Marvel Comics Presents #4 (Thor)
"Silent Thunder"
By Al Milgrom
Letters - Jim Novak
Colors - Greg Wright
Assistant Edits - Michael Rockwitz
Edits - Terry Kavanagh
Chief - Tom DeFalco
Here's the thing... well actually The Thing was our anchor story last issue... but the other "thing" I'd like to discuss is how it looks like Legacy Blogger might not be an option in a li'l bit.
Right now, every time I access my Blogger dashboard, it defaults to the new-look version. Used to be, that it would force the "new-look" on me like once... twice a month, tops. I hear through the grapevine that reverting might be going the way of the dodo pretty soon. I guess we'll cross that bridge when we come to it, eh?
I ain't happy 'bout it... I'll tell ya that much. What else ain't I happy about? Well, we gotta spend the next several minutes talking about Thor, for one!
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We open with Thor fighting off some robot exoskeleton things... which, is pretty much all I picture when Thor has a "Midgardian" adventure. Then... the sensational character find of 1988 shows his pervy face... why, it's the Fear Bug!!! After giving us a page recapping his prior attempts to "feed", he sets his sights on Thor. After a scan, he learns that this is no ordinary man... and it doesn't look like he has any fear.
So, what is a pervy fear bug to do? Hey, I know... let's make Thor think he's participating in Ragnarok. That doesn't happen like every fourth issue featuring the guy! Okay, okay, I'm exaggerating... but, it sure feels that way, dunnit? When our man refuses to go down, the Fear-Eater does... something... inside him to cause him to be kayoed. What was it... and why didn't he just do it to the Surfer, The Captain, and The Thing? Well, your guess is as good as mine.
Thor lays there a bit, dealing with his current situation... before, you guessed it, ultimately overcoming his fear... driving the Fear-Eater away to seek out another host. When Thor comes to, he realizes he's still on Earth.
We wrap up with the Fear-Eater spotting his next victim... and, it's Daredevil! Get this, though... whatta they call Daredevil? Oh yeah, The Man Without Fear. Wonk, wonk, wonkkkkk... R.I.P. in Pieces, Fear-Bug... we hardly knew ye!
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Welp, I'll hand it to Milgrom, the Daredevil twist at the end was pretty clever... and it did elicit a chuckle. Daredevil, if I'm not mistaken, will be our "anchor" story next issue... so, this is a neat way to build a bit more cohesion in the anthology.
The rest of the story? Weak-city. I don't necessarily feel like the Fear-Eater is "played out", in fact, I think I'd have enjoyed seeing a few more stories with him goofing around the Marvel Universe. Heck, for all I know, he'll show up in next issue's DD feature! Thor... I'm sorry, gang... I'm never going to be able to summon up enough interest to fully invest in a Thor story. That ain't the fault of Milgrom... or the story, just my own personal tastes.
Overall... this is probably the weakest "Fear-Eater" feature. I wonder if we'll ever see the li'l bugger again.
Tomorrow: Tyin' it together...
Marvel Comics Presents #3 (The Thing)
"The Measure of a Man!"
By Al Milgrom
Letters - Jim Novak
Colors - Greg Wright
Assistant Edits - Michael Rockwitz
Edits - Terry Kavanagh
Chief - Tom DeFalco
Welcome back to the Milgrom "anchor" chapter... and, y'all know what that means: more Fear Bug! This, as far as I can tell, is the penultimate chapter of Fear Buggin'... so, uh, let's enjoy (?) it while it lasts, eh?
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We open with Ben Grimm walkin' down the street... freakin' everybody out. Ya see, this is following his second run-in with cosmic rays (editor's note missing) that left him far more "spiky" than his initial dose. So, what we're getting at here is, he's even uglier to the folks about town. He tires of the gawking and decides to give the normies an eyeful. He tears his trenchcoat off and shows off his new lumpy bod in all its glory! It's at this point that our new-ish friend, the Fear Bug, has spied his next target. Just like with the prior two chapters, we get the "scanning" bit... and the quick 'n dirty on the character in question.
Ben is suddenly overcome with weird feelings... likely predicated in, ya know, fear. People run from him, though... honestly, I can't really blame them. Dude did just tear off his clothes while shouting in their direction. Ben collapses by some water, and notes that his reflection has changed a bit. His spikyness has dulled down to his "normal" Thing look... but, much to his disappointment, that's where the transformation stops.
He suddenly sees himself surrounded by generic monsters... they all tell him how great it is to be a monster... how he can be the King of Monsters (sorry, Godzilla). Ben flips out... declaring that he is not an animal monster, he's a man. To this, the Fear Eater makes a bit of a pervy face, and changes the monsters to beautiful people.
These beautiful people proceed to pounce on Ben, and beat the hell out of him. This actually manages to snap our hero back to reality. He comes to the realization that while he may look like a monster... underneath it all, he's still a man.
Welp, that's all the Fear Bug needed to hear before he skidoo's outta Ben's craggy hide. If he doesn't find some fear to eat soon, poor little bugger's gonna starve!
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Much as I love the Thing (who doesn't?), this was a pretty flat story. Then again, "Milgrom Corner" has been pretty flat overall, hasn't it?
I mean, what is there to say here? Ben Grimm learns, for the million-and-oneth time, that he's still a man underneath his rocky shell. Um... that's really all we got. Nothin' new, nothin' novel... at least it looked nice. Would'a been great if they included a footnote to exactly when Ben got that second dose of cosmic rays though.
Sorry gang, this one was just sorta "there".
Tomorrow: The Wrap-Up and Poll!
Marvel Comics Presents #2 (The Captain)
"The Cold War"
By Al Milgrom
Letters - Jim Novak
Colors - Greg Wright
Assistant Edits - Michael Rockwitz
Edits - Terry Kavanagh & Michael Higgins
Chief - Tom DeFalco
It's time, once again, for Milgrom's Corner here at Marvel Comic Chrisents. That anthology-anchor, which... up until reading this installment, I assumed were stand-alone! That's not entirely the case... as this features the further mis-adventures of the Fear Bug what tried to corrupt the Silver Surfer last week! According to the Marvel Wiki, this little baddie's name is "Kkallakki"... which is a real pain-in-the-ass to type.
Anyhoo, the star of today's piece is Captain Amer... er, The Captain. Ya know how the Marvel Bullpen like to have ol' Steve Rogers have those crises of conscience anytime their political party of choice isn't in power? I think this is one of those times. I dig the dark costume... so, I'm down with it!
Let's do this!
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We open with Steve Rogers... The Captain arriving at a rather strange crime scene. Ya see, there's some frosty hoo-doo goin' on at the Cryo Lab. The nearby police are a little surprised to see our hero... not so much due to the fact that he's, ya know, a superhero... but more for the fact that he's wearing this weird black costume. Steve-O tells them just to call him "The Captain", and that's good enough for them. Just then, our new friend the Fear Bug arrives on the scene... he's now officially being referred to as the "Fear Eater", which sounds moderately cooler than "Fear Bug", but a lot less cool than Parallax. The F.E. focuses on (The) Cap and attempts to latch onto his deepest, darkest fears.
Here's the thing, though... The Captain doesn't appear to have any! Well, that's not entirely true... Steve's got fears, yeah... but, he's both faced and mastered them. The Fear Bug's gonna need to take another tack. Just then, our hero heads inside the Cryogenic Lab... and goes into flashback mode. Folks familiar with Captain America will know that he and ice go back a long ways. We get the quick n dirty about his own time in the deep-freeze, and how he wound up a man "out of time" with the Mighty Avengers. Nothing we haven't seen a million times before (or since), but whattayagonnado?
Suddenly, our hero has this weird revelation that he's something of an anachronism in contemporary times. At this point, The Captain finds himself... scared! Uh-oh. Just then, he finds himself attacked by COLD WAR... who is basically just a spiky Iceman. According to our baddie, this "Cold War" character is just an innocent frozen human that the Fear-Eater animated to "embody Captain America's greatest fear". More on that in a bit.
Cold War zaps Cap wit'a da ice... and starts to surround our poor hero in the stuff. (The) Cap has a moment where he (no pun intended) freezes up... before realizing that he is stronger than this fear. He refuses to give up... and smashes his new ice dungarees with the edge of his shield!
He then slip-slides his way toward Cold War... and kayos the poor innocent ice puppet. The Fear-Eater chalks this up as another loss and flees the scene. We wrap up with The Captain turning Cold War over to the authorities.
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So... anyone unfamiliar with Captain America's origin? Because so much of this... is that. Not a bad thing... especially if we view this under the scope of "every comic could be somebody's first", right? Now, how many of us are super familiar with why Steve Rogers is wearing a black costume right now? Shouldn't that be at the very least mentioned? I know the police officers made a comment about the new duds... but, we get zero explanation... not even a tiny narration box, or an editor's footnote!
I mean, if I was coming into this story "cold" (pun... uh, intentional?), that's what I'd wanna know about! I don't need to see Peter Parker get bit by the friggin' spider for the hundredth time... but, maybe catch me up on what's gone on in his world over the last few weeks, right?
Outside of that... let's talk about this story. Did the Fear-Eater concoct this entire Cryo-Lab thing... because, it didn't seem like it in the reading. I thought the Fear Bug showed up after the fact, and just decided to use it to put a li'l fright into Cap. Maybe I'm missing something. If that's the case... ya know, that the F.E. wasn't responsible for the hoo-doo at the Lab... then, who was?
I mean, "Cold War" was just a frozen human that the Fear-Eater "animated" to embody Cap's worst fear... right? I mean, it said as much. Was Cold War an actual baddie here? Because, if not... the poor dude's going to wind up paying for the Fear-Eater's crimes, no? I don't see him getting a "fair trial", know what I mean? The whole thing is... kind of a mess.
So yeah... we spend too many pages on Captain America's origin... we have a nebulous timeline... and an even more nebulous villain. Well... at least it looked nice, and it was fun to see The Captain in his darker togs!
Tomorrow: The Wrap-Up!
Marvel Comics Presents #1 (Silver Surfer)
"Fear Itself"
By Al Milgrom
Letters - Jim Novak
Colors - Greg Wright
Assistant Edits - Michael Rockwitz
Edits - Terry Kavanagh & Michael Higgins
Chief - Tom DeFalco
It looks like these first grip of Marvel Comics Presents are all anchored by random Al Milgrom joints. Wonder if DeFalco and Company had him under some weird sort of "usage" contract and decided to "burn it off" with the MCP anthology? Ehh, maybe Tom was just doing Al a solid. Who knows?
This looks to be a one-off... which seems like it'll be the case with the handful of Milgrom anchors I've flipped through thus far, which is okay by me! This is the sort of thing I wished Action Comics Weekly did more often. Just hit us with a "one-off", or maybe a "between-chapters" scene from an ongoing title. Variety, as they say, is the spice of comics anthologies.
Now, our hero this time is one I am pretty familiar with... but, really don't care for all that much. The Silver Surfer is kinda... ehhh... to me. Never really "got" the character, and it's not for a lack of trying. Read the Silver-Age stuff, the Englehart and Marz stuff, that weird post-2000 version where the artist (Milx, I believe) vanished off the face of the Earth after two issues... even the Doctor Who rip-off that Dan Slott trotted out. Just not my cuppa tea.
Let's see if MCP might change that! Hey, at least it'll be short, right?
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We open on an Asteroid Eater from Denak IV... eating an asteroid. Welp, can't help bein' what it is, right? Anyhoo, the beastie soon seizes, and flops down dead. From it, emerges a space insect that appears to feed off of fear. Hey, that sounds kind of familiar, don't it? Hmm. Anyhoo, not long after this, our Silver Surfer happens by the scene. He stops to get a better look at the corpse of the gentle giant... which, unfortunately, puts him in the cross-hairs of the fear bug from outer space! Before he (and we) know it, the bug "ensconces" itself, and reads our hero's mind/body/soul/fear-glands/whatever.
If you're worried that the next several pages will just be the fear bug putting ol' Norrin through his paces... wherein he'll place him in "fearful" situations he has to overcome... well, I don't know what to tell ya, cuz that's exactly the direction we're headed. First "trial", Silver Surfer fears he's been banished to Earth once more... never to feel the freedom of the universe. He manages to bust through.
Next, he's locked in some "energy shackles"... which leech away at his always-nebulous Power Cosmic! Ya know, "Power Cosmic" was the last Overpower card I needed back in the long ago... which has resulted in me kinda furrowing my brow every time I see the words in print. Y'all remember Overpower? Collectible Card Game from the mid-90's featuring Marvel (and eventually DC/Image/etc.) characters? Maybe I'll share some images of my collection down below. Had a full-set (of the initial run, anyway)... played the game zero whole times. Anyhoo, the Surfer manages to bust out of the containment suit. The fear bug ain't diggin' this one bit.
Next, the Surfer appears to shed his Silver, returning to his impotent Norrin Radd form. After two-pages of grimacing and making "toilet faces", however, he's able to snap out of it. The fear bug is really annoyed at this point.
Also, the Surfer's constitution is so strong at this point that the fear bug is evacuated from his body, and flung into space. Our hero, who is quite satisfied with himself, flees the scene... leaving the fear bug staring down at the planet Earth. It smiles (I think that's a smile) with the knowledge that there's bound to be a whole lot of corruptible entities on that blue orb. Uh, I'll save ya a bit of time there, fear bug... there's this place in California... called Coast City. Might wanna check there.
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So... this sure was a Silver Surfer story, wunnit?
I can't be too harsh on it... as I feel it accomplished what it set out to do, in that it does manage to give a bit of a quick-n-dirty on the character, and did so in a pretty creative way. Using Parallax the fear bug as a tool to explore the history of the character was a really fun way to tell the story, as well as providing us with a teensy bit of dramatic conflict.
At the end of the day, for me however, is Silver Surfer is just too much of a sad sack to enjoy. Whereas a Peter Parker or Bruce Banner come with plenty of angst and drama... they're able to balance it far better. The Surfer just moans and whines all the time. I feel like every time we see him, my eyebrows involuntarily contort in a way that makes me look like a sad-puppy. I just feel bad for him... but that, unfortunately, doesn't make me want to join him on any of his adventures... cosmic or otherwise!
Overall... if you're a Silver Surfer fan, this is good stuff. If you're new to the character... yes, this is a nice introduction. If you know and are indifferent to the character... this probably won't change your mind.
Tomorrow: A Compilation piece! Woof... feels like it's been forever since I said that. I'm so excited I might just put up a poll!
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Here's the Overpower (or is it OverPower?) collection... bask in the dorkiness:
Firestorm #2 (April, 1978)
"Danger Doubled is Death!"
Writer - Gerry Conway
Pencils - Al Milgrom
Inks - Bob McLeod
Colors - Adrienne Roy
Letters - Ben Oda
Editor - Jack C. Harris
Cover Price: $0.35
Back in the long ago, I was so annoyed at this issue. Ya see, when I first started collecting in earnest, I came across a whole bunch of Firestorm in the cheap-o bins... among them was Fury of Firestorm #1... and the issue we're about to discuss.
Now, being a youngling and not knowing diddly-squat about DC's Explosions and Implosions... I didn't even realize these were from two different series'... heck, two different decades!
I mean, I suppose the trade dress should've tipped me off... but, my fellow bin divers know that in those times where we hit "pay dirt" we narrow our already-tunneled vision onto issue numbers only.
The annoyance must've passed by quickly... because, up until I started this blog, I'd forgotten just how many (and which) issues of these series' I even had!
Let's hit it and git it!
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We open with Firestorm descending on a pair of thugs hassling an old man about a debt he owes "the mob". Now, I'm no mafioso aficionado, but I didn't think they ran around shouting words like "the mob" in broad daylight. Anyhoo, Firestorm changes the atomic structure of the cement to a gloppy tar... and leaves! I guess this takes out "the mob" in one fell swoop because the old man thanks the young her for saving his life?
Oh well, next for our flameheaded pal is... proving to his bodily-bunkmate Doctor Stein that he can still chat up the foxy ladies. This doesn't go so well for our Ronnie... he causes the foxiest of ladies to faint. I do really like how the first thing folks seem to notice is that Firestorm's hair is on fire. Seems like such a human reaction to seeing him... I guess we do whatever we can to frame this kinda phenomenon in ways we can identify by sight.
Ronnie and the Prof have wasted enough time for the morning... and it's time for the former to head to class. They split out of the Firestorm Matrix... and Stein groggily hobbles away. Ronnie reflects on what caused them to by joined in the first place... it all started with the muttonchopped menace, Cliff Carmichael.
To prove that he's more than just a "dumb jock", Ronnie joined the Coalition to Resist Atomic Power. This group proved to be just a shade too extreme, in that... they wanted to blow up all of the nuclear plants, and let Ronnie take the blame... so yeah, a little nutty. One of the plants they blew sky high belonged to Professor Martin Stein... only the explosion somehow caused Stein and Ronnie to merge into the Nuclear Man we know as Firestorm.
Back in the present, Stein is being questioned by the police. The flatfoot don't dig the nebulous nature of Stein's timeline. Place went boom... and he doesn't remember a thing about it. Just then, Stein's assistant Danton Black saunters up... and he's as mad as a hornet. He says he'll sue Stein for stealing his plans... then accuses him of blowing up the plant to cover it all up. The cop... does nothing. I mean, I don't even think he took his hands out of his pockets. Black then stomps off with a killer headache... one that causes him to see double.
After a day of being bullied for being a "mental midget" by Cliff Carmichael, Ronnie heads home. There he finds his father, who hasn't been home for dinner in quite some time. They watch the news, and hear about Firestorm. Ronnie's Pop ain't too keen on having another superhero in New York... man, try moving over to the Marvel Universe then. Ronnie goes out for some air. Meanwhile, a certain other news reporter wraps up his evening broadcast.
As Superman heads toward the Big Apple, Professor Stein attempts to salvage anything he can from his wrecked power plant. He gets knocked on his keister by a pair of nogoodniks! At the very same time, the Xamot to his Tomax also gets knocked back. Ronnie knows the Prof's in trouble!
Ronnie tries to find a quick way to Westchester... but all routes are pretty gummed up. In desperation, he attempts to tap into the Firestorm Matrix... even though he and the Professor are separated by many miles. And... it works! Not only is Ronnie able to "flame on", Professor Stein is whisked away from the dangerous duo out to beat him about.
Firestorm arrives at the power plant just as the two baddies are... well, it looks like they're dancing at a rave... but, they're actually absorbing as much atomic energy as they can. Without thinking, Ronnie bursts into action... and gets double-socked for his troubles.
A fight is on... and it would seem that the Mulitplex Duo and inexperienced Firestorm are pretty evenly matched at this point. Firestorm takes the fight outside... away from all'a that delicious atomic energy. At this point, it just so happens that a friendly Justice League recruiter is passing by.
Firstorm gets sent skyward by a busted fire hydrant... and lands right in Superman's arms. Ronnie lets his fanboyism take over for a moment... and in that moment, the baddies are able to get away.
Superman's all "ehh, no big deal kid... we all make mistakes"... even though, I mean, the stakes are literally nuclear, right? Oh well... Professor Stein reminds Ronnie that wherever Multiplex went off to, it's likely to be a place where he can suck up some atomic energy. Ronnie deduces that the closest place would be... New York's own, State University. He bids Superman adieu and heads out.
Turns out Ronnie's first instinct was the right one! He heads to State U, and uses his powers to change the delicious and nutritious uranium into phosphorescence. So, when Multiplex went for a drink... they actually got weaker! Firestorm takes 'em out with a BALAMMO punch.
We wrap up with Firestorm explaining how he bested Multiplex to Superman. They then unmask Multiplex to find... gasp... two Danton Blacks! He eventually settles into a singular body... but Ronnie knows it's likely not the last he's seen of this threat. Before Superman leaves, he giddily tells Firestorm that, if he keeps this up, he's a shoe-in for Justice League membership. Wow, they were really pushing this early!
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This was okay.
Full disclosure... despite owning most issues of Firestorm, I haven't been able to get all that far in any Firestorm-themed "reading projects". I always get really excited to give it a shot... but, it never holds my attention for more than a handful of issues. Now, I say this from a position of ignorance, but... I dunno, there's just this real "boilerplate" vibe that I can't push through. Maybe this go-round will be different.
For this issue, I appreciated the refresher on Firestorm's origin. Not that it was necessarily needed, but it's always a good idea to catch people up. Only taking a portion of a page to tell it was also welcome.
I also appreciated the fact that both Martin and Ronnie are still acclimating to this dynamic. There isn't really a contentious relationship there... which, would have probably been easier to write. I really dig that they're both learning as they go. On some level a Professor and a "dumb jock" are at the same point developmentally... and, I dunno... it's neat.
I like how the normal folk are reacting to Firestorm, both his appearance... and his very presence in New York. I said it last time, and hundreds of folks have said it before that... this feels very Spider-Man. Not a novel observation or anything... just something that "is". I dig that there's a little bit of trepidation here. Usually DC's heroes are just accepted. This is different, and is better for it.
Then... there's Superman. Dude shows up just to dangle the Justice League carrot... and, wow... they're pushing this hard right out of the gate. These days we talk about "forced" storytelling quite a bit... usually in reference to some sort of "agenda" the writer has. Well, it's plain to see what Conway's "agenda" is here... he wants Firestorm on the Justice League... and damned if he won't get his way pretty quick!
Other silliness includes... the scene featuring "the mob" early on. Like I said during the synopsis... I'm not very knowledgeable on the subject... heck, never even seen The Godfather... but, I'm not sure mobsters actually shout that they're with "the mob" on crowded public streets. Is this a case of just a couple of jamokes trying to sound more important than they are? I remember going to a fast food joint a while back... that had a manager who wouldn't shut up about the fact that they were "the manager"... on the way out, I says ta him, "if you gotta keep tellin' people you're in charge... you're not." I'm getting similar vibes from these two jerks... who I clearly have thought farrrrrr too much about.
There's also the officer rattling Stein's cage. I mean, dude's there for answers... however, when Danton Black accuses Stein of blowing the roof off the joint himself, the officer just stands there. I mean, I don't expect him to make an arrest off of one dude's rantings... but, c'mon... at least look like you're paying attention!
Overall... happy to report that I had more fun with this than I'd expected. Not going to rock everyone's socks, but there's certainly a good time here. This issue is available digitally and has been collected in (the seemingly out-of-print) Firestorm: The Nuclear Man trade paperback.
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