The Torch

Alex Ross reintroduces the original Human Torch and his sidekick Toro to the modern Marvel Universe in this 8-part miniseries. It's a complex story involving the Mad Thinker, A.I.M (Advanced Idea Mechanics) and the son of an escaped Nazi who created a panacea hidden in the jungles of South America. With the exception of some gaps as to how both the Human Torch and Toro both died at the hands of the Thinker, the source material is something I'm fairly familiar with. Although, I didn't know either one of these characters had died. But I pretty much can get behind all of this. What I don't understand is why is Dynamite Entertainment publishing this trade paperback and not Marvel?

I've attempted to Google for an answer. I don't really get a clear answer. I feel like a conspiracy theorist with a whole bunch of photos on a wall connected by strands of red string. From what I can determine, in 2008, Alex Ross worked with Dynamite to reintroduce a bunch of forgotten superheroes from the 1940s. That same year, Ross produced an Avengers/Invaders crossover FOR Dynamite! This miniseries brought Toro back from the dead. So in 2009, Ross produces this series which also brings the original Torch back as well.

Again, why Dynamite? I pretty much understand Alex Ross' timeline. But why Dynamite? Was Marvel in such dire straits that less popular miniseries such as these, which focus on Golden Age pre-Marvel heroes, were outsourced to other companies? I'd really like more info on this.

The Torch was a good read. It's not my all-time favorite read. But I didn't hate this. If anything, I learned more about the origins of the original Torch along with Toro. I always knew that the first Human Torch actually wasn't human. He was an android. What I didn't know until this book was that Toro WAS HUMAN! I had always assumed he was an android too. I thought the Torch was lonely and wanted a little brother (so something) and thus he created Toro. It turns out Toro was a mutant whose cells were affected by an early encounter with the Torch, giving the lad the ability to catch aflame. 

There's lots of cameos from some of your favorite Marvel characters. The Fantastic Four with their Human Torch. Prince Namor. And the original Vision. Not the Avengers member but a 1940s era Timely Comics hero who was an alien from an alternate dimension. It's a very Marvel heavy book. I still don't know why it's published by Dynamite...

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

All Winners Comics #1 70th Anniversary Special

 

The tribute story takes place during that brief period of time that All Winners was still published and the very end and just after WWII and contained Capt. America and Bucky as members. It explains that those heroes were replacements created by the government to prevent people from losing hope upon hearing that those symbols of freedom had “died” at the hands of the Nazis.

This is all said and good. However, when a zombie horde attacks NYC, the All-Winners are faced with a dead Capt. and Bucky. Both of which weren’t dead but in suspended animation. Did the writers and editors of this anniversary special forget that?

The reprint tale is quite good and the Simon/ Kirby art is awesome! I loved it. Not a bad issue, but there are some serious plot nits in the tribute tale.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.