Vision and the Scarlet Witch #12

The second, and so far final, miniseries starring the android Vision and the mutant Scarlet Witch, comes to a close. Wanda finally gives birth to her miracle child. But there's a twist! It's twins!

It's a total family affair in this extra-large finale. Vision's spiritual brother Simon Williams- AKA Wonder Man, is on hand for the joyous occasion. So is recently resurrected from the dead evil brother, the Grim Reaper. Plus, there's the zombified body of the real Simon Williams, who for some reason is decked out like Rambo with the arsenal to boot! Oh, and we can't forget grandpa Magneto, who was recently revealed to be the real father of the Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver. 

There's essentially 2 stories going on here. Vision is with Wanda, whose delivery has taken some tricky turns. Meanwhile, on the streets below, Wonder Man and Magneto have teamed up to stop the Grim Reaper and the Simon Williams zombie, who are trying to enter the hospital to kill the expectant parents. 

This issue has got to be the most underrated or understated appearance of Doctor Strange in a comic book. The Scarlet Witch chose him to be her OB-GYN. There's not a single act of magic conducted by the Sorcerer Supreme. Unless you consider delivering twins to be magical. Otherwise, the presence of Stephen Strange just seems unnecessary here. 

Though this issue doesn't take place on Mother's Day, I feel like the holiday theme was at play here. Wanda does give birth in the month of May. And you can't get much more motherly than giving birth. So I guess this issue counts as a Mother's Day issue. Though probably only by technicality.

This was an enjoyable series. Having the holiday themed issues, which except for the Thanksgiving issue, was unexpected by me, was a delight. Steve Englehart crafted a fun maxi-series and having completed it now makes me want to watch WandaVision. Sadly, I know the truth about Wanda's children and I am more than aware of the tragedies that befall the Marvel Universe as a part of that eventual revelation. Avengers: Disassembled and House of M both have their origins here. Required Marvel reading. I just wish things would have ended positively for the starred married couple.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Vision and the Scarlet Witch #4

After a hoo-hum issue, Steve Englehart redeems himself with this story about prejudice and greed.

In between the last issue of the first miniseries and issue #1 of this maxi-series, Vision and the Scarlet Witch saw their dream home being burned down by townsfolk who didn't want muties or heroes living in their quiet little burg. Despite the loss, Wanda and Vizh aren't done with Leonia, New Jersey just yet and they've bought another home.

Feeling like the former Avengers haven't gotten the message yet, those same citizens plan another assault on Vision and his wife. Thankfully, the couple have a pair of guardian angels who are secretly super-powered mutants as well. Living in Leonia as a husband/wife magician act known as Glamour and Illusion, one can manipulate matter while the other can become intangible. Pretty good abilities for a pair of illusionists and the newest members of the Vision and Scarlet Witch family.

Actually, scratch that. The newest member of the title family is Wanda's fetus in which Doctor Strange has just confirmed that the Scarlet Witch is pregnant! 

A much, much better issue that introduces a pair of new characters that I like. Plus, a bunch of bigots get a comeuppance in some spectacular ways that only a mutant with magical hex would be able to pull off. Plus an appearance by Doctor Strange.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

Vision and the Scarlet Witch #3

A character from the Marvel Universe dies in this issue. I wouldn't say that it's a major character. More on par with maybe your Wyatt Wingfoot or Foggy Nelson. More powerful than a Dum Dum Dugan or Sharon Carter, but not as steeped in Marvel lore. Though I will say that this is a major character in the Scarlet Witch back story. 

Anyways, this character's grandchildren aren't satisfied with the magic they have absorbed from their relative. Now they're after Wanda for her powers too. 

I wasn't a big fan of this issue. There's a lot of talking and yet with it, nobody says anything. It's like Steve Englehart tried to be Shakespeare. Only this is no Macbeth or any other of Shakespeare's plays that had witches and magic in it. 

I could have done without this issue. Other than Vision and Scarlet Witch deciding to have a baby (thanks to the use of magic), it all just felt unnecessary. I mean I don't even see a reason for that character to have died. If Marvel was needing an excuse to make this a 12-issue maxi-series, they found a sure way to milk a cash cow. 

Not Worth Consuming!

Rating: 3 out of 10 stars.

Vision and the Scarlet Witch #2

In West Coast Avengers #2, Ultron kidnapped his 'father', Dr. Hank Pym. Then as the Scarlet Witch joined up with the Avengers of the Pacific in their quinjet, Ultron unleashed an assault on the plane and it's going down!

Now in Vision and the Scarlet Witch #2, as the plane is crashing, Hawkeye is contacted by his wife, Mockingbird who has been away from the team, assisting SHIELD in a mission. This is fortuitous because when Grim Reaper's minions kidnap the crash's survivors, it's Mockingbird who saves the day.

Look, this book is over 30 years old. If you haven't read it now, you're probably not going to read it later. Although, if you're wanting to read the inspirations behind Disney+'s WandaVision, maybe you will read this book. Don't worry, I've not really spoiled anything. If anything, the big revelations that could spoil this issue involve Vision, Wonder Man and Grim Reaper. Let's just say that what transpires explains a lot of the villain's motives and why Simon Williams went from being Baron Zemo's lackey to an Avenger. However, I think in the past 30 years of Avengers stories, what happens to the trio has been retconned and distorted to the point that any spoiler I were to reveal wouldn't have any long-term repercussions to your knowledge of this corner of the Marvel universe.

A bit of a mess. Steve Englehart does manage to keep me from being lost in the material that was covered in the West Coast Avengers issue I've not read. Nor own. A lot of the action on the Quinjet seemed unnecessary. It's almost like Englehart needed to add that scene as filler in order for this issue of Vision and the Scarlet Witch to meet minimum page count requirements.

Rating: 6 out of 10 stars.

Vision and the Scarlet Witch #1

The second miniseries to star Vision and the Scarlet Witch begins with quite a few changes. What do you expect? 3 years have elapsed since then. Here's a small rundown of important things that have some impact of the current plot:

• The American Government has decreed that there are too many Avengers. The team has been trimmed down to 7 members with Hawkeye and Iron Man going to California to start the West Coast Avengers. 
• Since revealing that he is the father of the Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver, Magneto has pledged to repent of his past sins against humanity and is currently on trial for his past crimes as the leader of the Brotherhood of Mutants.
• Ultron, acting through a super-computer, turned Vision temporarily evil. Just inches away from taking over the world, the Avenger reclaimed his synthetic humanity and is awaiting being cleared of any dark influences on him...

Issue #1 opens with Wanda and Vision quitting the Avengers due to how Vision has been held by the government without due process. But the heroes' freedom is short-lived when the biological brother of Simon Williams, the Grim Reaper, sends an army of zombies to capture Vision and Scarlet Witch. Meanwhile on the West Coast, Ultron has tracked down Wonder Woman and kidnapped him, leading Hawkeye and his team on a search for their missing comrade.

One of my greatest pet peeves about comic books takes place at the closure of this issue. It ended on a cliffhanger. But instead of being resolved by reading issue #2 of this mini, you have to read issue #2 of West Coast Avengers. Normally, I would have held off on reading any further. But I really want to get to a certain issue of this series before Turkey Day. As I've been waiting almost all year to read these books, I said 'screw it' and went on ahead to the next issue. 

If you are someone who has to have all the correlating issues in your possession before reading the whole story, take note. Otherwise, trust that the team of Steve Englehart and Richard Powell will keep readers abreast of what was missed out if you decide like me to forgo reading West Coast Avengers #2 first.

Worth Consuming! -but losing points for the cliffhanger pet peeve.

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Jurassic Park: Raptor #1&2 (2023 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

Topps Comics was an experiment from the beloved baseball card manufacturer Topps. Seeing the potential of comics due to the ominous presence of speculators, Topps joined the already crowded comic book marketplace. Marvel veteran Jim Salicrup was selected as the company editor in chief. His clout helped to recruit an impressive roster of talent including Steranko, Jimmy Palmiotti, and Tony Isabella. 

Topps pulled off a coup securing rights to a number of impressive franchises. The Kirbyverse was a number of quasi-interconnected books based on abandoned ideas and projects created by the King, Jack Kirby. Salicrup was able to obtain the rights to produce new adventures of beloved titles like Cadillacs and Dinosaurs as well as classic characters such as Zorro. Being able to obtain the much coveted rights to adapt Francis Ford Coppola's version of Dracula really put Topps Comics on the radar of the comics industry.

Once Bram Stoker's Dracula was secure, Topps Comics was able to draw in popular franchises such as The X-Files, Friday the 13th's hockey mask wearing antagonist Jason and a comic book reboot of Topps' notorious Mars Attacks trading card set! Eventually Topps managed to secure the rights to publish works based on the most movie of the year 1993, Steven Spielberg's Jurassic Park.

Topps Comics first released a 4-issue adaptation of the film. Walt Simonson scripted. Pencils were by Gil Jane with George Perez inks. A special edition issue #0 was a prequel to the movie, exploring how the dinosaurs of Isla Nublar were created.

Immediately after the success of the film, movie viewers demanded a sequel. Fans of the 1990 novel were already begging author Michael Crichton for a second volume. Spielberg's movie magic added millions of voices to that request. While Crichton would agree to begin writing the official sequel novel in 1994, Topps Comics beat the Jurassic Park creator to an officially authorized comic book with 1993's Jurassic Park: Raptor.

The 2-part Raptor takes place just 3 days after the events of the film. With the help of the United States military, Dr. Alan Grant and Dr. Ellie Sattler are wrangling up the dinosaurs that escaped their enclosures during the tropical storm. Officials are convinced that all of the raptors have been killed by the park's T-Rex. But Alan Grant isn't so sure. 

Not finding any evidence of a raptor nest, Grant is convinced that some of the raptors escaped their pen and laid eggs elsewhere on the island. So the paleontologists travel to a less populated area. The perfect spot is a series of caves that are protected by high tides. Along with finding the missing baby raptors, Grant and Sattler discover an expert poacher is on scene, hired by an unknown entity to capture the infant reptiles.

Jurassic Park: Raptor was the first of a miniseries of trilogies that continues the saga of Jurassic Park. Jurassic Park: Raptors Attack and Jurassic Park: Raptors Hijack finish out the official comic book sequel. The trilogy was written by Steve Englehart, spanning a total of 10 issues. Issue #2 of Jurassic Park: Raptor ends with a 'to be continued blurb' which is really confusing as the cover proclaims that the second book is the last chapter of a 2-parter. Eventually, Topps Comics would release Jurassic Park Adventures, which would collect all 10 chapters of the Raptor Trilogy into a single, sequential series.

Pencils for issues #1&2: Armando Gil.

Inks by Dell Barras.

Covers by Michael Golden.

Worth Consuming!

Issue #1: Rating 10 out of 10 stars.

Issue #2: Rating 8 out of 10 stars.

Completing this review completes Task #42 (Comic Book Starting With the Letter J) of the 2023 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Doctor Strange #1 (2022 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

In the December 1969 issue of Doctor Strange (#183), Stephen Strange swore off the dark arts and went back to practicing medicine as a consultant. It seemed that after years of battling Dormammu, Nightmare and Baron Mordo, the one thing Doctor Strange didn't have a defense spell for was low sales cancellation. 

Then in 1971, Strange once again donned his magic cloak and the Eye of Agamotto to save the world as the Defenders in the pages of Marvel Feature #1-3. Soon, the Defenders got their own title and popularity in the team plus more relaxed rules about the supernatural in comics approved by the Comics Code Authority led Marvel to test out Doctor Strange as a solo character once again.

After a 2-issue run starring Adam Warlock, Doctor Strange took over as the feature character of the tryout series Marvel Premiere. Spanning issues #3-14, Doctor Strange took on the mantle of Sorcerer Supreme with the death of the Ancient One. He then battled a vampire-like serpent cult and took on an apprentice in the form of his lover, Clea. Apparently, the changes were good enough for the fans and the House of Ideas as Marvel issued a new Doctor Strange series with a cover release date of June 1974.

The first story in the second volume of Doctor Strange sees Clea improving in her magical prowess. To lighten Strange's pensive mood, Clea produces a bunny from a hat. This prompts Strange to declare it time for bed and has faithful manservant Wong assist him with preparing for sleep. 

As this happens, a sinister figure lurks outside and using magic, causes Clea's rabbit to become gigantic. In a panic, the rabbit escapes by crashing out of one of the windows in the Sanctum Sanctorum. Since these are non-defensive actions, the defrocked Catholic cardinal turned self-proclaimed God's personal weapon against evil, Silver Dagger is able to penetrate Strange's home. Silver Dagger mortally wounds Strange, steals the Eye of Agamotto and kidnaps Clea before magically disappearing. 

Near death, Stephen calls upon the Orb of Agamotto. But due to its necromantic powers, the Sorceror Supreme is thrust into a bizarre pocket universe that is governed by anything but the laws of reason! Oh, and there's a talking caterpillar a'la Alice in Wonderland too.

Compared to the stories in Marvel Premiere, this opening salvo into the second Doctor Strange series was top notch. The stories in Marvel Premiere felt a lot like a kid who gets new responsibilities for the very first time and goes nuts. With the rules lessened on elements of the supernatural in comics, those stories seemed ready to push the envelope into elements of evil not seen in sequential art since just before the Comics Scare of the 1950s. Now in Doctor Strange #1, it feels like the CCA saw what Marvel was trying to do and started to impose some new parameters.

With the new guidelines set, the quality of the work actually improves in my opinion. Steve Englehart (The Avengers) continuing from Marvel Premiere, had the head writing duties and he crafts a tale that is very Doctor Strange but also very Steve Englehart. There's a very tongue-in-cheek manner to this story, what with a former priest learning the dark arts to defeat agents of Satan and Clea's pulling the literal rabbit out of a hat trick at the story's beginning. 

Assisting with the story and on pencils was Frank Brunner. Already a master of horror comics from mags like Vampirella and Creepy, Brunner's style was Gothic meets animation; which is ironic as Brunner later went to work in Hollywood for companies like Disney and Hanna-Barbera. Brunner also has the distinction of being one of the few artists of my youth who used thin lines instead of thick in his artwork and that I liked!

I read Doctor Strange #1 as part of my continued reading through the Marvel Essential collections of Doctor Strange tales. So far, I am liking what I am reading and I look for the remaining 2 dozen or so issues remaining. If Englehart and Brunner continue on as they have in just the first issue, this Essentials volume is going to be explosive!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Completing this review completes Task #26 (With A Magical Element) of the 2022 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Phantom of Fear City #10

Every 10 years, a pirate's ghost is given a chance to escape purgatory and cross over to the other side. His task is to make a living woman fall in love with him. Having been rejected by his latest best chance of salvation, the so-called Phantom of Fear City counts down his final hours of freedom before having to spend another decade in limbo. So when the former object of his affection finally realized she does in fact love the Phantom, can she reunite with him before his time runs out?

From 1993, I found this book in a grab bag and thought from the cover scene of a seance, this would make a great Halloween read. Written by Steve Englehart (Captain America), if you were to base this series on just my description, you'd think it's just a soap opera love story. And there's elements of that. But there's so much great stuff going on in the background, along with tie-ins to a couple of other series that ran alongside this title back in 1993.

I would have to say that this book was a lot like Dark Shadows of which I am a fan. Yes, it's a little sappy, but the supernatural elements of Fear City have won me over to finding not only the rest of this 12-issue miniseries but the other companion titles that I saw advertised in this comic- Soulsearchers and Company and Deadbeats.

I have never heard of Claypool Comics before. But somehow they were able to snag Englehart along with George Perez (Crisis on Infinite Earths) on covers and Amanda Conner (Harley Quinn) on a backup story starring the Soulsearchers; a group of ghost hunters who are the world's worst Ghostbusters! Impressive, I must say.

A very good introduction to a whole universe of stories that I hope to come across in my comic book searches sometime in the near future.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Legends of the DC Universe #27

   

The Joker's managed to oust Aquaman as the ruler of Atlantis,  thanks to that honey laced tongue of his. Now an outcast from Atlantis, Arthur heads to dry land and Gotham City. But, the former monarch isn't looking for the Batman to take on the Clown Prince of Crime. No, revenge is Aquaman's but he's not opposed to a little training in how to defeat the Joker and reclaim the throne.

   This conclusion to the sequel of 'The Laughing Fish' was fantastic. The story was masterfully written by Steve Englehart, the genius behind the original Batman tale. The art was very good. It includes a scene that I both loved and hated simultaneously. It's a 4-page spread between Aquaman and the Dark Knight. There are no words involved, not even sound effects. But, it's also a fight first, ask questions later premise that Marvel Comics known for overusing quite often when super-heroes first meet prior to teaming up together.

    The martial arts was awesome, I just hated the cliched plot device. It just makes me wonder if Englehart's script was short 4 pages, so the editors decided "Hey, let's just fill it in with Aquaman and Batman beating the hell outta each other."

      The ending was also telegraphed, but I felt that it was handled a little more tactfully with just the right touch of irony. So I excuse it. Its worth checking out as is this 2-part story as a whole.

   Worth Consuming

   Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Legends of the DC Universe #26

        

   There are many things going for this opening chapter if you dig under the surface. For one thing, when"The Laughing Fish" was first published, Aquaman had long been an established member of the Justice League and the DC Universe. That's been tweaked a little in this post-Crisis world as Aquaman's literally a fish out of water, unfamiliar with the Joker's reputation. A pre-Crisis Aquaman wouldn't trust the Joker any further that he could smell him. ( I know that's not the term but Aquaman has super strength and can throw pretty far.) Plus, there's an Atlantean girl, with Raven hair and a penchant for red that's a perfect substitute for Harley Quinn,

 The Detective Comics story "The Laughing Fish," it which the Joker has developed a race of fish that has the Joker's face on them is a classic. If the Joker is unable to get his copyright on these aquatic life forms, he's going to start killing government officials. That tale was written by Steve Englehart, with Marshall Rogers and Terry Austin providing pencils and ink. (issue #475)
 
So, when Legends decided to craft a sequel to "The Laughing Fish," it's only natural that they recruited Englehart to craft it.
   
 In this long-awaited sequel, the Joker has just escaped the Dark Knight by means of some sort of sewer system.  But the Clown Prince of Crime isn't in the clear just yet as he's met by an Atlantean strike force posed in Gotham Harbor to undercover the source of the fish mutations. How fortuitous for King Arthur (Aquaman) that he's captured the Joker.
 
   But the jokes on Aquaman, when he's duped into believing that the Joker is the King of Dry Land and that he earnestly wants to fix this mutation problem. Thus, the Atlantean's eagerly provide the Joker with the underwater civilization's resources, including its labs. But there's one thing you never offer the smiling villain and that's a chemistry set.
   
   Make that two things because the Joker is using his new-found trust to slowly turn the tide of loyalty from Arthur away from the hearts of his subjects. If the Joker can become the advisor to a new leader of Atlantis, that will technically make the Joker the de facto ruler of 3/4's of the world!
 
     Oddly, for a Joker story there's one notable omission. He's dark and brooding and has a thing for flying mammals. But don't worry- he's coming! He's coming!
   
    Worth Consuming

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.