oct  1 03:16:59 1985
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Reviewed this time around:

FUGITOID #1		THE INCREDIBLE HULK #315	'MAZING MAN #1
HOWARD THE DUCK #32	LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES #18	THE PUNISHER #1

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 Napoleon of Crime. Nyah-ah-ah!!

"For a critic, it's better to have wrong standards than none at all."

						-- Elmer Allyn Craft

********************************************************************************
|=>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 #38: "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   |
********************************************************************************


FUGITOID #1		[Mirage Studios, b&w magazine, $1.50]		D+

	From those wonderful folks who bring us the TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA
TURTLES, comes this new comic. So far, it's just a one-shot, but if there's
a good enough reaction to it, it may becomes a regular. The story is rather
hackneyed --- on another planet, a scientist accidentally gets his mind trans-
ferred into the body of a worker robot. the scientist was working on a proejct
for the military, and when the general comes to visit to see how the project
is going, he finds the charred body of the scientist and of course, comes to
the conclusion that the robot killed him. And thus we have the story of a
fugitive 'droid, or fugitoid (hey, at least the robot isn't one-armed!). The
general eventually finds out the truth, but this only makes matters worse. The
general figures that he can now effectively enslave the scientist. To compli-
cate matters, the project the scientist was working on (which wasn't intended
to be, but can be used as a weapon) and the current situation become known to
the aliens, and *they* are looking for the robot now, too. Things look grim
for our protagonist as he's finally found, but then, appearing right in front
of him, are the Turtles, straight from the end of TMNT #4. And the story here
continues in TMNT #5.
	FUGITOID was done some time before TMNT, and is a touch more primitive
in its writing and art. Due to its trite story, I can't really recommend it
unless you are already following the Turtles. It's not even essential for an
understanding of what will happen over the next three issues of TMNT, but it
does provide some nice background.


HOWARD THE DUCK #32		[Marvel, $.65]		D-

	I have to say that this was quite a surprise! I knew that Marvel was
going to start up Howard's comic again, but I didn't expect it this soon. The
bad news is that Steve Gerber isn't writing it. He was going to, but Shooter
decided to edit the book, and he and Gerber had too many creative differences
(check out THE COMICS JOURNAL #101 if you want to know the story from Gerber's
side). So instead we get a humdrum story from Steven Grant. Howard is hitch-
hiking cross-country and gets a ride from an ecologically-minded, woman truck
driver named (barf! gag!) Ceci Ryder. As they stop to answer nature's call,
they stumble across a plot by one Morton Erg (a thinly disguised James Watt)
to replace all of the parks, forests, and mountains with condos and strip
mines.
	I suspect that this story has been sitting in inventory for a while
for a couple of reasons. First, the "timeliness" (heavy sarcasm here) of the
subject of the satire. Secondly, the art is by Paul Smith, who drew the Howard
story that appeared in one of the comic-sized issues of BIZARRE ADVENTURES (I
think Grant wrote that one, too, but I don't recall exactly). This story was
probably done for another issue of BA before that comic folded. As for the
Paul Smith art, don't expect anything great. Vinnie Colletta's inks drown out
Smith's pencils almost ot the point of non-recognition.
	Gerber may have gotten occasionally self-indulgent in his writing in
HOWARD THE DUCK, but he at least knew how to do proper satire. Grant doesn't
have either the subtlety or the sharpness of wit that Gerber had. And thus,
Howard the Duck has become just a pale shadow of his former self.


THE INCREDIBLE HULK #315	[Marvel, $.65]		D+

	Less than what I'd expect out of Byrne. Bruce Banner is finally sep-
arated from the Hulk (!) and somehow, Byrne manages to make it dull. But it's
a minor aspect to the story that I found very interesting. In what amounts to
a sort-of followup from the She-Hulk graphic novel, S.H.I.E.L.D. is really
starting to get to big for its britches. If Marvel is doing this to build up
interest in the eventual Nick fury vs. S.H.I.E.L.D. maxi-series, they're doing
a damn fine job of it.


LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES #18	[DC, $1.50]		C

	Depending on how you look at it, this issue either clears up or makes
even more confusing some of the paradox problems concerning whether the Legion
(and the whole 30th Century) should have known all about the Crisis already.
And we have the return of two of of the Legion's most dangerous adversaries ---
the Infinite Man and Darkseid (you *did* notice his "appearance" of page 14,
didn't you?).
	I've also come to the conclusion that the Greg LaRocque/Larry Mahlstedt
team is the best on the Legion since Keith Giffen's heyday.


'MAZING MAN #1		[DC, $.75]		C-

	I'm not sure just how to call this one. It's different, it's wild, it's
fun, it's entertaining. But it somehow *just* misses the mark. It's sort of a
cross between THE MASKED MAN and CAP'N QUICK, as we have a little kid who
wanders about in a costume fighting injustice, and who is a true hero. And the
supporting cast of characters, headed by 'Maze's best friend, Denton (who looks
like a dog but isn't one) is quite a good one (by the way, does anyone have an
idea why Guido looks completely different on the cover than on the inside?)
	As I said, it just misses the mark, but I'll be damned if I can figure
out how. It's just that I had this slightly uncomfortable feeling as I was
reading it. But you can be sure that I'll be back for a few more helpings at
least, until I find out whether Stephen DeStefano and Bob Rozakis can get their
act straightened out. 'MAZING MAN is like a breath of fresh air.