Marvel Zombies: The Complete Collection, Vol. 3

I can't tell you the number of times I've grabbed this book, only to put it right back down. That's because in this, the 3rd volume of collected Marvel Zombies tales, there's also a Halloween Special included. I've had this book for several years and always keep forgetting in October to read it. Well, not this year. I made sure that it was the first thing I grab for my 2024 Halloween reads! 

Before celebrating All Hallow's Eve with the undead heroes of the Marvel Universe, there's several minis and one-shots to experience. All of them bloody. All of them rated for mature audiences.

• The contagion finds its way to the universe of the Marvel Apes. According to a traveller from the future, the key to preventing the zombie virus from taking root in Earth-8101, a group of heroes led by the Iron Mandrill must protect that world's version of Doctor Doom!
• The source of the zombie infection is finally revealed.
• Howard the Duck and a Machine Man must travel through various time periods of several universes to collect samples of the zombie virus in hopes of irradiating the threat to Earth-616.
• Howard then returns with a squadron of some of the biggest oddball heroes of the multiverse, led by Dum Dum Dugan, to prevent a world in which a Third Reich of Zombie's won World War II from taking over Earth-616.
• A Special Forces team is sent to quell a zombie invasion begun at Project PAGASUS.
• Finally, a mysterious female survivor of the undead outbreak, teaches her son about Halloween.

Karl Kesel, Fred Van Lente, Frank Marraffino and Peter David are the writers who dreamed up this anthology of terror. It's artists such as Todd Nauck, Alessandro Vitti and Kano who brought these nightmares to vivid life. I used to joke how a single issue print run of Robert Kirkman's Invincible must have caused shortages of red ink because of all the blood. I've thinking that this book might have attempted to break that record.

I must have bought this book for the Halloween special. Completing a run of the Marvel Zombies books has never been one of my comic book collecting goals. I've read a couple of volumes previously and while it's a fun scare compared to some of the more secular Marvel Horror titles, there's still a lot of death and destruction. I think it's more shocking when the carnage is caused by or thrust upon beloved icons of your youth. It's definitely more disturbing. 

Rating: 6 out of 10 stars.

Spider-Man: Spider-Verse- Spider-Ham (Family Comic Friday)

 

I've been sitting on this book for a while. With the release of No Way Home this weekend, I thought now would be the appropriate time to review it. 

Starring that scene-stealer of Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse, Spider-Ham has been a previous featured character of Family Comic Friday. Introduced in the 1980s, Peter Porker was a spider who gains the powers and features of a pig after being bitten by a radioactive Aunt May!

Spider-Ham has long been a kids feature starting with his first appearance in Marvel Tails: Starring Peter Porker: The Spectacular Spider-Ham one-shot from November 1983. Reprinted in this volume, that first comic also starred animal versions of the Hulk and Captain America.

Shortly after that initial appearance, Spider-Ham returned a couple years later in a short-lived but very well received series under Marvel's all-ages STAR COMICS imprint. Sadly none of those issues are reprinted here. I say sad because I am still missing a few issues from that run. 

After cancellation, Spider-Ham starred in about 3 dozen shorts in the back of the Spider-Man reprint title, Marvel Tales. A trio of those stories are added to this book. There's also the first modern starring a team of Spidey variants called the Web Warriors, a teen rated tale set firmly within the confines of the Spider-verse. Lastly, Spider-Ham's movie inspired Spider-Man annual is included. 

I was okay with the inclusion of the Web Warriors story. But that annual is a bit of a stinker. I've read and reviewed it before as it's a book I own in my personal collection. The first story is all over the place. The follow-up starring Porker and Howard the Duck is just too meta to enjoy. Maybe it's cause I am looking at everything in this book being enjoyed by a family as a whole as to why I am more negative than previously reviewed. But those later stories are too complicated for readers under 15 to enjoy. There's a bunch of mash up characters that only the parents will know and appreciate. Plus, the whole existential thing between discussed by Spider-Ham and Howard is something that even the adults might get confused on. 

I understand that this book is trying to show a progression of Spider-Ham through the years. But I would have rather had more of the older stuff included. Keep the Web Warriors thing. And maybe just show a fraction of the stories from the annual. This collection starts off so well and then shows how lame Marvel Comics has gotten in the past 5 years or so. I can't understand why Marvel kills DC in sales. The talent at the House of Ideas just isn't up to par of 75 previous years of artists, writers and colorists. If it wasn't for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, I don't think Marvel COMICS would be relevant anymore!

A collection of Spider-Ham tales that span the ages. Just not something that could be shared for family members of all ages.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Essential Howard The Duck, Vol. 1

Other than a certain first appearance by a super girl, this book was the oldest item on my wish list until just recently. This volume covers the entire Steve Gerber run of the groundbreaking Howard the Duck comic from the 1970s. Gerber had problems with deadlines and was replaced after issue #27. If the quality didn't suffer, the creative juices surely did with Gerber's dismissal. Howard was stuffed just 4 issues later.

With the debut of 1986 box office BOMB- Howard returned for a few more issues with original numbering. But like I said, the live-action film starring Back To The Future's Lea Thompson was a massive stinker and Howard's time was once again cut short. 

There was also a Howard the Duck Magazine that lasted 9 issues. It featured more edgier stories that even the envelope-pushing comic couldn't skirt pass the Comics Code. Those are harder to find and more expensive. Yet despite this book being listed as volume 1, with the elimination of Marvel's it seems like I'll never get the rest of Howard's story. But that's actually not the case. About 5 years ago, Marvel re-issued 4 volumes of full color material starring the grumpy mallard. So, I might be able to get everything else on my wish list without going broke.

The original Howard the Duck was a throw-away character in the pages of Man-Thing. LITERALLY! But he feel into our hearts as well as down-town Cleveland in the very first pages of his own title. Howard The Duck was a reflection of the odds and loose ends of the late 70s. With the end of Nixon and the completion of the Vietnam War, America was fractured and the whole world seemed ready to just fall to pot. And Howard was there to point out all our problems. 

From parodying some of Marvels greatest heroes of the time period to mocking Star Wars, Big Apple vigilantism and the 1976 election, nothing was safe in Steve Gerber's hands. This collection isn't perfect. There's some slang terms and jokes that in 2020 would have gotten Gerber cancelled. But I see the intention on Gerber's part to point out a lot of the flaws of 1970s society.

This was a series that also experimented with creative writing. There's one issue that's nothing but essays. (Check out a cameo first appearance of the main characters of Vertigo's Nevada). For the most part, I enjoyed the pathways Gerber explored. But I hated what he did with the ahead of it's time inter-species relationship between duck Howard and human Beverly. I don't want to spoil things but Gerber leaves things ill-fated. That's all I'll say...

A book ahead of it's time that will be honored for all-time in the hearts of comic book collectors and historians. 

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Spider-Man Annual Presents: Peter Porker: The Spectacular Spider-Ham #1

Peter Porker is back! After stealing all the scenes of last year's Into The Spiderverse, the Spectacular Spider-Ham returns to print! 

An Inter-dimensional mishap on earth-616 involving the Ringmaster has resulted in a host of Peter's enemies to take refuge throughout the multiverse. With the help of Spider-Guin, Spider-Ham must gather his foes who are going on crime sprees on new and very different earths.

I know that this was a one-shot story. But it set things up for a potential new Spider-Ham series; which is something I very much would like. Black Cloud's Jason Latour penned a good story. But it was the artwork of All-New Doop's David LaFuente that really won me over.

There was a second story in this annual. But other than some very clever modern Marvel parodies of more recent heroes and villains turned into animals, I could have done without this yarn. In the middle of yet another universe rebooting crisis, Spider-Ham and Howard the Duck sneak into a bar and share a drink while pining philosophical over the Buddhist-like reincarnation sure to happen with the Marvel Universe. It read like a Grant Morrison story. That would okay if only I wanted to purchase and read a Grant Morrison story. But I only wanted a soft-hearted funny animal parody!!!

This book was available with several amazing covers. But the cover I choose was a no-brainer. I went with the wonderful 'Spiderverse' version crafted by John Tyler Christopher. It was just so classic. 

I loved the first act. I rather had an extra 6-8 pages added to it instead of that mind-boggling of a downer second tale. I really do hope that Marvel brings back Spider-Ham in an all-new title. Just please don't make it in the style of that last piece. Cause I will not buy it if you (Marvel) do!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.