Ed Liu
10-30-2005, 07:59 PM
Howdy,
Finally got all my comics in from G-Mart this month, and got my Marvel Monsters Group comics. If you don't want to read any more of my babble, just go spend the $16 it'll cost you and Get These Comics. My brief reviews follow, in ascending order of monster-y goodness. Click the covers for previews from around the web.
MONSTERS ON THE PROWL
http://www.marvel.com/comics/onsale/covers/1005/MarvelMonsters_MOTP_sm.jpg (http://www.newsarama.com/marvelnew/Oct_previews/oct26thpreviews.htm)
Steve Niles & Duncan Feregdo
The first comic is a pretty straightforward bash-up. Bruce Banner, hungry, tired, and in the middle of New York City, drops in on the Thing after a Hulk-binge. One plot device later and they're surrounded by giant monsters trashing New York. The two pull in Ant-Man and the X-Men's Beast (back in his blue-and-yellow uniform and minus the blue fur) for an assist. This is a fun, but largely vapid exercise in giant monsters, although it does have a few laughs along the way. The brains of continuity hounds will explode as they try to figure out where, EXACTLY, in Marvel History this comic can possibly fit, but I consider that a bonus.
The backup feature, "We Found the Ninth Wonder of the World," starts with a 12-foot lobster getting shot on the deck of a ship and gets bigger from there. Like the comic, it's not bad, but not great.
On a minor note, I think this book either has shorter stories than the rest, or more ads.
Grade: B
WHERE MONSTERS DWELL
http://www.marvel.com/comics/onsale/covers/1005/MarvelMonsters_WMD_sm.jpg (http://www.milehighcomics.com/firstlook/101205/mm1cvr.html)
By Keith Giffen & Mike Allred; Peter David and Arnold Pander; and Jeff Parker, Russ Braun, and Jimmy Palmiotti
The anthology book, and like most anthology books this one's a bit inconsistent. The first story by Keith Giffen and Mike Allred is essentially an extended joke at the expense of the tiki-headed Bombu. It's the kind of humor that fans of Giffen's Justice League or Hero Squared would go for, but luckily I'm one of those fans. The artwork is terrific, though, with the deliberately retro artwork really standing out among all the other comics in this series. The second story by Peter David and Arnold Pander seems to spend more of its time taking potshots at Hollywood before turning a monster loose in a rather unexpected way. It's still funny, mind you, but I would have been happier if the monster showed up sooner. The last story by Parker, Braun, and Palmiotti, is a nice 50's throwback monster invasion story where the Big Twist can probably be seen a mile off, and with a one-page coda that kind of doesn't make any sense. Still, it's pretty well done for what it is.
The backup feature is "I Was Trapped by Titano, the Monster that Time Forgot!" If Bendis reads this, I'm sure he'll see the last page and then exploit it to bring back Titano in a 12-part epic in New Avengers or something.
Grade: B
DEVIL DINOSAUR
http://www.marvel.com/comics/onsale/covers/1005/DEVIL_DINOSAUR_sm.jpg (http://www.milehighcomics.com/firstlook/100505/mm1cvr.html)
By Eric Powell and Tom Sniegoski
Bah! Stupid Marvel call comic "Devil Dinosaur." Where is HULK? HULK is in comic TOO! Stupid Puny Marvel should call comic "Devil Dinosaur vs. Hulk." Or "Hulk vs. Devil Dinosaur!" Hulk should get top billing. Devil Dinosaur died in 70's after nine issues. Hulk has more issues. Hulk is better! Where Hulk put Hulk's agent's phone number...
That cover tells you everything you need to know about this comic. The Hulk fights Devil Dinosaur. The Hulk. Fighting a Big Red Dinosaur. If you tell me you need more than that, then you HATE COMICS. Go look at the second page of the preview (http://www.milehighcomics.com/firstlook/100505/mm1two.html), where DD EATS A MONKEY. HEAD FIRST!!! If you still need convincing that this is not 22 pages of awesome in comic book form, then you REALLY hate comics.
Now is as good a time as any to give Eric Powell some major kudos for all the snazzy covers for these issues. He and Tom Sniegoski manage to inject quite a few laughs into this monster punchfest, thanks to a slightly more intelligent Hulk and the Frasier-and-Niles-Crane bickering between two Celestials throughout the issue. I've also finally got my hands on some of Powell's The Goon comics, and he's even funnier there.
The backup feature here is "I Was a Slave of the Living Hulk!" where Gossamer (http://www.imagine-itz.com/fans/gossamer/) gets mental powers and is going to blow up the Earth with a rocket.
Grade: A-
FIN FANG FOUR
http://www.marvel.com/comics/onsale/covers/1005/FIN_FANG_FOUR_CVR_sm.jpg (http://www.milehighcomics.com/firstlook/101905/mm1cvr.html)
by Richard Langridge and Scott Gray
Before I start gushing about this one, go click through and look at that cover and the dialogue. One page that shows an event that isn't even in the comic book, but you now know almost everything you need to about these characters in the book and their relationship to each other.
The rest of this book, by two people I don't think I've ever heard of, manages to pack a similar amount of wallop per page. Four Marvel monsters get shrunk down to human size and agree to post-hypnotic blocks on their powers, and enter a "Monster Rehab" program of sorts. Then they have to save the day when a monster breaks loose and the real FF is out of town.
This book reminded me of how cool The Incredibles was, and I don't make that comparison lightly. There's something for everybody here, all wrapped up in some serious monster-slamming. We have Fin Fang Fu, the return of Roberta (the FF's robotic secretary), snooty HERBIE robots, interdimensional overlords, and possibly the worst case of intestinal gas ever. Easily the top comic of the bunch.
The backup is the first "Fin Fang Foom" story, which is probably the strongest of the older stories reprinted. It does have a whole father-son conflict dynamic and a hero who saves the day by being smarter than anybody else around him. Those two factors make it easier for me to tolerate it's grossly caricatured Chinese people and the fact that the writers clearly had no idea how Chinese names work (last name comes first, so "Chow Yun-fat" is "Mr. Chow" and "Yun-fat" is the equivalent of Bob or Peter or Danielle).
Grade: A+
So, what did you guys think?
-- Ed/Ace
Finally got all my comics in from G-Mart this month, and got my Marvel Monsters Group comics. If you don't want to read any more of my babble, just go spend the $16 it'll cost you and Get These Comics. My brief reviews follow, in ascending order of monster-y goodness. Click the covers for previews from around the web.
MONSTERS ON THE PROWL
http://www.marvel.com/comics/onsale/covers/1005/MarvelMonsters_MOTP_sm.jpg (http://www.newsarama.com/marvelnew/Oct_previews/oct26thpreviews.htm)
Steve Niles & Duncan Feregdo
The first comic is a pretty straightforward bash-up. Bruce Banner, hungry, tired, and in the middle of New York City, drops in on the Thing after a Hulk-binge. One plot device later and they're surrounded by giant monsters trashing New York. The two pull in Ant-Man and the X-Men's Beast (back in his blue-and-yellow uniform and minus the blue fur) for an assist. This is a fun, but largely vapid exercise in giant monsters, although it does have a few laughs along the way. The brains of continuity hounds will explode as they try to figure out where, EXACTLY, in Marvel History this comic can possibly fit, but I consider that a bonus.
The backup feature, "We Found the Ninth Wonder of the World," starts with a 12-foot lobster getting shot on the deck of a ship and gets bigger from there. Like the comic, it's not bad, but not great.
On a minor note, I think this book either has shorter stories than the rest, or more ads.
Grade: B
WHERE MONSTERS DWELL
http://www.marvel.com/comics/onsale/covers/1005/MarvelMonsters_WMD_sm.jpg (http://www.milehighcomics.com/firstlook/101205/mm1cvr.html)
By Keith Giffen & Mike Allred; Peter David and Arnold Pander; and Jeff Parker, Russ Braun, and Jimmy Palmiotti
The anthology book, and like most anthology books this one's a bit inconsistent. The first story by Keith Giffen and Mike Allred is essentially an extended joke at the expense of the tiki-headed Bombu. It's the kind of humor that fans of Giffen's Justice League or Hero Squared would go for, but luckily I'm one of those fans. The artwork is terrific, though, with the deliberately retro artwork really standing out among all the other comics in this series. The second story by Peter David and Arnold Pander seems to spend more of its time taking potshots at Hollywood before turning a monster loose in a rather unexpected way. It's still funny, mind you, but I would have been happier if the monster showed up sooner. The last story by Parker, Braun, and Palmiotti, is a nice 50's throwback monster invasion story where the Big Twist can probably be seen a mile off, and with a one-page coda that kind of doesn't make any sense. Still, it's pretty well done for what it is.
The backup feature is "I Was Trapped by Titano, the Monster that Time Forgot!" If Bendis reads this, I'm sure he'll see the last page and then exploit it to bring back Titano in a 12-part epic in New Avengers or something.
Grade: B
DEVIL DINOSAUR
http://www.marvel.com/comics/onsale/covers/1005/DEVIL_DINOSAUR_sm.jpg (http://www.milehighcomics.com/firstlook/100505/mm1cvr.html)
By Eric Powell and Tom Sniegoski
Bah! Stupid Marvel call comic "Devil Dinosaur." Where is HULK? HULK is in comic TOO! Stupid Puny Marvel should call comic "Devil Dinosaur vs. Hulk." Or "Hulk vs. Devil Dinosaur!" Hulk should get top billing. Devil Dinosaur died in 70's after nine issues. Hulk has more issues. Hulk is better! Where Hulk put Hulk's agent's phone number...
That cover tells you everything you need to know about this comic. The Hulk fights Devil Dinosaur. The Hulk. Fighting a Big Red Dinosaur. If you tell me you need more than that, then you HATE COMICS. Go look at the second page of the preview (http://www.milehighcomics.com/firstlook/100505/mm1two.html), where DD EATS A MONKEY. HEAD FIRST!!! If you still need convincing that this is not 22 pages of awesome in comic book form, then you REALLY hate comics.
Now is as good a time as any to give Eric Powell some major kudos for all the snazzy covers for these issues. He and Tom Sniegoski manage to inject quite a few laughs into this monster punchfest, thanks to a slightly more intelligent Hulk and the Frasier-and-Niles-Crane bickering between two Celestials throughout the issue. I've also finally got my hands on some of Powell's The Goon comics, and he's even funnier there.
The backup feature here is "I Was a Slave of the Living Hulk!" where Gossamer (http://www.imagine-itz.com/fans/gossamer/) gets mental powers and is going to blow up the Earth with a rocket.
Grade: A-
FIN FANG FOUR
http://www.marvel.com/comics/onsale/covers/1005/FIN_FANG_FOUR_CVR_sm.jpg (http://www.milehighcomics.com/firstlook/101905/mm1cvr.html)
by Richard Langridge and Scott Gray
Before I start gushing about this one, go click through and look at that cover and the dialogue. One page that shows an event that isn't even in the comic book, but you now know almost everything you need to about these characters in the book and their relationship to each other.
The rest of this book, by two people I don't think I've ever heard of, manages to pack a similar amount of wallop per page. Four Marvel monsters get shrunk down to human size and agree to post-hypnotic blocks on their powers, and enter a "Monster Rehab" program of sorts. Then they have to save the day when a monster breaks loose and the real FF is out of town.
This book reminded me of how cool The Incredibles was, and I don't make that comparison lightly. There's something for everybody here, all wrapped up in some serious monster-slamming. We have Fin Fang Fu, the return of Roberta (the FF's robotic secretary), snooty HERBIE robots, interdimensional overlords, and possibly the worst case of intestinal gas ever. Easily the top comic of the bunch.
The backup is the first "Fin Fang Foom" story, which is probably the strongest of the older stories reprinted. It does have a whole father-son conflict dynamic and a hero who saves the day by being smarter than anybody else around him. Those two factors make it easier for me to tolerate it's grossly caricatured Chinese people and the fact that the writers clearly had no idea how Chinese names work (last name comes first, so "Chow Yun-fat" is "Mr. Chow" and "Yun-fat" is the equivalent of Bob or Peter or Danielle).
Grade: A+
So, what did you guys think?
-- Ed/Ace