Marvel Comics Presents #75

The best segment of this issue didn't even really happen. It's all a dream of Franklin Richards and it focuses on his fears of his family being constantly targeted by Doctor Doom. This Dave Cockrum (Uncanny X-Men) penned and inked story is rather poignant. Has their ever been a story where Franklin gets in the middle of a battle and confronts Doom as to why why is he always hurting his daddy? If not, this story might be the closest we ever get to it! 

And if this idea happens sometime in the future, I hope I get contributor credit. Okay, at least a free autographed copy of the book. Sound good, Marvel?

I also liked the Meggan and Kitty Pryde centered Excalibur tale. It has them being held captive in the lighthouse while the rest of the team is away getting provisions on the mainland. It's a lot like Home Alone as these gunmen have zero idea just who they've taken hostage. 

The Weapon-X tale continues to go nowhere. The Shanna The She-Devil story looks to head into the final battle. I think the next chapter or so will be rather explosive. But this chapter still moved slowly. 

The artwork however, especially of an African priestess conducting a ritual, is rather alluring. Maybe it's the lack of clothes sported by the practitioner of black magic. Maybe it's the artwork of Paul Galacy (Master of Kung-Fu). Maybe it's Maybelline... Regardless of what it is, it's what helped bump this issue up into the Worth Consuming range.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Marvel Illustrated Books: Star Wars, Volume 1

  Last month at a comic book show in Raleigh, NC, I came across something that I never thought existed. It was one of the Marvel Illustrated Books from, you guessed it, Marvel Comics. This tiny pocket-sized paperback from 1981 contains 4 'never before published' comics from the original Marvel Star Wars series. 

    The book is near mint with pristine pages and the going price was $15. But, I managed to talk the dealer down to $10, mostly because he knew next to nothing about it and I promised I would do some research on this book and one day get back with him on it.
   
    I happen to have a complete run of the Marvel comic series under the Dark Horse trade title of 'Star Wars: A Long Time Age' and comparing every story from the adaptation of the first film up to the comic's version of Empire Strikes Back, again, it was confirmed that these are never before published Star Wars comics and perhaps the rarest of the bunch. 

Well, That last statement is partially true. Marvel Illustrated Books: Star Wars is comprised of 4 issues that for one reason or another, never made it into the actual series. They either didn't make a publication deadline or perhaps were rejected by Lucasfilm, who had final say over stories before they could be published by Marvel- IN THE STATES!!! (More on that shortly.)

   The first story called 'The Way of the Wookiee' takes place right before the events of Episode IV. In the prequel story, Han and Chewie pick up a shipment for Jabba the Hutt. However, when Chewbacca comes to the defense on an old Wookiee adversary, the smugglers find themselves betrayed by their spice distributor. 

    Then in another prequel tale, learn of how Princess Leia became adept with a blaster despite that her home planet of Alderaan forbids the use of weapons.

    The remaining two stories take place right after the destruction of the Death Star. First in 'the Day AFTER the Death Star' the Rebel Alliance almost loses their newest hero, when Luke Skywalker recklessly goes on a joyride to unwind from the post-celebration festivities. This was a really awesome story as in it, we learn the REAL reason Chewbacca didn't receive a medal in the final scene of Episode IV. 

    The final adventure is a very short one in which Luke must rescue Leia from Imperial forces on a diplomatic mission to a barren ice planet. I thought the main reason this story didn't see monthly publication status wasn't over length but because of the setting of the ice planet being too much like Hoth and Lucas might have been afraid that this might spoil what he had in store for Empire.
Turns out, I was wrong...

  Of the 4 tales in this book, 3 were published in the UK's Star Wars Weekly. It was common practice that if a story didn't make the cut by Lucasfilm, it wasn't scrapped but sent across the pond as the Marvel UK title wasn't restricted by the rules imposed by 20th Century Fox and George Lucas. The fourth story, about the ice planet, was short because it was the final chapter in a Star Wars serial published in the Marvel magazine Pizzazz, which was cancelled before this final chapter could see print. 

Speaking of rules, if you expect to see Darth Vader here, don't. Lucas was strict that the characters of Luke and Vader were not to met up prior to Episode V. But there is plenty of Imperial nasties and bounty hunters in this elusive Star Wars collection. A very enjoyable read with very good, but not great art, and fairly decent storytelling. As for rarity of this book, I was unable to find a copy at Milehighcomics.com and only one copy was available on eBay. Seller was asking for $55!

      Featuring artwork by Marvel/DC  legends Carmine Infantino, John Romita, Marie Severin, and Dave Cockrum along with being written and edited by Archie Goodwin and Jim Shooter this book is a Who's Who of some of the best talent to fill the bullpen at the House of Ideas in the late 70s. 

    Worth Consuming

     Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Uncanny X-Men: First Class, Volume 2: Knights of Hykon

   The First Class adventures of the Uncanny X-Men come to a close in this digest volume. The mystery of the people on the surface of the sun is solved when the self-proclaimed Knights of Hykon arrive on the planet earth seeking to make it their personal war games arena. The X-Men are caught in the middle of two warring factions that have a tendency of destroying the venues they play in. Once the Knights are finally disposed of, secrets about Jean Grey's new Phoenix powers will be revealed and the team will be left in tatters.

    The following story is a sequel to a two-part story first published in two issues of Uncanny X-Men from 1978 (and it's reprinted in this volume as well.) In the new tale, Banshee returns to his native Ireland and his ancestral castle after a dear friend is found dead in the family library. The deceased, which happens to be a leprechaun, is believed to have committed suicide. But former Interpol agent Banshee thinks foul play is involved. Along with Wolverine, Nightcrawler, and Colossus, the Irish X-Man will conduct an investigation that will explore the vast annals of Irish folklore and magic.

  UXM: First Class finished quite strongly in my mind. But like I mentioned in my review of volume 1, I think the series focus on Banshee, Nightcrawler, and Colossus, as opposed to more popular characters such as Storm and Wolverine, was the nail in this comic's coffin. The stories were extremely well written and the art was fantastic. The Chris Claremont/ Dave Cockrum classic tale was also excellently well done. And why wouldn't it?! Those guys are masters of their craft. I just hate that that story ended with a darn cliffhanger.

    Worth Consuming

   Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.