Marvel Comic Books » marvel universe

Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars Revisited – Blast from the Past

Don Chiavon — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 14:22:36 +0000

In my last Blast From The Past, I confessed my undying love for the 1984 Marvel maxi-series Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars. Coincidentally, this year was the 25th anniversary of that groundbreaking company-wide crossover.

Now, as devastated as I was that Marvel and Hasbro stopped making the beloved Marvel Legends line of action figures, (though the sculpts were admittedly much better looking when they used to be made by Toybiz), I was delighted to find out that the new 3 and 3/4 inch Marvel Universe Line from Hasbro was set to include 25th Anniversary Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars.

There’s six 2 figure sets in all, each set coming with a reprint of issue of the series. The first wave includes a 2-pack of Captain America and villain Klaw, (I freaking LOVE Klaw! I’ve been dying for a Bowen bust of him for years!), along with issue #1. Then there’s the Human Torch and Wolverine with issue 2, and Thunderball and Spider-Man with issue 3.

I zipped over to Target, and now I’m the proud owner of all three sets from Wave 1. I think they’re pretty cool looking. They’re well-articulated, though some of the paint jobs seem to be a bit sloppy. I still prefer the larger Marvel legends, still and all.

Despite that, I’ll still probably pick up Wave 2, which includes an angry Hulk and Cyclops with issue 4, Iron Man and Spider-Woman with issue 7, and Spider-Man in his iconic black costume along with Magneto and issue 8.

Nostalgia, and my uncontrollable need to be a consumer, will compel me to seek out every Secret Wars tie-in that Marvel sees fit to produce. It may not be good for my bank account, but really… who needs money?

REVIEW: New Avengers – The Reunion #’s 1-4

Don Chiavon — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 16:05:10 +0000

I’ve always been a HUGE Avengers guy, and Hawkeye’s always been one of my favorite Avengers. So, I was thrilled back in the 80’s when Hawkeye, aka Clint Barton, was given his own mini-series, in which he met super-spy Bobbi Morse, aka Mockingbird. That mini was written and penciled by the late great Mark Gruenwald, and was full of fun banter, beautiful artwork, and ridiculous villains, ending with Hawkeye and Mockingbird’s having been married after a whirlwind courtship. That mini led to Hawkeye and his new bride being founders of the West Coast Avengers, with Hawkeye being the Chairman of this new group. Alas, during a battle with the Devil of the Marvel Universe himself, Mephisto, Mockingbird was struck down, making Hawk a widower in Avengers West Coast #100.

Or was she? Turns out the Mockingbird that was killed was just a Skrull in disguise, as revealed during the Secret Invasion. The REAL Mockingbird was held captive, along with other kidnapees of the Marvel U, on the Skrull Homeworld. But now she’s back, and struggling to come to terms with not only her ordeal during her captivity, but also her marriage to Hawkeye, which had been on the rocks when she was abducted. Wow, complicated, huh?

New Avengers: The Reunion details her reactions to a world she doesn’t recognize anymore, and her relationship with Hawk, a man she’s no longer sure she wants to be with, not to mention a man who’s no longer Hawkeye anymore. He’s taken the identity of Ronin, though he’ll always be Hawkeye to me. I thought the writing on this series was done well, as I appreciated the banter between the two of them as they fell easily into making fun of each other and flirting, much as she wanted to resist. The characterizations were spot on, especially Clint’s struggle to give Mockingbird her time to work out what she was keeping from him. There were also some great one-liners in this series, (Mockingbird to female villain: “This isn’t a catfight. This is me kicking your ass!”). I liked the spy-slant to the story, and Clint and Bobbie’s bickering took on a Mr. And Mrs. Smith style of one-upmanship. The villain, along with the plot she was trying to carry out, was TOO much of an afterthought, in my opinion. I know that this is more a story about Hawkeye and Mockingbird, but still…

I didn’t appreciate the artwork as much, finding it a bit too Manga-influenced and really hating the washed-out looking colors. Clint looked SO baby-faced when out of costume to the point of distraction, but I did like the redesign of Mockingbird’s costume. I don’t think the artist, David Lopez, is suited for action packed stories like this one. He seems like he’d be perfect for a title like Runaways. Despite my misgivings about the artwork, I thought the covers by Jo Chen were very attractive and dynamic.

All in all, I liked this series more than I thought I would after the first issue. Despite my misgivings to play spoiler, I wasn’t thrilled with the open style, though hopeful, ending. Here’s hoping that this will lead to more stories starring these characters… I’d love to see a revamp of the West Coast Avengers… and that Hawkeye will finally be spotlighted in some stories worthy of the character. Not the best, but not bad.
(my rating for this mini-series)

Item Reviewed: New Avengers - The Reunion #'s 1-4 Marvel Comic Book Mini-Series
Rating: 3.0/5.0
Reviewer: Don Chiavon
Date Reviewed: June 24, 2009
Summary: "The writing on this series was done well." "I didn’t appreciate the artwork as much." "Not the best, but not bad."

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History of Marvel Comics

Don Chiavon — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 02:29:08 +0000

Let's talk a bit about the humble beginnings of Marvel Comics, shall we, fellow Zombies? Originally, Timely Comics was started in 1939 by Founder Martin Goodman. It's interesting to note that Timely's first publication was Marvel Comics #1, and it featured the debuts of the Human Torch and Namor the Sub Mariner, heroes still prolific in the Marvel Universe today, though both have evolved since their first appearances.

Two years later, in 1941, Captain America was created by writer Joe Simon and legendary comic artist Jack "King" Kirby, a patriotic hero created to take on the Axis during World War 2. Captain America Comics #1 even featured the Captain socking Hitler square in the jaw.

In the 1950s, Timely became Atlas Comics, and superheroes weren't as popular anymore. As a result, Atlas switched genres often; flooding the market with horror books, war stories, romance comics, Westerns, funny animals...basically trying to capitalize on whatever was hot at the time. Goodman tried to cast a wide net and wanted to focus on volume rather than innovation and creativity.

It was the 1960's that finally saw the creation of the Marvel Universe with The Fantastic Four #1. Goodman had taken note of how well rival company DC Comics was doing with the superhero team book Justice League of America, and he wanted a team all his own. He turned to writer Stan Lee, who started at Timely as a teenager, basically hired to be a gofer in 1939 before moving up the ranks until he was named Editor. Stan "The Man", along with Jack Kirby, came up with the Fantastic Four, a family of adventurers who hijacked a rocket and were bombarded with "Cosmic Rays" in space. As a result, the foursome gained strange powers when they crashed back to Earth.

Needless to say, the book was a smash hit, and was soon followed by other iconic heroes created by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, etc. Characters like the Hulk, Iron Man, Daredevil, Thor, The X-Men, and Marvel's most recognizable character, The Amazing Spiderman. Lee created a Marvel universe that centered primarily in and around New York City, while DC's heroes fought crime in such fictional cities as Metropolis and Gotham. Lee created heroes that were tortured and outcasts, like the monstrous Hulk and the misunderstood Mutant X-Men. And Lee tried to give his heroes identifiable problems, best embodied by Spiderman's alter-ego Peter Parker, a nerdy teenager with money problems that was unlucky in love. DC's heroes, in contrast, were seemingly perfect ideals. What could hurt Superman?

Lee also tried to give readers a peek behind the creative curtain, updating fans with his Bullpen Bulletins, monthly reports about Marvel's creative talent. He wrote a long-standing opinion column called Stan's Soapbox, and he created the Marvel fan clubs the Merry Marvel Marching Society and FOOM, (Friends of Ol' Marvel). He also was one of the first to actually print fan's feedback in a letters column in his comics. Stan wanted fans to feel like they were "in the know", like they were part of the club reading Marvel Comics, and he was more than proud to be the public face of the comics he, along with others, created.

Marvel marched on, from the first Marvel mini-series, Contest of Champions, to the first company-wide crossover, Secret Wars, to the recent Marvel Universe splitting Civil War. Marvel went from the boom of the speculators market of the 1990s to the bust of bankruptcy, and back to the successful multi-media company it is today. The comics themselves have evolved from the Silver Age of the advent of the Fantastic Four, "The Worlds Greatest Comic Magazine!", to die cut holographic foil covers on the 1990s, to the digital, downloadable motion comics at Marvel.com. From the less than humble Captain America serial of 1944, to the flop of Howard The Duck the movie in 1986, to the blockbuster Spiderman and X-Men movie film franchises of today. The Marvel Universe has permeated the world of pop culture. Spiderman is every bit as recognizable the world over as Mickey Mouse.

Okay... enough rambling. Lol I truly meant for this to be a brief overview of the beginings of Marvel Comics, but it's hard to be succinct about something so massive. I'll be getting into the current state of the Marvel U in my next post. As Stan The Man used to say... Excaliber! At least, it was something like that...

Have you read... Current State Of The Marvel Universe?