Is anybody using the Nomad tag right now? Maybe, time to bring that back?

Although, that may fall under the "Michael Bolton" rule; but every year it gets exponentially more difficult to imagine being "proud" of being an American. (Bill Hicks nailed that one years ago.) The closest to Fourth of July festivities around here is going to be Jello in my Captain America-shield mold--lemon, just slightly less yellow and spineless than your typical ICE agent--and maybe an old Cap comic here. From 1986, Captain America #316, "Creatures of Love" Written by Mark Gruenwald, breakdowns by Paul Neary, finishes by Dennis Janke. ("Creatures of Love" is another of Gruenwald's occasional Talking Heads references!)

On his little sky-cycle, recent newlyweds Hawkeye and Mockingbird are going to drop in on Cap for a visit, and their timing couldn't be worse if the Red Skull was nuking the city: Steve was having a hard conversation with his girlfriend Bernie, who was going off to law school. She had wanted to talk it over with him first, but he had never been around. Bernie thought their relationship would survive, if it was strong enough, but...Clint and Bobbi show up plainclothes, and Bobbi realizes right off it wasn't the time, and Clint figures it out after suggesting to Steve that marriage had been great for him, so...(Bernie doesn't know them, but also figures they were superheroes: Iron Man and Ms. Marvel, maybe?)

Changing the subject, Steve asks whatever happened to Armadillo? Well, things were looking up for him: his wife Bonita had been cured, and he was an up-and-comer in Unlimited Class Wrestling. Now in town, Bonita was thrilled to see the city, but tells Armadillo he can't go shopping or dancing, he was too big and it would make a scene. She had Ramon to take her, though...I am not sure what Ramon's purpose in Armadillo's entourage was, since he had a manager? While at dinner, Steve sees an ad for Armadillo's upcoming match, and Clint suggests they should all go, which they do, at Madison Square Garden the next night. The crowd seems to love Armadillo, and Steve is pleased the guy found honest work, anyway. He decides to see him after the match, since how many of his bad guys had ever gone straight? You could maybe count that on your thumbs at that point. Going backstage, Cap accidentally steps in on Ramon and Bonita, in an embrace and seemingly plotting. Cap chats with Armadillo, who starts to mention he wasn't cured of his condition at his wife's suggestion; then when Bonita comes in, Cap doesn't feel like it was his place to say anything; later Clint, Bobbi, and Bernie have to agree. Yes, but...

The next day, while packing up Bernie's apartment, breaking news: the Armadillo was tearing up 34th street, which looks like a crowded mess maybe before that. His manager tries to talk him down, and gets thrown away: a cop manages to break his fall, possibly with his spine. The cops then try to tear-gas him, which doesn't work; then Cap tries to talk him down. Armadillo considers Cap got lucky beating him before, and throws a manhole cover at him--not unlike Cap's shield! Cap has to block it, then has to save onlookers when Armadillo throws a car. Cap catches up to him, starting to climb the Empire State Building: I'm sure he doesn't mean to nag, but when Cap yells "Now what do you think you're doing?" it kinda feels like that.

Armadillo just wants Cap to keep the street clear, so he can kill himself without squashing anybody else; but Cap climbs up after him using the same clawed-in handholds he made. Cap tells him, he understands that pain: he was in the middle of a break-up himself. Still, Armadillo had been turned into, and then stayed, a monster for Bonita; who had been unfaithful maybe the whole time. Before Cap and try to argue against that, Hawkeye shows up on his sky-cycle: Cap tries to wave him off, but Armadillo takes the opportunity to jump. Despite putting a good-sized crater in the road, Armadillo survives, but too hurt to keep fighting. It's somehow more of a downbeat ending than if he had died, since next time we'd see him, Armadillo would be in the Vault. Oh, shoot: I remember the next issue also guest-stars Hawkeye, and maybe has an even sadder ending. Bernie goes off to law school, and Steve misses saying goodbye to her, because he was fighting...the Death-Throws. Man, I know you're a paragon of honesty, Cap, but nobody would've faulted you for a white lie on that one. "Sorry I missed you, sweetie, I was, uh, fighting Godzilla." Read more!

Sodam? Better check your local laws and statutes about that.

I was searching for a bit, since I swore I had blogged more than a few issues of this series: yeah, after it became Avengers Spotlight, maybe. From 1989, Solo Avengers #16, featuring "The Sinister Secret of Sodam" Written by Tom DeFalco, pencils by Al Milgrom, inks by Jose Marzan; and "Seconds!" Written by Peter B. Gillis, pencils by Don Perlin, inks by Jack Abel.

On the trail of Hawkeye and watching some A.I.M. goons, Mockingbird wants to help out her estranged husband, but can't let on she was following him only because he was going to meet his ex, the Black Widow. "Ex" is probably too generous...While Mockingbird gets inside and then starts pummelling A.I.M. troops, Hawkeye and the Widow have been captured...by Hank Pym? No, a robot Hank. Not even a good Ultron one! Hawkeye had known the robot was a fake the whole time--because he turned his hearing-aid up and could hear it clanking internally? Wouldn't doing that make everything else unbearably loud?

The real Hank is also there: he had been kidnapped, while attempting to cure his long-thought-dead wife Maria of her artifically-enlarged brain. Think an even more unwieldy MODOK. But she does get a new sort-of rocket chair, and new name: SODAM! "A Specialized Organism Designed for Aggressive Manuevers!" Was she ever Maria Pym? We don't find out here; but in another area, Mockingbird kicks a guy into shooting a computer, causing a power failure, freeing Hawkeye and Widow! The Hank-bot tries to stop the real one from giving Hawkeye some info, but then gets thrown into one of SODAM's mind-blasts and blown up. Somewhere else, SODAM's bosses give the order to retreat, so she hits the base self-destruct. The Avengers get out in a rocket sled, while Mockingbird has to chance the teleporter she got there in. No one is really happy in the end: Hank wonders if his wife is really dead, and Hawkeye understands since he wishes he could see his, as Mockingbird, her involvement still unseen, walks away.

Next up, the return of Moondragon! A tough nut to crack, since she was turned to ash in Defenders #152, a last issue I have but have never managed to blog because...ugh. Business magazine editor Pamela Douglas is having severe psychological problems, paranoid delusions, culminating in shaving her head to prove her boyfriend/husband Tom didn't love her? She does get what, for the time, would be a surprising amount of support, and wigs! (Her haircut would've predated Sinead O'Connor's big American break, but those panels really made me think of Britney Spears...) She later has a near-breakdown in front of an anti-abortion billboard. You don't see those in the Marvel U. too often. Thank god. Tom doesn't understand why she thinks she saw a baby, she wasn't pregnant; but they're interrupted by a giant clawed hand coming through their bedroom skylight!

Still, fleeing in terror, Pamela does get some answers where the baby is: Titan. Of course, the answer comes from the voice in her head; the mind of Moondragon! Pamela was Heather Douglas's closest female relative, a cousin or something, so why not move in and stay for a bit while a new clone body was being grown on Titan? Heather had been too weak to help or make herself known before, but the giant hand wasn't her doing. Well, not directly, anyway: it's the Gargoyle, Isaac Christians. His soul, trapped in a crystal, possessed some army guy that found it. Heather feels bad for what she did to him--under the Dragon of the Moon's control, or not, she was always a little 'look-what-you-made-me-do'--but c'mon, she already died for it, let it go. Pamela, with Heather in her head and the Gargoyle's soul in her hand, beams up to Moondragon's spaceship, for a trip to Titan...maybe you should tell your boyfriend you're going? Maybe he'd be concerned or want to go or something; but looks like he's getting extra ghosted. This was allegedly to be continued later; but I'm not sure it was before she returned in Quasar. I swear there was maybe a brief stretch in the 70's, where Marvel was really pushing Moondragon as their female lead in merchandising? I don't think there was a Spider-Woman yet, Storm wasn't big yet, maybe the Invisible Girl and Wasp weren't doing it? As often, I could be wrong. (And I might be! I vividly remember getting stickers of the Thing and Moondragon from Cracker Jacks way back when; but looking it up, there were Wasp and Invisible Girl stickers as well! Maybe they wanted a better guy/girl split.) Read more!

Looking at his past outfits, yeah, maybe costume design wasn't a speciality.

Sometimes a hero's costume almost has an origin of its own; other times the hero just has one, done deal. Today's series seems to be backfilling this costume's backstory, but it also makes Hawkeye seem about as sharp as a brick arrow: from 2011, Widowmaker #1-4, #1 and #3 written by Jim McCann, pencils by David Lopez, inks by Alvaro Lopez; #2 and 4 written by Duane Swierczynski, pencils by Manuel Garcia, inks by Lorenzo Ruggiero and (#2) Javier Bergantiño.

I don't know why this series was split the way it was; I'm not sure it works. Hawkeye and Mockingbird are investigating a leaked "kill list" leading to murdered deep cover former S.H.I.E.L.D. agents: I don't think the spy agency was still active, but the agents may have continued their work. Following a tip to Russia, they are joined by Dominic Fortune--described as "seemingly ageless soldier for hire," although I'm not sure he's the original. He has a bit of a dirtbag moustache going now...And of course, the Black Widow shows up, since there are a mess of bodies at a Red Room training facility. The Widow is a step ahead of Clint and Bobbi: the kill list was absolutely a trap for them. Reviewing the Red Room footage, the murderers appear to be Japanese ultra-nationalists Dark Ocean Society, who haven't been seen for years, since their boss was killed.

The investigation is interrupted by the arrival of (some of) the Soviet Super-Soldiers: not the best looking Crimson Dynamo suit. They overpower our heroes, since they're also after Dark Ocean, and their leader...Ronin!

Unsure if that was brought up in the early stories, when Ronin's identity was unknown; or the several people that wore it before today's wearer: "Great suit! Nice lines. It previously belonged to the Japanese Jason Voorhees, but I'm sure that's not problematic at all." That link will also tell you who's the bad guy here; I always forget his real name, or that he's alive, since he wasn't for a long time. His plan wasn't great either. The covers for the series are also split, between Jae Lee and Phil Noto; and they're probably the best part.   Read more!

Well, as I write this, I just got pissed and logged off Twitter; so I'm doubtless in a perfect mood for blogging. What's within arm's reach...how about Avengers Spotlight #34, featuring "Ashes" Written by Steve Gerber, pencils by Al Milgrom, inks by Don Heck; and "The Xenophobic Man: The Ends and the Means" Written by Fabian Nicieza, pencils by Dan Lawlis, inks by Keith Williams.

This was the penultimate chapter of the Hawkeye serial where he got an armored version of his costume, and we saw the conclusion some time back. Hawkeye, with Mockingbird tagging along, is more or less at war with street gang "the Stone Perfs," who are themselves also being hunted by unseen murder vigilante "the Terminizer." Unbeknownst to any of them, they have a third enemy, drug lord/femme fatale/empowered female entrepreneur Lotus, who has the Perfs' meeting firebombed! Hawkeye and Mockingbird are fine on his little skycycle, and Mockingbird manages to punch the bombers up to the point their helicopter crashes, killing the bombers. All wrapped up then, right? No, there's another chapter of this, since Lotus's boy toy lackey Prince Charming was instructed to tag the massacre with the Terminizer's mark, and Hawkeye still wants to figure out who that was.

Next, the conclusion of a USAgent serial, with John Walker versus the titular Xenophobic Man, who was really a border patrolman turned killer attacking illegal immigrants. And seems to be wearing a Dallas Cowboys helmet. Super. Maybe there's more nuance in the prior chapters, but this one does have USAgent literally carrying a cross; which I'm not entirely sure was meant as symbolic in any way and may have just been a set piece. Not a very good one, though: the Agent was more than strong enough to throw that cross into the next county if he wanted to. There's also the standoff traditional to so many action and thriller movies of the 90's, where the hero refuses to kill the beaten bad guy, who then goes for a gun or otherwise tries to kill him, then gets shot or otherwise killed. It's like the end of every movie Ashley Judd was in that decade, I swear.
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"MJ."

I know I've read a couple fairly recent Amazing Spider-Man comics with Mockingbird, but I'm not sure if he ever got around to asking her out, or if their relationship moved past that. And that would get rolled back anyway, so who cares. I'm glad I didn't read Spider-Man regularly for the last ten years, since Peter's probably going to be living in his aunt's basement next issue. Unless Marvel could figure out a way to get him back into high school.
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We're long past the point where it's harder to find something that hasn't been cancelled. Try impossible.

Nine years of looking at last issues--and we'll ignore stuff like picking up old numbering for Blackest Night or Marvel Legacy, thank you very much--but this year feels somewhat topical. Marvel just announced, by not announcing, several cancellations: books like Gwenpool, Hawkeye, and Iceman were left off the company's solicitations for March 2018; stealth cancellations. Tom Brevoort and Joe Quesada tried to defend the cancellations, but to some it feels like Marvel is gutting their "diversity" books--several had female or LBGTQ leads--and while some are disappointed, there are some tools rooting for the end of Marvel's "SJW" agenda. (Those guys are losers. There are comics I have outright hated, but even if a book isn't for you, that doesn't mean it's not for someone else to enjoy.)

Still, I suspect Marvel is doing what Marvel usually does: launch a ton of new titles at the same time, then when they don't immediately take off cancel them inside of ten issues, twelve tops. It's why I'm not running out of last issues anytime soon. So let's hit--cracks knuckles--seven Marvel last issues!

From 2000, X-51: the Machine Man #12, "Space Odyssey" Written by Karl Bollers, pencils by Joe Bennett, inks by Bob Wiacek. This was one of Marvel's M-Tech books, along with Deathlok and Warlock, neither of which made it this far. It's a text-heavy issue, without traditional word balloons, recapping all of Machine Man's history and burning off some unused plots, like MM becoming the hero of Central City (Not the Flash's!) or his older "brother," prototype X.E.R.O. organizing a robot apocalypse with Dragon Man, the Super-Adaptoid, Arnim Zola, and Ultron! And former biker gang members in mech suits versus A.I.M!

Man, maybe if they had gone with those sooner, it might've got the book past issue #12! X-51 alters the timeline to keep X.E.R.O's future from happening, then goes into the monolith from 2001, which is Celestial-related here, which seemingly places him where he would be at the start of Earth X.

And where he would be prior to Nextwave, for that matter. One brief note: I really like Bennett's art this issue, just nice and crisp.

In no particular order, next we've got Black Widow #12, written by Chris Samnee and Mark Waid, art by Chris Samnee. This would be the final showdown between the Widow and the Recluse, the daughter of the Headmistress of the Red Room; Natasha's trainer. Natasha had always been a better trainee, and overshadowed and jealous, the Recluse plotted revenge, training girls in a new "Dark Room." Here, she has a brutal choice for Natasha: kill one of her students, or let them turn the self-destruct sequence that would destroy all of S.H.I.E.L.D's equipment and data!

Natasha knows Recluse's girls are where she used to be: an expendable asset, and not even one to be used responsibly. She points out how Recluse was using them, and the girls realize it and walk away from her. Maria Hill arrives to give Natasha a bit of ribbing, but knows she was working to save S.H.I.E.L.D, and Tony Stark arranges for adoptions and schooling for Recluse's former girls. ("You know they're all underage, right?") Maria suggests Natasha come in from the cold--literally, in this case, but Nat takes it figuratively as well. This was a solid twelve issues from Samnee and Waid, who were just coming off Daredevil, and they've gone on to Captain America since; but I wonder if Black Widow didn't take off for them, or if it had been intended as a twelve issue run. Marvel claims limited series don't sell, but I still think they're a better idea than trying to make everything an ongoing book at once. (Or, the title page notes this issue takes place before Civil War II...no, wait: that was when Tony was kind of written out. I was jumping the gun there, Natasha was allegedly killed in Secret Empire #7. Friggin' crossovers.)

Sometimes, Marvel will try to give a title a new number one, to show a new direction for a character. Sometimes, it might not be the right direction. From 2012, Herc #10, "Storybook Ending" Written by Greg Pak and Fred Van Lente, pencils by David Hahn, inks by Roy Richardson and Rebecca Buchman.

Spinning out of World War Hulk, Hercules had a solid couple of years with the Incredible Hercules, having adventures with Amadeus Cho. Herc went with another tack, Herc as a street-level vigilante in Brooklyn, even though some mythological elements were still there, like the resurrected Zeus. Or this issue, the Baba Yaga, and her henchwoman, Elektra? She had taken the job to get back at the Kingpin, who warns Herc the Baba Yaga may be more dangerous than she thought.

This may have been wrapping up a plotline sooner than intended, but Zeus is restored to his godhood here: he offers the same to Herc, who prefers to stay a man. (Zeus thinks Herc's just trying to impress Elektra, but Herc just doesn't want to be a jerk like his dad.) I thought this book never gained any traction since it was bogged down in crossovers: three issues to Fear Itself, two to Spider Island. But it wouldn't be long until Herc would show up in other books, anyway.

Speaking of crossovers and bogging down, here's one that may have been hung up from the start: from 2015, Superior Iron Man #9, "Freedom" Written by Tom Taylor, art by Yildiray Cinar.

I got to read most of Avengers & X-Men: Axis out of the quarter bin a bit ago, and for a buck an issue it was an okay read. But that crossover ends with a few characters still having their alignment reversed, namely Iron Man, who also inadvertently shielded Havok and Sabretooth. While Havok is left evil and Sabretooth good (and neither appear in this series!) Tony has become an arrogant, profiteering dick; selling his new Extremis app to improve people, at a cost. Pepper Potts tried to activate a fail-safe Tony left, a digital copy of Tony's mind from eight years ago. Digital Tony and Pepper, in a new Rescue armor, think they have Tony beat, but he only pretended so he could get in past the Stark Resilient firewalls and destroy the digital version, forcing it onto a "quarantined" flash drive. Tony thinks he's eight steps ahead of Pepper; but she tells him he won't quit, and she'll tell the world what he's become. (Which sounds like trying to convince people to give up Apple: a brutal, uphill struggle with not much return.)

Well, except she wouldn't really have to, since Secret Wars was next, and I think Tony would be reset after that. But if you play the Contest of Champions game, you may still see him! I know I have a four-star Superior Iron Man...

Which would've been a smoother segue if he appeared in this next book! From 2016, Contest of Champions #10, "Earth's Fightiest Heroes" Written by Al Ewing, art by Rhoald Marcellius. Hmm. I think this came out before I started playing the game, but this last issue does feature a few characters prominently featured in the game: like the Maestro and the Punisher 2099. In the aftermath of Secret Wars, the Collector and the Grandmaster had been making heroes and villains fight in the Battlerealm, leftover pieces of alternate worlds. But they had been forced out by the new boss, the Maestro; and today's fight features the Thunderbolts and the Avengers, but not quite the ones we know: they were from a universe where Civil War "went really well for Tony Stark." Also fighting today: our ragtag band of heroes, including Guillotine (from the game), Ares, and Outlaw. Outlaw? Yep! He's a pretty good viewpoint character here, as the former Punisher wannabe doesn't want to be a killer anymore, he wants to help. (An alternate Frank Castle tells Outlaw what he does wasn't "political," but British Outlaw has had a different experience.)

Oh, and it's this Outlaw, not this one from Gail Simone's Deadpool/Agent X. Several heroes and villains die this issue, Iron Patriot/President Tony Stark's secret is revealed, there are a few dramatic returns; and the Contest is wrapped up in a way that it could be brought right back as needed. I wonder if this book was advertised in the game: I kinda suspect it wasn't, although I'm also not positive that it would've helped, either. I'm not sure I knew about this book until I stumbled across this last issue!

Conversely, next we have a book that I was reading until the end, and another that echoes recent complaints about Marvel's cancellations: too soon, should've waited for the trade sales, it was finding its audience. Also, it pissed off the right people, as in, colossal man-babies. From 2016, Mockingbird #8, written by Chelsea Cain, pencils by Kate Niemczyk, inks by Sean Parsons.

The last two issues of the series tied into her ex-husband Hawkeye going on trial for killing the Hulk in Civil War II (a trial that apparently took about 20 minutes) and an older and iffy piece of Mockingbird's continuity: when she let the Phantom Rider die. Previously, it had been believed that the Rider--a creepy, sexist stalker, now a ghost--had drugged and taken advantage of Bobbi, but she says Hawkeye had never believed it. Instead, Bobbi admits the truth was she had cheated on him. The Rider tries to kill Bobbi by knocking her off a cruise ship, but she's saved by mer-corgis. Or maybe she just washes up on the beach: the tone this issue is a bit all over the place, which would usually be fine but a shame for the series finale.

This cancellation hurt. Bobbi would show up in Amazing Spider-Man later, and I know that it got to a point where Peter asked her out, but I also know in my heart Peter would wreck that like he wrecked his company and everything else and arrgg. (That's not really Peter's fault, the character gets rolled back every so often: I'd be surprised if he wasn't back at the Daily Bugle or living with his aunt again by now...)

Lastly, we hit a book with a surprising pedigree and an offbeat character choice, although I don't know if Marvel seriously, seriously thought Drax could maintain a monthly title in the current market! From 2016, Drax #11, "The Bitter End!" Written by CM Punk and Cullen Bunn, art by Scott Hepburn.

Huh, this issue features Killer Thrill, the bounty hunter from Deadpool: Back in Black. It also features Planet Terry, Fin Fang Foom, Terrax the Tamer, and Torgo from Fantastic Four #93! Killer Thrill has kidnapped a baby dragon, and wants to turn it into a murderous monster; everyone else is out to stop her. Drax's friend Ora caught a beating from KT, but tells Drax they used to be partners. Killer Thrill was tortured into the monster she was now, and Ora argues she deserves mercy.

Killer Thrill had lost an arm--eaten by Venom in Back in Black--and now had a Groot-style arm; which Drax later rips out. He won't kill her, at least not with the baby dragon watching. Rather than turn the baby over to Fin, since they all know he'll go bad again eventually, Drax leaves it with Ora and their team, as he heads back to the Guardians. It's a happy ending, although Drax knows his quest to kill Thanos is ultimately self-destructive. I suspect this series may have been intended to get another Guardians related trade on the shelves prior to the movie; and it was written by wrestler CM Punk, although I'm not sure if it was advertised anywhere as such.

Let's see, what have we learned here? Out of these seven books, I was reading three up to their cancellation: Mockingbird, X-51, and Herc. Black Widow I made sure I got the last issue, since I had picked up a good chunk of the rest of the series on the cheap when Hastings was closing. The other three I'm pretty sure were from quarter bins, which means some retailer probably ate the cost there. (It's actually slightly unusual to find a last issue in a quarter bin, at least a recent one: most retailers would have cut their orders down to zero before the end.) But I think the lesson is, Marvel has run this game for a long time: launch a bunch of titles, make halfway decent sales on the #1's, then cancel said titles when sales droop. Repeat. And I'm not sure it's ever worked especially well, but it seems to be working less now. The fans that were trained to jump all over a new first issue are either aging out (or dying off) or wising up. New readers don't have the time or patience to keep track of that sort of thing, even if it was presented clearly; and might prefer digital or trades.

That, and I'm now having a hard time thinking of a Marvel title in the last decade that lasted more than twelve issues. There had to be some, right?



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"Jackal."

I think the plural of "Spidey" should probably be "Spidies" but that looks terrible: "Spidey's" is technically wrong, but looks better? Or I'm trying to justify a typo. Hmm.
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"Defiled."

The Jackal figure wasn't even a blip on the radar when I started this plotline, so I can't pretend I had that all planned. Also unplanned: I still haven't found Misty Knight's gun! I would actually have to consider, if I saw another one on the cheap, since the right knee on my figure is wobbly.
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