"Tony Stark makes you feel, He’s a cool exec with a heart of steel..."

Quick update on the comments John Byrne made concerning racism at Marvel,
Mr.Shooter responded to my asking him if he knew based off his time as EIC and Ass.editor there, if this might have been true. He responded with the following:

"Dear Dale,

I worked at the Marvel office every working day (and some that were supposed to be non-working days) from the beginning of 1976 through the end of the seventies, and on after that until mid-April 1987. John Byrne was a freelancer living in Calgary, Alberta when I started at Marvel. The time he spent in the office while living in Canada is best counted in hours. At some point, he moved to the New York Metro area, but nonetheless, was still working at home, not in the office. He wasn't there every day.

To my knowledge, none of the examples John sets forth above reflect reality. To my knowledge, no such things ever happened, with the sole exception of an incident I mentioned in a post recently, that is, Starlin cleverly hiding the word "fuck" in the design of an ornate door frame. It was caught and removed.

During my entire time at Marvel, as far as I know -- and I was in a position to know -- there were no overt, significant expressions of racism, sexism, anti-LGBT bias, anti-ethnic bias against any ethnicity or any other such prejudice and hate at Marvel by any staffer. Marvel may have been a snakepit at some points, rife with backbiting, petty politics and childish squabbling, but with all that, it was remarkably enlightened in terms of equality and respect issues. The people who worked at Marvel then were very smart people, whatever else they might have been. They were aware and enlightened, as a whole, regarding those matters. If there ever were any expressions of bias, I guarantee you that people around the offender, their peers and coworkers, would not have stood for it for an instant.

Exception: Jim Owsley/Christopher Priest, who is African-American, was fond of making jokes with racial overtones. Nothing hateful. More the Saturday Night Live irreverent humor style than the edgy-to-nasty National Lampoon style. People laughed. He was funny. There was no malice. Did anyone else ever make a non-PC joke? I'm sure. I'm also sure that if they were "utterly and deliberately extreme," I would have heard about it and taken appropriate action.

Other possible exceptions: There were a few freelancers, including a couple of notables, who from time to time expressed prejudice and hate. They either learned to keep their venom to themselves or quickly wore out their welcome. Spouting prejudice in the office wasn't tolerated by anyone who worked there every day. There was one staffer who didn't last long who, I was told later, was quietly anti-semitic and racist. If he had been more open about it, he wouldn't have lasted a day." 

So there you go. While it's possible that Byrne might have overheard a comment or two and Mr.Shooter did not, I more inclined to believe Mr.Shooter about this, especially since he claims that Byrne hardly ever showed up at the Marvel offices.

 I asked him if it would be alright to post his response on John Bryne's message board, and he said:

"Dear Dale,

I think posting my response on John's message board serves no good purpose, but that's up to you. He and his readers will surely catch wind of it anyway. But I stand by what I said and I don't care who reads it."

I agree whole-hardedly about that, as Byrne's supporters will just pounce on what he said like hyena on a wounded animal. I'll probably post anyway, but yeah I doubt it'll make any difference whatsoever. 

Now on to the good stuff....and another thrilling episode of Random.....Comic....Review!!!!!!

 What If?..#8  Iron Man Lost The Armor Wars?(Mid Dec 1989) written by Danny Fingeroth, art by Greg Capullo

I liked this issue because, as the title says, it explores a possible world where Iron Man didn't win the Armor Wars that all began because of Justin Hammer stole and gave Stark's technology to villains. It's a real scary premise, not just for Tony and friends, but also for the reader. Imagine the possibility of armored criminals improving there armor thanks to Tony's stolen Iron Man designs?
Well, that's what happens here, as Tony finds out that Justin Hammer is behind various indviduals getting their hands on Tony's tech.
The exact point when everything goes to hell is when Antman Scott Lang, fails to escape from Justin Hammer's trap. Sure he's able to still let Tony who stole his technology, but now he becomes the prisoner and unwitting pawn of Hammer. Lang gives up everything to Hammer since Hammer's got Lang's daughter captive also. After that it's a fast sleigh ride into hell, as Hammer's tech people figure out how to gain remote control of Tony's armor again. Hammer was able to control Tony's armor last time, forcing Tony to kill an ambassador in front of alot of witnesses. This time he makes things worse for Tony, forcing him to reveal his identity to Hammer, then put a neuro-collar around his neck so Hammer can totally control whatever Stark does. From there, Hammer forces Tony to blow up a S.H.I.E.L.D. base, The Avengers east coast island headquarters, the West Coast Avengers' base, Stark Enterprises, and finally Tony's own home. That's just cold as hell man!
Then just when you think Hammer can't sink any lower, he forces Tony to reveal his identity to the world and accept responsibility for all those attacks. Hammer's fixing to have more fun with poor Tony, when thankfully A.I.M. agents storm Hammer's compound and take him out. This releases Tony from Hammer's control, but all's not well yet. A.I.M. goes after the people that have used Tony's stolen tech so that no one else can have it. Tony goes into hiding, dyeing his hair blonde and shaving his Tom Selleck mustache. He contacts the other armored villains and convinces them that they all need to work together if they want to survive A.I.M coming after them. They reluctantly agree, and go off to attack A.I.M directly.

While the fight's going on, Tony manages to sneak down to where another suit of armor is sitting. This is the Firepower armor that Tony fought during the regular Armor Wars. He dons the suit, rescues Scott Lang and his daughter, and goes back finish his fight with A.I.M. Tony and his crew eventually kick A.I.M's ass, but then turn on Tony after he demands that they leave their armors behind. Nice strategy there Stark, pissing off a bunch of guys that outnumber you and can fuck you up!

 Well, right ass Tony's right about to meet his maker, the WCA, led by The Captain(Steve Rogers), show up and save his ass. After the fight, they tell Tony their taking him to jail. Tony says fuck that(not really but he should have), and almost comes to blows with them, but wisely decides against it. He says "I'll take my chances in jail."

And that's how it ends; with the cat out of the bag, Tony's tech becomes public domain. Meaning this world is in for a rough time ahead dealing with the consequences of Justin Hammer's actions.

Poor, poor Tony huh?

"Makes Kick-Ass look like Shit!"

And these were the very words emblazoned on the cover of the 1st issue of Mark Millar and Steve McNiven's Nemesis. Yes folks, welcome to another edition of Random........Comic.....Review.....

I chose this particular comic because it promised to be different than anything else on the market at the time, even though in reality, it presented the type of action and violence anyone who's already read a Mark Millar comic expected.
I'll get to what I personally think and what others have said about it later.

First, on to the review.....

Nemesis#1 "Chapter One"(May 2010) by Mark Millar and Steve McNiven

The comic starts off in Toyko, Japan, where the police commissioner is being held captive by a super-villain dressed in all white and no logo. The villain's taunting the commissioner with a list of things he's failed to keep the villain from doing. While all this is happening, a task force or swat team is running towards a building that seems to be the same one where the commissioner and villain are. Unfortunately for the swat team, the mysterious villain in white purposely led the men into a trap. The building there in is not where the commissioner is, but a room filled to the hilt with explosives. It explodes, causing the building to smash into an underground train station. The commissioner is then shown to be seated in what's probably the same underground train station. After more taunting by the mysterious villain, he police commissioner begs to end his shame. To which the villain responds "All in good time, sir. I said ten thirty-five on the card I sent and the train doesn't come for another twenty seconds." The commissioner responds with "Train? What train?" and then in comes the high-speed train that runs right over the police commissioner.
To add further insult to injury, the very train that ran over the commissioner falls to its own destruction since there no longer any track left to keep it afloat.

And with that, the mysterious villain in white decides to target America next.

The comic shifts to the inside of a convenience store in Washington,D.C. that was being robbed. The would-be robbers are brutely and quickly gunned down a disguised chief of police. When asked by his Sargent how he managed to get in, he responds "Well, crack-heads tend not count their hostages son. I just wandered in the back door wearing a baseball cap."
Remind me to ask a crack-head to confirm that last remark.

The chief's name is Blake Morrow, and he's approached by two FBI agents that tell ask him if he's ever heard of the Nemesis situation? He asks if they mean the cop-killer in Japan? They say yes, and hand him a business card with his name and a date on it. This is supposed to be when Chief Marrow's supposed to die. He immediately begins the process of placing his wife and family into protective custody.

We now see Air Force One getting hijacked by Nemesis. He jumps onto the plane, killing the pilots immediately. He quickly jumps into the plane and pilots it down through a nearby tunnel. The plane suddenly blows up, killing all or most of the people nearby.

Nemesis then takes over the television airways taunting Chief Morrow. We then see the president beaten, tied-up, and at the feet of Nemesis. To be continued.

So, what do I think? This series was supposed to be under the premise "what if Batman was a super-villain?" Now I don't own the other 3 issues, but if you want to know how it all ends in case you don't already now, feel free to wiki it.

I honestly liked what I read. Sure I was kind of shocked to see a guy to so violently and graphically rundown by a high-speed train, but then again this is a Mark Millar comic we're talking about. If you've read Wanted(liked the movie, but wish they kept the super-villain/powers in it), Old Man Logan, and The Authority by him, then you'd know what to expect.

Other reviewers weren't too kind to the series; mostly they felt that it was too typical of Millar, flat, lacking characterization and depth. I guess some of that is true, but I did enjoy the 1st issue nonetheless, and probably should hunt the other three down, or get the trade. Kick-Ass is another good book by Millar that I keep meaning to buy. Millar and Romita Jr. basically give us Spider-Man for 21st century in that one, as the main character becomes and a you-tube sensation after his 1st case. Good stuff that you should at least check out.

Okay I'm outta' here.

"Playing God"

So Heather and I watched X-Men: First Class this past saturday, and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by how good a movie it all turned out to be! I admit that I harshly judged the movie based off the cast, the costumes(which I've grown to like) and the whole story not following the comics. Despite that fact, the overall story being told in the movie was very coherent and nicely told. Yes there were huge continuity gaps,especially in the case of Moira MacTaggert, with new characters given familiar names. Still, on its own, First Class is a first rate movie, and a credit to the X-franchise.  I wish the last and 3rd X-Men movie, Last Stand, was as good as this, then maybe the current state of the franchise as a whole would look a lot differently.

Also, while I still maintain that Ryan Reynolds shouldn't of been picked to be Hal Jordan, after seeing the expanded trailer, the overall movie looks good. I'll still probably just rent it when it comes out on DVD.

Okay kids, this is the portion of the blog where I review so random comic, or hell even a TPB or graphic novel.  For today's choice, and based off the X-Men kick that I've recently been on, I figured I'd review an old issue of Uncanny X-Men from the 2001 Revamp-era by Joe Casey. It's not a bad one, and even though I actually only own three issues of his run, I think Joe Casey was good fit on X-men at the time. Sure there were more than a few people to not like his stuff, but hey, he was infinitely better than Chuck Austin's run. Remember that? I know my buddy Googum and I do, since @ his blog, he reviewed the whole horrendous "Draco" storyline that further complicated Nightcrawler's origin. I still don't know if it's still canon, but I know I can't be the only one to hope its not.

Anyway on to the review.......

Uncanny X-Men#394(June 2001) "Playing God" by Joe Casey and Ian Churchill.

 

The issue starts out in a bar with a new mutant inside. His name's Warp Savant, an he plans on celebrating his 18th birthday by attacking Cape Canaveral, just like a certain Master of Magnetism did years earlier. His mutant powers are to teleport items either directly inside his mind or in another dimension.

We then go to the Xavier Institute where an intense-looking Cyclops is watching a new program about mutant-human relations. Jean Grey-Summers, his wife, walks in, and the two discuss use of the media to spread fear about mutants. Cyclops is in one of his moods due to the anti-mutant direction of the new program, and Jean walks off to let Cyclops brood some more.

The story shifts to Cape Canaveral, where Warp Savant is taking on an entire army and winning! Using his "warp"powers, all the missles and bullets aimed at him just disappear into another dimension. When a army general confronts Warp Savant about this, WS simply says "I've taken away your stuff and I've put it away...you've seen me do it. Tanks, shells, anything you wanna drop on me....one thing though, it works on people too. Later, pops." and with that he makes the general and his men disappear too.

Back at the mansion, Cyclops rounds up his wife and Wolverine at their ready room. He informs them about what's happening at Cape Canaveral, and that Wolverine and Jean will meet him and Warren there to stop this new mutant threat. Wolverine notices something's not right will Jean and Scott, but the discussion gets put on hold as they fly over their target. Warp is having a good time making the soldiers and parts of the army base disappear, when he suddenly looks up to see Wolverine flying right at him. He doesn't panic, and simply makes Wolvie disappear too. Jean mentally attacks Warp after seeing what he just did, asking him where Wolverine is. He turns his power on her, and she too vanishes. Both Wolverine and Jean wake up in a nightmare-ish world over-run by all the things Warp put there, like the missing army tanks and helicopters, and troops. This is too much for Jean, with asking "Are....are we dead? I can't--". Logan responds with a "Look kid, you need to get it together. I don't know where we are...or how we got here. But I do know one thing, my sense's are tellin' me this is place is real."
The remaining troops are radioing for an air strike, but the transmisson's being blocked out by The Angel, who flies into the site with a portable EMP machine on his shoulders. He tells Cyclops that he's got WS targeted and locked, but can't find Wolverine or Jean. Cyclops tells him to go ahead and fire the pulse beam at Warp. He does, and Warp is in intense pain. Wolverine and Jean hear his screams where they are, leading Jean to figure out where they are. But all of a sudden, the area where they're at changes into a kid's room. A monster emerges out from under the bed, and Wolverine guts it. Outside, Cyclops fires his optic blasts at Warp, distracting him enough for Warren to hit Warp Savant again with another EMP blast. This blast temporarily shuts his powers done, allowing Cyclops to get up on him and ask where his wife.

Back to Logan and Jean, as Jean figures out that they're trapped inside Warp's subconscious. He flips out, thinking they're not going to get out, while Logan tries to reassure her that everything will be alright. At that moment, everything goes dark, and it seems like the reality they trapped in is going to collapse. Faced with death, Logan and Jean embrace and kiss, both convinced that they're going to die. Everything goes all bright, and then, both Jean and Logan reappear @ Cape Canaveral. Cyclops picks up the exausted Jean, with Logan wanting to kill Warp. Just as Wolverine gets ready to skew him, Warp turns his powers on himself, and disappears. Wolverine's pissed, and the rest try to figure out what just happened. Jean comments that's its hard for her to remember what just happened, but Logan says "I remember Jeannie. Every bit of it. Just another day on the job eh? "  The issue ends with Jean looking at Logan, and then walking off with Cyclops and Angel.

Not bad huh? Of course this isn't the 1st time Logan and Jean Grey ever kissed. Back during the X-Tinction Agenda, while they were imprisoned they kissed. Then again during Morrison's run, they briefly smooshed, only for Logan to tell her how it never work out between them.

I know Warp Savant hasn't shown back up, but he wasn't a bad character overall. I could see him coming back again, but he should be with a group this time so he won't be taken out so early next time.

"Night of the Warring Dead"

Hey guys,

my laptop decided to run all by itself, so I decided to kick one more post out.
I decided to finish off my not so Random Comic Reviews about Swamp Thing, so enjoy this other favorite of mine from the original series before Alan Moore got his magical hands on the property.

"Night of the Warring Dead" from Swamp Thing#16(May 1975) by David Micheline and Nestor Redondo.

 

The issue starts off with Abby and Matt Cable aboard a 747 that has just come under attack by a skyjacker. Cable wants to do the hero thing, but Abby warns him that the guy will kill his hostage, a stewardess, if he tries anything. So he reluctantly lets the skyjacker head toward the cargo hold. The skyjacker gets ready to bail, killing the stewardess before he leaves, when all of a sudden Swamp Thing busts out of a nearby crate shouting "No!" Swampy grabs the guy but doesn't know what to do with him. Before he can do anything else, the plane gets tossed around due to a nearby storm, knocking both ST and the skyjacker out of the plane. Despite opening the skyjacker's parachute, they both continue to fall fast. ST remembers back to how he got into this situation, as we flashback to Abby, Matt, and Swampy going off in search of Mr.Bolt, who went missing in the previous issue. The flashback ends abruptly as both plunge hard into the sea below them. Swampy later washes up on some island at the feet of two strange people. The issue quickly flashes to the fate of Mr. Bolt, who finds him self being tortured in a hidden jungle sanctuary by a mysterious bad guy.

Back to Swampy, who awakens to the sight of a woman who calls herself Laganna, high priestess of the island of Kala Pago. She's the leader of the People's Liberation Army on the island alongside a mercenary named Adam Rook. She tells Swampy her whole story about the local government was overthrown, and how her people were hunted and killed for the great power and knowledge the island's inhabitants posses. Laganna possess a mystical talisman that grants her powers and helps her and Rook fight off the opposition. Rook makes with the small talk, relating his back-story about being a former Vietnam vet who became disillusioned with life after finding no place for himself in the world after the war. Eventually he heard about Laganna's plight and agreed to join up with her. The action starts to pick up as Laganna leads them all to a local cemetery, where she plans on awakening the dead to help fight off her foes. Not a bad idea actually.

Before all of this can happen, the evil regime's troops desend on the them, casing Swampy to stubble into a trap that Laganna and Adam Rook manage to avoid. Elsewhere, Matt and Abby discover that ST's gone, and wonder what to do next. Swampy awakens in his jail cell and starts to break out, while Laganna causes the dead to arise once again with the power of her talisman. The former corpses bust out of their graves and attack the the evil army. Swamp Thing soon joins in the attack, but develops a sudden attack of consense when seeing how the troops are getting massacred by the living dead. He breaks Laganna's talisman, and the living dead quickly dissolve into dust. All seems lost for Laganna and Rook, but Rook refuses to quit. "We've lost Adam, it's over." "Maybe for you lady, but not for me!"  Rook goes all Full Metal Jacket on the troops, shooting away like a madman before being gunned down. Swamp Thing leaves the pair to their fates, with Laganna dying not to long after Rook. Swampy looks like he'll head back for the two, but after hearing gunshots, simply shakes his head and walks off. Back to that remote hidden jungle, as a doctor openly questions whether or not to continue frying Bolt. The mysterious bad guy responds "I don't care if it does turn him into a blasted vegetable! Continue! I assure you my good doctor, Nathan Ellery pays his debts!"

End of issue.

My only complaint about this issue, is Swampy suddenly ending Laganna's only hope of getting rid of the bad guys by crush her talisman. So what if he got a little spooked about the dead rising; that evil regime committed worse atrocities and deserved everything they got. St doing that, and then leaving Laganna and Rook behind was a real dick move. Thankfully it's not in canon anymore, but damn that was very unheroic of him.

Well, that's it for me; I'm not sure when the next post will be but I'll update when I can. Man computers suck! The other day I found out that via my Facebook account, that a virus was being sent out to all of the people on my contact list. How the hell does shit like this continue to happen!? I had to deactivate my FB account, but damn do people on the internet suck! When I was first starting to get on the internet back in '95, this never happened. Now it's an all to common occurrence. Shit like this needs to stop, and stop now!

"The Man Who Wanted Forever"

Well folks, we're still here, so I guess the world didn't end after all. I personally thinks it's sad when doomsday prophesies like this one are trotted out to further scare people into accepting a religion that wouldn't normally follow, or to even cause such an unneeded panic in the first place! The world's bad enough and grim enough as it is without some religious fanatics causing undue stress and worry for the rest of us "Sinners." I hope the people/sheep that fell for this crock of shit feel realllll stupid! And then to make matters worse, I find out that last Thursday or Friday, some woman sacrificed/killed her son in order to prevent the end of the world from coming or as an offering to save her soul or some such nonsense. This is truly a crazy and dangerous world we live in folks; truth really is stranger than fiction at times!

Let's see, watched the season finales of The Simpsons, American Dad, Bob's Burgers, Family Guy. The simpsons one was fine, as was ADad. Bob's burgers was good, while I was disappointed about the Family Guy one. They did their final chapter of their Star Wars tribute they've been doing, called "It's a Trap!" More like "It' Sucks!" The only thing that was slightly interesting was the Seth Green jokes, and then later Seth McFarlene gets his too. I know it's not cool to piss on the creative work of others, but it seems to me that over the last couple of FG seasons, Seth's been "phoning it in", and that shit needs to stop. If you're running out of good ideas for the show, and after what, almost 10 seasons who wouldn't, then you should end the show on top. This wouldn't happen though, because Seth's getting paid damn good money not to, so there it is. It could be just me, but most of the season finales of these shows just aren't that good! Oh well.....

Due to the positive reviews I've been getting regarding my Swamp Thing comic reviews, I'm posting another one. Enjoy:

Swamp Thing Vol.1 #2(Dec-Jan 1972-73) "The Man who Wanted Forever" By Len Wein and Berni Wrightson.

This issue marks the 1st App. of Anton Arcane, who under Alan Moore was really written as an evil sonofabitch! Incest, devil-worship/witchcraft and more were just some of the numerous crimes Arcane committed. Here, he's just getting started, as Lein reveals how this guy wants power badly no matter the cost!

The issue starts off almost parallel to the first issue, as Swamp Thing/Alec's shown hiding out amongst the Louisiana swamp while watching his and his wife's killers being loaded up into a meat-wagon/Ambulance.
While watching them, he flashes back to how it all started, which was covered last issue. He remembers being confronted by his soon-be-killers, being blown up, emerging from the swamps as a new creature, and finally the small measure of revenge he obtained by killing his killers. He's too wrapped up in thinking how his life went wrong to notice a pack of weird and grotesque creatures slowly ganging up on him. Then a weird talking brain/hand hybrid creature shouts out orders: "Swiftly my Un-Men, capture him swiftly! The master will not tolerate your failure!" Yes folks, this is also the 1st appearance of the Un-Men!

ST/Alec just wants to be left alone, and struggles to fight them off! Then one of the Un-Men, Ophidian, a snake-like creature slithers into action and hypnotizes ST/Alec to go to sleep. ST/Alec passes out, leaving himself open to the UN-Men's tender mercies. Meanwhile, Lt. Cable, who's not that far away, hears some commotion. He looks up to discover a large plane flying overhead with ST/Alec chained up underneath the plane. He vows to follow ST, who he mistakenly believes killed Alec and Linda Holland.  We follow ST's journey from the swamps of Louisiana to the European countryside, where ST's taken to a huge, but strange-looking, creepy castle over-looking a small European town. He's then chained up crucifixion-style on some slabs of wood and marched up into the the very heart of the ominous-looking castle.  Then, just as they all approach the castle's gates, ST wakes up! "Chained...they had me chained! The scenery is different but the situation is the same!" He begins to fight with the Un-men again, noting a nearby window and thinking to leap out of it. Before he can, a voice shouts "Now, now my pets...you shouldn't be so rough with your new playmate!" The voice belongs to an old man who introduces himself as simply Arcane! Arcane offers his hand to ST, and ST takes it, as they both go inside the castle. It is here, that Arcane explains how he sought ST out because Arcane's discovered the secret to immortality, but his body's too old and frail to use it. ST's body, on the other hand, seems perfect enough to withstand the ritual needed to obtain the immortality. He then takes ST/Alec on a tour of his castle home, which acts as home/confinement to his numerous experiments that all look like Frankenstein rejects. he explains to ST/Alec how they all came about: "Using my gathered knowledge, I sought to build myself a new, more enduring form, synthetically! My Un-men are the result of my first experimentations, crude, but totally dedicated to me!"  He then goes on to explain to ST/Alec how he found him using an ancient mystical mirror. I need one of those for the house myself.

Arcasne continues on about how he knows of ST/Alec's condition and how it all happened, including the death of his wife Linda. He then says the magic words to ST/Alec with this proposition: "How would you like to be human once again, Doctor Alec Holland?" Arcane goes off on how he can fix ST/Alec and make him human again, all the while ST/Alec's simply staring real hard out the window. Arcane continues to prod him, "What's wrong with you man? Don't you want to be human? Don't you care?", all to which ST/Alec responds with a heart-felt "I, care!"  Arcane then proceeds to give ST/Alec a physical, exploring his plant-like body with a boyish glee. Arcane then says "I would say your body is exactly what I've been looking for!" in a way you just know is not going to end well at all for ST/Alec, and off we go! The scene jumps back to Lt.Cable who's just gotten other government agencies to look for ST. Unbeknownest to hm, the big boss of the Conclave from last issue is secretly listening in on Cable via the dog's microphone also from last issue. He too wants to find Swamp Thing, if only to get revenge on him for killing his men.

Back to Arcane and Swampy, as Anton Arcane shows ST just how he's going to restore ST to normal again. He'll use the mystic Soul Jar to do it, along with an incantation that will basically cause Arcane to get the ST body, while reverting Alec Holland to his normal body once again. Arcane tells ST/Alec to want it while he chants, and after a brief period of pain, Alec Holland awakens to his normal body again. He's initially shocked off course, but deals with it quickly enough. Arcane, now in ST's body talks easily to Alec, something that Alec himself had much difficulty doing. Arcane assures Alec that everything's fine now, and Alec takes off for some time to himself.  Alec thinks to himself how incredible this all is to be free of being a monster, and then pines for his lost wife Linda. After all that, he goes off wandering the castle looking for some drinks, when he overhears Arcane's true reason for trading bodies w/Alec; He ultimately wants to destroy the quiet village underneath his castle and amass even more power for himself, and with his new body he figures he's unstoppable. And he might be just that! Alec runs off towards the soul jar, but it's guarded by a giant 4-armed monster. The monster snatches up Holland, trying to break his back, when Holland strangles the monster out using his nylon robe. With the monster defeated, Alec gets ready to smash the jar, when Arcane runs in to stop him. "Holland, don't! For God's sake man, you'll ruin everything." Arcane pleads. To which Holland replies "Yes, Arcane...for God's sake", and smashes he soul jar. Holland reverts back to Swamp Thing, and Arcane back to his old body. Arcane's not finished yet though, as he orders his creatures to attack ST, while he runs off. ST fights through them to get to Arcane, forcing Arcane to jump out one of his castle windows. The Un-Men all stop, and then after thinking for awhile on what they should do, they simply do what they've always done, and follow their master out the window. ST/Alec's left to ponder what just happened, and then walks off for home. But he doesn't see a very Frankenstein-looking creature watching him!

Next issue: The Patchwork Man!

So what'd you guys think? Not bad huh? And yes we know Arcane's not really dead yet, but ST doesn't! I don't have the next issue, so I can't review that one, but I do have more in this early series. Maybe I'll get to them later. I'm out of here.

"Dark Genesis"

Hello all. After just re-reading the six issues I have of the original Swamp Thing run, his re-introduction to the DCU at the end of Brightest Day, and his Mattel exclusive DCUC figure, I've found myself in a Swamp Thing frame of mind. Nothing wrong with that I guess, as the big green fella's becoming popular all over again.

Here's his new action figure; I'm not totally sold on it because it's nowhere near as articulated as the rest of the DCUC line is. Still, it's not bad for what it is, and there might be some improvements before it goes on sale July 15th.

Now there's been a constant rumbling about ST's reappearance in BD. Mostly the criticism's about Geoff Johns' new(old) rendition of Swampy. Apparently Alec Holland and Swampy are to be one and the same, as opposed to Alan Moore's version where Alec Holland was killed, and Swampy found out he was a living plant that had Holland's memories. I think you can still enjoy both Moore and Johns' stories. One doesn't necessarily negate the other, unlike maybe what Moore did with Len Wein's original vision of ST. Still, it's a good time to be a ST fan, and oh guess what, John Constantine himself is also back in the proper DC Universe. I myself think the whole former Vertigo policy where vertigo characters couldn't interact with the regular DCU was bullshit anyways. DC owns Vertigo, it's a sub-branch of the entire DC line, but instead it was treated like it was a separate publisher that they had to get permission from to use certain characters. The whole thing was ridiculous, and I'm glad these two are back where they belong. And hey, there's still a Vertigo version of John Constantine still being published, so there shouldn't be any more bitching about the whole thing.

With that in mind, it's time for a Random.....Comic.....Review!
Today, we're going to take a look back at where it all started for Swamp Thing, or at least, his first issue of his 1st original series. So without further ado........

Swamp Thing#1(Oct-Nov 1972) "Dark Genesis" Written by Len Wein, Art by Berni Wrightson

 

The story starts off with images of various swamp creatures going about their daily lives in the swamp. We're then directed to a single barn in the swamp. It's being watched over by a strange creature from a distance. He stands, waiting patiently for something or someone. "They will return...those who killed me! They will return...and I will be waiting!" The creature continues to silently stare intensely at the barn. It's then that the creature starts to reflect on the moments that led up to this point. A Lt.Cable brings a husband and wife team of scientists out to a deserted, but refurbished barn deep in the heart of the Louisiana swamp.  This is a top-secret location known to a very select few due to the important research project the couple are working on. Lt. Cable leaves the scientists to their work after reminding them how important their work is and how many individuals would love to get their hands on the Bio-Restorative Formula the scientists are working on.

The story flashes forward to a few days later, where Doctors Alec and Linda Holland are busily working on the formula. All of a sudden there's a knock on the barn door. Thinking it's Lt. Matt Cable, Dr.Holland opens the door. Standing there is a man calling himself Ferrett, and his two associates. "We three represent a private organization interested in purchasing your Bio-Restorative Formula." Ferrett says. He offers Dr.Holland a blank check and insists he takes it. Alec Holland refuses, and before things get rough, one of the associates notices a patrol car coming. The three take off, but warn Dr.Holland to accept the offer. The Hollands inform Cable of what transpired, and he reminds them how dangerous the project is. He leaves, but then another visitor to the couple arrives. This time it's a dog. Linda convinces her husband to keep the dog, which Alec reluctantly does. What they don't know, is that the dog is carrying a hidden radio transmitter in it's head, planted there by the organization that earlier confronted the Hollands. We're then shown who's the boss of that organization, called the Conclave. He wants the formula, even if it means killing the Hollands. The next day, the men from earlier show up to renew their offer to Dr.Holland. Again he says no, and is attacked by one of the thugs, Bruno. Bruno knocks Alec out, and the gang of thugs rig the barn to blow up with explosives. Dr. Holland comes to, noticing the explosives. But it's too late, and the explosives go off, sending a burning Holland to stagger blindly out into the swamp to find comfort from his pain. He proceeds to disappear into the bog, leading his wife and Cable to believe him dead. After the funeral, Cable drives Linda Holland back to the barn, where only she can complete the formula. A harsh rain begins to pour down in the swamp, causing a strange hand to emerge from the muck! Slowly and steadily a figure emerges from the swamp. It's alive! It's Swamp Thing! What was once Dr. Alec Holland slowly makes its way back to the barn. It sees it's reflection, and cries out in horror. Cable and Linda Holland are startled by the noise and open the door, only to unintentionally let the dog out. Cable chases after it, only to be hit from behind by Bruno. Ferrett and Bruno force their way into the barn, killing Linda. Meanwhile, ST notices the dog trapped in the bog. He rescues it, only to hear a loud gunshot. "Nooooo! Linda, my linda...if they've hurt you..." Swampy takes off towards the barn, only to find Linda already dead. He curses himself for saving the dog when he could have been there for her. Pissed off beyond reason, Swamp Alec goes after the men who killed her. Ferrett and Bruno try to run down Swamp Alec with their car, but to no avail! Swamp Alec smashes the fuck out of the car, causing Ferrett to fly out of the window. Bruno goes after Swampy, but he's killed off in blow! Ferrett tries to shot Swampy down, but that doesn't work either. Swampy kills him too, only to be shot out by Lt.Cable, who thinks Swampy attacked him and murdered Linda. Swampy takes off, with Lt.Cable swearing to find him. Swampy's just come down from his state of rage, and is feeling depressed now that his wife's dead and he's a freak. "Dr.Holland had all the answers....he was an intelligent man...but Alec Holland is dead, and in his place stands only a SWAMP THING."  Suddenly we see a mysterious figure observing all of this. "There, my pets, is the one we have spent years searching for. There is the one we must have. Fetch him my pets! Bring him here...to me!"  End of story.

So what'd you think? Yes it's a depressing story at the offset. Stories like this usually are, but things get a whole hell of a lot weirder before this series is done. I'll probably review the rest from here, as I have the next issue after this one. The collection then jumps around a lot, from 1,2, then 13, 15, 16, and finally 19.  I got these issues from my father-in-law, so that's why the collection skips around alot. Not bad though. Len Wein is a pretty good writer, and we all know how awesome Berni Wrightson is! This team sadly wouldn't stick around past the 3rd issue. Instead, Nestor Redondo would fill in for the rest of the series, and damn is he awesome! I love his detailed art. There were other writers on this series too, like David Michelinie and Gerry Conway. So not too shabby huh?

"Demons of Denak....No!"

Hey everybody. Miss me? Well my computer, which has needed to be cleaned up anyway, had a gazillion viruses on it, and had to be taken to the computer repairmen to be fixed. It was so bad, that the whole c-drive had to be completely erased! So basically Heather and I are starting over from scratch, trying to work the bugs out and all. We still haven't re-intalled everything, and while we did back-up a majority of programs, I think my Paint.net program is gone. This was my go to poor man's version of Adobe Photoshop I've used to make the skits and strips you all love so much. I don't know when everything will be fixed up, probably by the end of the week, so please bear with me as I sort shit out. This has really sucked ass for me, because my streak of contiunous posts has been broken. Don't worry though, I'll get back on the saddle again.

So, since I can't post new skits/strips, what's left to contribute to this humble blog? RANDOM COMIC REVIEW.....REVIEW.....REVIEW......

Is there an echo in here? Anyway, here's my contribution for today's post:

The Tomb of Dracula: Lord of the Vampires#44

Yes folks, as you can clearly see from the cover, Dracula battles Dr.Strange. I think this is the first official battles between the two; it certainly seems like it from the way they talk to each other. They would go on to fight each other again and again in other titles, until Dr.Strange used the magic book, The Darkhold, to kill every vampire on Earth. Of course, as we all know, that didn't last long, and Dracula and his crew have since returned in the pages of the X-Men. In case you didn't know, Dracula's had his share of run-ins with the X-Men before. In Uncanny X-Men#159-160, and again in UXM Annual#6. I myself only have UXM#159, and might review that particular issue some day.

Back to the review......

We start off with Dr.Strange looking intently and solemnly at a crystal orb. Seems he can't find his manservant Wong, and he's really worried. His worries are justified when he discovers that Wong's dead. Using the Eye of Agamotto to keep Wong in a form of suspended animation, Dr.Strange uses his astral self to peer inside Wong's mind to discover what happened. It appears that Wong interrupted Dracula while he was enjoying a late night's snack, and Dracula decided to teach Wong a lesson. Hey I can't say I blame the guy. I mean who doesn't hate to be bothered while trying to eat right? It's just plain rude! The sight of the savage attack on Wong causes Strange to leave Wong's mind and return to his own body. With this, Strange goes on to get revenge for Wong and fight Dracula. The story then goes to the offices of Midnight Publishing Co., where the readers are treated to the love story between love-sick writer Harold and the traget of his affections, Aurora Rabinowitz. Yeah, since I'm not a regular reader of this series I don't get why they're here in this story, but they are. Basically hot-looking Aurora is being asked out by nerdy Harold. Yeah, you know where this is going......Harold wants to know why Aurora isn't returning his calls, and Aurora let's him down easy. Well, not that easy. Here's how it went:
"Harold, you're a really nice, sweet person"
Wait for it........
"And poor little me should be flattered that a big-time writer like you thinks I'm ravishingly cute....
And here it comes.....
"But, frankly, Harold, I think you're a nerd!"
What a way to let a guy down huh? At least she's honest, but still, damn that's cold!
Anyway, the reader's attention is lead away to a creepy, old man stalking Dracula outside his then new home; his old now dead enemy, Dr.Sun's mansion. The old man reveals he has fangs too, and takes off to fight Dracula another day. Dracula is inside, trashing some computer monitors and other equipment. He does all this while go off on a triade that "Dracula still lives to fight another day, another foe", and stuff like that. That's just like old people who don't understand modern technology to just go and trash it physically and verbally. Oh yeah, and Blade's in this issue too. He's stalking some prey of his, but more on that later.
Back to Dr.Strange, who uses his Eye of Agamotto to track Dracula down to his new home. He finds him, and....the shit....is.....on! "By the omnipotent Oshtur! You killed my servant vampire, now you face Doctor Strange!" Strange blasts Dracula, temporially blinding him. Dracula quickly recovers and lunges at Strange. Strange counters, sending out the binding spells of the Rings of Raggador and the unbreakable Crimson Bands of Cyttorak to bind Dracula. And of course Dracula breaks them. Strange then attacks Dracula's mind, making him face his past. We see Dracula back when he was a human prince of Transylvania, fighting who he thinks is an old turkish enemy of his. Strange mystically stabs Dracula and he falls. Dracula wakes up in the midst of a magially-induced nightmare, as Strange pleads for fang-face to help him heal Wong. Dracula's having none of this, and hypnotizes Strange into letting him bite him. "My eyes, Strange. Gaze deeply into my eyes! Let my will become yours!"
Dracula bites Strange, and seemingly kills him just like Wong. We're hit with the old "to be continued" bit, and wouldn't you know it, the story's continued in Strange's own comic. Dr.Strange#14 to be exact. We see Blade again getting ready to bounce on a vampire. The vampire turns out to be Hannibal King, Vampire Detective. The reader's promised to see the outcome of that fight next issue.
And that's that.....

Now, I don't have Dr.Strange#14 on me, but I think it's safe to say he gets better after this issue's cliffhanger.

Until next week.....