Missing Angel

Angel is away from the X-Men, and they reminisce. Spidey appears in a flashback, in which he has trapped Angel in a web (presumably accidentally). Cool art, I really like Colleen Coover.

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Dark Phoenix

Child of Light and Darkness!
Writer: Chris Claremont
Plotters: Chris Claremont, John Byrne
Penciler: John Byrne
Inker: Terry Austin
Letterer: Tom Orzechowski
Colorist: Bob Sharen
Originally published: August 1980

The Fate of the Phoenix
Writer: Chris Claremont
Plotters: Chris Claremont, John Byrne
Penciler: John Byrne
Inker: Terry Austin
Letterer: Tom Orzechowski
Colorist: Glynis Wein
Originally published: September 1980

Elegy
Writer: Chris Claremont
Plotters: Chris Claremont, John Byrne
Penciler: John Byrne
Inker: Terry Austin
Letterer: Tom Orzechowski
Colorist: Glynis Wein
Originally published: October 1980

The Dark Phoenix Saga, plus one. Spidey appears very briefly in X-Men 135 and as a kind of out-of-context floating-person kinda thing in 138 (which should probably be excluded).

This was quite good, I’m glad I read it.

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Verdicts

Ok, Marvels was pretty good. But all these other shitty painted books about real people are crap. Seriously, NO GOOD.

Update: this should come about one Marvel-year later than I have it.

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Writers: Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning
Artist: Igor Kordey
Letters: Richard Starkings
Design: Cindy Emmert
Originally published: September 1995

Oh my God, this was like, uh, so, uh, deep? Because it was about, uh, normal people? And, uh, the way they, uh, talked, was uh, so real.

I’m pretty certain I read these in the wrong spot, since Julia Carpenter (another Spider-Woman) appears, and she doesn’t really exist yet for the books I’m currently reading.

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…Like a Diamond in the Sky!

This issue had Thor and Iron Man fighting a giant orbiting evil computer. It was really bad. Spidey appeared in one of those “what’s happening with the rest of the world” panels.

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First Blood

Hmm…again, I jumped into the middle (or beginning?) and really had no idea what was happening here. It seemed mildly interesting, but without more info it’s really hard to tell.

Pete and MJ are seen when some shit goes down in Forest Hills.

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Death Watch!

Wow, I really thought this was going to suck for some reason, but it was awesome! Jim Starlin is the man!

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‘Tis the Season

My Treasury Edition 13 showed up! I’m finally back on track with my reading order.

It’s Christmas time, and the Marvel superheroes are playing in the snow! This is kind of a wrapper story around some reprints of past issues. Nothing much happens, but it’s nice and cute, and fun to see everyone relaxing and having a good time.

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KISS / Precisely as Hot as Hell! / The Andromedia Hustle! / See Latveria and Die!

“Forty pages of full-color comics. Plus never-before-published photos and features. Printed in real KISS blood.“

Everything about this is badass!

Platform shoes? Check.
Blind old man in a fur loincloth? Check.
Gene Simmons breathing fire? Check.
Teleportation? Check.
Moon-shaped spaceship? Check.
Sexy robot ladies with machine guns and robot monks with laser eyes? Check.
Outerspace alien disco? Check.

This is literally the best comic I’ve ever read.

Here are some amazing panels and things. Check out the fucking awesome fake ad for Air Latveria!

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At Last: The Decision!

A new set of Avengers is chosen. It very much resembles the existing lineup. There are lot of flashbacks, including one with Spidey. This was kind of like a crappy clips episode of a sitcom.

Why is Ben Grimm human, but wearing a Thing costume? I’ve clearly missed something there.

I probably shouldn’t have this smack dab in the middle of a cliffhanger.

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The High Evolutionary Chapter Five: Silver and Crimson

The High Evolutionary Chapter Six: Kindred Spirits
Story: Mark Gruenwald
Pencils: Ron Lim
Inks: Tony DeZuniga
Letters: Ken Lopez
Colors: Gregory Wright
Originally published: 1988

The High Evolutionary Chapter Seven: Demon Night
Story: Mark Gruenwald
Pencils: Ron Lim
Inks: Tony DeZuniga
Letters: Ken Lopez
Colors: Gregory Wright
Originally published: 1988

The High Evolutionary: All My Children
Story: Mark Gruenwald
Pencils: Ron Lim
Inks: Tony DeZuniga
Letters: Ken Lopez
Colors: Gregory Wright
Originally published: 1988

The High Evolutionary Chapter Nine: The Final Frontier
Story: Mark Gruenwald
Pencils: Ron Lim
Inks: Tony DeZuniga
Letters: Ken Lopez
Colors: Gregory Wright
Originally published: 1988

The High Evolutionary Chapter Ten: The Son of Earth
Story: Mark Gruenwald
Pencils: Ron Lim
Inks: Tony DeZuniga
Letters: Ken Lopez
Colors: Gregory Wright
Originally published: 1988

The High Evolutionary Chapter 11: Beyond Life
Writer: Mark Gruenwald
Breakdowns: Ron Lim
Finishes: Tony DeZuniga
Letters: M. Yee, J. Rosen
Colors: Gregory Wright
Originally published: 1988

No Jessica Drew in chapters five through seven, just more High Evolutionary stuff (and the birth of the Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver).

In the eighth (though oddly unnumbered) chapter, Jessica Drew is shown still cryogenically frozen and, after decades, finally revived. In the ninth she is left in the charge of her nanny, the cow-woman Bova.

After that, it goes back to really weird High Evolutionary stuff, where he recreates Earth and meets some gods and becomes slime.

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A Past Gone Mad!

Death in the Year Before Yesterday!
Writer: Bill Mantlo
Illustrators: Sal Buscema, Mike Esposito
Letters: K. Mantlo
Colors: J. Cohen
Originally published: April 1976

Future-Shock!
Story: Bill Mantlo
Art: Sal Buscema, Mike Esposito
Letters: Jean Izzo
Colors: George Roussos
Originally published: May 1976

…Am I Now or Have I Ever Been?
Story: Bill Mantlo
Art: Sal Buscema, Mike Esposito
Letters: John Costanza
Colors: P. Goldberg
Originally published: June 1976

After a brief interlude with that Family issue, we’re back to more time travelin! Woo!

Team-Up #43 – big, long, giant fight where Spidey, Vision, Scarlet Witch, and Doom all get their asses kicked.

Team-Up #44 – Moondragon shows up, and together everyone is able to beat the Dark Rider. The “witches” of Salem, though, still hang.

Team-Up #45 – Total War of the Worlds story as Spidey is flung into the future to fight invading Martians with Killraven. It’s 2019, “just eighteen years since the second Martian invasion of Earth!” Oh snap!

Team-Up #46 – Still in the future, though now in the year 1990 (!!!), Spidey meets up with Deathlok and fights radioactive zombie kids and the government!

I did not like that the Scarlet Witch killed a cat in #43, but I guess I can live with it, since Spidey was in mortal peril. :(

These aren’t the most amazing stories ever, but shit, they’re a lot of fun. TIME TRAVEL!

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Visions of Hate!

No real explanation for how Vision arrived in the past, but I guess I’ll just assume he showed up at Doom’s castle and also used the time machine.

There’s crazy freaking action in this. The Scarlet Witch gets shot in the head! Great twist ending with Dr. Doom showing up too! Man, I love time travel stories.

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A Witch in Time!

• Evil, insane priest that shoots fire from a cross
• Possessed super-heroes
• Time travel to 1691
• Good times

Seriously, this is awesome. It’s kind of like 1602, which I loved (review probably coming eventually, BTW). I’m really looking forward to the next issues where this story continues.

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Saturday Night Furor!

This is a Tarantula issue, not a Spidey issue. He’s Spidery enough for me, though!

Captain America is found floating in a river, with a face that’s not his own, and a bitchin case of amnesia. As he reconstructs the events of the last few days, he’s lead to an operation by the Tarantula. It’s a sweet story, I just wish there was more of Tarantula.

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Claws!

Um this was a really insane action-packed issue. The Avengers are always good for excitement, that’s for sure. As usual when I read some random book like this, I had not idea what was going on really. This time, though, I didn’t especially care. It was a pretty enjoyable book, considering.

Spidey appears in a flashback with the Cat, one of my favourite characters.

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To The Death!

I’m back to my correct chronology, and it’s the Avengers and the Defenders vs. Dormammu. I’m not a fan of these super-hero orgy issues, where every damn last Marvel character is thrown in. This issue manages to overcome this a little, but is still a little on the weak side.

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The Day She Died

I already wrote a review of this and it got deleted. I don’t feel like rewriting it, so here’s the summary: no good. I had high expectations after reading the other Marvels issues and after reading the Amazing Spider-Man stories this was based on. Unfortunately, this issue didn’t live up to either.

(Update: According the Chronology Project, Clark Kent is in this issue. I think I see who they’re talking about, so I’ve given this review a Superman tag.)

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The Doomsday Gambit!

Woo! Conway didn’t write this one, though he does have a plot credit.

The Inhumans’ pad is sweet.

Cool time travel thing – Spidey gets returned to the future a few minutes before he left. Unfortunately, he doesn’t meet himself or anything.

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Time Bomb!

Zarrko sends back three “time bombs” to 1973. Once they land, these bombs start radiating some kind of wave that turns time back in the surrounding areas. Spidey heads back to stop them and, once there, enlists the help of Johnny Storm. Once they’ve taken care of all the bombs, Storm tells Spider-Man that the Inhumans might be able to help stop Zarrko and Kang.

This episode was weaker than the last.

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The Tomorrow War!

Spider-Man and Iron Man are brought to the 23rd century by Zarrko, the tomorrow man, ostensibly to rescue the Avengers and stop an invader from the future – Kang the Conqueror. On the surface this is true, but once Spidey and Iron Man breach this invader’s fortress, Zarrko allows Kang to defeat them and tries to take control of the situation. His plan? To attack 1973!

Pretty good so far! The story continues in the next issue.

In addition to being funny, this panel is the first hint at Harry’s troubles-to-come.

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A Hitch in Time!

Andru’s art is pretty sweet, but Conway’s writing makes me want to barf. I can’t even recap this issue, I don’t have the energy. Spidey and Thor fight some guy named Kryllk. There’s your recap.

What the fuck is with Conway calling everyone “bright eyes”?! Jesus that’s annoying.

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But Who Will Judge the Hulk? / …Defender of the Doomed!

The World, My Jury!
Writer: Gary Friedrich
Pencillers: Dick Ayers, Herb Trimpe
Inker: John Severin
Letterer: Jean Izzo
Extra dialogue: Roy Thomas
Originally published: July 1972

Story about the hulk getting captured and subsequently tried. In issue 152 Peter appears in a non-speaking cameo to photograph the Hulk’s arrival in NYC. In 153, he runs off to become Spidey and helps capture the Hulk.

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The World is not for Burning!

It’s Christmastime, and Spidey shows up to hand out Toys for Tots, along with the Avengers.

A good chunk of this issue takes place in alternate universes, and for the sake of my own sanity I’m not tagging any characters from those alternative universes. It’s pretty cool, I guess.

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The Baxter Building Besieged!

The Sinister Secret of the Sentry!
Co-plotters: Erik Larsen, Eric Stephenson
Layouts: Erik Larsen
Script: Chuck Dixon
Pencils and inks: Ron Frenz, Joe Sinnott, Keith Giffen, Al Gordon, Paul Ryan, Al Milgrom, Frank Fosco, Bruce Timm
Colors: Eric Stephenson
Lettering: Richard Starkings, Wes Abbott
Cover: Michael Golden
Originally published: March 2001

When Strike These Sentinels!
Co-plotters: Erik Larsen, Eric Stephenson
Layouts: Erik Larsen
Script: Tom DeFalco
Pencils and inks: Eric Shanower, Ron Frenz, Paul Ryan, Tom Scioli, Bruce Timm, Keith Giffen, Al Gordon
Colors: Eric Stephenson
Lettering: Richard Starkings
Cover: Jae Lee, Bruce Timm
Originally published: April 2001

The Merciless Menace of Modok!
Co-plotters: Erik Larsen, Eric Stephenson
Layouts: Erik Larsen
Script: Jeph Loeb
Pencils and inks: Erik Larsen, Bruce Timm, Ron Frenz, Joe Sinnott, Keith Giffen, Al Gordon, Shannon Denton, Al Milgrom
Colors: Eric Stephenson
Lettering: Richard Starkings
Cover: Bruce Timm
Originally published: May 2001

New York Knockdown!
Co-plotters: Erik Larsen, Eric Stephenson
Layouts: Erik Larsen
Script: Kurt Busiek
Pencils and inks: Keith Giffen, Al Gordon, Joe Bennett, Al Milgrom, Ron Frenz, Joe Sinnott, Gordon Purcell, Bruce Timm
Colors: Eric Stephenson
Lettering: Richard Starkings
Cover: Erik Larsen, Joe Sinnott
Originally published: June 2001

Mayhem on the Moon!
Co-plotters: Erik Larsen, Eric Stephenson
Script: Eric Stephenson
Layouts: Keith Giffen
Pencils and inks: Ron Frenz, Joe Sinnott, Frank Fosco, Bruce Timm, Keith Giffen, Al Gordon, Jorge Pereira Lucas, Al Milgrom
Colors: Eric Stephenson
Lettering: Richard Starkings
Cover: Michael Golden
Originally published: July 2001

…Touched by the Hand of Havoc!
Co-plotters: Eric Stephenson, Erik Larsen
Script: Tom DeFalco
Layouts: Erik Larsen
Cover: Keith Giffen, Bruce Timm
Pencils and inks: Rick Veitch, Al Williamson, Ron Frenz, Al Gordon, Mike Manley, Bruce Timm, Graham Nolan, Al Milgrom
Colors: Eric Stephenson
Originally published: August 2001

…To Aid the Avengers!
Co-plotters: Eric Stephenson, Erik Larsen
Script: Kurt Busiek
Layouts: Erik Larsen
Pencils and inks: Ron Frenz, Bruce Timm, Jorge Pereira Lucas, Al Milgrom, Bill Wray, Rick Vietch, Terry Beatty
Colors: Eric Stephenson
Cover: Rick Vietch, Bruce Timm
Originally published: September 2001

Nightmare in the Negative Zone!
Co-plotters: Erik Larsen, Eric Stephenson
Script: Tom DeFalco
Layouts: Erik Larsen
Pencils and inks: Ron Frenz, Joe Sinnott, Frank Fosco, Bruce Timm, Bill Wray, John Beatty, Paul Ryan, Al Gordon
Colors: Eric Stephenson
Lettering: Richard Starkings
Cover: Erik Larsen, Bruce Timm
Originally published: October 2001

On…To Asgard!
Co-plotters: Erik Larsen, Eric Stephenson
Script: Bruce Timm
Layouts: Erik Larsen
Pencils and inks: Ron Frenz, Mike Royer, Dave Ross, Greg Adams, Joe Sinnott, Erik Larsen
Colors: Eric Stephenson
Lettering: Richard Starkings
Cover: Bruce Timm, Joe Sinnott
Originally published: November 2001

Doom Triumphant!
Co-plotters: Erik Larsen, Eric Stephenson
Script: Erik Larsen
Layouts: Erik Larsen
Pencils and inks: Ron Frenz, Bruce Timm, Frank Fosco, Mike Royer, Al Milgrom, Paul Ryan, Joe Sinnott
Colors: Eric Stephenson
Lettering: Richard Starkings
Cover: Ron Frenz, Joe Sinnott
Originally published: December 2001

Victor von Doom, Emperor of Earth!
Co-plotters: Erik Larsen, Eric Stephenson
Script: Stan Lee
Layouts: Erik Larsen
Pencils and inks: Ron Frenz, Joe Sinnott, John Romita, Tom Palmer, Dan Jurgens, Al Milgrom, Steve Rude, Jorge Lucas, Bruce Timm, Scott Hanna
Colors: Eric Stephenson
Lettering: Richard Starkings
Cover: Erik Larsen, Joe Sinnott
Originally published: January 2002

Most of these are probably out of order, but I didn’t really care. I just figured I was kind of interested in reading them, and most of the FF’s chronology didn’t matter to me than much. Spider-Man appears in issue 3 in a brief cameo and as a floating head in the last issue.

It took me forever to get through these, which is why I haven’t updated in awhile. I don’t have a ton to say about them, but generally I thought they were pretty good. Lots of times these modern books that try to emulate the silver age style end up sucking really bad and failing miserable; these don’t. They somehow managed to stay pretty true to the style of the art and writing from the 60s and 70s, so kudos to everyone involved.

My biggest complain with this series is that it was too long. The story was pretty cool, but I think it could have been told better in eight or six issues instead of twelve. By the end, the whole thing was wearing a bit thin. Even the endless cameos, which I thought worked really well for the first while, started to get extremely tiresome by around issue 8 or 9. Even so, these problems didn’t actually detract from the books on an individual basis, as they were fairly uniformly entertaining.

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