Eternals

Thanks to my having DISH Network and the FX channel, I finally saw Eternals. Of the post-Stan and Jack Marvel projects created by Jack Kirby, it's the one I know least about. I'm more of a New Gods person. Coming out during the height of the pandemic in 2021 and my god son not having very much interest in seeing it, I bided my time waiting for it to come out in an affordable format. 

Eternals isn't really a Marvel movie that you have to watch or else you risk losing your place in the Marvel Cinematic Universe timeline. If anything, it helps to explain how Earth has legends such as the Epic of Gilgamesh and Icarus with his flying too close to the sun. Turns out it's all connected to the Eternals.

The Eternals are a group of powerful humanoid beings who are tasked by the mighty god-like Celestials to assist planets with their development. The Eternals have a monstrous counterpart called the Deviants that prey on humanity, preventing the natural evolution of things. Throughout the ages, the Eternals become the stuff of legend by the civilizations they save to the point of becoming the inspiration for the Greek gods as they claim to be from the planet 'Olympia'. 

Around the 1500s, the Eternals wipe out the last of the Deviants in Central America. With their mission seemingly complete, the Celestials haven't retrieved the Eternals back to Olympia yet. With nothing to do but wait, the group fractures into smaller cliques, assisting humanity until the the day they are called home. Now it's 2021 and when a pair of Eternals named Sersi and Sprite are attacked on the streets of London by a Deviant welding  encountered powers and abilities, they must reunite to end the Deviant menace once and forever if they ever want to return to Olympia.

Eternals is one of the lowest grossing and lowest rated of the Marvel live action films. One complaint I remember hearing was that it was a 'woke' movie. True, it's got a multi-ethnic cast that puts Sesame Street to shame. But I didn't feel like this was a movie that was preaching at me. I did however feel like it was a picture that was just way too long.

With a run time of over 2 and a half hours, it would be okay if it was action packed. But you've got 9 characters having to rediscover one another. Each time a new Eternal is introduced, you get an exciting introduction. And then you get about 20 minutes of each character lamenting how hard it is to be immortal. There is also a lot of melodrama with the Eternals struggling to accept the new reality they all face when it's revealed that the Celestials are not really whom they have seemed to be for millennia.

If you were to trim about a half hour of the repetitive speeches, you'd have yourself a fine little picture. I was excited to watch a Marvel movie that I knew very little backstory. I just wish it was a bit more faster paste. There's a lot of time jumps with flashback scenes lasting 15-20 minutes each. Plus not having any established Marvel characters involved makes for this movie to have a really odd pace to it.

But to finally see Jack Kirby get the solo credit he deserves for this film was long due in coming. Too bad there wasn't a tribute scene of a photo of him somewhere in the background. But at least, Stan Lee didn't steal the limelight from the King.

Rating: 6 out of 10 stars.

Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos #25

During another important mission, Nick Fury is separated from the rest of his team. In this midst of everything, Fury's has sustained a head injury. Now as his Howlers search for their missing leader, Fury imagines his allies are the enemy and continues to evade important medical help.

A great psychological thriller by Stan Lee. It ranks up there with the original D.O.A. starring Edmund O'Brien or some of Hitchcock's earliest stuff. Great art by Dick Ayers with a sinister looking cover by the King, Jack Kirby!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

Essential Avengers, Vol. 1 (2025 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

Comic Book Quiz Time: True or False - the Fantastic Four appear in the first issue of The Avengers.

The answer is TRUE. In fact, Marvel's First Family play a very large role in the formation of Earth's Mightiest Heroes becoming a superhero team. 

The Norse god of mischief, Loki, would like nothing more than to defeat his boastful half brother Thor. However, due to being banished to a forbidden zone within the Seven Realms, Loki has to use a proxy via his magical inclinations to defeat the god of Thunder. The chosen lackey is none other than the Incredible Hulk who is duped into destroying a train track after Loki used an illusion spell to make the green behemoth believe there was dynamite about to explode.

Using a ham radio, the Hulk's teenager sidekick, Rick Jones attempts to summon the Fantastic Four for help, as they had dealt with him previously. However, the Fantastic Four must decline and they recommend Jones summon Thor, since he's a heavy hitter. You'd think this is just what Loki was hoping for. Only his ultimate trap is far from set. So when Rick Jones attempts to radio Thor, his transmission is received instead by Iron Man and Ant-Man and the Wasp. 

Eventually, Thor joins the fight against the Hulk with the other heroes. Rick explains that the Hulk is innocent of the mass destruction and Thor with assistance from the All Father, defeats Loki. Enjoying their adventure together, the heroes, along with the Hulk, decide to make this a regular thing. With suggestion of the Wasp, the team take on the name of the Avengers and comic book history is made.

Marvel characters had already been interacting with each other for a couple of years prior to the debut of The Avengers. As mentioned earlier, the Fantastic Four attempted to defeat the Hulk in issue #12 of their first series. Spider-Man asked the FF for a job in his first solo issue. With each of these crossovers, Marvel developed a cohesive universe which was a delight to readers.

As fans were demanding more of such adventures, Stan Lee got the idea to develop a group team title that would hopefully introduce readers to some of the struggling (in popularity) heroes and hopefully enticed them to pick up their solo books as well. Besides, DC has been having similar success with it's flagship group title, Justice League of America. Thus in Stan's mind, what was good for the goose must be good for the gander.

By issue #4, the Hulk departed the Avengers feeling hated and unwanted by his teammates and the remaining Avengers added the World War II legend, Captain America, since frozen in an iceberg, to the roster. Thor, Iron Man, Ant-Man now going as Giant Man, the Wasp and Captain America: they may not have been the original lineup. But they are considered by many to be the most iconic membership of the team's 60 year plus history.

Jack Kirby was Stan Lee's go-to artist and collaborator whenever a new project arose. Kirby was allowed to select the original roster of the Avengers. When asked in interviews years later why he went with the 5 characters that made up the Avengers by the end of issue #1, the King responded 'they were all characters that I had created' and was comfortable drawing. Plus, Kirby felt that he'd receive a higher working wage if he used only characters that he had created previously at Marvel. Familiarity and money might have been the reasons why The Sub-Mariner became a one-time adversary of the Avengers as well as the return of the Sentinel of Liberty, Captain America.

By issue #8, Kirby became bored with the title, as he often did, and went on to plot and pencil other projects at the House of Ideas. Don Heck took over as the series' regular artist. The co-creator of such Avengers stalwarts as Iron Man and the Wasp, Heck would oversee the team's biggest roster shake up in Avengers #16 when Captain America would now lead the team, comprised of former baddies Hawkeye, The Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver. Heck would stay on until issue #40. Dick Ayers inked a majority of the first 2 dozen issues with lettering completed by Artie Simek at Sam Rosen. 

Completing this review completes Task #14 (A Volume of Marvel Essentials or DC Showcase) of the 2025 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Jack Kirby: The Epic Life of the King of Comics (A Madman Re-Read)

After reading Tom Scioli's biography of Stan Lee, I wanted to revisit his account on the life and times of frequent Lee collaborator, Jack Kirby. There were 2 questions I wanted to answer: 1) how much comic book history is repeated between the two graphic novels? and 2) whose account of the early days of Marvel Comics seems the more honest? 

For the first question, not a whole lot is repeated between the two books. In the two volumes, we see how Stan and Jack first met, why Jack was fired from Atlas, Jack's return to Marvel, Jack's departure for DC and that's about it. No panels seem swiped. The dialogue in the two books is differing. If you read one book and then the other, you will not feel like you were gypped. Though written, illustrated and even lettered by the same creator, the Jack Kirby biography and the Stan Lee account are completely different.

For question #2- I believe Jack Kirby. For one moment do I not doubt that Stan Lee loved the fans. He was an entertainer and he knew that if not for the readers of his comics, he and the rest of the Marvel bullpen would be out of a job. I also believe that Stan cared very deeply about his staff. But when given the chance to excel over them, it's my opinion that Stan Lee would connive, back-stab and steal the glory whenever possible. 

When it comes to Jack Kirby, was he hardheaded? Absolutely. Did he make some horrible business decisions? No doubt. However, a lot of Kirby's trouble was based on trying to be a good provider for his family without the benefit of having a good friend that he could rely on for good advice. I think if the team of Kirby and Joe Simon still existed in the 1960s, Kirby wouldn't have received a screw job from both Stan Lee and the high-ups at Marvel years later when the company began making incredible profits from licensing everything from actions figures to bed sheet sets.

I still love Stan Lee's work. But having now read 2 graphic novel accounts of his life, I have less respect for the Man behind the curtains. I hate to think that the way Stan was mistreated and abused by his caretakers in the last couple of years of his life was karma getting back at him for how he treated Kirby and others. Yet, if Stan Lee's life was plotted out like one of the Marvel co-creator's many, many comic scripts, that ironic twist would have been taken straight from the Stan Lee playbook. 

Since I've read Jack Kirby's biography before and wrote a detailed review that I feel still speaks for how I feel about the book, I'll end my reflection here. Nothing new to add and I would hate to repeat myself. 

Both Tom Scioli biographies are fantastic reads that should be read as a companion set!

Weird Wonder Tales #18 (2024 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

Weird Wonder Tales was just one of the many horror titles that Marvel published in the early 1970s thanks to the lessening of restrictions on such titles by the Comics Code. There was only one problem with these type books in the eyes of 1970s readers: based on the reprinted material inside, the Marvel horror anthologies were tame compared to what DC and Charlton were putting out. These stories were also way past G-rated compared to the horror material Marvel was distributing in magazine format which had some mild nudity and swears in them. 

Starting with issue #19, Marvel made the one-time Avenger Doctor Druid the series host, hoping that continuity would earn readers. Unfortunately, the experiment was a failure and Weird Wonder Tales was cancelled 4 issues later with issue #22. The ultimate irony is that nearly 50 years later, many of Marvel's horror anthologies from the 70s are sought out by collectors as the reprints they contain are affordable alternatives to the original issues from the 50s and 60s. This was the last issue under the title's original format.

In this issue there are 2 stories. The cover story, (I Created) Krang!, is a double sized giant monster story by Stan Lee and brother Larry Lieber with art and inks by Jack Kirby and Dick Ayers. A scientist seeking to use enlarged insects as environmental replacements for fuel burning vehicles travels to Europe where a rare tree might hold the key to gigantism. The assistant steals some of the resulting formula and puts it atop a seemingly harmless ant. However too much is applied and the ant grows to the size of an elephant. Even worse, the ant has developed super intelligence, forcing the scientist to make more formula in order for Krang to create an army of oversized insects and thus conquer the world!

The backup feature combines horror and ancient myth. From the early 1950s, 'The Cartoonist's Calamity' was featured in the pages of Venus #17. The story stars the character of Aphrodite. Growing bored with life as a goddess, the daughter of Zeus comes to Earth where under the name of Venus, she becomes the editor of a struggling fashion magazine. In this tale, her head cartoonist Jimmy Rogers has been acting erratically. Venus goes on to discover that Jimmy has been moonlighting for a horror comic; only now Jimmy's terrifying visions have come to life and are driving their creator insane!

Written and illustrated by Bill Everett, the horrors Jimmy Rogers creates seem ripped directly from the sketchbook of Basil Wolverton. When it comes to the lettering, it must have been by the same fella that crafted the stylized font for the word 'Comics' on the Action Comics logo. Just about every speech bubble using that style instead of italics for expressions of disbelief and shock!

The material in this book might not be the most terrifying horror title to ever grace market shelves. But this was a 1970s horror anthology that has since earned the respect of collectors, if not about 5 decades too late. 

Cover by Jack Kirby, Klaus Janson and Danny Crespi.

Completing this review completes Task #13 (A Horror Comic) of the 2024 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD #16 (2024 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

In the 15th issue of Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD, the super spy was killed off by a gun-toting assassin named Bullseye. The death of Nick Fury marked the end of the spygame comic despite a 'To Be Continued' tagline. 

However, fans would soon learn that you can't keep a good spy dead for long as Fury would reappear in the pages of Avengers #72 a year later in 1970. Obviously, Bullseye didn't off Nick Fury. It was one of those handy-dandy Life Model Decoys that kicked the bucket. (A small aside. Has there ever been a storyline where a LMD thought it really was Nick Fury and once faced with the real McCoy the android went berserk and took over for the director of SHIELD? That would be an awesome story! If it has been done; where do I find this amazing tale?)

At about the same time Nick's death was being addressed with the Avengers, Marvel decided to bring back Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD. Instead of a new volume starting at issue #1, the House of Ideas decided to continue on with issue #16. However instead of rehashing what occurred in Avengers #72, Marvel inexplicably decided to reprint a trio of Fury's very first SHIELD story line with material that appeared in Strange Tales #135-138.  Featuring scripts by Stan Lee, plotting and layouts by Jack Kirby and final art by John Severin. Let's not forget lettering by 'Artful' Artie Simek! Issues 17 and 18 contained reprinted material from Strange Tales as well. The only new material were the covers. Marie Severin penciled this cover as well as #17. Big brother John assisted Herb Trimpe for the finale cover.

If these 3 issues were Marvel's ways of testing the waters for interest in a new SHIELD, it didn't work. After a decade that saw a glut of super spy and Cold War clock & dagger properties, the 1970s signaled an cooling off period for the genre. Nick Fury would pop up in other titles, especially the pages of Captain America. He'd also partake a few solo missions in some of Marvel's showcase series. 

With the Reagan 80s bringing the Cold War into the 21st century and beyond with futuristic programs like Star Wars, interest in the clandestine adventures of Col. Fury and SHIELD reignited. He took on SHIELD after discovering the agency had been corrupted by ROXXON in Nick Fury Vs SHIELD. Then in 1989, Fury starred in his first of 3 graphic novel team ups with the X-Man Wolverine while also starring in the third Volume of Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD ( volume 2 was another reprint series) which ran for 47 issues.

Classics. But when I bought this I was hoping for the rest of the story. Not reprints.

Completing this review completes Task #9 (With the Word 'Agent' in the Title) of the 2024 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Super Powers #6

Location: Darkseid's lunar fortress

Event: a battle royale between the heroes of the Justice League and the villainous New Gods of Apokolips.

Reason: the fate of the earth stands in the balance.

So you're probably thinking, how are these characters all fighting on the moon? Only Superman, Green Lantern and maybe Wonder Woman have the ability to survive in space without oxygen. Turns out that Darkseid's fortress is located in an abandoned section of the moon that contains breathable air. In other words, this is the old celestial sanctuary of the Inhumans from the Marvel universe!

The idea behind Kirby's Fourth World was that the Norse and Greek gods established by the King when he worked over at the House of Ideas had faded away. Here to stay was the benevolent citizens of New Genesis and the wretched inhabitants of Apokolips. Kirby often placed elements of his fallen Marvel creations in the pages of his Fourth World works. If I'm not mistaken, Thor's hammer and Captain America's shield are seen in the opening scene of New Gods #1, depicting the last battleground of the old gods. Here, In the last issue of Super Powers, Volume 2, Kirby has destroyed the Inhumans or at least had them retreat in disgrace from the mighty presence that is Darkseid.

The action was good. Although, there was too much banter, especially from the heroes during the battle for my tastes. The betrayal of Desaad was great. However, I felt that the ending of the first Super Powers series was much better. This one was kinda abrupt and lacked some of that smoothness in terms of pacing.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Super Powers #5

Superman and Firestorm have actually succeed in destroying the Doom Seed in Italy. The secret is to not travel back to the present day via the pod. However, Darkseid's plan can still work if 4 of the seeds survive. Thus it's up to Batman, Robin and The Flash to eliminate another seed. It's a good thing that the Flash can build up enough speed to travel through time. Only, their trip through time will be anything but a cake walk as instead of going into the past, the heroes wind up in the future; one where Darkseid has conquered the Earth. 

Having the Man of Steel and the Nuclear Man killing one of the seeds adds an element of suspense to this issue. Without the plot device of needing 2 of the 5 seeds to be deactivated, anything Batman, Robin and the Flash do in this issue would be moot points. It still doesn't really matter as there is still 1 issue left of this miniseries. 

One thing I am missing from this volume as opposed to the previous Super Powers comic are the original quartet of villains. I really would like to see the Joker, Penguin, Lex Luthor and Brainiac involved somehow. However, since we saw them on the side of the heroes by series end, I think Darkseid would just smite them with his Omega Beams if he saw those 'traitors' again. Plus, having the 4 villains teaming once again with the Justice League would have diminished that awesome twist. Still, by not having some Earth bound DC villains in this book, whether they were figures in the Kenner toy line-up or not, takes away from the childlike wonder of the Super Powers brand. 

As much of a fan of Kirby's Fourth World, the biggest misstep in the short history of Super Powers was focus on Darkseid and his forces instead of producing more recognizable and more relatable baddies like Catwoman, Sinestro and Bizarro. Had the focus been different, we probably would be seeing the line run another 3 or 4 more years. Not creating all-new characters for the toy line was misstep #2. More on that when I review Volume 3!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Super Powers #3 (2nd Series)

Thanks to Darkseid's plan to turn planet Earth into a new Apokolips, the secret of the giant statues on Easter Island has finally been revealed! 

It's been nearly 40 years since this issue was released. So I don't think I'm really spoiling anything. Turns out these statues are actually petrified aliens. 

Okay. But how did they get there?

In the present day, Wonder Woman, Dr. Fate and Green Lantern are tasked with destroying Darkseid's doom seed which is situated on the tropical Pacific isle. Guarding the pod is the energy vampire Mantis. When one of the heroes touches the seed, which has already begun germinating, it sends everyone to the past where they encounter an alien invasion force. 

If you ask me, these aliens look familiar. VERY familiar. Anyone remember the Stone Men from Saturn? Those extraterrestrial foes that Thor battles in his debut in 1962's Journey Into Mystery #83. That's who those giants on Easter Island look like! I wonder if Jack Kirby was inspired by those stone monoliths when he penciled JiM #83. In a meta twist, could the King's Saturn monsters have inspired his Easter Island aliens? If I ever got the chance to go back in time to meet Kirby, this might be the one question I ask him. 

If anybody reading this review can confirm such, please leave a message in the comment section! I'm dying to know more about the design of this issue's aliens. 

Another fun issue in the true Jack Kirby style in the time honored Justice League of America formula.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Super Powers #1 (2nd Series)

Picking up from his defeat in Super Powers #5, Darkseid is more determined than ever to conquer the Earth!

Thanks to the scheming underling Desaad, Darkseid has unleashed 5 bio-engineered seeds that will burrow through the Earth's crust. Once the seeds reach the molten core, our planet's magma will flood the surface, creating a new Apokolips!

Armed with a new assortment of allies, the Justice League breaks up into 5 teams in hopes of destroying these seeds before they reach the Earth. Firestorm, Dr. Fate, Green Arrow and the Martian Manhunter join the original Super Powers lineup in order to stop Darkseid's plan. It's a global tour not to be missed!

Already off the bat, everything feels right about this series. All of the heroes make some sort of contribution. Albeit, most are rather small. Yet unlike the last series, it doesn't take 3 issues for Wonder Woman to actually say something and she's operating in the present and not in a theoretical situation. 

As for the villains, only Darkseid, Desaad and a couple of minor minions appear in the first issue. But I'm okay with that as that ensures an element of surprise when the heroes go to stop those destructive seed pods from taking root.

Paul Kupperberg is on scripting duties with Jack Kirby plotting and on art!!! Kupperberg is a writer that loves comics, and from the brief couple of times I met him, he also seems to have fun doing it! It really shows here. There's just such a different vibe with this series. I know it's early. However, I really feel like I'm in for a treat with this book as things are off to a heck of a start compared to that uneven start to issue #1 of series #1.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

Super Powers #5

The first Super Powers miniseries comes to a close with a double sized spectacular not just plotted by written and illustrated by the King, Jack Kirby!

First, the Justice League find themselves along with their biggest foes attached to a gigantic machine designed to sap their powers in order to fuel Darkseid's war machine. Then a forgotten New God frees both the heroes and villains, placing them in Brainiac's vessel in a final counterattack against Darkseid's forces. Add in a time warp or two. A look at the Metropolis of the year 10,000. Boom! You've got one heck of a great finale to a story that was really having a rough start.

My favorite part was having Lex Luthor, Brainiac, Joker and Penguin becoming good guys. I love how it's okay if they try to take over the world. But if someone else from another galaxy tries to do it then it's game on for becoming a hero. To see Batman and the Joker not just working together, but complementing each other- AS FRIENDS! It's just bizarre. Something that I've never seen before. 

I Love it!

Actually, I have kinda seen it before. In the final episode of Justice League Unlimited, the Justice League combines forces with the members of the Secret Society of Super-Villains to repel the onslaught of Darkseid and Apokolips. I thought that episode was great, especially with the ending where after defeating Darkseid, Batman rewards the baddies for their heroic efforts with a 5 minute head start before the Justice League apprehends them. That doesn't quite happen here. But thanks to Kirby's deft touch, the last couple of pages were things of beauty.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

Super Powers #4

The Amazons may have been defeated. But Brainiac isn't done yet! With his de-evolutionizing abilities given to him by warriors from Apokolips, the android villain uses it on Superman, turning him into the Caveman of Steel! 

Most of this issue is the Justice League trying to contain Superman and failing miserably. Green Lantern's power ring allows Superman to return to normal. However, the Kryptonian has to stay inside GL's force field or he returns to his primal self. Still, with this small hindrance, the now complete forces of Super Powers characters, minus Robin who is on patrol duty in the JLA satellite, looks to give Brainiac the beating he so richly deserves. 

AND THEN DARKSEID ARRIVES! 

With how Kirby has set the players on the board and the fact that he's not just plotting the story in issue #5, but also writing and drawing the whole shebang, I can't wait to see what is in store for the finale!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars

Super Powers #3

Brainiac finally arrives on Earth to enact his plan of global dominance thanks to those new powers he's been given by Darkseid's disciples. Wonder Woman has become leader of the Amazonian army, driven blood thirsty thanks to Brainiac's de-evolution ray and the women warriors have begun an invasion of Earth. The plan looks to be working. That is until the combined forces of the remaining active members of the Justice League arrive on the scene. 

But wasn't Batman, Robin, Hawkman and Superman imprisoned into an endless limbo conjured by the Joker? Well, yes- they were. However, the woman Superman thought to be Lois Lane was actually the Joker's new therapist in disguise. With seemingly endless time on her hands, the doctor has managed to do something nobody thought possible: she's cured the Clown Prince of Crime! Unable to deal with the prospect of being in his right mind, the Joker ends the torture and banishment of the heroes, thus granted them a chance to defeat Wonder Woman's forces. 

This was definitely a predicament I didn't see coming. It can only come from the mind of Jack Kirby who never was afraid to play around with conventional norms. I could just see someone like Julius Schwartz or Dick Giordano telling the King that he couldn't make the Joker sane and Kirby's response was 'Just you watch me!' I'm not sure where the next issue is going to wrap things up. I remember owning and trying to read them as a 7 year old kid, this Super Powers miniseries. Kirby's work has always been high school level work and I remember just not enjoying it as much as I thought I should. But now as a middle-aged adult who has come to appreciate Kirby's genius, I've been enjoying giving this book a second try. I don't remember a lot of what I've been reading and despite some uneven plotting, I've thought the art and most of the plot have been quite good. 

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Super Powers #2

After seeing success in the previous issue, Lex Luthor and the Penguin both get greedy in exerting their new powers over their foes in the Justice League and wind up failing miserably. (They've both now been marooned to a neither dimension, awaiting their fate based on their defeats.) Brainiac hasn't yet gotten to Earth yet, so the jury is still out on his performance with powers on loan from Darkseid.

The Joker is the only villain earning the praises of Darkseid's quartet of warriors. Having banished Batman, Robin and Hawkman to limbo, where they are being tortured, the fractured brain of the Clown Prince of Crime seems ideal for the many torments he's subjected his arch enemies to. But he might have gone too far in adding Superman and Lois Lane to the mix!

Of the 8 heroic members of the original Super Powers line-up, once again, Wonder Woman is noticeably absent from the action. Brainiac plans to use her as the generalissimo of an Amazonian army that will take over the world in order to ready our planet for Darkseid's arrival. Brainiac is present on maybe 2 pages of this book. 3 tops. But he's a passive player at the moment. Princess Diana appears in maybe 1 panel of those pages. Of a 24 page book! 

I know that Wonder Woman is going to feature heavily in the next issue. But is her absence from the first half of this miniseries been due to saving up for her big scene? Or was Jack Kirby, Joey Cavalieri OR BOTH, just not a big fan of Wonder Woman? 

So far, things have been really uneven in this, the first Super Powers miniseries. The key to the success of predecessor comic Justice League of America was equally splitting the team up into equitable sequences of action. We're 50% through this story and so far only 75% of the villains and 87.5% of the heroes have done enough to earn a participation trophy in terms of progressing the plot. I remember not being a fan of this series as a kid, considering how great the toy line and the mini comics were. I'm at a loss as to why things don't seem to be pandering out so well, especially since this is a Kirby production.

Maybe it gets better in the third act.

Rating: 5 out of 10 stars.

Super Powers #1 (2024 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

While Jack Kirby created a sizable chunk of the mythos of the comic book industry, he was not very well compensated for it. Some of that was because of how poorly comic book creators were paid for their work. That was the result of being employed in a young industry that didn't have copyright protections yet built in for its workers. A bit was due to poor business arrangements made by Kirby himself, as he was constantly trying to provide for his wife and children. Getting fast bored on his projects didn't help matters for Kirby much either. Sadly, a large portion was because others publicly proclaimed themselves the sole creative genius behind the characters that were like childhood friends to comic book collectors such as myself. 

1984's Super Powers Collection was one of the few times in Jack Kirby's illustrative career that he received both royalties and long overdue credit for some of his DC Comics creations. While the original team of villains were Brainiac, Lex Luthor, The Penguin and The Joker, both DC and toy manufacturer Kenner sought to add some heft to the toy line. However, the majority of Generation X kids weren't very familiar with Darkseid and his Apokolips cronies. Aside from a 1982 story arc starring the Legion of Super-Heroes, Darkseid hadn't really made that many appearances in comics since Kirby left DC in 1975.

Needing to get kids introduced to the New Gods characters, DC Comics released the first of 3 mini series devoted to the Super Powers Collection toy line produced by Kenner. In the first issue, Darkseid oversees a battle royale of his best foot soldiers. The quartet that remains are dubbed on the cover of this issue as 'The Disciples of Doom.' These fighters are given portions of the leader of Apokolips' power and ordered to invade Earth. 

To claim Earth in the name of Darkseid will not be an easy task as a band of super heroes led by Superman and Batman protects the planet from threats both terrain and extraterrestrial. Each newly empowered warrior selects an arch enemy of the Justice League to carry out their invasion orders. Lex Luthor is given the power to manipulate time. The Penguin gets the ability to control birds and to control minds; whereas the Joker is allowed to alter reality in his own warped image. The fourth villain bestowed new abilities is Brainiac. He is tempted with the chance to devolve a population into their most bestial selves in hopes that they might conquer the world through brutal force. However, the android baddie is in another solar system and cannot enact his part of Darkseid's plan until he re-enters Earth's atmosphere.

The first wave of Super Powers had 12 action figures total. 11 of those characters have active parts in the first issue. Wonder Woman is shown as part of Brainiac's plan to conquer Earth, as the race selected for the robot's experiment are the Amazons of Paradise Island. Other than a single page of hypothetical, the Themysciran Princess is notably absent from this issue.

Jack Kirby penciled the cover and crafted the plot which Joey Cavalieri scripted. Adrian Gonzales' pencils were inked by Pablo Marcos. Ben Oda lettered. 

Essentially a 24-page promotional comic for the Kenner line, the inside cover features a full color ad of the original 12 figure line-up with an action shot of a Superman action figure punching the lights out of an illustrated Lex Luthor in his iconic green and purple armor. 

Completing this review completes Task #27 (Based on a Toy Line) of the 2024 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Marvel Masterworks: The X-Men, Vol. 1

This volume collects the first 10 issues of Marvel's X-Men ever published. I'm pretty sure that I've read most, if not all of these issues prior. But I have never experienced them in such glorious remastered color!

These issues reflect what I think is some of the very best and very worst of the early days of Marvel Comics. These stories debuted starting in the fall of 1963. That's not quite 2 full years of the Marvel Age of Comics yet. While many of the heavy-hitters including Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four and the Avengers have already debuted prior to the creation of these mutants, X-Men is really the first Marvel series aimed directly at primarily a teen audience. 

Stan Lee pens these stories and the first 2 or 3 issues show that Stan the Man had zero idea how early 60s high schoolers talked. Spider-Man was great because the kids in the book talked like normal people. Johnny Storm, the first teen of Marvel Comics, used some slang and was annoying. But at least he was only 1 character. Here you've got 5 high school students who despite their mutant abilities, look like kids who would've gone to a prep school and yet they talk like rejects from Blackboard Jungle. 

Thankfully, by issue #5, the bad attempts at 60s teenage language are aborted. But now it's replaced by really bad romantic pinings internally expounded by Cyclops, Jean Grey and even Professor X! Thankfully, Xavier's unrequited love towards his under-aged student, Marvel Girl, is quickly forgotten about. Yet, lots of people complain about how out of touch DC writers were with the youth counter-culture during the 1960s. Sure, the House That Superman Built never could get the generation gap right in their books. However, these early X-Men comics are proof that Marvel was far from perfect when it came to American's youth.

Jack Kirby was the main artist of these 10 first issues. I love Jack Kirby. However, I could tell that the X-Men was definitely a title that Kirby felt at times was beneath him. Some issues, the artwork looks rushed. Especially issues 1,2 and 6. However, when the King got a chance to be less rigid, like the 10th issue which takes place in the prehistoric Savage Lands, you could tell that Kirby had tons of fun drawing all those different dinosaurs and cavemen. Plus, it was really neat getting to see Ka-Zar's re-entry into the Marvel Universe as a teen warrior out of time after having recently reads some of his original exploits as a Tarzan arch-type in the African jungle.

Compared to how the X-Men universe has unfolded today, 1963-64 mutantdom is rather plan. The Danger Room is rather unimaginative. For one training session, Marvel Girl is tasked with telekinetically sewing laces on a practice board! There's no more than a dozen mutants with Magneto being the big baddie and for a character that will one day become a Jewish symbol of resilience and resistance, the X-Men foe sure does have a lot of fascist ideas in the book.

These 10 issues were enjoyable stories. But they definitely were not the best Marvel had to offer at the time. Oddly enough, though X-Men will go on to become the flagship standard of heroes for Marvel Comics from the 1970s to the early 2010s, these guys were in serious danger of becoming swept under the rug for their first dozen years of existence. The X-Men don't really gain a devoted cult status until 1975-76 when Len Wein, Dave Cockrum and a neophyte writer named Chris Claremont retool the entire team to being more of a group of international mutants instead of American misfits. Adding a character by the name of Wolverine to their ranks helped a lot with this newfound popularity. 

If I am at all honest, if I was to pick a group of oddball 1960s superheroes to put all my money on, it would be the Doom Patrol. Many, including series creator Arnold Drake and myself included saw the early X-Men as a poor copy of the DP team. I think it helped that the DC team had better and far more original villains than the students at the Xavier School did at the time. Magneto and the Blob are great foes. The Toad, Mastermind, Unus the Untouchable, and siblings Scarlett Witch and Quicksilver are not. (Can anybody tell me why the Vanisher is dressed like a snake?) But I really think the hearts of both Stan Lee and Jack Kirby just weren't in it 100% with this title and the lack of dedication shows as the consistency of Marvel Age quality just isn't noticeable in about half of these reprinted issues.

Worth Consuming, but just barely.

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Kobra #5 (2023 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

The international terrorist known as Kobra desires to rule the world. But in order to do that, he must kill a few people first. One of those roadblocks is Kobra's very own twin brother, Jason Burr. There's only one small problem, any time Jason or brother Jeffrey, Kobra's real name, experiences any pain, the other mysteriously feels it!

Jason Burr doesn't understand why sometimes he'll be perfectly fine at home or work and then WHAM!- it reels like someone hit him upside the head for no reason. But Kobra knows of the connection between the two siblings and that's why as much as Jeffrey Burr would love to kill his twin, he just cannot. Because if Jason dies, so will Jeffrey!

The character of Kobra was co-created by Jack Kirby and Steve Sherman during Kirby's early 70s tenure at DC Comics. Sherman took elements of Vincent Price's vengeful Dr. Phibes and crafted a story in which a villain was the main character. Sherman also added the very Kirby moniker of King to the character and in his earliest incarnation, Kobra was referred to as King Kobra. 

When King Kirby took a look at the script, he was mostly unimpressed. But the comic book legend saw promise in the character and working with Sherman, Kirby tweaked the character. The psychic link between siblings was taken from Alexandre Dumas' The Corsican Brothers and brother Jason was created to be the yin to Korba's yang. 

Within days, Steve Sherman retooled the script and Jack had the first issue written and drawn. And then Kirby went back to Marvel. In the midst of Kirby's return to the House of Ideas, the Kobra project was shelved. Finally, in late 1975, the book was given over to Martin Pasko who absolutely hated the whole thing. Most of Kirby's script was replaced. Artist Pablo Marcos was assigned to retool some of the King's pencils. And ultimately, the character was named as simply 'Kobra.'

Issue #5 sees Kobra working multiple schemes simultaneously. First of all, the terrorist is planning a gigantic earthquake that promises to destroy all of the state of California. But how this plan makes him ruler of the earth is still unclear. Next, Kobra attempts to kill off anyone who might be getting close enough to his ultimate plans. This includes San Francisco private eye Jonny Double, whom Kobra operatives try several times unsuccessfully to assassinate. Lastly, Kobra is developing a way to sever the bond between him and twin Jason. But the villain has got to act fast as brother is on his way from the Big Apple to stop Kobra once and for all.

Only 2 more issues of Kobra would be produced. Poor sales sparked by early rumors of cancellation were the main culprits. One could argue Martin Pasko's half-hearted approach to the script was another culprit. '...It was a preposterous exercise dumped on my lap,' Pasko once remarked. Fans were given some semblance of closure as elements of the scraped 8th issue were printed in the pages of DC Special Series #1.

Jeffrey Burr would eventually find a way to break free from his bond with Jason. Kobra would then kill his brethren; though the villain was never truly free from Jason as the crime-lord was forever haunted by visions of him. Kobra would late clash with characters such as Batman, Wonder Woman and the Justice Society of America before meeting his demise at the hands of Black Adam in JSA #51. In a strange twist of fate, Kobra was reborn with followers re-animating Jason Burr to become their new leader!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Completing this review completes Task #27 (Villain is the Main Character) of the 2023 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Super Powers Mini-Comic Collection, Volume 2

This fan made edition from Trident Studios contains all of the mini comics issued with the 11 figures released by Kenner in the Super Powers Collection, Wave II. This book is very heavy on characters from Jack Kirby's Fourth World along with several superheroes who made their toy debut in 1984-85. On the side of the angels, Firestorm, Dr. Fate, Red Tornado and the Martian Manhunter were released for the first time ever along with Green Arrow (who debuted in the 70s thanks to Mego). The New God Darkseid lead an army of villains that included the demented Desaad, bumbling brute Kalibak, the energy-draining Mantis, the immortal Steppenwolf and army fodder Parademon. 

Series Two of the Super Powers Collection is a fan favorite mostly because of its connection to comic book legend, Jack Kirby. It's a thing of legend that one of the few times Jack Kirby was properly compensated for previously licensed work was for the re-designs he made on Mantis, Steppenwolf and Parademon. Kirby also reworked the design of Darkseid's estranged son, Orion, released in 1986's Series Three to much controversy. But that's a story for another day...

Of course to a 7-8 year old Madman, all of the villains of Super Powers were considered all-new characters. I knew who all the heroes were thanks to my dad's comic book collection. But I had yet to be properly introduced to Kirby's Fourth World. Thankfully, each action figure came with a mini comic to help explain a little bit of the motivation of Darkseid, which when you think about it is fairly simple- total world domination.

The Anti-Life equation, Highfather and New Genesis, and the whole truce in which Scott Free and Orion were switched at birth aren't covered at all in the minis. In fact, Darkseid is kinda a weenie in this series of 16-pagers as his Omega Beams don't incinerate anyone. They just send you to limbo. 

You won't see the Series One villains in any of these books either. The minions of Apokolips act alone. But I think if Darkseid had recruited at least Lex Luthor, Brainiac and the Joker into his plans, the lord of Apokolips could've at least conquered the entire Eastern seaboard.

One of my all-time favorite characters is Firestorm. So getting to revisit his adventures in mini-comic form was pretty cool. The inclusion of Red Tornado, GA and J'onn J'onzz to the line-up were no-brainers as they had all been members of the Justice League at some point. But Dr. Fate doesn't really make any sense being here. Fate has always been a member of the Justice Society and stuck on the parallel Earth designated #2. Did the JSA lend Fate in some sort of cross-dimensional trade in order for the Justice League to have a magical warrior to fight against Darkseid's forces? 

Series Two was the last series of the Super Powers Collection to be issued with mini comics. Was the omission a way to cut costs? The inclusion of Cyclotron and Golden Pharoah, two all-new for the toy line heroic characters were definitely produced to avoid licensing fees to creators. So it's possible. But with the inclusion of Orion and Mister Miracle in wave 3, a chance to better introduce the Fourth World characters to children through mini comics was sorely overlooked. I think had mini comics been released with the third wave, a fourth and fifth wave of characters, which were in the planning stages, would have become a reality.

Since Kenner is defunct and DC doesn't seem to have any plans to release the mini comics officially in some collected form, I'm glad I found this offering by Trident Comics. Over at Etsy, they've got a couple other editions of mini comics that were released with popular toy lines of the past. As long as there doesn't appear to be any direct conflict with copyright, I'll be adding one or two of those other books to my collection sometime soon.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Fantastic Four: Unstable Molecules (2022 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

Fantastic Four: Unstable Molecules- the 2004 Eisner Award Winner for Best Limited Series.

Set in the late 1950s, Dr. Reed Richards is a rising physics superstar at Columbia University. On the verge of making a breakthrough with fabrics made from unsteady particles, the professor is also quite controversial. Accused of stealing formulas and discoveries from other scientists, Richards faces a series of potential lawsuits. Still, the potential loss of face isn't enough to deter the US military from requesting his help against the Red Menace of Communism!

Young Sue Sturm (not a typo) has been thrust into a role she did ask for. After the death of both parents in an automobile accident, Sue has had to raise her brother Johnny alone since he was 6. After several years of trying to raise a rebellious teen while playing the happy housewife is taking its toll on Sue. Johnny is frequently getting into trouble skipping school and stealing cars and fiance Reed seems more interested in his experiments instead of settling down.

Meanwhile, Ben Grimm is working as a boxing trainer after his own career has faded. Unable to stay in a stable relationship, Ben has just celebrated his one-month relationship with his latest gal. But deep down in his heart, Ben still kindles a flame for the one who got away- Sue Sturm.

This 2003 miniseries was an interesting concept. Fantastic Four: Unstable Molecules imagines if the First Family of Marvel were inspired by real people. However, unlike the perceived positivism of the 1950s nuclear family, things are anything but idyllic for the foursome who would be immortalized in countless comic books, movies, cartoons and action figures as the Fantastic Four. 

There's a cohesive story of a single day in the life of Reed, the Sturms and Ben. Along with the comic portions, there are a series of documents and interviews from the 'real life' inspirations of the FF and their friends. I love how the fourth issue of this series ties in how Stan, Jack and the rest of the Bullpen were invited to a wild party thrown by Sue and Reed and it led to the eventual creation of the comic book. But I really wish that those extra segments at the back of each comic would have explained what happened to those inspirations in real life. And do it without conflicting accounts.

In issue one, miniseries writer James Sturm tells readers that since Sue and Johnny Sturm were distant relatives, the Drawn & Quarterly scribe was inspired to write a biography about them. I understand that it's all pretend. But in that introduction to readers, James Sturm talked about how the inspirations were in real life adventurers. Yet in issue 3, in an interview with Johnny's best friend (taken years later, of course), the fiery blond youngster ended up becoming a fringe poet who like to use fire as a motif. If these fake extras would have been consistent, I would have been pleased. But with each issue contradicting each other on the 'facts', I was sorely disappointed.

This isn't your father's Fantastic Four. Heck, it might not even be my FF. This miniseries was rated PG+. While the series isn't full of blood and gore; it's a far cry from the World's Greatest Comics Magazine. There's the scene where Johnny is exploring his body. I've never encountered the Human Torch doing such a thing! Another scene that comes to mind is where Ben gets plastered and calls the girl who rebuffed him some pretty rude names that Aunt Petunia wouldn't condone. 

But there is one thing that this 'true tale' captures fairly well: the dysfunction of Reed, Ben, Sue and Johnny. Sadly, what is missing from these inspirations is what Stan and Jack made forefront in the Fantastic Four comic- LOVE.

Rating: 5 out of 10 stars.

Completing this review completes Task #45 (An Eisner or Hugo Award winning book) of the 2022 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge. 

Mister Miracle: The Great Escape

I write a weekly column on my blog called Family Comic Friday. I originally was going to review this for that post. But after I completed this book, I decided it wasn't appropriate for that.

In the very beginning of this book, there is a trigger warning about how details in this book involved talk of suicide and experiences of PTSD. Not to mention there's a whole academy of youngsters being trained to become soldiers by beating everyone else's brains in. But no. Neither of those reasons is why I decided not to review this for my weekly family review. It's because of the swears. They're all here. Even the BIG one of all-time- the F-Bomb!

Amazon rates this 2022 young adult graphic novel for those in grades 8-12. I'm completely fine with that. But my local library has this book put with the kids graphic novel section. I'm not one to ban books. But I do think it's my duty to let the library know that they've got this book placed in the wrong age group lest some irate parent start a protest demanding Mister Miracle: The Great Escape become the latest victim of a good ol' fashioned book burning. 

That last sentence is about as ironic a statement I can make as the planet on which this book takes place, Apokolips, would like nothing more than to eliminate any and all things considered seditious to the reign of the New God, Darkseid. So if a parent did in deed decide that this young adult graphic novel was destined for the furnace, they'd very much be enacting the despotic actions of the scum of Apokolips! Plus, with changes done to the characters, I am sure there will be some comic book fans out there wanting to cry foul! 

When I checked this book out, I actually knew very little about it's publication. Even though I check the previews of new comics and graphic novels weekly, I somehow overlooked this book. I am a huge fan of Jack Kirby and I'm doing everything in my power to collect any and everything Fourth World. So when I stumbled across this book at my LCS, I was very excited. 

The main change from this book and the original vision of Jack Kirby is the skin color of Scott Free and several other characters are reversed. At first, I thought that this might be yet another attempt by DC to be what detractors call 'woke.' But then I remembered from reading a Jack Kirby biography recently that Kirby wanted Mister Miracle originally to be black but the editors vetoed that idea. So in reality writer Varian Johnson (The Great Greene Heist) is fulfilling Kirby's original plan for the Fourth World.

See when Jack Kirby came over in 1971 to DC Comics, The King planned to make Apokolips this post-apocalyptic world that was an allegory on class warfare and face. Darkseid and his elete minions were supposed to all be white. While the dregs of Apokolips, the war dogs of Darkseid's army, were all to be people of color. The heavenly people of New Genesis, including Scott Free's real father, Highfather were going to be black (or of color) just like Scott and Big Barda. However, this vision of Kirby's Fourth World was just decades ahead of its time. I'm glad to see it coming to fruition finally, even if it did take 50 years to happen and only occurs in a Young Adult novel that probably isn't canon.

While I enjoyed the changes, I wasn't a big fan of some of the artwork. Artist Daniel Isles (Joyama) draws some characters as if they had a Muppet nose. Instead of a tip and pair of nostrils, some characters noses are completely outlined with a nose-like circle. This makes them look like Bert and Ernie with their foam ball proboscises.

I also didn't like how Scott Free was drawn in his downtime clothes, which looks like a hoodie and sweatpants. Though I wonder if these are some of Himon's Earth clothes and he's given them to Scott so that if he ever escapes to Earth, he'll fit it. If that's the case, I am okay with it. But what the heck is up with those tiny red balls that float around Scott all the time?

I loved Isles design of Big Barda. She's tall. She's rough. And she looks like I would imagine Kirby would have drawn her if the legend was allowed to use a woman of color as a model instead of Jewish chanteuse Lanie Kazan. And the twist with Granny Goodness- that was a brilliant character design that I didn't see coming. 

I did feel that the 3rd act of this book was rushed. It's a trap a lot of comic book and graphic novel writers get into. The first two acts really dive into the hierarchy of the orphanage run by Granny Goodness. The climatic last act is supposed to occur over the span of 8 days and yet maybe only 10-15% of the book's 208 pages is devoted to that time period. Wasn't bad. Just seemed rushed. 

If Varian Johnson and Daniel Isles decided to do a sequel, I would be so on board. I'm interested to see how the character of Shilo Norman would be approached- if introduced. As a compromise to bypassing his dynamic social relevant vision for Scott Free, Jack Kirby created the character of Shilo, a young black pre-teen who one day would become Mister Miracle's replacement. We've already seen Shilo don the suit of the World's Greatest Escape Artist. I'm just interested to see if the creators of this book would make Shilo white to really explore the race-switching nature of this book or if they might make Shilo be of another marginalized race like Asian or Middle Eastern. 

There's a lot left to be explored with this most authentic version of Jack Kirby's epic creations. And I'm willing to camp out to be first in line to acquire it should DC decide to green light a sequel.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.