30 REVIEWS IN 30 DAYS (30): STRANGE ACADEMY #1

Released on March 4th, 2020

     Kids don't read comic books. Gerry Conway, the writer who famously killed off both Gwen Stacey and Norman Osbourne/The Green Goblin in consecutive issues, said in an article about the future of comic book stores that "as comics began retreating from newsstands into specialty shops in the early 70's, comic readers became older, preferring heavier, more complex fare. But this may have made comics less accessible to newcomers." Everyone seems to say this, although I started reading comics around 1990 when I was only ten (I used my paper route money to buy comics every Friday). Although if you ever go into a comic book store, you get the point. Everyone is around my age (40). Which kind of makes sense, since my generation was young when comics were at their peak in the early 90's. You would think that with all of these blockbuster superhero movies being released every year that it would make the new generation start reading comic books. If it's happened, it certainly hasn't happened in droves. So it's kind of weird to see Marvel making a book like Strange Academy, which is purely for children (although I doubt few children will end up ever reading it). It's basically Harry Potter but instead of wizards its superheroes...although since this is Dr. Strange's school for kids with powers, it kind of is more about wizards than superheroes. Is Dr. Strange a hero or a wizard? Both? Either way, the plot of this book is fucking lazy as hell. Harry Potter was probably the biggest best selling book series ever...so maybe it makes sense to rip it off. So far, Strange Academy is a pretty poor Harry Potter rip off. There are zero compelling characters, teachers, villains, or plot points. Granted, it's only a first issue. The art, by Humberto Ramos, is terrific. The writing, by Skottie Young, who's a terrific cartoonist, is pretty basic and flat (as compared to his writing in Image's I Hate Fairyland...which was wild and balls-to-the-wall). I doubt that this book will sell a lot, or be popular, or turn into something great. Not that it's geared towards children, but the fact that it's kind of boring. It also didn't help that #2 was delayed because of the Corona virus pandemic. And the whole reason I started this "30 Reviews in 30 Days" was to give me something to take my mind off the death toll that keeps rising. But any news related to comic books just kept reminding me about it. Nobody knows when comic book stores here in PA will reopen. DC is releasing a few books next week to stores that are open. I'm not sure if they're going to release them digitally. DC had to find a new shipping company to do this since Diamond isn't opening until the middle of May. While the U.S. government is apparently going to send billions of dollars to small businesses, I'm not sure this will prevent the closure of thousands of comic book stores. I always thought that they should just go digital and give up on comic book stores. Digital is the future, right? Hell, I'd be reading new books right now if they did that. But the industry is still clinging onto the past. As great as comic book stores are, they're an outdated business model. Why not bring comics back to the drugstore, the supermarket, the convenience/gas store? Us 40 year old fans aren't going to keep comic book stores in business forever. So maybe this pandemic will alter the landscape forever. It's too early to tell. When I started writing this I probably didn't think that 30 days later we'd actually be in worse shape. I probably should have written a "500 Reviews in 500 Days" blog instead, as I'll still need something to keep my mind occupied until the Fall, Christmas, next year, or whenever things go back to normal. In the end, though, I don't think comic books, in whatever shape or form they're produced and delivered, will ever disappear. They've been around too long, they're ingrained in our culture, even if it's just now a small little hobby that kids don't really pay much attention to anymore. 1/2*

30 REVIEWS IN 30 DAYS (29): JOHN CONSTANTINE: HELLBLAZER #1

Released on November 27th, 2019

     I got into Hellblazer late, when Andy Diggle was writing it and it was getting a phenomenal reception. I stayed until the end, #300, which came out way back in 2013 and ended writer Peter Milligan's excellent run. In those years, it was one of my favorite comics. The character was great, the stories great, and the Simon Bisley covers were the best in comics. DC tried two different reboots of the series that didn't last long because they weren't R-rated like the old book. This new reboot, with its stupid title (just call it Hellblazer and number it #301, you fuckwits), is pretty much the same as the old, good book. It's a return to form that's very welcome. There is a reason that John Constantine has stuck around since Alan Moore introduced him in the 80's during his legendary Swamp Thing run. He's a compelling character in a compelling world. He's basically a drunk, cigarette smoking bad ass that also can do magic and ends up dealing with the underbelly of sorcery; demons, ghosts, monsters, etc. Writer Simon Spurrier, who has written Crossed in the past, is kind of a perfect fit for this book. His writing is bonkers and very, very dark. But he can also be very funny. It's a great mix. This issue is truly out there. The basic plot isn't, but the way it unfolds is very much all over the map and often obscure, confusing, wild, bizarre, sick, and disturbing. It's also very, very hard to follow with this heavy English dialect being tossed around. Here's a bit of dialogue from this issue: "Common's hot, bruv. Gone dead-up. Six lost--daaaak shit. How we gonna sell what we got where we can't go, uh?" I'm not sure if this is realistic dialogue...I'd probably have to go sell drugs in the poor part of Liverpool to know this, but it does make the book interesting at least. The plot here has a few drug dealers trying to sell drugs but there are angels that appear in a park at night and peel the skin off of people. Okay. So the drug dealers get John Constantine to help out. Boris Johnson, the real prime minister of the U.K., also makes an appearance at the end as he runs away naked after having sex with some weird, shady guy in an alley. Yep. I guess a book like this can get away with a controversy like that because who the hell reads Hellblazer? This book feels like writer Simon Spurrier doesn't give a fuck about anything. This is truly out there. The dark, gloomy, sketchy art by Aaron Campbell certainly helps to set the tone. So far, only one issue in, this isn't exactly the same or as good as the original Hellblazer. But it definitely feels like it could become similar. Bring on another 300 issues! I've been dying to get back to these dark places. ***

30 REVIEWS IN 30 DAYS (28): WONDER WOMAN: DEAD EARTH BOOK TWO

Released on February 19th, 2020

     DC started a mature line called Black Label awhile back. It was pretty much a complete disaster. Batman: Damned #1, by Brian Azzarello and Lee Bermejo, was DC's first Black Label book. It also just happened to show Batman's dick. Granted, it was in shadow, but it still caused an uproar. DC refused to reprint the issue and in the collected trade paperback and digital edition they edited it out. So that's how Black Label started. I heard somewhere that they were going to end it this year anyway for whatever reason. The basic idea was to get big name creators to do different, R-rated spins on famous characters. They'd only be a few issues but they'd be a larger size (so...pretty much impossible to collect and find a bag and board for them) with more pages. They recently did two Joker series and now they're doing a Wonder Woman book. Daniel Warren Johnson, who did Extremity and Murder Falcon for Image, is writing and drawing Wonder Woman: Dead Earth, which is a four issue series. I haven't read his Image work, but heard good things about Extremity, which I actually have downloaded somewhere waiting to read. I should read his earlier stuff, as Wonder Woman: Dead Earth is great. The story has Wonder Woman waking up and realizing that the world has completely changed while she was out. It's basically Mad Max now...which humans struggling to survive in a post apocalyptic world filled with monsters. So Wonder Woman takes charge and decides to lead a group of humans back to her island. The big reveal in this issue is that while she was in a coma or asleep for centuries or whatever, humans tried to launch atomic bombs onto her island and kill off all of the gods. This radiation turned all of the female gods on the island into monsters. So Wonder Woman hadn't been helping humans to fight monsters...she'd been helping humans fight her own people! Daniel Warren Johnson is definitely a better writer than artist. The story here is very interesting but the art is pretty sloppy. The art isn't bad...it's just not as clean and vibrant as most comic books are. The art does work for some of this story since the world is a post apocalyptic hellscape and it should look messy, dirty, and ragged like the art. The story is so good that I didn't really mind the artwork not being high caliber. My biggest problem with this book is mostly the way it was published. This is a great Wonder Woman story. Granted, it might be difficult to do it in the regular series without everything going back to normal at the end, but when was the last time the regular Wonder Woman book was this good? Ever? They should have just done this story in the regular book. I hate when they do these excellent side mini-series when the regular, continuing book is a fucking joke that needs a boost. It makes no sense. It's not to sell more copies...because nobody buys Wonder Woman comic books. Wouldn't you want to give the main book a boost? And it would've gotten a huge boost. This might end up being the best Wonder Woman book ever. ***1/2

30 REVIEWS IN 30 DAYS (27): ASCENDER #10

Released on March 18th, 2020

     There's a huge death in Ascender #10...and I'm wondering if this book is probably better reading it in trades, since I vaguely even remember who the woman that dies is. Descender was a great book, a true modern classic. Jeff Lemire wrote it and Dustin Nguyen did the art. When that book ended they picked everything back up years later with the same characters in Ascender. The only difference is that this new book has magic in it, so it's more like Lord of the Rings when the first volume was more like Star Wars. The first book had Andy as a boy, but he's a man now with a kid. He kills the mother of his kid in this issue because she's become a vampire and wanted to die. Meanwhile, their kid is having her own adventure with a few other ragtag heroes. The big reveal at the end is the return of Driller, a robot from the first book. This issue ends volume II...which I'm guessing is volume II of Ascender. I actually read this book every month but am a little lost, which is why I mentioned that reading it in trades might make it more coherent. I do love this book, as it's one of the few books I usually read when it first comes out (granted, this issue came out a month ago...but it's also probably going to be the last issue of this series for awhile because of the pandemic). Ascender has a big bad known as Mother, who's kind of a witch because she has powers and sort of controls/brainwashes most of the world. There's also vampires in this series that are sort of Mother's army. Then there's Andy who was living with his daughter on the fringes of society and trying to keep things quiet and simple until he was forced to become a hero again. While Ascender isn't as interesting as Descender, it's still a very cool book. The one standout is still the art. I probably should go on Youtube or somewhere and find out how Nguyen does the art. It looks like he draws it then paints over it with water colors. He might just use a computer to make it look like that...but either way this book looks like nothing you've ever seen. It's beautiful. It's also Jeff Lemire's best book...which is saying something because he literally seems to be writing a hundred books every month (just off the top of my head I know he's been writing Joker: Killer Smile, Black Hammer, and Gideon Falls lately). It's also saying something that, unlike a lot of comics, I'm really looking forward to the next issue. ***

30 REVIEWS IN 30 DAYS (26): X-MEN #7

Released on February 26th, 2020

     My pick for Best Comic Book last year was the 12 part, weekly X-Men book that brought writer Jonathan Hickman back to Marvel. Technically it was two books, House of X and Powers of X, but both 6 part series were continued and connected and led to the new X-Men #1 and to a bunch of other new #1 issues (Wolverine #1, Marauders #1, Excalibur #1, X-Force #1, New Mutants #1, and Fallen Angels #1). I loved HOXPOX (as comic book fans started to call it) because it was fresh, bold, alive, and exciting. The X-Men have been boring for years and this gave it an adrenaline shot to the heart. It was a big hit both commercially and critically. So now...seven issues into the main, continuing X-Men book...has it kept its momentum? Yes and no. It's still a great book. Visually, this issue is exceptional (Leinil Francis Yu penciled and inked it). The writing is pretty much just more of the same as HOXPOX...which is kind of where the big problem comes in. As an introduction, HOXPOX was great. It had a fantastic setup and felt very bold in the act of actually trying to do something new with characters that have been around forever. The problem is that, like HOXPOX, this ongoing series is basically just a bunch of "cool" scenes without any kind of forward momentum. Yes, the X-Men fighting a big bad has been done before...but there's a reason for that. Without a big evil enemy or any sort of continuing conflict, there's kind of a big chunk seemingly missing from this book. So far the big bad is the X-Men and their newfound island, Krakatoa. They are their worst enemy. Which is new, sure, but it isn't really sustaining the book since it's bi-monthly. Everything seems to be setting up the X-Men and their newfound, bizarre cult-like family world crashing down on themselves. Which is definitely going to happen. So while this book is great and readable and engrossing and definitely unique, it also feels like just random scenes and it feels like it's either missing something or it's just moving too slowly to get to its ultimate destination. In this issue, we get The Crucible. This is a gladiator type of event where a human that used to be a mutant is sacrificed so they can be resurrected as a mutant. All of this is happening on Krakatoa, which is the island that all of the mutants live now, even the bad guys. The big idea that Hickman came up with is that this new island world has their own laws, rules, and the rest of the world can't touch them. The island is also fantastical and filled with a bunch of weird shit. So it's a cool premise. And I'm sure once this new paradise collapses it'll be a hell of a ride. But it also feels like something that probably could have been accomplished a lot quicker, right? It's definitely a great book, definitely better than most superhero books out there that are just the usual, cliched, been-there-done-that shit, but it also feels like it's missing something, that it's just a cool setup and nothing else. ***

30 REVIEWS IN 30 DAYS (25): TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES #101

Released on January 8th, 2020

     About ten years or so ago, Image rebooted Glory, which had been a forgettable Rob Liefeld book from the 90's. Surprisingly, this new Glory was a masterpiece. Joe Keatinge wrote it and Ross Campbell (now Sophie Campbell) penciled it. After that series ended, I would read whatever Keatinge put out because I had loved Glory so much. And I often looked around to see what Sophie Campbell was doing because her artwork was so beautiful and unique. Finally she's back on a major book and she's writing and drawing the new IDW Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles book. I shouldn't say new because it's already at #101 but it is a reboot of the famous Kevin Eastman/Peter Laird book from the 80's and 90's. I think most people don't really even think TMNT started as a comic book, they probably just remember the cartoon, movies, and toys from when they were kids. But the original comic book was darker, grittier, weirder, and a classic for a reason. This reboot actually was pretty popular and selling out and talked about a lot online around the time #25 to #50 came out. Then interested seemed to wane and I hadn't heard much about it until I found out Sophie Campbell was working on it. I'm definitely glad I picked this issue up, as it's probably the best comic I've read in this "30 Reviews in 30 Days" piece (and we're on the 25th day). First off, Campbell's art is fantastic. It definitely looks like a comic book (Ronda Pattison did the colors), if that makes sense. It's organic looking and fluid while also being obviously fantastical and cartoon-esque. The story is great, too, although Campbell is mostly just picking up the pieces of the "City at War" story line that ended with the death of Splinter in #100. A bomb was set off in NYC that turned a section of the city's inhabitants into mutants. The rest of the city walled off that section and it's become a wild west Mutant Town. Raphael has gone rogue and become the Batman of Mutant Town. The others are still struggling with Splinter's death. There's a new mutant ninja turtle, Jennika, that was caught in the bomb blast and transformed. She heads to Mutant Town and ends up fighting some of the animal/mutant goons that control the streets. This book is one wild ride, and pretty to look at, and compelling enough that I'm eager to read the next issue and find out what happens. Definitely a win-win. ***1/2

30 REVIEWS IN 30 DAYS (24): CAT SHIT ONE #1

Released on March 25th, 2020

     Originally released in Japan in 1998, Cat Shit One is a manga about Vietnam but with animal characters. Why, you might ask, is this being released in the U.S. now, 22 years later? Who the fuck knows. It was already released once in the U.S., in 2004. Now, Antarctic Press is re-releasing it for some reason. And no, I've read comic books for over 30 years and have never heard of Antarctic Press. Who are they? How are they making money if I've never even heard of them? I kind of thought it was difficult to make money in the comic book business, but some unknown publisher exists for 35 years? I'm pretty baffled by this. The only reason I ever even heard of Cat Shit One is because this month there are very few comics being published (mostly from obscure companies like Antarctic Press) and so people are desperately trying to find anything new out there. And maybe if I was a big manga fan I might have heard of this. Cat Shit One was four volumes long and was turned into a computer animated show on Youtube. The only manga I've read have been the titles that have gotten so popular that they end up being somewhat well known in the U.S., things like Death Note, Assassination Classroom, and Attack on Titan. The one reason manga is so popular in Japan is because they're cheap, unlike American comic books which are usually $3.99 for a mere 20 pages. They usually do the gimmick where you buy a fat, monthly book with a bunch of different stories for a cheap price. Then those stories eventually get collected in fat volumes for a pretty cheap price. But Cat Shit One isn't all that great, which is probably why it came out in 1998 and I just heard about it this month. I'm not entirely sure what the point is of showing the Vietnam war with animal soldiers instead of people. Because artist/writer Motofumi Kobayashi thought it was cool and/or different? He is a good artist, although the black and white looks better than the colored version (the last ten pages are colored for some reason). The big problem is that on page 1 we're thrown into the action (and the Vietnam War in these pages is kind of just the usual, cliched, Arnold Schwarzenegger type of all-action, all drama, all over-the-top stuff) without knowing the characters. Since this book did last 4 volumes, I'm guessing eventually you get to know the characters more...but if you don't know who they are then you don't care about them and so the action is meaningless. The Viet Cong are cats and the U.S. soldiers are rabbits ("Cat Shit One" is the U.S. soldier's battalion code name). Maybe there's some profound reasoning behind this, maybe there's some ultimate point I'm missing. But, let's be honest: this entire book is kind of just a stupid idea. *1/2

30 REVIEWS IN 30 DAYS (23): BASKETFUL OF HEADS #6

Released on March 25th, 2020

     I think, honestly, this is a first. I've read every book Joe Hill has written. Have I ever read every book an author has written? Maybe if it's someone like J.D. Salinger who's only written one novel or maybe an author that's new and only has written one or two books. But Joe Hill has a bunch of books. I've read 20th Century Ghosts, Heart Shaped Box, Horns, NOS4A2, The Fireman, and Full Throttle. But, honestly, the best thing he ever wrote was Locke & Key, which is a comic book. And so when he finally came back to not only write some new comics but start his own horror line at DC, I was pretty excited. Sadly, his horror line is a mixed bag and mostly disappointing. He's only writing two of the books in his line and this one, Basketful of Heads, is the superior one. Just by reading the title you can kind of guess that it's ridiculous and comedic and not exactly hardcore horror. The premise is that there's a storm on an island and the inhabitants are all stuck in their homes. A busload of prisoners have escaped and are on the loose looking for a tape that an undercover FBI agent made. A girl, June, is stuck in the middle of all of this. The catch is that she uses a mythical, viking ax to chop off the head of one of the prisoners attacking her and he miraculously stays alive...albeit he's just a head now. Cut to issue 6 and June's got a, yep, basketful of talking heads. The series is definitely all action, which is good. It's not overtly comedic, but in this issue there is a funny line when one of severed heads says to another severed head, "Shut him up, for God's sake. Lifestyles of the Rich and Headless over there is making me crazy." The art, by Leomacs (yeah, it's either a code name, nickname, or stage name...who the fuck knows), is great; it's nostalgic and feels like 70's style Grindhouse chic. The climax is also good. June finally finds her boyfriend, who's also the undercover FBI agent, but she gets attacked, tied up, and thrown into the ocean tied to an anchor. While this book isn't particularly great or anything, it is fun, entertaining, and bizarre. And when you have a climax in a comic book that makes you eager to read the next issue, that's always a good thing. **1/2

30 REVIEWS IN 30 DAYS (22): THE AVENGERS #32

Released on March 11th, 2020

     Now that I'm done reviewing classing Avengers books from the past, I figured I should check out what the current Avengers is like these days. Is it similar at all? Totally different? And I know what you're thinking: wait, didn't you review #97 from 1972 yesterday? So why is #32 coming out in 2020? Well, because Marvel realized that #1 issues sell better than any other numbered issue, so they re-boot their books constantly. I guess I can't argue with sales...but what about just trying to make the best book you can? If you made a great fucking book than it would probably sell better than a random, out of nowhere, new #1, right? Who knows, because they don't do that. This new issue is actually #732. And while I always argue about keeping the same creative team on a book rarely happens, writer Jason Aaron and artist Ed McGuinness have been on this book since #1 (McGuinness has only worked on 16 of them, though, because it's bi-monthly...and one of the fill in artists was Dale Keown...where the hell has he been since Pitt?). Lucky for me, this issue has McGuinness penciling, though, as much as I love his art (it's pure superhero stuff...big as life), it doesn't look as spectacular as I remember his art being. As for the story...well, it's similar to The Avengers from the early 70's in that there are a thousand characters and various story lines going on at once. The actual, big-name Avengers are barely in it (Thor and Tony Stark are on one page). Namor is in it, as is Blade. The rest are a bunch of villains, as the story as Mephisto assembling various villainous groups to take out the Avengers. So there's Dracula and Baroness Blood in Chernobyl. There's some Russian Avengers type of group. There's the Squadron Supreme of America who are like a bad, mid-90's Liefeld team. And there's Namor who is apparently a bad guy now. The big ending has Namor calling for the Phoenix force to help him take on the Avengers. While the ending is supposed to provide awe, surprise, and coolness, I just sighed. The Phoenix force? Again? Fuck...that thing shows up too much, it's been played out. I think even Aaron used it a few years ago in Thor. Which brings me to the big question. What the hell happened to Jason Aaron? Dude used to be Marvel's best writer. There's a laundry list of great books he used to write (Punisher: Max, Ghost Rider, that Wolverine/Spider-Man book, his first arc on Thor, his Wolverine run). But he hasn't written anything remotely good in years for Marvel (Southern Bastards at Image was good...but that just stopped existing a year or two ago for unknown reasons...probably because artist Jason Latour started writing other books instead of drawing). Maybe Aaron just burned out (he is writing two issues of The Avengers every month). Or maybe he just used every good idea he had. Or maybe he just grew up and lost his youthful, energetic, wild nature. But his run on Star Wars was boring. His Conan run was dull. Last year's War of the Realms was a big mess. I used to always wonder why Marvel never put him on the main Spider-Man title because he was Marvel's best writer. Now Marvel's new, hot writer is Donny Cates. Kind of sad to see a fallen king. *1/2

30 REVIEWS IN 30 DAYS (21): THE AVENGERS #97

Released on March 10th, 1972

     Here it is...the big finale of the "Kree/Skrull War." I'd love to say that it's amazing and a worthy ending to such a famous tale but sadly it's not. The ending is pretty much a deus ex machina, which is machine of God, something writers like Shakespeare would employ when they couldn't figure out how to end a story because they were kind of stuck. Since realistic means couldn't get a proper ending, a miraculous event would. In this book, Rick Jones saves the day. Apparently, every earthling has an untapped power within them and the Intelligence Supreme helps Rick Jones unleash his. His power is to unleash dream versions of the Avengers into reality to fight the Kree. Then Jones shoots a beam of power from his head that freezes every Kree and Skrull in place so that they're defeated. It also unmasks Craddock, who was the senator dude on Earth that was riling up crowds to be anti-alien, as a Skrull. So they ended the story with a frigging beam of light shot out of a guy's head. Yep. Stupid, sure, though they had to end it somehow I guess. After Rick Jones does this he collapses but Captain Marvel saves him by merging with him to become one. And that's it, folks, nothing to see here! Sal Buscema is back doing the art, which helps it a little, though it's still a bit of a letdown. Wikipedia notes that this story line is "notable for its cosmic scope of interstellar warfare, enormous cast of characters, use of metaphor and allegory (for instance, to Joseph McCarthy and HUAC and the Arab-Israeli War), and the introduction of the Vision-Scarlet Witch romance, which became an ongoing theme for the characters (and the Avengers) for years to come. The "Kree/Skrull War" is considered by critics to be a highlight of its era." Well, not this critic. Although I admit I was entertained. The first handful of issues were a lot of fun at least. And the story and characters were compelling enough that if this had occurred right now I'd probably gladly keep reading the book to see what happens next (Goliath's fate is left up in the air for some reason). Why this story is so well-known is kind of beyond me. Maybe the other books of that era were really terrible? This was around the time when Stan Lee stopped writing all of his books. Maybe things got stale at Marvel and this was light years better than everything. Eh...it was fun while it lasted, but by no means is it some sort of revelatory classic. **

30 REVIEWS IN 30 DAYS (20): THE AVENGERS #96

Released on February 10th, 1972

     This was a good issue. And, let's face it, this is basically part 1 of the "Kree/Skrull War." Sure, the issues before this set it all up, but finally everyone is in space and finally a war is going on. I've pondered in every review why this story is so famous, a classic, is so well known. Maybe because so much is going on...there's so much stuffed into every issue, so much backstory...that to understand it, to know the callbacks, to be invested in something that's been built up for years...is probably rewarding. I guess. So far it's just a fun, little, silly space opera. In this issue the true Avengers (Iron-Man, Captain America, and Thor) go into space and find themselves against a Skrull armada. And we learn that the reason Earth is even involved in the two aliens' space battle is because Earth sits in the middle of their two galaxies...making it a strategic point. So of course the only thing the aliens want to do is blow Earth up. I'm guessing that Earth doesn't get blown up. Although, that'd be funny if it did. It's not like dead things in the Marvel universe never get resurrected (*ahem* Elektra, Norman Osbourne...okay, literally everyone has died at one point and came back). The other part of the book has Rick Jones stuck on the Kree world where he's taken prisoner and conveniently locked in a room with the Intelligence Supreme, some sort of green alien with only a face. That creature has apparently been behind everything...then sends Rick Jones into the Negative Zone. And so we're down to one last issue in this story line. The big finale! I hope The Vision and Wanda finally get together. I'm guessing Rick Jones becomes a hero. What I know doesn't happen is that the Kree and Skrulls aren't completely destroyed or anything because they're still around all these years later. The Skrulls even made it into last year's Captain Marvel movie...which had a female Captain Marvel. So what did happen to the original Captain Marvel? Does he perish while saving the day in the finale? Maybe that's why it's so famous. I'm still wondering...all these years later. ***

30 REVIEWS IN 30 DAYS (19): THE AVENGERS #95

Released on January 10th, 1972

     Did you think that this "Kree/Skrull War" story line wasn't confusing enough? That it didn't have enough characters to keep track of? Well you're fucking wrong. Bring on the Inhumans! It's funny, but The Inhumans royally suck but, fifty years later, they're still around in Marvel and fairly prominent (Ms. Marvel is an Inhuman and has her own book these days, there was actually an ABC Inhumans TV show that came out a year or two ago, and Black Bolt just had his own series). I didn't even realize that Black Bolt was a character from the 60's. Go figure. Well the Inhumans are in this issue. Apparently, they had a falling out with the Kree awhile back. Don't even ask me to explain it because it's complicated as hell. So in this issue we get the Inhuman fish mutant, Triton, showing up while the Avengers are fighting the Mandroids. Captain Marvel, the Scarlet Witch, and Quicksilver are still captured in space by the Skrulls...but there's so much story we never even get to them. All you pretty much need to know is that the Avengers help the Inhumans defeat one of the Kree warriors on the Inhumans original planet. Okay. I'm trying to imagine children reading comic books back in the '70's and actually being into this story line and actually knowing what the hell is going on. It's not that it's awful or bad or anything, it's just all over the map. I suppose I just expected a regular, comic book fight between two alien races and the Avengers. I didn't expect all of this. It's convoluted as hell. Maybe that's why it's so famous...because it took years and years for comic book readers to grasp what was going on. The best aspect of this story so far is still the love that The Vision has for the Scarlet Witch. I'm assuming they get together eventually because in the Avengers movies these days they're a couple (there's also a Wanda/Vision show coming out next year on Disney+). When the Avengers split up to go fight the Kree and/or help the Inhumans...The Vision picks all of the best Avengers for his team. This eats him up inside: "Has he abandoned an entire race to bitter servitude--because of his unvoiced love for the Scarlet Witch?" Maybe they finally make out at the end of this story line. That'd be a hell of a climax. **

30 REVIEWS IN 30 DAYS (18): THE AVENGERS #94

Released on December 10th, 1971

     Well there's certainly a lot going on in this book. It's not really so much that it's confusing, it's just a lot to keep track of. Since I didn't read any of the books proceeding this (like Fantastic Four, Captain Marvel, or this book before #89), it kind of feels like I was thrown into a battle and have to catch up to speed on everything. And that, at least back then, is the problem. Super hero comic books are always better and more rewarding if you've read them for decades and know all of the history. They're still fun if you're new, but you definitely won't get everything out of them. So far in this story line there was a Kree story and now a Skrulls story. The two warring alien tribes haven't yet clashed, at least on the page (them being at war was mentioned). The other big thing going on in this is that the U.S. government has enacted an Alien Activities Commission, which is basically just trying to get rid of all the super heroes in an evil, cruel way. In this issue, the government sends off these robot warriors called Mandroids to take down The Avengers. In space, there's a Super Skrull that has all of the Fantastic Four's powers. He's an exile, though, so when he returns to the Kree galaxy, the Kree king tries to take him down (the Kree king's hot daughter is kind of against this). We end up with Captain Marvel eventually giving in to the Kree king and is ready to give him the logistics to some sort of death ray. I'm kind of hoping that the real Avengers like Captain America and Thor and Iron-Man head into space...because who the fuck cares about Quicksilver and The Scarlet Witch? So there's a battle on Earth and in space. John Buscema, who I'm guessing is Sal Buscema's son, did some of the artwork in this issue. Neal Adams also penciled some of it. I miss Sal's art. And so far this story line hasn't exactly gotten better or more interesting, although it is mildly amusing. I think there's only three issues left. The funny thing is...none of these issues are even known as the "Kree/Skrull War." That moniker came later when people talked about it so much that it became a classic. I'm taking a wild guess that someone dies in this or there's some great ending on the horizon...otherwise, I'm pretty lost as to why this is so fondly remembered. **

30 REVIEWS IN 30 DAYS (17): THE AVENGERS #93

Released on November 10th, 1971

     So this book skipped a month and came back with a 34 page issue (usually they're 20 pages) that's 25¢ (they had been 15¢). There's also a new artist, Neal Adams, on board (I liked Sal Buscema's art better). And finally the Skrulls show up...in just about the stupidest way possible. Last issue, Captain Marvel, The Vision, Goliath, Rick Jones, and Carol Danvers left New York City to head to the country to hide Captain Marvel since everyone wanted to tear Captain Marvel apart because he's an alien. But it just so happens that Reed Richards encountered the Skrulls a while back and turned them into cows (I said it was stupid). Well they're not cows anymore, so they capture Captain Marvel and Carol Danvers. The Vision escapes and goes back to the Avengers mansion where he collapses. Iron-Man, Thor, Captain America, and Ant-Man are there and Ant-Man goes into The Vision's body to find a bunch of metal bars attacking him. Yep. I kind of really liked this book when I first started reading it, but it's turned into kind of a complete mess in these last two issues, especially in this one. I'm still patiently waiting for this epic Skrull/Kree war that's apparently a classic story line but is taking forever to occur. I think that I've read and collected just about every big superhero book over the years at one point. I've never really read or collected The Avengers, though, and this issue makes me realize why. There's way too many fucking characters! At least with the first arc it just had the B-characters and everyone had room to breathe. Now we have like twenty characters and so no one really gets any time to shine. And why is Hank Pym the Ant-Man, the Giant-Man, and Yellow Jacket? First off, there's already a big dude, Goliath. So why not just stick with Ant-Man? I guess the answer is this is #93 and you've gotta change shit all the time to keep the readers interested. Unfortunately, it just confuses the hell out of me. The sequence with Ant-Man inside The Vision is like ten pages and boring as hell. I don't know...maybe this is all leading to some great, space epic down the road. I mean...it is famous. There has to be a reason. I'm still waiting. 1/2*

30 REVIEWS IN 30 DAYS (16): THE AVENGERS #92

Released on September 10th, 1971

     I'm starting to wonder when this Kree/Skrull war actually starts. It is going on...somewhere out in space. We did hear about that in the last issue. But when will The Avengers go out to space and get involved? Apparently never, as Captain America, alongside Thor and Iron-Man, says, "We three hereby declare The Avengers disbanded--for all time." So that's it. The comic book has ended. Goodbye forever. Wait. What? No, The Avengers aren't disbanded for all time? No? The comic book keeps going for another fifty years and there's multiple movies? Those fucking liars. So I guess even back then things didn't stick and nothing was permanent. Although the cover to #93 says it's "All-New! All-Great!" Which is different. An "all-new" book these days would've been a new The Avengers #1 (and with a ridiculous $7.99 price tag probably...although #92 boasts that it's "Still 15¢"...#93 is 25¢). So some things have gotten worse. As for this issue, I'm guessing it's a set-up for The Avengers going into outer space to fight in this war. After they saved the day last issue, it gets leaked to the press that Captain Marvel is a Kree and the Krees were trying to take over Earth. So the U.S. politicians create an investigation and soon the public hates The Avengers, think they're hiding an alien traitor, and soon things boil over and The Avengers go on trial. The funniest moment is when The Vision is in court and asked to swear on The Bible. "Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth--so help you God?" The Vision answers: "My advanced circuitry is such that it is difficult, if not impossible to do otherwise." The judge says, "A simple 'I Do' would have been sufficient, Vision." Carol Danvers, who's Captain Marvel these days, shows up, although I don't think she was an alien back then (maybe that's a big reveal yet to happen). Sal Buscema did the art in this issue, and it's fantastic, although Neil Adams takes over in the next issue. As far as narrative continuation, this book is great. I've always preferred these types of books than the one-in-done adventures. But this issue, since it's no action and just government/public vs. mutants...is kind of boring. Bring on the fucking space war, already! **

30 REVIEWS IN 30 DAYS (15): THE AVENGERS #91

Released on August 10, 1971

     The "big" names in these first three issues that seem to set-up the "Kree/Skrull War" story line are The Wasp, The Vision, Quicksilver, Rick Jones, Yellow Jacket, The Scarlet Witch, and Goliath. Yellow Jacket is Henry Pym, who's son is Hank Pym and Ant-Man these days. Goliath is Clint Barton, who is Hawkeye these days. Still, it got me wondering if The Avengers back in the glory days was always a ragtag bunch of lesser characters. I thought the whole point of the book was to create a super-group of the who's-who of Marveldom. I think it was...because I looked ahead and Thor, Captain America, and Iron-Man are on the cover of #92. But, honestly, the way comic books were written back then, I could easily get into a comic book with these B-characters. Comic books had a lot of exposition, explanation, and dialogue back then. While on the surface they seemed simple, the stories going on were actually pretty complex, narrative focused, and heavy on the backstory (they definitely did a good job making you want to check out previous issues or other books that tied in to the story...but wasn't it impossible to get back issues or find out what happened back then when comic book stores and the internet didn't exist?). This famous "Kree/Skrull War" story takes place from #89 to #97...but these first three issues are pretty much just a prelude. We do finally get the Skrulls in this issue, but only in a fleeting glimpse when we're told the two alien races are at war somewhere far off in the galaxy. The rest of the issue is focused on this tropical island base in Antarctica where Ronan the Accuser and the Kree Sentry robot are battling the Avengers for the fate of humankind. Yellow Jacket has been turned into a caveman. Captain Marvel, The Vision, and The Scarlet Witch are tied up. That leaves Quicksilver and Rick Jones to save the day! They do. But who the fuck is Rick Jones? I just looked him up. He was Bruce Banner's assistant. And Captain America's assistant. Sounds like a lame character. The Marvel Fandom website notes that, "When Iron-Man suggested that Rick be made a full member of The Avengers, Captain America strongly opposed the idea." No shit, dude doesn't even have powers. Two issues ago he was a musician in a bar. The best thing, though, in this issue, is when The Scarlet Witch and The Vision are tied up, they slowly go in for a kiss. The Vision backs away and says, "No! It must not be!" She says, "Vision--why? Why did you--?" And he says, "Because I'm an android--a mere copy of a living being-- A thing of plastoid flesh--and synthetic blood!" This cracks up Ronan the Accuser, who says, "By the Great Nebula! They are--in love! An android--and an atom-born mutant--rejected offspring of Earthian technology--in love! This sight alone was worth my joining the Sentry here." This particular issue isn't a masterpiece or anything, but it is a fun romp. Sure, I'd probably get sick of reading these old books eventually. The old-fashioned style would probably get old after awhile. Or not. Who knows? They are considered classics for a reason. **1/2

30 REVIEWS IN 30 DAYS (14): THE AVENGERS #90

Released on July 10th, 1971

     I was kind of hoping to review 30 different comics from various publishers during this project, mostly to showcase just about everything that's going on in the comic book world these days. But since I started reviewing the original "Kree/Skrull War" story line from the early 70's, I figured I might as well finish it. At least it'll get my mind off the fact that 562 people died in NYC yesterday in a 24 hour time period. I think escapism is good. Although, this "Kree/Skrull War" story is getting more convoluted and it's only the second issue. I suppose I could have just reviewed something simple and dumb like Stan Lee's The Amazing Spider-Man run. There's a lot to unpack in this issue, and a lot of flashbacks to issues I've never read nor, let's face it, never will. Some of this was set up in The Fantastic Four and Captain Marvel (which had already been cancelled by this time). The Kree Sentry robot, who attacked The Avengers in the last issue, was sent to Earth years ago but woke up thanks to The Fantastic Four. Now he's awake again and wants to kill Captain Marvel because Marvel is a Kree who turned his back on them to become an Earthling. There's also new characters in this issue. And no, it's no big stars like Iron-Man, The Hulk, or Captain America. We get Yellow Jacket in this and Goliath and The Wasp. We also get a tropical island base...in Antartica! While this issue is never boring, it's also a bit too convoluted for my taste. It is pretty hilarious, though, and I'm not sure a lot of it is intentional. Yellow Jacket gets turned into a caveman like monster at the end for some reason. The dialogue is a lot like this: "But-- we must go!" "Oh? Where to? How do you pursue something that--disappears?" "She has a point there, Avenger." I just imagine writer Roy Thomas cackling as he's typing this script. Either way, the story is at least interesting. And it is fun. And where the fuck are the Skrulls? **

30 REVIEWS IN 30 DAYS (13): THE AVENGERS #89

Released on June 10, 1971

     After reviewing Road to Empyre: The Kree/Skrull War #1 yesterday, I figured I'd go and check out the original "Kree/Skrull War" story line that ran in The Avengers back in the early 70's. I've never read it, it's a classic, and it's so great that fifty years later they're re-doing it, so I might as well check it out. First off, The Avengers team is fucking horrendous in 1971. There's no Iron-Man, Thor, Hulk, or Captain America. There's The Vision. There's his wife. There's Quicksilver. And there's some musician named Rick Jones. There's also Captain Marvel, though he has his own book and is just making a cameo. While the team blows, the issue is fantastic. I realize that back in the golden age of comics not every issue or book was better than comics today, but this issue in particular feels light years better in quality than today's super hero books. Granted, this is the first part of a classic story line, so perhaps it's an outlier. The story isn't all that great but the way it's presented is stellar. The art and writing are both top notch. Roy Thomas wrote this issue and Sal Buscema did the art (Sam Grainger inked it). It starts off mid-story, with The Avengers chasing down Captain Marvel. Slowly the backstory about why they're chasing him is revealed. It's quite the intricate, compelling way to write a book. The story is also very complicated but also very engrossing. I could probably write for another five pages detailing the plot. The one interesting thing is that Captain Marvel was stuck in the Negative Zone. To get out he slowly had to trade atoms with someone outside the Negative Zone...and that was Rick Jones. This linked them together, even going so far as to Captain Marvel hilariously speaking inside Jones' head ("This is not a moment for wry sarcasm, Rick-- but for action!"). So there's also this big bad, Annihilus, stuck in the Negative Zone and trying to get out. Meanwhile out in space there's Ronan the Accuser who's up to something nefarious, and in Florida a Kree sentry robot thing wakes up and breaks through a wall at the end to attack The Avengers. Whew. Besides being word heavy, these old books pack so much into every issue that you not only feel like you get your money's worth but you also get heavily invested in the story and characters. These days, you don't really get that. Books are pretty quick to read now, they're not overly complicated or smart. And usually, they never seem to run long enough with the same writers and artists to create any kind of momentum. While this book does have its flaws (Ronan the Accuser is fucking silly and not menacing in the least, The Avengers team is pretty lame), it's still a total blast. ***

30 REVIEWS IN 30 DAYS (12): ROAD TO EMPYRE: THE KREE/SKRULL WAR #1

Released on March 25th, 2020

     So this guy Frank was in a band back in the late 70's and they were in NYC doing a show and during the day he happened to pass a comic book store and went inside. He loved perusing the selection and getting caught up on all the stories he had read as a kid and finding out how those old story lines ended. So Frank bought a comic book store in suburban Philly and ran it from '79 until last Spring when he sold it to one of his customers. Boy did Frank pick the right time to retire. The customer that bought the store, John, has only been running Comic Universe for a year but now, because his shop is closed and there are no new comics being released for at least a month, he's on the verge of bankruptcy. So right now, John is running a Go Fund Me campaign and asking for ten grand. He's gotten two grand so far. I haven't been in that store in awhile, but I've shopped in there a million times over the years. And this is only one story of one comic book store. I would think that a good majority of comic book stores across the country and world are fucked. Sure, there are talks for small businesses getting government loans. Sure, some landlords might not ask for rent for awhile. And, at least here in the U.S., the government is supposedly sending every adult a $1200 check (at least those that make under $75,000 a year). So what happens if a ton of comic book stores close forever? Will the industry just shift to digital permanently? If that happened would digital sales go up enough for the industry to at least stay the same? Or would small publishers disappear and the number of books released diminish? Granted, we're in the middle of a pandemic, so every outlook on everything is doom and gloom. I remember right after 9/11 it seemed like the world was about to end, but daily life pretty much went on to be the same except for small things like airport security taking a bit longer to go through. So maybe in a year everything will be the same and the comic book industry won't perish. Who knows? I will say that the comic book industry hasn't done a lot of favors recently, though, in prolonging its life or getting new customers. From pricing books way out of the reach of children, to constantly putting out new #1 issues, to continue pumping out yearly, mega events that have lost their appeal long ago. Marvel was set to start their latest event, "Empyre," but that's been postponed. We did get the prequel issue, though, Road to Empyre: The Kree/Skrull War #1. I guess this big event will feature Thor, Iron-Man, Captain America, and The Fantastic Four, since they're all on the cover, but this issue has none of the big names. This issue features a Skrull family that's living undercover as a regular American family. A Kree family living undercover as an American family tries to kill them. Then they maybe join forces at the end? To do...something? I guess go to war? I do know what a Skrull is because they pop up from time to time; they're basically a shape shifter villain. I have no idea who the Kree's are...though this issue tells their origin; they're aliens! Really, that's all you need to know. The history is very dumb, silly, and uninteresting. I'm sure the books back in the day were great, since Wikipedia calls it a "highlight of its era." The original Kree/Skrull war arc happened in 1971-72 in The Avengers. I suppose it's okay to re-do something that happened fifty years ago and was apparently great, but still, do these current writers have no new ideas? Maybe it's just a gimmick to get people like me to buy those old issues. Either way, so far I have zero desire to read Empyre #1, whenever it ends up coming out. The one good thing about this set-up issue is that one of the artists, Mattia de Lulis, is exceptional. His stuff looks like a crisp video game, which is at least visually cool. Usually the set-up issues are lame anyway and they save the good stuff for the first issue. In that case, great, but will any comic book stores be left standing to even sell it? *

30 REVIEWS IN 30 DAYS (11): 2000 AD PROG 2174

Released on March 25th, 2020

     So today, Wednesday, April 1st, there weren't many new comics released. DC released a digital only Batman book that was based on the cartoon, Marvel, Image, Dark Horse, and Valiant didn't release anything. Archie Comics released a new Sabrina: The Teenage Witch book and there were a few new releases from some unknown publishers. But 2000 AD was released, at least digitally, because I'm fairly certain there aren't any comic shops open in England (even the prime minister, Boris Johnson, and Prince Charles have the corona virus). 2000 AD is a weekly anthology book that's been running forever (at least since the 80's when Alan Moore used to write for it). Most of the big name comic writers from the U.K. have written things for it at one time another. Their big claim to fame is creating Judge Dredd, and they kind of want you to know that since every issue always has one Judge Dredd story in it. The big problem with the book is that there are five stories in every issue but the book is only 32 pages long...which means the stories are only five or six pages long and they're all continued. If you don't read the book every week you'd be fucking lost. And since it's a weekly book with five continuing stories...most of it is rubbish, honestly. Recently they just ended a new chapter of "Brink," a pretty cool murder mystery story set in space. But this issue, which came out last week, Prog 2174, has no good stories in it. It probably doesn't help that two of them are medieval...and this is supposed to be a sci-fi book, right? In this issue we get the first chapter of a Judge Dredd tale called "Hair of the Dog" that seems to be like Honey, I Shrunk the Kids! The art is atrocious and lazy. The second tale is a new Aquila story titled "The Burning Fields." It's a blind Conan warrior type of a story and he's using a severed head to see witches and go to Hades. I guess it's at least semi-interesting. Sinister Dexter, a sort of paranormal detective, is in "The Frighteners" part 3. This story is just about the worst a comic book can get. Skip Tracer in "Nimrod" part 4 is about a futuristic soldier. And "Feral & Foe" part 12 is more medieval/sorcery stuff that's ultra-lame. "Feral & Foe" was written by Dan Abnett, who wrote "Brink," so you'd expect it to be a little better. I can't really tell who reads 2000 AD, honestly. I know it's more of a big deal in the U.K. than here, and I can never remember even seeing it on sale at any comic book stores in the U.S. I guess those that still read it are just hanging on from the glory days of the book thirty years ago, when it meant something. We're a dying breed, us comic book fans. I hope this pandemic doesn't fucking cripple the industry...but so far it ain't looking good. 1/2*

30 REVIEWS IN 30 DAYS (10): SOMETHING IS KILLING THE CHILDREN #6

Released on March 18th, 2020

     Well it's official: all of the big comic book companies won't be releasing digital comics in April (they've already announced print comics have been delayed for the foreseeable future). I shouldn't say all month because they've all said that April 29th is the date they're looking at to start publishing again, but who the hell knows if that's feasible since the infected and death toll is rising in the U.S. everyday and the peak is supposed to come in a week or two. As of this moment, the United States has 188,578 confirmed cases of the corona virus and 4,054 deaths. Which means that comic book stores are closed in most states since they're non-essential and people aren't supposed to leave their homes unless in dire need. The companies could publish comics digitally and make some money but they decided not to do that because it would hurt comic book stores and those that only read print. And you don't really want to hurt the hand that feeds you, even though one would think that digital is the future. If you look at sales, though, digital books are very low when compared to print. My guess to why is because most comic book fans are older so they're more inclined to read print since that's how they've always read comics...but also the companies have never made digital books cheaper, they're the same price as print, which makes no sense logically if the future is digital. They have stats online for digital comic sales versus print but 2018 is the most recent year. That year, graphic novels made $635 million, printed comics made $360, and digital comics made $100. So digital comics are not the breadwinner of the business, so they've been delayed this month. Which means no new comic books tomorrow, Wednesday, April 1st, which is crazy. When was the last week that no comic books were released? It's probably been awhile if ever. But I read digitally, and have over 300 comic books on my ipad, so I'm set. After all of the death in the news, I probably should be reading something happy and fun, not Something is Killing the Children #6, but it's actually one of the best books currently. The plot is pretty much been-there-done-that, but it works. Monsters are real and they kill kids. Adults can't see the monsters. There's a secret society of monster hunters and they've sent one of their soldiers that's a young woman to a small town that's overrun with monsters in the woods killing children. The big reveal at the end of this issue is that Erica, the young woman soldier, is not an original member of The House of Slaughter, the monster hunter group, but one of the kids that survived a monster attack and was basically adopted/trained by them. So there's a lot going on in this weird, crazy little book. This issue is fairly quiet, and there are no monsters. Everyone is just picking up the pieces of a big battle last issue. The art by Werther Dell'edera is great; sketch and line heavy but crisp and fluid at the same time. Writer James Tynion IV, who's writing Batman, seems to always do his best work on independents, and this, so far, is his best yet. ***