Another book I'm surprised we haven't seen yet, but I may remember why...

Although I just grabbed another from the dollar bin, this may have been my first First comic, marked down at a Hastings in Great Falls, Montana. From 1989, Badger Goes Berserk! #1, written by Mike Baron, art by Spyder (Neil Hansen) and Jay Geldhof, Denys Cowan and Malcolm Jones III, Denis Kitchen, Steve Epting, and Jill Thompson.

This was my introduction to Badger, and this limited was a highwater point for the character, a four issue jam with a ton of great artists used to often devastating effect. While there's still some jokes, this was also far more serious than Badger usually was, in more ways than one. In Madison, WI, after smashing a black man's radio (for playing it too loud) Badger gets into a fight with three of them, beating them handily. Which impresses Larry no end: Badger had often in the past called anyone 'Larry,' seemingly a bizarre affectation; but here we meet the genuine article, his stepdad. Shocked and more unstable than most realized, Badger faints dead away, which doesn't impress his new 'stepbrother' Jesse, a dickhead from his past.

After a disturbing flashback to the abuse Badger suffered as a child, we check in with his supporting cast, including his boss, the wizard Ham. Badger had been MIA for a few days, which wasn't uncommon for him, but Ham wanted him to investigate a number of dogs that were being delivered around the country for unknown reasons. Badger's new bride, Mavis, consults with his doctor; who advises that while Badger's multiple personality disorder may appear to be integrated, the odds of that were extremely unlikely.

At a kennel, Larry and Jesse dump a bucket of water on Badger, to wake him up and let them in on their plan: 'white' dogs, trained to attack non-whites, to stir up a race war that the All-White Brotherhood figures think will wipe them out. (Sadly, this part isn't completely fictional, see here.) Larry knew Badger could talk to animals, and thought he would be a big help; Badger wants no part of them. Jesse chokes him out, triggering another flashblack, to a beating he give young Norbert around high school. Another persona surfaces, eight-year-old Emily: unsure what to do with him, Jesse suggests throwing him in with the dogs, to train them...or not. Sink or swim time. The dogs don't attack 'Emily,' and later another personality takes over, Gastineau, who uses the dogs to fight his way out and escape...

Denys Cowan and Jill Thompson were great from day one, man; and I always liked Neil Hansen, wish he had done more. This may hit different for other readers, because I don't think you see this as often anymore: there are a lot of slurs in this book. I don't think Badger was often concerned with political correctness, though. Also this issue: Mike Baron eschews talking about Badger, to tell us about dinner with Jackie Chan instead. He didn't need to talk up Badger, this issue made me a fan, of the character and Baron. And I love Badger's pal Riley's description of him; reminds me of an old friend:

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I read a friend's copies of this when it was first coming out; it may have been years before I got it for myself, but I'm making up for it by buying it every time I see one in the quarterbin, apparently. From 1987, Marshal Law #1, "Stars and Strippers" Created and written by Pat Mills, created and art by Kevin O'Neill.

Flipping through it just now, I was surprised how straight it was: later ML stories would be much more parody and more overtly funny, but this read as more traditional hard-boiled action. The caption boxes feel very much of their time, as we have an omniscient narrator, then narration from serial killer Sleepman, his victim, failed hero Sorry the Nearly Man, the Marshal himself, and Suicida. All of whom have problems. Short recap: the government put billions into creating super-soldiers, then apparently not a single thought to reintegrating them into society or what to do with them afterwards. Marshal Law polices the 'heroes' in post-earthquake San Francisco. He probably enjoys his job a little too much; but as the series goes on it becomes apparent he hates them because he hates himself. Still, he seems to have enough hate for everybody; he doesn't seem to be running short anytime soon.

If you check the TV Tropes page for the good Marshal, there's an amusing possible book endorsement quote from Alan Moore. Read more!

I like her monitors; like she's watching the Spirograph channel.

We mentioned this back when we looked at Quasar #11, but here we've got another Excalibur guest-spot. From 1992, Dark Angel #6, "Bad Blood" Written by Simon Furman, 'art starts' by Gary Frank, finishes by Andy Lanning.

This was a Marvel UK book, and not one I had read before this guest-spot; although I do think I read this at the time and before Dark Angel's guested in Excalibur #67. (That was Alan Davis's last issue on the book, and also features a surprisingly hopeful coda to the Days of Futures Past future, albeit after a lot of Marvel UK characters are brutally murdered...) Dark Angel (formerly Hell's Angel) was on a fetch-quest to recover the fragments of her father's soul, even though he was no innocent: he had been part of mysterious conspirary corporation MyS-Tech, plotting to weasel out of a pact with Mephisto and getting his soul blown apart for his trouble. I kind of dig her look, though; but of course I would, it's very 90's. Feel like the design could've used another pass or two though; it looks like it might be a pain to draw repeatedly. This month, "something's wandering the moors chewing up civilians," as Captain Britain somewhat insensitively puts it, and both Excalibur and Dark Angel are on the case.

As Dark Angel fights the monster, Nightcrawler leaps in to help, assuming "at great personal risk" the pretty woman was the good guy. (It feels like Kurt shouldn't make that assumption, but she was pretty...) Meggan has an empathic reaction, the monster seeming to have "a child's voice," and Dark Angel realizes the monster is her brother, somehow changed by her father! The scene then switches, somewhat abruptly, to where MyS-Tech's executive board is seemingly fighting through dead heroes (Guardian, Thunderbird, the Torpedo, and Miss America!) to get her dad's soul fragment, but one executive seemingly lets her get there first. (Said executive has a very British face: I suspect she's based on someone real, but couldn't say who!) Dark Angel is furious with her father, but won't pass judgment on him; freeing his soul but hoping he gets what's coming to him.

There wasn't really much reason for Excalibur to be here, but I guess there was little reason why not, either. Dark Angel would run until #16, which appears to have Death's Head II in a prominent role, since he was the closest thing to a breakout star Marvel UK had, but the whole Marvel UK subline was done by 1994. Guest-spots like this notwithstanding, Marvel's titles were somewhat 'siloed' at the time, with larger interactions limited: it might have made sense for Ghost Rider to crossover, with the Mephisto angle here. (Back in the 70's or 80's, if this had been cancelled, Dark Angel probably would've turned up inside of six months in Marvel Two-in-One or Team-Up.)

The back-up feature, "Power Unconfined!" perhaps explains the clunkier parts of Dark Angel's costume, as she executes a training program from her mysterious Guide: the black portion of her costume is the "fabric of the universe," granting immense cosmic power, while the armor serves as a limiter. Could she do more without it? Maybe, if she wanted to be overwhelmed by information and wreck the timeline. So, armor for a reason, lesson learned. (Story by Bernie Jaye and Paul Neary, pencils by Kev Hopgood, inks by Sean Hardy.) Read more!

If this was a Plop! story, I'd probably be finding issues of it in every box.

Hopefully, there's nothing ominous or sinister about finding another issue of Plop! when I thought I only had one. Or maybe my whole collection is slowly turning into Plop! Could go either way. From 1975, Plop! #17, cover by Basil Wolverton.

After two issues, I worry about the hit/miss ratio for this book, since this wasn't a great one either; but it does feature one fairly good one from Steve Skeates and Frank Robbins, "Old Butterfly Story!"

They aren't wrong, on either count... Read more!

"Sorry."

And we're back to one of our regular sets! And some new Re-Ment drink pieces. This was going to maybe be longer, but was done last night and may have to keep for now. Also, Jessica Jones kind of took it over.

I keep PlutoTV on in the background a lot; which has an unfortunate side effect of seeing the same ads a lot. That said, they aren't advertising right-wing bullcrap now, so I'll count my blessings. So I've seen that ad for Drizly that those drink orders are lodged in my skull; but not so many times that I've ordered anything. Besides, I don't know if vodka + Hawaiian Punch is a valid selection..."Lushlife" strikes me as a better name, if somewhat disparaging. I swore that was a Lush album, though...

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You kill Marvel's cash cow in a dream, you better wake up and apologize.

This is a gimmick I didn't think Marvel was going to go back to, but I guess over a long enough timeline everything will come back around again. From 2009, X-Men Forever #10, "Home, Come the Heroes!" Written by Chris Claremont, pencils by Paul Smith, inks by Terry Austin, letters by Tom Orzechowski (who should get paid by the letter!)

So X-Men Forever was supposedly what Chris Claremont would have continued with the mutants, if he hadn't left in 1991's X-Men #3. I say 'supposedly,' because even at his peak popularity I can't imagine editorial letting him kill Wolverine and keep him dead. Even with his dad, Sabretooth, moving into his role--that was one of several large breaks from 616 traditional continuity. Mutants were also prone to instability and dying young (too late for Magneto and Professor X, I'd say) while Jean Grey revealed a secret (but chaste) love for Logan, and the GCD link notes Cyclops's son Nathan wasn't sent to the future, so no Cable here!

Logan's funeral is attended by the Fantastic Four, Avengers, Nick Fury, and Captain Britain; Bruce Banner also makes an incognito appearance as a flower delivery man to pay his respects. Cyclops gives the eulogy, largely to the effect that it was tough to like Logan sometimes, but you always had to respect him. Scott then flies back to Alaska, to see his family and Nathan. 

I've read a bit of this series, but never loved it; probably because I get irritated at Claremont playing favorites, especially when Nightcrawler doesn't have someone like Dave Cockrum to advocate for him. Kurt's fate is uncertain in the last issue, I swear every plot he had in the series was crapping on him.

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Neo-Tokyo Gotham is about to explode.

I'm having a bit of a motivation problem today, so trying to shake myself figuratively awake with a post. Today, a limited series I think I got seven of eight out of the quarter bin years ago, but only got the conclusion recently! From 2004, Batman: City of Light #8, story and art by the Pander Brothers, story by Mark Paniccia.

This may have been ahead of the curve, as every Batman story now involves massive amounts of property damage and casualties, but maybe that was novel in 2004? This was the conclusion of Batman and Batgirl (Cassandra!) versus an insane architect blowing up chunks of the city to replace with his own vision...wait, that's the plot to Destroyer, the 90's story intent on maybe retrofitting Gotham to look more like Tim Burton's movies. OK, this one also involved an artist commune, some kind of living light technology, and Purge, the architect's enforcer-slash-Batman replacement.

Bats is more monosyllabic than Cassandra this issue, because he's been put through the usual wringer; but I also think this was fairly far along for Cassandra, as she even seems to go on a date in the end. Batman also seems harsher than usual with Purge, but I'm guessing he wasn't really alive. This might've been easier if I had the other seven issues next to me...

Oddly, I think I recently got the last issue of the 2002-03 Batman: Family limited; we saw one issue of that some time back, but I bought most of it from the same quarter bins and didn't have the end!

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Mmm, crab venom, that's the stuff.

I had wanted to read this one, since I hadn't read this stretch just before the last issue, and I thought it would be a lot of re-boxing the toys. I forgot about a crossover here, with Doom 2099! From 1996, Fantastic Four #413, "Missions: Impossible!" Script and plot by Tom DeFalco, plot and pencils by Paul Ryan, inks by John Lowe and Bob Wiacek.

The future Doom--who may or may not be the Doom we know from the present, but who is also wearing a latter, lesser version of his 2099 design--was on a pretty convoluted mission. The citizens of future Latveria were all dead, dissolved by deadly "necro-toxins." To save them, Doom 2099 had discovered long-term use of a drug made of crab venom, would alter his people on the genetic level and save them from the necro-toxins if he got them hooked on it in 1996. The Thing and Daredevil (in the yellow costume, putting this around 1995's Daredevil #347?) stopped him, forcing 2099 to take some crab venom himself, but with the crab extinct he now had to find a way to synthesize more. And Reed always had the best toys...

At Four Freedoms Plaza, the newly shaven--and seemingly mostly recovered--Reed was hard at work on a couple projects: a dimensional probe to contact either Galactus or the Silver Surfer, then a little surgery on the injured Black Bolt. Reed's trying to get help to beat Hyperstorm, even though his dad Nathan keeps discouraging him from even trying, which isn't suspicious or anything. Reed is assisted during the surgery by his son Franklin, who was currently aged up to the young hero Psi-Lord; then takes a shortcut through the Negative Zone to cross the universe and see the Surfer, who gives him the bad news about Galactus's 'death." (Silver Surfer #109, as we mentioned the other day!) Then, the Thing returns, to warn of his encounter with Doom 2099 in, well, Doom 2099 #42, only to see the armored intruder on their security cameras! He had used Reed's stuff to analyze the crab venom, saving the info in his mask. So, 2099 is a little hesitant to let the Thing and the Torch give him any shots to said mask, but probably shouldn't have mentioned it like two dozen times.

When the power is interrupted, Psi-Lord has to fish Reed out of the Negative Zone, while the Inhumans get into the fight. Desparate to save his people, 2099 swallows his pride and makes a break for it, only to be immediately captured and absconded with by Namor and present-day Doom! Nathan gives another warning to Reed, who is getting steamed at his constant naysaying, but he may have had a point, since Hyperstorm was watching, and uses a time platform on Psi-Lord. Previously, Franklin had been taken in the same way, and spent years before he could get back to the present; but this time he returns--as a child again! I don't know if there had been a ton of clues to Hyperstorm's identity, but this should be one: why wouldn't he just kill Franklin, unless he needed him for something?

The cover features Reed drifting into space, his lifeline not pulling him in; which I feel was a common problem for him, always drifting off into the Negative Zone or some damn thing. Also, is it weird a guy that can stretch has to trust a lifeline?

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Feel like there's something I should be doing today...defrosting the turkey? That's not it...

Well, I'm always thankful for a random-ass comic, so why not? From 2011, Spider-Man: Marvel Adventures #19, "Going Cosmic!" Written by J.M. DeMatteis, art by Clayton Henry.

It's a bit of a Freaky Friday, as Spidey finds himself careening through space on the Silver Surfer's board, and the Surfer finds himself passed out under a park bench in Central Park. A young fan finds the amnesiac Surfer and tries to help him out, while the suddenly-soliloquizing Spidey comes face-to-giant face with Sinistar Primordius, an angry cosmic tentacle-thing. While eating a hot dog, the Surfer remembers what happened to him: a cosmic probe tried to drain his energy, but as Spidey happened by he got the power cosmic. So it follows...maybe the Surfer got Spidey's webs? And they'll have to combine into a "Spider-Surfer?" Sure, why not! I am a sucker for other heroes borrowing Spider-Man's webs, since Doctor Strange did it way back in Marvel Team-Up #21.

In defeat, Primordius admits his grudge against the Surfer: he had been a herald of Galactus himself, before the Surfer, but had displeased Galactus and was sent away. Spinning him in a webline, the Surfer throws him out, to consider changing his ways; and he and Spidey have dinner with their fan and her mom. (This wasn't 616-continuity, but I suspect Galactus tried other means before settling on heralds; Primordius could have been a drone above his station.)

Also this issue: "The Hundred-Story Hunt" Written by Sean T. Collins, art by Pere Perez. A pleasant afternoon enjoying a slice, is interrupted by Kraven the Hunter, who chases Spidey all over an office building. Injured, Spidey armors up with...office supplies? With which he proceeds to clown Kraven; gotta spice up those fights sometimes.

No Mini-Marvels strip this time; that's mildly disappointing.

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"Eternal."

I'm not sure I know much more about the Eternals than Kurt: I haven't seen the movie yet, but I did recently read both Kirby's original and the 12-issue mini-series from the 80's. (Spoiler alert/warning: the 80's limited has what felt like a somewhat egregious girlfriend fridging.) And...they were okay? While the Deviants had the numbers and the tech, they rarely felt like a serious threat to their Eternal foes, although Ghaur helps on that count a bit. Every once in a while there's been cool-looking Eternal moments--I was thinking of the cover of Incredible Hercules #116--I don't have much emotional connection to them. 

Which means I don't have much connection to the once-removed movie versions, but that didn't stop me from picking most of them up for ten bucks a pop. I may or may not have overpaid! I got Kingo a couple weeks back, then most of the rest this weekend, only missing Makkari right now. (Who I really need for Quasar! Who may have trouble wrapping his head around his old bro now being a girl...actually, Wendell's a cool guy, it'd be a surprise, but he'd accept it.) I did previously pay full price for the exclusive Thena and Ajak; I definitely could've waited on Ajak anyway and picked her up with the others. 

 I think it's residue from Earth X, but I don't trust the Celestials. They may have a plan for earth, but it's not necessarily one that does humanity--or maybe even the Eternals--any good. (The Celestials endgame may or may not be more complex than the Anunnaki's...) What is the morality of a scientist to a lab rat? Some Eternals seem to be true believers in the Celestials' supposed greater good; but I don't know. In Kirby's stories, trying to go against the Celestials was like trying to throw rocks at the sun, but that doesn't mean you should give up, does it?

In actual continuity, I think the Eternals had encounters with the X-Men in the Utopia/San Francisco era; which coincided with another Eternals relaunch. I'm not sure the Eternals look on mutants favorably, though: I feel like they may consider them Deviants? Could be wrong there, though.

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People may be looking for this issue next year. Maybe.

Did I only just this year realize his name was supposed to be pronounced like 'morgue,' or did I know that already but keep forgetting? Anyway, from 1994, Cosmic Powers #5, "The Question is... Which is to Be Master, That's All" Written by Ron Marz, pencils by Tom Grindberg, inks by Don Hudson.

Since I pre-ordered the HasLabs Galactus, I guess I have a Marvel Legends Morg coming, but...I've always felt he was a pale copy of a better herald, Terrax. But if you give Terrax too much nuance--and he didn't have a lot--it can take him out of the role of "mindless cosmic murder thug," and you need a new one; hence Morg. This issue gets a little into his backstory and motivation: a warrior from a barbaric world, where he looked like Conan with male pattern baldness and bad skin, Morg believed in nothing except power. And seeing Galactus as the ultimate power, his loyalty was absolute; although Tyrant is attempting to convince him Galactus wasn't all that.

You may have also forgotten Tyrant, the big-bad from around Silver Surfer #82, which I don't have next to me but don't recall as being great. To build him up as a big deal, Galactus supposedly remembers having fought him centuries prior and acts like he could be a threat again, but I'm not buying it. I almost feel like Galactus could be playing with him, oh noes, not Tyrant, whatever shall I do; and maybe wanted to use him to keep other cosmic forces and his heralds occupied, like a play date or something.

Elsewhere, warrior woman Ganymede has been captured by Thanos and Terrax, but is more than willing to tell them whatever they want to know about her enemy Tyrant. Terrax is bristling at Thanos treating him like a lackey, but come on, man: know your role, and shut your mouth. Likewise, Tyrant gives Morg back the power cosmic, as well as a brain-clamping doodad, and sets him on Thanos. After a few pages of scuffle, Terrax gets into that fight, since he and Morg already hated each other from before. Instead of killing him, Terrax accidentally frees Morg from Tyrant's control; and although he had sworn to kill him, Morg has to get back to Galactus and splits, almost running into the just-arriving Legacy (Genis-Vell) and Jack of Hearts! Jack and Ganymede's relationship definitely moves into the "it's complicated" status, since he's dismayed she would work with Thanos just to get Tyrant. She, not unlike Thanos, was deeply pragmatic: whatever it took. Thanos reaches out to Jack and "the boy," since they were all needed to survive against Tyrant, but Tyrant promises "...you won't." Really feel like that whole sequence needed old-style soap opera dramatic music stings.

Yeah, I kinda think they all survived the next issue, since I know I remember Morg and Tyrant would make it to Silver Surfer #109, in which they and Galactus are all seemingly destroyed by the Ultimate Nullifier. Sure, and if a goat had wheels he'd be a bobsled...or something, I don't know, I'm tired. Galactus just shows up again later and I'm 90% he let everyone think he was dead to get them out of his face for five minutes; but nullification didn't appear to do Morg or Tyrant any good. Morg's corpse--ah, see what they did there--appeared in Annihilation, but Tyrant hasn't been seen since. Read more!

Today's book belonged to Harry A. Owen, who wrote his name on the cover. I'm not giving it back, I just thought he should know. Nyah! From 1975, Tarzan #237, story and art by Russ Manning, except cover and page 2 by Joe Kubert.

This was reprinted from Tarzan daily comics, because I think at this point there were so many Tarzan comics that they probably figured they could just cycle them around as most readers aged out anyway. Lost in a sandstorm, Tarzan takes cover under what turns out to be an Egyptian-style statue. Seemed like a lot of sand to him, though, and more Egyptian soldiers than usual--hey! They chase Tarzan quite a ways, but of course their queen wants him captured alive. That's interrupted by a stone pharaoh, who goes for the queen, but then takes Tarzan away when he knocks him out.

The queen had wanted Tarzan, perhaps not for the usual prurient reasons, but as a fighter under her banner, as she was having palace intrigue problems with her half-brother, who wanted the throne. Meanwhile, Tarzan finds himself trapped in a pyramid, and has to puzzle his way out in the dark. He then follows the stone pharaoh, but doesn't wrap it up this issue, sadly.

Per the letters page, this was the return of regular-sized issues after 100-pagers, but I think the previous issue had been regular-sized as well. There was also a Statement of Ownership, Management, and Circulation; with tiny, tiny print for my old eyes! Actual number of copies sold nearest to filing date: 159,567. Or thereabouts, take a gander for yourself!

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Many, many years ago, we blogged a bit about Tempus Fugitive, a four-issue mini from Ken Steacy that I loved to death; but it had been a bit late. The first 'monthly' issue was March 1990, the conclusion July 1991. Today's book, well, a quick search says it was from 1989, but that's not entirely accurate. From 1991, James Bond: Permission to Die, story and art by Mike Grell, additional art by Dameon Willich.

I remember this getting some hype, pre-internet and pre-Wizard, back when the first issue was coming. And it's easy to see why: it's a good-looking book, although I don't think the third issue's cover is the best of the lot. I know I bought the first issue, and saw it more than once over the years, but this was the first time I've read the third issue! I vaguely remember reading #2 before, but I got all three for less than the cover price of one at the last show! 

Storywise, it's solid work, and hits the classic beats. The title, "Permission to Die" might be the best line in it, from Q Major Boothroyd: "Your Double O designation is your license to kill, 007... No one gave you permission to die." Boothroyd was the literary inspiration for Q in the movies, but may have been used instead because sometimes legal concerns determined who could be used in what.

Anyway, not cramming this one into the scanner; but if I find my spare copy of #1 maybe we'll take a gander. Have a good weekend!

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So the other day I think I brought up Plop! in the comments, and while I think I've had the Best of DC Digest #60 for going on 35 years, I only recently picked up my first single issue of the book, and didn't remember it had the same cover! From 1975, Plop! #13, cover by Wally Wood. 

Actually, I have to take a gander if I actually do still have that digest, as I kind of feel it's one of a handful of books I've lent out and lost more than once. (See also: the Big Book of Urban Legends.) Until just now, I didn't realize there was another Plop! digest collection, Best of DC Digest #63. And none of the stories from inside this issue are reprinted in either one! That either means yay, this is the only way to read them, or boo, they were stinkers not worth reprinting? Let's see:

Sergio Aragonés draws the framing sequence--with Cain, Abel, and Eve trying in vain to avoid being 'Plopped!' upon--as well as the voodoo tale "The Banana Dolls" with Steve Skeates. When the workers on a banana plantation get nowhere complaining about the whippings from the cruel foreman, they take matters into their own hands with banana voodoo dolls. After the foreman and owner are killed, the cruel accountant takes over, but thinks he has the problem licked: no more whipping, "...from now on it's bullets all the way!" He knew a doll of him was forthcoming, but steals it in a hail of gunfire and locks it in a safe for well, safekeeping, and throws it in the river. Voodoo fans may see the flaw in his plan, though.

Most of the rest of the issue is "The Epic of Sidney Kidney," a young man of remarkable uglyness. It's mean and dumb and surprisingly has a punchline Plop! went to at least once in Best of DC Digest #60 alone! Boo. Even "Super Plops" with Kurt Schaffenberger art is weak. Maybe the 13th issue is unlucky after all.

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