365 Comics...187: The Hypernaturals Vol.1 (2013)

The Hypernaturals debuted on Free Comic Book Day in 2012 with a full length issue followed up two months later with a $1 first issue.  I missed the former and planned to trade wait anyway, but being a huge fan of Abnett & Lanning's Marvel Cosmic I decided for a buck to sneak a peek at their creator-owned cosmic stuff just to be sure it would be worth waiting for.  Dense and epic and fun... oh yeah, this was primo D'n'A.  I eagerly awaited the trade, looking forward to its place on the shelf next to my Nova and Guardians of the Galaxy collected editions.

But a funny thing happened on the release of the trade... I just couldn't bring myself to buy it.  Like the first couple of ultimate Comics Spider-Man trades there was no discount in price between the floppies and the collection, and what's more, the price of the trade at $16.99 is almost doubly expensive than getting the FCBD issue and the $1 first issue followed by the $3.99 second and third issues.

I thought it was a mistake in the printing and checked with my retailer to see if perhaps it was just a mistake, but no... at least not at day and date anyway and I don't see any correction on Amazon either.

Even if the FCBD and first issue were normal priced, the trade is still $1.02 more expensive than buying them from the stand or the bin.  Are trade waiters now being punished for wanting to read more at once (and for not playing the monthly collector game)?  I thought the publishers wanted more trade readers or to use the trade to entice toward the monthlies or to discount the first volume of an addictive series (I immediately wanted more Hypernaturals after reading vol 1) to entice the reader back for more ala Vertigo and Image tactic.  If ever a $9.99 trade was called for it would be here.

365 Comics...186: Dream Thief #2 (2013)

People are heaping a lot of praise on Dream Thief right now, and while I don't want to say it's unwarranted, though it's fast becoming a victim of overhype syndrome.  With the second issue only having just hit the stands last week as well as it being only a limited series, it's kind of jumping the gun to declare its greatness.  From my end, it seems a little Crow-esque, with its spirit of revenge schtick becoming clear, and something more akin to the Black Hood from the old early 90's Impact line from DC, which had a heroic legacy passed down through a mask (both of which were the inspiration for a character I developed in high school, which is what I was reminded of instantly when certain tidbits were revealed this second issue).  The story has some nice spins on those Crow/Black Hood ideas, but it's not as crafty as I had been led to believe by the overeager comics blogosphere, and it's not blowing me out of the water as it seems it is a great many others... at least not concept-wise.  Greg Smallwood's art, on the other hand, is rather fab.  In the same line as a Michael Lark or Sean Philips or Terry Beatty (in the Wild Dog strips from Action Comics Weekly) or Steve Lieber (see 365 Comics #185) his figure work takes focus of most panels,body language and facial expressions being key story accents, but his page layouts are exceptionally thoughtful and often clever, and generally quite appealing to follow along with.  I'm certainly not writing this mini-series off, but I just want the praise hounds to temper it a little bit... it's a solid, entertaining crime book, people should read it, but it's not going to change any lives and it's not going to cause any revolutions.  It's just a fun read, let's not go overboard.

365 Comics...185: The Superior Foes of Spider-Man #1 (2013)

As I may or may not have stated before, Spider-Man isn't my bag, and yet I'll often peek into Spidey-type things with a keen eye when it's the Sinister Syndicate/Sinister Six.  This stems back to the early 90's Deadly Foes of Spider-Man mini-series which I picked up and quite adored, though I can think of no real reason for either picking it up or adoring it so.

Nick Spencer and Steve Lieber's revival triggers that same sense of glee in me.  It's not like the Suicide Squad, Secret Six, or Thunderbolts, which feel big-time in comparison, no, this is more akin to Great Lakes Avengers or Justice League Antarctica, a group of also-ran villains who would find it difficult to find a slot in Spider-Man's rogues gallery.  They're super powered (or often not even) crooks, almost not even bad guys.

Spencer adopts a semi-comedic tone, getting into the head of Boomerang, the gimmicky criminal who leads a group called the Sinister Six that has only five members.  Tells you a lot right there.  Lieber, who I've dug since he cropped up on Hawkman back in the early nineties, nails the comedic tone of the book expertly and negotiates densely structured, multi-paneled pages with ease.  His pages square up nicely with Marcos Martin's crafty cover, shifting his style somewhat to be quite clean. It's a highly entertaining book, though surprising as an ongoing, but it makes me wonder why DC has never been ballsy enough to do a Flash Rogues ongoing in much the same vein.

While the last thing I really need is another title to add to my monthly pulls, I'll give this a couple just because it's so entertaining.  There's no "must read" feel to it, but it puts a pretty good smile on my face and provides more than a few chuckles.

365 Comics...184: Captain America and the Falcon #10 (2005)

Just by sheer randomness the last three books on 365 Comics all featured Captain America and MODOK.  I honestly didn't realize that these two characters were so entwined.  I picked up these books this past weekend from a huge 3/$1 bin sale.  Captain America and the Falcon #10 is part of my attempt to catch up on Christopher Priest-written books, Marvel Two-In-One #82 was a natural since it is probably my favourite childhood Marvel book, despite only having a couple issues (and one of those giant Essential collections.. easy and affordable, but it's just not the same in black and white and without colour and the ads), and then the Captain America #315 was a little something for my wife, a longtime Cap fan.  My 4-year-old was with me and dug out some Masters of the Universe comics as well as took a shining to a half-dozen Power Pack issues.

Seriously, though, it's kind of fun seeing MODOK through the years, with the 80's, 90's and 00's versions all represented here.  The 80's version was really charcoal grey, which was either a limitation of the era's colour reproduction or a choice to try and make him less, I dunno, vibrant and cartoony.  The 90's MODOK, well, as I noted two entries back, was dead and naked on a slab in a coroner's office, so really, he looked like I've never seen him before.  MODOK here, in the mid-aughts version, is, well, decidedly over-rendered and creepily re-designed to be thinner by Joe Bennett.  Extreme MODOK everybody!

But then again, this MODOK isn't quite MODOK apparently.  I don't know, this issue is the third part of four, and frankly, out of context, makes little sense at all (I'm hopeful it makes more sense as a part of the whole).  Cap is in plainclothes fighting MODOK with... someone from SHIELD (Hill?) yelling in his ear.  Meanwhile Falcon is taking on a cartel with some other Cap (Anti-Cap) in tow but I was never clear to what end.  Really, it's just not a stand-alone read, and fair enough.

Oh, I forgot another MODOK turns up on the final page, only a regular-sized dude in a blue suit... his cranium is a bit bigger than an average person (but not Leader or Hector Hammond big) and he levitates and creates that crackling bad-news energy around him.  The caption underneath: "Next
: I, MODOK"

365 Comics...183: Marvel Two-In-One #82 (1981)

Oh no!  Ben Grimm's been poisoned by MODOK (him again) and he's starting to mutate, gettin' even uglier than he already is.  Weakened from his previous battle and the virus, he stumbles around the streets of New York, across the path of some street toughs who think they can make their rep if they take out a superhero.  Unfortunately for them a) the Thing in any state is pretty damn tough, and b) that was Steve Rogers they just passed right there.  Captain America comes to the Thing's aide (not that he really needs it) and helps him on his way to the FF HQ where Reed Richards and Giant Man are on hand to help out.  What they discover is not only is Ben Grimm mutating, but he's also dying.

Giant Man consoles a raging Thing, he himself also dying.  The two join forces to hunt down a cure from MODOK and AIM, meeting up with Cap, and and teleporting to an arctic fortress facing off against MODOK, the funky-suited AIM-guys and a giant 6-teeted Thing-like rock monster.  Giant Man finds the cure that could save him and Ben both, but in the melee it's container is damaged, and naturally, he gives up his own salvation for Ben's well being before moping off to the tune of Christmas Time is Here.

365 Comics...182: Captain America #315 (1986)

Did you ever wonder what a dead, naked MODOK looked like?  You're welcome.

This issue of Cap is ridiculous amounts of ridiculous fun.  The Serpent Society (a rather massive group of snake-based mercenaries), having killed MODOK two issues back, now steal his body from the ME to recieve their $100k commission from AIM.  While at AIM HQ they come across the washed-up villain Porcupine attempting to sell his suit to help find his retirement.  We spend some time learning the inner workings of the Serpent Society and then some time inside the head of a now distressed, depressed and desperate Porcupine (learning of his silly origin and his pathetic criminal career.

Porcupine finally contacts his old foe Cap and offers to sell him the suit to keep out of the hands of the criminal underworld, but Cap has another plan:  fake like the Porcupine has captured him and offer him up to the Serpent Society (who Cap has been trying to get a lead on for months).

Cap's plan is flimsy and winds up getting Porcupine killed and barely any closer to understanding or stopping the Society.  Oddly Cap has no remorse guilt over the Porcupine's death, despite having really forced him into a scenario he didn't want to be in in the first place.

Even more odd, Steve Rogers' job is as artist of Captain America comics.  What?!

365 Comics...181: The Micronauts #20 (1980)

I love the cover to this book.  I wasn't ever much of a Micronauts fan (the toys were a few years before my time) and my only previous exposure to them was a single issue I had as a kid (#3 iirc).  Despite all the signs I didn't realize what the "micro" in Micronauts was referring to, nor the subtitle "they came from inner space".  I just never spent any time thinking about it and that one issue that I had didn't seem to tip the younger me off to their microscopic nature.  It really wasn't until seeing this issue's cover with the Micronuts and Ant-Man facing a horde of mutant bugs on a grocery store shelf that it came into perspective for me.  A real "aha, boy am I dumb" moment.

The cover is a true representation of what happens this issue and it's terrific fun, as can usually be expected from a Bill Mantlo script.  I'm not sure how often the Micronuts cross paths with the rest of the Marvel U but it makes them more interesting knowing they're a part of continuity.  Though given their size, I'm wondering how Bug joined with the Guardians of the Galaxy a few years back during various Annihilation adventures.  Reading the copyright notice it's interesting to note which of the characters are copyright of Mego (who owns Mego's copyrights these days anyway?) and by default which belong to Marvel.