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. **