What If... Donald Duck Became Thor #1

Back in 2007 or 2008, I was in Charlotte, NC for HeroesCon. Don Rosa was in attendance. He was selling prints of famous DC and Marvel comic covers that he had 'Disney-fied' with the Ducks of Duckburg. One such print that really struck my fancy was a parody of Journey Into Mystery #83. That famous comic introduced the Mighty Thor to the Marvel Universe and in Rosa's take, he had Donald Duck welding Mjolnir against those evil Rock Men from Saturn. Oh, how now I wish I had bought a copy of that print. But it was out of my price range.

Anyways, jump ahead to right before the pandemic. So it's probably 2019, I think. It's been a decade since Disney bought Marvel. They had been nice for a while, allowing the contracts over their licenses to be assigned out of house. But now Disney was ready to solidify its properties to only being produced solely by companies under the Mickey Mouse umbrella. It's one reason why IDW lost the rights to the Disney catalog even though the company was doing a fantastic job.

At right about the same time, Disney decided to go after artists who were making money off of unsolicited and unlicensed intellectual property. Disney was having some success getting a lot of independent, small artists to stop making Etsy type goods for sale without any royalties going to Disney. It looked like the days of buying a Star Wars themed tee from Teefury or a sketch of Pinocchio from a dealer at a con were over. That is until Disney made the mistake of going after Don Rosa 

Lawyers issued Rosa a cease and desist order. Unless he started paying Disney a chunk from every unlicensed Disney print he sold, Rosa had to stop selling things like that Donald Duck as Thor picture. Undaunted, Rosa dug into his ledger. But instead of paying Disney for what he owed, the controversial Duck artist showed where Disney and several subsidiaries still owed him for unpaid work! 

Then COVID. Disney backed off of their all out war over unlicensed works produced by craftsmen and artists. And they quietly tried to forget ever challenging Don Rosa. However, Mr. Rosa didn't forget. Just like Scrooge McDuck, the artist had been short changed on services rendered and wanted his money - with interest! A compromise was apparently reached. While the terms of the deal have never been officially disclosed, word on the streets from Disney Duck aficionados was that Marvel world release a Donald as Thor cover and possibly a What If... type story with some proceeds going towards paying back what was owed to Don Rosa.

When I saw this book being solicited over the Summer, I assumed that this was what fans on message boards and in person has been talking about. It's one reason why I pre-ordered it as soon as possible. Only, there's no mention whatsoever about this storyline being the idea of Don Rosa! The Thor created byline naming Stan and Jack are on the credits page. There's also special thanks to several people for developing this one-shot. Only Rosa isn't one of them. So did the artist get screwed over again? Is Disney trying to be hush-hush over the unpaid work? Or are the fans I interact with about all things Donald and family just an urban legend? 

The cover looks almost exactly like Rosa's print. The story is essentially an exact retelling of the 1962 first appearance of Thor, only with Ducks. Unlike the previous What If special that saw Donald becoming Wolverine, there's not really anything new to Donald's discovery of Thor's hammer, disguised as an old cane that turns him into the god of Thunder when struck. Heck, I just realized that Thor's human alter ego, Dr. Donald Blake has the first name as this issue 's hero!

The artwork is done in that more modern style of Disney Channel animated series like Mickey's House of Mouse; meaning that all of the characters look classic, except for way too heavy inking. If this was a Kingdom Hearts comic, I might be more of a fan. But it just doesn't work for Donald nor his nephews. However, artist Giada Perissinotto's design of the Stone Ducks of Saturn's World Destroyer blows the classic design of the Asgardian Destroyer out of the water... big time!

It was an enjoyable read. I just wish that we got more of an overview of what Donald's career as Thor would have been like instead of a complete rehash of JIM #83. Hopefully, What If... Minnie Became Captain Marvel will give readers a more original story and mean that there's more Disney/Marvel mashups to come!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

What If... Donald Duck Became Wolverine #1

Marvel's What If Donald Duck Became Wolverine checks off several boxes for me. It's a one-shot. It's a Disney Ducks book. It's a What If. It's also a book that I've been looking forward to since seeing it's announcement a couple months back.

Fairly simple premise. The title of the book says it all. Building off of the similar trait of being  complete and destructive hot heads that can heal quickly from any injury, Italian Disney comic writer Luca Barbieri postulates what if the Old Man Logan storyline was set in the Disney animated universe. 

Overall, I really enjoyed this 2024 release. There was only 2 things that I wish was better. First was the names of the characters. They call the star of the book Donald-Wolverine instead of an amalgam of the two names. All of the characters who are Disney/Marvel combines are named this way. I would have liked a little bit of What The?! added to the story by calling the main character 'Donarine' or 'Wolverduck.' I think it would have been a funnier element to the story.

My second qualm was over the artwork. Giada Perissinotto's work wasn't terrible. It was just startling how different the characters looked in this more sleeker style than compared to that classic matte look established by Carl Barks and perfected by Don Rosa. Plus Perissinotto's more polished look just doesn't work with all of the characters. Grandma Duck looks nothing like herself; instead favoring Daisy Duck, if she was dressed up as one of the Golden Girls.

What If Donald Duck Became Wolverine jointly celebrates Donald's 90th birthday as well as Wolverine's 50th anniversary.  I had a lot of fun reading it. I really appreciated the segment that showed Donald-Wolverine over the course of his career in different costumes. Though I think Perissinotto missed a great opportunity to not have included a crucified Donald-Wolverine as an homage to Marc Silvestri and Dan Green's cover to X-Men #251. 

I'm really digging that Marvel is giving the What If treatment to other franchises in Disney's ever growing war chest. I'm holding out hope on a 'What If Star Wars Invaded the Marvel Universe.' (I've got a ton of ideas, so call me Marvel!) But until then, I've got to wait until next month for What If Donald Duck Became the Mighty Thor! It's going be great!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

What If? Dark Avengers

I really think What If?, the alternate reality series from Marvel Comics, works better the more you're familiar with the subject content. There are 6 issues reprinted in this collection. Of those 6, the stories I liked the most was a switcheroo in which Tony Stark becomes the roommate of the dreaded Victor Von Doom instead of Reed Richards and a bloody romp in which Deadpool becomes the host of the symbiote Venom. Stories involving Spider-Man succumbing to some weird spider curse and Norman Osborn's reign of terror that comes about with the leader of SWORD conquering Asgard were my least favorite stories because I haven't read Grim Hunt or Reign. (Okay- who am I kidding, the Spider-Man: Grim Hunt one-shot was hot garbage.)

The remaining 2 stories were fair reads. Mostly because I am quite familiar with the characters and have a passing knowledge of the original stories. Wolverine: Father explores what would happen if Logan raised his illegitimate son Daken. This wasn't a story based on an established story. Instead, this truly was a What If? story that explores the conflict of nature vs. nurture. Tale #6 has Hawkeye succeeding in killing Norman Osborn preventing the madman from taking over the super-spy agency SHIELD and preventing the Dark Reign of super heroes from happening. This story was a thrilling manhunt as the superheroing world has to undo the damage Clint Barton caused and that means having to take down one of their own!

I want to own all of the What If? stories. But cost is something that is keeping me from owning some of those stories as individual first run issues. Thank goodness for collections such as these. That Deadpool/Venom issue is not cheap. I think the most affordable copies I have seen are being listed for $200 each. I got this traced paperback used for less than $10. I'll take affordability over authenticity any day!

This volume reprints what is considered the 200th overall What If issue printed over the Marvel properties vast print runs since it first debuted in 1977. That anniversary issue has a bunch of cool extras like a story that ponders what if the Watcher killed Galactus?, a reprint of a Daredevil story from the first series and overview of all 200 issues published from 1977-2011 (when this collection was first print). That database was actually a big help with some missing gaps in my collection.

I would assume that the quality of 5 of the 6 stories was really good. I just wasn't familiar with everything in order to get the most enjoyment of this read. That's okay. I saved a ton of cash on that Deadpool story. 

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Betty and Veronica: Friends Forever: What If... #1 (Family Comic Friday)

Are you the type of reader that wonder 'What If?' Have you ever wondered 'What if George Washington was a cyborg?' or 'What if Billy the Kid ever rode a T-Rex?' Well, then Archie Comics has got a comic book for you. Join Family Comic Friday as we explore Betty and Veronica: Friends Forever: What If... #1

Betty and Veronica: Friends Forever: What If... #1

Written by Bill Golliher
Art by Dan Parent and Rich Kowslowski
Published by Archie Comics
Pages:
Retail: $2.99

 

I've been a fan of stories that expand the imagination. I grew up reading Marvel's What If... comics that asked epic questions such as 'What If Spider-Man Joined the Fantastic Four?' or 'What If Wolverine Became the Lord of Vampires?' Some of those stories have now since become reality, such as 'What If Jane Foster Found Thor's Hammer?' But then you've got some weird What If's. Like the one that explored what would happen if the planet eater Galactus became an Elvis impersonator. 

 

As i got older, DC Comics upped the imaginary story game with their Elseworlds imprint. With these slightly more mature stories, we learned what comic book lore would be like if Superman did not survive the destruction of his planet Krypton or if Green Lantern lived during the time of Aladdin's lamp. Apparently, DC also has a fascination with vampires as the company has also explored what would happen if Batman too became the lord of vampires!

 

I'm guessing you can tell that I love these imaginary stories. They're a big chunk of my collection! and it's ever growing with publishers like IDW and even Archie producing these fanciful titles! Thus, I think you can tell how excited I am to see Archie jumping back into 'What If' waters with this new comic!

 

Explore what would happen if Betty was the rich one and Veronica was poor! Could Jughead be a better ladies man than Archie? And imagine the extra trouble Archie could get into if he had an identical twin brother! All that and more awaits inside this all-ages approved one-shot by Bill Golliher and my personal favorite Archie artist, Dan Parent. Together, Golliher and Parent bring back the classic Betty and Veronica with a speculative twist!

 

I only wish that the stories did not end how they did. Two tales explore other ideas but they seem to fall back into the established character tropes by the end of the story. The Archie and his twin story had a predictable ending. Only the story about if Betty and Veronica were both witches seemed to have a great surprise ending. But I didn't feel like that how the two forever friends ended up being witches was ever properly explained. Were they born into it? Or did they become practitioners of the dark arts in order to woo Archie Andrews? I guess to further exploration that aspect might damage the all-ages charm of this comic book.

 

This book had a great premise! More please? Don't make this just a one-shot! There's so many other 'What If' scenarios out there. Bring in Moose and Midge and Reggie. Don't just focus on the main 4 characters next time. This book has great art that is perfectly timeless. Let's just see a little more willingness to change things up without feeling like the plot line has to always fall back to the forever love triangle of a redhead, a blonde and a brunette.

 

 

Betty and Veronica: Friends Forever: What If... #1 debuted in print and digital formats on January 22nd, 2019. 

Marvel Firsts: The 1970s, Volume 3

The 1970s was my favorite time period for Marvel. Stan and Jack had finalized the groundwork for the creation of the Marvel universe. Now, more diverse and unusual characters were coming on the scene. Plus, we started getting true horror titles and movie/TV tie-ins added to the mix. Toys and film icons like Rom and Godzilla became albeit temporary canon as they interacted with Power Man, Doctor Strange and others. 

If the 1970s were such a big deal to me- why did I start with volume 3? That's easy. This was a gift. Until just recently, I didn't really even conceive of this book's existence. Sure I have a couple of Marvel Firsts from other decades. But until I got this as a gift, I didn't really have a plan in my head to get these records of my favorite decade of Marvel- until now!

This volume explores a number of new characters, first issues and first appearances. Some are good. Some are quite bad. 

The good include the first issue of She-Hulk, written by Stan Lee, the first ever What If... story, Jack Kirby's Machine Man, and Carol Danvers as Ms. Marvel. I loved getting to re-read the first issue of Devil Dinosaur and Skull the Slayer is something I want to collect as an entire set. I was also interested in Omega: The Unknown about a strange kid and the link he has with a futuristic warrior. And who knew that Nova was so good?

Though thankfully there's not a lot; there is some stinkers here. The joining of the Champions make me wish that they had stayed apart. Ulysses Bloodstone's first appearance should have been his last. (It might be the case, as the character is killed at the end of the story.) 

And then we've got this Moon Knight story from the pages of the Hulk magazine. I do not know why people like this character so much. This story was terrible. Maybe the first B&W appearance of Moon Knight isn't the best introduction. It sure didn't win me over. 

There's also a couple of mixed-bag adventures here. Black Goliath's first issue was pretty good. But having known how much of his story later plays out in the pages of Marvel Two-In-One, I don't feel like I need to get those filler issues. Eternals was a good intro into the Kirby realm of Marvel gods. But I feel like I need more data in order to tell if I like the series or not. Then we have 3-D Man.

3-D Man was created by Roy Thomas and his 3-issue origin played out in the pages of Marvel Premiere. I'm trying to collect all of those series either through first runs or reprints. So, I need that 2nd and 3rd issue. But, I really hate the concept of a character that appears or disappears when somebody goes to sleep. I didn't like it with Captain Marvel and Rick Jones and I didn't like it with Sleepwalker. And I do not like it now. But I really liked the Cold War 1950s style of the book. 

A really awesome grab bag of late 1970s Marvel books. Some real money savers here. I need the rest of the series and I am talking about the books of the 60s, 80s and 90s too!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

What If? The X-Men #1

Welcome to the world of the EXE/men: EXE/scape!

In the not too distant future, there's no such thing as mutants. At least not in the way you

would think of a traditional Marvel mutant. Instead in this tech driven Utopia in which

people upload their consciousness into the internet, some users have developed special

abilities. Able to hack into people's bank accounts, create firewalls and literally kill users

in real life without even touching them, these renegades have become enemies of the state.

Enter Erik Lehnsherr. Instead of being the powerful Master of Magnetism, he's an influential

computer developer and the leading advocate for EXE/men rights. But an equally powerful

computer virus is about to be uploaded that will neutralize these 'cyber-mutants.’ And it's

about to be uploaded into the brain of a kidnapped Lehnsherr. Thus it's up to the combined

efforts of Charles Xavier, Cable and Domino to save not only Erik but the fate of the

EXE/men as well.

If this premise sounds confusing, then I feel like I did my job as a reviewer quite well.

When I read the story synopsis for this one-shot, I didn't know what the hell Marvel was

talking about. After about 3 tries, I gave up. But I didn't pass up on this book and I am glad

I persevered!

When you actually read the book, it's actually pretty good. I think that the cyberpunk

premise is just so out there that only a fan of William Gibson could truly understand it

without reading it. There's such a thin line between the real world and the online one that

a 200 word description just will not be able to do the actual story by Bryan Edward Hill

(American Carnage) justice.

The artwork by Neil Edwards (Fantastic Four) was pretty cool. There's a definite change

in style between the two world's. That really helps to understand what is going on. I also

loved the cover by Luke Cage's Rahzzah. I couldn't tell if Domino was developed from a

real image or computer generated. Except for Cable's face. That was 100% not realistic

at all!

There was one part of this book that I was a little confused about. At the end are two

appendices. They look like entries in an issue of The Official Handbook of the Marvel

Universe. They're about the EXE/men Jubilee and Rogue. If you'll notice, I didn't mention

either in the synopsis. That's because neither appear in this book except in one panel.

Several normally mutant characters appear in cameo here. So I'm wondering if other

copies of this What If? have features of those other guest stars in them.

This one-shot was a lot better than the advertised teaser. If you can overlook it, you're in

for a treat with this book. And if anyone has read this comic and can attest if there's

different character appendices in the back, I'd appreciate the info. (It might raise my

rating somewhat.)

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

What If? Magik Became Sorcerer Supreme #1

This is an interesting take on what could have happened to Colossus's sister Illyana after her time-warping time in limbo. Instead of staying with the X-Men, Magik goes off on her own to find herself. With untamed dark powers, everywhere Illyana goes is filled with supernatural dangers. This captures the attention of the Sorcerer Supreme, Doctor Strange.

So what if Stephen Strange decided to train Illyana Rasputin to be his successor?

This was another What If that I would love to see explored further. The premise is very intriguing. Having
Colossus enter the picture as a sort of devil's advocate against his sister's training would
have made for a dramatic story. Plus, I really like the character of Doctor Strange. It's just he
gets a little too dark for my tastes sometimes.

I absolutely love the cover by Jeff Dekal. It's my favorite of the 2018 one-shots. Quite
stunning and really cool looking.

The interior art was a different story. Felipe Andrade's stuff here looks like scribbles. Marvel
has been criticized lately for some really poor artwork in their books. I've tried to be fair
about it. But this time, I'd have to agree.

The last What If? One-shot of the 2018 bunch was the best- in terms of story. The art was a mess at best. But
it wasn't enough to prevent me from wanting more.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 Stars.

What If? Flash Thompson Became Spider-Man #1

One of the things I wanted to see during the new What If one-shots was to have the Nick Fury Watcher host the stories. Having read most of them, I had been disappointed. Finally with this one, request granted! 

One thing with this new version of Nick Fury I did not expect was for this Watcher to wax poetic. It doesn't quite fit. But I would imagine being forced to become the Watcher, it's going to result in some changes. I'm just not used to having Nick Fury talk less like a New York grunt and more like Christopher Marlowe...

As for the story itself, this What If? has Peter Parker bully, Flash Thompson getting bit by that radioactive spider and becoming Spider-Man. The Flash Thompson Spider-Man doesn't have the guilt of a dead relative on his hands. That makes this Spidey reckless, unencumbered and down right dangerous. 

This was very, very good. Gerry Conway is one of my favorite Superman writers. He's also one of my favorite Spider-Man scribes. Conway does an amazing job on this with tons of twists and shocking turns. 

She-Hulk's Diego Olortegui does an amazing job on the art. His take is full of respects given to Steve Ditko, John Romita, Sr and others. Awesome work and I hope to see more of it in the future. 

One thing about this story- it gave me an idea for a What If? The events at the end of this story would have meant down the road Spidey would not become one with the Symbiote. I know that they've done stories about what if some other superhero became Venom. But I now want to see a What If about if there never was a Venom. How would that impact the Marvel Universe. With no Venom, there be no Carnage, no Anti-Venom and no Lady Venom. (Is that one a thing or did I dream that one?) Clearly, that absence would result in void in several storylines, right? Worth exploring..., oh and Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

What If? Thor was Raised by Frost Giants #1

For this issue of What If...?, the question is raised, what if Odin was killed and instead it was Thor who was raised by the frost giants?

It's an interesting concept that I was quite surprised hasn't been tackled yet! It was also a refreshing take. Instead of focusing on how having Thor and Loki growing up as brothers and not adversaries in arms would impact the Marvel Universe, this one-shot takes place during the times of Norse myth. However, a second issue in which we do see what the world would be like without the Avengers, would be a concept I'd love to see explored.

A couple of things don't really gel in this issue however. First is Thor's temperament. When his father, Odin is killed by Laufey, the lad swears to kill the king of the frost giants. But over time, he becomes Laufey's heir apparent and actually swears love and fealty to the king of Jotunheim. It just seems unlikely that Thor would turn like that. He's got too much honor. Unless being with the frost giants is enough to make you loose your self-respect...

The second issue is also about Thor. At one point in this story, Thor goes from being white-skinned to that of the blue skin of the frost giants. This isn't so much a nitpick. Loki changes his appearance throughout his time on Asgard. So for Thor to change in appearance makes sense. 

 Like if Thor was to smite some ice creature in order to become a frost giant- that would make sense. But the change just happens. There's no explanation as to why or how. That omission just seems like a very important piece of the puzzle.

It's not a bad story. The art is quite good. I'm willing to bet that the the missteps of these book are due not because of poor storytelling but lack editing. Or maybe too aggressive of an edit or two. I had heard that writer Ethan Sacks had contributed a script just a couple of pages too large for what Marvel was willing to publish. So, I'm betting that the editing staff at Marvel took an exacto knife to the script and in doing so trimmed away some important parts. Not just important parts but vital to a cohesive and well-rounded story. Unfortunately, it got away from the House of Ideas this time...

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

What If Marvel Comics Went Metal With Ghost Rider? #1

Of the six What If one-shots arriving in stores this month, this one was the that I wasn't the most excited about. For one thing was the advanced description. Supposedly, the metal band that guests stars, Hassenwald, is a real group from Nordic country. But I can't find anything about them on Google. So I just couldn't understand the premise.

Had I left the advertised description alone and just used the cover to build up anticipation for the book, I'd be fine. I love the awesome Fury Road inspired cover by Aleksi Briclot (New Avengers). It's got the Robbie Reyes Rider playing a flaming guitar atop his sweet Dodge charger.

The story was actually pretty good, if you can get past the extremely confusing open pair of pages. The opener looks like some kind of table of contents for a real publication devoted to Hassenwald. The editorial on page two was the same way. But once you get to the actually story, everything changes…

Reyes is working as an intern for Marvel where editor C.B. Cebluski has him take the dark metal band on a tour of the studios. Hassenwald is doing a special issue with Marvel. A la KISS, the band mates want to publish the issue with their blood as ink. Little does the house of ideas know that Hassenwald’s motives will usher in the reign of a dark lord of unspeakable evil.

Other than what I have seen on Agents of SHIELD, I'm not very familiar with the Reyes Ghost Rider. I highly doubt he is an intern at Marvel in the comics. But I wouldn't have a problem if he did. Having real and fictitious characters playing parts of the story is a time honored tradition at Marvel. In fact one of the first What If stories examined what would it be like if Stan Lee, Jack Kirby and others actually were the Fantastic Four. So I really loved this element of the comic.

I was also a fan of the art. Marvel has been getting a lot of flak for some of the new artists the publisher has been bringing into the fold. I'd have to agree with the current artwork for the current Avengers title advertised in this issue. It's not good- everybody looks bloated and the normally stunning She-Hulk is a complete mess.

But I liked the art of Caspar Wijngaard (Limbo). Wijngaard’s Ghost Rider looks almost exactly like he does on live TV. Well, except for the head. But that looks freaking cool as well. It's like the Rider is wearing a skull helmet over his flaming skull head!

Speaking of the Rider, I don't know if it's canon, but I liked the dynamic between him and Reyes. I don't know if you have seen the new Venom movie, but one of the best parts in the interaction between Eddie Brock and the Symbiote inside Eddie's head. That's done the same way here and I love it!

This one-shot turned out a lot better than I expected. It wasn't perfect but it made for a great read. Another thing What If is known for is for it's events coming true. Both Spider-Girl and the Jane Foster Thor had their beginning in the pages of What If. I would love if the ending to this issue became a  mini or 12-issue maxiseries.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars!

What If? Peter Parker Became The Punisher? #1

For the month of October, the alternate timeline comic What If? returns in a series of one-shots. In this issue, the question 'What If Peter Parker Became the Punisher?' is explored. 

For those of all wondering why put Peter Parker in the role of the Punisher, let me explain why it's not such a far-off idea. First of all, the Punisher originated in the pages of Amazing Spider-Man (#129, the Holy Grail of comics for those Coyote Ugly fans out there) as a villain of Spidey. Secondly, when Spider-Man first decides to fight evil-doers, he questions whether to do it out of justice or revenge. In his origin story, Spider-Man chooses justice. But what if he choose the path of murderous vengeance instead?

This is one of those few times where I read a comic, rated it in my head, did some research and then gave the book a higher rating. My issue with the story was that Peter Parker went dark from the very beginning. Before fighting crime, Parker went on TV as a celebrity wall-crawler to make money for his ailing caretakers. It's not until his Uncle Ben was murdered in response to Parker's selfish actions that Spider-Man becomes a superhero. To have Spidey wearing the Punisher's skull on his costume  before Ben's death didn't make any sense. So I went back over the first couple of pages again.

In this alternate tale, Peter is bitten by a radioactive 'false widow' spider, in which he obtains his spider-like powers from. The spider in this story has what looks like a skull on it's back. I decided to google this spider and there really is a false widow spider! And this spider will sometimes have markings that looks like a skull on it's back!!! So, I upped my rating of this book from a 6 to an 8.

One thing that prevented me from going any further in my ratings adjustment is the lack of a host. Both the original, 90s revivial and other one-shot What Ifs have had the Watcher as the host, guide and sometimes narrator of the title. I know that currently, the Watcher is dead. But it's not the same What If? without him. Couldn't Marvel have used one of Uatu's kind? Or even have the new Watcher, Nick Fury hosting this issue? Either would have been better than no host as all.

This one-shot was pretty good. With real-life science, this is a great example of the scope of science fiction storytelling. However, this modern version is missing that X-factor (and I am not talking mutants here) that could have made this story an all-time classic What If.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

What If...Annihilation (...Reached Earth?)

   Maybe this should have been part of my Annihilation Week event, but, to be honest, I didn't even remember I had this until a couple of days ago. In this alternate earth tale, Annihilus and his Annihilation Wave reach our planet because Drax failed in freeing Galactus and the Silver Surfer from his clutches.

    The invasion fleet arrives during the events of Civil War right when it appears that Captain America is about to kill Tony Stark. So when a giant bug crashes into the Empire State Building, the two opposing forces must put aside their past differences and fight together with Nova to save the planet and the rest of the universe from total destruction.

    Featuring a cast of hundreds (many of which die a gruesome death being swarmed by massively huge bugs), the real stars of this 'What If...' one-shot are the Inhumans and the Watcher, two players that don't even factor into either Annihilation or Civil War.

    The art was amazing and stunning. The story itself was just as good if not in some ways a little better than the last couple of issues of the actual Annihilation miniseries. About the only part of this book I didn't enjoy was the last couple of pages which seems to leave the story tragically open-ended. However, knowing Marvel's history of turning stories from 'What If...' into Universe-616 canon, I would be pleasantly surprised if someone one day turned XXXXXXXXXX into the next Nova. It would make for an exciting new story or even series.

   Worth Consuming

   Rating: 9 out 10 stars

Marvel Fanfare #51

Though it doesn’t go right out and say it, this Fanfare is devoted to a never before used “What If…” With the Watcher as host, we see what might’ve happened if the Silver Surfer stopped a Kree invasion during his exile on Earth.

Silver Surfer’s not exactly one of my favorite superheroes, so I don’t understand much of what’s going on or what should have happened. The art was very good. There’s some great cameos and fantastic action sequences. I am also very happy with the ending.

A must for Surfer fans or like myself, a true devotee to the What If… franchise.

Worth Consuming.

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

What if... This Was the Fantastic Four? (Mike Wieringo Tribute, Autographed)

WORTH CONSUMING!

 Based on a 3 issue arc in the late 80’s in which Spidey, Ghost Rider, The Hulk and Logan were temporarily the FF, this story examines what if the line-up change was permanent.

I loved it. The best What if story I have ever read and my 2nd most favorite of all-time!

A tribute to the late Mike Wieringo, who was working on this story when he died suddenly. This issue is a limited edition book that is available only at select Comic Book Conventions and is autographed by 17 artists and writers who collaborated on finishing the work of Wieringo 

What if... (Volume 3) Magneto and Professor X had Formed the X-Men?

NOT WORTH CONSUMING

This book is proof that the work Chris Claremont did for almost 20 years on the X-Men is perfect and should never be tampered with. Written by Claremont, What if… proves he (and Stan Lee and Roy Thomas before) did just fine making Magneto a bad guy and not trying the whole mutants getting along idea. Not worth reading, the possibilities, while endless, are not worth consuming!

What If...(Volume 3) Karen Page had Lived?

WORTH CONSUMING!

To truly enjoy this story, one must read Daredevil: Visionaries by Kevin Smith. I did and thanks to doing so, it became a 5 star event. (Without, only 3!)

"What If?: Mirror Mirror"

Collects the 6 stories from 2005 Marvel’s “Othernet” series.

The stories are as follows (ratings based on a 9 point scale; 3=poor, 6=fair/good, 9=great)

What if the Fantastic Four were Soviets?/ 9pt.

What if Daredevil lived in Feudal Japan?/ 7pts.
What if Wolverine was Public Enemy #1 in 1920’s Chicago?/ 3 pt.
What if Thor was the Herald of Galactus?/ 8pts
What if Namor breathed air instead of water?/ 7pts
What if Capt. America lived during the Civil War?/ 4pts.

 The Wolverine issue should be retitled to what if Logan was the Punisher in 1920’s mob-land Chicago, that’s why I rated so low.

The Thor art was really awesome.

Worth Consuming.