blogging by Andrew Wickliffe
Tom Palmer
Immortal Weapons 2 (October 2009)
What a stinker. The whole thing plays like a bad Marvel horror comic from the seventies, with a team of mercenaries (they have matching outfits, of course) out to retrieve a spider. It’s not any spider, it’s one of the Bride of Nine Spiders’s spiders. There’s a bit of a continuity break, showing the Bride […]
MoreThe Immortal Iron Fist 26 (July 2009)
Oh, come on. I think Foreman’s the bigger problem, but Swierczynski really does completely fail when it comes to a good conclusion. He has a dramatic cliffhanger, but it’s a confusing one (one the previous page implies is unlikely). But worse, he fails to deal with K’un-L’un. He changes the status quo again and abandons […]
MoreThe Immortal Iron Fist 25 (June 2009)
As usual, Swierczynski manages to pull the story around after a weak move. Here, he reveals the old impostor to be nothing but a temporary ruse, something to distract Danny (and the reader). Then we get the full story. Then the Immortal Weapons start kicking butt. Swierczynski is best when he utilizes the Immortal Weapons, […]
MoreThe Immortal Iron Fist 23 (April 2009)
I think I’ll start with Foreman. He usually does an all right job, but he ends this issue on a terrible full-page panel of the (supposedly) first Iron Fist. He’s got this old guy warped to fit in the panel, his body proportions and perspective a complete mess. It’s terrible finish to the issue because […]
MoreThe Immortal Iron Fist 4 (May 2007)
I expected more from the Buscema and Palmer pages. The art feels like they were supposed to be going retro instead of bringing a specific style. It’s sort of strange how much Brubaker and Fraction skip here. The issue starts with Orson and Danny being big buddies. Orson’s been showing him tricks, which we also […]
MoreSpider-Man / Human Torch 4 (June 2005)
It’s a cute issue. It’s set during the black costume period, when Spidey was with the Black Cat. I sort of remember reading these comics as a kid and, from just the Secret Wars II crossovers I more recently read, they aren’t cute. It’s a strange approach for Slott to make–it’s an all humor issue. […]
MoreSpider-Man / Human Torch 3 (May 2005)
And the coloring problems return. Not quite as bad, but whoever’s doing it–there’s no name just Sotocolor–thought adding three dimensions with color shading was a good idea. And is wrong. But it’s hard to care, because the series just gets better issue to issue. Here, Slott marries two very disparate elements of Spider-Man history–he relieves […]
MoreSpider-Man / Human Torch 2 (April 2005)
Now, this issue doesn’t have the same coloring problems as the first. It has different ones, but they’re far less garish, thank goodness. This issue, for the most part, is a Human Torch issue. He and Spidey swap jobs for the day. Spidey messes up the Fantastic Four’s scientific exploration while the Torch takes on […]
MoreThe Avengers 266 (April 1986)
So, in this Secret Wars II epilogue, the Molecule Man finally gets a happy ending. And since Shooter isn’t writing it, Volcana’s just a dim bulb, instead of being the target of endless misogyny. There’s also an (early?) example of She-Hulk tramping around, picking up Hercules in the conclusion of the issue. But the Silver […]
MoreThe Avengers 265 (March 1986)
Wait, hillbillies don’t know who the Avengers are? The things I learn reading Secret Wars II crossovers…. This issue features–finally–the scene where the Beyonder reveals his body is just a modified copy of Steve Rogers’s body. Well worth reading thirty issues for that non-moment in comic history. Otherwise, Stern seems to be doing his best […]
MoreThe Avengers 261 (November 1985)
This Secret Wars II tie-in is a regurgitation of all the other Secret Wars II tie-ins–well, maybe not all of them, but a lot of them. It’s the Beyonder trying to understand the human experience, this time playing with the Avengers. It’s as lame as his costume on that front. And his costume is really […]
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