Review of Rampaging Hulk Issue number 1

Rampaging Hulk #1 Review


What is it? A comic book. Indicia gives a date of August 1998. Glossy cover, non-glossy interior, color throughout. Pages have no visible numbering. Contains a long lead feature and a short back-up. Gleen Greenberg wrote both stories. Rick Leonardi did the pencils on the lead, while While Denys Cowan did the back-up. Dan Green inked the lead feature, and Tom Palmer inked the back-up. Tom Smith was the colorist on the whole book, while Bill Oakley lettered both stories. Jaye Gardner was the editor, and Bob Harras was the editior in chief.


Plot Summary: The lead story is a flashback to an earlier moment in Hulk continuity. A caption somewhere claims six years ago, but it's a very comic book-time six years ago. Marvel has been publishing Hulk comics for well over thirty years, and, yet neither Bruce Banner or the Hulk has aged a noticeable amount.
Here are the defining features of the moment of continuity that this story is being retroactively inserted in:

Hulk is dumb and talks in the third person. This is before the personality-integrated smart-hulk phase.
Hulk is green. This is after he was initially grey, but before he turns grey again in the Joe Fixit phase.
Rick Jones is not acting as his sidekick.
His former girlfriend, Betty, is married to an air force Major named Glenn Talbot.
Basnner's identity as the Hulk is known to at least, General Ross, Betty's father, and Ross's Hulk-Buster team, if not the general public. This makes Banner a fugitive.

So, at this moment in the past, that never existed before 1998, Bruce Banner is working at the Brand Corporation under an assumed name. He attempts to use the company's Gamma Accelerator to cure himself of the Hulk. The Hulk-Buster team burst in and captures him while he's in a not fully either Banner or Hulk mid-transformation state. He's stuck in this half-state for a while. The Hulk-Busters take him to Gamma Base, where scientists study him to better understand what's happening to him.

Meanwhile, in his head, the Banner personality and the Hulk personality are having a spirited debate/knock-down-drag-out-fight for control of the body. Hulk wins and completes the body's transformation into Hulk. He escapes his cell in Gamma Base in seconds. Thus ends the main feature.

This brings us unfortunately to the back-up story. It feels like a PSA or Very Special Episode with a painfully obvious moral, what they might call Anvilicious on TV Tropes. Basically a large jock bully nicknamed Hulk is threatening a nerd kid. The real Hulk comes up and scares off the bully and then has a laugh about the divisive ways of humans.

What's good about it? It hearkens back to an earlier day of Hulk storytelling. I like Peter David's take on the Hulk a lot, but there is a virtue in the simplicity of "Hulk Smash!" stories. The artwork on both stories was good.

What's not quite so good? The back-up story. It makes its moral point in a rather ham-handed way, anvilicious as I've said before. It's also preaching to the choir. Comic readers are geeks much likelier to be bullying victims than bullies themselves. There's also no letters page or this-would-be-a-letters-page-if-we-had-any-letters-book-specific-text-page that books use in the first issue.

What the ....? moments: Once the Hulk's transformation is complete, he busts out of his "Hulk-proof" cell in seconds. This is the best that the government can do?

Who should get it? Dedicated Hulk fans/completists.

Rating: Averages out to two stars. The back-up story and lack of a letters page brings it down.

Method Of Acquisition: Possibly, the twenty-five cent bins at Gold Mine, either that or the fifty-cent bins at Apparitions or the seventy-five cent bins at Tardy' Collector's Corner. All of them are somewhere in the greater Grand Rapids, Michigan area.

Review of Ravenloft Carnival

I reviewed this one over on rpg.net the other day and thought I'd x-post it here.

What is it?

A 64 page softcover with a color cover and a black, white, red, and grey interior. It's not quite an adventure (at least in the sense of what WotC/TSR usually did/does in that category...). It's not exactly a setting book (at least in the sense of what WotC/TSR usually did/does in that category...). It contains a lot of NPC stats, but it's not an enemies book/rogue's gallery (at least in the sense of what WotC/TSR usually did/does in that category...).

It describes a sort of organization/ pocket domain known as the Carnival. The Carnival is over-all a benevolent organization: In fact, it's run by a celestial.

This book refers the reader to the following products/accessories: Champions of the Mists, The Nightmare Lands Boxed Set, Carnival of Fear novel, Domains of Dread, Ravenloft Monstrous Compendium III, and Van Richten's Guide to Fiends. You can live without them, of course, but for the fullest full story...

The book is constructed as three in-character narratives with the relevant game-speak off in sidebars. In the Carnival setting, a phenomenon called the Twisting makes a long-term resident's outer appearance match his inner nature. Besides already being reflected in the NPC descriptions, twenty examples for how to use the Twisting on PCs are included.

The first chapter is narrated by Tindal, the main barker. He likes the Carnival and conisders the Twisting harsh but fair. He is completely loyal to Isolde. This chapter covers most of the Carnival's more or less good guys among the regular troupers.

The second chapter is narrated by Madame Fortuna, the Gyspy fortune teller. This chapter discusses the Vistani's role in the Carnival. Fortuna is also on Isolde's side. She posits the theory that Isolde is literally an angel.

Chapter three is narrated by Professor Pacali, the barker for the Hall of Horrors. This is the chapter about the Carnival Troupers who could outright be called villains. Pacali hates Isolde and plots against her. He believes her to be a fiend.

The last chapter contains five scenarios.

Finally the absolute last page, gives stats for Isolde. She's a Ghaele, a variety of Greater Eladrin, a Chaotic Good Celestial. As a powerful extraplanar being in Ravenloft, she's effectively a demi-Lord with her own travelling pocket domain.

What's good about it? It's an entertaining read. As I said earlier, most of the book is in-character narration. Also, the chapters open with quotations from literary sources intended to set the tone. In a way, and I mean this mostly as a compliment, and it is not an accusation of anything like plagiarism or unoriginality, it feels as if WotC here took a page from White Wolf of this era's playbook in how to present a supplement.

What's not quite so good? The alleged adventures are more like long adventure hooks. There is a distinct lack of maps or special boxed text meant to be read aloud by the DM attached to the adventures. In this way too, it's like they took a page from White Wolf's playbook on how to present a supplement.

What the ....? moments: Cover copy that downplays Ravenloft nature of the product despite references to: Champions of the Mists, The Nightmare Lands Boxed Set, Carnival of Fear novel, Domains of Dread, Ravenloft Monstrous Compendium III, and Van Richten's Guide to Fiends.

Who should get it? Ravenloft fans; dedicated AD&D 2nd edition DMs looking for something novel to do to the PC group (check out the list of suggested Twisting effects starting on page 27); fans of the carnival noir subgenre of horror (I'm not sure how widespread the term is; I got it from a Nancy Collins column in White Wolf's Inphobia magazine).

Ratings: Using RPG.net's rating system I gave this a 5 out of 5 for style and a 3 out of 5 for substance. On my personal five-star system for over-all quality I give it a 4.

http://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/14/14946.phtml

http://index.rpg.net/display-entry.phtml?mainid=8497

A review of Quasar Issue #38

Quasar #38 Published by Marvel
review by JustiN Taylor

What is it?
A comic book. Glossy Cover. Non-glossy interior. Color throughout. The last story page is numbered 30, but the page numbering system is also including ad pages, so probably around twenty-some odd story pages in actual point of fact. Indicia gives a date of September 1992. Cover has a small logo in the upper right corner indicating this is an Infinity War crossover. Credits are: Mark Gruenwald-- Writer, Greg Capullo-- Penciler, Hary Candelario-- Inker, Janice Chiang-- Letterer, Paul Becton-- Colorist, Kelly Corvese-- Editor, and Tom DeFalco-- Editor Extreme.

Plot Summary: Quasar and a character known as Contemplator are in a place called the Dimension of Manifestations. Quasar returns to Earth; Contemplator elects to stay behind. Upon his return to Earth, Quasar checks in with the Avengers.

The Avengers are off to fight a cosmic disaster of epic proportions (the whole Ininity War thing). Cicrumstances require them to call in extra help from Alpha Flight and the various X-teams plus the Hulk. They mystically teleport to an alien planet.

Adam Warlock and the Infinity Watch are there teamed up with Thanos, a known villain, in order to combat the bigger threat of Magus (the whole Ininity War thing). Things degenerate into the inevitable two-super-teams-meet-each-other-for-the-first-time-and-get-into-a-fight scenario.

There's also a side plot about Quasar's girlfriend stranded on an alien planet.

Tangent: I have a comic box that I labelled Box Infinity. This is not a comment on the size of my collection: Rather, it's the box I use for Marvel-published "cosmic"-flavored books. For example, Silver Surfer, Quasar, Infinity-event (Gauntlet, War, Crusade) crossover issues of any title, and everything Adam Warlock, especially Warlock and the Infinity Watch. One of the reasons I picked up this issue was because it belongs in the Infinity Box for two reasons simultaneously.

What's good about it? There were a few nice little twists on a fairly standard scenario, like Quasar using a force field bubble to delay the almost inevitable fight. Some of the dialogue struck me as decently clever.

What's not quite so good? It's a fairly standard scenario. It's a little bit confusing. Every bit of plot in the book is continued from somewhere. None of these multiple plotlines are resolved completely either.

What the ....? moments: It's a 90's D-list Marvel title tied in to the big crossover event crammed with guest stars, and somehow they manage to leave out Spider-Man, Punisher, and Ghost Rider.

Who should get it? Quasar fans, Adam Warlock fans, and those who absolutely have to have every Infinity War tie-in issue.

Rating: Three stars (on a five star scale).

Method Of Acquisition: Fifty cent box at Apparitions.

Review Of Hardware Issue #1

Review of Hardware Issue #1 Published by Milestone/ DC Comics
Reviewed by JustiN Taylor aka khyron1144

What is it? A comic book. Glossy cover, non-glossy interior. Color throughout. Was originally available in deluxe bagged edition and non-bagged regular edition. Bagged version included a poster, trading card, and other extras.

Plot Summary: Curtis Metcalf is a genius. He works for Edwin Alva. Alva paid Metcalf's way through college, in exchange for him agreeing to work for Alva Technologies.

Curtis finds out Alva is corrupt and tied to organized crime. Curtis builds a suit of super armor and becomes a superhero fighting Alva's criminal enterprises.

I suppose this is as good a place as any to mention that Curtis Metcalf is black, and Edwin Alva is white.

What's good about it? Adding color diversity to superhero comics is a good thing. The script is engaging. Curtis's dialogue is not the exaggerated picture of blackness that say, Marvel's Luke Cage's is.

What's not quite so good? It feels like all set-up for the future and no real action.

What the… ? Moments: Just the basic problem of super armor’s implausibility. Not technologically or physically, but legally and socially. If Bill Gates built what is in effect the next generation of fighter jet in his basement workshop, there is no way the government would let him keep it for his own private use.

Who should get it? Anybody who likes a good story told in comic book form.

Rating: 4 Stars (of five)

Method Of Acquisition: The seventy-five cent box at Tardy's Collector's Corner on Burton Street in Grand Rapids, MI

Review of Youngblood Issue #1 Published by Awesome Comics

Youngblood #1 (published by Awesome) review


What is it? A comic book with a glossy cover and interior and color throughout. Alan Moore is the writer. Steve Skroce is the penciler. Lary Stucker is the inker. Richard Starkings & Comicraft did the letters. The colors were provided by a company called Awesome Colors.

Plot summary: A secret government organization is scheming to get ahold of an alien from another dimension. An alien wiht no physical form of its own that possesses people. It works.

The alien possesses a soldier guy in the secret underground base and escapes. Youngblod, a superhero team gets involved. Suprema, a Supergirl knock-off, gets possessed. There's a fight. The good guys win and Suprema gets unpossessed.

What's good about it? It's done-in-one rather than kicking off a multi-issue story arc.

For a fairly cookie cutter superhero story, it is executed well.

The attempts at witty dialogue actually made me smile.

Steve Skroce's artwork vaguely resembles Rob Liefeld's without being a slavish imitation.

Rob Liefeld's personal involvement with the book seems to be minimal. He simply owns the characters, and he drew one or two of the twelve variant covers.


What's not so good about it? You remember that cookie cutter comment? Well I meant it. This book could have been done almost as well with any of DC or Marvel's superteams, like the JLA or Fantastic Four.

In fact, I think variants on this theme have been done with the Fantastic Four.

The other problem is this is Volume 3, Issue number 1 of Youngblood. Besides being a bad example of the chromium age tendency for excessive first issues of a single property to increase after-market value, it opens with action and contains very little exposition to explain who these characters are and what they do. I have a vague memory of having reading earlier versions of Youngblood, where the team was government sponsored. Now it appears to have gone private. Only two of the team members are at all familiar to me: Shaft and Suprema.

What The...? Moment: Twelve variant covers. That's just excessive. Now aren't we all glad the 90s are over?

Who Needs It? Youngblood fans. Suprema fans. Anyone who wants to see an Alan Moore superhero comic with no obvious element of irony or deconstruction or commentary on the genre.

Rating: 2 stars (on my five-star scale)

Method of Acquisition: 79 cents from the cheap comics bins at The Outer Limits in Wyoming, Michigan

Review of Sidekicks: the Substitute one-shot

Review of Sidekicks: the Substitute one-shot


What is it? A comic book. Glossy color cover, non-glossy black and white interior. Published by Oni Press. Indicia gives a date of July 2002. Written by J. Torres. Art by Takeshi Miyazawa. Lettered by Brian O'Malley.

Plot Summary: There's a high school for super-powered kids. The new substitute teacher is a reformed supervillainess doing community service. She is is initially distrusted and students try to prank her. Hi-jinks and hilarity ensue.

What's Good About It? The dialogue is clever and is where most of the humor comes from. I also like the artwork. The manga-inspired look isn't everybody's cup of tea, but I think it works here.

What's Not So Good about It? This is my first exposure to these characters and I feel it does not make a great jumping on point. I have no idea who these characters are and what their powers and personalities are. I also had some trouble telling them apart visually at times.

What the... Moments: Why manga-style artwork? An indie humor book has enough going against it to not want to limit its audience further, and there's a certain amount of irrational dislike against anime and manga out there.

Who Should Get It? People who like the movie Sky High or the comic PS 238 are likely candidates. Archie fans who also like superheroes. Superhero fans who aren't averse to the high school comedy genre.

Rating: 3 stars (on a 5 star scale)

Method of Acquisition: Part of a five comics for $2 grab bag at 21st Century Comics and Games in East Lansing, MI

Review of Darkseid one-shot

Review of New Year's Evil Darkseid One-Shot


What Is It? Single Issue of a comic book, glossy paper for both the cover and the interior, color throughout. Cover dated February 1998.
Plot summary: Darkseid is missing, presumed dead by some. Desaad is trying to hold together an interim government until Darkseid returns. Virman Vundabar attacks this government, hoping to usurp Darkseid's throne for himself. During the inevitable fight, a giant statue of Darkseid animates and holds the combatants in place, while delivering a stern lecture about how New Genesis is the true enemy.

What's Good About It? The artwork, layouts by Sal Buscema, pencils by Keron Grant, and inks by Ray Kryssing, with letters by John Workman and colors by Noelle Giddings; looks rather sharp. John Byrne is the credited writer and he delivers some dialogue that has wonderfully cheesy melodramatic comic book villain qualities. It also showed off two Apokolips natives, that I'd heard of from Who's Who entries and RPG sourcebooks and similar, but had never actually seen in action: Virman Vundabar and Kanto, the Assassin.

What's Not So Good About It? I have no idea where this Darkseid is kind of, but not really dead storyline comes from. Other than cover date of February 1998 giving me a clue to an approximate era to start looking for back issues from. Nothing in the book mentions what longer-running series this one-shot spins off from or ties into.

What The... Moments? It's a one-shot titled Darkseid, yet Darkseid himself does not make an in-the-flesh appearance onscreen, as such.

Who Needs It? New Gods completists. John Byrne fans. People that want a slightly less complicated take on the New Gods character's than Grant Morrison's handling of them in Final Crisis.

Rating: 2 stars