Marvel Comics Presents #31

A new series starring Excalibur, the British mutant superhero team, begins in this issue! I am so excited! I've have the complete first series run. To have an all-new (to me) story to read is such a treat. And such a treat the first chapter was!

The team gets attacked on their home turf by a group of cartoony characters called the Loonies! Based on those beloved Looney Tunes characters from Warner Bros., these Loonies are a little bit psycho and a lot bit deadly!

Adding to my enjoyment of this issue, Coldblood gets ever more closer to a final confrontation with the Big Boss. The Havok story starring Wolverine, thankfully comes to an end. And Black Panther gets a big ole gut punch when he is given a handwritten letter by his mother!

After a couple of very poorly produced issues, quality has returned to MCP with all 4 stories!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Marvel Comics Presents #30

We've made it to 30 issues of Marvel Comics Presents. To celebrate the milestone, Marvel went completely hoo-hum.

The Havok story continues to be the WOLVERINE & Havok story. 

Black Panther gets the tar beat out of him and spends almost the entire chapter recuperating in his invisible Quinjet while South African talking heads brand the Avenger a war criminal.

This issue has a uptick with the Coldblood story as the Cyborg solider continues to find out about his erased past as well as get closer to the scumbag who betrayed him.

Lastly in the one-and-done story, we've got a character named Leir. He's an ancient Irish god that I know nothing about. It's a standard Dungeons & Dragons type tale. Nothing impressive. Nothing memorable.

Hopefully things in this anthology series will pick up quickly!

Rating: 4 out of 10 stars.

Marvel Comics Presents #29

When the Havok story started a couple of issues ago, I noted that Wolverine was a part of that intro. I said in my review that I doubted that was the last of Logan we'd see in this story. This segment proved my prediction true! And he takes over the story!

Havok has been captured by that Egyptian death cult and is slated for death. Somehow sensing something is wrong, Wolverine goes to rescue his pal. I know that Wolverine can track people by smell. But can he really smell when someone gets into trouble 3 continents away? 

This just didn't seem that plausible. It also doesn't seem fair to Havok to have Wolverine steal his thunder. It's not like in 1989 that Wolverine didn't already steal the show in X-Men, have his own series and had already been the cover star focus on this book or anything.

Is Alex Summers that weak of a character?!

Rating: 6 out of 10 stars.

Marvel Comics Presents #27

Too bad that the stories starring these two inside can't be as awesome as this cover!

Again, it's the back-up features that shine in this issue. Stories starring cover stars Havok and Black Panther continue to be lame.

Coldblood, introduced in issue #26, gets closer to the mysterious woman who claims to know the truth. 

Meanwhile in the one-and-done story, a Native American character known as the American Eagle tours the nation's capital. He's been called in to assist with the investigation of a hate group known as the Knights of Saint Virgil. In a twist, the big boss of this hate group is referred to as the Peace Monger. Also, he is a black televangelist. So the character like a cross between Charlton/DC's Peacemonger, Al Sharpton and Jimmy Swaggert.

Again, Marvel Comics Presents is being very political. But with this story, it seems to skewer the left as opposed to right wingers. Did Marvel Comics present a peace offering with this story based on the number of complaints posted in the letters column of previous issues? It appears so. But it's a big difference from when we had Axel Alonso as the EIC. If you complained to him about something that didn't fit his narrative, Alonso would call you stupid and then tell you to 'F-off!' 

Thankfully, Axel Alonso has been cast to the wind. But his replacement, C.B. Cebulski doesn't seem to be any less inflammatory. 

Man, I miss the more civil days of the House of Ideas...

Rating: 5 out of 10 stars.

Marvel Comics Presents #24

Marvel Comics Presents says goodbye to one Summers and welcomes another to its pages.

The Cyclops crap-o-rama finally comes to a close. It was terrible. Why is X-Factor on my wish list when I hate Scott Summers (and Jean Grey) so?! Am I a glutton for punishment?

Cyclops' brother Xavok takes the reigns in a new multi-issue story. It starts off with Wolverine in a guest-starring role. Why do I get the feeling that this story is going to focus more on him and not Alex Summers?

The Black Panther story keeps dragging on for way to long. 

The last story- a single 8-pager- stars a character that I am not familiar with: Shamrock. A former contestant in The Contest of Champions, this Irish super-heroine returns to her homeland to reconcile with her estranged father. This story delves into her origin and complicated family dynamic. It was a very good story that I wish was longer.

Another MCP stinker. Only one out of 4 stories was any good and it was way too short!

Not Worth Consuming!

Rating: 3 out of 10 stars.