[Kinda Book Report] Fantastic Four Vol 3

The Fantastic Four have always been a mystery to me as to why they always had some of the cooler adventures when their powers were so... Basic..

This volume of their early adventures all done by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby really created and expanded the Marvel universe. Here, we discover Galactus, the Silver Surfer, Doctor Doom with the power of the Surfer... the  Negative Zone with Blastaar. And finally Johnny gets a serious girlfriend, the Inhuman Crystal.

I had a blast reading this volume. Lee is in full form and Kirby just rocks... the stories move quickly and aren't bogged down by too much dialog and exposition (wait for review of xfactor 3).

While not the biggest fan of the FF, this was a delight to read. Exciting and fast paced. Just what I like in my comic.

So... I think this earns a 3.5 out of five. Rounded up to 4.

[Kinda Book Report] Marvel Spider-Woman Essential Vol 1

I got the book at a sizeable discount about a character I knew only through her appearance in Freedom Force in the 80s. Turns out it wasn't even the same Spider-Woman! Oh well...

This is a strange book with a character that doesn't seem to know what she's about.

The first five-ish issues deal with her being a former Hydra agent, a girl injected with spider DNA and evolved. She deals with things, but isn't the one doing most of the work.

Then she gets involved with several magic stories - Morded (no R), Morgana le Fey, and a Merlin-like figure, while she has no magic abilities herself. We follow up with a "slice of life" story, until she becomes a bounty hunter, chasing random criminals. Each time, the cast around her changes completely.

Unlike Ms Marvel who had a life, a love life, and villains. Spider-Woman has none of these. Her life changes completely every 5-ish issues. The major villains - the Brothers Grim - are dealt with and done once revealed.

This is a character in search of a reason to exist. Were it not for the competent art, this would be a pile of hot garbage.

I will settle on 2/5 mostly because the art is nice. And Spider-Woman is a hottie...

[Kinda Book Report] Marvel X-Factor Essential Vol 1

I first read this compilation back in 2019 (you can check out some of my thoughts in this classic post). However, in those days, I did not provide a more in-depth review.

The re-creation of X-Factor and the return of Jean Grey always fascinated me. I loved Phoenix as a character and her return prompted several questions. This tome answered them. It brought back the five original X-men: Angel, Beast, Cyclops, Iceman, and Marvel Girl under the guise of a group of mutant hunters.

Let's be honest, the idea sounded stupid to me as a child, and it still sounds dumb to me today...

Cyclops has a great storyline, with him leaving his wife and son for Jean. But for most of the issues, Angel, Beast, and Iceman are background characters who don't do much.

The highlight of this, beyond the return of Jean Grey, is the Mutant Massacre (of which I raved in this post). However, when I re-read the X-Factor-specific parts... I found it lacking and not as interesting as the X-Men. (X-Men vol 6 provided full context and was more exciting).

I liked it, but I think after going through an X-Men marathon... It wasn't as good. I waffled between a 3 and 4/5. I'll settle on a 3/5 mostly because I don't think it's as good as several other 4s out there.

[Kinda Book Review] Essential Avengers Vol 6

The Avengers are a constantly revolving door of a group. There are some stories that are very exciting... but this is not it. It's an in-between set of stories with a LOT of exposition that happens between the events of the major characters' own albums.

For 4-5 issues (2 of them 'Giant-Sized Avengers') they go about talking about the backstories of two characters: the Vision (some interest) and Mantis (not interesting). And It's long. I mean... boringly long, with the people talking and looking as they travel through time... GUH!

I hoped that Kang's appearance would add some interest, but not really. The death of the Swordsman also added nothing (he's back in 1 issue-ish). Captain America shows up, just to tell us of the cool stuff in his title.

Frankly, it was not TERRIBLE, but it wasn't good.

I will rank this a 2/5. It's much more boring than a 3.

[Kinda Book Report] New Mutants 2019 Vol 1 by Marvel Comics

So you should know by now that I like the X-men! The New Mutants were a title I never got into as a child (mostly because I had to limit the number of titles I could follow). But I really liked the team and wanted to read more. They inclusion and crossover with the X-men were cool. However, there are no cheap omnibus I found...

Until this one I bought second-hand from my local library.

This is everything I hate about modern comics: Simple, predictable storylines. Shallow characters. Lack of context.

Most of the book the team "fights" against a website called "Dox" that outs mutants and their location. The first beat features a group of unknown meeting another group of unknown. No introduction to the characters or their powers. There is a lot of existential sitting around and talking. Then when the action (finally begins) there is killing aplenty.

WTF???

The only resolution we have is when the Black King (Sebastian Shaw) meets a cartel boss and slags him. The NM are nowhere involved!

The art is good. Is consistently good, but with a shitty, incoherent, and uninteresting plot. Meaningless action resolved without reason and without any forethought by the team. They're there and shit gets resolved. One time Magik arrives and teleports them all out before they get into any real trouble. It's trash.

Because of the art, I will give it a 2/5.

[Kinda Book Review] Essential Xmen 7

Continuing the run of my youth... with this new chapter.

Here we start after the Mutant Massacre and it's fallout. The XMen are on the run, with many wounded mutants and team members. It's a good follow up and has some decent emotional moments.

Here the team adds Psyloche before she becomes Asian with the psychic knife. She's a blind woman with cyber eyes given to her by MOJO. That is a crazy look ahead to reality TV and 24h cycle of TV. I remember reading that in the 80s and thinking how crazy and farfetched it seemed in 87 or 88...

And now...

This book concludes with the Fall of the Mutants, which kills the xmen and returns Storm's power to her (finally). But it left an ashen taste in my mouth... I remember reading then and thinking it was cool... having missed a lot of the buildup. But while binge reading it... it feels like a quick and forced cross title. Unlike the massacre, the titles had nothing to do with each other. It was... another story...

Still no one gives a crap about Rachel...

I wondered about giving this a rating... it include the very good Fantastic Four vs Xmen where they save Shadowcat from becoming a ghost and vanish. A very good story all around...

With the highs and lows together, I will give it a 3/5.

[Kinda Book Review] X-men Essential Vol 6

Still going through the first ~250 issues of the X-men and now with volume 5.

Okay... The X-men and New Mutants return to Asgard where everyone gets some cool development again. Now we have a Secret Wars II crossover with Rachel receiving the Phoenix from the Beyonder, the introduction of Mojo, Lady Deathstrike, Freedom force, and the Mutant Massacre.

Now... If you never read those comics (they cover X-men, X-Factor, New Mutants, Power Pack, and Thor), this is at once, a delight to read and an absolute horror.

The delight coming from the delicate and complicated ballet where some groups come in and out of the Morlock tunnels, in small groups, a few at a time, then exit. Others (Thor) do things that affect everyone in the tunnels.

Horror because of the subject matter. A lot of people die. Not only "unnamed morlocks" but some that are known too. Even heroes do not escape unharmed: Shadowcat becomes insubstancial, Nightcrawler in a coma, Colossus is paralysed, and Angel gets pinned to a wall.

Vicious. Brutal.

I mean being able to read the whole thing in one place was well worth the price of the cover. I could not let this down. Okay, I did because I had to sleep and go to work...

The one storyline that, again pissed me off, was Rachel. At some point, she disappears and the X-Men don't seem to care what happens to her. She leaves and they move on. Okay, the Massacre begins, but having a "Where'd Rachel go" would've been nice.

This one get a 5/5. This is a masterclass in Comic Book storytelling, across ~10 issues. When you're done, you are scarred as a reader. It's so sad...

[Kinda Book Review] X-men Essential Vol 5

Still going through the first ~250 issues of the X-men and now with volume 5.

This collection moves after Secret Wars 1, the arrival of Rachel (Phoenix II), a lot of Hellfire Club, Storm losing her powers, the New Mutants becoming a frequent feature, New York as a sword-and-sorcery setting, Nimrod, X-Men and Alpha Flight with the begining of the Asgardian series, the Hellions, Magneto becoming a good guy...?

Now here we start with a series of really cool events, where the payoffs from vol 4 are falling into place.

This one is pretty entertaining and fun. The characters undergo several personal arcs: Rogue coming to terms with what she did to Carol Danvers, Storm losing her powers, Shadowcat becoming a solid team member, and Nightcrawler becoming the leader.

One subplot I really disliked was the dropping of the Shadowcat-Colossus romance following Secret Wars I.

Another plot I didn't feel went anywhere was the Rachel-Phoenix... It never seemed to have any resolution. She could kick a lot of butt but never integrated into the team.

Still, I loved this volume and read it with great delight. I'll settle on a 4/5.

[Kinda Book Review] X-men Essential Vol 4

Still going through the first ~250 issues of the X-men and now with volume 4.

So here we have the Brood (a storyline I did not enjoy), the Morlocks are introduced, Cyclops and Madelyne Pryor's Wedding, Storm becomes the leader of the Morlocks, Kitty's almost-wedding, and the X-men vs Dracula.

While most of it is fine, this is not the best. A lot of the events here have payoff in the coming volumes, but on their own, it is as exciting as the previous (or followup) volume. The drawing is fine and the storytelling good.

The biggest piece is the brood (aka the aliens/xenomorphs) that story did not grip me.

I'll settle on a 3/5. It's fine, a bridge to greater storylines.

[Kinda Book Report] Essential X-Men Vol 2

I finally found the final 2 Essential X-Men that I missed, allowing me to have all 10 "issues" (which covers ~1975-1992). I left comments about those in previous years, about #1. Since it's been a few years since I read them, I decided to treat myself to the whole series. From "Giant-Size X-men" to around X-Men 250.

There is something about this series that is just brilliant. When you read it all in a short period, you get to notice all the little side-plots and foreshadowing. Seriously, this is a masterclass in long-term plotting. Not only does the writing feel at the same time to be very fast-paced and slow-paced, with stories given time to rise to the front. From the Shiar Empire, to the Savage Lands, with team splits and returns, this is one never-ending series of comic writing an drawing (John Byrne is at the top of his game here and co-plots).

I cannot recommend it enough. I've been foregoing sleephours to read.

Now, the culmination of it all... The Dark Phoenix Saga... Dang... That shit is good.

That final issue, where the X-men fight the Imperial Guard on the moon to determine Phoenix's fate is gut-wrenching. The final exchange between Phoenix and Cyclops... It gets to me still.

She must die. But... she's such a great character. And the reasons for her to die and live... Sheer brilliance. Even after reading that issue several times... It gets me. Even knowning Jean would return later, it's still a punch to the gut.

I know several people hate Jim Shooter, but I love the man's work. How he cared for the characters and their integrity... Marvel even produced an alternative ending - that Claremont and Byrne wanted where Phoenix survived. To me, this felt more tragic. Yes, Phoenix had to die. I will have to write one day about how JS influenced how I write and create FOE adventures.

To follow-up this story... we go from Dark Phoenix to "Days of Futures Past" a distopian future I was first introduce to via the Marvel Super Heroes RPG... Sentinels everywhere, Sprite is Colossus' wife, Wolverine getting obliterated, the underhanded introduction of "Rachel"...

If you wonder the score... it's a solid 5/5. On all fronts. I can't wait to keep reading the continuation of the storylines...

[Kinda Book Report] Essential Astonishing Ant-man 1

Well... Most Marvel comics of that period with Stan Lee and Jack Kirby are usually pretty good. Then there is Ant-Man.

Hank Pym and (later in the story) Janet van Dyne can become small. Then later, Ant-Man becomes Giant-man as he can only become big. I don't know why they changed because Giant-Man is much crappier than Ant-Man.

These stories feel much more like the DC stories of the era than those of Marvel. Especially when you compare to Spider-man or Iron-man. In short, they are just so bland and forgettable. Ant-Man and Wasp are NOT characters who can hold a series by their own. They make great characters as part of the Avengers, but on their own... *yawn*

The art is fine and is perhaps the best thing about it. But the plots are simply not interesting. The villain uninspired. And the resolutions...

This book is a 2/5 and I'm generous. I was bored out of my mind.

[Kinda Book Report] Defenders Vol. 1

I finally got my hands on the first Defenders omnibus. I was looking forward to it.

The Defenders are the non-team superhero team, and it shows. Doctor Strange, Hulk, and Namor form the core of the group. Most of the stories lose time by bringing together these characters. Namor in particular provides very little that Hulk does not. When the Silver Surfer joins, it's even worse. Bunch of over powered characters who need Doctor Strange to solve what's happening while they punch stuff.

There are some highlights here.

First, the origin of the Valkyrie is given and her transformation over the issue is interesting. She starts off as a bad stereotype of a feminist, complete with predictable catchphrases. It took her a long time to grow into a full-on character (beyond this issue.)

Another highlight was the Defenders/Avengers cross-over where they deal with a plot from Dormammu and Loki. As the Defenders tried to free the Black Knight from being petrified. This was a six-issue plot. The worse part was the 6th "epilogue" when they travel in time to medieval Middle-East.

I think this one waffles between a low three and a high two. 2.5/5, which rounds out to 3/5.

[Kinda Book Review] Essential Spider-man vol3

Back to Marvel comic, with Essential Spider-man.

There is no surprise that Spider-man is the leading and best character from Marvel Comics. Not only is the main character, Peter Parker, relatable, but the cast of characters he has around him as interesting: Gwen, MJ, Harry, Flash, Aunt May, and even JJJ. The dynamics between them adds something to the stories.

Throughout this book, Peter is broke. He needs to find money for his rent or Aunt May. Being Spider-man is more of a hassle as it constantly makes him miss appointments and rendez-vous.

This book was definitely interesting. With major villains appearing, but especially Doc Ock and the Lizard.

I don't really have much to say about this one. It was enjoyable to read.

I'll settle for a score of 3/5. It was good but not great. There is nothing that really stands out, no major character changes or revelations.

[Kinda Book Report] Essential Thor Vol 7

I bought this last Essential during one of the Free Comic Book day sales. I haven't posted a Thor report in a while.

This book was odd, strange, and crazy with some sci-fi sotries. I mean one of the major plot going through most of the issues therein is the search for Odin who is somewhere in space. So they travel through space on a viking longship!

That may be the craziest thing... But at one point, they add weapons systems to the ship. Not like a balista, but laser canons and particle beams type thing. It look ridiculous.

One thing I love about these issues tho is the vibe of adventure. Everyone is up for adventure. Though sometimes, it seems the panels are a little too full of action, I won't fault it.

As a writer of adventure games, I felt quite inspired by a few of the arcs. Things I could adapt to various games or settings. Something that is quite surprising because usually the plots and stories do not adapt too well. So that was a pleasant bonus. A few of these stories had interesting twists I liked.

One thing that REALLY annoyed me was that the text was extremely dense AND it went all the way to the spine of the book, forcing me to force the book open. I did not like that. And it was not only in one place but through the 20+ issues.

In the end, despite some high points, this was a good effort. I can settle on a 3/5.

[Kinda Book Report] Essential Hulk Vol 5

Having read the previous volumes, check out my review of Vol 3 and Vol 4, which led my to volume 5.

The writing crew got into a rhythm and the stories go beyond Hulk smashing and walking away. Even if there is still a LOT of that going on.

The most interesting part of this story deals with the supporting cast around him and THEIR subplots. Major Talbot having lost his mind. The destruction and reconstruction of Hulkbuster base. General Ross acting like a genuine human being. Doc Samson trying to save Hulk/Banner.

As for villains, it's a little light: Abomination, the Gremlin, and a bunch of one-shotters.

Thinking back on it, it was a high 3/5 but not on par with any 4s, I'm good with that.

[Kinda Book Review] Secret Wars by Marvel Comics

When I got into secondary school (roughly middle school), I met a guy named Clint-G and we hit it off. He was big into comics and got me back into the hobby. He would tell me about some really awesome storylines I'd miss in the years between my switching between the French comics and the English version (about 10 years difference). I was hooked. One of the stories he told me about was that of Marvel's Secret Wars. From listening to him, this was just crazy-awesome and that idea stayed with me for years.

I bought myself a copy of the Marvel Super Heroes adventure/campaign for the Secret Wars and the scope was just crazy. Of course, I never got to PLAY that. And looking at that adventure book today, I find that it is extremely bad. I mean, the only "plot" is to replay what the comic did. You know... super-railroading the players... There is just no chance it would turn out remotely well.

Last year, I managed to find a really cheap copy of the mini-series on Amazon and nabbed it. I placed it on my stash of things to read with great interest. I placed it under my copy of DC's Crisis on Infinite Earth to savor later. I am a big fan of Jim Shooter's work and could not wait to delve into it.

Well... the actual story did not match the decades of anticipation. Thinking back to 1984, it may have been absolutely great and fantastic, but I kept finding the holes in the plot: distances and locations unclear, no one caring that blocks of Denver came to Battleworld, no one worries about why and how some aliens live on the planet. It is just... bad. I mean the plot crawls forward as the heroes try to understand what the Beyonder means and how they can get out of their current predicament. Add to this the mutant/racist subplot that was big in the 80s.

Everything feels shoehorned into the plot. They need a healer? Oh there's an alien! The villains find themselves fewer than the heroes? Look we pick up randos from "Denver". The story is completely resolved and explained in the final issue rather than doing so gradually where we are just unsure of whatever is going on.

So I'm left with a clear disappointment. I wanted for it to be great, and all I got was good. Trying to think back to the original release, this would have been pretty important. From the Secret Wars, we got Spider-man's black costume. She-Hulk in the Fantastic Four. And Magneto in a truce with the X-men. So the outcome was more important than the story itself.

The art is good, the writing is "fine", so my rating will land on a 3/5. I expected to rate this well above Crisis on Infinite Earth but DC's book was just leaps and bounds better.

[Kinda Book Review] Essential Avengers vol 4

Again back to Marvel Comics with another Essential-series book. This time, it was the Avengers vol 4. As a child, I found the Avengers stories to be highly uneven, and this book did not change my opinion.

Quite frankly, the book was "fine." And that means that there is very little that is memorable here. The art is fine. The stories are fine. The characters are fine. But nothing that really jumped out and got me very excited, it was... (as you guessed it) fine.

Perhaps the best part of the story is the crossover with Hulk, serving as a touchpoint with Essential Hulk vol 4. Whereas the Hulk's plot continues into the micro-world, the Avengers go on to deal with a different problem.

Fine rates an easy 3/5 and there is fairly little more to say about it.

[Kinda Book Review] Showcase Elongated Man vol 1

I picked this one up during a big comic sale wanting to read something different. Having read about the Elongated Man while reading the New 52 (reviewed part 1/4, part 2/4, and part 3-4/4). He was one of the characters whose arc I was interested in. So why not go to the source and read the earliest appearances of the character...

Yeah.

The story starts with a few cameos in the pages of flash. These are stories from the early 60s by DC. They are trying to write "mysteries" but they fail. The stories all go the same way. EM and his wife are somewhere and find a "mystery". EM then stretches around, finds the goons responsible, beats them up and win.

In the 500 pages of comic in this book, in no case does EM face against a real super villain. He has no enemy, no recurrent opponent. And no real storyline. Other heroes show up as cameos, with their own villains and they do not do much together.

The line art is mostly good, but oftentimes when EM is fighting, he stretches odd parts of himself and that takes a few moments to understand what is going on.

So I rate it a 2/5. Weak stories and enough odd drawings justifies this. Yeah, I'm good with a 2.

[Kinda Book Report] Essential Hulk 4

You know that feeling you have when you read something and go "this is very familiar." And as you keep reading you keep that sense of déjà vu. A series of simple, threadbare plots where Hulk goes and seeks to be left alone but he also continues going around the same people over and over.

Well... This feeling was well-deserved because I had already read it. Yup. One of the cool things about posting to this blog is that I can then go back and see what I read and thought about things, in the moment versus what I think about it right now. That previous time, in 2019, I did not rate the books at the time.

On a second reading, this is a forgettable book with a decent array of villains that each try to take on Hulk and beat him up. One thing that annoyed me is that Hulk's breathing ability goes from him flying around the Sun to being unable to stay in the depths of the ocean.

So where does this book stand rating-wise? I would rate it as a 3/5. It is "fine". The art is solid and decent but the plots are... well you are reading Hulk, so the situations and their resolutions are not very complicated.

It's Hulk.

[Kinda Book Report] Crisis on Infinite Earth

Earlier this year, the artist George Perez passed. So I picked up one of his seminal work: Crisis on Infinite Earth.

This was one of the first major cross-over events that we began to see in the 80s, and something that reintroduced me into the comics in the latter half of the decade with events like the Fall of the Mutants spanning multiple titles.

For those not in the know, someone is destroying entire worlds and universes. Right off the bat, the action begins with the entire universes swallowed into nothingness.

Now I will give a shout-out to my man LPJ. I kept joking about the 3 million characters of the Legion of the Superheroes not making much of a story... Well I stand corrected. This story succeeds and thrives by its large cast.

All right Perez is an amazing artist. His characters are well-and clearly drawn, with varied expressions, and most importantly, what is happening is clear and easily understood without a lot of narrative text. I like to be able to SEE what is happening by looking at the page. Art is 5/5.

The writing by Marv Wolfman is also top of the line. The story is never confusing, despite the ongoing mysteries: Who are the villains? What are their goals? How can they be stopped? Who will rise to the occasion? Characters get to act and get their time to shine. Having that many characters do something is a tour de force. No surprise, the writing is also 5/5. My one concern is I had

With time, the events were undone, but for a while, the DC universe was "reduced" to just one universe with some heroes gone and others rebooted. DC would do similar things later in the 2000s to clean up and shake up their universes.

So coming to a final rating? 5/5 Well worth it.