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5 (2) 4 (19) 3 (48) 2 (23) 1 (2) 3.0 starsAverage score of 94 user reviews
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Flat 0
The underlying idea behind a crossover is not the worst in comics (though it often lends itself to some massive misfires) but when that turns into a hero vs. hero story, then it usually goes off the rails pretty quickly (spoilers ahead). That is evident here in the second issue of DC vs. Marvel (Marvel vs. DC) with a variety of heroes preparing to go head to head. Aquaman battles Namor, Captain Marvel battles Thor and Quicksilver battles the Flash. The result is almost as expected, though wi...
3 out of 3 found this review helpful. -
Perfect but not permanent 0
The concept of others lifting Thor's hammer often leads to a great deal of debate, of whether or not it is even possible. (spoilers ahead). This has played out most famously on the big screen in the Marvel Cinematic Universe on various occasions, but has seen its own versions from time to time in the pages of comics. Especially troubling to some is when a female manages to wield the power of the hammer, though there is not really any reason to think that a woman would be less worthy than a man...
1 out of 1 found this review helpful. -
Lack of clarity 0
This issue and the issues leading up to it might be forgotten chapters of silver age comic publishing were it not for a couple of major occurances in this story lines (spoilers ahead). The first is the introduction of the Two Gun Kid to the modern day (who ends up being a reserve member of the team), the other is the introduction of Patsy Walker as Hellcat, a development that still has some importance in the modern day and provides a strange connection between Marvel's superhero past and its r...
2 out of 2 found this review helpful. -
Better approach would have helped 0
This issue continues the segmented story, with half of the team still in the Old West fighting Kang and the other half in modern day fighting the Squadron Supreme and Roxxon. The story here comes off a little bit disjointed because of this split, as a modern telling of the same issues might have split the story lines for better effect. Here though, the action mostly focuses on the battle against Kang. This part of the story doesn't seem to be able to find its focus, as it wavers between a mo...
1 out of 1 found this review helpful. -
Carries the momentum 0
Compared to the heavier content of the previous issue, this one returns to what can be considered to be a more-or-less standard Justice League story. With Doctor Destiny identified as the villain, the heroes have not acted fast enough and have let him undertake his mad scheme. It requires the assembled heroes to work together to figure out how to stop him. The clues that they have to decipher are a nice way to give a bit more appeal to the issue, and the means by which the heroes overcome th...
1 out of 1 found this review helpful. -
Elevated 0
This is an issue with a surprising amount of depth for the silver age. Instead of taking an approach of the heroes battling some global threat, it instead deals with the fall-out of a previous issue, as the Red Tornado feels that he is no longer a worthy member of the team. As he does so, it provides an opportunity to introduce more of his private, and especially the private life that would become a staple for the character through his publication history, with Traya and Kathy Sutton forming ...
2 out of 2 found this review helpful. -
Black tight bodysuit 0
The Spider-Man series were well known for a variety of firsts surrounding some major characters, usually first appearances for those in the Spider-Man villains gallery. This is a rarer case as the once villain Black Widow, already a hero by this point, gets the makeover to her eventual signature look in this issue. This story is a bit forced, even admittedly so by Stan Lee towards the end of the issue as he puts a plug in for Black Widow's upcoming back-up appearances in other comics, and the...
1 out of 1 found this review helpful. -
Introduction is over 0
This issue marks a final issue for a few different themes in this series. It is first of all the end of the short three part re-introduction of Moondragon to the Marvel Universe, and here as a hero. It is also the final story of Daredevil and Black Widow on the West Coast and is also the final story where they share double billing on the cover. The story here is more complex than the ones that preceded it. Whereas the first story of this arc started with the out-of-place Kraven posing a thr...
1 out of 1 found this review helpful. -
On the mend 0
The ongoing retelling of Moondragon's story continues here, as the action that had been set up in the previous issue escalates quickly. With four supervillains on the loose in the city, plus one mastermind behind it all, there is lots to deal with here. The heroes start off separated, and not surprisingly Moondragon's recovery is rather fast, and the rest of the issue plays out as more of an action sequence than as a more prosaic approach of the previous issue. With the developments, it beco...
1 out of 1 found this review helpful. -
Cosmic Man in Red 0
This issue serves as a reintroduction of Moondragon to the Marvel Universe, this time with a less villainous approach (though she still serves as an antagonist here). With an actual background for the character told, she is given a different approach and apparently this is the first real incarnation of the hero whereby it seems as though she is headed towards something more prominent in the Marvel Universe. As it stands though, this issue is full of developments, including the wrap-up from th...
1 out of 1 found this review helpful. -
Beginnings 0
This otherwise mundane issue also signifies the introduction of Moondragon (given the bizarre name of Madame MacEvil here) into the Marvel universe. Though somewhat of a secondary character to the overall Marvel continuity (having appeared in several hundred issues, compared to several thousands for the main characters) the character came a long way from her introduction. In fact, she has some parallels to Black Widow, who was also introduced in an Iron Man comic (Tales of Suspense technically...
1 out of 1 found this review helpful. -
Not the same appeal 0
Seen with maybe a bit more quaint nostalgia these days, meetups between modern superheroes and the heroes of the Old West were more common in the silver age, as the general interest in crossovers in comics naturally took them from one area of interest to another in which interest had previously rested. The cover here might be one of the most grossly inaccurate in the history of comics, with the modern and the Western heroes barely having any conflict with one another, rather they go through a ...
1 out of 1 found this review helpful. -
Enter Patsy 0
This issue is divided between two different story lines, which becomes a bit more weird when former romance comic star Patsy Walker shows up. As she is looking for Beast and he is looking to become an Avenger, much of this story is told through his eyes. Doing so makes it a bit more gripping as the personal outlook of the one character gives it a bit more weight. There is a bit of disconnect as the two story lines don't really follow along well together, but are very far apart in the scope o...
1 out of 1 found this review helpful. -
Media matters 0
Aside from her 1960s romance comic inspired series and a few other examples here and there in her publication history, Lois Lane has mostly stayed as a supporting character in Superman stories. This series however shows what a mistake it has been to keep the character underdeveloped for so long. In the right hands there are evidently a lot of stories worthy of DC Comics' main journalist - between real world and in continuity - and this series proves that to be the case in its first issue. Ot...
1 out of 1 found this review helpful. -
Lighthearted 0
Although intended to be humourous, the laughs are not really that evident here, buts its lighthearted approach at least makes this a fun read. The best story is the first, where Galactus is transformed and sent to Earth to live an odd life. The rest of the entries are mostly just short vignettes more so than true stories but a few of them present interesting ideas. Not necessarily worth hunting down to read, but also not the worst issue out there. ...
1 out of 1 found this review helpful. -
Calling them in 0
This issue is far better than the previous one, and as both deal with trying to recruit Black Lightning to the Justice League, it is surprising that they did not just go with this one issue. This issue deals with a mad scientist and former employee of STAR Labs who has managed to get back in with some vermin under his control and to turn them into mutants. Planning on turning them free on the world, the Justice League is called in after Zatanna, Green Arrow and Elongated Man are already in Me...
1 out of 1 found this review helpful. -
Good Introduction 0
This provides an interesting and very different first appearance than most characters receive in comics. Introduced here as a villain, Black Widow doesn't get to have the typical introduction story, nor is she given any real powers (though she does not really have any either). The story here despite being in the middle of the silver age holds up relatively well, at least as long as one can put themselves in the Cold War mindframe of seeing the two superpowers trying to pull off espionage acts...
1 out of 1 found this review helpful. -
Interesting start 0
This series starts off with an interesting premise, that the Invisible Woman has been a part-time member of SHIELD since early on in her superhero career. By presenting this as a new fact about the character it changes what has been a constant for the character essentially going back as far as her first appearance. She was early on presented as a victim or damsel-in-distress who couldn't handle her emotions at times, and whose powers matched her weak personality. There have been several atte...
2 out of 2 found this review helpful. -
Worth the effort 0
This is not really a comic, but rather an interview and history of George Perez in his career in comics. It follows a chronological approach to his career, starting out before he even started to find out how he got into the medium, and then progressively through his career at Marvel and then DC. Sprinkled through is a selection of his art as well as a collection at the back of some of his more iconic images. This is really in-depth as it is a really long interview (around 100 pages) and deal...
1 out of 1 found this review helpful. -
Out of character 0
Another weak issue in a run of weaker issues in what was the height of the Justice League of America's power and popularity in the early 1980s. With already two straight issue dealing with a lame murder mystery, this issue does not rebound by throwing in some great adversary or even a compelling action sequence. Instead it runs threw the motions with a Black Lightning story that mostly is out of character for everyone involved. There is even some bickering within the team that seems out of c...
1 out of 1 found this review helpful. -
Disappointment 0
With a less than compelling lead issue into this two-parter, this issue doesn't really pull anything else in to salvage what it was set up with. The annual JLA-JSA meeting has resulted in a murder mystery and the entire issue revolves around a fairly rudimentary detective story as Batman and the Huntress gather to analyze the clues of who killed Mr. Terrific. The problem is that the story is written in such a basic way that they aren't really doing more detecting than what a 10 year old would...
1 out of 1 found this review helpful. -
Mixed bag 0
A late 1970s attempt by DC to revive the space serials from a couple of decades earlier, this first issue of the series is somewhat updated from the earlier times, but trades in that bit of modernity for the same level of camp that made the earlier series a bit more readable without necessarily updating any of the science part of the science fiction (for instance, one of the writers says that sound does not travel in space, but extrapolates that to mean it also wouldn't travel inside an air-fil...
1 out of 1 found this review helpful. -
Not so terrific 0
The annual meeting of the JSA and JLA takes a less common form this time, as the reappearance of the Golden Age Mr. Terrific to the JSA leads to a murder mystery plot involving his death. As the character himself describes, there was a villain from his past who re-emerged into his life and caused that he once again take up a life of superheroics, and this is why he has come to the annual meeting. Though the answer of those responsible for his supposed death seems a bit obvious, it is still be...
1 out of 1 found this review helpful. -
Effort lacking 0
As the second part of a two part arc, this issue reads almost the same as a self-contained story, with any other back story that was missing being provided by a bit of exposition. Mostly though the story seems both rushed and not very well conceived. There are a group of aliens behind the plot here, but their plan comes off more like that of a space serial of the 1950s not a superhero story of the 1980s. The effect is that the story is not very good (made worse by some odd introspection from ...
1 out of 1 found this review helpful. -
Uncertain future 0
The overall quality of the series does not improve much in this third issue. The same problems that have marred the series so far continue here, as Carol/Ms. Marvel deals with her split personality and does so often in ways that are pretty sexist in nature. For instance, she has massive headaches whenever she involuntarily changes between personas but this is generally played off as "women have headaches". The action and plot here is also a bit nonsensical as it deals with a female astronaut...
1 out of 1 found this review helpful. -
Getting tiny 0
This provides a good setup and lead in to the FF going head-to-head with Psycho Man, and clearly there is more going on here as Franklin Richards' segment at the beginning of the issue is linked though not yet evident how. The use of She-Hulk is well handled, as still a relatively new character to this team, she is both impressed and intimidated by what the team accomplishes. It all heads into the Microverse as they search for their foe, and ends with a good setup for the next issue. A good ...
1 out of 1 found this review helpful. -
The Hunted 0
Though still holding on to some early silver age cliches, this issue holds up well compared to many others of the same time frame. This issue is notable for being the first appearance of Kraven the Hunter, a character that would show up throughout the history of Spider-Man's stories. There are a few of the typical disconnects in terms of logic here, maybe most so why Kraven wants to kill Spider-Man in the first place, but it still holds up pretty well. This might also be the first issue that ...
1 out of 1 found this review helpful. -
Fun and wacky 0
One of the issues of She-Hulk with a more famous cover, due to the fourth wall breaking this issue is all over the place. Not having read this issue as a child, it does bring back some pretty crazy associations, between US1 showing up and Spragg, the Living Mountain. The first few pages are a tongue-in-cheek reference to a joke from the letter column, and they are among the more memorable in this issue, though as She-Hulk gets dragged into outer space, there are a bunch of other strange occurr...
1 out of 1 found this review helpful. -
Fun but not good 0
This issue probably garnered a lot more talk fro its cover than anything else. The story within deals with Bobbi's association with the Phantom Rider, who is trying to win her back into his life. It contains a lot of non-sequitur joke style pages and the story doesn't really flow all that well. Interestingly, at the end of the story there is a blurb from the author (which is also incidentally the sign-off for the series) which explains how they felt that they didn't know how to write the ser...
1 out of 1 found this review helpful. -
Elsewhere 0
A strange issue, which is probably most noteworthy for its cover. The best story of three contained within is the middle one, as Superman has to deal with a strange curse before he can figure out the way to cancel it. The first story is mostly a stretch, but the worst is probably the third in which Superman becomes stranded on a faraway planet where he is bullied by cavemen. This story is nonsensical and not really worth reading. The issue as a whole doesn't age well and probably those in s...
1 out of 1 found this review helpful. -
Needs more continuity 1
This issue is a bit hard to describe. There is a Crisis Tie-In which will be familiar to anyone who has read the main series of Crisis on Infinite Earths. There is also a reworking of an old JSA story into this newer one, as well as a side story from Earth X and another side story from Commander Steel. Though it has an evocative and compelling cover, the interior of the magazine reads likes mostly unconnected parts and this approach does not do this issue any favours in its presentation. It ...
2 out of 2 found this review helpful. -
Dropping in 0
This issue was mentioned in Marvel Team-Up #137 as part of Assistant Editor's Month and so I followed the path of Marvel Teamp-Up here. It is written in the same kind of tongue-in-cheek seriousness that made the Marvel Team-Up story work so well, though there is a fair bit of greater gravity here as the events happening to Dazzler are in fact happening. That they tie into other events such as San Diego Comic Con are a nice nod, but apart from that the more serious tone here detracts from what...
1 out of 1 found this review helpful. -
Lives up to the gimmick 0
This issue tells the story of a team-up of sorts between Aunt May and Franklin Richards (though as Spider-Man's title, he is along for the adventure for part of the time as well.) What seems like a strange match-up ends up being a fun story. The best part here is the metahumour, as it incorporates a piece of comic history into the storyline to good effect and even seemingly rips on some other franchises. Some may think that this is worth checking out for the cover alone, but the story inside ...
1 out of 1 found this review helpful. -
Still missing a lot 0
The action here is again decent as in the first issue, but the characterization of the female protagonist leaves a lot to be desired. Granted that this is the 1970s, and that fainting and amnesia were crossed over a fair bit to female characters from romance comics, but the entire approach to what is now a mainstream character makes it feel very dated while bordering on misogyny. As an added example of the above, two of the male characters have figured out her secret identity before she has, ...
1 out of 1 found this review helpful. -
Not very special 0
Strange that the same character can be so prominent in the modern day Marvel Universe where this issue which introduced her as a hero feels so dated. The writer makes a point at the beginning to give some credit to his wife for coming up with the idea for Carol Danvers becoming Ms. Marvel, but that doesn't mean that there are necessarily a lot of fresh ideas here, including such retreads as J. Jonah Jameson hating superheroes, a bad guy that wants to slowly lower his foe into a vat of acid, an...
1 out of 1 found this review helpful. -
Forgettable 0
I found myself wondering what the deal with Penguin's umbrellas is? A lot of characters were originally introduced and then had their stories filled in as time progressed. Others still went through some periods in the comics where they might have been subjected to some more campy story telling, and so it raised the question of where the Penguin got his umbrellas. To answer this question I went back to the very beginning, to his first appearance and the umbrellas showed up here for the first ...
1 out of 1 found this review helpful. -
Kind of a mess 0
What with this being the start of a somewhat successful and long run for this title, one might have expected that the first issue started with a bang, but it isn't the case. The story mostly unfolds as a play-up of one of those 1990s sensationalistic television news shows, and is told through that lens, with a reporter poking their head in a bit too much in a style of reporting that would be hackneyed if the writers could get it right. It also doesn't help that the artwork is the "big 90s" st...
2 out of 2 found this review helpful. -
Laboured 0
This issue has some more teeth than the first in the Dark Reign tie-ins, and as a story it functions better to draw in more interest in the Dark Reign story arc, but issues where teams try to recruit heroes always feel a bit laboured, with one or two heroes pulling the "my life just can't handle this right now" angle, which is essentially just a fourth wall way of the writer saying "I don't feel like writing this character on my team." The ending of the issue is the best as the heroes unite ar...
2 out of 2 found this review helpful. -
These are dark times 1
I was looking for a Marvel crossover story to read, and not really knowing where to start, just kind of chose Dark Reign randomly. I pulled a reading list and came up with this as the first issue to read, but I can't say that I am particularly impressed after doing so. It is not that there is anything missing, just that there is not a lot to draw the reader in here, as it is just the gathering of heroes and villains with some untold consequences which will be highlighted later. Definitely Em...
2 out of 2 found this review helpful. -
Fun 0
The pathway to me reading this issue was not the most straightforward. I was reading Dark Reign (released in the late 2000s) and in the second issue of the massive crossover Spider-Man and Mockingbird talked about teaming up occasionally in the past, so I did a bit of research and came upon this, which seems to be their first meeting. Presumably the issue in question of Dark Reign is referring to events more recently tied to the 2000s, but this issue still holds up as stories from the silver ...
1 out of 1 found this review helpful.
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