Showing posts with label Danny Bulanadi. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Danny Bulanadi. Show all posts

Monday, 25 February 2019

Avengers West Coast 62 - Acts of Vengeance Aftermath

And so we come to the conclusion of the long-running Scarlet Witch storyline as Immortus seeks complete mastery over time through the Scarlet Witch's enhanced powers.

Avengers West Coast #62

Writers: Roy Thomas and Dann Thomas
Penciller: Paul Ryan
Inker: Danny Bulanadi
Letterer: Bill Oakley
Colourist: Bob Sharen
Editor: Howard Mackie
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

It seeks to wrap up the threads and resolve Immortus's aims. As a goal, becoming the "master all of time" sounds grand, but it's never terribly clear what this actually means. As a result this degenerates into a powerful being seeking an abstract role that other, more powerful beings come to restrain him. "...did we hero types really accomplish anything in Limbo?" "Yeah -- or were we just along for the ride?" ask the Wasp and Wonder Man at the end, as though the script itself recognises the problem, with Agatha Harkness arguing that by battling Tempus they provided the distraction to allow her to reach through to the Scarlet Witch and get her to expel the excess power. But it's still a little unconvincing.

There's an actual fight here with the aforementioned Tempus which comes on both a physical and temporal level as the Avengers struggle with the giant creature, who chillingly ages Wonder Man and brings the other Avengers to their knees. But it serves a higher purpose as it allows Harkness to send her spirit to communicate with the Scarlet Witch and appeal to her feelings for her friends to make her break from her catatonic state. It's good to see that Wanda ultimately frees herself and regains independence after the way so many have manipulated her, but it then brings on a threat to the whole universe as numerous timelines are spawned. This attracts the attention of the Time Keepers, a trio of mysterious beings who are ultimately Immortus's bosses and show up to put him in his place. The ultimate irony is that he achieves what he wants but not in the form he wants it.

It's ultimately hard to find much to say about this issue given the abstract nature of the goals and final conflict. As ever it's hard to lay blame on the current creative team who are working to conclude a storyline they didn't begin or lay the basics for. And though it's gone on for probably a few months too many, that again is a consequence of the abrupt changeover and emergency fill-ins. The Avengers themselves are generally well handled and these are promising signs for the future, but for now we've a storyline that has gone all over the place and it's a relief it's now all over.

Avengers West Coast #62 has been reprinted in:

Friday, 22 February 2019

Avengers West Coast 61 - Acts of Vengeance Aftermath

This issue sees the west coast Avengers confronting Immortus and transported to Limbo whilst back on Earth Agatha Harkness uses her magic to maintain a shade of the lord of Limbo on Earth and subject him to a magical interrogation.

Avengers West Coast #61

Writers: Roy Thomas and Dann Thomas
Penciller: Paul Ryan
Inker: Danny Bulanadi
Letterer: Bill Oakley
Colourist: Bob Sharen
Editor: Howard Mackie
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

For a character who's made very few appearances over the years - by my reckoning only about five substantial storylines before this one - Immortus comes with far too much baggage. It seems that many times when either he and/or his younger self Kang has been used over the years there's been a lengthy scene setting out the character's history, including some retcons to tidy things up. The result is a character whose origin and motivations keep changing with the writer, making it rather hard to keep track of it all. Continuity is not necessarily a bad thing, but if a character can't be used without a heavy infodump and a set of retcons then that character probably shouldn't be used until a writer is able to extract them from the weight of their own history. Unfortunately here we have one writer clearing up after another, as Immortus is a hangover from the Byrne run, including the revelation that the Vision wasn't the recreation of the original Human Torch and that Immortus had shown a lie.

But what also feels messy is the way the whole storyline continues to liberally copy "Inferno". Now we have the ruler of the realm of Limbo (although this appears to be a different one) seeking to utilise a woman for his goal of seeking power, as well as massive revelations about how lives have long been manipulated in order to bring about the situation whereby the woman can be used as a tool for long term conquest. Coming little over a year after such a major storyline it's hard to dismiss it as casual coincidence. Instead it feels like an attempt to set down some grand scale continuity for the Avengers on a similar scale to the X-Men.

While all this information is being dumped, the Avengers face another incarnation of the Legion of the Unliving, made up of foes from the past or future. In general the foes have been chosen for their connections to the current Avengers so we get the second Black Knight, an old foe of Hank Pym and the Wasp, the Swordsman, once mentor to Hawkeye, the Grim Reaper, brother to Wonder Man, Iron Man 2020, the future counterpart of the current one, Left-Winger and Right-Winger, US Agent's former sidekicks whom he fell out with badly, Oort the Living Comet, a foe from Quicksilver's future, and Toro, the original Human Torch's partner. The last is also retconned into having taken part in the original Legion of the Unliving rather than the Torch himself, so it's a particular pity that the Torch isn't present for what could have been an interesting meeting. Similarly this is the first time that Iron Man has encountered his 2020 counterpart, and it's thus a little annoying that the script can't decide if Tony is Arno's "ancestor", "great uncle" or "uncle" (and other stories have in fact made him a first cousin once removed or, more recently, an adoptive brother). The line-up is also distorted by the lack of any specific dead foes for Quicksilver, resulting in the creation of Oort. The conflict is rather formulaic with most Avengers facing down their counterparts on an individual page before cutting to a page of Immortus's interrogation and back.

This issue is clearly aiming at taking some of the Avengers' mythology and using it to develop some great continuity for the long-term, but it just comes across as a mixture of a retread of a classic Avengers battle combined with too much of a continuity infodump. As ever, it's difficult to blame a new writing team thrust in the middle of a complicated storyline in which retcons have already been introduced but not yet explained, but the result is still rather turgid.

Avengers West Coast #61 has been reprinted in:

Wednesday, 20 February 2019

Avengers West Coast 60 - Acts of Vengeance Aftermath

We return now to Avengers West Coast, skipping over issues #58 & #59. John Byrne's sudden departure clearly left the title scrambling, hence two fill-in issues by separate creative teams, neither continuing the Scarlet Witch storyline in any essential way. Issue #59 even reveals itself to have been set in an alternate timeline that Immortus soon eliminates. It's notable that collections of the "Darker than Scarlet" storyline have skipped over the two, albeit creating problems for fitting into sequential runs of the series. Hence, they can be left out here with precedent.

Avengers West Coast #60

Writers: Roy Thomas and Dann Thomas
Penciller: Paul Ryan
Inker: Danny Bulanadi
Letterer: Bill Oakley
Colourist: Bob Sharen
Editor: Howard Mackie
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

Issue #60 opens with Immortus pruning yet another timeline. This one sees the events of the Kennedy assassination turn out differently from reality as officers stop Lee Harvey Oswald in time. However all this does is to confirm a second gunman on the grass knoll and the difference is that there is no question about a conspiracy. It's also notable that Ryan draws the car layout correctly given how misrepresentation of this has fuelled so much speculation.

The rest of the issue sees the writer first getting a grip on the characters through a protracted sequence as they deal with the aftershocks of an earthquake, then a showdown with Magneto. Although Quicksilver's real role has already been blatantly hinted at, there's a real sense of rush to these scenes as though the new writer is hurrying to remove Magneto from the storyline. In what may be another sign of the wider struggle within Marvel over the direction of the character, we get a strong suggestion that he's actually being manipulated by someone else, presumably Immortus. It may be a quick fix solution to what is already a potentially convoluted storyline, but it just serves to emphasise the mess that's been made of the character in a short space of time as different visions then multiple retcons have all piled on top of one another.

This issue also sees the return of Hawkeye to the team in a rather sudden move, having left Mockingbird with the task of refining the Great Lakes Avengers into an official team. Like a lot of things in the issue it feels slightly rushed just to get characters into place and undo some of what the previous run set up. The rest of the team are handled well, with Hank increasingly emerging as the unofficial leader of the team, in spite of US Agent's habit of barking out orders, whilst Iron Man continues to do a very poor job of hiding the fact he's really the original. The team's solution to taking down Magneto is both imaginative and well thought through.

Overall though this is an issue that shows a new pair of writings rushing to get a grip on a series, to quickly undo some recent changes and developments and to try to move an ongoing storyline towards its conclusion. It's an understandable approach but it feels over hasty in its handling of both Magneto and Hawkeye, with the result that this is a rather unsatisfactory continuation. In fairness, the Thomases may not have had access to Byrne's notes to know how things were meant to go, but it stands as a classic example of the problems when a creative team suddenly leaves a title midflow.

Avengers West Coast #60 has been reprinted in:

Monday, 18 February 2019

Captain America 370 - Acts of Vengeance Aftermath

The cover of this issue is fantastic. It really reinforces the sense of creepiness to the Skull's country house. It would have made for a great Halloween issue, but it came out at the wrong time of year. Inside we get the conclusion to the search for the Red Skull in a full-length story.

Captain America #370

Writer: Mark Gruenwald
Penciler: Ron Lim
Inker: Danny Bulanadi
Letterer: Jack Morelli
Colourist: Steve Buccellato
Editor: Ralph Macchio
Who--?: Tom DeFalco

Crossbones continues the search for the Red Skull, trying less conventional methods and turning to a psychic, Tristram Micawber. It's a bold approach but it works, though we could perhaps have done without the information that the Skull and Mother Night are sleeping together. When found the Skull is a shadow of himself, physically weakened and mentally broken, and he demands "take me home to die". Skull House is a far cry from the Skull's modern office, representing the Skull’s old ways very much, especially with a hall that serves as a museum of the Skull's struggles with costumes, Sleeper models and more, all reinforcing his days of following Nazism. But what he wants to see the most is Captain America.

Cap and Diamondback are debriefing at the Avengers temporary headquarters, with the complication of Cap's day duties getting in the way. There's still uncertainty and suspicion as Diamondback wonders if Cap has sneaked off when in fact he's been taking a very long time with the architect (Eric Masterson) for building a new mansion. Meanwhile she, who's being drawn a little older now, winds up playing poker with the Avengers support crew, a subtle sign of how she's entering Cap's life. Then when information about the Skull comes in, Diamondback insists on coming along. It's probably not the date anyone would choose but she proves her worth in dealing with the house's automated defence systems. There we get what could have been the final meeting between old foes.

For quite some time Captain America has refused to accept the claims of this man that he is the original Red Skull returned in a new body, but all that comes to a climax as the two meet up close. In an encounter where more is shown than said, the true hatred flashes, revitalising the Skull's spirit and convincing Cap that this truly is his enemy of old. It's a strong moment of closure that reaffirms the conflict between the two.

Overall this storyline has been an excellent example of how a series can use a crossover to develop a strong storyline amongst its regular characters, rather than just going through a few issues and then completely forgetting about them. However it's a pity that the fates of several lesser characters are left uncertain. The Controller has been locked in a loop when one of his own control discs was applied. The Voice had severe wounds to his throat. Micawber collapses when the bunker is found, having just foreseen death, and there's no medical examination. The Controller was not seen again for three years, the Voice for twenty and Micawber not at all so it's a pity these loose ends are left to what is otherwise a strong tight arc.

Captain America #370 has been reprinted in:

Friday, 15 February 2019

Captain America 369 - Acts of Vengeance Aftermath

This issue continues the search for the Red Skull, as Crossbones leads an assault on the Hellfire Club in the belief that this is where Magneto is holding him. Meanwhile Captain America is searching for Diamondback, the ex-member of the Serpent Society trying to reform.

Captain America #369

Writer: Mark Gruenwald (all)
Penciler: Ron Lim (main)
Penciler: Mark Bagley (back-up)
Inker: Danny Bulanadi (main)
Inker: Don Hudson (back-up)
Letterer: Jack Morelli (all)
Colourist: Steve Buccellato (all)
Editor: Ralph Macchio
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

This is very early in the development of Cap and Diamondback's relationship and there are obvious obstacles on both sides. Here it's Diamondback's friend the Asp who expresses the most concern, though the art is also a slight problem in depicting Diamondback incredibly young, almost a girl, in panels where she has her mask off. There's also Cap's social conservatism, making his disapproval clear when he discovers the Asp is working in a strip club. And there's the problem of Diamondback's hidden past with Crossbones which is hinted at here.

The assault on the Hellfire Club is straightforward with Crossbones leading a diverse team of the Voice, Mother Night and Machinesmith using the body of the Sleeper. Each has particular skills that are utilised in the mission as they break into the basement and search through the club's cameras, though it ultimately proves a futile search. Then they find Cap, Diamondback and Selene, the Club's Black Queen, all converging in the sewer leading to a fight. The fight itself is complicated by the close quarters and Selene's desire to avoid drawing too much attention to the Hellfire Club, but it does result in Cap and Diamondback finding themselves in an interesting situation.

The second strip focuses upon the Skull as he completes his situation trapped in the darkness. He starts hallucinating and is visited by the spirits of his past. First comes his angry father, who attacks him for his mother's death in childbirth and suggests his son follows him into suicide. Then comes another "father", Adolf Hitler, who also took his life in an underground bunker. The Skull's daughter also turns up to express her hate, whilst Arnim Zola urges the Skull to kill himself and be reborn in a perfect body. However Captain America counsels against suicide. In just five pages we get a fascinating glimpse at the Skull's life and the forces that have driven him, as well as a struggle in which his most hated foe once again wins.

This issue continues a good solid plot that continues to build on the events of "Acts of Vengeance" and show the impact on the various characters, rather than simply moving onwards. However the Cap/Diamondback relationship can seem surprising when introduced this way and also needs a little more care with the artwork to avoid unintended suggestions.

Captain America #369 has been reprinted in:

Wednesday, 6 February 2019

Captain America 368 - Acts of Vengeance Aftermath

This issue sees both Captain America and the Red Skull's organisation following up the events of "Acts of Vengeance", with both trying to find Magneto.

Captain America #368

Writer: Mark Gruenwald (all)
Penciler: Ron Lim (main)
Penciler: Mark Bagley (back-up)
Inker: Danny Bulanadi (main)
Inker: Don Hudson (back-up)
Letterer: Jack Morelli (all)
Colourist: Steve Buccellato (main)
Colourist: Nel Yomtov (back-up)
Editor: Ralph Macchio
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

For someone so notorious a continuity watcher as Mark Gruenwald, it's surprising that this issue doesn't seem to know where it fits into place around the end of the crossover. Thus whereas Captain America and the Avengers support crew are clearly set after the climax, over in Washington DC it's implied that this is the first time a Red Skull robot is activated to take the absent Skull's place and thus would be set before the climax. Finally a panel at the end of the first story showing Magneto's current location is the same scene as happened during the Mandarin's attack in Avengers #313. This sort of thing is frustratingly all too common around crossovers and makes for much headscratching over the correct order of things.

There are some good contrasts between the way Cap interacts with Avengers support crew and the way Crossbones does with other operatives in the Red Skull's base. But there's also a strong sense that the Skull's organisation is not merely people held together by pay or fear but does contain people who actually enjoy working for the Skull and the challenges it brings. And the prospect of the organisation collapsing because of the Skull's disappearance brings real fear.

The core focus for both the hero and villains is on finding Magneto, with the real one only making a single panel appearance here. Both Captain America and Crossbones have tried the research and contacts method, but Machinesmith has his own idea - send out a robotic duplicate in public to lure the real one out. Unfortunately it gets a little silly when Machinesmith, controlling the robot through his ability to transfer his consciousness between devices, decides he has to act "very un-Magneto like" and starts chewing the scenery. And all the attempt brings is Captain America instead.

The back-up story is a quick history of Machinesmith, told by the robot himself to the Sleeper he's working on. It recounts one of the more awkward parts of the character's history - his having been the second Mister Fear, a point where the two characters' history were merged some time back. Otherwise this is a tale of how a boy became fascinated by robots and developed as an engineer and then when he was killed in battle his robots preserved his brain patterns in mechanical form. The main surprise is how explicit the story is about Machinesmith's sexuality. He's presented as a highly camp character and here he talks to the Sleeper like a surgeon operating on his own romantic partner. His dialogue about putting his consciousness into other robots and enjoying the intimacy is extremely blatant. At the end he even removes his synthetic face to reveal his robotic one and kisses the Sleeper. At first the over campness feels unnecessarily stereotypical but it's easy to forget that until 1989 the Comics Code Authority had effectively barred the depiction of LGBT characters (the precise wording is complicated, hence some had got passed it) and to some extent exaggerated clichés were the most effective ways to get the message across. The code may have just changed but editorial policy might not yet have.

Otherwise this issue is quite a good example of Mark Gruenwald's epic run on the series which really deserves a complete collection; fortunately this issue is from a period covered by the Epic reprints. It shows how to use a crossover as a useful way to create interesting developments in a series and prepares the ground for a search for the Skull.

Captain America #368 has been reprinted in:

Friday, 7 December 2018

Captain America 367 - Acts of Vengeance

And now we come to the big moment as Magneto attacks the Red Skull...

Captain America #367

Writer: Mark Gruenwald (all)
Penciler: Kieron Dwyer (main)
Penciler: Mark Bagley (back-up)
Inker: Danny Bulanadi (main)
Inker: Don Hudson (back-up)
Letterer: Jack Morelli (all)
Colourist: Steve Buccellato (main)
Colourist: Nel Yomtov (back-up)
Editor: Ralph Macchio
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

This issue once again contains two stories. To get the back-up out of the way first, it features the conclusion of the Cobra's encounter with Mr Hyde, with the former rediscovering himself, changing his costume slightly and modifying his name to become "King Cobra". It's been an interesting tale of self-discovery, though it could probably have benefitted from being told over two issues rather than three. Still it's a good little piece that has made use of the continuity from the mass breakout at the Vault, showing how Mark Gruenwald was often the master of tying things up.

So too does the lead story which tackles head on one of the biggest criticisms of "Acts of Vengeance". Of all the villains in the core alliance, Magneto is by far the most complicated character and had undergone a lot of development in the preceding decade as he moved away from his traditional villainous role into a much-more ambiguous anti-hero, complete with revelations about his past. Not all creators agreed with these moves and, as discussed a bit with Amazing Spider-Man #327, this particular era saw a lot of struggle over characterisation and direction with some issues doing their best to rationalise the changes around them. In this environment, using Magneto in an alliance of leading villains that could have been assembled at any point since 1967 was not going to sit too easily when it resulted in a Holocaust survivor working with a Nazi war criminal.

All that said, it should be noted that neither Magneto nor the Red Skull has actually done a great deal in the crossover so far. Most of the work of commissioning and dispatching villains has been carried out by Doctor Doom, with the Wizard doing some of the raw heavy lifting and the Kingpin providing organisational support. By contrast Magneto may have fought Spider-Man as part of an investigation, but otherwise has done little beyond observing and hectoring the other villains sent against Spider-Man. The Red Skull has done even less, just using the breakout from the Vault to increase the capabilities of his organisation. (Depending on chronology the Mandarin may or may not have done anything yet but if the latter then change is coming soon.) It's clear from his thoughts here that the Red Skull frankly has no interest in the overall plan and it's only the presence in his office of a portal to the committee room that keeps him attending. Was this perhaps a reflection of writer and editor boredom with the crossover as well?

But regardless of motivations we get the best handling of the villains in the whole saga as Magneto swoops in to confront the Skull directly. There's no evasion as he first demands confirmation that this actually is the Nazi-era Skull then condemns him for the actions of the regime he served in. There's never any real doubt about the physical outcome of the confrontation - the Skull may have technical resources and henchmen but they're all ultimately reliant on metal and useless against the Master of Magnetism. Thus all the Skull can do is try to slow Magneto down as he seeks to escape. Instead the Skull's most powerful weapon turns out to be words:
We are very much alike, you and I, Magneto, both of us wish to see our Master Race inherit the Earth. You call my Fuehrer barbaric? Am I mistaken or did you yourself not kill hundreds of men by sinking a submarine a few years back? To help realise your minority group’s destiny, would you balk at the imprisonment of inferiors? The extermination of the unfit? Come, come, Magneto. Do not expect me to be impressed by your sanctimonious posturings of moral superiority! Let's let the past rest. We both have better things to do in the present!
At a time when in the real world there was a renewed drive to bring Nazi-era war criminals to justice, it's interesting to see some of the arguments paralleled here. There were many who opposed prosecutions, arguing that a previous generation had declared the task completed and individuals should be allowed to move on in the present. Others fiercely disagreed and were determined to bring the surviving leaders to justice. But even some demanding prosecution were attacked on their own records. Magneto's position as a fighter for mutant rights has often led to the freedom fighter or terrorist point behind argued out and it's a powerful rejoinder. When he does eventually catch and imprison the Skull he feels the need to declare "I should kill you and be done with it. But that would reduce me to the level of a common killer... make me no better than you. And I am better than you, Nazi." Instead of killing he locks the Skull in a shelter, removing the ladder and leaving just water with no way of escape. It's a brutal torture.

This story does a lot to fix the problems raised by Magneto's inclusion in the "Acts of Vengeance" and it does it brilliantly. It also seems to be aware of potential knock-on effects and so introduces Red Skull robots - a small army of androids that look identical to the villain and can replace him, similar to Doctor Doom's Doombots who are mentioned here. Whether this is deliberate preparation for later issues or simply seeding the idea to cover any future continuity problems with Red Skull appearances is unclear, but it's a nice touch.

Missing from the cover and this post so far is the star of the series. Captain America does arrive at the Skull's offices in the hope of discovering more about the conspiracy, but all he gets is a battle with the Controller and other henchmen then a wander through the wreckage as he tries to work out what's happened and who attacked the Skull. It's preparing the ground for later tales, but this is a rare issue of a series that belongs to someone other than the lead hero.

Overall this is by far the single best issue of the "Acts of Vengeance" crossover. Sometimes attempts at continuity fixes merely produce dry explanations for awkward points. This is anything but that, instead taking a messy scenario and turning it around to restore Magneto's ambiguous position without undermining his participation in the saga. It's a strong, bold chapter with some brilliant imagery and dark moments.

Captain America #367 has been reprinted in:

Friday, 23 November 2018

Quasar 7 - Acts of Vengeance

There's a handful of issues that don't have an "Acts of Vengeance" banner that nevertheless form part of the crossover. One such is Quasar #7 in which the cosmic Avenger encounters the cosmic powered Spider-Man. The two have met before, back in the days of Marvel Team-Up before Quasar went off into space for years, but we now get Spider-Man's only interaction with any other hero whilst he has his powers (the Hulk of this era doesn't count). It's reasonably self-contained, which is probably why it's been left out of all the Spider-Man based collections of the cosmic storyline.

Quasar #7

Writer: Mark Guenwald
Penciler: Mike Manley
Inker: Danny Bulanadi
Letterer: Janice Chiang
Colourist: Paul Becton
Editor: Howard Mackie
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

In spite of the lack of a crossover banner, we get a foe that neither have fought before, Terminus, the alien destroyer of worlds. There's no link to the alliance of leading super-villains, just a menace that has resurfaced from where it was trapped and setting out to devastate the Earth. Earlier we get the almost obligatory fight between super-heroes when Quasar investigates Spider-Man as part of a mission to check all aliens on Earth in order to find the one predicted to kill his mentor Eon. Spider-Man has no time for this and lashes out, firmly explaining he doesn't need help to find out what's going on.

But despite this, Spidey responds to a call for help later on when Quasar discovers Terminus coming close to attacking New York and quickly realises he can't deal with the menace on his own. Thor is unavailable and the offered Captain America would be no use, but Spidey's strength comes in handy. Spider-Man has his doubts, but Quasar knows what buttons to press by pointing out the webslinger claims to now be the strongest man on Earth and has friends and family in the city.

Given the scale of the menace that Terminus threatens, it's a rather quick dispatch and suggests the primary purpose of the story is to move the planet wrecker into a particular position in preparation for a forthcoming larger story. As a result this story is quick and inessential.

Quasar #7 has been reprinted in:

Friday, 9 November 2018

Quasar 6 - Acts of Vengeance

Although not quite the newest hero around, Quasar's low profile and restricted field of operations before he got his own series means that he hasn't attracted much attention so far. At times he seems to be the only Avenger free to deal with menaces, whether the attack on Avengers Island or here. Being relatively inexperienced (though not unskilled - he's had Shield training), it also means that most villains will not have encountered him, thus it should be easy to find foes for him

Quasar #6

Story: Mark Guenwald
Pencils: Paul Ryan
Inks: Danny Bulanadi
Letters: Janice Chiang
Colours: Paul Becton
Editor: Howard Mackie
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

So it's a surprise that one of the four he encounters in this issue is Klaw the Master of Sound who he has clashed with before in his days as head of security at Project Pegasus, which even gets referenced. However this is partially explained away as he's the only Avenger available to go and round up escapees from the Vault as they show up, rather than any of the leaders of the alliance explicitly assigning them to deal with him. Klaw ultimately only appears over three pages and drops out of the action (literally) when another foe shows up. But even this is not the quickest with Venom, prominently advertised on the cover, taken out in just the first two pages. It can be easy to forget just how quickly Venom took off, having debuted less than two years earlier (and his appearance hasn't yet been refined by Erik Larsen), and this appears to be his first appearance outside the Spider-Man titles. A glance at the cover and issue suggests that the marketing department wanted Venom prominently highlighted on the cover, hence the addition to the cover, but both Mark Gruenwald and editorial didn't care much for him, hence the rapid dismissal.

The main action comes when the Living Laser shows up to free Klaw, only to find his energy tapped by Quasar, causing him to flee and end up on the Moon. There in the Blue Area they find the home of the Watcher before Quasar finds he's disturbed a burglary by the Red Ghost. It's good to see a mixture of foes and even a cosmic entity in the series, but the bitty nature of it suggests a plot rushed together that kept on having to add foes as there's nothing really linking Venom, the Living Laser and the Red Ghost beyond encountering Quasar. None of them appear to be part of the broader operation and the Red Ghost isn't even an escapee from the Vault. Instead we just get a random set of foes in the course of Quasar's adventure as though the series is having to mark time.

As a result this is a rather disappointing chapter in the saga. This is a pity as the series is being pushed as one of the core titles due to Quasar's involvement in the Avengers (hence its presence in the main Omnibus rather than the Crossovers), but it's a reminder that large crossovers can often demand more issues of a title than there are things to do.

Quasar #6 has been reprinted in:

Monday, 22 October 2018

Captain America 366 - Acts of Vengeance

This issue continues the two-story format, with the back-up being a straightforward fight between the Cobra and Mr Hyde. It's an all-out action piece in which the Cobra has to overcome his fear and lack of self-esteem in order to defeat his old foe who seems unstoppable. It's an okay piece but these back-up sagas can often wind up running on for too many months due to the limited space available.

Captain America #366

Writer: Mark Gruenwald (all)
Penciler: Ron Lim (main)
Penciler: Mark Bagley (back-up)
Inker: Danny Bulanadi (main)
Inker: Don Hudson (back-up)
Letterer: Jack Morelli (all)
Colourist: Nel Yomtov (all)
Editor: Ralph Macchio
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

The lead story gives us our first glimpse of the full committee of leading villains as they conclude their first summit meeting. Ever the businessman, the Kingpin has been chairing the board meeting, but we don't see direct exchanges between any of the six. However Magneto shows some sense in asking the mysterious stranger whether or not the Red Skull attending the meeting is the original, who was assumed to have died some time back. Given Magneto's history established since the Silver Age it's more than a little odd that he would be willingly working with a Nazi war criminal so it's good to see him questioning this, wondering if it could be a successor.

(There had indeed been another Red Skull for a while, a Communist agent who filled in various continuity holes such as the Skull's appearances in the 1950s Captain America stories and then later killing Spider-Man's parents when Peter Parker was just a baby. However he had been killed off just before the original Skull was brought back from the dead.)

It's been notable that so far the Skull has actually done very little in the crossover beyond attending meetings, whereas Doctor Doom, the Wizard and the Kingpin have all been shown to be recruiting and directing individual villains and Magneto has personally investigated Spider-Man and the Mandarin is caught in the curse of chronology but will be seen in an already published but coming later issue. The Skull's low involvement is soon explained in his thoughts - he dislikes having to work the others and only attends out of fear they're plotting against him. It's a strong first sign of how difficult it is to get a super-villain team-up to work given the hatreds and rivalries amongst them. Indeed the Skull's main focus is on trying to take control of the mysterious stranger through the Controller's equipment rather than advancing the wider plans.

Otherwise this issue sees Captain America tracking down the Controller in the hope of capturing one of his control discs to use the technology to free the Sub-Mariner from another. It's unfortunate the Cap's earlier encounter with the Controller is explicitly referenced as it reinforces just how much this series hasn't really been conforming to the event premise of heroes being attacked by villains they've never fought before and this isn't offset by the presence of the Voice, an extremely obscure old Ant-Man foe who has also been recruited by the Skull and Crossbones but is only a peripheral presence in the fight. The conflict itself showcases Captain America at his best, both as a skilled fighter but also a cunning tactician who goes into a situation properly prepared.

Although it doesn't contain a previously unseen conflict, this issue is generally quite solid, moving the story forward for both Cap and the Skull as they grapple with the events around it. It also seems to be aware of some of the problems with the general premise of the alliance and may want to fix them.

Captain America #366 has been reprinted in:

Monday, 8 October 2018

Quasar 5 - Acts of Vengeance

If there's one hero more than any other for whom it would have been easy to find foes he hasn't fought before it must surely have been Quasar. Relatively little used in his first few years before disappearing into the limbo of outer space for another five or so, his series had only going a few months when "Acts of Vengeance" came along.

Quasar #5

Story: Mark Guenwald
Pencils: Paul Ryan
Inks: Danny Bulanadi
Letters: Janice Chiang
Colours: Paul Becton
Editor: Howard Mackie
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

Such is his newness to the scene that despite being a member of the Avengers he still has to explain who he is to security guards as he goes. He's also still working out how to juggle the various aspects of his life, including getting his day job business off the ground. This series was quite a personal project of writer Mark Gruenwald and the care and attention they give shows.

The first half of the issue concentrates on Quasar's Avengers activities as he works with Stingray on salvaging equipment from the sunken Avengers Island, followed by the joys of civilian life. Meanwhile the mysterious stranger at the heart of the conspiracy recruits the Absorbing Man to the scheme and gives him the power to fly by hurling his ball and chain. It's curious to see this task handled by the stranger when up to now he's largely focused on bringing the six lead villains together, but it's noticeable that he both has the power to upgrade the Absorbing Man's abilities and also knows where to find him when the latter has pulled himself from the muck in a lake. The Absorbing Man is one of the most flexible foes in the entire Marvel universe because his ability to take on the properties of whatever substance he touches means that he can reach whatever power level is necessary to provide a serious challenge. Here that becomes especially so as he absorbs the properties of variously a piece of adamantium, Quasar's energy constructs and then the quantum bands.

Quasar is competent but lacking knowledge and experience of his foe, making for quite a classic encounter in the event since the lack of knowledge proves critical. Consequently he inadvertently screws up in allowing the Absorbing Man access to critical power and then has to watch in horror as his foe absorbs a potentially explosive power then heads towards a city, resulting in a critical dilemma for Quasar as he has to work hard to stop a major explosion in a populated area. It's a tough call for him, though in the aftermath Captain America relieves some of the guilt by providing some critical knowledge that suggests things didn't quite go as Quasar thought.

This is pretty much the quintessential first issue of a title's contribution to a big crossover. It introduces the hero and his world in a way that's easily accessible for new readers without becoming a drag, takes the basic premise of the crossover and applies it to logical characters, then gives us a strong confrontation. Often crossover issues forget that they're also serving as a sampler for the series, but this one instead rises to the challenge.

Quasar #5 has been reprinted in:

Wednesday, 19 September 2018

Captain America 365 - Acts of Vengeance

This is another series which resorted to a lead and back-up strip format, but both tie in with the crossover, with each featuring escaped villains from the Vault and at least one attempt at recruitment made by the mysterious stranger.

Captain America #365

Writer: Mark Gruenwald (all)
Penciler: Kieron Dwyer (main)
Penciler: Mark Bagley (back-up)
Inker: Danny Bulanadi (main)
Inker: Don Hudson (back-up)
Letterer: Jack Morelli (all)
Colourist: Bob Sharen (main)
Colourist: Nel Yomtov (back-up)
Editor: Ralph Macchio
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

It's not clear what level the Cobra was being invited for in the back-up story but he simply isn't interested in revenge. Over in the lead, Namor the Submariner is invited to join the central leadership bit has no interest, having abandoned his campaign against the surface world. However the Red Skull is interested and signs up. This gives us our first look at the full list of leaders with the Skull, the Wizard, the Kingpin and Doctor Doom all shown whilst both the Mandarin and Magneto are mentioned (and have been glimpsed in earlier issues). It's a very traditional collection, consisting of the arch-enemies of Captain America, Iron Man, the Human Torch, the Fantastic Four and the X-Men, with the Kingpin filling a triple role for Daredevil, the Punisher and being the highest-ranking strategic foe of Spider-Man. This line-up could have been assembled at just about any time since the Silver Age and the absentees from the line-up are highly suggestive. It's also notable that the stranger announces the Red Skull's participation before he actually agrees, a sign that other villains may have signed up to a more speculative than yet achieved version of the alliance.

Both tales deal with the fallout from the escape from the Vault, with the back-up seeing the Cobra discovering that Mr Hyde has escaped and rushing to act before his erstwhile partner achieves revenge. The former sees the Red Skull (well Crossbones does the actual work) pick up the Controller, a traditional Iron Man foe, and send him to the site of the sunken Avengers headquarters to attack Captain America, using Namor the Submariner as his tool. This leads to a quick fight at both sea and on land until Cap spots the control disc on Namor's neck and realises what's happening. The Controller and Captain America had briefly clashed previously in the Captain Marvel/Thanos saga back in the 1970s, but it was a fleeting encounter and, in any case, if there's one hero who can be expected to have looked up just about every known weapon and tool of even villains he hasn't fought, it's Captain America.

With this chapter it feels like the whole "Acts of Vengeance" saga is really coming together but there's a general problem with events being scattered across multiple issues meaning that Captain America is jumping back forth across issues, but at least there's a clear explanation. As we'll see when looking at some future issues, Mark Gruenwald was often the man who stepped in to pull the event towards coherence and deal with some of the particularly odd moments. This issue is from near the middle of his epic run on the series and shows a series in its stride with the main character benefitting from consistency and a developed world.

Captain America #365 has been reprinted in: