"Arno."

Sure, Iron Man 2020's pretty good, and well-timed, but it'd be nice to have Excalibur-era Rachel, Kitty, and Meggan, wouldn't it? Maybe a little Widget pack-in? I am of course biased, as if I could I would pitch Cross-Time Caper tie-ins every big event Marvel did.

The only complaint I have for Arno is that I had pre-ordered one but found it in the stores first. The boot-jet flames may be a little fiddley, but they aren't something I would use all the time. I noticed the repulsor-ray hands seem to have lost a hinge joint? Not hugely noticeable. I re-read Amazing Spider-Man Annual #20 the other day, and didn't recognize the credited writers Fred Schiller or Ken McDonald: they were both Christopher Priest! And it's a dark story...but I also think it's set in 2015! We had 2020's Death's Head appearance, though. I'm trying to remember if he made a cameo in Excalibur, though...not that I've noticed yet? And versions of Iron Man show up more than once in Cross-Time Caper.
Read more!

I had looked it up the other day, but "the Cross-Time Caper" in Excalibur was like 30 years ago! And today's book a mere twelve or so: Clandestine #3, story and pencils by Alan Davis, inks by Mark Farmer.

This issue's cover is a homage to Davis's own Excalibur #1; which hasn't been homaged as many times as Maguire's Justice League #1, but it's had a few! And this was midway through their last (to date) limited series but ties back into the Cross-Time Caper era, as a misadventure involving a role-play date (best left alone!) leads to Dominic thrown through a dimensional doorway and landing on Excalibur's train! Their Marvel-misunderstanding scuffle doesn't last long; partially because Excalibur is pretty polite for a super-team, but they also have the best telepath, Rachel. (Jean < Emma < Rachel < Alan Davis's Rachel. I will brook no discussion on this topic.)
Landing on yet another alternate reality, Kitty quizzes Dom, and doesn't think he's from their earth, since he was from 2008. Kitty doesn't say what year she was from, but it "definitely" wasn't 2008. But after Kurt saves some ungrateful slaves and Rachel punches out some remote-controlled red dinosaurs, an alien ship knocks them out and takes some of them! Ooh, I bought this random issue out of a quarter bin to blog, and have the whole series elsewhere, but are they on Killraven's earth?

Also this issue: the main plot involving the Clan Destine losing control of their powers continues. When their dad Adam disappears, the youngest of the family, masked kids Rory and Pandora; try to get their older siblings Kay Cera and Sam from a goth wedding. Goth wedding? It may actually have vampires!

I took a second to look up the sales numbers and...man, this issue sold worse than Simon Dark? Well, I haven't read that, maybe it was swell--oh, c'mon, Jenna Jameson's Shadow Hunter sold better? I wish I could sit comics in the corner to make it think about what it's done, since as always, Alan Davis draws the living hell out of this.
Read more!

I have spent the better part of my quarantine watching nothing but Tokushoutsu on Pluto TV; partly because it's free and I'm cheap. Previously I had this bright idea of not paying for multiple streaming services at the same time, and compromised by paying for nothing! I've quite enjoyed Kamen Rider, to the point that I have no idea how little kids in Japan in the seventies when it was on could survive: it was on what, a half hour a week? I watched like four hours of it the other day! They were running Chōjin Sentai Jetman for a bit but seemed to rotate it out; but duhr, I had the DVD's for that. Ultraman Leo I had seen before, and it's kind of brutal? The hero's mentor "trains" him in the most abusive ways possible; and a lot of supporting characters get killed. Kind of dispiriting, but a good excuse for today's comics: from 1993, Ultraman #1-3, written by Dwayne McDuffie, pencils by Ernie Colon, inks by Alfredo Alcala, covers by Ken Steacy.

I knew of Ultraman when this came out--and I'm pretty sure I bought it in 1993, sold it, picked it up again over the years. Y'know, I may not even have sold it, I may have just bought it again the last time I saw it cheap. This was a domestic adaptation of the Japanese superhero, from Harvey Comics, better known for Casper and Richie Rich, neither of whom were selling at all in the direct market era. After this limited, a few more issues would come out under their Nemesis imprint, but it was a last gasp. Still, this mini-series seems like a game try, as McDuffie gives it all he can. Kind of wish Steacy had done the interiors, though; his style was perfect for that!

Hmm, I'm pretty sure Marvel has an Ultraman book coming whenever things get rolling again. Hopefully he's a little luckier this time!

The first issue recaps Ultraman's origin: tailing the murderous shapechanger Gudis, Ultraman disables his ship to prevent him from escaping, and they crash-land on Mars. Two astronauts witness their battle: one is killed attempting to escape, the other is caught in a rockslide but still tries to get Gudis off of Ultraman with his ray gun. Gudis escapes, and to save the dying Jack Shindo, Ultraman joins their life forces: kind of like Rick Jones and Captain Marvel, if Marv had been 300 feet tall. After all their TV adventures, Jack and Ultraman had been separated; but since this is comics of course they're back together early in the second issue. The Gudis, having also returned, blows open Ultraman's monster prison on the moon: I don't know enough to say if any of the monsters released are based on old ones from the show, but one can hope.

This is an okay little read if you find it cheap; although I don't know if it did anything for the Ultraman fans or created any new ones. Looking around for a moment online, the last five issues (numbered negative one through four, because comics) might have been a bit of a muddle; so maybe hold out for Marvel's try.
Read more!

Other people use 3-D printers to make protective gear or tools, I wanna make action figures FOR my action figures.

A ways back, we had a strip where Deadpool, looking for the missing Nightcrawler, sadly pulls out an action figure of him to talk to. It's a little rubber figure from...Brazil? South America? eBay. I'd totally buy more if I could, especially since Nightcrawler's tail is about one molecule thick and ridiculously fragile; but I've never seen them since: there were other Marvel characters as well. I used that figure multiple times, but one problem: it wouldn't be Marvel Legends-scaled!

I know there was a recent Johnny Cage Mortal Kombat figure that came with a figure of himself; but action figures for your action figures are mighty rare. And, the scale of Johnny's figure's figure would be 1/6 at least, twelve inch scale. Although I see why McFarlane went that route, since a Marvel Legend-scaled figure of an action figure would be 1/12 of about six inches, or about half an inch! (Please do not ask to see my work; it's sad to watch.) Man, that would not only be way past choking hazard territory; but painting something that size? With a jeweler's loupe; it'd probably still be guesswork just hitting the broadstrokes.

Well, I may keep trying to recreate a boxed figure. I'll let you know if I nail it! I don't think in proper Marvel continuity Gwenpool has any of her collection with her, but maybe.
Read more!

Ooh, silent Spidey panels. That's when you know it's about to get real.

I tried searching the blog, but "Web" and "Spider-Man" doesn't narrow things down a ton. I know I read the first issue, and a couple of the crossover issues like "Where is Spider-Man?" or Kraven's Last Hunt; but otherwise like a lot of readers I may have resented Web for replacing Marvel Team-Up. Still, let's check out this one: From 1986, Web of Spider-Man #14, "All That Glitters..." Written by David Michelinie, pencils by Mike Harris, inks by Kyle Baker.

Is Peter's luck any worse here than any of the other Spidey titles? It feels like it, although that could just be because it's handy, or because some of these plot points went on for ever. His landlord Mrs. Muggins--a sympathetic figure on some occasions--is a hardass today, giving Peter two days to repair the damage to his apartment from when it was firebombed. (She notes he didn't press charges, and while I don't have that issue, seriously Peter? Firebombing gets a pass?) Although broke as hell and eating an extra helping of guilt over Aunt May's boyfriend Nathan catching a beating Spidey didn't save him from; Peter does have one card to play: the gold notebook he took from the garbage of the building the Beyonder turned into gold--eight issues back? He feels like he "technically" stole it, but c'mon.

Meanwhile, as Peter is late for visiting Nathan in the hospital, aging cat burglar/shifty bastard the Black Fox visits his fence, who just beat the rap but was left unable to move any stolen goods right now. The Fox wonders how he can convince him to take the score he has coming. (The Fox was always one job away from retirement, and while he wasn't given a ton of characterization other than 'pity me, I'm an old' it's kind of apparent he would always be one job away from retirement. There'd always be something...) Peter visits the Bugle, which is of course an exercise in frustration, and wonders even if he could live with selling the gold notebook, how would he accomplish it? Later that night, as he swings around looking for crime to stop-slash-photograph for cash, he spies Black Fox mid-jewel heist. Spidey realizes the Fox played him for a chump previously, but finds himself defending the geezer from getting shot by security guards. Although he gets out without being seen, he realizes he can't use any photos from that. Before nabbing the Fox, he hears him grandiosely proclaim his fence would have to take this...and Spidey hesitates, realizing maybe he could sell the notebook. But, following the Fox with a Spider-tracer, he instead finds the fence--dead!

The cover proclaims "All Action Issue!" and...no, not at all? I know there's absolutely no goddamn way Spidey saw dime one for that notebook, but I don't think that was going to be resolved soon: I feel like the gold notebook was in like 200 different comics spread across three titles, then it was wrapped up and never spoken of again. I'm positive Mary Jane would see it one issue, and Peter would lie straight to her face that it was a novelty item; and I'm fairly sure the Black Cat stole it much later. (I'm thinking really hard now because there was some similar plot item from some other title that went the same way...) Spidey was traditionally kept poor, even when he was married to a supermodel, I think because it was supposed to be more relatable. But it always made me feel like if Spidey couldn't make it in New York, how could anybody? Also, Peter was working the gig economy freelancer life before it was widely recognized as such, or as suck, since it was never ever secure or even lucrative. I'm also going to put this towards Kyle Baker's influence, but I think he might've helped make Peter slightly more fashionable than usual. Even though his pants are...magenta? Off-purple? Maybe that was in, in 1986 New York, I don't know...
Read more!

"Why."

Does Moon Knight have some sinister motive? No, not really. Despite presenting himself as Batman a grim avenger of the night to his foes; MK has always seemed chill as hell with other heroes! One of my favorite Moon Knight comics guest-stars the X-Men and the Fantastic Four; and one of my favorite Punisher...annuals...has their classic greeting. Unlike Batman, Moon Knight doesn't seem territorial at all, at least that I can recall. But does he have a reason for hanging out, besides severe head trauma? Next time!

Every so often, Typhoid gets an appearance that seems designed to remind you in-universe, yeah, she'd be a mutant; and not just a firestarter, twisted firestarter. She had a stint as the masked "Mutant Zero" in Avengers: the Initiative and much later in Lady Deathstrike's Sisterhood of Mutants Mary had her personalities integrated. Yeah, that'll stick. I don't think we've seen her on Krakoa yet, because the other half of the time the Daredevil writers and editors remember her and claim her back and deny having ever heard of mutants...
Read more!

Unsurprisingly, Daredevil hasn't seen a lot of movies lately.

Yay, a Nightcrawler variant cover! Marvel doesn't do a ton for him, so I'm usually up for it. This one's kind of a downer...

I don't know why that is such a thing in comics: here's your favorite heroes! And here they are getting super-murdered. I also don't know why the "Incentive Rahzzah 'Death of X' Variant" went to Daredevil #9, "Blind Man's Bluff, part 2" Written by Charles Soule, art by Goran Sudzuka, color art by Matt Milla. So, what's on the inside?

After Mark Waid's last issue, Soule's new series featured Matt back in New York City, as a city prosecutor, with his identity secret again. How the secret got put back in the box was still a mystery, nine issues in, which seems like a ways to keep that hanging. Even if "Purple Man, somehow" was the odd's-on favorite; so it didn't feel like Soule was punting the reveal down the line to buy time to figure out an answer, unlike some other big Marvel secrets, "Unworthy" Thor. I swear it took a hundred years to answer that one. Badly.

In Macau, Daredevil is midway through a spectacular casino heist, after a couriered attaché case, and now has some back-up: the Amazing, the Spectacular, the Sensational Spider-Man! This was during his Parker Industries phase, so he was at the top of his game, and more than willing to help out "Daredevil, one of my oldest and most trusted colleagues in the super-hero biz? I'd certainly have considered it." Spidey is jokey as usual, but realizes something is off: while he does get DD to ride behind the hydrofoil on the way to Hong Kong, Spidey knows what "a black-costume phase" is like.

When Spidey gets the case, he decides he can't give whatever might be in it to DD without more information, since while he remembers multiple adventures with DD, they were incomplete. Can he still trust DD? Daredevil considers what might be a plausible lie, then bites the bullet and spills the truth...which I thought I scanned but I didn't!

Spidey gives him the case, but it's open to interpretation how he feels about that. Is he fine with it? Pissed? Feelings hurt? Remembering how his secret identity got restored? Tough to say.
Read more!

Note that Jonah doesn't specify the 'how' here.

Somehow, I slept hard last night, over eleven hours! Of course, I'm scheduling this ahead, so this was probably two weeks ago; but it was the kind of sleep where you're still kind of sleepy when you get up, so we'll try and wake up with today's book! From 1980, Jonah Hex #41, "Two for the Hangman!" Written by Michael Fleisher, pencils by Dick Ayers, inks by Tony De Zuniga.

Hex has brought in the Jody Randolph gang with a minimum of fuss, and is advised by an officious-looking man that they'll go on trial before Judge "Hang 'em High" Harrow shortly. And we cut away to said judge returning home from her circuit: Judge Harrow was a woman, but would probably come down on any wrongdoer harder than her hardest-assed male counterparts. She didn't think she could give the impression of weakness. Her son Rodney was home as well, for a change, but just to hit her up for money to buy diamond earrings for his girl, Vanessa. (Where would he buy something like that, in ye olde western town?) Upon hearing it was no sale, Vanessa turns on the tears, but has an idea how Rodney could earn the cash: Jody Randolph was looking for somebody to spring him from the poky.

The escape does not go smoothly: Vanessa attempts to sneak weapons to the gang, but their breakfast is checked by the deputy. Rodney has to be cajoled into pistol-whipping the deputy to death, then the gang rides off guns-blazin', as Hex grumbles these Podunk hicks could at least hang on to those varmints after he catches them. Rodney also gets a rude awakening as there is no payoff for freeing the gang: Vanessa was Jody's girl, and he was a sap, now reduced to the gang's whipping-boy. Although not a good cook, Rodney does prove valuable, as he's the first to see Jonah Hex! After Hex had already killed two of them, but still. Hex is a little off his game, worried that five years ago he would've killed these guys already; and he does catch one in the arm, forcing him to finish off Jody with the firewood ax. Vanessa shouts at Rodney to shoot Hex; and Jonah doesn't so much talk him down, as much as advise him he would get wrecked if he tried it.

Rodney's surrender may have been unwise, since he and Vanessa are shortly brought before Judge Harrow, found guilty, and hung. Rodney was not cut out for the outlaw life, man. Hex rides out of town with them still swinging on the gallows, not particularly moved by any of it. Also this issue: a Scalphunter story! I can't say I've read of ton of his, although I know I have his Brave and the Bold appearance. Some other time for that, then.

"Death Mist" Written by Gerry Conway, pencils by Dick Ayers, insk by Romeo Tanghal.
Read more!

Every time we look at a Marvel western comic, it turns into me bitching about wanting Marvel Legends cowboys. This time I'm gonna demand a new Man-Wolf, too. From 2006, Marvel Westerns: the Two-Gun Kid #1, "Tooth & Claw" Writin' by Dan Slott, drawin' by Eduardo Barreto, colorin' by Brad Anderson, brandin' by Dave Lanphear.

Although the Kid Colt/Arizona Girl issue we saw a while back had Skrulls in it; today's book goes a step further with a framing sequence set in the present. The then-present, anyway, 2006, as Two-Gun and She-Hulk were on the trail of her husband, the Man-Wolf! (I have a feeling that Two-Gun was pretty well acclimated to the future, but played the role of cowboy yokel partly because it was expected, partly as a distraction.) He asks Jen to take a figurative backseat in the Man-Wolf hunt, as he had seen that sort of thing before, in 1876: masked gunfighter Kid Clayton and his faithful Indian sidekick Nantan are on the trail of rustlers, when Clayton is killed by a pack of wolves. Coming along later, Two-Gun saves the badly injured Nantan, and gets him back to his tribe, who are concerned he bears "the wolf-mark!" Cue dramatic music.

Two-Gun looks for clues himself and in his secret identity of mouthy frontier lawyer Matt Hawk. He discovers Kid Clayton had discovered the rustlers' identities, and left a silver bullet with an old cowhand. (Clayton and Nantan are thinly veiled versions of the Lone Ranger and Tonto.) Going back to the Indians, he then finds Nantan had become a werewolf! The chief tells Two-Gun that Nantan could be saved, if the werewolf that cursed him could be killed before Nantan tasted human flesh. Despite having never seen any werewolf movies, Two-Gun has put it all together, and realizes Kid Clayton's silver bullets weren't a gimmick: "You was jus' bein' prepared!" The ensuing werewolf roundup is problematic, since Two-Gun has six silver bullets against four werewolf rustlers and a pack of regular wolves!

Two-Gun manages to get away with his hide intact and one silver bullet left; and Nantan is saved from the curse. Still, Two-Gun is warned the wolf spirit has sworn vengeance on him, even if it takes a hundred years. Or a hundred and thirty years, as he figures Man-Wolf has tasted human flesh, and had to be put down...! I knew Jen's marriage didn't last long, but this?

Also this issue: a short "Tall Tale" of Hugo, the world's shortest cowboy! It's...well, it's short, it has that going for it. (Story by Keith Giffen and Robert Loren Fleming, art by Mike Allred.) And a Lee/Kirby Rawhide Kid reprint from Rawhide Kid #22.


Read more!

I made a metric asston of fun of Marvel's ongoing, and seemingly Sisyphean, attempts to put the Inhumans over, often at the expense of the X-Men. But every once in a while I'd read a random issue that had something to it. Like today's book! From 2016, the Uncanny Inhumans #8, "The Torch and the Queen" Written by Charles Soule, pencils by Kev Walker, inks by Scott Hanna. Cover by
Mahmud Asrar, which hadn't been loaded to the GCD until I did it! That's never encouraging...

Attempting to evacuate a burning building, Johnny Storm gets trapped trying to shore up the foundation, and Medusa goes in after him. She manages to keep them from getting squashed, but they both end up trapped. (Although she's doing it with her hair, it's reminiscent of the Hulk holding up the mountain in the original Secret Wars!) Medusa asks Johnny to talk to her, distract her from holding the weight of a collapsing building, but then blurts out that they should stop seeing each other. In flashbacks, we see the start of their new relationship: with Sue and Reed gone after Secret Wars (and Ben may have gone into space as well) Johnny finds himself adrift. As his date goes down spectacularly in flames--literally--Medusa, who happened to be in the same restaurant catching up with She-Hulk, opts to give Johnny some purpose. She needed a liaison between the human world and New Attilan, and Johnny needed something to do. He turns out to be a good choice, and the two have time to get to know each other: while they had known each other for years, she thought of Johnny as that shallow hothead dating her sister; while Johnny saw her as a "cold fish." Her assessment is pretty dead on, but Johnny is starting to realize there's more to her.

Medusa becomes attracted to Johnny, since he doesn't have the weight of the world on his shoulders. Still, after a visit from Crystal, Medusa had thought their relationship would run its course before she returned; and worries that as Queen of the Inhumans, her job was to manipulate everyone: did she have feelings for Johnny, or was she using him? Johnny isn't hurt. He feels like Medusa saved his life, and puts his back into helping lift the building. He knows he can't lift her weight--but he can help make it lighter for her. They embrace as the building crumbles, not to their deaths, but as Crystal saves them! Medusa tries to say it isn't what it looks like, but Johnny confesses "...it is."

I found myself really pulling for them! Or at least hoping Johnny wouldn't be the one to wreck it. Pretty sure a lot of this one would end up rolled back, sadly. Oddly, I had a couple other issues of this series, which involved Maximus the Mad just living his best life, wrecking crap.


Read more!

"Finaltide."

No disrespect to Carol, but Kurt has nothing but respect for his captain, fellow Marvel Super-Heroes Secret Wars veteran Monica Rambeau! Oh, according to Wikipedia, she's Spectrum now. Not even Doctor or Captain Spectrum...Of course we don't see Kurt and Monica interact in the mini-series; but let's be honest, is that series remembered for character bits or conversation?

There's no way Ellis or Immonen would ever come back for more Nextwave: that just doesn't feel like something they'd do. I'd say Marvel's at least ten years out from anyone else trying to use him; rough estimate based on copyright laws and how long they let Howard the Duck or Elektra lie fallow.

Just like I thought it would be easier to come up with crazy Nextwave sounding nonsense, I had a really hard time trying to come up with a horse's name that sounded like a Kentucky Derby winner. I looked up a list, and most of them were dumb but not memorably dumb?
Read more!