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Before I get on with this months theme - there is one straggler that I didn't finish in time last month that gets a nod.
Ultimate Fantastic Four Volume One (Home country: United States and Scotland): I find the best alternate universe change to be very little and very small things at first and then show how these small changes cause utter chaos. This total rewrite of The Fantastic Four by Brian Bendis and Mark Millar mixing teleportation experiments, government think tanks, the ancient Greek elements along with the Mole Man and Doctor Doom to be almost unreadable. There were a few changes that I liked. I found making Reed and Sue only a year or two different in age is a lot more palatable than the original comic where a 9 year old Sue falls in love with a 19 year old Reed Richards. Reed returning those affections upon his return eight years later always struck me as a little creepy. Everything else was just as jumbled as one would expect from the Ultimate Universe. Still, I paid two dollars for the trade which is more than one issue would go for on the stands.
Unfortunately I have to say I got what I paid for.
And now... a bulk of my remaining back log of trades come from my favorite line of Marvel Trade Paperback... the Essentials. With the size of phonebook, at $16-$20 (even in black and white) it is already a bargain. Added into the fact that at the most expensive one on this is list are ones I actually I paid $12 per book on Amazon and the cheapest being at the least expensive from a half off plus buy seven get ten box you can see how easy it would be to come out ahead.
Essential X-Men Classic Volume One: I bought and read volume two of this series about eighteen months ago. When I originally heard fans complaining they started the Essential X-Men with Giant Sized X-Men #1, I was surprised. I think by later in his run on X-Men, Roy Thomas did not care about it. (He had Jean and Bobby call Angel "Scott" after all.) I got this one along with a bunch of other trades so it was free. My response to this trade is a little different. Volume one is probably Lee and Kirby at their best since Fantastic Four. There are a few weird continuity jumps, like Beast going from a big dumb jock to the big words man in three issues flat, how throughout this volume both Marvel Girl's parents didn't know they were mutants but later volumes saying Jean's parents were old friends of Charles Xavier who knew she was a mutant the whole time. Also the famed Xavier and Magneto back story is non-existent under Stan Lee's
typewriter. Xavier tends to simply mind wipe friends (the Human Torch) and foe (Unus the Untouchable and Mimic) alike. If you go into the series expecting something on the scale of Len Wein, Chris Claremont or Grant Morrison you'll be quite upset. It you go in expecting Lee and Kirby or Thomas and Roth then you should be fine. While I have preference for Claremont's X-Men the book wasn't a complete waste of time. It was worth at least five bucks.
Essential Avengers Volume Three: Never before I have I seen a book make such a fast quality turn around. Even by the merits of the Silver Age, the first two volumes were almost painful. It was around this point in the series when The Avengers really became the Avengers. Writer Roy Thomas happened to hit on the notion that even with Stan Lee as his editor, he didn't have to write like Stan Lee. While he had been on the book for awhile, it was around the start of this volume when he really began to run with it. While there were a few old school moments that make ones head spin, like the ending to the "Old Avengers vs. New Avengers" story, even those issues out strip the Lee/Kirby/Heck issues by a mile and a half. Thomas puts almost as much emphasis on characterization as he does on plot. The book features the Return of Magneto and the introduction of one of The Avengers most beloved members- The Vision. I got what I paid for here and maybe enough of a bargain to make up for some of the loss from the first two volumes.
Essential Marvel Two-In-One Vol Three.: The Pegasus Saga. The Serpent Crown Affair. The Quest for Counter-Earth. Plus, many stories featuring the art of George Perez. Can you say: 'It's Clobberin' Time?' Yeah, I knew you could. While I really enjoyed the previous volumes of Marvel Two-In-One, I'd have to say this one might be the most essential of all. Which is kind of strange really. Most of the previous the stories featured Ben Grimm, the idol of millions, teaming with the creme de le creme of the Marvel Universe with occasional team ups with people you've never heard of. Only five of the twenty five or so team-ups come with big names: Mister Fantastic, Human Torch, Iceman, Scarlet Witch and The Avengers. Those aside, this one might as well have been called Benjamin J. Grimm: My Life on the D-List. What's even weirder- two of the team ups with the big names: Iceman and The Avengers are probably the two weakest stories in the book.
The Avengers being just sort of average and Iceman bordering on terrible. What really takes the cake is that some of the "done in one issue" stories are really good rather than an attempt to get something finished to meet deadline. In fact, I enjoyed the team up with The Impossible Man as much, if not more so, than the much praised Pegasus Saga. The mystery team up, also attempted in Marvel Team-Up a few times really works well here and with comedic results. In spite being a thirty year old comic, I won't say who it is that they have every reason not to team up with Ben Grimm but do so anyway for their own amusement. Oh yeah, there is also the obligatory Thing and Hulk battle then team up. I highly recommend this one. I got my $11 worth here.
Essential Marvel Team-Up Volume Three: Spider-Man is one of my favorite Marvel characters. I love stories that deal with the greater Marvel Universe. Two thirds of the book are written by one of my favorite Marvel writers (and real nice guy) Chris Claremont. It's a kind of a no brainer that I'd be predisposed to like Marvel Team-ups. There are many good to great team-ups in this volume. Spider-Man and Captain Britain springs to mind. I also really enjoyed the Claremont/Mantlo Spider-Man meets the X-Men story. While I didn't know who Woodgod was, I didn't hurt my enjoyment of the Spider-Man/Hulk/Woodgod story. Unfortunately there were some stories that were great and some that were simply not horrible. Some were hindered by the fact that Marvel Team-Up stories were rarely referenced outside of Spidey books so they had little to no lasting effect on the guest stars. The stories having an impact could have helped the suspense leve. For example, the Wasp/Yellowjacket story or the Iron Fist/Daughers of the Dragon two parter significantly. Much like every volume of Marvel Two-In-One must have an appearance by The Hulk, every Marvel Team-Up must have at least one Human Torch story. Which is okay, those two have an interesting rapport. It's nowhere near as bad as parts of volume one and two where it seemed like it was Johnny Storm's book as much as it was Spider-Man's book. Just to get this out in the open, I know Roy Thomas originally intended Marvel Team-Ups to be like DC's World's Finest only it became clear that Spider-Man moved books and the Torch didn't. Thus the move to the "Brave and The Bold" format. The final problem is that while it includes almost 25 issues of Marvel Team Up, for legal reasons it leaves off what is arguably the best issue of the entire series- Marvel Team-Up #74, in which Spider-Man teams up with the cast Saturday Night Live and John Belushi's Samurai fights Silver Samurai. I paid $11 bucks and the book was very much worth it. . Though if I only had $11- I'd take Marvel Two-In-One first.
The Essential Spectacular Spider-Man Volume Four: This web slinging starts with a bang and ends with a return to status quo. It begins with the brutal battle between Doc Ock and The Owl. The Black Cat and Spider-Man have their fling. The Secret Wars interfere. There are some flaws here and there but writers Bill Matlo and Al Milgrom manage to keep the action swinging fast and furious so that you hardly notice it save for the moments with the scenes with the even then anachronistic paring of Flash Thompson and Sha Shan. There are some really fantastic stories here. I tend to enjoy stories told from the point of view of characters whose view of the hero isn't one we're used to thinking about. In what was perhaps one of the best stories of his career, Bill Mantlo produces a look at the real inner workings of J. Jonah Jameson. A portrayal of man a who doesn't truly hate Spider-Man. He's just a man who started to fake it to sell papers but who- over time - really began to worry about the message costumed vigilantes would have on society. A man who admits- if only to himself- that he has failed in his job as an editor and journalist by letting his opinions tamper with his portrayal of the news. If only for one issue he turned one of the Marvel's most two dimensional characters into one of the most conflicted and complicated figures. Extremely high points of the volume include: a) an issue drawn by legendary cartoonist Fred "The Marvel Age Guy" Hembeck with a little assist from Al Milgrom. b) a heartbreaking mystery in the life of Aunt May. At $10 it was worth it. Loads of fun.
Be here next month for some Silver Surfer action, some severe punishment and to make up for the lack of bad reviews, which I know is what you vultures who care nothing about my mental health come to this column to read, I will try to survive X-Men: The Manga. Though I suspect it will be nothing but deep hurting. Don't worry folks, I have Sheryl's home address. If I need a shrink, I'll make sure to give her the bill.
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