80-Page Thursday: Marvel Super-Heroes #11!

I've blogged a number of 80-page giants here, some good, some...less so. Today's features a cover with Ghost Rider burning a woman's clothes off, or burning a naked woman. Either or, yet it's still kind of boring. From 1992, Marvel Super-Heroes #11, featuring stories from Tina Chrioproces, Dwayne McDuffie, and Chris Claremont; with art by Greg Larocque, Bob Budiansky, and Mike Vosburg.

I have a few of these Marvel Super-Heroes 80-page specials, and they were uneven at best. Several of them feature short, eight-page stories that may have been deemed unfit for the biweekly Marvel Comics Presents. And man alive, that book ran a lot of stinkers. Nobody wants to read about Captain Ultra. Nobody.

Oh, this issue. Well, the good news is, instead of a bunch of shorts or pin-ups, it featured three full length stories. Suspiciously full-length; to the point I suspected them of being unused fill-in issues being burnt off. The first story, "Fireworks," featured the Johnny Blaze Ghost Rider, and is footnoted as set before 1983's Ghost Rider #80. Blaze and carnival buddy Red take a vacation on their bikes, but run afoul of a small town with a survivalist cult, anti-nuke protesters, a troubled-but-pretty pyromaniac, and a sheriff who seems fairly reasonable but isn't above locking you up indefinitely for mouthing off.

Zarathos, the demon called Ghost Rider, is the only smart one in the lot: he sees the cultists as suckers, and uses their worship to overpower Blaze's will. He also plans to trade the pyromaniac's soul to hell in exchange for his freedom, and she's so entranced with his flames she'd let him do it. The conclusion, and most of the rest of this one are pretty standard, but that's not a bad bit.

Next is a Giant-Man story. Seventeen pages of the former Black Goliath, as he battles a wannabe scientist driven mad by his levitation experiments. Eh. Still, this might be one in the win column for him.

Lastly, we have a Ms. Marvel story. Her 70's book was cancelled with #23, but long-time fans of Ms. Marvel, the X-Men's Rogue, and/or Chris Claremont know she had a couple more issues that were never published; even though Claremont would allude to them in Avengers Annual #10. I wondered if these issues hadn't been in the can for years, but now I think the art was new, the script old.

"Cry, Vengeance!" opens with Ms. Marvel and Iron Man at a crime scene: the office of Carol Danver's psychiatrist and love interest Michael Barnett. Using Reed Richard's heat image tracer, they watch a replay of Barnett's murder, brutally beaten by a woman that looks like Carol: the shape-changer Mystique. (Aside: Reed's tracer dates back to early FF issues, but isn't seen anymore since the science is sketchy even for comics, and would've put every CSI-type show in the world out of business.)

Iron Man offers Avengers assistance, but Ms. Marvel wants this for herself. After Barnett's funeral, graveside; she has one of her "7th-sense prescient trances," a waking nightmare of being buried alive. Cursing her unreliable power, she tracks a number Mystique dialed to an import company: she finds crates of weapons, but then has another trance of being attacked by flaming duplicates of herself. She pulls herself together in time to see an arms deal, with the dealer meeting Claremont go-to villains the Hellfire Club.

Spotted, the Club attacks, and while Ms. Marvel is able to beat Pierce; Leland uses her gravity power to make her too heavy to move. Smashing her way through the floor, Ms. Marvel escapes by falling into the sewer...hey, that sounds awfully familiar. It's almost exactly what happened to Wolverine in X-Men #132! I suspect Claremont had this one written for Ms. Marvel, but it wasn't published, so he expanded and folded it into X-Men. Turned out OK for him...

Carol goes plainclothes to continue the investigation, to get close to the arms dealer on a plane. She has a nightmare about herself in a Black Queen outfit, being forced to kill a girl named Rogue before she "strips from you everything you are, everyone you ever loved." She also doesn't realize she was spotted by Tessa of the Hellfire Club (whom, I believe, was retroactively made a hero by Claremont despite this) who sets the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants on her.

Attacked by Pyro and Avalanche, Ms. Marvel defeats them; but the arms dealer is killed, leaving her with no leads. Weeks pass, and Mystique is still concerned by Destiny's premonition that Ms. Marvel will somehow hurt Rogue. Overhearing her foster mother, Rogue goes after Carol herself, who was starting to pull herself together after the events of Avengers #200. In short order, Rogue uses her powers to absorb Ms. Marvel's powers and memories, but it's too much: Rogue would be stuck with both for years, while Carol lost them almost completely. Rogue throws the unconscious Carol off the Golden Gate Bridge, setting up their appearances in Avengers Annual #10.

A lot crammed in there, more than I would've suspected would have fit in a single issue of Ms. Marvel. The story also features a closing recap of what would happen to Carol, up to becoming Binary, which was a cool look but a worse name than Warbird. I prefer her keeping "Ms. Marvel," as a tribute to Captain Marvel...but Carol getting promoted doesn't sound bad either.
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Retro Toy Week: Gundam Wing Deathscythe Hell! (Custom?)

The Ramones asked if you remembered rock 'n roll radio; I'm curious if you remember Toonami. From Bandai and 2000, the Gundam Wing Deathscythe Hell!

I know I watched Mobile Suit Gundam Wing, and I know the Deathscythe pilot was supposed to be the deadliest, but I'm going to be completely vague on the details since I don't think the show has aged especially well in my memory. I also think Gundam Wing was aiming for nuanced and dark and ended squarely in emo, before that was even the term. That's doubtless not a fair assessment for a kids' show designed to sell several tons of action figures and models; because by that metric, mission accomplished.

OK, the figure; and you'll excuse me if I forget if it's the Gundam Deathscythe proper or the Deathscythe Hell Custom upsell upgrade: there's not a lot of paint, since most of the pieces are cast in the appropriate colors. There's a goodly amount of articulation, including the wings of the big, Batman-like cape or whatever; but a lot of it is blocked by the design, which technically would be referred to as a "hot mess." Take your basic Gundam chassis, then add Wicked Witch of the West pointy shoes, huge grey pointy bits that go on top of the shoulder and knee pads, wrist guards and skirt piece, including a codpiece that appears to be at half-mast, giant cape with additional pointy bits, and the traditional Gundam head with big V-crest. (There may be some warping on mine from the position he was in on my desk, namely wedged between it and the wall.) Deathscythe makes the Big O look positively streamlined...he also comes with his "beam scythe," which he holds fine, but it's problematic to get him in a good two-handed grip-slash-action pose.

So, Deathscythe Hell might be trying a little too hard to be "extreme." Especially for the show it was on: if you're going to call that thing "Deathscythe Hell," own it. Go full-on death metal with it. But the figure is a fun reminder of when anime was still on Cartoon Network. Maybe that cycle will spin around again someday...

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Retro Toy Week: Strontium Dog!

From ReAction Toys and 2000 AD, Strontium Dog! I've been doing a bit of searching, but I'm still not positive what year these came out in America. Best I can figure, 1999? Strontium Dog is a British creation, and although there's been more than a few reprints here in the states, he's not exactly a household name.

This figure predates many artist-specific figures, but bears a strong likeness to Johnny Alpha's co-creator Carlos Ezquerra's art. The color scheme is predominantly green with yellow and orange-brown elements; which should help him stand out in a crowded shelf. He comes with two guns, that probably have proper names but I don't recall them.


Johnny also comes with a beam polarizer and electronux (taser-like brass knuckles) and his armor and helmet are removeable, as are the shin and forearm guards. The helmet splits in two down the middle, which is a little unsightly, but helps keep the helmet and his head the right scale. (Sometimes, a figure can end up with a pinhead, or a bobblehead-looking helmet.)

I have to wonder how these did for Re:Action, in America anyway. I'm pretty sure I got Strontium Dog, and possibly most of the rest of their 2000 AD line, for $3.33 a piece at the late, lamented KB Toys. He's a good figure that has aged pretty well; but the character still isn't widely known stateside. In fact, he's had a bit of down time in his native Britain as well: Johnny was killed off, a move that apparently is widely regarded as a mistake. He may be on his way back, which I'd be glad to see.
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Retro Toy Week: KAAAAANEDAAAAAAA!

File this under "Good Idea, Bad Idea": I wasn't sure if I had taken a look at any old McFarlane toys this year. Then I remembered I had just seen in one of my bins, the Kaneda figure from Akira; and that would tie into last year's look at his motorcycle. (Both were from 2000.)

Then Blogger (which has recently updated it's posting layout and possibly some other nuts-and-bolts nonsense) has been really squirrelly on the picture-loading front. And it didn't help that the first pictures I took came out terrible. Fine, but after all that I really don't like this figure anyway.

Kaneda looks nice: he does have a bit of a mouthbreather look, that actually probably goes with the character. The sculpt and the paint are both well-done: McFarlane called this line "3D Animation from Japan" or such, and it shows. But even with ten points of articulation, almost none of it is useful: neck, waist, shoulders, wrists, mid-thigh and boot-top; all simple swivels. Kaneda also comes with goggles, which I couldn't get to sit properly, and the laser-rifle and powerpack. The rifle and pack are connected by a thin plastic hose, which is fine; but aren't removeable (hmm, maybe you could get the pack off, maybe, if you really wanted.) or adjustable. You can just get the rifle in Kaneda's hand, but he can't even raise it to point it at anything.

Worst of all, like we mentioned back when we looked at his bike, the carded version of Kaneda can't sit on said bike. Like, at all, in the slightest. And frankly, he can't do anything else, either. If you're looking for a Kaneda to sit on your desk and stare slackjawed at you, he's great (again, the slackjaw isn't a dealbreaker, the character wasn't exactly a rocket scientist) but if you want him to do anything else, you're out of luck. McFarlane was well on his way out of the "action figure" business then, and would make increasingly less articulated pieces for the next few years--maybe until he got the Halo license? I don't know, I'm not a fan, but it seems like that's doing all right for him.

I must've spelled Kenada Kanada Kaneda wrong forty times on this post.


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Retro Toy Week: Toy Biz's Bloodstorm!

This is our third annual Retro Toy Week, and we're hitting our third of the four Mutant X figures, Bloodstorm. We've already seen the Fallen and the Goblin Queen, maybe we'll get to Havok next year...

X-Men Annual #6 was one of the first X-Men comics I ever read, and it actually ties into this figure a bit. In the regular Marvel universe, Dracula went after Storm; in the Mutant X world, he succeeded in turning her into a vampire. Taking the name Bloodstorm, she would go on to turn Kitty into a vampire, and keep Forge as her feedbag.

While Bloodstorm is a bit bare-bones as a figure, she does have her huge mohawk ponytail as a plugged piece in the back of her head; and her leather jacket. I know some collectors don't care for soft-goods pieces on figures of this scale, but I think it's not bad. It's not like she had a lot of articulation to be hindered by the jacket anyway, and it's fitted well.

Oh, we'll see...
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Ooh, I should feel bad about this one:

I definitely should feel bad about this one. That's the 2006 NECA 7-inch Kurt Cobain figure and the 2000 Palisades House of the Dead Johnny figure--the variant, I do believe. (The Amazon link shows the pre-headshot version.) Johnny's guitar is from the Simpsons' Otto, although I don't think I've ever displayed him with it. Unless I'm mistaken, Kurt's a lefty, though: I could've reversed Johnny's picture, but it's fine.

This gag was originally from ToyFare, even though they didn't add the guitar for it. But it fits really, really well. Intentional on the part of Palisades or the sculptor? Surely not. Surely...I think. By the way, ToyFare really should have an online resource for all their old, stupid, funny bits; and even the old articles. It couldn't be that difficult to do, and you can cram it full of ads for old and new toys alike...

I'm honestly still pissed at Kurt Cobain for killing himself. Life can be crappy, and depression is difficult to work through, yet somehow a lot of people somehow manage to do it without the benefit of talent, money, or heroin. Kurt just threw those away. If this offends you, well...

(There is a difference between deciding to check out early, and terminal patients deciding not to live on in pain. It's why I'm slightly more forgiving of Hunter S. Thompson's suicide. And my friends and I used to use the expression, "Suicide is the only answer" when referring to anyone we held in utter contempt or who had failed miserably. Dropped the game-winning touchdown? Suicide is the only answer! Throw yourself on your sword!...we probably weren't overly sensitive.)

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Retro Toy Week: House of the Dead Ken!

I knew this figure was from the House of the Dead game, but couldn't remember his name: Ken, from Palisades and Sega, 2000.

Along with the metal claws he sports there--and who the hell gives a zombie claws?--Ken also came with a metal facemask--the better to prevent headshots, one would expect. And a couple brown, leech-worm things that were prone to leaping the players' faces. Ken has a nice sculpt, good paint, and ten points of articulation. (Neck, shoulders, wrists, waist, hips, and knees.)

I actually somehow have a full set of all four of these, the other three being Strength, Hierophant, and Johnny. (There were a couple variants as well.) Strength was a monster with a chainsaw, Hierophant was a Gillman/fish monster, and as ToyFare put it, Johnny looked like...we'll see tomorrow. I need to see if I can dig the rest of them up, but there were several little pack-ins as well, like frog and fish monsters. Since these predate my Year-in-Toys posts, I haven't the foggiest what I actually paid for the lot of them; but I want to say they were pretty reasonable, if not dirt cheap. Fun figures for a fun game, and one I've actually played for a change!

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Retro Toy Week: Bandai's Big O!

Retro Toy Week hit at a weird time for me this year: at work, I'm moving desks, from the happy little cube I've had for upwards of six years. Which means boxing up the myriad little figures on my desk: happy meal toys, Minimates, Transformer and giant robot PVC's, Lego mini-figures, gashapon and capsule toys, and more. It's going to take me a minute...

But, it's the perfect opportunity to take some pictures of an old favorite that's been on my desk for some time: from 2001, Bandai's Big O! Showtime!

If you aren't familiar with The Big O anime series; well, it's awesome, but I'm hesitant to recommend it. It takes elements of Batman: the Animated Series, film noir, the movies Blade Runner and Dark City, and throws in a giant robot. Granted, everything is better with a giant robot. I'd read Fifty Shades of Grey if it had giant robots in it.

The downside of The Big O is that it's not for everyone, some may find it derivative (I don't) and the last episode doesn't give a lot of closure. But, again, it's awesome. And so is this figure of the titular giant robot!

Big O has an unusual, art deco-ish design: a lot of rivets, odd proportions, curves, and points. He's not an agile or quick robot; more of a bruiser. The Popeye-like forearms contain piledrivers, which in-show deliver quite a punch. The figure is articulated at the neck, shoulders, elbows, wrists, hips, knees, and ankles; for a total of 13 points. Some of the articulation is limited, not by the sculpt as much as by the design, but it suits him. There are also interchangeable hands, which I might have to look for...he can choose rock or paper, but not scissors.

In addition, the figure came with two smaller PVC's of Roger the Negotiator and Dorothy the Android: neat, but I don't keep them on display with Big O. This was a great, reasonably priced set...back when it came out. Now, oof, good luck finding one. (For reference, here's a link to Bandai's second series bad robot Big Duo, which I think I have somewhere...hey, there it is!) It's All True has a great review of the slightly more recent Soul of Chogokin Big O, which is a little bigger and more elaborate figure but also more expensive.

After the break, the Queen-inspired Big O opening!


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Retro Toy Week: Dog's Eye-View Spider-Man!

Long before he got a black-and-white uniform with the Fantastic Four, but well after the symbiote suit; Spider-Man had another monochromatic costume: from 1997 and Toy Biz, Web Catcher Spider-Man variant. Looking it up on Amazon, I had forgotten the 'web catcher' accessory entirely.
I have a vague idea that I've read the issues this figure is referring to--I thought it was on or about Spider-Man #90, but that was '98, and the figure is marked 1997! Maybe the sculpt was reused later, with the black-and-white color scheme? Maybe I've got the issue wrong? My research has hit a wall (meaning I got distracted by something else) so let me know if you know. Anyway, somewhere in there Spidey comes back from the Negative Zone with the color bleached out of his costume...somehow. I know the same sort of thing altered the colors of the Fantastic Four's uniforms, sometime during Byrne's run; but again, no idea how. It's not the Thing ever came back from the Zone in greyscale, or turned green or something. Still, it is a neat variant.


There was a time, though, when this was the best-looking Spider-Man sculpt ever. That time was 1997, yeah. He predates Spider-Man Classics...and articulation. Nine points: ankles, knees, hips, shoulders, and neck. None of which is especially useful; but the paint is pretty nice. And the web lines on his costume are all sculpted.

I was thinking there was a 'web catcher' Red Skull figure as well, but on Amazon I was surprised to see a Madam Web action figure. Huh.
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Retro Toy Week: DC Direct's Power Girl!

If DC Direct is still making action figures when this is posted (EDIT: Sorta.) they'll be in their fourteenth year, with a pretty substantial list of figures. But it might be hard for some of you to remember when they were the only game in town for your B or C-list characters. Case in point: from 2001's Justice Society series, Power Girl. (As always, any Amazon links are just for reference, shop around!)


This was Kara's first action figure, although it's more of a display piece than that. Mostly cut joints: neck, shoulders, upper bicep, hips; and hinged elbows. Not an amazing range, and her cape isn't removable and is a bit heavy. Still, even with the not-outrageous heels, Power Girl stands fairly well without a stand. (I'm not sure she came with one.)

Power Girl has a bit of a retro look: her haircut seems particularly dated. But she's not overly sexed up, either. DC Direct has since done (at least) three other versions of her over the years, and DC Universe Classics made a more poseable version.

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Retro Toy Week: Hard Travelling Heroes Green Lantern!

Remember those halcyon days of lore, when DC Direct only released a Hal Jordan figure every five years or so? Ooh, not so fast...

This was my default Hal Jordan/Green Lantern figure for years. Probably until I got the DCUC version in 2008. Eight years on the shelf, then; which isn't bad considering...Hal has his shortcomings. A whopping nine points of articulation: neck, shoulders, elbows, hips, knees. Said knees are also a bit loose now, a problem I occasionally have as the DCD figures age. And Hal isn't as...man-pretty as he should be: the head sculpt is good from a little ways off, but seems a little long up close. Hal comes with a lantern, of course, which I have in a pile of other lanterns and did not dig up.

Ooh, dust is a hazard on these posts...

My conceit when picking this figure to post was that DC Direct used to have a little more variety in their character selection, and didn't used to put out a Hal Jordan figure seemingly every month. In my mind, I thought there was this Hal, and then not another one for at least five and maybe even eight years. Well, the "Hard Travelling Heroes" Green Lantern came out (per Wikipedia and JoeAcevedo.com) February 9, 2000; and would be re-released with the JLA/"Brave & the Bold" set in October 2002. (That link says 1990, which is dead wrong.) DC Direct wouldn't release a new Hal until 2003, a Silver Age version; and there was a Spectre-Hal in there somewhere as well; and the Green Lantern/Sinestro Super Friends set. (The latter came with a little Hall of Justice, which I wouldn't mind having!) Hal would get Green Lantern and Parallax figures in 2005, as well as an exclusive ToyFare Emerald Shield Green Lantern. 2006, the Alex Ross/Justice and a New Frontier version. Hal would have a light 2007, though: Red Son, Alex Ross Armored GL, and a reissue in a Justice boxset. I almost thought Hal wasn't going to have any in 2008, but he had two in November and December: Superman/Batman series 6 and a GL box set. And another JLA Hal in January 2009! Then another JLA box set reissue, before the floodgates really open up in 2010...And that's to say nothing of the multiple DCUC versions--check out this review from It's All True.

Incredibly, Hard Travelling Hal has a five-star rating on Amazon right now! Five stars in 2000, maybe. He's lost at least two since then. I thought the HTH Green Arrow was a better sculpt, but the articulation is likewise minimal. Need to glance at the Black Canary, though, to see how she's aged, and find her alternate head...

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Retro Toy Week: 'Total Justice' Wonder Woman!

Total Justice Wonder Woman is a bit of a misnomer: after the proper Total Justice line from Hasbro, several of the figures were reissued as a JLA line. The figures were the same sculpts, minus the 'fractal armor' accessories; with the occasional new, repainted, or previously unreleased character. In the fourth and final series in 2000, Wonder Woman was released, along with her teammates the Atom and Red Tornado. I want to say she was single-packed per case; and I'm not positive I ever saw another one after getting mine at the late, somewhat lamented KB Toys. I'm pretty sure she was only $3.33, too...

Since I didn't have it handy, I looked up a couple of dates: Total Justice began in 1996, Wonder Woman here has 2000 on her, and 2000 was the same year Toy Biz would release the precursors to Marvel Legends, Spider-Man Classics. So she may have been a little dated even when she hit the pegs.

WW has the typical five points of articulation shared with the rest of the line: neck, shoulders, hips. All basic swivels, with her hair restricting the neck for the most part, and the leg points only good for finding her standing balance. There is a hole on her hip to attach her magic lasso (which I probably have somewhere...) but she has two closed fists and couldn't hold it. Her sculpt is muscular, but not overly so like the main TJ line; and her stance is relatively neutral compared to their angry grit-tooth poses.


Despite all that, and despite her not being displayed regularly, I still have a soft spot for this figure: I think this was the first Wonder Woman figure I ever bought; and I managed to get her ahead of my boss at the time, who was also collecting the line! Wonder if he ever did find one...
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Retro Toy Week: BTAS Man-Bat!

For some reason, checking out Batman: the Animated Series Man-Bat at Amazon brought up pictures for a set of Charmed action figures. Maybe someone'll fix that by the time this posts...
We checked out the Legends of the Dark Knight Man-Bat last year, so why not take a look at another interpretation? Good grief, how many Man-Bats do I have?

Manny is tagged Kenner 1993, but I'm pretty sure he was a yard sale find for me; so I couldn't say how long I've had him. Easily ten, maybe fifteen years; and he still looks nice. Partly because as a bigger character, Kenner had a little more space to work with, so Man-Bat has more articulation than any other animated-style figure: swivel-hinges on the shoulders and a similiar set-up for the elbows and the neck, plus swivel hips. Unlike so many, many flying characters, Man-Bat can look up! There is also an unobtrusive t-shaped button on his back for wing-flapping action.

If you're a fan of the DCUC animated style, Man-Bat will be a great addition to a display. I've liked the character since his seventies adventures like the Power Records "Robin Meets Man-Bat." (You can find it at the Power Records Plaza!) Dig him up!

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Retro Toy Week: Toy Biz's Doc Samson!

This one may be a bit of a cheat, since he was picked up at a yard sale, October 2011. (When I'm writing this, as a matter of fact!) From 1997 and Toy Biz's Hulk line, Doc Samson!

Conventional comic wisdom says every character is somebody's favorite, but a quick wikipedia check for Doc Samson begins with "No Image Available"? No love there...I'm leaving the link since I'm not up at all on his recent history, but I'm used to Samson as either a foil for the Hulk (as a possible rival for Betty) or as psychiatric help. Maybe 'help' should be in quotes there, since it is questionable how much good he's done Banner...but, exposed to gamma radiation siphoned from the Hulk, Dr. Leonard Samson developed green hair and super-strength. (Which may or may not have varied depending upon the length of his hair.) Just like Matt Murdock is Marvel's default lawyer or Jake Lockley Marvel's cabbie, Samson was the go-to psych consult for some time.

So, he's a glorified supporting character; but in 1997 he would've been a novel choice for an action figure. (Samson would've appeared on the Incredible Hulk cartoon of the day.) That said, he doesn't get anywhere near the attention or detail that a Hulk figure would have: Samson has maybe seven points of articulation--his neck is cut, but immovable due to the hair--and bog-standard sculpt and paint. The nicest thing I can say about this figure is the shoulders are swivel-hinges rather than mere cuts; but that's still not a lot of effort. He's not aged well, then.


Doc Samson would get a Marvel Legends figure in 2008--he was part of the Hulk/Fin Fang Foom series, and cost a then unheard of $14.99. In fact, he also received a Marvel Universe figure, if 3 3/4" is your game. The character is a bit of a jerk, but he serves a purpose in Hulk stories (or others) as a sounding board. Or punching bag.

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Beginning, the Third Annual Retro Toy Week!

And none of these figures made the cut. Ah, well. We've got at least seventeen posts planned, checking out a variety of figures from years past: as usual, most of them aren't super-old, but old enough. What figures hold up today? Which ones did not age well? What now-defunct companies are still missed? How many times will I buy a figure of the same character? And so on!

The usual disclaimers: we might have a few links to Amazon or eBay, but they're just for reference. If you're interested in a figure, shop it around; and if you use Amazon go through a site like Poe's where he'll get a kickback.

By the way, if you can identify all the characters in the above picture, you'd be at least one up on me...
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76-Page Friday: Manhunter #1!

Killing me that I couldn't use this for 80-Page Thursdays, but sadly, it's a mere 76. Manhunter #1, written by Archie Goodwin, art by Walt Simonson. (With colors by Klaus Janson!)

I actually have the thicker, gold-covered Manhunter: the Special Edition, which features the silent "Manhunter: the Final Chapter." Famously, it was plotted by Goodwin, who sadly passed away before he could script it; so Simonson left it as is. That's a great package, this 1984 reprint is almost as good. And fits in a scanner. And I found it for under a buck: no way it wasn't coming with me.

Next week: our third annual Retro Toy Week! What old(er) toys will we check out? As many as I can cram in!
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80-Page Thursdays: Justice League Quarterly #7!

Justice League Quarterly #3 is one of my favorite 80-page issues ever. Today's book, Justice League Quarterly #7, not so much. The lead story, "Klaarsh Reunion!" (Written by Michael Jan Friedman, pencils by Eduardo Barreto, inks by Carlos Garzon.) features Blue Beetle going back to his high school reunion, something admittedly I don't recall seeing that often in comics. Ted brings Booster, Fire, and Ice; and when the school is pulled up by an alien tractor beam, his classmates confess they're actually aliens. Ted and his family were the only normal humans in Marquette, IL; which makes him seem a bit thick for not noticing. The aliens' overlords, the Klaarsh, show up to bring them back; the JLI stops them. A little thin, disappointing since I've liked other work from Friedman and Barreto.

The first back-up feature is a General Glory sixties pastiche, "If this be my Destiny...?" Written by Paul Kupperberg, pencils by Don Heck, inks by Mike DeCarlo. It's very, very, very much in the mold of a Lee/Kirby Tales of Suspense era Captain America story; more of a straight homage than a winking parody this time. While not knocking my socks off, it's the second GG back-up I've read that was better than his appearances in the regular JLI book.

The rest of the issue features Dr. Light and Rocket Red; and I'd only recommend them if you're a fan. Not the best.
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"Clanky."

Hmm. Got the Battlestar: Galactica Tigh figure a while back, and actually set this strip up some time ago as well; but just kept pushing it back. And this might be a spoiler for Galactica, but you probably should've watched it already if you're going to.

Actually, I think I just like how everything balanced out on this one. I'm glad I don't remember how many tries it took...
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Sometimes, if you're feeling down on comics, the answer is to go to an old favorite. So, today we're checking out Star Wars #15, "Star Duel!" Written by Archie Goodwin, pencils by Carmine Infantino, inks and finishes by Terry Austin.


Although Luke, Leia, Han, and the rest of our heroes have been reunited; they now have to deal with the pirate captain Crimson Jack. Jack had been a recurring villain in the original Marvel stories; rather impressively, he and his crew commandeered a damaged Star Destroyer for themselves. (Whether this was a full-on Star Destroyer, or a similiar but smaller cruiser, is open to debate. But a Star Destroyer's crew complement was upwards of 35,000; not counting infantry and gunners...) Jack had captured and robbed Han and Chewie earlier, then released and recaptured them to do it again. Han and Leia trick Jack into a raid on the imaginary Rebel treasury on Drexel; in reality, they were following up on a distress call from Luke. (We took a look at a panel of #14 way back when.)


Three fighters pursue the Millenium Falcon off of Drexel; one piloted by Jolli, Jack's first mate, and "a Man-hater and a space-pirate." Although she admits to being confused by her feelings for Han, she remembers being abandoned by her father as a child, which drove her to be the toughest of the tough. When the fighters fail to herd the Falcon into Jack's tractor beam; Jolli collides with them, disabling them both. Although the "gyro control module" is shot and they're sitting ducks, Han isn't worried: when they were prisoners on Jack's ship, Jack needed access to the Falcon's navigation charts to find Drexel. Since no one suspects Chewbacca of being the sneaky one, he was able to wipe Jack's computer, so they can't use their hyperdrive without risking flying into a star or worse. (Actually, I think more than once in Goodwin's run Chewbacca was the sneaky one! Everyone always watches Han...)


Han had planned on extorting his treasure back from Jack, but now has to trade "chart tapes" for a new control module. Han and Jack agree to make the trade in space, using only "breath masks" and protected by their ships' magnetic fields. (Um...) Meanwhile, Jolli calls Jack for help, since her damaged Y-wing is breaking up; but Jack coldly tells her she'll have to make it on her own, "if she's good enough." In space, the handoff goes south for Han when Jack tightens his ship's magnetic field, cutting Han off from the Falcon: he'd be killed by vacuum if he tried for it. And now Jack's crew is taking to space to kill Han...

Before Han can be shot to pieces, though, Jolli returns, blasting her erstwhile crewmates and plowing her fighter into the destroyer's munitions deck. With Jack's crew and ship gone, he's no match for Han, who outdraws and ends him. In the wreckage, Han gives Jolli's body her only kiss.

This might not be part of your personal Star Wars canon, but it sure as hell is part of mine. I don't usually go nuts with the scans like today, but what the heck. It's a short issue--only 17 pages!--tying up plotlines from the last eight issues or so, but I love it.

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Picked up War is Hell: The First Flight of the Phantom Eagle a bit ago at Hastings for $3.99--cheaper than the cost of a single issue, when it came out in 2008. The above is from the back cover, a detail of the cover for #3 by John Cassaday, and I kind of hate it: the planes remind me of a Lucky Charms ad or something.

But the actual story, written by Garth Ennis, with art by Howard Chaykin; is great. In 1917, young and idealistic pilot Karl Kaufman bluffs his way into joining a squad of the Royal Flying Corps in France; and finds in short order that air combat isn't going to be the chivalrous battle of knights that he'd expected. Although a talented flier, Kaufman's also naive, a bit gullible, and pretty much has to learn every lesson about the hardest way you possibly could.

As the title suggests, Kaufman is based on obscure Marvel character the Phantom Eagle. Slightly. The name comes into play in the last issue, but not in a way you'd probably expect.

I didn't pick this one up in 2008 because of the price; but I should have more faith in Garth Ennis. I picked up a couple of his Authority: Kev trades on the cheap some time ago, and liked those a lot more than I thought I was going to. Come to think of it, I got the trade for Battlefields: the Tankies a little bit ago. It's shorter and a bit more slight, but still good.
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