Random Comics Review:Kazar the Savage #23,1983

Ok, we get two stories in this one. The art in the main feature is by Bob Hall and Armando Gil and the art in the second is by Val Mayerik. The writing in both is by Bruce Jones.

The first story opens in Casablanca as Kazar is chasing a man to steal a package from him. Kazar beats up some thugs who are also after the same package. Kazar grabs the package and takes it to a man in a bar. The package is a secret explosive. We also meet the man's boss, an evil woman named Ramona. We learn that she is an ex-A.I.M agent who's behind this all. She and her men previously captured Kazar and placed a device in his head that forces him to don their bidding. There's a cameo by Spiderman. Shanna is staying with Peter Parker and thinks that Kazar is dead as a result of a previous fight with Kraven the Hunter ( or something). The story ends to be continued as Kazar and Romona are crossing the dessert about to be ambushed by other bad guys.

It would be interesting to see how certain aspects of this story would be received today. At one point Romona tries to seduce Kazar. When he rejects her, she threaten to activate the device in Kazar's brain. Nothing is explicit is shown or stated. The reader is left to infer what happened, but essentially Romona coerced Kazar into having sex with her. I believe many people today would consider this rape. The story doesn't seem to treat this like that big of a deal. Kazar is shook up a little, but the story treats it like just another rotten thing he had to do along with stealing and beating people up.

Another interesting thing and it's so obvious that I'm not sure if it's a mistake or if it was done on purpose. When Kazar is in the streets fighting and running he's barefoot. When he meets his contact at the bar, he's wearing shoes. There's a caption at the top of the panel that reads "And shortly..." suggesting some time has passed, but is the reader supposed to think that Kazar just stopped at a store somewhere and purchased some footwear?

The back up story is Tales of Zabu. It's a past tale of Kazar as a boy. Basically, a cave man stabs Zabu the Saber-tooth tiger with a spear and kidnaps young Kazar to raise as his own. It ends with a page depicting Zabu laying on the ground with a spear sticking out of him as the rain falls. It's corny but um, kinda sad.

All in all, not groundbreaking but a solid old school adventure comic.With a little bronze age campiness (some intentional some not) thrown in.

Random Comics Review: Nexus #21,1986

Nexus was a superhero science-fiction comic written by Mike Baron and drawn by Steve Rude. The basic premise is that Heratio Hellpop has been been granted super powers by a being called the Merk. Nexus's mission is to execute mass murderers,but who's truly evil isn't always easy to determine.

This issue's main story concerns an attack on Nexus's homeworld of Ylum by the Sov. Nexus previously killed their general and they have sworn vengeance. The Merk has cut off Nexus's power because Nexus is behind on his execution schedule. Nexus has to figure out how to fight the attackers without his powers while diplomats from Ylum decide maybe negotiations won't work in this situation. The back up story is Tales from the Clonezone by Baron and art by Mark Nelson. Clonezone is a lizard-like comedian/performer who has wacky misadventures and...stuff. I only skimmed this story so um, I don't have much to say about it.

The main story is very interesting and compared to today's comics much is packed into 20 pages. From the attack, to the diplomat's trials, to Nexus confronting the Merk...a lot happens, but none of it feels rushed. Interesting ideas abound,there's characters who are basically just floating heads, four armed aliens, and actual discussions of the price or power and violence and retribution.Baron is able to strike just the right tone between drama and humor with his script.

Steve Rude's art compliments Baron's story perfectly. It's lighthearted and whimsical,while still maintaining a decent level of mystery and drama at the same time. Rude's storytelling is very kinetic and keeps the reader involved. He's more than capable at drawing dynamic figures. Sometimes his compositions are a little busy, but not so much that they're distracting.

I think I remember reading some years back Baron and Rude shopped Nexus around as a possible TV cartoon. After talking to some industry people, they realized they would have had to water down the concept so much that it wouldn't have been worth the effort. I'm glad they didn't persue it and we're left with this version of the character.

Random Comics Vid review: X-Men #186,1984

This was an earlier attempt at a You tube review...

Random Comics review: Cerebus #25,1981

Cerebus the Aardvark by writer/artist Dave Sim started as a parody of Conan the Barbarian which Sim eventually turned into a long complex meditation on religion,politics,and gender. The earlier issues are more light-hearted and mostly focused on pop-culture and comics spoofs.

This issue is actually light on plot but definitely worth a look. Cerebus is accompanying Professor Charles X Claremont across the countryside with the Prof's apocalypse beast (which looks suspiciously like Marvel's swamp monster). Before he wrecks havok on the world,the Prof intends to steal a castle from an unsuspecting home owner. Of course,the issue ends which the bad guy perishing by his own plan.

The story is very funny. What's notable is that most of the humor steams not from one-liners and random gags,but from the dialogue and interaction between Cerebus,the Prof,and the Castle owner. One nice bit is that the owner is a serious artist whose commentaries on society always involve drawings of big breasts. Another hilarious scene is how the Prof meets his demise when he gets caught between his beast fighting, then copulating with another apocalypse beast (who looks suspiciously like DC's swamp monster).

The artwork is wonderful throughout. Dave's layouts are dynamic and varied. They tell the story in a clear and breezy manner. The pacing, which is everything in humor, is perfect. Dave's figure drawing is kinetic and fun. Another thing,the art is black and white,but marvelous just the way it is. Stark blacks,clear whites,and just the right amount of zip-a-tone and cross-hatching for the grays and mid-tones. Color wouldn't add to the visuals at all. THIS is how you do black and white comic book art.

Cerebus #25 is a funny and well drawn comic that reads well on it's own. If you can find it at your local comics shop,it's definitely worth a look.

Random Comics review:Fantastic Four #271,1984

Fantastic Four 271 is a charming flashback in a couple of ways.It's an old comic which was a tribute to even older comics.Published back in the 80's,this comic features story and art by John Byrne back when he was still a loyal company man for Marvel Comics and storytelling that was typical of that time.The story is a homage to the Lee Kirby monster comics of the 50's.Basically Reed Richards is afraid he's losing his memory and tells his wife Sue a story about the time he defeated Gormuu,a giant monster from outer space.The flashback is drawn in the old Kirby Ayers style and is roughly 8-9 pages which was the standard length for those old sci-fi tales.Of course the creature is defeated in the most improbable way and we return to the present.Reed decides to return to his father's old lab in Central City California to work on a solution to his problem.The issue ends with the FF vowing to get to the bottom of mysterious forces that seem to be haunting the lab.

The storytelling is simple and direct.The panel layouts are basic and uncluttered and John Byrne was still drawing backgrounds in those days.John also does a good job of drawing different body types.Johnny doesn't look like Reed who doesn't like Wyatt.Sue, Jennifer and Alicia are distinct from each other even without the different hairstyles and fashion.One thing I appreciate is that when people are wearing civilian clothes,they actually look like clothes that real people wore.Sue even has a quasi-mullet( hey it was the 80's it was hip then )! There's not alot of crazy cross-hatching or intricate detail in the graphics.Byrne's individual style is present ,but the point of the art here is to tell the story in the most efficient way.

Byrne does a good job conveying the family feel of this series.For example,the comic begins with a surprise birthday cake for Reed and the personalities of the characters play of each other well without seeming too sit-com like.Another thing I like is how when the FF couldn't get into Reed's dad's lab,instead of breaking the door, they use their powers in an unique way to pick the lock.Another interesting thing is although this issue is pretty light-hearted,the letters page has fans expressing their feeling about a previous issue that featured Sue's miscarriage.

All in all FF 271 was a fun trip to yesteryear which in itself was a trip to yesteryear.

Random Comics Review:Excalibur #1,1988

Excalibur was an X-Men spin-off comics from the late 80's originally written by Chris Claremont and drawn by Alan Davis.Set mostly in England the team consisted of Captain Britain, Meggan, Shadowcat, Nightcrawler, and the Rachel Summers Phoenix.The team believed the main X-men team to be dead and decided to fight evil in their own way.Their adventures featured many weird creatures and parallel dimensions.The original tone of the series was a lot more lighthearted than Uncanny X-Men.

This was the debut issue of the first ongoing which followed a mini-series.The Excalibur team is pretty much set up and living in Captain Britain's lighthouse.The reader gets to see the friendships between the characters and their relationships with other people that would become the supporting cast.The antagonists are the Warwovles, snarky otherworldly beings who disintegrate people and wear their skins.

Claremont's writing is clear and humorous.The script is wordy but not cumbersome.The plot moves along at a brisk pace.And the reader understand's the character's personalities and motivations without much confusion.Alan Davis's art is superb.The compositions and layout tell the story in a clear and concise manner.The reader is never confused about where the characters are or what they are doing.Davis is a master of figure drawings as well as facial expressions.His ability to draw detailed environments and objects without seeming cluttered puts other artists to shame.

This is the sort of storytelling I wish we had more these days.The main characters are established,threats are introduced,future subplots are set up and the issue ends on a cliffhanger,but read in isolation,the issue is still a satisfying read.This issue of Excalibur is a classic example of bronze age comics storytelling.

Random Comics review:Marvel Tales #194,1986

Alright,so this is Marvel Tales which is basically Spiderman reprint material.It doesn't say anywhere obvious on the issue but these stories go back to the 70's and 60's respectively.The first story is a reprint of Marvel Team up #60 from 1977 starring Spidey and the Wasp in the second part of a two part story.The villain here is a man named Equinox who has fluctuating fire and ice powers. In the previous issue,Equinox has apparently killed Yellowjacket,the Wasp's husband and she and Spidey have to bring him to justice with the help of Equinox's scientist mother.The story is by Chris Claremont and the art is by John Bryne,I believe this right around the time they began working together on the X-Men.As a story, this a pleasant enough romp but nothing earth shattering.Fight,chase,origin recap,big fight at the end..pretty typical for Team up comics of the time.John Bryne's art is good but not great.It's professional with clear storytelling.Flashy and dynamic enough to be interesting.The inks by Dave Hunt give it an extra layer of slickness.The most notable thing is probably the power increase given to the Wasp in this tale.If you know the modern history of Yellowjacket,an unintentional creepy moment comes at the end when YJ explains the power boost because he "secretly" gave her a modified serum.Who "secretly" gives their wife anything that's going to change her body unless he's up to no good?Think about it,Hank and Jan never had kids...was he "secretly" sterilizing her too?I'm just saying.

The back up story is a fight between Spiderman and the Human Torch by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby with inks by Steve Ditko.I 'm not sure what comic it's originally from but it's obvoiusly from the very early 60's based on the art style and the character's relationships with each other.It's a juvenile story no matter how old you are.Basically,in an effort to show off,Spidey crashes a party the Torch is at and picks a fight with Torch.That's it.Fight breaks up when the rest of the Fantastic Four show up.One fun aspect is seeing some of the campy ways Spiderman uses his webs that's rarely shown today.He creates a fake bat,parachutes,water baskets,and wings.Yes,the 60's were fun weren't they?

All in all,a solid two and a half stars out of five stars.More interesting as an artifact than as entertainment.The issue is full of ad's for candy and saturday morning cartoons,but it's from the days before comics "grew up".

Random Comics review:Marvel Fanfare #2 1982

Marvel Fanfare was a comic published by Marvel Comics(natch) back in the 80's to experiment with distribution in the then burgeoning direct sales market.The comics were printed on thicker and glossier paper than what was common at the time and utilized more sophisticated color processing.It was also used to clean out some of their back log of fill in issues.

Ok ,there are two stories in this issue.The main feature is the second part of a story written by Chris Claremont with art by Michael Golden starring Ka-zar the jungle lord and featuring Spiderman and the Angel.I'm guessing this was originally intended to be an issue of Marvel Team-Up,but it's easy to see why it was put on the back burner.The plot in the Ka-Zar story has something to do with the evil Brainchild and his partners capturing people and changing them into inhuman creatures.Or something.Spidey and Angel have already been transformed and Ka-Zar is trying to save them as well as a female scientist who has come to the Savage Land to search for another scientist who's incidentally a creature named Sauron.Or something.

Even though there's a recap and lots of captions,this story is very confusing.It's not that there's too much going on,it's that it's not told in a clear fashion.I feel most of the blame has to go to Michael Golden.Golden is a wonderful artist,but he dropped the ball on the storytelling on this.Too many close ups with no clear delineation of where characters are in relation to each other or their immediate environment.People just all of a sudden appear in panels when it hasn't been established that they were even in the room.Marvelous figures,great coloring,but the reader is left feeling, "What?Where'd that guy come from?"If I hadn't been already familiar with most of the characters.I'd still be scratching my head.

The back up story is a Reed Richards tale by Roger McKenzie and Trevor Von Eeden.Reed has forgotten he and Sue's anniversary because he's locked in the lab trying to find a cure for the Thing's condition.We get a two page recap of the Fantastic Four's origin,then somehow Annihilus shows up and has a particularly pointless fight with Reed.Reed of course tricks him back into the negative zone.The end.The art and the script are the definition of serviceable.No zip,no flourish,just the facts ma'am.It's obvious this was produced to have a a story ready to go in case the Dreaded Deadline Doom struck.On the other hand,I least I can tell what was going on in this tale.

There are no ads in this comic,but the Bullpen Bulletin editorial page provides an interesting look down memory lane.There's an item announcing that the X-Men has won the Eagle Awards for favorite comic for the 5th year in a row.There's item hyping how great Marvel's graphic novel line is doing.There's also an announcement of the death of comics artist Wally Wood.Looking at the checklist of comics on sale that month,it's amusing to see some of things Marvel was willing to publish back then.Crazy (a Mad Magazine clone),Epic Illustrated (fantasy/science-fiction),Team America and Rom (based on toy lines) and Dennis the Menace.Dennis the Menace!

All in all Marvel Fanfare #2 was nothing groundbreaking in terms of story or art.Nothing significant as far as the histories of the characters,but a interesting look back at a time when comics production and distribution were in transition.