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.

Marvel Ghost Stories

A celebration of nearly 40 years of Marvel inspired ghostly tales. This slightly larger than digest sized trade paper back features stories with the Silver Surfer, the West Coast Avengers, Damon Hellstrom, and many more.

My favorite tale was taken from an issue of Marvel's 1970s combat series War is Hell. The series' first non-reprint tale was from issue #9. It introduces us to John Kowalski, a former Marine ex-pat forced to live in 1930s Poland after being dishonorably discharged. Cursed by a member of the Polish resistance for not warning the American government of the Nazi invasion of Poland, Kowlaski is forced to wander the world as a specter to save others from the spoils of war. His first mission is to wrestle the life of a young girl from the literal grasp of the grim reaper. 

Fans of Ghost Rider get to encounter another character from the ill-fated War is Hell. The ghost of the World War I ace, the Phantom Eagle seeks revenge on the German general who killed him in combat.

There's a Halloween set story with Captain America summoned to the estate of the Red Skull. Set during one of several time periods when the Skull is dead, Cap encounters a variety of ghosts, both bad and evil in a holiday tale that morphs into All Saint's Day when the clock strikes midnight. 

My least favorite stories were the most modern tales. Both stars Damon Hellstrom, the son of Satan, who is just too demonic for my comfort. The West Coast Avengers story wouldn't have been so bad except for the prominent use of a pentagram and the revelation that the character of Mockingbird was drugged and raped by one of the incarnations of the Old West superhero, the Phantom Rider. That's really strong stuff for 1990s era Marvel.

The final story, which was taken from Hellstrom's short-lived series from the early 90s, was a great Exorcist kinda tale, if you like that kind of thing. I personally do not. 

I found this book for sale at a local coffee shop. You might be wondering why after hating the Hellstrom stuff did I buy this book. I think I was more enticed by the $5 price tag that I avoided noticing the big evil image of Hellstrom in his devilish garb. I should have paid more attention and I really do regret being impulsive and allowing myself to be open to such creepy material. The Silver Surfer two-parter starring Mephisto was also a read I did not favor.

This isn't a book I will keep. Nor is it a book I can resell. That's because of the really poor adhesive Marvel used for the cover. My copy's soft cover is barely hanging on to a thin strip of glue. If you happen to be at the Hillsborough Walmart recycling center on Monday, check out the free book shelf. My copy might still be there waiting for you...

Lastly, I want to implore Marvel to seriously consider producing a collection of the John Kolwalski stories. I really enjoyed that story and I much would have rather owned a copy of that book that doesn't exist than this collection. As for the Captain America Halloween story, I'll place it on my holiday wish list since I am not holding on to this book.

Rating: 6 out of 10 stars.