I write comic book reviews that NOBODY has ever asked for!
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After a pretty good start, can DC's post-apocalyptic fish out of water Jonah Hex series manage to stay on the rails for another 6 issues? Let's find out!
HEX
DC (1985 - 1987)
- read moreFace front, true believers! It's another Retro Review edition of Longbox Junk as we take a trip back to 1967 for some Merry Marvel Mutant Madness, guest starring the one and only Wisecracking Wallcrawler, The Sensational Spider-Man!
Sit back and enjoy another comic review nobody ever asked for, brought to you by the Astounding Authorship (AND Humongous Humility) of yours truly!
X-MEN (vol. 1) #35
- read moreTheir nuclear ravaged world NEEDED a hero. . .what it got was. . .HEX
THE SCENE: A meeting room at DC Comics. The year is 1985. Three members (who I won't name) of DC's Editorial and Executive staff sit around a table. Smoke drifts through the air.
MAN #1: (coughs) So, anyway. . .you guys seen Road Warrior?
- read moreAs far as Marvel is concerned, EVERYTHING is better with a little Wolverine in it.
Let's take a trip back to 1995 and put that theory to the test, shall we?
WOLVERINE/GAMBIT: VICTIMS
- read moreTake a look at any "Worst" or "Insane" list involving either Marvel or The Punisher and you'll come across a strange time in Punisher's history when he had killed himself and come back to life with heavenly (READ: Super) powers given to him by an angel (who was responsible for the death of Frank Castle's family and him becoming The Punisher) so that both he and The Punisher could seek redemption in the eyes of Heaven. . .
Needless to say, this new status quo was NOT popular with the fans. , even the much-maligned "Franken-Castle" arc lasted longer. Punisher as a heavenly avenger lasted exactly two 4 issue mini's and a handful of references here and there later on.
This is the second of those mini's and the last time the comics world would see The Punisher in undead heavenly avenger mode. I don't have all the issues of the mini that introduced this idea, but for what it's worth, from what I've read this is the better of the two.
- read moreAs far as popular entertainment goes, "The Western" is a genre that has all but disappeared. Historical research and general hindsight has pretty much washed away the shine that used to glow from the legendary figures of the old west, showing them to be deeply flawed (and for the most part, mentally disturbed) individuals on BOTH sides of the law. The strife between brave cowboys and vile redskins has been revealed as government-sponsored genocide. The heroes have become the villains.
But that hasn't always been the case. There was a time in popular American entertainment when the Cowboy was king. Western movies, T.V. shows, books, and comics were dominated by tales of the wild west. Men of stern character fought to tame a lawless frontier full of outlaws and savage indian tribes.
The "Golden" age of western entertainment is arguably the 1950's. Classic movies such as The Big Country, High Noon, 3:10 to Yuma, Shane, Rio Bravo, and many more ruled the box office. Gunsmoke, Rawhide, The Rifleman, Wagon Train, Maverick, The Lone Ranger, and others were the most popular shows on television. Songs by Gene Autry, Roy Rogers, Tex Ritter, and other "Singing Cowboys" were all over the radio.
- read moreCaptain Phasma has been hyped up by the promotions for both The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi as some sort of awesome and mysterious villain. . .and she DOES look badass with her chrome stormtrooper armor and flowing black cape.
BUT. . .
Let's face it. The hype isn't the truth. Captain Phasma is pretty much the new Star Wars movie's Boba Fett. Sure, she LOOKS awesome, but she has what. . .five minutes total screen time over two movies? That and SPOILER she dies (maybe) a weak- death in The Last Jedi, just like Boba Fett went out like a chump in Return of The Jedi.
- read moreAnd so we finally come to the last batch of Topps' X-Files run. Fair warning, folks. . .it ain't pretty.
This series was never that good to begin with. It has its moments here and there, but generally speaking it's been mediocre at best up until this point. From here to the end of things it gets pretty bad.
These issues coincided with the general collapse of the 90's speculator comic market, and specifically the collapse of Topps Comics in 1998. They also came out when the X-Files T.V. show's popularity began to wane. The show was still high in the ratings, but nowhere near what it had been.
- read more
As I read this next batch of Topps' X-Files comics. . .moving through the second year of the run and into the third. . .I begin to wonder if perhaps I might be bearing witness to a conspiracy over twenty years old.
I've already touched a bit on on the conflict going on in the background of this series that eventually led to the departure of the original writer in favor of one more accepting of the fate of writing a tie-in to a hugely popular T.V. sensation, but not being able to use any of the ideas, storylines, or characters of the source material beyond bare-bones unchanging sketches of the main characters and a basic outline of the show's overall theme.
BUT. . .
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