It's been a while since we've had a random MCP, and here's one I would've been reading new off the rack: from 1988, Marvel Comics Presents #5, cover by John Buscema and Klaus Janson. 

Five issues in, this was five chapters into three serials, with only the last Daredevil feature a stand-alone. If I recall, this was Logan's second solo story, after his first limited. Having gotten his mutant clock cleaned by crimelord Roche and his thugs--namely vampiric Sapphire Styx and Razorfist--Logan spends this chapter recovering, rescued by Jessan Hoan. Who reveals, she knew he was Wolverine. The claws might've tipped her off. (Written by Chris Claremont, pencils by John Buscema, inks by Klaus Janson.)

I've read all of this Man-Thing story, but coming in now I'm at a loss: looks like yet another conspiracy around the Sallis version of the Super-Soldier Serum, a Satanist babe seemingly in control of Man-Thing, and an Ollie North-type testifying in front of Congress; that he may have acted 'unconventionally' but he did so for America, darn it. It's pretty obvious Gerber finds him more full of it than the Satanists. (Written by Steve Gerber, art by Tom Sutton.)

Likewise, the only thing I remember about this Shang-Chi serial, is that I think Leiko is taken hostage for most of it, and she loses a hand? I hadn't read much Master of Kung Fu when this came out, so Shang seemed strangely passive; like he's usually waiting for something to happen. Grindberg was doing a nice Neal Adams-feel there, though. (Written by Doug Moench, pencils by Tom Grindberg, inks by Dave Cockrum.)

Finally, the Daredevil short finds our hero trying to save a kid from a stalker. There's a little twist, but not much; but for eight pages, sure. (Written by Terry Kavanagh, pencils by Dwayne Turner, inks by Michael Gustovich.)

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It's not really a random MCP issue if it's the next MCP issue, is it.

I mentioned picking this one up the last time we flipped through an MCP, and figured we'd get to it in 2027. So, we're ahead of schedule, anyway! From 1994, Marvel Comics Presents #157, cover by Colin MacNeil.

I also thought the front cover had the bar code? Maybe not, judging from the text on the letters column on the inside cover, since a letter is continued on the other side; so maybe the Fury side is the front? "Jury of Your Peers" is an eight-pager, with Fury infiltrating a HYDRA base, to rescue agents captured by the sadistic "Number 16." With the Helicarrier bombing the base, it looks like Fury is trapped in the bad guy's dungeon...all according to plan? (Written by Mariano Nicieza, pencils by Kris Renkewitz, inks by Brad Vancata.)

The Namorita Kymaera serial continues with "Mother May I." Dehydrated and weakened, Kymaera has at least figured out she's on a sub, so hasn't given up yet; despite being grabbed by a guy in a powered armor with really weird tentacles. Seriously, like two launching from the nipple area and one from the gut; it's weird placement. (Story and pencils by Ed Lazellari, inks by Joe Rosas.) The Vengeance serial "Altered Spirits" also continues, as Michael Badilino wakes up in a homeless shelter, which comes as a relief: maybe all that stuff about being Bizarro-Ghost Rider was just a dream? Yeah, no such luck; and he realizes he's going to have to take his power back from Phantome, who's on a rampage, and memorably melts a guy's face off his skull, for holding her up in traffic. I feel like they were trying to work the formula to maybe add a female Ghost Rider-type, but she wouldn't stick. Also, Badilino helps restrain a homeless guy screaming "I am Kirok!" Hey, who among us... (Written by Chris Cooper, breakdowns by Reggie Jones, finishes by Fred Harper.)

Finally, the Shang-Chi serial also continues; as Shang discovers the "Midnight Slasher" that kidnapped his girl Leiko, was an old foe, Lazarus. It must suck in the MCU to meet and/or fight somebody named "Lazarus" because it all but guarantees they're going to come back after their "death," doesn't it? (Written by Karl Bollers, pencils by Cary Nord, inks by Bambos Georgio.)

Man, I wish I could find my Vengeance Marvel Legend figure: he's one of the very few from the Toy Biz days to not have gotten a re-do since! Read more!

It's been months since I blogged a random issue of Marvel Comics Presents, and I feel like we've seen some of the other serials in this one; but at least one story got my attention--achtung, you might say! From 1994, Marvel Comics Presents #156, cover by Colin MacNeil.

We checked out MCP #158 some time back; which had later chapters from this one: here, we've got the first part of a Vengeance serial (as he gets his powers stolen by Phantome) and a Shang-Chi one with so many caption boxes; as well as the second part of a Namorita/Kymaera New Warriors story. (It gets labelled a New Warriors story on the cover, since Kymaera probably didn't have the name recognition at that point.) (Vengeance page from "Altered Spirits, part 1" Written by Chris Cooper, breakdowns by Reggie Jones, inks by Fred Harper.)

But, the standalone fourth story is the good one, featuring the Destroyer! Or, in German, der Zerstörer; as most of this one is auf Deutsch. And, it's from Dan Slott and James Fry, who also did the Destroyer in Midnight Sons Unlimited #9, this time with Mark Badger inks. There's some English from a bomber crew with impeccable taste, with "Union Jacquie" Spitfire on the nose of their plane!

Not a character that shows up a ton, but it feels like he has some creators as fans. Good for him! Also, I'm pretty sure I've picked up the next issue; which means we'll probably look at the Nick Fury story from it in 2027... Read more!

While I often pick up random issues of Marvel Comics Presents to blog later; this one I picked up because it had an interesting cover. One of them, anyway: the Vengeance/War Machine cover is almost interchangeable with the next issue's cover! I wasn't expecting the stories within to be...kind of grotty? From 1994, Marvel Comics Presents #167.

Strangely enough, once again we blogged the next issue some time back, but I didn't even scan a page of the conclusion to the Spider-Woman serial? This issue is the second of three parts, and I think it wraps up pretty quickly in the next one, but this chapter is deeply creepy, as Julia Carpenter drives to pick up her daughter, while her stalker makes the same drive to kill her, shooting her in front of her daughter. She doesn't seem to have a secret identity anymore, so this happens immediately? Julia also has a completely human reaction to a gun in her face; that a guy super-hero would never ever have in a comic; and I think the stalker's face isn't shown the whole serial, to make the point that it could be anyone, but seems like its making him more than he was...I don't like this one. "The Great American Mall Shoot-Out, part 2 of 3," written by Nel Yomtov, pencils by John Czop, inks by Tim Dzon.

I don't know if he did any other comic work, but Paul Johnson did the cover I liked, and art for a Man-Thing serial: "Behold, the Man, conclusion" Written by Simon Jowlett, art by Paul Johnson. The Man-Thing rampages through the characters of a blocked writer, a writer named...Ted Sallis? Ted seemingly breaks through the illusion, returning to the reality of being a mindless swamp monster. Pyrrhic victory there.

"Old-Time Religion" sets up a War Machine vs. Vengeance fight, as a televangelist stirs up bad feelings, and gangs based on War Machine and Vengeance tear up Los Angeles. The "Revengers" are described as "wanting vengeance for the riots that swept L.A." which makes me think they might be kinda racist? Vengeance tries to talk them down, which fails miserably; although I'm not sure a Ghost Rider-type like that ever even tried talking things through before, but of course War Machine isn't interested in listening, either. (Written by Chris Cooper, breakdowns by Reggie Jones, finishes by Fred Harper.)

Lastly, the conclusion of a Turbo two-parter, guest-starring the Pantheon: they wanted to see if whoever wearing the Turbo-suit could be trusted with it, and while they don't think the guy Mike could, they're more impressed with the girl, Mickey. She was so much better at it, and still improving; while I think Mike would later be revealed to be a Dire Wraith or something. ("Cutting Class," written by Evan Skolnick, pencils by Guy Dorian, inks by John Stokes.) Read more!

More of this sounds dirtier than anything actually there...I think.

I keep grabbing random issues of Marvel Comics Presents from the quarter bins, and we saw the previous issue a couple years back, but I read the series for quite a while: I know I read all through the Black Panther serial, and that was like 25 parts? (It ended with MCP #37; and I would've kept going for the Excalibur serial, which...enh.) Picking this up, I almost thought I messed up the numbering, though. From 1993, Marvel Comics Presents #133.

In "Alone Against the Coven," a vacation isn't in the cards for Wolverine, as the Coven plans on sacrificing him to maybe bring an age of enlightenment. Or darkness. Maybe enlightened darkness? Vex, Satyr, and Fetish don't give Wolvie too much trouble, but Blood Shadow puts him down for the count; and he wakes up, manacled to a recurring foe in that book: Cyber! (Written by Dan Slott, art by Steve Lightle.) I don't know if I've ever known Cyber's origin, or if he was ever given much more characterization than "dick who's pretty cocky Wolverine can't immediately kill him."

The previous issue featured the conclusion of an Iron Fist serial, so I wasn't expecting to see another one start for him here! He's not on top of his game, but manages to step it up after his recent return from the dead. Still, coming up, a rematch with Sabretooth! Who didn't seem as ridiculously swole as he would usually be around then, this was after Jim Lee redesigned him. ("Depths of Despair, part 1 of 4: Opening Gambit" Written by Tony Matias, pencils by Fred Haynes, inks by Jeff Albrecht.)

Ghost Rider and Cage would probably agree, they don't seem like a good match; but their serial continues with "Heart and Soul, part 3 of 6: Emotional Rescue" Written by Karl Bollers, pencils by Freddy Mendez, inks by Malcolm Jones. The killer Darklove is seemingly in both of their heads; with Ghost Rider seemingly unable to change back into Danny Ketch. There's also an odd sequence where Cage is talking to the press, and a guy shoots him; seemingly just another excuse for his shirt to get shredded. Did I miss a lot in the one chapter of this I haven't read?

Lastly, it's Cloak & Dagger vs. a vampire, in "Nocturnal Cravings" (Written by Chuck Kim, pencils by Walter McDaniels, inks by Greg Adams.) The vampire pushes Cloak too far, to the point that Dagger has to defend her...why, though? She gets him to leave her to Doctor Strange--yeah, 'cause he'd done a bang-up job there--and as usual, Cloak wonders if he might go bad. Read more!

Coming up on 10% of the series blogged!

I'd be legitimately surprised if we got to much more than 20%, 25%. Do I even own more than that? Do I like any of the issues enough to keep blogging them? Not really on both counts! From 1990, Marvel Comics Presents #52. Wait, the series was bi-weekly, was this issue the two-year point?

This didn't have the flip covers that would come later in the run, so we open with "The Wilding Part 2: The First Cut Is The Deepest" Plot and art by Rob Liefeld, script by Fabian Nicieza. Separately, Heather Hudson and Wolverine are on the trail of former Gamma Flight trainee, Wild Child, who had gone psycho-killer. Wild Child takes down Heather, disabling her power-suit, but Wolverine arrives in time to save her. Still, Wild Child considers his old mentor old, slow, and "human," and thinks he can take him. This also features a plot point I don't think anyone liked even at the time: this was during the X-Men's Australia stint, and Heather still thought Logan had died in Dallas. Logan even admits he should correct her: Heather, like Kurt and Kitty over in Excalibur, was very much on the shortlist of people the X-Men probably could've trusted, huh?

Next, Comet Man, which I don't think I had ever read before! "A Family Affair, part 3 of 4: Reunion" Written by Bill Mumy and Miguel Ferrer, pencils by Kelly (Kelley) Jones, inks by Gerry Talaoc. The titular Comet Man, Dr. Stephen Beckley, finally finds his son Benny, who's had a pretty bad time of it: kidnapped, his mother killed by an electric fence in an escape attempt, then experimented upon to get powers like his dad. Stephen uses his powers to block Benny's traumatic memories, if not erase them completely; then his alien pal Max stops by. Max had revealed his existence publically, and was enjoying a rock-star's life. Stephen was still looking for his brother, the "Superior," but Max asks why, you're living in his house? His friend Jonathan Gallager, was actually the brother his mom gave away, and crazy as hell. (I actually thought Mumy and Ferrer were related; so I was wondering if that figured into that plot!) The conclusion in the next issue might have been the last mention for the character in the Marvel universe until Civil War: Front Line #8 in 2006!

Feels weird to have Rick Jones and Hulk shorts in the rest of the issue, that aren't related to each other. Rick has to save a Puerto Rican resort from a masked extortion racket, in "Last Resort," story and art by Richard Howell. Rick spends most of the story in a jean-jacket vest and Reed Richards' speedo? Then, the grey Hulk has to launch into space with "fortified rocket springs" after alien kids launch an asteroid at earth as part of a game. ("Kids Will Be Kids," story and pencils by Ron Wilson, inks by Tom Morgan.) Read more!

I think I always start with the back cover.

The front cover has the bar code, right? Ah, let's just do this: from 1994, Marvel Comics Presents #158, opening with the ClanDestine preview "Scare Tactics" Written and penciled by Alan Davis, inks by Mark Farmer. Fighting an array of robots, youngsters Rory and Pandora are gung-ho, until they're crushed! The Hulk-ish Walter is furious with Woody Allen-lookalike Newton; since this was supposed to be a Danger Room-style training session to scare the kids out of superheroing, but they survive and thrive...which makes the rest of the family concerned they would be discovered. This issue might've been discovered by scalpers, after the ClanDestine's somewhat baffling appearance on Disney's Ms. Marvel show, but I wrote the rest of this post before that!

Next, Kymaera...you know, Kymaera? OK, Namorita, from when she was blue! She wasn't thrilled about it either, and was trying to get to geneticist Matrix to maybe get changed back. I'm not sure how exactly that was going to happen, or how she was going to convince Matrix to do that, since the cape-wearing drama queen scuttles her sub and abandons her crew to get away. Kymaera saves the crew and turns them over to the Coast Guard, but laments she may never be what she was...Of course she'd get changed back at some point there. ("Reversal of Fortune, part 4 of 4" Story and art by Ed Lazellari, inks by Joe Rosas.)

Under the other cover, we find yet another middle chapter of a Vengeance serial--good grief, I'll see how one ends someday. Michael Badilino has fallen prey to the old "give up my powers, oh wait, now they're being misused and I have to take them back" plot. Phantome is now rampaging through the city as a knockoff of Vengeance, which makes her a knockoff of a knockoff of Ghost Rider; while her old thug Gargantua tries to get Michael to save his boss and change her back. After she melts a homeless guy's face (!) and tries the same on Michael, he realizes he still has her powers; Phantome just manifested her own somehow. With multiple deaths (including Gargantua, apparently) she realizes she'd lost it, but with her and Vengeance surrounded by fuel cannisters on a burning pier, it may be too little, too late! ("Altered Spirits, part 3 of 4, Fire and Blood" Written by Chris Cooper, pencils by Reggie Jones, inks by Fred Harper.)

Lastly, the conclusion of a Shang-Chi three-parter, "The Gauntlet" Written by Karl Bollers, pencils by Cary Nord, inks by Bambos Gorgio. Shang manages to rescue Leiko, but is then drugged by Lazarus, then has a flashback to his childhood and another ordeal at the hands of Fu Manchu nope, he's just referred to as "my father" here, multiple times! Shang's dad tries to force him to kill and fails, but that doesn't save the victim. Shang comes back to end the gauntlet with the "silent shout," which doesn't seem to be one he uses often? Ever?

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By a very quick count, we've blogged 16 of 175 issues for Marvel Comics Presents: I don't have all of them, I don't want all of them, yet here we are. From 1994, Marvel Comics Presents #162. 

The Tigra cover probably sold this one for me, as she begins a four-parter: "Slave of Passion" Written by David DeVreis, pencils by John Czop, inks by Pablo Marcos. (Czop also did the Tigra cover, Mark Pacella and Rey Garcia the Vengeance one.) A very 80's looking Tigra has been getting her head together in Australia, which involves riding a boar, as you do. But a creepy fat sultan sends his Reaver-knockoff looking men in search of "exotic" types for his harem, and they gun down a number of the Aboriginal Australians Tigra had been staying with. A good enough start, although I'm not sure if this is even close to what Australia should look like.

Next, and apparently flipped on the contents pages, the New Warriors in...ugh..."Smells Like Teen Spirit, part 4 of 5: If you can run out of time, can you walk out on the check?" Written by Fabian Nicieza, pencils by Robert Walker, inks by Scott Koblish. I really hate the title structures for this book: Main name, part whatever, chapter name. The chapter names aren't necessary, are they? Dr. Yesterday has brought soldiers from across time to New York City; although the Warriors don't seem to know why yet. Just like the last Warriors book we saw, Turbo and Mike Jeffries are front and center, along with Slapstick and special guest-star the Impossible Man, who seems to be smitten with Turbo. Yesterday reveals himself as a somewhat schlubby looking "chronal research specialist" who was dying of cancer, and decided to take the universe with him. Does that happen in other fields? Literary agent gets terminal disease, they don't try to implode the universe, is all I'm saying.

On the flipside, it's Vengeance vs. a giant spider in the subways, in "Diabolique, part 3 of 4, the Sorceress's Apprentice" Written by Chris Cooper, pencils by Reggie Jones, inks by Fred Harper. The spider is Zoraster, the pet of Diabolique, who doesn't look the part; she looks like a little French girl. But she's got creepy powers and wanted to be the apprentice of the current Sorceress Supreme, Salome! (Which puts this...maybe around Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme #61? Looks like they didn't change the title for that stretch.) Not being the trusting sort, Salome doesn't want an apprentice: either she's too weak to bother with, or strong enough to be a threat later. But, perhaps a test of worthiness: kill Vengeance, since he followed Diabolique there.

Next, the penultimate chapter of Mace, "Origins" Written by Carl Potts, pencils by Barry Crain, inks by Hilary Barta and Philip Moy. There's ninjas, clones, healing factors, the Shadowmasters from that Punisher War Journal spinoff. It's like part 3 of 4 and I have no goddamn idea what's happening.

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"Do the Disney people know about this?" Honestly, you should always be asking yourself that.

Sometimes I grab these Marvel Comics Presents as I find them, to set up posts in reserve in case I'm busy or something. This issue was thrust upon me at a toy show when I bought something else; maybe we'll see why! From 1993, Marvel Comics Presents #132.

Technically, the Ghost Rider/Cage cover is the front, since it has the barcode, right? So we start with "Heart and Soul, part 2 of 6: Love Connection" Written by Karl Bollers, pencils by Freddy Mendez, inks by Chris Ivy and Ken Branch. (I always feel like the biweekly serials burned through a lot of story titles!) This was the 90's post-Power Man & Iron Fist Cage in Chicago, where he and GR are not doing great against Darklove. Um, that's the bad guy's name. This serial may have been Cage's first run-in with the Rider, as he indicates he previously thought he was a hoax. 

 Next, Iron Fist, in "The Book of Changes, part 8 of 8: All Debts Forgotten, All Sins Forgiven." I feel like that title is longer than anything I have to say about this one? Oh, all right: this may have been trying to build a new supporting cast for Danny, as the Contemplator had been manipulating him, his Rand Corporation, and HYDRA; in an effort to get him to step up and "become the superior man" and somehow bootstrap the rest of humanity up with him. The Contemplator leaves a triangular prism with which to contact him, which I'm not sure I ever would? Little jerk...

On the flip side, yay, Steve Lightle cover and art! "Brothers in Arms, part one: Trouble in Paradise" starts yet another Wolverine serial, this time written by Dan Slott. Logan's in Hawaii, working on his game, but can't hit on this island girl yet; she's on the run from cultists and smells like Cyber! Later, with a batch called the Coven, Cyber is just as unthrilled to realize Wolvie was there, "a little piece of grit stuck between the teeth of my life!" Cyber also finds the Coven to be creepy weirdos, but work's work.

Lastly, an Iron Man short, "Novel Approach," written by Glenn Greenburg, pencils by Paris Karounos, inks by Tim Tuohy. Ol' Shellhead--in the 90's modular armor--is attacked by an armored foe calling himself "Techno-Killer." A terrible name, which also happens to be that of the latest novel of a Tom Clancy-type. What's his connection? Is he responsible? Eh, maybe? It's not the worst short I've seen in MCP, even though Techno-Killer is an awful name for a book or a villain, and his armor is a solid orange like a traffic cone.

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As of right this second, I haven't pledged or whatever for the HasLabs Galactus, even though I've been doing extra overtime all week to cover it! So I thought I'd see if I had a comic with Galactus handy to blog real quick, and I had one with Nova: that's appropriate as well, and odds are Galactus would appear in her strip, right? Right...? From 1991, Marvel Comics Presents #94, covers by Sam Kieth.

The Wolverine opener may or may not fit into post-origin continuity, as Logan has a dream of the 1840's, in the wilderness near the Canadian border. He sees a Blackfoot brave face off against a massive black bear, then intervenes and gets wrecked: something's not right with that bear. Later, some opportunistic trappers try to help themselves to the bear carcass and Logan's scalp, which gets more blood split on the snow. Logan realizes the bear blinded the brave, but doesn't know yet more are out there..."Wild Frontier, part 2 of 6: The Backbone of God" Written by Timothy Truman, pencils by Todd Foxx, inks by Gary Kwapisz. 

Just about everyone got at least a short story in MCP, but I wasn't expecting Nova to have her own serial: "And Ye Shall Remember This Day, part 2 of 4: Only the Strong Shall Live" Plot and script by Susan Kennedy, plot and pencils by Gavin Curtis, inks by Ian Akin. I also expected Galactus to appear, but he doesn't this episode; probably because he doesn't care: Nova is acting like an earth hero instead of a herald, as she tries to help an alien race find a new home after Galactus destroyed their world. But the aliens' leader may have his own agenda, only caring about the "fit" surviving, and he may be leading them to a black hole!

On the other side, Ghost Rider and Cable team-up to save a girl from the subterranean "Warriors of the Dead." The girl can't remember her name, but the memories she has of the Dead don't seem to ring true, but they are coming for her regardless. This serial was later collected as Ghost Rider/Cable: Servants of the Dead, which I don't recall happening that often. (Written by Howard Mackie, pencils by Guang Yap, inks by Bud LaRosa.)

Finally, "Grimm's Tale," written by John Figueroa, pencils by Ron Wilson, inks by Don Hudson. Ben just wants to get out of town for a vacation; he can't even get to the bank without trouble, as some robbers using a garbage truck-looking vehicle try and steal the safe. Ben may have to settle for a staycation hiding from Stretcho.

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Can I get more Ghost Rider guest-spots? No, we have Ghost Rider at home!

Ghost Rider at home:

Oh, you know I love Vengeance! And random-ass issues of serial anthologies. From 1994, Marvel Comics Presents #153, opening with, "Dangerous Games, part 2 of 4: Urban Safari" Written by Chris Cooper, breakdowns by Reggie Jones, finishes by Fred Harper. The Big Game Posse nearly killed Vengeance's cop friend Rebecca, and later kidnap rookie hero Annex (from the pages of Spider-Man, for some reason) is captured by the Posse, who intend to use him as bait to hunt "Ghost Rider." (Vengeance was not widely known by name, in-story.) The Posse is interrupted by Sam Buchanan from Darkhold, who wants to use Annex's technology with the anti-supernatural "Linda" weapon from Nightstalkers! That's like three deep cuts in an eight-pager, making Vengeance look like a big star in comparison.

Next up, "Hung Jury, part 2 of 3," written by Chuck Dixon, art by J.J. Birch. Moon Knight and Marlene investigate the Pretorians, a gang trying to influence a trial by extorting the jury. Marlene does the detective work, which Marc acknowledges is most of the job, while busting heads. Not bad.

On the flip side of the comic, somebody finally got to use the title "Logan's Run." (Written by Nel Yomtov, pencils by Phil Hugh Felix, inks by Rey Garcia.) Wolvie is chasing after his kidnapped friends from early in his solo book, Tyger Tiger and Archie Corrigan. But this is post-Fatal Attractions, so is Logan up to it? A burly thug isn't giving him the leads, so Logan appears to be on the verge of popping his claws through that guy's face!

Finally, we get War Machine, in "The Dying Game, part 2 of 4, Taking Care of Business" Written by Len Kaminski and Scott Benson, pencils by John Czop, inks by Tim Dzon. This was leading up to his solo book, as he investigated high-tech guns hitting the street. With four eight-page chapters, I feel like this could've just been his first issue; but maybe needed the build-up. Read more!

Black Panther vs. Sabretooth sounds like a helluva fight. MAYBE THEY SHOULD'VE PUT IT IN THE COMIC.

This was a bi-weekly series, and still had over a year's worth of issues in it at this point. Somehow. From 1994, Marvel Comics Presents #148. 

 

The lead story was the only continuing serial this issue, and this was the conclusion of only a two-parter. On top of the Statue of Liberty, Vengeance faces off with...ugh...Psiphon. He had some tubes sticking out of him, that allowed him to feed on "strong, negative emotion," and Vengeance was a friggin' smorgasbord for him, until he changed back into his human form, leaving Psiphon a shriveled wreck. For some reason, Badilino seemed to return in the buff; but he still kicks Psiphon off the Statue. Still, the story ends with a new player set on Vengeance: it looks like Johnny Blaze in his 90's gruff phase, but the narration says he's Sam Buchanan, from the short-lived Darkhold book! (I remember wanting to like that one, but it was inconsistent and mired in crossovers from day one.) ("Tower of Blood, part 2 of 2: Vengeance Forsaken!" Written by Chris Cooper (Buchanan's creator!), breakdowns by Reggie Jones, finishes by Fred Harper.

Next, a Captain Universe story: "Hearts and Minds" Written by Dan Slott, pencils by Bill Wiley, inks by Bud LaRosa. Former baseball great Elijah Jackson has been brought low by advanced age and senility, with his daughter forced to sell his cherished mementos to pay the bills. Still, when some thugs try to rob her, he manifests as Captain Universe briefly to save her, and try and tell her he was still in there somewhere. That's kind of a downer, but it's probably the high point of this issue! 

On the flipside, there's a Black Panther and Sabretooth cover. Only one problem: no Sabretooth in this story! "Triumph of the Hunter," plot and art by Don Hillsman, script by David DeVries. In a (somewhat generic) jungle, Black Panther, briefly accompanied by a black panther, tracks what he thinks could be poachers, but it's some kind of kidnapping/arms deal gone wrong, with a Sabretooth Life Model Decoy! Which doesn't appear until the seventh page and gets its head kicked off the very next panel on page eight! I didn't think the art was too bad, but there's a pacing problem there. 

Lastly, "500 Guns" features American Eagle, who I have a soft spot for from Marvel Two-in-One Annual #6. Which was also drawn by this story's artist, Ron Wilson, but this one...is not good. I had to look up if this was the same Ron Wilson, but per his wiki, this might've been the last MCP story he did: He had been contributing to the book for five years, here and there. This reminded me a bit of later Herb Trimpe work, where an old pro was getting pushed to deliver work more in the "hot" style of the time.

Not great, but not a total loss: I have a sudden urge to have that evil midget from Darkhold make an appearance. Where's my Dr. Psycho figure...

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