FFcomic

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  • Fantastic Four: Season One

    Fantastic Four: Season One

    Writer: Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa
    Artist: David Marquez

    [ 6.5 ]

    Feat: Fantastic Four
    Issues: 1

    New look. Same Great Taste.

    Published 2012

    Gotta say, as a whole, these Season One comics Marvel did are all pretty great. I’m a little ahead in the reading order so I’ve read the Doctor Strange, Fantastic Four, and X-Men ones, as well as their 60s counterparts. They all have fun little twists and changes that makes them feel, at their core, the same – just with some conveniences of modern storytelling.

    Since this is a retelling of the origin, I’ll mostly focus on the specifics that make this different from the original stories. There’s plenty of 60s FF I’ll have to go through where I can spread out my thoughts on their early days.

    Ok but first, I love The Thing. As these continue to go on and we spend more and more time with the Fantastic Four, it’s going to become very apparent that he would be my favorite child if I had any. My little Rocky Boy.

    A huge part of that is this speech pattern:

    When the Thing was introduced in 1961, he spoke like a blue collar worker from the 50s. By the 80s he was talking like a blue collar worker from the 50s. Extreme-90s-Thing took a new direction and started speaking like a blue collar worker from the 50s. But these days we know him by his blue-collar-worker-from-the-50s diction.

    I have a theory for why he’s been consistently written like this since his first appearance. As you may already know, The Thing’s famous catchphrase is “It’s Clobberin’ Time,” yeah? Have you ever tried saying that out loud? It sounds ridiculous. Now say it in a blue-collar-worker-from-the-50s voice.
    Still sounds ridiculous, but at least it matches the voice.

    Also he’s almost Superman-level selfless, but he grew up on the streets and has all the edge that comes with that.

    With Thing Fanclub Corner out of the way, the first change that is immediately noticeable: Sue has a personality here. Just any shred of any personality at all would be an upgrade from her early days, but this is an actual, full personality.

    Back in the 60s, Stan seemed to very carefully craft what Reed, Ben, and Johnny brought to the table in terms of character, while Sue got “Housewife.” She was strangely focused on cleaning back then. She’s obviously evolved and become a real, human person now, but its nice to see a version of the FF origin with The Invisible Woman already fully-formed.

    Oh and they gave her shield powers right away, this go round. OG needed 22 issues before she “developed” those.

    Mole Man is too goddamn handsome in this.

    What is this?? Fix those teeth and take off the glasses and you got a Ben-Grimm-Pre-Transformation hunk of a man.

    The Mole Man used to be a real freaky dude, someone that’s barely human after spending so much time down, down in goblin town.

    I want my half-melted Mole Man back.

    The Mole Man bit was honestly the point I most strongly felt needed to be made. Like I said, all the Season One comics are pretty solid. If you aren’t mad enough to go back and read the 60s origins, these are fine substitutes.

    Yours always,

    paleblondeguy

    Characters: , , , , , ,

  • Storm Vol. 2

    Storm Vol. 2

    Writer: Eric Dickey
    Artist: David Yardin

    [ 0.5 ]

    Feat: Storm,
    Black Panther
    Issues: 6

    Discomfort incarnate.

    Published 2006

    Up top, this appears to be a sequel to Ororo: Before the Storm, but that is by no means required reading for this. Storm mentions she lived in Cairo and her old teacher’s name. And this is definitively not the fun little Indiana-Jones-style adventure we got from that book. This one prefers to do everything in its power to make the audience uncomfortable about reading it.

    First, and this is more important than it sounds, we should establish roughly what Storm’s age is in the story. She:

    • Talks about puberty like its a new experience.
    • Has flashbacks to an event 6 years ago where she appears about 5 or 6 years old.

    So let’s say she’s 12. Pretty common age for women to start puberty. With that in mind:

    To reiterate:

    TWELVE.

    Written by a middle-aged man that mostly writes sexy spy stories.

    I’m not qualified to unpack that, but there is some weird decision-making going on here. There’s also a lot of imagery and talk of sexually assaulting 12-year-olds. Interesting direction for a comic that’s meant to, purportedly, lead up to the romantic wedding of Storm and Black Panther.

    For the art, either the artist was also uncomfortable about the story and tried to visually age-up characters, or they don’t know how to draw children’s faces.

    Both of these people are supposed to be about 12 or 13. The one on the right could pass for 45, and its not just the lighting in this shot, that’s what she looks like throughout.

    BABY

    Racism and slavery are briefly touched on here and there, but doesn’t really provide any impact. Almost feels like an afterthought. We also get T’Challa coming in with the most privileged take of all time.

    People try to explain it to him in similar words several times, but he doesn’t actually change his mind by the end, which is… odd.

    This one is pretty bad. Don’t pick it up, you’ll be made uncomfortable. There are exactly two parts that are entertaining and I’ll share them with you so you don’t miss out:

    Yours always,

    paleblondeguy

    Characters: ,

  • Angel: Revelations

    Angel: Revelations

    Writer: Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa
    Artist: Adam Pollina

    [ 7.5 ]

    Feat: Angel
    Issues: 5

    Be not afraid.

    Published 2008

    The majority of my exposure to the X-Man Angel, Warren Worthington III, comes from X-Men: The Last Stand. And he’s barely in that. So you can imagine I wasn’t super interested in a multi-issue origin story for him, especially with no other X-Men featuring. I mean what could an Angel origin be, other than a generic mutant origin?

    Certainly more than I expected.

    This has got to be some of the most intriguing and strange art I’ve ever seen in a book from the “Big 2” (Marvel and DC). But the thing is, the way American comics work, you could have the best art anyone has ever seen, but someone else is working on the story.

    Luckily, our writer also knows exactly what he’s doing.
    There are so many levels of complexity operating here. We’ve got:

    • Realistic depictions of the strange dynamics in extremely wealthy families.
    • A confrontation of pedophilia and its perpetrators.
    • Radicalized members of a religion are evil, no matter what religion it is.
    • The shame inherent in being different under Catholicism.

    I mean, Warren is trying to hide giant wings coming out of his back at the same time that his friend is burned on the back for being gay. I don’t know how you can get more overt with your “mutant=gay” metaphor without stating it outright. I’m going to keep pointing this kind of thing out until people stop saying X-Men are “woke now.”

    And when I say “giant wings,” I’m not exaggerating:

    That’s gotta be the largest that his wingspan has been depicted in comics, right?
    And if you’re thinking: “Wow, in front of the stained glass? That’s a lot of religious imagery.” Buddy, you ain’t seen nuthin’

    Y’see, Warren goes to a Catholic boarding school and the antagonist is a priest. So you could say there’s a bit of religious talk going around. Including the way the antagonist justifies his actions. He’s been going around hunting mutants for a while and the reasoning he’s operating on is the most interesting mutant-hate motivation I’ve heard.

    So he’s kinda like an old guy that paid off all his student loans already and doesn’t think the young’uns should get to take take the “easy way out.” So he resorts to very violent murders.

    I highly recommend giving this one a shot for, if nothing else, the art. It’s got a good head on its shoulders and might be my favorite redundant origin for a character I’ve read so far – and I’ve had to read a lot of them recently.
    I’ll leave you with some of the dynamic, and often christian-imagery-invoking, action shots.

    Yours always,

    paleblondeguy

    Characters:

  • Wolverine: Hunger

    Wolverine: Hunger

    Writer: Karl Bollers
    Artist: Stephen Segovia

    [ 1.1 ]

    Feat: Wolverine
    Issues: 1

    Short and Sour.

    Published 2009

    I’ve wondered, in the past, why certain comics were included in the reading order. This is the first one where I have wondered why it was made at all.

    Set immediately after Wolverine escapes from Weapon X, we have 8 pages with no text. Summarized thusly:

    • Wolverine implied hungry by title.
    • He fails to catch a turkey.
    • He sees a family home (family included).
    • Cannibalism is briefly considered.
    • Some wolves threaten the family.
    • Wolverine kills wolves.
    • Family scared of Wolverine.
    • Wolverine leaves.

    The only reason I can think of for this story to exist: to show that Wolverine is very violent and animalistic, but has compassion for innocent people.

    Which would be interesting.

    If it wasn’t

    THE PRIMARY CHARACTER TRAIT HE HAS DISPLAYED SINCE NINETEEN SEVENTY-FOUR.

    This comic is the very definition of superfluous.

    The art is good though.

    Yours always,

    paleblondeguy

    Characters:

  • Marvel Comics Presents #72-84

    Marvel Comics Presents #72-84

    Writer: Barry Windsor-Smith
    Artist: Barry Windsor-Smith

    [ 7.8 ]

    Feat: Wolverine
    Issues: 13

    We’re bringing grody back.

    Published 1991

    It’s nutty to me that some of the most important stories in comic books are just listed under “Generic Title #69-420.” This is the weakest element of American comics, especially when you compare it to manga. Marvel Comics Presents #72-84 is the first appearance of Weapon X. The first explanation of Wolverine’s adamantium skeleton. And, back then, it was the origin of why he even had claws at all.

    This was, at the time of publishing, the very first time Wolverine’s claws were popped in his life. Why then, is he already clearly pretty old? Because this is moments after they were grafted onto him. Logan used to be just a guy who healed quick and could smell vaguely well.
    Before it was retconned in Origin, for better or worse.

    Writing

    The thing is, at the time, it was perfectly normal for comics to go this dark and gritty. In fact you could say that’s the direction most of the 90s went – thanks, largely, to Watchmen. But this comic really aimed for a specific vibe, it wasn’t just nonsense swearing. The writing is just clearly for an older crowd.

    Really strikes a tone, yeah? Our writer, Barry, keeps this up throughout the entire story. Some might call that over-the-top, but I think – at this point – the character of Wolverine had earned this level of esotericism.

    The only problem with that – and to a lesser extent, the art – was that this arc was coming out in a book that carried several stories. So occasionally where Weapon X would end and the next story would start… Let’s just call it tonal dissonance:

    Now, this is a pretty deadly-serious affair, but there is one running gag. “All-in-One Barry,” as I like to call him, decided that the man running Weapon X has no idea how computers work. It gets played as a gag a few times, but also ends up being the trigger for several plot advancements. Its definitely the thing I least expected when going into this.

    Art

    You remember X2? The movie? They go to the Weapon X facility and its all grimy and grody, there are wires everywhere, blood on every surface. Remember that? If you’re like me, you figured that was due to rust and deterioration over years, possibly decades since Logan’s procedure.
    This comic confirms that – No – it always looked like that.

    X-Men Origins: Wolverine was one of two movies I had on my iPod Nano for long car rides, so it holds a soft spot in my heart. But I will never forgive it for taking this aesthetic of Weapon X away from us.

    Alongside this type of over-the-top mechanical parts, we also get to see plenty of inner-turmoil translated into art during this tale.

    A lot of… thorns and spines. It works very well thematically, obviously, for the new claws he now has, making him a little less cuddly. But it also represents his fear of being a mutant due to his underdeveloped understanding that they cause pain and suffering to “normal” people.

    This one is definitely worth checking out, really dives into the psychological weapons that were used to control Logan and that eventually led to his patchy memory. Even if the claw-installation isn’t canon anymore, it’s still an impressive tragedy starring our favorite mutant. And you’ll know you’re in good hands from the very first two panels:

    Yours always,

    paleblondeguy

    Characters:

  • Logan: Shadow Society

    Logan: Shadow Society

    Writer: Howard Mackie,
    Mark Jason
    Artist: Tomm Coker, Keith Aiken,
    Octavio Cariello

    [ 0.6 ]

    Feat: Wolverine, Sabretooth,
    Captain Marvel
    Issues: 1

    Character designs that change from panel-to-panel.

    Published 1996

    Would really like to move on from boring comics at some point. Even the 60s stuff is better than these last two. Wolverine is a secret agent with Carol Danvers and they run around trying to uncover the “Mutant Agenda.” No really, look:

    And people today still say they love this era of comics and hate how “woke” they are now. The X-Men were designed to be woke, that’s the point of them. Doesn’t matter, this is just a McGuffin to lure Wolverine and Carol to Sabretooth and there’s a fight.

    This whole comic is just in the reading order to specifically put Wolverine in the Yukon at the end of the issue. But I think, overall, this one could be skipped because the art is… hard to accept. If I was shown this blind, I would not guess it’s meant to be Logan.

    And for some reason, the first time I read this, I thought Wolverine and Carol had good banter. On a second look, it’s all incredibly cliché agent/cop banter that’s well-exemplified by this line:

    Its bad. Not a necessary read, even for this reading order, I’d bet. Don’t dirty your eyes with it. I mean, look at this attempt to draw Carol kicking Sabretooth in the nuts:

    Is she kicking him… in the side? What’s wrong with Sabretooth’s proportions? Why does his arm look like that? Why is the lion’s-mane-bit of his costume glowing? Reading this comic will just give you more questions.

    COMING BACK AFTER ADDING WRITERS AND ARTISTS:
    HOW DID THIS TAKE TWO PEOPLE TO WRITE??

    HOW DID THIS TAKE THREEEEE

    GODFORSAKEN

    ARTISTS???

    Yours always,

    paleblondeguy

    Characters: , , ,

  • Born

    Born

    Writer: Garth Ennis
    Artist: Darick Robertson

    [ 0.1 ]

    Feat: Punisher
    Issues: 4

    Technically, it is a comic.

    Published 2003

    I had always heard that the Marvel Max imprint, with adult stories for adults, could tend toward gratuitous sex, violence, and swearing. I had to stop reading this during issue 2, it is SO EDGY. This reads like Punisher fanfiction written by a fourteen-year-old-boy. And Frank isn’t even in-character. It’s usually pretty agreed-upon that Frank appears totally normal before his usual canon event. In this he’s a psychopath during the war. Bad. Throw it away.

    Yours always,

    paleblondeguy

    Characters:

  • Strange Tales #110-122

    Strange Tales #110-122

    Writer: Stan Lee
    Artist: Steve Ditko

    [ 4.0 ]

    Feat: Doctor Strange
    Mordo, Nightmare
    Issues: 10

    You’ve heard of Alcoholic, now get ready for Amuletholic.

    Published 1963

    And now, we take a handbrake turn from the modern-retellings-of-origins, right back into the 60s. For a lot of the 60s comics I’m not going to have much to say because, in terms of plot, they don’t really have one. For all the “first appearances,” though, I’ll take some extra time to see how strongly they characterize initially. Oh, and I’m only reading the Doc Strange stories from these issues, for now.

    Design and Personality

    The good Doctor has some odd things going on in his early era. Let’s just get this out of the way up top: They gave him pretty racist Asian eyes and he has them throughout these issues.

    His design gets a little more solidified a few issues from now, but they clearly had a different idea for his race at the time. We were extremely close to having an Asian Doctor Strange.

    Stan also clearly wanted to stylize the way this character operates. He feels much more established than all the other heroes of this era, like he’s already been doing this awhile. And he really doesn’t put up with people. Gives off the vibe of a guy that’s been working a service job too long, and has become really jaded about the whole thing.

    I think establishing this really formal, stick-in-the-mud behavior is what has always made him such a fun contrast during Spider-Man teamups. I kinda wish they had made him more grumpy and less quippy in the MCU for that reason.

    Oh, and he never explains a damn thing to people around him. Half a town will be possessed by interdimensional beings before he turns up and sends them all packing. Then Doc just turns around and says “welp, good luck figuring out what happened there, idiots.”

    Abilities

    Initially this man can do exactly 1 thing by himself: go into “ectoplasmic form.” Its just astral projection, but I guess they didn’t have the term yet. Now, you might think he can do more things once he’s in Astral mode, and he can! He can THROW HANDS.

    Now if you’re obsessed with knowing things about comics, or you’re an oldhead, you might say “hey he could do more than that!”
    Incorrect.
    His enchanted amulet could do more than that:

    And, my personal favorite:

    So, this must just be the Eye of Agamotto already, right? They never call it that. Just “Glowing Amulet,” “Enchanted Amulet,” “Magical Amulet,” etc. It’s unclear what its limits are currently, appears to just be a catch-all to get Doc out of situations.

    Villains

    We get Nightmare in issue 1, then Mordo in issue 2, and then… well I think Stan might have run out of ideas after that. Out of 11 Doctor Strange stories in this set of issues, Nightmare is the villain of three and Mordo is the villain of five whole stories.

    Early Mordo was very quaint because he had the same powerset as the Doc, but he doesn’t have an amulet. So what can he do, class? That’s right! He can go Ectoplasmic mode!
    They give him more powers a little quicker than they do Strange, but his first appearance he just astral projects, takes over a servant, and poisons the Ancient One’s food. That’s the extent of the magic he’s using. Oh, and the spell “THROWING HANDS“

    And early Nightmare? Really well done. Ditko doesn’t let you see his whole face initially and it makes him way more menacing.

    Some bonus thoughts:

    • The Vishanti and Hogoth show up as names Strange invokes when doing magic, already.
    • Doc does get an extra power during this run: Mindreading.
    • Oh and the art (at least for the Nightmare realm) starts getting very abstract and interesting as these issues go on:

    Of course, being old comics, these are all pretty goofy in retrospect. But now having read a decent amount of the different books Stan himself worked on, it’s clear he’s very capable of striking the right tone for each book. Whether it be Spider-Man’s highschool troubles, the Fantastic Four’s family teasing, or Doctor Strange’s sheer exasperation.

    Oh, and I still can’t get enough of the wild ways Stan plays the hypeman for Marvel. He really had a knack for making it sound charming:

    Yours always,

    paleblondeguy

    Characters: , , ,

  • Daredevil: Battlin’ Jack Murdock

    Daredevil: Battlin’ Jack Murdock

    Writer: Zeb Wells
    Artist: Carmine Di Giandomenico

    [ 6.0 ]

    Feat: Daredevil
    Issues: 5

    So Visceral, you’d think it’s just an ongoing boxing mag.

    Published 2007

    As we continue the catchup to where I actually am in the reading order right now, here’s another comic I had skipped initially. And while it didn’t knock my socks off, it ended up twisting the lore in such a way that it serves up a gut punch for the reader. It also gave me my favorite characterization of Battlin’ Jack yet. Although that’s possibly due to just never having spent this much time with the guy.

    First thing you notice about this mag is the art. It has this… sloppy joe quality to it – you know, the sandwich – in that it initially seems awful, but then you let your eyes take a real bite off of it.

    It is both impossible to tell what I’m looking at, yet chock-a-block with infinite detail. Like taking a bite of a sloppy joe.

    The next immediate detail you pick up on is the paneling, they really go out of their way to try to keep it fresh from page to page:

    This is five panels for the price of 3. It really teeters on the edge of looking like some youtuber’s red circles in “TEN THINGS YOU MISSED“, but I think it carries it off just fine in the end. They also never do it carelessly and is generally used in the name of efficiency.
    All 3 of those “panels” would easily be 3 separate panels in any other story. This allows them to highlight some details without wasting space.

    SPOILERS

    This comic could just exist between the pages of Man Without Fear with almost no discrepancies, and honestly provides some context that shows Jacky Boy in a much kinder light than he comes off there.

    And I mean, he still smacks his kid that time (in fact hits him twice rather than the once usually shown), but it at least attempts to show us all the different mental health disaster zones he’s handling at once. Still don’t hit your kid, but damn, I don’t think a man has ever been hit with that many moral conundrums in one day.

    I also JUST LOVE the concept of Jack realizing his son is a capable fighter during his fight, which essentially releases him from the hell he’s been going through. Knowing that he was able to die without worrying about his son’s safety is a wonderful addition to the character.

    Sidenote: I just love the shatter-panel realization trope in comics. Very literally impactful and never gets old, at least, to me.

    Yours always,

    paleblondeguy

    Characters:

  • Daredevil: The Man Without Fear

    Daredevil: The Man Without Fear

    Writer: Frank Miller
    Artist: John Romita Jr.

    [ 8.8 ]

    Feat: Daredevil,
    Elektra, Stick
    Issues: 5

    This is it. This is my Daredevil.

    Published 1993

    I was 8 when the 2003 Daredevil movie came out and it was rated PG-13, so my first experience with this character was the Netflix (now Disney+) show. This comic is clearly what the show tried very hard to be, which won it quite a lot of critical acclaim. And yet, it still doesn’t quite live up to the heights of this book.

    Now Frank Miller, the writer, has started to go a little insane in recent years (Dark Knight 3: Master Race). But in this era? He had a rare writing trait that I see very rarely in comics: Momentum. I would read through 4 pages, realize I hadn’t looked at any of the art, and force myself to go back and look. The writing just carries you forward with such force that you want to keep going.

    On top of that, we also see the dry humor that is such a staple of the show. I can easily hear the actors’ voices when I read these panels:

    The art from John Romita Jr, meanwhile, is what I call “Good 90s”. See, the 90s, especially later 90s, were… shall we say, overdesigned:

    Liefeld holds a lot of the blame here, but this was a general 90s trend. In an effort to make things seem more gritty and grimy they just kept adding more and more lines to their penciling. Problem is, too many lines haphazardly placed start to muddy the image. It’s the comic equivalent to a Michael Bay Transformers action scene.

    But Romita Jr. manages to give this book that 90s edge while still making the finer details legible, even in the rain.

    If you’re a big fan of the TV show, definitely check this out. But be advised: this version of the character only avoids killing if it is convenient. But sometimes a grenade presents itself, and what is a Daredevil to do? Ignore it? Impossible.

    Yours always,

    paleblondeguy

    Characters: , , , ,

  • Ororo: Before the Storm

    Ororo: Before the Storm

    Writer: Marc Sumerak
    Artist: Carlo Barberi

    [ 4.1 ]

    Feat: Storm,
    Ozymandias
    Issues: 4

    Indiana Jones as a Teenage Mutant African Urchin.

    Published 2005

    My God. I wanted to hate this so badly. Storm as an 8-year-old? No powers? Running around Cairo as a street rat like Aladdin? It all just seemed SO on the nose for your ONE X-Man from Africa. You couldn’t be any more creative?

    And to be completely honest, on those bases, I do still dislike it somewhere deep down. But then it became too charmingly Indiana-Jones-esque, right down to the villain in a white suit whose quest for power is his undoing. Also with Storm being so young here I assumed we would get no X-Men or powers, but we got a little bit of both!

    I also was getting major Solo: A Star Wars Story vibes from this book due to a special magic gem that looked suspiciously like the one Ororo wears around her neck in several versions of her costume:

    But then it gets completely removed from the table. I got a real chuckle out of the fact that they just said “Na, actually, its gone now, don’t worry about it.” It would be like showing Han Solo’s iconic gun in Solo and then dropping it on Mustafar from orbit.

    I can’t recommend this because its not very relevant to… anything really. It’s just supplemental material if you really like Storm. But also it has the same vibe as watching Saturday Morning Cartoons™. So I don’t not recommend it.

    Yours always,

    paleblondeguy

    Characters: ,

  • Mystic Arcana: Scarlet Witch

    Mystic Arcana: Scarlet Witch

    Writer: Jeff Parker
    Artist: Juan Santacruz

    [ 0.6 ]

    Feat: Scarlet Witch
    Issues: 1

    Magical gobbledygook.

    Published 2007

    Ok, so, complicated: Mystic Arcana is a series of 4 books, each focusing on an early magic-based hero from Marvel. Each book has a self-contained plot as well as scenes from an ongoing plot that runs throughout. This is not the first in the run, so I was definitely confused by the series plot.

    Problem is, the issue’s “self-contained” plot was also extremely confusing.

    It boils down to “toddler-Wanda casts her first spell and is almost adopted by a witches coven, but they change their minds.”
    This story is very “and then this happened” with very little “due to that, this happened.”
    So I’m just going to give you a list of strange things:

    • Wanda lives in a gypsy encampment that looks like it would be pretty offensive to actual gypsies.
    • The witches’ coven is heavily implied to be made up of parents of a lot of important characters, but I don’t recognize any of them.
    what the fuck
    • One of the witches has an uncle that worships a different god so he has to stop Wanda being adopted by the coven, but when the coven finds out uncle’s god has claimed Wanda they agree to send her to America instead of adopting her and
    • This comic, both the ongoing series story and the issue story, is the worst kind of “when the magic system is gobbledygook”
    like describing a video game, poorly

    Off the back of this, I’m guessing the 4-issue series is pretty poorly put together. And this is the only one I see in the reading order, but the others could be buried somewhere in the 16,000. If you haven’t gotten the memo yet, don’t read this, trust me.

    Yours always,

    paleblondeguy

    Characters:

  • Doctor Strange: Strange Origin

    Doctor Strange: Strange Origin

    Writer: Greg Pak
    Artist: Emma Rios

    [ 5.6 ]

    Feat: Doctor Strange, Wong,
    Mordo, Ancient One
    Issues: 1

    Maybe Wong’s born with it, maybe it’s Maybelline.

    Published 2016

    Take two of the OG sorcerer’s inception; same story, different font. This time it’s more of a story and less of an exposition dump, but all fairness to the original, the Doctor Strange movie came out alongside this in 2016. So even if someone didn’t see the movie, if they’re reading this comic then they were probably being served-up a lot of “Doctor Strange Origin Explained” Youtube visual essays.

    I’m sure you want to know specific differences though – first off, this one is long. It tells the original backstory we got in Strange Tales in about 10 pages, then moves on to developing Stephen’s relationship with Wong.

    The Vishanti: Good Magic Gods. As opposed to Dormammu: Evil Magic God.

    This image basically boils down the whole dynamic. Strange studies plenty, but is ethically questionable – while Wong is a good boy that hates homework. So naturally they don’t trust each other and the plot is a device to move them towards friendship.

    It’s also a device to move Mordo towards “catching these [nerve-damaged] hands.”

    I’m sure you’ve slightly noticed it here, but the art in this book is both really unique and cool, while also being a bit messy on the action side of things.

    Action:

    It took me a very long time to work out what I was looking at here. Like I knew he was tripping on an apple core, but those 2 larger frames are just a mess of motion lines. Still don’t know what’s drawn next to “WHUMP.”

    But on the other hand:

    I think the artist, Emma Rios, might just specifically excel at close-ups.

    One last thing to mention: The Ancient One was Yoda’d. He’s now an all-powerful mystic that is frequently just a goofy guy because he finds it funny. Personally I like it when they Yodafy a mentor character, just makes them a little more bearable, but I know some people hate it when a serious character is recharacterized for comedy.

    So what should you read if you want a Doctor Strange origin story? Well, I think you’ll find the 60s version is efficient and, while quaint, holds a lot of valu-
    Read the new one.
    You’re going to hear this from me a lot, but like any artform: comics have progressed a lot during its lifespan. Panel-to-panel dialogue is just better written now, I can guarantee you that.

    Except for maybe some quips The Thing used to spit in the original Fantastic Four series. But that’s me getting ahead of myself.

    Yours always,

    paleblondeguy

    Characters: , , ,

  • Strange Tales #115

    Strange Tales #115

    Writer: Stan Lee
    Artist: Steve Ditko

    [ 3.4 ]

    Feat: Doctor Strange, Mordo,
    Ancient One
    Issues: 1

    Steven was drunk when he crashed the car, right? RIGHT??

    Published 1963

    Finally, the first comic in the order that’s actually from Marvel’s early days! And by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, no less. For anyone unfamiliar with Ditko, he’s responsible for the iconic designs of Doctor Strange, Spider-Man and Iron-Man. But what’s interesting is, I always thought the art in early books looked mostly the same. And while there is certainly a similar school of thought they all evolved from, its clear now that Ditko was the weird expressions king.

    Now if you know comic numbers, you’ll know this isn’t the first issue of Strange Tales to feature Doctor Strange. But the reading order is running chronologically. That means we need the Doctor Strange origin, which happened in his 4th issue. How do I know this was his 4th issue?

    Stan was very… enthusiastic when addressing the fans. Some may call it unhinged. Whatever it was, Stan’s outbursts are one of my favorite parts of this era, so they’ll get more highlights as we march ever onward.

    Now the actual origin is pretty standard. Man is surgeon, man hurt hand, man get sad, man find magic man, man learn magic.
    My understanding of the details was definitely challenged by the original version though. For example, I’m not convinced this Steven Strange had any redeeming qualities before learning magic.

    But at this point I have a question for you: What is your understanding of how Steven crashed the car that injured his hands?
    Was there a reason? Or just coincidence, to your memory?

    Because I swear he had a whiskey-neat in his hand while driving. It’s an image seared into my brain so much so that I had to go back and double-check the movie, and sure enough, no whiskey glass in Doctor Strange (2016) or in his episode of What If…?

    So I went on a mission of Fire and Google. I checked Doctor Strange #169, Uncanny Origins #12, and Doctor Strange: Season One. I even checked Strange #1 where he breaks his hands while skiing!

    Closest I got was in the Uncanny Origins version, Strange’s narration mentions it “could be the alcohol, could be the fatigue.”
    I feel like I’m going NUTS.

    So instead I’m going to take comfort in the fact that his original backstory takes place in 1963, at which point the acceptable blood-alcohol content to drive was anything under .15, about double the level of drunk that’s allowed today.

    You could also drink while driving. And even if one of them coppers pulled you over, he had to get out an entire goddamn science kit called the “Drunkometer” to test you:

    So I’m going to assume that anyone driving in comics up until about the 80s is just completely tanked.

    But now I have to rate it. And do I rate it by modern standards? Do I rate it for its time? This will set a precedent for the rest of the 60s and 70s, when comics were a little more simplistic, among… other issues.

    I mean, its not terrible storytelling by modern standards, its mostly stilted dialogue. But also “man goes to the ‘orient’ to learn mystic abilities” was a pretty common trope going back a few decades from the 60s (see: The Shadow). So I’ll just rate it off of modern standards. But hoo-boy, get ready to see a lot of low scores once we get past all the modern-remakes-of-origin-stories section of the reading order.

    Yours always,

    paleblondeguy

    Characters: , ,

  • Logan: Path of the Warlord

    Logan: Path of the Warlord

    Writer: Howard Mackie
    Artist: John Paul Leon

    [ 0.8 ]

    Feat: Wolverine
    Issues: 1

    Inner Demons and Exposition.

    Published 1996

    To talk about this story, first I have to clarify how I think Wolverine ought to operate. Whenever he encounters a new adversary, I believe that Wolverine, due to his own moral code, starts the fight using non-lethal attacks. He has a healing factor so he can risk injury more than your average bear.

    However, if this adversary hurts too many innocents or harms someone Logan cares about: He will switch to lethal fighting techniques. And he will feel justified in doing so. And if Cyclops tries to lecture him on morality, he’ll spit it back in Scott’s face, scolding him for any injuries bystanders or friends sustained.

    The problem I have with this comic is that it makes Wolverine’s trademark animalistic rage into a disease he needs to recover from. The animalistic rage is a core part of the character and should be a tool in his toolbelt, not something to bury. It doesn’t help that this “Beast Within” looks extremely goofy with this art.

    Also have you ever seen a 1-issue story spend about half its pages on exposition before? And not light exposition. Here’s 1 of 5 consecutive pages in one of the expository sections:

    So other than the “Beast Within” part of the story, its a very convoluted version of “Unkillable Ruler of another dimension wants to steal dimension-hopping tech to come rule this dimension.”

    It takes them five pages to get this concept across. I would say “its nice to get a tour of the organization Logan is working with while they exposit,” but the art is so dark and muddy that you can’t make anything out, anyway. And the art does not improve. I spent most of the book squinting, trying to work out what I’m looking at.

    What is this? What is the perspective here? I understand they were going for a more Japanese woodcut look overall, but it does not work for conveying information at all.

    Oh, and Wolverine doesn’t have claws in this. Apparently, back in the day, before they really solidified all the Weapons X stuff, it was up-in-the-air whether he had claws beforehand. What’s weirder is it had been pretty well solidified a couple years before this came out, but they went that route anyway.

    This comic isn’t bad. Truly bad comics can often be an absolute joy to read. I still remember where I was when I got to the Scarlet Witch/Quicksilver incest part of the Ultimate Comics because it was SO BAD.
    But no, this book earned the death-penalty of the superhero genre: it’s boring.

    Yours always,

    paleblondeguy

    Characters:

  • Sub-Mariner: The Depths

    Sub-Mariner: The Depths

    Writer: Peter Milligan
    Artist: Esad Ribic

    [ 7.9 ]

    Feat: Namor
    Issues: 5

    Horrors of the Deep wield Winged Feet.

    Published 2009

    Starting with a secret revealed: I’m actually much farther in the reading order than this. I came up with the idea to review everything on a website last week and have been going back through comics I’ve already read.

    On my initial readings, I had been skipping anything labeled “Alternate Universe” because I’m just trying to understand the big-picture story of the main universe.

    Boy am I glad I read this for the review:

    Namor The Sub-Mariner as the monster in a psychological horror.
    This is a concept I always thought would work well for Darth Vader, but never considered The Avenging Son.

    But I think what makes this work so well is that it isn’t all about him. So much of the uneasiness and atmosphere of this book comes from our fear of the Deep and its inscrutability. In a submarine, in the dark, deep enough that the very weight of the water above you would crush you instantly.
    Then how did that handprint get outside the glass?

    The artist for this, Esad Ribic, also illustrated one of my favorite comics, Silver Surfer: Requiem.

    I dread the day I have to review it. Its just so good I don’t know how I’ll ever find the words. So imagine my surprise when I’m greeted with all these circus freaks in The Depths:

    I was cackling by the time we got to Mr. Earing up there in issue 2. As the book goes on though, and the sub dives deeper and deeper, bug-eyes start to lose their comedic value and become an unsettling display of inhumanity.
    A smile that is just a bit too wide rouses suspicion of their motives.
    A deadpan expression that stares right past you, but at what?

    Personally, I bought a hard copy of this as soon as I finished reading it.
    And between this and Marvels, I’m going to need to start looking for more comics pitched as “Regular people observing the fantastical/terrifying reality of a super-person.”

    Yours always,

    paleblondeguy

    Characters:

  • Fury: Peacemaker

    Fury: Peacemaker

    Writer: Garth Ennis
    Artist: Darick Robertson

    [ 4.2 ]

    Feat: Nick Fury
    Issues: 6

    Eye-Patch Foreshadowing: A Masterclass

    Published 2006

    I was 13 when the first Iron-Man movie came out. And like I’ve said before, I didn’t have comics as a kid, I just read wiki pages for superheroes. And if they didn’t have a costume and a secret identity, I really wasn’t interested. All of these factors conspired so that Samuel L. Jackson was the first version of Nick Fury I was exposed to.

    And since then, whenever I see… let’s call him “Hasselhoff Fury.” Hasselhoff Fury and Jackson Fury.

    Whenever I see Hasselhoff Fury, I’m reminded how spoiled I’ve been with Jackson Fury. I’ve read a few of the Nick Fury-centered stories from the 90s and 00s and he seems very… One-note a lot of the time.

    An angry, prideful boomer. That’s always been the vibe I’ve gotten from Hasselhoff Fury. I think its why his character has been essentially phased out, even in the main Marvel timeline, and replaced with a Sam Jackson lookalike. I think Hasselhoff Fury was chained to the moon or something along those lines, we’ll get there on this journey eventually.

    Now interestingly, this is listed as being set in an alternate universe, according to the reading order. I imagine that was decided partially because this is a “Marvel Knights” mag, which was an imprint where Marvel did more violent and sexual things with their characters. For example:

    And this is the real reason why this is set in another universe: it gives us Nick’s eyepatch origin story. And this is the true tragedy of comic book writers. Someone will be put in charge of an important character’s backstory, they’ll do a pretty good job with it, a ton of “fans” complain online for years, a new backstory is written, and the original writer’s work is labeled “Alternate Universe.”

    I’m thinking its in the list for characterization reasons, this is meant to give you a sense of Fury’s personality and why he’s a prick. It also gives us an important distinction about him: Nicky is a Soldier. Capital S.

    Nick Fury is a military strategist and fighter. If he doesn’t get to use both of those skillsets often, he gets incredibly bored. It’s something I’ve seen visited a few times with Hasselhoff Fury. And anyone who stands in the way of his boots-on-the-ground, ragtag warfare is the enemy.

    Actually that’s made me realize: no wonder he started working so closely with the Avengers and other heroes later in life, he loves a ragtag team of weirdos. The Avengers are like a dream team version of the Howling Commandos for him.

    So this does an ok job with Fury’s character, but just feels like more of the same for the 2000s era of him I’m familiar with. But oh-so-soon we’ll be in the era of the original Howling Commandos, and maybe he can finally surprise me.

    Oh and here’s my favorite panel of Fury I’ve ever come across:

    Yours always,

    paleblondeguy

    Characters:

  • X-Men: Magneto Testament

    X-Men: Magneto Testament

    Writer: Greg Pak
    Artist: Carmine Di Giandomenico

    [ 3.6 ]

    Feat: Magneto
    Issues: 5

    X-Men Origins: Magneto: The first 5 minutes we never got.

    Published 2009

    This is a tough one to give a review. It reads like Life is Beautiful without the humor and because of that, provides a very real-feeling story of a first-person account of the Holocaust (in case you never saw the X-Men movies, Magneto went through the Holocaust). It also provides statistics in relevant scenes to show you how common this kind of experience was at the time for his people.

    On the other hand, it doesn’t really work as a Magneto story. It doesn’t add anything to his motivations that “Hey, that’s Magneto, he went through the Holocaust” doesn’t add. It only shows his powers subtly, in ways that could be easily explained as being “athletic” or “lucky” could in any other story.

    Magneto won a contest of throwing metal javelins. Strength or Mutant-Magic? You decide.

    If all this one was trying to do was tell a Holocaust story, it would be an easy 8/10 at minimum. But it is meant to serve as a Magneto backstory, and as a Magneto backstory it earns a 3.6. Go read Maus first, if you still want more perspective, then come back and read this.

    Yours always,

    paleblondeguy

    Characters:

  • Captain America and Namor #635.1

    Captain America and Namor #635.1

    Writer: Cullen Bunn
    Artist: Will Conrad

    [ 2.1 ]

    Feat: Captain America, Namor,
    The Covenant, The Thule
    Issues: 1

    Bloodstone’s Imaginary Friends.

    Published 2011

    This reading order is hilarious. They basically said “yeah, I mean technically all the WW2 comics are canon, but what really even happened during those?” So instead of using any of them, they threw together a few recap issues that give you the idea of each of the important characters from that time period.

    The puzzling part is, which element of this is required knowledge for later?
    Is it the secret society? The Covenant???

    Ulysses Bloodstone:Monster Hunter
    Wyatt Crowley:Sorcerer
    Jefferson Chambers:Dimension-Hopper
    Menace:Magic-Batman
    Vanessa Baker:GOAT-Detective
    Murderous Lion:Healing Factor
    “The Covenant” from left to right.

    I checked, 5 of these 6 only exist to be in this club.
    This club appears ONE OTHER TIME in a 4-issue Wolverine story.
    And they had the gall to take Ulysses Bloodstone, a character that’s been around since the 30s (and that I admittedly found out about through Werewolf by Night on Disney+), and use him to make these rabble-rousers seem legit.

    Ulysses Bloodstone (Deceased) – Werewolf by Night (2022)

    So it’s not “The Covenant” that makes this issue important.
    Namor characterization?
    He acts mostly the same here as he does in everything, a bit dick-ish. He does explicitly say why he’s helping with the war though.

    He also chooses to destroy an all-powerful Atlantean artifact instead of using it to win the war because it would make his people sad to see it. Seems like too small of potatoes to add this whole issue though.

    Cap characterization? There was one novel idea in this, where he is very awkward in his delivery of the “Inspiring Captain America!“ battle-speeches, but he tries anyway because he realizes that Captain America can galvanize troops.

    But he also recognizes that he wouldn’t make it in talkies, so he inspires with actions too… even if he’s not a big fan of the things he comes up with.

    Cap is thinking in 3rd-person here, y’know, like we all do

    So as far as I can tell, there’s really no reason to include this issue other than giving Cap and Namor some direct interaction in WW2. But we don’t get that with Android Human Torch, so I doubt its even that.

    There is only one conclusion I can draw, and I’m not happy about it:

    This is how I learned the reading order doesn’t mess around.
    Damnit.

    Yours always,

    paleblondeguy

    Characters: , , , ,

  • Captain America and Bucky #620-624

    Captain America and Bucky #620-624

    Writer: Ed Brubaker,
    Marc Andreyko
    Artist: Chris Samnee

    [ 5.4 ]

    Feat: Bucky, Captain America
    Namor, Human Torch, Toro
    Issues: 5

    Marvel’s take on a Boy-Wonder.

    Published 2014

    James Buchanan Barnes. A real mouthful. And, like every character with more than 50 years of continuity, incredibly complicated to keep up with. This short story gives you the basics:

    • Dead parents
    • Trained in several combat styles
    • Joins up with that Star-Spangled Man
    • Sees THE HOLOCAUST
    • Appears to die
    • Didn’t die, but did get a metal arm

    And no, he didn’t just see a concentration camp from a distance.

    This happens while he’s working with the Invaders, who were also in Marvels which was my last review, but its just chock-a-block with characters so I didn’t want to get too hyperfocused.

    The Invaders are the Allied superteam in WW2, with some early heroes on the team:

    • Captain America – you’ve seen an ad, a backpack, or a meme of him. I will not describe him.
    • Bucky Barnes – Winter Soldier Pre-Angst
    • The Human Torch – NOT the Fantastic Four one. This is the OG, an Android a scientist made in the damn 30s.
    • Toro – Flame Kid. When a radioactive mother and an asbestos-riddled father love each other very much…
    • Namor – The Sub-Mariner! Aquaman, but more of an arrogant dick. Later in life he invents a hobby called “cucking Mr. Fantastic.”

    But overall it’s more about Bucky. In order across the 5 issues the boy-wonder-but-marvel:

    1. Tells us about his childhood up to Cap-era
    2. Goes to the carnival with Steve
    3. Earns the respect of the other Invaders
    4. HOLOCAUST
    5. Winter Soldier: Awakening

    And he dates Black Widow for a bit. Her characterization isn’t much more than “spunky girlfriend” unfortunately. But it doesn’t last long because Ol’ Buck overrides his brainwashing and yells at the KGB so now they stick him in a vat between each mission.
    These stories are efficient though. If you’re looking for a crash-course on the alloy-armed lad, this is a solid choice.

    Yours always,

    paleblondeguy

    Characters: , , , , ,

  • Marvels

    Marvels

    Writer: Kurt Busiek
    Artist: Alex Ross

    [ 9.2 ]

    Feat: Avengers, Invaders,
    Fantastic Four, X-Men, etc.
    Issues: 5

    The Comic-Fan’s Comic.

    Published 1994

    I’ve been reading comics for several years now, this isn’t just my first attempt to go in blind reading 16,000 issues assuming I’ll like them. I have some background knowledge, I’ve read some of the greats, one of which even being the landmark DC comic also painted by Alex Ross:

    Kingdom Come

    And honestly, after reading a lot of the Ultimate Universe of Marvel recently – an alternate Marvel universe that ran concurrent with the existing main 616 universe from 2000 to 2015 – I started feeling down on comics, thinking a lot of them were bad. And trust me, a lot of the Ultimate Universe is….. well just look at it:

    But Marvels?
    Ohhhhh man, this is comic book.

    This was the third time that I was hit with a sense of wonder SO powerful that I was brought to tears.
    It’s still only issue 2.
    Something I often say that I like about comic books is how silly they can be:

    • Magneto having his own asteroid he operates out of.
    • Mr. Fantastic meeting up with Stan Lee to have the Fantastic Four’s stories published.
    • The X-Men in an alleyway in a bunch of weird, ill-fitting costumes.

    But take that last one and frame it with a mob on either side and an angel protectorate above.
    Light the entire scene from a mutant’s glowing red eyes to make them feel otherworldly.
    Then include every fabric fold and imperfection in the costumes to remind us they are not so otherworldly, that they’re more similar to us than we realize.
    And finally show all of that from a low perspective, to remind you how big everything felt when you were little.

    And it stops being silly, it transcends its own conventions and fills the audience with awe.
    Would that the world were full of such Marvels.

    Marvels Giant Man

    Yours always,

    paleblondeguy

    Characters: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

  • Captain America #255

    Captain America #255

    Writer: Roger Stern
    Artist: John Byrne

    [ 1.2 ]

    Feat: Captain America, Bucky
    Issues: 1

    Exposed ears were big in the 40s.

    Published 1981

    An extremely condensed version of events that covers a little more than the first Captain America movie, but in a handful of comic pages.
    It’s efficient, but it’s definitely not a good read. I assume the writer wanted it to really feel like a comic from the 40s.

    It’s definitely an accurate portrayal of the original Captain America comics, when Cap had no depth and was a piece of walking propaganda.
    Well, you know, more overt propaganda than today.
    And WHO PICKED THAT ORIGINAL HAT??

    Yours always,

    paleblondeguy

    Characters: ,

  • Origin II

    Origin II

    Writer: Kieron Gillen
    Artist: Adam Kubert

    [ 3.1 ]

    Feat: Wolverine, Sabretooth
    Issues: 5

    X-Men Origins: Wolverine: The NEXT 5 Minutes.

    Published 2014

    First issue was phenomenal. LOOK AT THIS:

    Then he spends a bunch of time with a “Mr. Creed” and his sister. Guy looks and talks like Sabretooth. Wolverine kills him at the end by drowning him in amnesia juice.

    Turns out he’s Victor Creed’s brother “Saul”. So now Victor (Sabretooth) beats up Wolverine every year on Saul’s birthday.

    Oh also Mr. Sinister was in this, but irrelevant.
    First Origin was better.

    Yours always,

    paleblondeguy

    Characters: ,

  • Origin

    Origin

    Writer: Paul Jenkins, Bill Jemas
    Joe Quesada
    Artist: Andy Kubert,
    Richard Isanove

    [ 7.1 ]

    Feat: Wolverine
    Issues: 6

    X-Men Origins: Wolverine: The First 5 Minutes.

    Published 2001

    X-Men Origins Wolverine – the Canada days.
    Early part with James as a little boy at the Howlett mansion was pretty uninteresting.
    There was a character named “Dog” that is HEAVILY telegraphed to be Sabretooth, then just… isn’t? I mean look at this guy:

    dog for sabretooth

    Now look at classically-interpreted Sabretooth:

    See? They’re both blonde. Make Dog Sabretooth. Please hurry before I get to my next post. (its Origin II and it ruins everything.)

    Towards the end Wolverine ends up working at a quarry while living with a redhead named Rose. Rose is both Logan’s childhood nanny and first love. Complicated. Also starts a lifelong infatuation with redheads.

    Quarry Foreman named Smitty is where Logan got most of his particular brand of respect and kindness. Smitty also gives him a book on Samurai. Because we gotta know where Han Solo got his vest. AND Smitty gives us Wolverine’s signature misspelling of Bob.

    Classic “Logan accidentally stabs the lady he likes” at the end. Just like X-Men Origins Wolverine. Comic better than movie. Great Art.

    Yours always,

    paleblondeguy

    Characters: ,

  • Thor: Son of Asgard

    Thor: Son of Asgard

    Writer: Akira Yoshida
    Artist: Greg Tocchini

    [ 4.5 ]

    Feat: Thor, Loki, Sif
    Balder, Enchantress
    Issues: 12

    Care to tell me what that was all about?

    Published 2004

    Take every Marvel comic, put them in chronological order. Have you ever wanted a high-school drama with gods? Or did you like Percy Jackson books? This is a delightful Teen Thor book in that respect. Oh, but mind the art. Hard to describe what’s wrong with it, but I think these few panels do it wonderfully:

    sif being weird

    It’s verrrryyy focused on the Thor/Sif relationship. In a teen drama way. So if you don’t like that, I’d keep your distance. Enchantress does get in some absolute BANGER insults at Sif though.

    Yours always,

    paleblondeguy

    Characters: , , , , , ,

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