Fantastic Four #268 (2026 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

This 1984 issue of Fantastic Four has heartbreak, mystery and tons of action. Not to mention a bunch of guest stars!

The story takes place after the Secret Wars. The Thing has temporarily stepped away from the team in order to find himself on the Battleworld. Taking his place is She-Hulk. Jennifer Walters has been on the team for a couple of weeks now and seen action as the FF's heavy. But she's yet to seen the interior of the Baxter Building. Sue Richards has just previously experienced a miscarriage. So in order to give Sue and husband Reed a chance to mourn, Johnny Storm thinks now is as good a time as any to give She-Hulk the deluxe tour of the team's headquarters. 

One of the areas where Johnny takes Jen is to a little seen 'trophy room' full of tech recovered from the Fantastic Four's numerous encounters with baddies. One of the newest additions to the room is the mask of the recently deceased Doctor Doom! And it gives both the Human Torch and She-Hulk the creeps . Rightfully so! Because all of a sudden the mask comes alive and starts destroying the entire building!!!

I had mentioned that this issue had a bunch of guest stars in it. Assisting with the complications of Sue Richards gamma infused pregnancy are some of the Marvel Universes leading experts in gamma radiation. Dr. Michael Morbius, Dr. Bruce Banner, Professor Walter Langkowski (Alpha Flight's Sasquatch) are consulted to tragic circumstances. Even the diabolical Otto Octavius is given a day pass from prison on the good and desperate word of Mister Fantastic. But alas it just wasn't meant to be.

As a parent of multiple multiple miscarriages, I can completely sympathize with Reed Richard's. Knowing my wife was suffering and that my children were at risk, I too would have moved Heaven and Earth to save them. God knows I tried.

Speaking of Bruce Banner- he actually makes 2 cameos! That's because during her tour of the Baxter Building, She-Hulk recounts her origin story to Johnny Storm. Thanks to a blood transfusion from cousin Bruce, Jen first became the Savage She-Hulk before gaining full control of her rage and emotions as the Sensational She-Hulk!

The characters all with beady little eyes. The blondes all with Farrah Fawcett style hairdos. The dark blue uniforms with the white collars. She-Hulk in all her Amazonian stature and allure. This is quintessential John Bryne Fantastic Four! The only thing missing is Wyatt Wingfoot. But don't worry; he's teased to be returning in the next issue.

Lastly, I have to marvel at the cover. It's a combination of an actual photograph of Doctor Doom's mask and John Byrne's version of ray beams shooting out of the mask's eyes! The creator of the real life Doom mask is Eliot R. Brown. Some of you might recognize his work of the famous live action cover of 1985's Amazing Spider-Man #262! Note: The image I have used is a hi-definition version found on Marvel.Com. Here you can see the full outline of the mask and the rivets. On the original cover, all that is really hard to make out. One of the few times that digital beats paper...

A great issue with action, adventure and sadness! But absolutely powerful. 

Completing this review completes Task #6 (Fantastic Four Comic from the 1980s) of the 2026 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars. 

Morbius

I'm not sure why 2022's Morbius got so much hate. The film isn't very long, clocking in at about 1 hour and 40 minutes. An origin story, it doesn't drag things out too badly. The plot is pretty cut and dry.  Jared Leto's acting is way better than his Joker from Suicide Squad. Matt Smith is fantastic. The visual effects are pretty good. With exception of just 1 fight scene, the dreaded slo-mo effects are virtually non-existent in the movie. In fact, it's a pretty fast paced action horror movie that seems more on par to star Wesley Snipe's hybrid vampire hunter, Blade than being a Sony Pictures film set in the Spidey-verse. 

So why am I not singing it's praises? Mainly, because I was so bored with this movie.

I DVR'd Morbius last Thanksgiving. I had passed on going to see it in theaters because of how much hate the movie was getting in the reviews as well as my social media feeds. Going to the movies has gotten so expensive, if it's not something I'm thrilled to watch, I'm not going to suggest my godson and I go out to see it. I tried watching it during the holiday break. Then again at Christmas until finally finishing it yesterday. I just couldn't get into it.

The story of Morbius is fairly simple. Guy with a rare and crippling blood disorder becomes a doctor in hopes of curing himself. Using vampire bat DNA, Dr. Michael Morbius develops a cure. Only, it turns him into a living vampire. One who must consume blood in order to live; with all of the powers and none of the weaknesses of the traditional vampire. 

It all sounds a lot like the story of the Batman nemesis Man-Bat. It also sounds very similar to the origin story of another Spider-Man villain, the Lizard, who's work with iguana DNA in hopes of restoring his missing arm instead transforms the scientist into a rampaging reptile! While all 3 of these characters are certainly tragic figures, what separates Morbius from the others is that as far as I know, he's never been cured of his secondary affliction. To this day, Morbius struggles with the endless blood lust that boils inside of him, preventing him from becoming full vampire. 

If I had my choice to be able to affordably own the first comic book appearance of the Lizard, Man-Bat or Morbius, I'd choose Morbius every time. His role in the Legion of Monsters and Midnight Sons has made him such a bad ass character. Plus, he's got such a freaking awesome appearance and super cool looking costume design by legendary Gil Kane. For some reason, that level of excitement just didn't transfer very well onto the screen for me.

There's 2 extra scenes. I had to search for them on YouTube as the channel I recorded the movie from omitted them. Those 2 scenes piqued my interest into the potential of a Secret Six movie finally coming to fruition. However, I'm starting to think that if you can't use your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man in the film, there's really no point for these movies. A good villain can sell tickets. But if he doesn't have a greater hero to battle, it won't be entertaining. 

In other words, despite being a fan favorite character, not every Marvel based friend or foe deserves their own movie. Maybe it's time for Sony to let Spider-Man remain at the House of Mouse along with all his amazing friends...

Rating: 5 out of 10 stars.

Crypt of Shadows #1

I've gotta hand it to Marvel. I really thought that they skipped producing a horror special just in time for Halloween once again. However, I was wrong. Crypt of Shadows is based on Marvel's Infinite Comics (in other words, web comic) of the same name. But for an established fan of horror comics, the title goes back even further with Crypt of Shadows being one of Marvel's first horror anthologies to come after the loosened restrictions on stories about monsters by the Comics Code Authority. 

I don't recall that the original series from 1973-75 had a host. But the third volume of the title does! The host is Victor Strange, younger brother of Doctor Strange who is trapped in a pocket universe inside a mirror down in the Crypt of Shadows section of the Sanctum Sanctorum. Victor hosts 5 stories in total with 3 of them definitely set during Halloween. 

• Bloodline, the Daughter of Blade, inspects reports of a vampire terrorizing the streets of Atlanta only to find a pair of ghost hunters with unsavory intentions.
• Morbius, the Living Vampire, is tormented by a swarm of demonic bugs that only he can see and hear.
• Young Werewolf by Night, Jake Gomez, is invited to what is supposed to be the hottest Halloween Party in the Big Apple. Only when he arrives, Jake learns that he's the only guest on scene. But he's not the only werewolf!
• Elsa Bloodstone and Johnny Storm trudge through the sewers of New York seeking a horrible monster made up of a mutated Spider-Man Man-Spider monster! Yes- Spidey has multiple arms and 8 eyes once again!
• The Laura Kinney Wolverine and Man-Thing do endless battle in the Infinite Swamp. In a twist I don't think anyone saw coming, Man-Thing's pheromones meet Laura go full berserker mode and her rage makes Man-Thing keep producing more natural chemicals keeping the two brawlers battling through all time.

I'm not as up-to-date on modern Marvel as I am on current DC Comics. I did not know that the vampire hunter Blade had a daughter named Bloodline. I also was not aware that Jack Russell had been replaced by teenager Jake Gomez. I have no complaints about either. I just wasn't familiar with these two.

I felt that the Morbius story was the creepiest. That ending which was inspired by such films as the original Invasion of the Body Snatchers really got under my skin. The Wolverine and Man-Thing battle was also very good. Though a couple of the pages had intentionally blurry artwork and with the psychedelic palette and unpanelled artwork, the beginning was a little vertigo inducing. 

With 3 of the 5 stories being set during Halloween and host Victor Strange mentioning that it's All Hallow's Eve at the beginning of this one-shot, I'm going to declare that this is indeed a Halloween special. But I am also going to say that I feel cheated by Marvel. 

Victor Strange tells viewers to follow his adventures over at Marvel Unlimited for exclusive digital content. I know that Marvel has been releasing holiday specials annually through the Infinite Comics Imprint. But they've also been doing Halloween stuff too? Unfair! Really, Unfair!

I know Marvel wants to release their stuff digitally as a way of covering costs. But come on- release this stuff as a floppie as well! I will buy it. I know others that are print only and they are devoted to holiday specials! House of Ideas, at least consider releasing your holiday books as a trade or hardcover!

Sadly, the digital only stuff is the new nature of the beast. It's like how TV and film have gone to streaming only. It's just that companies like Disney/Marvel and Warner/DC have got to understand that a large chunk of their customer base are die hard devotees to traditional mediums and both have got to continue to market to those customers if they want to stay out of the red ink!

A good Halloween horror anthology. Only it could have been better had Marvel dug deep into its digital archives. Those stories seem more enjoyable and fun- and more TRADITIONAL TOO!- and that's the kind of stuff a reader like myself wants. Make the material that captures the spirit of vintage Marvel available in print and take the more legacy related stuff like Bloodline and Jake Gomez and have their stuff be digital as that's where the younger readers are going to get their comics. I think if Marvel would switch things around to have the more modern edgy stuff being online and the stuff that recalls the days of Stan Lee, Roy Thomas and Jim Shooter go into print, they'd see a rise in sales.

What have you got to lose, Marvel and Disney? It's worth a shot to appropriately market to the correct demographics!

Rating: 6 out of 10 stars.

Marvel Comics Presents #145

It's another round of 'Siege of Darkness' stories in this issue. 

Morbius, the Living Vampire comes face-to-face with the half-Vampire vampire hunter, Hannibal King. It's not Morbius whom King is after. It's a young Lilin child that Morbius feels should not be held accountable for the sins of the father or mother Lilith in this case.

A blast from Doctor Strange's past returns in the midst of this crisis. She's being haunted by her own demons. However, when she learns who her truth father is, things suddenly fall into place.

Danny Ketch is back at one of his favorite haunts, the Cypress Hills Cemetery, where an ally of the Midnight Sons is being held captive by a faction of Lilin.

Finally, Blade makes contact with an ally from his Dracula hunting days. Unfortunately, the guys buried under a ton of rubble and time and air is running out.

All 4 of these stories were good tie-in segments to the 'Siege of Darkness' crossover event. But if you were to read all of the main titles and glossed over this issue, I really don't think you'd miss anything. Of the 3 tie-in issues of MCP (thus far), this is perhaps the issue that most captures the origin anthology spirit this title intended. But geez- that flip cover of Morbius by Steve Lightle and Fred Harper. Man, what a mess. That's why I went with the Ghost Rider cover instead to represent this issue.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Marvel Comics Presents #144

Another issue, another round of 'Siege of Darkness' segments. 

The main feature has most of the main players of the story line. Since the enemy, Lilith, is also the fabled mother of vampires, the group known as Midnight Sons are distrustful of one of their allies, Morbius, the Living Vampire! The Midnight Sons are saying that their distrust is due to the revelation in the last issue of a traitor in their midst. But I call BS. 

Blade is part vampire. Yet, his allies haven't turned against him. In a social relevance twist that could only be dreamed up by Marvel, the prejudice is against Morbius because he looks like a vampire! The racism Blade experiences along with the recoil people have against one who looks like Morbius bleeds over into a second segment starring the two.

Meanwhile, Scarlet Witch is still battling a demon within the computer cyber realm that I imagine would one day be called the Internet. And at a school play, the Werewolf by Night, Jack Russell has tracked a group of Lilin. They seek to kill the parents and teachers in attendance while Russell is out for blood. The action unfolds on stage to the awed crowd. This is the best Halloween pageant ever!

Last issue, I thought all of the stories were pretty extraneous to the cross-title plotline. I do not feel that way here. Those first two segments involving Morbius and the traitor are some important pieces of information that readers of regular titles like Doctor Strange and Ghost Rider might be missing out on if they don't read this bi-weekly (or has it gone monthly now?) anthology title. 

As for the extra entries, I don't really see the point of the inclusion of the Scarlet Witch. I've heard of ghosts in the machine but not demons. However, the Werewolf By Night story was sheer gory delight. It didn't move the Midnight Sons story along. But it was magnificent in such a marvelously morbid way.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Decades: Marvel in the 70s- Legion of Monsters

Many collections of classic Marvel materials are omnibuses that capture a complete run of stories starring a certain character or a specific genre. That's not the case with Marvel's Decades books. They are instead snapshots of the time period. In this case, the coming of Marvel horror. 

Sometimes the stories featured are well-known legends, like that of Johnny Blaze and his deal with the devil that curses him to become the Ghost Rider. 

Other episodes are rarities, like the coming of an alien creature called the Manphibian, a gill-man arch-type who is on the hunt for the killer of his lover. 

Then there's those established characters who see new life in the pages of horror anthologies. Frankenstein's Monster and Count Dracula continue to roam the night looking for victims, sometimes running afoul of Marvel superstars such as Morbius, the living Vampire and the hybrid vampire hunter, Blade.

Several of Marvel's rarest horror mags are reprinted in this collection along with some great issues of Marvel's one-shot series Marvel Spot-Light and Marvel Premiere. As a fan of several comic book and horror fan groups on Facebook, I am aware of the Legion of Monsters popularity with horror comic fans. What I was not aware of was how much poor faith the House of Ideas had in the title. It only lasted 1 issue with 2 classic but ill-fated attempts to revive the idea. Legion of Monsters may not have been on store shelves for long, but with collectors such as me, they last forever in our hearts. 

A collection such as this is such a mixed-bag. There's some classics and there are some stinkers. But what I love so much about this series is how it's both a grab bag and time capsule. Maybe a little bit more commentary would have been appreciated. But I quite enjoyed it warts and all.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.