#start of the Larry Hama run

[thebibliomancer]

Essential Avengers: Avengers #326: WIND from the EAST

November, 1990

Earth's Mightiest Heroes have just fought their newest opponent. Now the Invincible Iron Man has to pick up the pieces. Good luck, Shellhead.

For some reason, the combination of the cover text and everyone being flat on their ass except one person who all hope now lies with against a fiendish foe gives this cover a retro feel.

I can't point to a specific example, it just has an older energy to it.

Anyway. Have you ever noticed that if you squint, the distribution of red versus gold on Iron Man's armor kinda sorta forms an I? With the Iron Panties and the chest piece forming the crossbars? A neat way to give him that superhero initial thing.

Last times in Avengers: Uh. There's been a lot of filler. John Byrne quit over editorial interference and there's been a couple writers since, all doing their own wheel spinning. So we get to the point where the most important last time in Avengers was Avengers Island getting sunk in Acts of Vengeance.

Remember how Michael O'Brien had spent a lot of money getting a new meeting room table for the Avengers, only to be told that Thor wanted to salvage something instead? Yeah, we open on the Avengers making a new meeting table.

It's kinda awesome.

Thor and Sersi forge the big A inlay, with Sersi heating up metal scavenged from girders of the mansion destroyed by the Masters of Evil and Thor Mjolniring the shit out of it.

The Avengers actually let Michael O'Brien help (probably to ease the sting of completely wasting his time before). O'Brien had a table top hand-carved from black basalt scavenged from the sunken Hydrobase.

So the new table is going to be a bit of the previous two bases. With the whole team chipping in to help assemble it. At least, everyone listed on the cover. Quasar has apparently dropped out between issues. Or Larry Hama doesn't want to write him.

But anyway, Thor and Sersi make the A sigil. She-Hulk gouges an A-shaped space in the basalt with her fingernails. Iron Man visits from the West Coast team just to put together all the communication and display systems for the table. And Cap supervises.

As far as throwaway downtime sequences go, I quite like this.

Since the Avengers are incorporating their history into the new table, Sersi decides to give Captain America a little gift. He had a scrapbook of Avengers adventures that was lost when Hydrobase sank. Sersi used a mysterious Eternal space-time bending process to recreate it.

That's nice of her.

While looking at a Daily Bugle photo of the Avengers fighting the Masters of Evil in issue #6, Iron Man almost says he was in that fight before doing a verbal backspace.

Iron Man: "Look at that front page photo from the 'Bugle'... the old Avengers battling the Masters of Evil! That was some fight we -- uh... I mean, you were in!" She-Hulk: "Sure, dude. That was the other guy in the tin suit, right?" Iron Man: "Absolutely. We are all well aware of the death of the original Iron Man..." She-Hulk: "... and you're just another anonymous employee of Stark Enterprises!"

I still have no idea why Tony is pretending he's not Iron Man to his Avengers friends. As a running subplot, it's not going anywhere. It's just repeating Iron Man saying that he's totally not the same guy they had three hundred adventures with and whichever Avenger he's talking to going 'riiiiiiight.'

Speaking of running subplots, there seems to be some conflicting writers on whether Jarvis suffered permanent damage to his vision after being beaten half to death by Mr Hyde.

Some writers still portray him wearing it. In this comic, Larry Hama has Jarvis call the eyepatch silly.

Anyway. Plot.

Big, buff black superhero Rage rings the doorbell of the Mansion construction site and says he's here to sign up to be an Avenger.

Jarvis tells him that one doesn't just show up and ask to be an Avenger. Factually incorrect, Jarvis. A lot of people do that. Like Hawkeye. But Jarvis also says that there's a lot of security checks and testing that one must go through.

Rage sees this as a runaround and just kinda walks in despite Jarvis.

Captain America comes to find out what the hubbub is and Rage asks the pretty legitimate question of why the Avengers don't have any African-American members.

Geez, this is a question that comes up somewhat frequently. You'd think that it would sink in or something.

In an in-universe sense, the Avengers just kinda form teams based on whoever is available. In an out-of-universe sense, it's a very legitimate criticism to lob. Why don't the Avengers have reflect the diversity of America better? Didn't the Avengers used to have a black chairwoman? What happened to her? Oh, an old white man manipulated her out of a job? That's a bad look.

Captain America responds, hey, what about Black Panther and Falcon! I have some black friends!

And Rage goes, they're not here, are they? And more specifically, he points out that Black Panther is a rich king. And that Falcon only joined the team because the government demanded they meet equal opportunity standards. (Wait, how do you know THAT?) Anyway, it sounds like Falcon is retired or something at the moment?

(Neither of them mention Monica. Who, y'know, led the team!)

Captain America: "You're beginning to tick me off, Rage... First off, nobody just walks in and gets to be an Avenger -- no matter if they're white, black, yellow, or green, for that matter!"

Again, factually incorrect. Starfox showed up from another planet and asked to join. And the only hurdle that required was for him to change his name because Reagan said so.

Captain America: "And just what can you do that qualifies you to be a super hero in the first place?" Rage: "What can I do? I've got super-human strength... I'm virtually indestructible -- And I believe in truth, justice, and the dignity of man."

He raises a good point.

And I like his look. The leather jacket look would definitely make him look unique on the line-up beside all the more superhero-y outfits. But having RAGE on the back of the jacket does meet superhero branding guidelines. Also, luchador mask. Pretty cool.

I don't love the codename Rage though. Superhero codenames that are just Noun are my least favorite.

Anyway, Rage accuses Cap of judging him by his appearance and thinking that he'd be bad for the Avengers' image.

Sersi and the rest of the Avengers wander out to see what's going on and Sersi sees Rage gesturing dramatically at Captain America.

So just as Rage is accusing Cap "I bet you think that I'll resort to violence at any second!", Sersi goes oh no, I bet that guy is going to resort to violence and full force blasts Rage with eye lasers.

Everyone remember that this is all Sersi's fault.

Despite Cap yelling at Sersi to not do this thing, Thor and She-Hulk assume that they're in a fight scene now and rush forward to escalate things further.

She-Hulk: "C'mon and pick on somebody your own size!" Rage: "Is that a challenge?"

Rage didn't start this. But he's not about to de-escalate either.

Cap manages to get everyone to simmer down.

Captain America: "There's been a terrible misunderstanding! Rage wasn't attacking me, he was trying to make a point... in fact a very valid point about perceptions!"

Sersi defends herself saying that she felt a lot of hostility in the scene before she eye lasered and Cap has to explain to the millennia old woman that conversations can be angry sometimes.

Rage decides that Actually, he doesn't want to be part of this "stupid organization anymore", which is more than valid.

Rage: "All you ever do is bash cosmic menaces off in some alternate reality or battle bad guys who have nothing better to do than destroy your headquarters! Nobody cares if super-villains fight super heroes! That don't mean diddly-squat to some kid in the inner city... I just want to use my powers to make life better for mankind, and if you don't know it, most of mankind is the little guy who never gets the benefit of your heroics!"

Then he slams the door behind him and walks off.

Hm. This is also something that comes up with the Avengers a lot. The idea that stopping alien invasions isn't Real. It's an argument that makes more sense as an out-of-universe argument than an in-universe one.

It doesn't matter to the little guy that the Avengers stopped a giant metal space man from eating the Earth? That's what we're going with? That's a dumb thing to say.

Benefit of the doubt, maybe this is more a statement of intent from Larry Hama about what kind of Avengers run he wants to do. As opposed to the cheap shot it usually is when some random person says that Avengers don't deal with Real Problems.

I do have to say, I like what Larry Hama did here by starting the issue with the Avengers being all chummy and building a table together and then assuming the worst of an outsider.

Paints the Avengers as maybe being a little clique-ish. Like maybe they need a new person to join and shake things up a little.

Anyway, Iron Man missed all of the Rage stuff but he shows up to tell them that Plot is happening.

Interspersed with the Rage conversation, there's been other stuff going on with Raymond Sikorski, National Security Council guy and liaison to the Avengers, arranging for Lt. Ramskov, hero of Chernobyl, to get a bone marrow transplant from Dr Estivez at Metropolitan General Hospital to treat his leukemia.

The man very heroically braved Chernobyl to shut down a steam pipe that was blasting radioactive vapor into the atmosphere, despite knowing his radiation suit would not be sufficient to protect him.

Problem though. Nobody told Dr Estivez so she is positively alarmed when a crane drops a man in a big containment suit with a radiation symbol on it.

She is further alarmed to hear that Lt. Ramskov has received experimental treatments at Tyuratam. Which is a space center and not a hospital.

These are legitimate concerns. But before you go thinking Dr Estivez is a total voice of reason, when she's giving Lt. Ramskov a look-over, she notices the containment suit is pumping sedatives and muscle relaxants into his bloodstream, she decides to disconnect the pump without asking why.

Granted, her objection is that she can't operate on a dude with unknown drugs in his system but... c'mon. Don't just pull things loose from a containment suit!

Without the drugs, Lt. Ramskov wakes up and starts glowing.

And then he melts through the floor.

... I feel like everyone in the room should get tested for radiation exposure.

Anyway, Sikorski decides this boondoggle should be the Avengers' problem and calls them in. And that brings us back around to Iron Man telling the rest of the team about Plot.

And as the Avengers investigate the hole in the hospital floor, it turns out I was wrong. Ramskov didn't melt through the floor. There's no sign of melting. No increase in the background radiation level. Iron Man sciences that it was quark manipulation what done it.

I don't have enough of a science brain to figure out what that means.

Ramskov's handler/escort, Ms Zhukova tells the Avengers that they better not kill Lt. Ramskov, Hero of the Soviet Union, on American soil! That'd be most bad!

Captain America has to tell her that the Avengers don't really make a habit of killing.

At least in these times. Superhero comics have changed.

Dr Estivez tells She-Hulk that the containment suit and the way Ramskov was kept drugged into a catatonic state leads her to believe that the Soviets were aware of Ramskov's abilities and were trying to keep America from finding out about them.

Ms Zhukova is shocked. Offended even.

And then there's an earthquake and the floor collapses, sending Dr Estivez, Ms Zhukova, and She-Hulk down into the pit beneath the hospital.

Well, She-Hulk is obviously fine. She fell through an entire building once, on purpose. The other two women might get hurt, though.

Iron Man and Thor leap into the pit and save the two normal women. She-Hulk declines being caught because "I could fall twice this distance and not muss my hair!"

And she falls to the lowest subbasement. Which looks like a sewer but She-Hulk calls it a conduit tunnel. She spots some footprints on the floor and goes looking for Lt Ramskov.

Thor and Iron Man want to deposit the two normal women back up in the hospital but both insist on joining the search for Ramskov. Zhukova because she is responsible for him and Dr Estivez because Ramskov is under her care and this is a medical problem!

So the two heroes land in the conduit tunnel and, like She-Hulk, start following the footprints.

Meanwhile, Ramskov. He is still hallucinating his backstory, miming turning a valve as he remembers trying to shut down the steam pipe back in Chernobyl.

But the flashback thickens! In his memory, he sees two mysterious figures in lead suits, dismantling a device attached to the reactor. Ramskov chases them because messing with the reactor could lead to a total meltdown!

... I thought Chernobyl had already melted down. But even still, it was not a situation that would benefit from being made worse.

Ramskov is still hallucinating backstory when Thor and She-Hulk find him. And since She-Hulk happens to be carrying a half-melted pipe she found, Ramskov sees the two heroes as the two lead-suited figures from his memory, who assaulted him with a crowbar and a wrench when he cornered them.

Ramskov punches She-Hulk in the head so Thor retaliates and Mjolnirs the Hero of Chernobyl in the helmet.

Meanwhile, Iron Man is walking with Ms Zhukova and Dr Estivez. The doctor repeats what she heard about Ramskov receiving treatments at the Tyuratam Space Center and now Iron Man is suspicious about this whole thing too.

He begins to ask if Ramskov is part of a special weapons program but then there's another earthquake. Iron Man tells the two women to stay put and goes to check on Thor and She-Hulk.

Where he finds them flat on their asses, as on the cover.

Ms Zhukova and Dr Estivez both refuse to listen to Iron Man, though, chasing after him.

Zhukova: "I cannot let them endanger the integrity of Ramskov's containment suit!" Dr Estivez: "He's still my patient, too!"

You could at least hang back a safe distance but no. They chase right up to where Iron Man is and where Ramskov is glowing and just making physics weep.

Iron Man: "Ramskov is emitting energy in wavelengths that don't exist on any scale! He's dismantling vector bosons and doing things to gluons that should never be done!"

That sounds bad!

Still reliving his memories, Ramskov tears open his containment suit as he tore off his radiation suit after it was ripped by the two men in the past times. Which just intensifies the energy he's putting out in the present.

I hope Thor and She-Hulk's gluons are okay.

Meanwhile, Rage is still in this book.

I figured he'd wind up joining the A-plot but it seems he's got his own subplot going on right now.

Rage walks up to a building that a drug dealer called L.D. 50 operates out of and tells some prospective customers to beat it because business is closing its doors.

Some of L.D. 50's men come out and try to shoot Rage with bullets from their guns for scaring off the customers and not gtfo-ing when they told him to.

Rage does his best Luke Cage, just walking through the gunfire.

I sorta wonder whether Rage exists because Luke Cage wasn't available to use. There's some overlap in powerset and the names rhyme. But Larry Hama is clear on what his inspirations for the character were and Luke Cage was not mentioned.

The muscle run upstairs to warn their vocabulary rich boss that some bulletproof dude is causing trouble. To his credit, L.D. 50 actually thinks of a possible way to deal with a bulletproof dude. Just throw him out a window.

But Rage didn't need to go upstairs to shut down L.D. 50. He pulled a Cage and now he's pulling a Sampson.

Rage: "This tenement was condemned by the city, but drug money bribed the inspectors and the misery of the people furnished it in luxury... It's about time it all came tumbling down!"

Then he shoves the load-bearing columns and the building starts to collapses. I can see why it was condemned.

I guess that's Rage dealing with the Real Problems tm that the Avengers don't have time for.

Next time in Avengers, the dimension of badly-drawn rocks, apparently. But actually next time, hopping back over to West Coast Avengers for some Great Lakes Avengers! Woo.

Follow @essential-avengers for more excitement noises. Like and reblog and comment and leave money for me under rocks. Any rock will do. It doesn't have to be badly-drawn.

[havendance]

hello mem!! i just finished reading the entirety of no man’s land, and im trying to figure out where to go from there. online searching hasn’t really been helpful 😭 this is the list i found, im just not sure about the order:

- batman by ed brubaker vol 1

- new gotham vol 1

- officer down

- new gotham vol 2

- bruce wayne murderer/fugitive

- gotham central

- catwoman???? not sure which comics tho

where does vol 2 of batman by ed brubaker fit into this?? is this even the right order?? i’d truly appreciate your help 🥺

I'll do my best to straighten you out!

After No Man's Land, all of the Bat titles go their own way (before joining up back together for Officer Down and Bruce Wayne: Murder/Fugitive).

New Gotham Volume 1 collects Greg Rucka's run on Detective Comics between the end of No Man's Land and Officer Down.

(Following the end of NML, Batman was written by Larry Hama for a little bit, and all of those stories are just kind of fine and also not collected anywhere that I know of so don't worry about that. This bullet point is mainly to explain why Batman by Ed Brubaker does not cover the same span of time as New Gotham.)

The first four issues collected Batman by Ed Brubaker vol 1 take place BEFORE Officer Down. The rest take place afterward.

This was not on your list, but I do also recommend reading Gotham Knights: Transference which collects the first 12 issues of Gotham Knights. This also takes place between the end of No Man's Land and Officer Down. Gotham Knights is comic that does a good job of showcasing the Bats as an ensemble so if you like Batman working with his allies, this is the book for you. Also, Transference is just really good, and Gotham Knights as a whole contributes to everything leading up to Bruce Wayne: Murderer/Fugitive.

Catwoman does not have any collected editions for this period.

Officer Down goes here.

After Officer Down goes New Gotham Volume 2. This collects all of Detective Comics between Officer Down and Bruce Wayne: Murderer.

Batman by Ed Brubaker vol 1 also covers most of this ground. This is where things start getting a little (more) complicated though. The first issue collected in Batman by Ed Brubaker vol 2 takes place BEFORE Bruce Wayne: Murderer. It then proceeds to collect the tie-in issues of Bruce Wayne: Murderer/Fugitive that Brubaker wrote. I would honestly just skip this volume. The first issue is a christmas issue with like an evil (fake) Santa Claus or something and it's not that important. The other issues will be easier to read in other collected editions.

I also recommend you read Gotham Knights: Contested which collects the issues of Gotham Knights between Officer Down and Bruce Wayne: Murderer/Fugitive. The final issue of the does take place AFTER Bruce Wayne: Murder/Fugitive but the rest of it takes place before.

This is where you read Bruce Wayne: Murderer and Bruce Wayne Fugitive. I think there's a new omnibus collecting it all coming out soon, but I'm not sure how useful that is to you.

Gotham Central starts a few months or so after the conclusion of Bruce Wayne: Fugitive, but there's not really anything else you need to read before you can start this.

To look ahead a little after this, Hush starts to run in Batman and Brubaker start doing some other stuff in Detective Comics that doesn't get collected. And then (unfortunately) the next major event is War Games. But there's plenty of comics for you to read up to this point, so we'll stop here for now.

Other notes:

Catwoman does not really tie in to Bruce Wayne: Murderer/Fugitive but around the time that event is starting up, Brubaker is relaunching Catwoman. This is where she gets the black leather catsuit and this IS collected in Catwoman Vol. 1: Trail of the Catwoman. I have not read this, but I've heard that it's good. It's also getting reprinted soon I believe.

Robin does not really have any collected editions post NML. If you want to read him, you're going to need to do it some other way. His event tie in issues are collected though.

Nightwing DOES have some collected editions if you're interested in him though. Nightwing Vol. 5: The Hunt for Oracle overlaps with No Man's Land, but it also collects the start of what he's up to afterward. Following that, Vol. 6 collects the rest of the way up to Officer Down. Vol. 7 and the first 4 issues collected in Vol.8 collect the stuff between Officer Down and Bruce Wayne: Murderer/Fugitive.

Birds of Prey gets hooked in to events, but the comics themselves don't really contribute to the larger Gotham narrative going on. I still think they're fun though. Birds of Prey vol. 3 collects the Birds of Prey comics between the end of NML and Officer Down. There aren't any collected editions for the Dixon run after this though.

Batgirl! We can't forget Batgirl, it's very good. It does get roped into events, but most of it is standalone. Batgirl Vol. 1: Silent Knight collects the comics between the end of NML and Officer Down as well as Cass' Officer Down tie in. This volume is harder to track down/more expensive on the resale market, but if your library as Hoopla, it's available there. (Most of these trades that I'm mentioning are as far as I'm aware.) Vol. 2 collects the comics leading up to Bruce Wayne: Murderer and then a couple, and Vol 3 collects a couple of the tie ins for Fugitive I believe and then beyond. They can largely be read on their own terms.

I would be remiss if I didn't recommend that you also read Batman/Huntress: Cry for Blood. This is a six issue mini-series takes place relatively shortly after NML and was recently reprinted as Birds of Prey: Huntress. Definitely read this! It is good! Also you can see what Helena's up to after NML.

Finally, at a point in time between Officer Down and Bruce Wayne: Murderer, Joker: Last Laugh happens which is the event where Dick kills the Joker and Bruce revives him. Every comic has a tie-in where they have to fight Jokerized villains and honestly that could be the extent of your engagement with this comic. The main issues of this event are theoretically collected but also I've never seen this trade anywhere and also it's not on Hoopla (which is how I read most of my trades) so that might prove an issue.

To summarize all of this (I'm using bolded entries to demarcate crossover events. You can jump around between entries in this list between them as they largely run concurrently.) (the exception being like Nightwing vol 5 and 6. The Hunt for Oracle Crossover between Nightwing and Birds of Prey is also collected in both Nightwing vol 5 and Birds of Prey vol. 3):

New Gotham vol. 1

Gotham Knights: Transferrence

Batman/Huntress: Cry for Blood

Batgirl vol. 1

Nightwing vol. 5 and vol. 6

Batman by Ed Brubaker vol. 1 (first 4 issues)

Officer Down

The rest of Batman by Ed Brubaker vol. 1

New Gotham vol. 2

Gotham Knights: Contested

Batgirl vol. 2

Nightwing vol. 7 and Nightwing vol. 8 (first 4 issues)

Bruce Wayne: Murderer and Bruce Wayne: Fugitive

Catwoman Volume 1: The Trail of Catwoman (Running roughly concurrently with Murderer/Fugitive)

Batgirl vol. 3

Gotham Central vol. 1

Batman: Hush

etc etc

I think that's it, but I'm sure that if I missed anything one of my lovely and knowledgeable mutuals will point it out.

Clear as mud? But seriously, I hoped this cleared things up for you and please do not hesitate to ask follow up questions! If this list is overwhelming, I would say, Nightwing, Birds of Prey, Batgirl, and Cry for Blood (though as a Helena fan, I really do think you should read Cry for Blood) are less essential to the building Gotham plot that leads up to Murder/Fugitive, but I really do think you should read Gotham Knights. There's some really fun comics in this era, I hope you enjoy!

[gijoe-forever]

'Today Skybound and Image Comics, in collaboration with leading toy and game company Hasbro, announced the upcoming fall release of G.I. JOE: A Real American Hero Compendium Vol. 1, which will collect every issue of the original Marvel Comics series for the iconic franchise in a new reader-friendly compendium format for the very first time.

“This compendium marks the beginning of Skybound collecting Hasbro’s incredible backlist of G.I. JOE comics,” said Sean Mackiewicz, SVP, Publisher, Skybound. “G.I. JOE: A Real American Hero was my first comic, bursting with incredible characters and intense action, and it’s a pleasure to reintroduce readers to the original Hasbro comics that hooked a generation of fans.”

The pop culture world changed forever when Larry Hama’s G.I. JOE: A Real American Hero made its comic book debut, and now fans can experience every issue from the original series and its tie-ins with the all-new compendium release, printed on newsprint for that classic comic feeling,

Featuring the legendary series writer Larry Hama (Wolverine), artists Herb Trimpe (The Incredible Hulk) and Bob McLeod (The New Mutants), with cover art by the incomparable Andy Kubert (X-Men), G.I. JOE: A Real American Hero Compendium Vol. 1, collects issues #1-50 of one of the longest running non-superhero series into a complete compendium for the first time ever.

Readers can expect to discover the incredible heroes of G.I. JOE, the terrifying villains of Cobra, and the unforgettable stories that set them on a collision course, when the first volume hits comic book shops on October 2, 2024. printed on newsprint for that classic comic feeling,

The kickoff to Skybound’s ongoing compendium releases is an integral component of its overall comics partnership with Hasbo. While the Energon Universe has delivered a fresh new start for these franchises in Void Rivals by writer Robert Kirkman (Invincible, The Walking Dead) and artist Lorenzo De Felici (Oblivion Song), TRANSFORMERS by writer Daniel Warren Johnson (Extremity, Do a Powerbomb) and artist Jorge Corona (Middlewest), Duke by writer Joshua Williamson (DC’s Superman, Dark Ride) and artist Tom Reilly (The Thing), and Cobra Commander by writer Joshua Williamson and artist Andrea Milana (Impact Winter: Rook), these compendiums celebrate the rich histories of TRANSFORMERS and G.I. JOE in comic book form.

Skybound and Hasbro have also brought back the hit series G.I. JOE: A Real American Hero to fans, from series writer Larry Hama and artist Chris Mooneyham (DC’s Nightwing, Sgt. Rock and the Unknown Soldier).

G.I. JOE: A Real American Hero Compendium Vol. 1 (ISBN: 978-1-5343-7150-7| MSRP: $64.99) will be available at comic book shops on Wednesday, October 2, 2024, and at booksellers, along with digital platforms including Amazon Kindle, Apple Books, comiXology, and Google Play on Tuesday, October 15, 2024.'

https://www.skybound.com/announcements/g-i-joe/skybound-image-hasbro-announce-g-i-joe-a-real-american-hero-compendium

[nfcomics]

WOLVERINE: PATCH no.1 • cover art • Dan Jurgens [Mar 2022]

RETURN TO MADRIPOOR WITH THE MAN CALLED PATCH! ALL-NEW action, intrigue and espionage awaits you as legendary creator Larry Hama returns with a story set before his original run on WOLVERINE! The mutant known as LOGAN has made a name for himself on the mysterious island of MADRIPOOR, where the locals know him as PATCH. From their haunt at the PRINCESS BAR, what starts as a simple recon mission lands PATCH and ARCHIE knee-deep in a paramilitary struggle that will surface some SURPRISE REVELATIONS and characters! And is that NICK FURY, DIRECTOR OF S.H.I.E.L.D.? Yes, two patches for the price of one! A must-have for long-standing readers, and a welcome entry point for new readers of WOLVERINE!

Writer: Larry Hama • Penciler: Andrea DI Vito • Cover Artist: Dan Jurgens

[dynared]

With Duke #2 due next week as people start to more openly debate Skybound's take on Hasbro properties vs. IDW's (this is not a debate in sales, retailers are claiming Skybound outsold IDW's comics at least 10 to 1), it's worth looking at the fandoms that developed around IDW's takes on Transformers and GI Joe (more Transformers, as GI Joe struggled with numerous reboots and attempts at making a more modern interpretation of the property before the license was yanked by Hasbro) and why they might not gel with Skybound's more casual-friendly approach. Ramble under the cut:

IDW's Transformers fanbase was one that was insular by design. Not in the "you need to understand this concept from a toy line in 1989" insular, or the "you'll be lost if you didn't read Simon'Furman's Alignment novella", way, but more insular in the concepts that they focused on. Bot-on-bot romance, usually between male robots (James Roberts flat out said he was going to write romance, and went with male/male because it was a toyline full of men). A very notable disdain for concepts that would alter that perception, hence the villainization of the Japanese characters and the Beasts, because many of the fanfic writers hailed from unironic "TRUKK NOT MUNKY" and "TRANSFORMERS SHOULD BE REALISTIC" thinking fantasy elements ruined the series (and a disdain for Japanese mecha tropes in general). However, as noted by others, there were also a lot of holes in the characterizations that were filled by fanfic writers. I'm pretty sure the writers knew this since their old fanfic spawned other fanfic to fill in holes, and they saw it as a way to keep the core audience engaged.

This in turn creates a very focused, dedicated, but ultimately narrow audience, and one more likely to influence the direction of the comics, either positively or negatively. The fanbase want more romance? They got it to the point that the comics were more about relationships than anything. They wanted representation? The writers baked it into the mythos although it has since been discarded by non-IDW-influenced work. And if anyone didn't like it, sic the dedicated fandom on them and tell them to go back to the Bay movies.

GI Joe meanwhile, from the word "Go" felt like something IDW didn't really know what to do with, with their best idea being to give Larry Hama the keys to resume his Marvel run from where it left off (and ignoring the quasi-sequel run from Devil's Due which was mostly made without his involvement). It was clear that IDW's writers and editorial cared far more about Transformers and even Jem and the Holograms (a notorious stinker in sales that went for 25 issues and a 4-issue spin-off before IDW was forced to cancel it due to low sales and never bothered to try again) than the Real American Heroes. Some of that might be because the idea of military comics didn't agree with the more liberal writers there, but I'd argue that they didn't really try, especially with the Energon Universe also going out of its way to avoid a stereotypical "MURICAN soldiers vs. terrorist army" scenario. This resulted in the eventual nadir of the brand, the 2016 relaunch where Skywarp was a member of the team because reasons.

The Energon Universe is quite the opposite of that, and I can see where the worry comes in from the IDW fandom. The soldier toys are important again in a more direct way where it's clear there's more effort put into them. Meanwhile, the robot toys are back to focusing on more universal concepts, like war, family in a platonic sense, and general action. That sense of control feels lost, and it is also introducing concepts that feel like they run counter to IDW's writers and their ethos, particularly ideas that IDW writers rejected whole-heartedly.

If I'm off-base, please let me know, but that's what this feels like to me. A group losing their perceived control over a license, and not taking it well.

[kitausuret]

would you be willing to recommend me some venom comic runs? i'm a comics guy generally but i've never read venom. recently watched the movie and it was baller.

Hey there friend! So, Venom is coming up on 35 years as of 2023 (wow!) so you have a lot of options. There's pretty much something for everyone out there, but given that you liked the movie, I can probably point you in the right direction...

If you can get your hands on trades (or even just use them as a guide for your favorite Digital Comics Avenue) that's gonna be your best bet. The Epic Collections (link to Wikipedia) are really comprehensive. The chart even has them in order! Handy!

If you don't want to be flipping between fifty different Spider-Man series, though, you can definitely start with some of the Venom-titled books! I've tried to pick ones that don't require a whole lot of backreading.

So, easy starting point is going to be Venom: Lethal Protector (1993) #1-6. I strongly recommend reading Amazing Spider-Man #373-375 first if you can, since #375 is the first appearance of Anne Weying. LP is to this day one of my favorite series, and it has some of the best Venom and Spider-Man moments. All are written by David Michelinie, and pencils are by Mark Bagley or Ron Lim.

If you like Anne Weying, Venom: Sinner Takes All and Venom: Along Came a Spider are the two miniseries that feature her the most. Both are written by Larry Hama. The latter has art that is... kinda rough in my opinion, but if you can look past it, they're both neat. The other thing to keep in mind is that with ACAS is that it does take place in the middle of Spider-Man Clone Saga (well.. after Ben Reilly has taken up the mantle) so it's not as new reader friendly but it IS fun. I like when Anne whacks Ben.

Are these comics good? Eh... "Sinner" is probably the stronger story of the two, but when you like Anne, you can't be too picky about what you get, unfortunately!

I also absolutely have to recommend the Planet of the Symbiotes event, which immediately follows Venom: Separation Anxiety (one of my personal favorite series). I recommend "Separation" First and then just checking out a collection of the PotS event, like this one here (link to readcomicsonline). Otherwise you have to sort out which Super Specials to read and it's annoying and dumb. The nice thing about PotS is that it's an excellent story by Michelinie with.. hmm.. let's say inconsistent art, but it's very fun and even if you're a little lost by the Clone Saga stuff, don't worry about it!! You'll be fine.

And finally, if you're looking for something a little more wacky, you can't go wrong with Venom: The Madness (W: Ann Nocenti, A: K. Jones) and Venom: Carnage Unleashed (W: Hama, A: Wildman, Nichols)! They are both very 90s off-the-wall insane and just like. Absolutely bonkers-nuts. The Madness also has the distinction of introducing Eddie (and Venom's!) first love interest since Anne. Mwah! 😘

If you'd like more modern recommendations, or if you're willing to check out other hosts, I'd be happy to provide those as well! But this should be a good starting point for some fun books. Happy reading, and if any other Venomaniacs have recommendations, feel free to add on!

[popculturebuffet]

Into the Spider-Verse: Spider-Ham (Marvel Tails #1 and Peter Porker, The Spectacular Spider-Ham #15) (Comissioned by WeirdKev15)

Hello all you happy webheads and welcome back to Into the Spider-Verse, my look at the origins of every webslinger from the landmark film in the build up to Across the Spider-Verse. And it's bittersweet to be this close to the end of the web here: i'm proud of myself for this project and kev for having cooked it up as it allowed me to really dig into my love of spider-man, and comics in general, with new ideas and even possible new retrospectives wholesale coming out of this.

But before we can end this ride, we still have one Spidey to cover, who after our previous spider-persons adventures with crackers and milk, their predecesors literal oppisite sex clone, mob goons without fear, rock n roll pop art halluciongens in your giant spider mecha, and giant spiders stripping you naked, one man comes along to say..

Yes it's time for the debut of Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham a

And i'm sure many of you, both those familiar with the comics and those who just watched the movie, are asking the same question: why. The answer is simple. Way way back in the 1980's, Marvel had a new animated arm, Marvel Productions, which was a massive deal, producing both GI Joe and Transformers, which both started as comics first to promote the upcoming toylines, as well as Dungeons and Dragons, My LIttle Pony Tales, Muppet Babies, Jem and the Holograms, Kid N Play and the Biker Mice From Mars. There were also of course marvel cartoons like Spider-Man(the 80s one), Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends, The Incredible Hulk, the more popular Incredible Hulk and the infamous and destined to be covered Pryde of the X-Men Pilot.

So naturally Marvel wanted more ips to feed into the almighty merchandising machine, because shockingly, companies have ALWAYS wanted every dollar they can get out of making more and more adaptations as long s they can afford it. So two writers set to work to spitball this: They were Tom DeFalco, a longtime spider-man editor who would go on to write the guidebook I had as a kid that really got me into the comics and taught me a lot about his rogues gallery and more importantly would write the book himself briefly, being the one to crystalize Mary Jane's tragic Backstory and her knowing Peter Parker is spider-man all along. WIth him was the wonderful Larry Hama, at the time writing GI JOe for marvel.. and at the time of this writing STILL writing his continuation of that continuity for IDW as he should. Hama deserves all the credit for setting the foundations of the GI Joe universe most adaptations follows and for writing one hell of a comic in the process, and not one to rest on his laurels would later have the defining run on Wolverine's solo book.

So as you can imagine when these two legends get together.. they created a simple but enduringly weird joke that has lasted decades. It's a concept that just works: Spider-Man.. but he's a funny animal. Weirdly though Marvel Animation passed on it, not wanting anything to do with it despite the fact that in a time when Garfield was at the peak of his powers and they'd be making muppet babies, funny animals were a VERY easy sell. Seriously why Marvel Animation was so stupid is a riddle for the ages but Marvel liked printing money, so they put Porker in a one shot, Marvel Tails, parodying the marvel reprint mag marvel Tales. That said DeFalco didn't expect much from it and was suprised months later when the higher ups asked for another issue. He explained it was a one shot.. and then they asked when the next issue was and he got the memo. While DeFalco wrote the one shot that launched the character he freely admits he's not the one who made him a star. That honor goes to Steve Skeates. Skeates had been a mainstay in the industry, paticuarlly having a run on Aquaman i've been trying to read for some time that really launched the character to new heights before Superfriends would shove him back to the depths for a while. He was burnt out on the industry and freely admits he wouldn't of done the book for Larry Hama if it was any other book, but felt the format allowed him to do a throwback to the kinds of books he liked writing while still throwing in plenty of comedy to keep it fresh. The result was pretty great, with Skeates wisely having Porker's various foes not be the obvious joke of being the animals they resemble, for instance the Vulture being a possum in a buzzard suit instead of a vulture.

And we'll be seeing that contrast between Porker's humble one shot joke beginings and evolved more nuanced parody as unlike most of the characters featured... Porker didn't get his origin story for a while. While most of the spider-persons got there's in their very first appearance or arc, Porker's origin didn't come about till late in his solo books run. So today we'll be looking at both his first appearance in Marvel Tails, and his origin story in Peter Porker the Spectacular Spider-Ham #15 under the cut!

Spider-Ham begins his career in a typical spider-man setting: stopping a typical gang of thugs with ease and some quips. But it's not long before we get into one of the weird things about this story, something that just dosen't really work with it: Captain Americat. Cap is pictured here as Peter's steadfast partner and a reporter at his paper and none of this works. Now this is an AU, it COULD work and the idea of steve and peter being closer partners and steve mentoring him is great, just as the idea of Tony mentoring him was a brilliant one the movies captalized on. But here it's just treated as a normal thing without really being used for a joke that this is so unusual. A large part of this is something that's easy to forget as it hasn't been true about the character since the early 2000's. Spidey.. used to be a bit of a loner when it came to the rest of the Marvel Universe. Granted he was the kind of loaner who had an entire ongoing dedicated to him teaming up with other heroes and a tv show where he had two super college roomies he'd fight crime with, but when it came to consistant teamups his only real super friends were the fantastic four and in a few years Daredevil. Spider-Woman existed, but Jessica was largely her own thing by design, with only the name in common and wouldn't really become an ally or even friend of peter's till they were in the avengers together. Peter would have team ups but he really wasn't super close with the rest of the marvel universe. This changed in the early 2000's as his joining the new avengers gave him a lot of new allies in the marvel universe: He'd be on the new avengers until Brian Micheal Bendis left the book, he joined HIckman's avengers for the first arc, with Doc Ock taking his place, and joined the Mighty Avengers and Mark Waid's avengers afterwords, only in the last few years taking a break from the group entirely, ironically as his MCU counterpart became heavily associated with them himself. Not only that the dawn of the spider-verse and miles migrating to become the 616's second spider-man, meant peter soon had a spider-family.

Even now in his current tirefire of a solo i've been purposfully avoiding but suspect i'l lhave to confront some day, he has Ms Marvel, soon to be thrown in the fridge, Norman Osborn, long story, and his current girlfriend the black cat. Peter's no longer the solo operator he once was.. but back then it's very weird fo ra parody of the character to just.. casually hang out with Captain America regularly and this angle was wisely dropped.

This isn't the only weird thing in this issue either. For some reason rather than pulling from peter's many rogues, the issue has him face the Masked Marauder, some punk ripping off a super high tech arcade. It comes off more like a Scooby Doo Mystery complete with various red herings and the actual culprit showing up early on. He's not even the main threat as the everlovin hulk is also shoved into this issue. His origin is a little neat, with Bruce Bunny being an arcade game maker who gets shoved into a cabinet.

The result though just isn't that funny. Ther'es a good joke about steve stashing his shield in his coat

But otherwise i'ts just kinda.. there and didn't leave the best first impression back when I first read it. It's nicely drawn, but dosen't have much actually to say or any really satire of the character. It's clear they had the name but no idea what to do with it. THe backup is pretty funny though, the weird Goose Rider, take a while guess, who just.. spends it riding around, thinking about grabbing a burger, and dealing iwth shouty civlians and some random doofus called chainsaw. This satire.. actually works as from what I can tell Ghost Rider's early rogues gallery before his reinvention in the 90's wasn't all that impressive with few exceptions. It's more what I wanted. Thankfully when Peter got his title shot, things perked up and by the time we get to his origin... we get something delightful.

As you can tell both by the cover used for this review and from the title, this one's a parody of spider-man no more. Even if you haven't read the story (I've only read the iconic issue iwth the cover), you've doubtlessly seen it's cover, and the various homages to both that and the shot of peter throwing his costume in the trash and walking away, both by spider-heroes and the rest of the marvel. It helps that Sam Rami choose it as the backbone of Spider-Man 2 and ended up making an even BETTER version of the story in the process. Even Miles had his own version of it after his mom died and he blamed himself for it since the second ultimate venom was the reason she died. If you've read more recent comics and seen Rio alive and well that's because Miles befriended the Molocule Man, a very shy man with the power to control molocules... which shockingly for comics has been treated every bit as horrifyingly powerful as it should since his introduction, with MM's only real wekaness being his crippling neurosis. So when the universe died and was put back, Molocule brought her back as a thank you present. I had a point here.. ah yes.. I love the Molocule Man and feel he's a highly underated character. Oh that with the severe stress and sacrifice of being a spider-man, it's not a huge leap to have that moment of doubt. And it's an even shorter leap to take that moment and parody it and Peter's angst for all it's worth. We open with J Jonah Jackal hooking himself up to an idea machine while his three young wards, the junior newsboys watch. They are Jermiah Jackal, JJJ's snooty nephew, Bunson Bunny, our resident nerd who talks in big snetences and Upton Adam Stray, a combination of a black sterotype and

If your getting some deja vu from a rich magnate having three young sidekicks who both acompany him and try to steer away his worse instincts, one of whom is jonah's literal nephew.. GOOD. It means you have good taste and also get the bit. Spider-Ham has a bit of the old Scrooge McDuck stories in it's dna, simply adding spider-man and his rogues to the mix, and really JJJ is such a perfect fit for scrooge and Peter for Donald, that I can't blame both writers for dipping into this formula when it fits spider-man shockingly well now he's a pig.

This issue is written by steven Mellor, who took over the title later in his run, but like Skeates does a really fun job with it.

With Jonah having peter come to the clubhouse to view an idea he came up with that involves the kids

Peter deals with typical spider-man things. That is trying to get a date with his ex Betty Bat. It goes about usual for peter

Also as you might have noticed, hilariously, Peter Porker looks a LOT like John Mulaney, despite having been created only one year after John was born. I mean he's also a talking pig but the hair is distractingly like his future voice actors and I love it.

Baby P decides to handle this like a mature, rational young swine

Before bemoaning that he's still single.. what I like is that Mellor both really gets how Peter Parker Mopey Rants work, and milks it with everyone starring not sure what to do as peter ineternally rants and the janitor eventually asking him to leave as he's getting his tears on the floor. Peter then reflects back to his origin, the reason we're here. And even for a talking pig.. peter's origin is hilaroiusly bizzare. It's my kind of weird shenanigans. Okay so in this version Peter.. was a spider, which is clever enough.. but May was a mad scientest who befriended peter and showed him her new invention: a fission powered hairdryer. It made her radoactive, it wasn't good.. and well... I can't say what happens next and have most of you belivie it actually happened so here's photographic evdience.

This.. this is comedy gold, and clever as all hell. Just deciding to have may be radioactive nad bite peter. It's as nuts as it is brilliant and I love it. So we get the standard origin moments of Peter testing out his powers.. and we also get a nice gag out of him bending a pipe in the original amazing fantasy #15

Peter returns to find may basically the dodering old lady sterotype she was in earlier spider-man comics, and decides to look after her and not tell her the truth, as well as put his powers to use. Peter's genius in this version is also from the bite and thus Spider-Ham is born

After running into flash thompsons counterpart, who sadly isn't named flash beagle, we get jonah's meeting where he's dressed himself and the boys up in superhero outfits and ...

To become Black Beagle and his beagle brigadeers. Peter is dragged along for this and this.. is easily the weakest part of the issue. While the idea of Jonah becoming a hero himself is great and has been used well, here it's just kinda there and is mostly a setup for them to befriend "Andy Warthog" and see a bunch of celebrity pastiches. It's a boring page or two

Thankfully it picks up with a delightful parody of one of my faviorite spider-man rogue as the Hobgobbler crashes the party! God bless this pun. He kidnaps one of the celebrties and we get a ncie character moment. Despite how silly this character and his origin are... it's still neat to see the core of spider-man.. is still present.

No matter the universe, no matter who wears the mask... they can't turn down responsiblity. Try as he might.. Peter just can't let someone else get hurt if he can help it and that's what makes spider-man the hero we love so much: that drive to help people no matter what it takes. It's what makes a spider-person what they are wethere they be man, woman, ham or nb.

So Peter naturally wins, in a nicely drawn fight, cooks the turkey and drive sJonah home. He WANTS to just get some deserved sleep but Aunt May has other plans.. thankfully said plans give our hero his much deserved happy ending. Action is already his reward.

As you can probably figure, this issue is a massive improvment and it's clear even with two diffrent writers, the full ongoing got the concept better and more importantly had more fun with it. The result.. is fucking great. Also the puns. Dear lord the puns. And that's not getting into the backup which has the scavengers fight kangaroo the conquerer. Who damn well better be among the council of kangs. At any rate this issue was greatr and even with the brief slowdown, is a great issue, not only getting me reintrested in this run, but also showing off just what you can do with a parody: have it be both heartfelt and clearly get what it's making fun of while still being great.

Next Time: The web ends as we look at the movie itself. Anyone can wear the mask but is one Miles Morales up to the task? Can he fill peter's shoes? Well yeah, I mean there's even a sequel, but it's still one hell of a ride.

[keepsmagnetoaway]

Before the Fantastic Four: Ben Grimm and Logan 1 (July 2000)

Larry Hama/Kaare Andrews

Ugh. It was all going so well, and then,

Before the Fantastic Four: Ben Grimm and Logan was a 2000 comic with an overly long title and a mercifully brief run (just 3 issues) that we now find ourselves reading as part of the strand following Wolverine's pre-Xmen adventures, as per my reading guide.

On the subject of the reading guide, I should confess that I actually didn't start it at the very beginning: there's a strand of X-Men stories that the guide covers as "Part 0" which tell the retroactive backstories of various characters, but mostly Wolverine, whose "mysterious" past has now been outlined in exhaustive detail. This is basically one of those stories, but timeline issues place it after "Weapon X", so we're reading it now. Also, young Tony Stark is in this, and he can't spell "fuselage".

Oh, and Carol Danvers is here too. Something about the way the art treats her is different from the way Tony Stark is depicted, but I can't put my finger on what.

Anyway, as you've picked up from these snippets of a plot too dull to explain in detail, Logan, Danvers and Ben Grimm - who was a hotshot fighter pilot before he got Thingified - have got to fly a secret plane over 60s Russia to do secret spy shit. I enjoy Cold War espionage a lot, but not when it's done without any style or atmosphere whatsoever, which is what's going on here.

At the end of the issue, Black Widow - of course it's going to be her, it's a 60s-set Marvel espionage story about Soviets - spots their super-secret spy plane coming in, which means they've been betrayed! By someone!

Who is this for? I guess if you ship Wolverine and The Thing this is important to you?

[icarusthelunarguard]

This Week’s Horrible-Scopes

It’s time for this week’s Horrible-Scopes! So for those of you that know your Astrological Signs, cool! If not, just pick one, roll a D12, or just make it up as you go along. It really doesn’t matter. Better yet! Check out “Heart of the Game, Fredonia” and see if they can sell you those D12’s with the symbols on them. Tell them “Shujin Tribble” sentcha. And “Hail, Hail, Fredonia!” Home of the Blue Devil!

Normally there’s a common theme running through the Horrible-Scopes, but not THIS time! Nope! The intention this week is to get as random as possible and still make sense. What makes that different from every other week’s listing? We’re not sure, but we’re willing to go out on a limb and say, “The Man of La Mancha.”

Aries 

You’re a “Straight Ahead Jazz” personality in an ABACAB world. You want to carve your own path while nearly everything around you is following identifiable patterns. You’re the one going for the High-Score in Frogger while trying to find exploitable timings and pixel hit-boxes. So This Week… There are plenty of companies that refurbish and sell arcade game cabinets from the 80’s. Just buy one and be done with it. 

Taurus 

No matter what you might think, there really ARE women’s shoes called “Kitten Heels”. And no, Catwoman never wore a set. If you want to learn how to wear heels but afraid that you’ll break your ankles the first time you try to walk in them, these are the shoes for you! So This Week… GUYS! If you wear a Size 10, go with a Women’s Size 12 - maybe in a wide version. Spirit Halloween Stores are being readied as we speak. Get Used To Your Costume’s Footwear Now! 

Gemini  

The biggest problem for you getting a new computer is realizing how little money you have to work with. Don’t think spending less for a Pre-Built model is a good value all the time. With just a little coaching you can set up a damned good computer on a budget with only minimal amounts of corner cutting. So This Week… Do not watercool your computer yourself. There’s only so many corners you can successfully cut - and heat management isn’t one of them to screw around with.

Cancer Moon-Child 

We understand that you want to please everyone around you, but you have to take time out for yourself. It’s not being selfish, it’s being concerned for the person that’s helping all those other people. So This Week… Get your sleep. Stay Hydrated. And for crying out loud! Learn how to make a Long Island Egg Sandwich Breakfast! It’s LOADS better than anything BK or Micky-Dees will put out.

Leo 

While the summer months are still here we’re going to suggest you consider and then disregard a very specific new hobby - Model Rocketry! Sure, it’s fun to play Kerbal Space Program in real life. But only until you start learning the math and realize you’ve just made a rocket with an acceleration of about 50g’s. So This Week… If a Kerbonaut weighs 30kg on Kerbin, putting them in a rocket pulling 50g’s would make them weigh “Chunky Salsa”. PLUS the ground is too dry - you’re gunna set off a wildfire. Don’t Do It! 

Virgo 

Speaking of it being Summerime, there’s a good way to pass the time in air conditioned goodness while not spending the money on the electricity; go out and watch a movie for a change. You haven’t been to see one in a couple years, but this is your big opportunity. And if you’re really lucky you’ll get to see upcoming trailers for movies like “Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice.” So This Week… How wild would it be for the star “Betelgeuse” to finally go Supernova the same week that the movie comes out! That’d be pretty amazing, right? Maybe place a bet on it happening? 

Libra

Remember the “G.I. Joe” toys from the 1980’s? Originally there was never supposed to be a villain group, but the Marvel Comics stories written by Larry Hama created them. Eventually Cobra toys sold 40% of all the Joe toy sales. And since each medium to feature G.I. Joe has had its own continuity, not unlike the Marvel Multiverse, the origin and portrayal of Cobra has differed in each of them. And do you know what "C.O.B.R.A." is an acronym for? Time for you to learn! So This Week… MOST people think it stands for "COnversion by Blackmail, Revolution and Anarchy". Trouble is, the guy who wrote the original comics vehemently denies this. So what’s it gunna be? Reality or Fun? 

Scorpio 

Back in 1979 there was a TV series, “Buck Rogers in the 25th Century”. And just like the original “Battlestar Galactica” the pilot episode was turned into a motion picture release in theatres. If ever you wanted to learn what “Plot Armor” is all about, watch it! This single-person shuttle, Ranger 3, is shot at by laser guns from a Draconian Fighter and all it does is singe the outside a little. So This Week… If you get HURT but not HARMED in your day-to-day life, it means you’re The Special! The fourth wall is out there for you to look through. Use It!

Sagittarius 

We've got some really important life advice for you, so listen closely. DON’T. BE. A. DICK. No, seriously - just don’t. If you go into a store, looking for something to buy, and for some reason it doesn’t have a price tag and the staff shows you WHERE the tag WAS and the obvious scrape-off residue… Do NOT pitch a fit because they won’t sell it to you!! So This Week… Grow a pair and apologize to the people you treated like crap! Because if you don’t SOMEONE’S going to notice and have you pay for it later, somehow…. 

Capricorn 

There are reasons to drink, and what the drink is will determine the timeframe. For Instance; Coffee? Fresh ground and brewed, flaming hot? First Thing In The Morning. Dry Red Wine? The First Hour At An All-You-Can-Eat Meat Buffet Like Texas De Brazil. See? It’s simple! So This Week… Don’t you EVER consider INSTANT FREEZE-DRIED DECAF COFFEE! We WILL disown you! 

Aquarius 

Not much time left in the summer so you better get a little splurge time in. We’ve suggested taking a drive for a day trip a couple times before… but how about a twist on it? Rent A Supercar! It’ll be a little more expensive than renting a Ford Fusion or a Nissan Leaf, but imagine all the people staring at you as you drive by in a McLaren Artura Spider! So This Week… You might not be able to afford renting one, but you can at least SIT in one. See if you can do that. It’ll be worth it. 

Pisces  

Do you have any idea how cared about you are? We didn’t think so. You are so tough to convince, but we’re never going to stop trying. You are special and valid and don’t need to try so hard. As hard as it’ll be for you to do, slow down just a little bit. That sore muscle is your Yellow Card; it’s a warning. Pay attention to it. So This Week… Yellow Cards are used in European Futball and Letterkenny Business Pitch Meetings. Go binge on some Letterkenny episodes this week. 

And THOSE are your Horrible-Scopes for this week! Remember if you liked what you got, we’re obviously not working hard enough at these. BUT! If you want a better or nastier one for your own sign or someone else’s, all you need to do to bribe me is just Let Me Know - or check out the Ko-Fi page ( https://ko-fi.com/icarusthelunarguard )! These will be posted online at the end of each week via Tumblr, Twitter, Facebook, Discord, and BLUESKY.

[thebibliomancer]

Essential Avengers: Avengers #327: "INTO A DARKLING PLAIN"

December, 1990

Guest-Starring Iron Man

Guest-starring? He's a member of the Avengers! I mean, yeah, the West Coast team but the teams kinda overlap as necessary.

Also, I note that Sersi doesn't make the above title cast list but she's in the cast box and She-Hulk isn't, even though SHE is above the title.

Weird.

Also also, hi Rage!

So, last time, we started the Larry Hama run. We met Rage when he came to Avengers Mansion and demanded to be put on the team. And then Sersi saw him talking very assertively and went oh no that violent looking man is going to do a violence and started a fight.

Also, Lt. Ramskov came for special cancer treatment in the US after surviving the Chernobyl disaster. But he needed to be in a special containment suit and sedated at all times because he actually got weirdo powers from the incident and when he woke up, he melted into the sewers and then beat up the Avengers.

Also also, Rage knocked down a drug den.

This time:

Iron Man and two civilian hanger-ons have tracked down Ramskov but find that he's beaten up She-Hulk and Thor and is tearing his containment suit apart, hosing the area with whatever energy or radiation is coming off his body.

It's a bad time to not be wearing full-body armor.

Iron Man's sensors do indicate that Ramskov is not putting off gamma radiation but visible light in "highly unusual wavelengths" whatever that means.

Ramskov is still reliving the Chernobyl incident and has no awareness of what he's doing.

Back on that April 26, 1986, Ramskov was trying to turn off as team valve that was blasting out radioactive steam. He spotted two radiation suited people removing something from the reactor machinery and when he confronted them, they attacked him and tore his suit.

He fought back but the stupider of the mysterious pair threw the mysterious gluon separator device at Ramskov. Ramskov swung a crowbar at the device like he was playing baseball and then everything exploded.

And that's why he has super powers now.

Moral of the story, always whack mysterious devices.

Anyway, reliving the experience of getting bathed in extreme amounts of energy has caused Ramskov to emit a high-intensity beam into the air.

Leaving to blasé annoyance from whoever sees it.

A cabbie near the energy burst speculates that superheroes are fighting alien menaces again and says he'd rather take his chances with the aliens.

My favorite though is Reed and Sue of the Fantastic Four seeing the energy beam and Reed going 'i'm sure the Avengers have everything handled.'

Amazing.

10/10 More crossovers should be like this.

Hmm. You could adapt this into the MCU. It's already got the energy beam.

Unlike Reed, Rage does not ignore the giant energy beam.

He's just finished literally knocking down a crack house and thinking wow superheroing is easy when he sees the beam and decides to investigate.

Rage: "Hope I have exact change for the subway fare!"

Better watch out, Spider-Man. Rage will take your niche of relatable man with relatable problems.

Rage has also gathered a small group of onlookers who saw him knock down L.D. 50's house. Several are excited to have a do-gooder superhero for their neighborhood but one is fatalistic, thinking that someone else will just set up shop and take over for L.D. 50.

Rage: "Then they'll all have to answer to Rage!"

Isn't this how Superman's Over There speech started?

Anyway, L.D. 50 didn't die when his house came tumbling down, tumbling down, tumbling down. Somehow, he escaped into the sewers despite being on the top floor when Rage started knocking the building down.

Whatever, it's comics.

L.D. 50 is pissed that someone is interfering in his business and trashing his stuff and is more pissed when his bikini babe reminds him that Kingpin will be pissed if L.D. 50 lets himself get shut down.

Meanwhile, plot.

Iron Man pulls Dr Estevez and Ms Zhukova away from all the radiation, while Thor and She-Hulk try to contain Ramskov.

She-Hulk wrassles the guy and Thor uses Mjolnir to collapses the tunnel and bury Ramskov in tons of earth and rock.

Ms Zhukova frets what the heroes might be doing to Ramskov because she was warned at the Soviet Turyatim space weapons testing site that certain actions might trigger dangerous reactions from Ramskov.

Which reminds Iron Man about that. What was a very irradiated man doing at a weapons testing site instead of a hospital? And Dr Estevez jumps in to demand to know why Ramskov had to be kept drugged? Was Zhukova trying to keep him from spilling some sort of beans??

Back up in the hospital, Captain America stares down the hole while Sersi mentions it's been a while since the others went down. Captain America decides that maybe they should go and help instead of doing nothing.

Just then, Agent Sikorsky gets a phone call from the NSC.

Apparently, the US government has cancelled the Avengers' charter as part of an arms limitation treaty with the USSR.

I wonder if the Soviet Union also agreed to dismiss some of their super peeps but who the fuck cares what Crimson Dynamo is doing.

Captain America is furious, and rightly so. After all that bending over backwards for Peter Henry Gyrich and others to make sure the Avengers don't lose their special governmental privileges, having to put up with a jerk like US Agent being shoved onto the team because the government said so, the Avengers get the boot not because of any mistake they made but because the diplomats decided so.

And the hell of it is, the superheroes are too superheroic to just leave the government to pick up this Lt Ramskov mess themselves. The government basically gets superheroes for free and get to make the Russians happy.

So Cap and Sersi jump down the hole to look for the rest of the Avengers.

Meanwhile, Operation Bury Ramskov Under Tons of Rock fails. He just blasts She-Hulk off of him and through the pile of rocks. Then he rushes over to wrassle Thor.

Iron Man rejoins the fight and repulsors Ramskov off Thor. Since tons of rocks didn't work, the armored avenger suggests PLAN D.

Wow, that's a deep cut.

Also meanwhile, Rage makes his way to the Plot the fastest way he knows. Running through subway tunnels, faster than an express train.

Or a speeding bullet, as this one fella mentions.

Captain America and Sersi show up to the plot and ask what's going on. Dr Estevez say that Iron Man shouted PLAN D and then Thor started swinging his hammer. And Cap goes 'Plan D, eh? Just like Avengers #16, when we fought the Masters of Evil!'

So, yeah, pretty deep cut. Without a marvel wiki, will the bulk of the audience remember that way back, Thor transported the Masters of Evil to another dimension so the Avengers could fight them without endangering civilians? And also the other dimension had weird physics that fucked over the Masters of Evil?

Thor is having trouble with summoning the portal. Apparently, he's been having problems with that recently. So Iron Man asks Sersi to do something. And she goes 'sounds like you're asking me to do a modulating field!' and then she does do that and it works.

Unfortunately, it works right when Rage smashes into the scene to see what's going on with the Plot. And he gets transported with the Avengers.

Some guest stars volunteer to join in the Avengers' latest adventure. Others get kidnapped. That's just superhero life.

The Avengers, the doctor, the Russians, and also Rage are transported to a weirdo alternate dimension where Ramskov stops outputting so much exotic energy and Iron Man's armor stops working.

For like five seconds. Sersi does Something that lets his armor function normally.

Anyway, Ramskov. He's not putting off energy now and also he's dying of all the leukemia that he has. Dr Estevez says he needs his marrow transplant now but the thing about being transported to an alternate dimension is that there's no donor marrow here.

So Dr Estevez decides one of the Avengers will have to donate.

Thor: "Truth, t'would be miraculous indeed if one among us was a compatible donor!"

Then a bunch of weirdo monsters attack.

Purple Fin Fang Foom complains that there's already not enough food or space for newcomers so they're going to kill them and probably eat them.

The Avengers start fighting back, something that a little fairy type lady named Xa notes means that this dimension didn't screw up their powers. And the purple guy she's standing on speculates this meant they came of their own accord.

A big monster guy goes after Agent Zhukova so she pulls her makarov pistol. Which promptly blows up in her hands. Because of the different laws of physics here.

But She-Hulk and Rage show up and work together to hurl the monster guy away.

She-Hulk: "Gotta do this together!" Rage: "Give the word!" Monster: "ARRRGH!" She-Hulk: "Heave! Good work, Rage!" Rage: "I may get the hang of this business yet!"

I'm getting the impression that Rage is very new to this superhero thing. Like. VERY new. One of the very first superhero things he may have done is demand the Avengers hire him.

Props for confidence, if so.

Ramskov becomes somewhat lucid and starts mumbling about the two guys dismantling a 'gluon separator.'

Zhukova angrily yells for him to stop violating state security but Dr Estevez tells her to simmer down.

Iron Man, Thor, and Captain America discuss how this dimension was empty last time they used it. But the baddies are keeping up a psychic running commentary that the Avengers are apparently able to hear and they learn that the monster people are criminals from various species and that this dimension has become a place of exile.

Like Space Australia.

The criminals flee before the Avengers might, the fairy lady Xa saying they need to report this to Ngh.

Very keyboard smash names in this prison dimension.

She-Hulk and Thor are sure that the monster people will be back (and in greater numbers?) and think they should wrap things up here and leave.

But Ramskov needs a marrow transplant now, like right now.

They still lack a perfect matching donor but Dr Estevez has been paying some attention to all this superhero nonsense and decides that Sersi can scan the available people for the closest match and then use her power of matter transmutation to make it perfect.

(For that matter, couldn't she just turn... dirt into a perfect marrow match? As long as we're doing that?)

Dr Estevez also points out that Sersi can also perform the actual transplant with her powers, with the doctor's guidance.

Sersi is like sure, I don't got anything else going on.

Meanwhile, Iron Man and Thor set up a perimeter in case the monster people come back.

And also meanwhile, Captain America decides to productively use his time to yell at Rage.

Steve. C'mon. The fuck?

Captain America: "I thought you didn't want anything more to do with the Avengers! What are you doing butting into our business?" Rage: "Butting in? When I showed up, you guys didn't seem to be holding the winning cards and I sure didn't see you throwing any giant monsters too far!"

Point of order, Rage, you showed up and had time for approximately one 'hey, what's going on here?' before you got wrapped up in a dimensional teleport. But, in fairness, you did help a lot during the monster attack.

She-Hulk tries to get the two to simmer down but Cap has more to say. Inadvisably more to say.

Captain America: "I don't like Rage's attitude! The Avengers are a team and our operations aren't free-for-alls, open to any upstart in a mask!" Rage: "Is it my attitude you don't like, or is it something else?" Captain America: "What's that supposed to mean?" Rage: "You know!"

She-Hulk again tells them to knock it off but she gets dragged away by Dr Estevez because she's the closest bone marrow match.

Meanwhile, would you believe that the L.D. 50 subplot is continuing?

He called Kingpin to advise him on the Rage situation and, apparently, it's serious enough that Kingpin has his ass driven to meet with L.D. 50.

To give L.D. 50 a rocket launcher to deal with Rage.

Wow, no kill like overkill.

Or maybe the correct amount of kill? The guy is bulletproof.

Oddly, we don't see Kingpin but his subordinate sure acts like he's in the car.

I like the implication that Fisk never talks in this meeting. He just rolls down the window so L.D. 50 sees it is him, pops the trunk so he can get the rocket launcher, and then fucks off.

He's a busy man.

Back in the dimension of exile, Sersi finishes doing a marrow transplant. Good job, Sersi!

(There's an interesting bit where She-Hulk mentions that her powers come from a gamma blood transfusion and maybe its not the best idea to use her marrow but Dr Estevez just brushes the objection aside.)

Ramskov jolts awake and starts yelling about saboteurs that were in the reactor chamber. Zhukova tells him she's GRU so shut up shut up shut up in front of the Americans!

Captain America: "So! your true colors are revealed at last, Zhukova! But you don't have to worry about revealing secrets to American agents since the government has revoked our charter... the Avengers have been disowned by the feds!" Rage: "What? You hypocrite! You've been jumping on my case about jurisdiction and all the while, your license to stop all over bad guys has been canceled."

Is there something in the air that's making these two yell at each other?

Back with the monster inmates of exile dimension, one of them worries that the Tetrarchs of Entropy sent the strangers (the Avengers) to torment them.

Fairy girl Xa doesn't think it matters. The Tetrarchs already marooned them here "just because we don't subscribe to their system of ethics!"

So she's going to go wake up Ngh, the Unspeakable, and speak to him. He'll know what to do!

Upon hearing that there's strangers in the dimension who came here of their own will and can presumably leave, Ngh decides this will be how they'll follow the strangers when they leave, finally escaping this horrible prison dimension.

Not much to say about that. Bigger, scarier monster man is going to cause problems on purpose.

Next week, Avengers West Coast and Grim Reaper. Next next week, more of Larry Hama's Avengers.

Follow @essential-avengers. Like and reblog. Share your Avengers related thoughts.

[graphicpolicy]

G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #301 picks things up and drops readers right into the action

G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #301 picks things up and drops readers right into the action #comics #comicbooks #gijoe

A new era for G.I. Joe starts here…but one Joe won’t survive THIS ISSUE! G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #301 continues one of the longest running series with a new publisher. Picking up from the momentous 300th issue, Skybound‘s era literally continues the story. Written by Larry Hama, G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #301 takes care of one of my biggest complaints about the 300th issue, it didn’t…

[nfcomics]

WOLVERINE: PATCH no.1 • cover art • Geoffrey Shaw [Mar 2022]

RETURN TO MADRIPOOR WITH THE MAN CALLED PATCH! ALL-NEW action, intrigue and espionage awaits you as legendary creator Larry Hama returns with a story set before his original run on WOLVERINE! The mutant known as LOGAN has made a name for himself on the mysterious island of MADRIPOOR, where the locals know him as PATCH. From their haunt at the PRINCESS BAR, what starts as a simple recon mission lands PATCH and ARCHIE knee-deep in a paramilitary struggle that will surface some SURPRISE REVELATIONS and characters! And is that NICK FURY, DIRECTOR OF S.H.I.E.L.D.? Yes, two patches for the price of one! A must-have for long-standing readers, and a welcome entry point for new readers of WOLVERINE!

Writer: Larry Hama • Penciler: Andrea DI Vito • Cover Artist: Geoffrey Shaw

[agentfury-blog]

Wolverine: Patch (2022) #1

RETURN TO MADRIPOOR WITH THE MAN CALLED PATCH! ALL-NEW action, intrigue and espionage awaits you as legendary creator Larry Hama returns with a story set before his original run on WOLVERINE! The mutant known as LOGAN has made a name for himself on the mysterious island of MADRIPOOR, where the locals know him as PATCH. From their haunt at the PRINCESS BAR, what starts as a simple recon mission lands PATCH and ARCHIE knee-deep in a paramilitary struggle that will surface some SURPRISE REVELATIONS and characters! And is that NICK FURY, DIRECTOR OF S.H.I.E.L.D.? Yes, two patches for the price of one! A must-have for long-standing readers, and a welcome entry point for new readers of WOLVERINE!

[dynared]

My Transformers writing metas of characters who a lot could be done with continues with a character that actually did get a lot of attention in the previous comic run with IDW, but did so as essentially an original character, since IDW, as we've previously established, did not like human characters or Japanese concepts. That being said, there's probably a lot you can do with the character in the new Energon Universe.

Overlord in Transformers Masterforce is the ultimate weapon of the two leaders of the Decepticons on Earth, the humans Giga and Mega. A Double Godmaster (namely a Godmaster that requires two Godmaster engines to function) Overlord beat Ginrai to within an inch of his life the first time they fought, forcing the Autobots to create the God Ginrai powerups to actually have any hope of fighting him on equal footing. It's actually interesting because a human mastermind (or two in this case, the husband and wife team) stepping onto the field with a Decepticon that made Megatron look lightly armed was a turning point for the conflict in the series.

For what it's worth, while it's not outright said, the Overlord in the Earth Wars gatcha game is implied to be this version, not the IDW version.

IDW chose to dismiss the human connections in favor of a Cybertronian who was a combat-loving warlord without any Godmaster/Powermaster abilities or human control. He's essentially a Caligula figure, happy to kill people for sport in his arenas and proclaim his own glory without any care for the people he hurts or the other Decepticons who are shown to barely stand the guy. Overlord's portrayal in the IDW series is often considered a highlight to show the cruelty that the Decepticon ranks create.

There's also his appearance in Power of the Primes, but that was widely considered a dumpster fire of a production with the writers, Machinima, having gone out of business years ago. I'm sensing a pattern with the writers Hasbro hires for their adult animation takes on the franchise.

Anyway, with a character that has had two very distinct portrayals, with more recent work trying to get away from the latter portrayal, there's definitely a lot Skybound could do with him, although much of it may not be feasible till a few years down the road -

Overlord, Decepticon Powermaster looking for a vestigal empire:

If the writers are a fan of the IDW portrayal but don't want to completely abandon the Powermaster/Godmaster concept, the best idea may be to have Overlord be someone seeking human or even alien aid to increase his own power. Cybertron has been shown to be in a pretty sorry state, but there's nothing to say that he couldn't have started his own empire somewhere else. This keeps Overlord as his own bot, and allows him to still have the Powermaster trappings of human partners while still keeping the Caligula trappings of IDW of someone who could have ran Cybertron instead of Shockwave, but was more concerned with personal power and fighting strong opponents than any sort of formal authority. This also leaves a lot of ideas for new characters that could bounce off of him.

2. Overlord: Transector of SKAR:

Now that the Energon Universe has somehow, against all odds, gotten people excited about Cobra-La of all things, it may not be long before in an attempt to further differentiate itself from Larry Hama's original GI Joe comics, begin digging for other ideas that have been declared unusable. And when it comes to GI Joe ideas that aren't looked upon fondly, even more so than Cobra-La, there's SKAR, the main villains of...GI Joe Extreme.

Yes, this was real. Season 3 was even going to connect it to the original series with SKAR being revealed as a front for Cobra, with Iron Klaw set to butt heads with Cobra Commander before the show got canceled.

If you were going to go the "Overlord is a Transector" route, rather than have Giga and Mega on their own, considering that the Decepticons will still be around, it may be worth it to mine the existing characters they have and adapt them to the concept. So in this case, the function of Giga and Mega as masterminds overseeing a conflict until Overlord allows them to go directly into battle could easily be filled by SKAR's two leaders, Iron Klaw/Count Von Raimi, and his second in command, Steel Raven.

Funny enough, they seem like they could take the roles of Giga and Mega quite easily from a visual standpoint.

So I think the ultimate question concerning Overlord and how he gets portrayed boils down to one question. Is he his own character or is he a proxy for others? Either one could be used here while heavily involving human characters in a way IDW didn't. But this is just my looking at a concept in the Powermasters I feel deserves a chance to shine.

[scienceninjaturtle]

WOLVERINE: PATCH #1 (OF 5)

LARRY HAMA (W) • ANDREA DI VITO (A) • Cover by GEOFF SHAW

Variant Cover by DAN JURGENS

Variant Cover by JOHN ROMITA JR.

VARIANT COVER BY SKOTTIE YOUNG

RETURN TO MADRIPOOR WITH THE MAN CALLED PATCH!

ALL-NEW action, intrigue and espionage awaits you as legendary creator Larry Hama returns with a story set before his original run on WOLVERINE! The mutant known as LOGAN has made a name for himself on the mysterious island of MADRIPOOR, where the locals know him as PATCH. From their haunt at the PRINCESS BAR, what starts as a simple recon mission lands PATCH and ARCHIE knee-deep in a paramilitary struggle that will surface some SURPRISE REVELATIONS and characters!

And is that NICK FURY, DIRECTOR OF S.H.I.E.L.D.? Yes, two patches for the price of one! A must-have for long-standing readers, and a welcome entry point for new readers of WOLVERINE!

32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99

[lady-in-the-lair]

Rereading the later 90s Venom, and I'm kind of confused how they let a guy who prefers Eddie as a black-and-white villain edit Venom (Brevoort) + let Larry Hama have such a long run.

Like yeah, Hama's run started off okay--I like "Sinner Takes All" a lot--but as time goes on he forgets Symbie is sentient and it's just Eddie acting like an idiot on his own wearing a shapeshifting black suit. And the less said about the Wolverine team-up and Skater Eddie the better.

It's glaringly obvious that they just didn't "get" the character (or simply didn't care as time went on?? Because not all of it is bad! There's some good stuff peppered in, and it's entertaining enough to read in a heightened-reality somewhat OOC way). The tragically goofy art don't help. (Or meathead!Eddie.)

The lost potential of the character is extra blatant when pairing these with Len Kaminski's work (he has one story per mainly Hama Venom omnibus, so the jump in quality really hits you in the face).

Currently mourning a world where Kaminski had a full Venom run where he could have approached it with a character-driven, horror-inspired take, digging into the loneliness he touches on in both The Hunger and Krobaa, instead of what we got.