Marvel Valentine Special #1

   This Valentine special features stories about Spider-man & Mary-Jane, Daredevil, Phoenix & Cyclops, as well as some villains like Absorbing Man and his bride, Titania. That one was probably the best story in the whole book. Absorbing Man is hiding out in a Pittsburgh suburb and sneaks out one day to buy a gift for his wife. Only he gets stuck in the middle of a heist in progress (and completely not his fault!) The hijinks in that story was crazy and completely unexpected. I like seeing things from the villain's POV at times and this adventure fits the bill.

   There is also a story about 1950s heroine, Venus, the Greek (or is it Roman?) goddess of love. It’s an okay story. I don’t know that much about her. I just thought it was odd that her tale was drawn like an Archie comic.

   Not a bad find for a dollar bin gem. Sadly, one of my cats got a hold of this book and ripped the cover. Oh, well.

   Worth Consuming.

   Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Christmas with the Super-Heroes #1

Originally from ’88-89, this volume is a collection of reprints and not a volume of new stuff like more recent DC holiday ventures. I didn’t have a problem with this as I had only previously read one tale before- a Batman tale by O’Neil and Miller. The best story starred the JLA and was titled “Who Killed Santa?”

But really, they were all great stories.

This book was the kind of comic I would have loved to have received for a Christmas present. Speaking of presents, the Neal Adams cover looks a lot like the super heroes wrapping paper my parents would have used when I was you. That was sooo cool.

Marvel Adventures Fantastic Four Vol. 6: Monsters & Mysteries

WORTH CONSUMING!

Marvel Adventures are just the best! Sure, there geared for Kids, but the cover says “All-ages”!

This volume has the FF solving a Whodunnit in Atlantis, Fighting a Skrull invasion by what could only be summed up as the only foursome dumber than the guys in “Tropic Thunder”, The Thing becomes the King of the Mole-people, and the group is sent back in time to met Rama-Tut.

 

 The Tut story is the best. Alicia gets her sight back and Thing finally gets an answer as to whether the girl would still love her if she wasn’t blind. Sadly, it all gets ret-conned at the end and the event never really happens (try explaining this all to my wife and watch her head explode.)

"DC Universe (DCU) Holiday Bash II (1998)"

WORTH CONSUMING!

There are some really great stories in this. DC does a much better job at the Holiday tales that Marvel. I think it has to do with the fact that DC seems to have a far greater appeal for families and this title is just that. Kids should demand mom and dad read this on Christmas Eve!

 

"Kamandi: At Earth's End #4 of 6"

WORTH CONSUMING!

 Kamandi finally finds his man. Just don’t get your hopes up into finding out just why he has to kill Superman. The Man of Steel (now reduced to tin foil due to years of pollution preventing him from receiving the yellow sunlight that gives him his super-powers) appears in the next to last page.

Oh well, you should have expected that. There are 3 issues left to go.

"Marvel Holiday Special 2004, #1"

One of the best Holiday issues of all-time. The Jonah story which is based on A Christmas Carol is paced very well with lots of humor, poignancy, and holiday cheer (or lack thereof). Interestingly enough, Spider-man is hardly in this story. It’s more of an Avengers tale. The X-Men story was brilliantly done. Who knew Emma Frost had a heart?

I didn’t like Franklin Richard’s tale. It was too much like an after-school special and it was too humanistic for my tastes. (This probably means everyone else thinks it’s the greatest story ever told)

Again, Spidey is larger than life on the cover and hardly anywhere to be found in the book. This is a pet-peeve of mine.

Still, this book rocked and was worth consuming.

"Marvel Holiday Special: Christmas 1994"

This is a very interesting mix of holiday stories. The Iceman/ Beast story is based on an obscure original X-Men tale from the 60s. The art was inconsistent, but it was a great story. The Capt. story was very good, so is the Thing’s. I didn’t understand the Silver Surfer story and what it had to do with any earth or alien holiday. Like the Surfer, it was just weird.

And the X-Men poem at the end was very funny.

 Big disappointment though. Spiderman is taking over a 1/3 of the cover, yet he’s relegated to a 2 page story without any words.

 Still, with that oversight, it’s very much worth consuming.