Seeking to cash in on DC's success with Action Comics #1000 and Detective Comics #1000, the House of Ideas got creative in their 80th anniversary with Marvel Comics #1000.
True, I was sucked into the hype. I went to my local comic book shop and ordered my selection of a variant cover. My choice was tough. I really love Alex Ross and his regular cover was amazing. But I was in love with the 1960s cover done by Mike Allred!
Marvel Comics #1000 was worked on by 80 different creative teams and it was a wide range of talent! From Kareem Abdul Jabbar to Peter David to Joe Hill to Toby Whithouse- it was a massive potpourri of names. Sadly, Stan Lee passed before getting to contribute to this milestone comic.
The book stars out with a pretty cool concept from the very first panel of Marvel Comics #1 way back in 1939. The 3 men who witness the creation of the mechanical Human Torch are apparently a part of some secret Science Guild. They've been working in the background of the rise of superheroes for the past 80 years and Atlas agent Jimmy Woo is on the hunt for why they've spent 8 decades looking for the discarded mask of a fallen mystery man.
Each page of this book covers a single year progressing from 1939-2019. This format moves the story of the Science Guild forward from 1939 until about 1943. Then it starts to sprinkle tributes about first appearances and major events throughout the book. If Marvel Comics #1000 would have either stayed with a single cohesive story, a year at a time or having 80 different tribute pages- I would have been happy with this one-shot.
But Marvel decided to ramble. For one thing, the publisher decided to choose some really weird things to be giddy about. Like 1980 was devoted to a brief encounter between Doctor Doom and Iron Man. At times, Marvel gets preachy. I'm talking Axel Alonso, all readers who think unlike us are stupid, preachy. But for a company that claims to be 'woke', I thought it was quite odd that one tribute was devoted to Storm's punk era look in the mid-80s. That just seemed hypocritically sexist to me.
However, that tribute page for 1977 about a galaxy far, far away. WOW! It gives me re-newed hope of a Marvel/Star Wars fantasy crossover!
Marvel Comics #1000 had promise. It just couldn't decide which way it wanted to go. 80 different Tributes or epic story spanning all of Marvel's publishing history. You only had to choose 1 direction Marvel. But you got greedy and the lack of quality and care bled through!
Rating: 5 out of 10 stars.
Every once in a while Family Comic Friday comes across a book that looks like it would be great for all ages but really isn't. That's why this weekly column was created- to help parents and guardians be able to make a more informed choice about the comics their children read. So without further to do, let us take a look at the Marvel Comics one-shot Ziggy Pig and Silly Seal Comics #1.
Ziggy Pig and Silly Seal Comics #1
Written by Frank Tieri and John Cerilli
Art by Jacob Chabot
Published by Marvel Comics
Retail: $3.99
2019 marks the 80th anniversary of Marvel. As part of a year-long celebration, the publisher is issuing a number of one-shots based on lesser known titles from the past 8 decades. Ziggy Pig and Silly Seal Comics was a comedic funny animal title from the Second World War. Created by future MAD Magazine legend, Al Jaffee, the book followed the misadventures of a pig and seal pair of pals. Ziggy was street smart and eager to make a quick buck. Silly was kinda a doofus, blindly following his friend into trouble.
In this story, set in the modern day, the duo have parted ways. Silly has struck it rich on his own with a beautiful wife and a multimedia empire. But Ziggy has fallen on hard times as his poor attitude has turned off what few friends and fans he had. That all seems about to change when Fantastic Four foe Doctor Doom invites the pair to Latveria to perform a private comedy show in the despot's honor.
Upon reuniting with his former partner, Ziggy learns that he is still in Silly Seal’s will. Thus begins a plot in which Ziggy will make Silly run afoul of Doom and help the swine to cash in with the inheritance!
Let's first talk about the quality of the story and art. There were several laugh out loud moments. I loved the obscure Easter eggs throughout the book. Frank Tieri (Gotham Underground) and John Cerilli (Deadpool) created a story that was funny and for once not fraught with thinly veiled political attacks.
Marvel still manages to get political with it's Stan’s Soapbox tribute to Stan Lee. But it seems that the House of Ideas is trying to curb it's very leftist barbs that have alienated a lot of fans and contributed to the resulting near collapse of the comics industry, within the story itself. Kids need a chance to be kids. There's too much stress in the real world and entertainment, especially for children, needs to be a place for escape. Educating children through entertainment is acceptable. But youngsters don't need to be stressed out with such ‘deep thinking’ issues as the Russian ties of the Trump Administration or the horrors of sexual assault in regards to the me too movement; both causes Marvel has relished in making the focus of many of it's titles
I actually got to have some mindless fun with this book. A large part of that was thanks to artist Jacob Chabot. The Hello Kitty artist’s artwork was also very good. It's got a cartoony style that still manages to fit within the Marvel Universe. I've not seen Doom's Doombots look so resplendent in a long time. And again, those Easter eggs to characters thought long lost. But it's those hidden objects that might have given this one-shot the rating it got.
While Ziggy Pig and Silly Seal looks like something kids would enjoy, the comic bears a parental advisory on the cover. It's a rating that I am not sure is warranted. Ziggy does try to kill Silly. But I've seen Tom and Jerry do far worse than what the piggy does here. There's a few ‘hells’. But nothing worse than that in terms of language. A character does swear but it's represented with pound signs and punctuation marks. I don't know of a Sunday funnies strip that doesn't do the same and they're considered fine for general audiences. So why is this book not rated for younger readers?
I think the main reason for the advisory is the fact that the book is deceptively naughty. The book would be more appropriately rated for teens. But because the characters are cute looking animals, I think Marvel wants to avoid a controversy with parents, so they slapped the parental advisory on the cover.
In all honesty, erring on the side of discretion was probably a smart thing. Ziggy's room is littered with empty beer bottles and cigarette butts. Speaking of heinies, there is a naked butt. Just the rear end- no body is attached. But the most suggestive part of this book has Ziggy taking a pretty gal up to his apartment to meet Silly Seal in return for implied ‘favors.’
Plus, the Merc with a Mouth, Deadpool, makes an appearance in the story. It's a comic book rule of thumb that anything with Deadpool is considered appropriate for older audiences only! If you live a household with a wide range of ages, this is the type of book your eldest would want to read. But little bro or sis is gonna to want to read it too!
I know this sort of thing quite well. I'm 12 years older than my sister. And while I had to sit through my share of Barney and Winnie the Pooh, my mom tried to balance things out by letting me watch stuff my age like Speed or Terminator. Naturally, my sister wanted to be grown up like her big brother. And thus a 4-year-old learned some interesting ways to use the F-word.
Of all the books I've ever reviewed for Family Comic Friday, this one bears the greatest need of parental discretion. If Deadpool is a staple in your household, you've got nothing to worry about as this is way tamer than anything starring Wade Wilson. Ziggy and Silly is an enjoyable book. It's just not the kind of thing for all-ages. I think it's a special that is worth consuming. But whether it should be considered by your household is a not up for me to decide. That's Question that must be answered by the parents and guardians.
Ziggy Pig and Silly Seal Comics #1 debuted in print and digital mediums on March 6th, 2019.
Worth Consuming!
Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.
I've said it many a time on this blog; the 70s were my favorite time period for Marvel Comics. Around 1970, when the Comics Code adjusted to allow certain monsters back into comics, such as vampires and werewolves, Stan Lee jumped at the opportunity! One of the first Marvel Horror titles of the new era was Crypt of Shadows. This anthology series was mostly a book of reprints. But the covers were amazing and the stories themselves were fantastic!
In honor of Marvel's 80th anniversary, the House of Ideas is releasing a number of one-shot specials revitalizing some long-forgotten publications. I'll purchase a few of these new, right off the shelf. For the most part, when these books hit the bargain bin, I'll surely snag them up then. But with Crypt of Shadows being a favorite of mine, there was no way I was going to wait for a copy!
Jennifer Blood's Al Ewing pens the three stories that comprise this one-shot. Told in the Rashomon style with a twist, there's not much I want to reveal about this story as it would spoil the epic surprise ending. All I will say is that this book is about a man, with a terrifying fear of dogs, who sees a therapist for a radical new treatment.
Now some of you might be thinking that for me to say that there's a shocking turn of events. But an anthology horror series wouldn't be an anthology horror series if each story didn't finish with some sort of bolt from the blue!
While I really enjoyed these stories, I had to re-read some sections. The book is great but it's also quite complex. That's not a bad thing either. However, I wish I could say the same about the artwork.
The variant covers by Kyle Hotz, Young Guns and John Tyler Christopher were all phenomenal. But the artwork by a trio of artists, including Garry Brown (Babyteeth) were of varying quality. I mention only Brown as his art was the best. It's not Kirby/Romita/Ditko quality but it's good. But it's all downhill from there.
What's wrong with the overall art? Mostly, it's the level of detail. There isn't any. I'm used to artists who like to pepper panels with creative set pieces and minute details. But for some reason, Marvel's next generation of artists refuse to add anything to the background. I just refuse to believe that nobody in the Marvel Universe has some posters or photos of family and friends on their living room walls!
Marvel has decided to reflect on it's past during the whole of 2019. I think that's a great idea. It's been working for DC very well. This one-shot horror special was a beautifully gory return to Marvel's roots. The House of Ideas has a fantastic line-up of talented writers and storytellers. Now if only Marvel's bullpen could be staffed with amazing artists once more.
Maybe that will be the focus of anniversary #81...
Worth Consuming!
Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.
