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Post by codystarbuck on Sept 27, 2018 16:19:09 GMT -5
Marvel two-in-One #62Creative Team: Same as last time. Synopsis: Ben is helping Starhawk stagger back from the river.... They recap the last issue as the stumble into the Baxter Building and head for the rooftop garage, to borrow a spaceship. They end up taking the Skrull flying saucer, from FF #2 (thanks to fanboy Gruenwald's memory)... Meanwhile, Moondragon pilots her ship to Counter-Earth, on the opposite side of the sun, where Adam Warlock was buried. She relates the abbreviated version of Warlock's initial storyline (post Him); but, Counter-Earth isn't there. The go to the moon, which was the High Evolutionary's base and Her helps them past his automated defenses. They find his lifeless form in a control room; but, no beast men or anything else. Then, Ben and Starhawk show up. Starhawk and her square off and Ben and Moondragon face one another. Starhawk chastises Her and she blasts him. He is weakened and Aleta starts to establish dominance over the Starhawk form, which doesn't escape her's notice. Moondragon tries to go Cynthia Rothrock on Ben and nearly gets a broken ankle for her trouble. After brief talk of gender swaps, Aleta tackles Her.... while Thing administers a needed spanking to Moondragon..... Alicia yells at Ben to stop and to get over and spank her.... Alicia calms everyone down and moondragon gets all louts-y and discovers High Evolutionary's consciousness, floating around. Her gives it form and brings it back into his body. he then tells how he and the FF stopped Galactus from consuming Counter-Earth and how Warlock came back, thought the world dead, due to HE reneging on his promise and killed him, as prophesized. Warlock sped off to his future and HE was left a disembodied mind. They HE discovers CE missing and traces where it went, then takes everyone after it, in his mobile moon. Thoughts: Ah, the days when it was okay for the hero to spank a bitchy woman! Oh, it's not PC and it is bullying, given that The Thing is impervious to harm from her and is vastly stronger. But, Moondragon is a stone cold bitch and a dinosaur part of me likes seeing her get her comeuppance. She gets a taste of her own medicine as Her condescends to Moondragon, throughout the issue, and lumps her in with humanity (she is 100% human, after all), which ticks Moony off. still, it is physical violence against a woman. Even Aleta resorts to violence. Only Alicia is able to remain calm and act rationally. Must be hard to be the only adult in the room. So, Mark Gruenwald is pulling in more bits of Marvel history. It's been said on this board that just about everything written in mainstream superhero comics, since about 1970, is fan-fiction. That's pretty much the case here, as we revisit Warlock's series, early and later FF, and connections to other past stories. Seems like a lot of young writers fall into this trap, until they build their skills (then they still do it, but with better integration). Still pretty entertaining. Seems like Moondragon is a favorite of one, as I have yet to come across a story with her where she is even remotely sympathetic. Mostly, she is an arrogant pain in the backside who is tolerated, then contributes very little of note to the fight. I sometimes wonder if she could have been improved by a female writer, who could deliver better insight into her mind and personality.
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Post by codystarbuck on Sept 27, 2018 17:40:21 GMT -5
Marvel Two=in-One #63Creative Team: Mostly the same, except Roger Slifer handles the colors. What is it with editors doing the coloring? Must have a new box of Crayolas. Synopsis: The High Evolutionary Just say no, boys & girls!) has led them to where the Counter-Earth-Stealers are......and he looks pissed! Someone must have brought up Creationism! Bingham & Day gives us a nice 2-page spread..... and a recap. They see the ships towing the planetoid and HE decides to assault it. Aleta shifts back to Stakar and Ben notes the transition and then says Alicia isn't coming, no way, no how. HE says he can stay with her; they have enough to retake the planet. ben plays Scotty and beams the two ladies and the half a lady (Starhawk) over to the command ship. They run into some aliens and hilarity ensues... While all of this goes on, Ben is feeling guilty and Alicia and HE talk about the creative impulse. Suddenly them beam over to the command ship, where they meet Sphinxor... who talks like a human, thanks to monitoring tv transmissions of sitcoms. HE grows 20 feet and confabs with Sphinxor. He and his group were contracted by the Beyonders to bring Counter-Earth to them. He and his crew were the ones who tricked Warlock into thinking he had grown to the size of the galaxy, but he saw through it and then created the illusion that CE was dead, causing Warlock to attack the HE. They then hooked up the planet and dragged it there. He refers them to the Beyonders for further details. HE says they can keep it, as long as he can accompany it to meet the Beyonders. CE is unstable and he hopes they can help fix it. His other condition is that Her and the gang be allowed down on the surface to try and resurrect Warlock. Sphinxor balks on that and Ben has all he cand stands and he can't stands no more! He decks Sphinxor and threatens to kick his butt back and forth until Sphinxor gives in. The group beams down and Her does Her stuff, bringing Warlock's body back to life.... Problem is, his soul is inside the Soul gem, which is in the possession of the Gardener. So, he is essentially hollow Her flies off and Ben and Alicia go home to watch Ordinary People. Thoughts: Saw that one coming! Pretty much swiped from the short story, "The Monkey's Paw," by WW Jacobs. Like the couple in the story, Her gets Her wish and brings Warlock to life, only to find out he isn't the Warlock he was. Sucks to be Her! Her was born as the male Paragon, then did an Orlando when she was in the cocoon. After this she wandered the stars, helped a ravaged planet, and returned to earth to find a new mate from a group of heroes, including Quasar. She almost gets into it with Moondragon (the Erica Kane of the Marvel Universe), and then has the hots for Quasar, until his girlfriend uses the Starbrand to kick her butt back into Her cocoon. She adopts the name Kismet and later takes the name Ayesha. In an alternate timeline, she and Quasar are the parents of Stakar, who will become an alternate Starhawk. Ayesha is the leader of the Sovereign in GOTG 2, where, in the post-credits teaser, we see the energy cocoon for Warlock. Sphinxor was the narrator of the stories when Warlock returned in the revived Strange Tales, which led back into the revived Warlock book, with the Magus and the return of Thanos (plus Pip and Gamora). In his appearances there, he spoke like an Earther. More fan-fiction. This was it for a few issues, as Thing subsequently teams up with Stingray..... ...Triton, Scarlet Witch, Hyperion and Angle, before meeting, for the last time, with the Guardians of the Galaxy.
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Post by codystarbuck on Sept 27, 2018 19:27:24 GMT -5
Marvel two-in-One #69Creative Team: Mark gruenwald & Ralph "Not the Karate Kid" Macchio-story, Ron Wilson-art, John Costanza-letters, George Roussos-colors, Jim Salicrup-editor Synopsis: Uncle benjy is busy in the kitchen, making pancakes for his favorite "nephew," Franklin, and his mother Sue "Invisible Girl" Storm Richards.... Ben talks to Suzie about his break-up with Alicia, as he is concerned for her safety, after recent events. He saw her out with another man and is jealous and confused. Sue tells him Alicia loves him and not to jumpt to conclusions, when she is interrupted by a transporter beam.... I ti s Starhawk and he alerts Ben that Vance Astro has gone AWOL. The GOTG have just finished repairs on Drydock, to return home (well, what the heck did you need the Collector's ship for, then?) and Vance is missing. Starhawk warns of the danger if he meets hs younger self. Right on cue, that is exactly what happens..... The FF use their instruments to search for signs of Vance and notice a massive fog bank coming from upstate New York. They go to investigate and find a dense black cloudy mass. The Avengers also show up but cede the recon to the Fantasticar. Reed can't find a ceiling for the fog, Torch can't vaporize it and Sue can't catch it; so, Ben flies right into it. Inside, Vance Astro tries to convince his younger self to never become an astronaut... While Future Vance is distracted, Present Vance runs away and then Ben turns up. Vance tells him why he is trying to change the future, to prevent himself from going through the pain and agony of a 1000 years of loneliness, which drove him near insane and raised his latent powers, only to lose his life and be trapped in his suit. ben sympathizes and remarks of his own attempts to change the past, which only created alternate timelines. He doesn't think the fog is related to Vance; but, they get separated. Vance heads to his old house and runs into a surprise... Charlie tries to convince him to come back and gets a psi-bolt for his troubles. ben tries to be peacemaker; but, Charlie shoves him outta the way. Vance fights the Guardians and Ben gets mad. Martinexx freezes Vance's suit and Yondu's arrow spins around Ben until he gets dizzy and collapses. The Guardians beam out with Vance's frozen form and return to Drydock. They check the readings and see the fog is still there. Vance explains that his younger self is doing it, as meeting him unleashed his latent powers. They have to go back to get him to stop, as they now realize it was the feedback of their mutant powers that caused problems back in the defenders, not their presence in the same time period. They beam back and find Ben talking to Vance and his parents. Future Vance tries to tap younger Vance's mind, to allow him to control the effect he is creating; but, it causes a backlash... ...bodies go flying everywhere. Ben talks the kid down, getting him to focus on something positive, like being like his hero, Captain America. Vance calms down and the effect ends. Vance is alright and the fog dissipates. Vance's father berates his future self, demanding to know by what right he interferes with his son and Vance shows him... Vance replaces his mask before anything can happen to his body. The group departs as young Vance says goodbye. Reed shows up and Ben introduces him to a future superhero. Up on Drydock Niki asks about removing his mask, that Vance always said it would kill him. Vance replies that he was wrong and he underestimated the restorative elements of the suit and that only his father could goad him into testing the theory. Satisfied that he has changed the future, the group prepare to depart for home. Thoughts: For my money, this is the best use of the Guardians since they were revived in Defenders. In his typical fashion, Gruenwald tries to reconcile the storm effects of that storyline with the lack of said effect when others, including Ben, met themselves in another time period. His solution is that young Vance's latent power was causing it, seeing as he encountered the Guardians both times, in anxious situations. It's not a bad one. He (and Ralph) also get to the heart of Vance Astro, his isolation and millenia of loneliness and madness. He wants to save his young self from that and does, to a certain extent. His timeline remains but this Vance will not be an astronaut. Instead, he will become a hero, known as Marvel Boy and Justice and one day become a New Warrior and an Avenger, standing beside his hero, Captain America.
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Post by codystarbuck on Sept 27, 2018 21:11:51 GMT -5
ps The letters column has one that takes Marvel to task for the spanking scene. Gruenwald says Ben would do the same to a male character who acted that way, which ignores the basic point that it depicts a stronger male physically abusing a female and is seen as degrading to women, since it is a trope predominantly aimed at "bratty" or "bitchy" female characters. Dr Doom is just as haughty, of not more; but, we don't see similar scenes, to jerks like Quicksilver or Namor.
Also, I just looked closer at the image of Justice I posted above. Aazing how he went from black hair in this issue, to a much lighter brown, later. Read your OHOTMU's people!
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Post by codystarbuck on Oct 10, 2018 10:54:05 GMT -5
So, 10 years would pass, without the Guardians of the Galaxy. No special appearances in MTU or MTIO, no time travelling stories of characters ending up in the 31st Century; not a sausage. The best we got was a cameo, in She-Hulk #6 (2nd series), in 1989... They got an entire panel. Whoopie.................. The next year was another matter.... Not an imaginary issue, not a cameo, not a team-up, not a disposable mini-series; the GOTG were back, in their own series, the first to carry their name on the masthead! Guardians of the Galaxy #1Let's just look at the cover for a moment. Nikki has some new duds, as does Charlie, losing his Jovian uniform and looking more like a leatherman (or refugee from a Mad Max film; same difference). Vance and Martinex look much the same and Starhawk hasn't changed. Yondu got a skirt and decided to accessorize it with some dangling earrings! (okay, it's a loincloth) Who's the chick? Guess we will have to look inside. Creative Team: Jim "normalman" Valentino-story & art, Steve Montano-inker, Ken Lopez-letterer, Evelyn Stein-colorist, Craig Anderson-editor, Tom Defalco-captain of the sinking ship Synopsis: The year is 3017.... AD?Of course it's AD; nothing happened in 3017 BCWhat about in Sumeria?Alright, Sumeria; but not in space. Now shut up!...The place is the planet Courg, in the Bledsoe system.... The planet is supposed to be low tech, yet the Guardians are under attack by sophisticated weapons. Starhawk directs them to each destroy the nearest gun and then attack the mainframe, as a group, which works. they are puzzled by the firepower, which is still operating enough to send a signal to its maker, Taserface! The Guardians try to question the natives; but, they are scared doo-dooless at the sight of them. Yondu tries and gets attacked, and defends himself with a monkey-flip. That makes them more agitated, so the GOTG back off. Martinex beams back to the Freedom's Lady (the ship we saw before, in Avengers, which was an ugly box thing) to check to see if this was the right place for the "clue." Charlie leers at Nikki (apparently, they are doing the horizontal mambo) and Yondu goes to meditate. Starhawk is annoying people and they would rather have Aleta, which is apparently happening... Turns out, she is the chick on the cover and she has new threads and thought that splitting them down the front, from neck to nearly crotch was a nice look. Reminds me of the Ladies of Negotiable Affection who used to hang out at the diner, across from the gate at the Charleston Naval Base. Up on the ship, Martinex interrupts Yondu's meditation and we get a recap of the history of the Guardians, up to MTIO #69. We also learn that Yondu found the Book of Antag, which is like the Bible, for Yondu's people. it spoke of a multicolored disc that made people invincible in battle. Vance recognized the illustration as Captain America's shield. They set off on a quest to find it, following clues within the passages of the book, which is how they ended up on Courg Marti and Yondu beam back down and they debate the clue and the reaction of the natives. Vance opines that someone else is hunting and has been here, when in pops Taserface!. Vance is the first to question the name (sorry Rocket) and the fight is on. TF's armor and weapons lets him clean their clocks and they appeal to Aleta to change to Starhawk, which she does and it doesn't help. Marti gets miffed and freezes the air in front of TF's face and the rest finally work as a team to disable his weapons. They question the technology and Vance notes it looks rather like iron man's armor. Nikki questions how, when a group beams in to answer the question... Thoughts: Bang up first issue! The Guardians are back and Valentino quickly establishes the characters and throws them into action. It's a bit confusing until he backtracks and introduces the Quest for the Shield. Then, he throws taserface at us and we get a hint that he is related to Iron Man, then we meet the Stark. Lots to take in and absorb, which definitely makes you want to pick up the enxt issue. Taserface was named by Valentino's son, Aaron. I'm assuming he was young, based on how childish the name sounds (then again, we got Arseface, in Preacher). The design is typical 90s (and this was just the start of the decade!) with bulky armor and somewhat impractical weapons (blaster grafted to his forearm). The color scheme and the Stark name do tie it into Iron Man, nicely. The connection to the past gives it a nice hook, missing from the previous attempt at a Guardians series, in Marvel Presents. That one explored random weirdness, while this one links it to the Marvel of the modern era, reigniting the flame of what made the Guardians interesting, in the 70s. they were a peek at the future of the MCU (alternate though it may be). Now, they are firmly linked and we get to explore what happens to some of the Avengers, in this alternate future. New costumes abound. Nikki is still in green, on the inside, so the cover is incorrect. She lost the skirt and just went for bodysuit and belt, making her look like she was working at the club in Flashdance (What a feeling....). Aleta's is pure 90s stripper look and there is no explanation for the change, when her past costume was linked to Starhawk's. Speaking of Stakar, his color is kind of muted; a paler shade of blue than before. It appears that Aleta will be a bigger part of this, if only to up the number of women, to increase the breast factor. The cover suggests she will be separated from Starhawk, though they still share a form, here. Nikki and Vance were sort of an item before; but, it seems now that she and Charlie are a thing. This is starting to sound like Jefferson Airplane and Grace Slick! Charlie's expressions are kind of creepy, when Valentino draws him lusting over Nikki... Aside from throwing is in the middle of things, Valentino's script is good and intriguing, making us interested in what comes next. The fights are typically bad logic, with the heroes getting their butts kicked until they suddenly turn the tide. Comic book writers should watch old pro wrestling matches to see how a fight should go back and forth, logically (meaning old NWA matches, from the territorial days, not cartoon WWF/E junk). Valentino's art is typical of the period, though he has a better command of anatomy and varies the bodytypes, a bit. Women are still overly-endowed; but, at least Charlie continues to have a character reason for his size. despite the stripper/dancer wear, Valentino handles the ladies better than some of his future partners. Not a fan of Yondu's makeover, but, it does sort of match the new spiritual characterization. I don't like Charlie's look, at all and much preferred his orange and yellow uniform. Here he looks like the third Road Warrior. or the fourth member of Demolition... or an extra from Cruising... Good start; let's see where it leads us!
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Post by Deleted on Oct 10, 2018 11:00:48 GMT -5
The 3rd Road Warrior ... My Pick!
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Post by rberman on Oct 10, 2018 11:46:32 GMT -5
Wow. Never in a zillion years would I have imagined that Taserface was an actual Guardians character before his appearance in the second film. They really do mine continuity.
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Post by codystarbuck on Oct 10, 2018 13:15:20 GMT -5
Wow. Never in a zillion years would I have imagined that Taserface was an actual Guardians character before his appearance in the second film. They really do mine continuity. Yeah, I'm waiting for the Stark to show up, so we can have 2 dozen people who are coffee junkies, smart-assing a mile a minute and smirking. Then, they can add the Thor Corps, who will all be played by cool Aussies, leaving the audience to wonder why Beta Ray Bill keeps saying "G'day!" and Eric Masterson keeps responding "Fair dinkum!"
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Post by codystarbuck on Oct 10, 2018 13:17:55 GMT -5
ps, looking at the picture of the Stark, I think they needed some technology from Lenscrafters; they're all squinting.
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Post by codystarbuck on Oct 10, 2018 14:09:52 GMT -5
Guardians of the Galaxy #2Ever notice that it is never the male hero who is grabbed from behind and threatened, to get the others to give up? Also, if he had her in a chokehold, I'd think Nikki would e pulling at his arms or clawing at his eyes and face. or would that make this look more rapey than it already does? Welcome to the 90s, folks (not that past decades didn't have similar issues). Creative Team: Jim "Not Rudolph" Valentino-story and art, Steve "Not Joe" Montano-inks, Evelyn "Not Ben" Stein-colors, Ken "Not Mario" Lopez-letters, Craig "Not Harry" Anderson-edits, Tom "Not Edie" DeFalco-asylum-keeper Synopsis: The Guardians are caught in an Infantino showdown, with the Stark (you know, where everyone is in a line abreast racing towards each other, like two scrimmage lines). All hell breaks loose and one of the Stark swoops in and grabs Taserface, distracting Vance, whose suit gets cut open by another Stark. he goes down and Charlie yells for Marti to help; but, he is being pummeled by two guys. Yondu goes down hard and the natives circle around his unconscious form. Meanwhile, in space, we see Firelord fly by, as the 31st Century Protector of the Universe, as the Watcher fills us in about the Stark. They polluted their world and were forced to flee to the stars, where they have ravaged other worlds. Meanwhile, back in the fight, Nikki is holding her own and Charlie notices it. In a rare bit of actual brainpower being used in a fight scene, Charlie recognizes that the Stark seem to take orders from the females and aren't attacking Nikki with the same force as the males and he yells for Starhawk to change to Aleta. He does so, at the edge of space and then she apepars, without the power of flight. She somehow creates Mister Miracles aero-discs out of light and goes into the attack.. She accidentally kills the Stark ground commander and it takes the fight out of the rest. Up on the command ship, the leader is yelling at Taserface, when she is interrupted by news that the ground commander is dead. She demands Starhawk's head on a platter and is informed that he is now Aleta. She can't believe a woman killed another woman, then loses her s@#$ and orders Aleta's death. She sends Taserface down to redeem himself. Back in the fight, Vance has gotten a band-aid and is back in the game, with one useless arm. Valentino reconfirms what we learned in MTIO #69, that exposing Vance's skin will not cause him to turn to dust (thought he had forgotten that). Taserface beams in and nabs Nikki, which causes the guys to hesitate, which lets the Stark surround Aleta. She wants to try something when the change is triggered, just as the Stark fire... Thoughts: Another bang up issue, with a lot of exposition. The timeline of the Star evolution is a bit muddled, as it looks like a primitive people, with stone age technology suddenly learns how to aapt computers and micro-circuitry and progresses even further, in just a few generations. Also, it is brought up that the Silver Surfer disappeared and Firelord now crosses the cosmos as its protector. Given that guy's track record, that doesn't reassure me. The stark appear to be a matriarchy, which explains why Nikki isn't attacked as badly and why Aleta was so effective. Aleta also suddenly gains the ability to make light solid, which comes out of nowhere. Previously, we haven't seen any indication that she had powers other than those of Starhawk, minus the wings and genitals. This continues to be a really solid book, with plenty of characterization and action, with some real story logic to things. If you ever wondered why Valentino was invited along with Todd and Rob, here's your explanation. Valentino had a pretty good background in the independents and in story structure, in general. he was more of a writer who drew, than an artist who tried to "write." His art is good, for the period (his earlier stuff, in normalman, was bolder and less derivative), though he shares the problem of few backgrounds, excessive use of speedlines and splash pages and occasional clumsy staging. However, he used expression more than his contemporaries and conveys emotion with body language. He is rather wordy, as panels are filled with speech balloons and narration boxes, reinforcing that he is writer, first, rather than artist. The Watcher looks odd and I am not fond of the post-Byrne depiction of Uatu with a big head and small neck. It looks too comical and loses the power that Kirby gave him. I know Kirby is Kirby; but, the Watcher should not look hydrocephalic. This was one of the few Marvels I read, regularly, in the 90s and this issue demonstrates why. I picked it up with issue 1, because I was a Guardians fan and it had been a long time. I stayed because the story was intriguing and exciting..
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Post by codystarbuck on Oct 10, 2018 14:42:20 GMT -5
Guardians of the Galaxy #3Creative Team: Jim "The Sheik" Valentino-story & art, Steve "Butte" Montano-inks, Evelyn "Franken" Stein-colors, Ken "Doll" Lopez-letters, Craig "Slist" Anderson-edits, Tom "Aybecee" DeFalco-boss fella Synopsis: We pick up where we left off, in the heat of battle, as Aleta plunges to the ground. The Guardians fight there way to he and find a much different sight... Vance holds off the Stark and Marti arrives and checks them out. Starhawk wakes up first and Vance presses the star on Aleta's chest, which triggers the transporter to beam her up (thank you ST Next Gen!). Starhawk spreads his wings and flies away, with Vance yelling at him. Yondu wakes up in the home of one of the natives who couldn't kill him, despite the desire. Yondu learns that there had been another Centaurian who visited this world. We have an interlude of Firelord bypassing a ship of aliens, with names like Interface, broadside and Photon, who also have the Book of Antag and seek the Shield. Firelord sense eil from their ship; but, they are not Stark, so he bypasses them. They are for the future. Yondu re-enters the fight and the boys are able to free Nikki from the ice imprisoning Taserface. She blasts him with a stun ray as payback. They beam back home, while on the Stark homeworld, the High Sister is informed of the battle; but, it is left to Blackhand, the local commander. Up on the Freedom's Lady, the gang has beamed back aboard, later followed by Charlie, who has the unconscious Blackhand slung over his shoulder. Vance has been repaired with adamantium and has regained the use of his arm. Aleta wakes up and is informed about being split from Starhawk, who flew away. Then, they are interrupted by a Stark cruiser, who has the drop on them. We cut to Starhawk, who sends out a solar flare to "him" (not Him, aka Adam Warlock) and returns to see the Freedom's Lady blasted from space, as he has seen before. Thoughts: Another solid issue, which signalled we were in good hands. We have confirmation that Starhawk and Aleta have been split, which explains the cover of the first issue. Aleta will be her own separate character, which buts the whole gender-swap hook to bed. Something tells me, based on their history of the period, that Marvel and/or Valentino were squeamish about that aspect of the character and split them in two. On the plus side, it provides another female character. On the negative, it robs Starhawk of one of his more interesting aspects. Starhawks paler coloring does make the character more ghostly and enigmatic, as pointed out by liverpoolmonkey67 in his Guardians blog, a few years back (source of my imagery).
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Post by brutalis on Oct 10, 2018 15:48:22 GMT -5
This was one I collected monthly as well@codystarbuck because it it was as you remarked well written and thought out in exploring the future MU. I stuck through with this to the end. I too did NOT like the return to Charlie-27's bandalero look sans mask. Yondu's update/retrograded look was alright if not especially smart with the whole loin-cloth bit. The exploration further into his religious beliefs helped bring more nobility to him as well. Vance's ongoing growth and eventual escape from his sealed suit was a necessary change to get him away from the woe is me whiner. The Starhawk/Aleta separation too was necessary and done very well i thought. Nikki hooking up and growing up as a character made more sense but it would have been more interesting if she was involved with Martinex as his cold/scientific versus her hot/emotional aspects would have made for fun. Poor Martinex actually begins well but comes across as less in the long run over the series run.
After a 10 year absence this was what I (and others evidently) had been wanting and waiting for with the GOTG. I wasn't really into Valentino's art that much but it was serviceable for the most part. Where Jimmy boy really made his mark was in the writing and exploration of these individuals while placing them totally into the future of the MU instead of them feeling like they were on the fringes or outside of the MU. The Stark, adding more Guardians, seeing what the mutants were up to, seeing Wonder Man become the old timer Hollywood and such ideas seemed fresh and exciting. What futuristic fun...
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Post by codystarbuck on Oct 10, 2018 15:49:36 GMT -5
Guardians of the Galaxy #4Well, we knew Firelord had to turn up in the main story at some point. Creative Team: Valentino-words & pictures, Montano-black lines, Stein-perty colors, Jack Morelli-block letters, Anderson-blue pencil, DeFalco-red ink (well, not quite yet). Synopsis: Firelord flies toward Courg and Starhawk blasts the Stark ship... He then stops Firelord from destroying the ship and directs him to planetside, where we then see the Guardians cleaning up the rest of the Stark and defeating them, after transporting to the planet, before their ship was destroyed (what was called a "cheat" in the days of the Republic serials). The Stark general was killed off-panel by random shrapnel and Taserface attacks the seemingly victorious Guardians Taserface has the upper hand when Firelord shows up and blasts off his weapon hand. He fires back with a blast from his face(!!) and Firelord shrugs it off and gets miffed... We cut to Force, who are gathering another clue, as we are introduced to the members and their powers: Photon-energy blasts & flight, Eightyfive-magnetism, Brahl-become intangible, Broadside-strength and mass, Scanner-able to track across space, Tachyon-fly, repel energy; Interface-alter chemical compositions. They find a tablet that Photon interprets, with the next clue to the Shield. Oh, by the way, Photon is a Centaurian female, of Yondu's people. Bet you can see where that is headed. The Guardians gather up the Stark weapons for disposal and take over their ship, leaving behind the scarred Taserface, who vows revenge for leaving him alive, in the wake of his defeat. They prep the ship and say goodbye to Firelord, who is staying behind to protect Courg from the returning Stark. Vance makes him an honorary Guardian and renames the ship the Captain America II and the head for the Pleiades System, where Firelord directs them to a planet, orbiting a darkstar, after hearing of the Quest for the Shield. Thoughts: I still prefer the Captain America to number II (both over Freedom's Lady). We still haven't heard what happened to Drydock. This wraps up the initial storyline, though disposing of Blackhand so easily and off-panel seems like Valentino forgot and it was added, in dialogue, when it was spotted. Firelord demonstrates why I don't like cosmic characters, unless their is an equal or superior opposing force. They win too easily and their powers and limits are too il-defined. Everyone points fingers at Superman; but, his limits are stated up front and better writers incorporate those into the stories and have him find a way around them, using his brain. Lesser writers just have him punch things or use his superstrength. Same with cosmic heroes. They seem to be capable of anything the plot demands, without limits, except when randomly inserted. Otherwise, decent wrap up, though it seemed a bit rushed, with little purpose for Firelord other than to single-handly defeat Taserface, when the Guardians couldn't (despite having already taken him out). An Archie Goodwin or Jim Shooter might have made Valentino re-examine and rework that. Marvel didn't have many of those by this point, as editors had joined the mass exodus to DC (more would join as the 90s progressed and the layoffs came).
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Post by codystarbuck on Oct 10, 2018 16:00:22 GMT -5
This was one I collected monthly as well@codystarbuck because it it was as you remarked well written and thought out in exploring the future MU. I stuck through with this to the end. I too did NOT like the return to Charlie-27's bandalero look sans mask. Yondu's update/retrograded look was alright if not especially smart with the whole loin-cloth bit. The exploration further into his religious beliefs helped bring more nobility to him as well. Vance's ongoing growth and eventual escape from his sealed suit was a necessary change to get him away from the woe is me whiner. The Starhawk/Aleta separation too was necessary and done very well i thought. Nikki hooking up and growing up as a character made more sense but it would have been more interesting if she was involved with Martinex as his cold/scientific versus her hot/emotional aspects would have made for fun. Poor Martinex actually begins well but comes across as less in the long run over the series run. After a 10 year absence this was what I (and others evidently) had been wanting and waiting for with the GOTG. I wasn't really into Valentino's art that much but it was serviceable for the most part. Where Jimmy boy really made his mark was in the writing and exploration of these individuals while placing them totally into the future of the MU instead of them feeling like they were on the fringes or outside of the MU. The Stark, adding more Guardians, seeing what the mutants were up to, seeing Wonder Man become the old timer Hollywood and such ideas seemed fresh and exciting. What futuristic fun... I'd go along with all of that. Valentino never really fit in with straight superhero stories, as an artist. he was a great "bigfoot" cartoonist, on normalman, and Touch of Silver demonstrated that he was good with more realistic stories, adding sensitivity to things. Again, I think he was a writer who could draw well enough to get published in comics as both, though the writing skills outstretched the drawing. Even with Shadow Hawk, which I thought was a dud, he had more clever ideas than his colleagues, who were rehashing the same s@#$. He at least tried for something a bit different, though he didn't succeed. Touch of Silver was more in line with his underlying sensibilities and he was better behind the scenes in the Image crowd. At Marvel, he was a good writer and average artist and, as a combination, stood out from most of the rest. Liefeld and McFarlane were terrible writers (and Liefeld sucked as both, in my opinion, but, his stuff sold) and Lee was smart enough to work with writers (though I find him over-rated as an artist and especially as a storyteller). Larsen was a capable writer and a decent artist, who could mimic his idols enough to make it work, ala his Byrne-esque stuff. Savage Dragon was different enough to stand out, while still hitting the Image aesthetic. Shadow Hak was better written; but, the art was never enough to elevate it. here, the art is, as you say, serviceable, though you do wish for someone wo is a greater stylist and visual storyteller, like a Perez, a Byrne, or a Cockrum; or, the Legion guys, at C (Giffen, Lightle LaRocque and, later, Chris Sprouse).
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Post by zaku on Oct 12, 2018 3:15:33 GMT -5
So, the Guardians' timeline never was a possible future of the prime Marvel Universe? Or the Vance's decision of not becoming an astronaut had caused some crazy butterfly effect which prevented the Martian invasion..?
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