Or – “The Story That Launched A Thousand Costumes!”
Sure, you know your first appearances and your Silver Age keys. You know where Bizarro showed up and where Luthor lost his hair, and you even know the story of the Gorilla Boss of Gotham City… But do you know the history of the FIRST Super-Girl? Your Major Spoilers (retro) review awaits!
Or – “‘Cause One-Shot Is All He Needs!”
Once again, we set our Retro Review sights on the decade known as the Nineteen-Nineties, a time of internet bubbles, stained blue dresses and irony Oh, the frickin’ irony! Even the Big Two publishers weren’t immune to the snark, which fueled the post-modern engine of Vertigo and turned the Marvel Universe into a Bad-Girl machine. With the Image Comics indy rebellion in full swing, circa ’93, Marvel even dropped some cash to hire Even Dorkin (of ‘Milk & Cheese’ notoriety) to write a super-hero title. Does anybody else smell savage lampoonery? Your Major Spoilers (retro) review awaits!
Or – “A Retro Review First!”
I’ve done a lot of reviews in the past 7 years with Major Spoilers, many of them have been notable for reasons big and small. Some were awful, some sublime, and others were simply inexplicable, but this is the first time, to my memory, that we have reviewed THE ENTIRE OUTPUT of a publishing house in one swell foop. Add in the earliest work by one of the most respected creators of the day AND a first appearance of some characters near and dear to the hearts of many collectors, and we’ve got ourselves a winner. Ladies, gentlemen and various and sundry monstrous monsters, your Major Spoilers (Retro) review awaits!
Or – “Back When Marvel Used To Number Their Heroes For Clarity…”
If you read the Marvel Universe handbooks (something that I always recommend, by the way), you may have noticed that Marvel has an an ongoing series of endless retcons and stories that tell the real truth about the truth about the stories we’ve already seen. Because of that, not only is Steve Rogers not the first Captain America (that would be his revolutionary war ancestor, also named Steve Rogers) but he wasn’t even the first Captain America of the second World War. Still, no matter how many people take up the relatively hideous costume and indestructible shield, Captain America will be more symbol than he is a man. For some he’s a symbol of freedom, to some a symbol of a time long past, but for Jeffrey Mace, Captain America is a symbol of lost opportunities and possibly redemption. You Major Spoilers (retro) review awaits!
Or – “Ironically, Those Suits Clearly Have No Zipper…”
There’s a strange time period between about 1948 and 1959 where comic books entered a strange dormant period, entering what would prove to be a larval state before their chrysalis broke wide open with the dawn of the Silver Age. During that time, a lot of weird comic books made it to print (Captain America’s Weird Tales, anyone?) and a lot of creators struggled to find the formula that would work in the new decade. Of course, there were also those who literally put out precisely the same books that worked in the last decade and hoped that no one would notice… Your Major Spoilers (retro) review awaits!
Or – “No, It’s Not Spelled Mar-Vell At This Point, Thank You Very Much.”
Before 1982, Captain Marvel existed mostly as a way for Marvel Comics to thumb their nose at the Distinguished Competition. What, you ask, would be the story to finally change that situation? I’ll warn you, it ain’t like your average episode of ‘Happy Days.’ Your Major Spoilers (retro) review awaits!
Or – “Comics From Another Time…
When I was young, comic books were a bit different than what you read today. Sure, DC had just rebooted their entire universe, and Marvel was in the spasms of major change because of new ownership and…
Actually, now that you mention it, you’re probably up to speed with that part. One thing was different, though: They could still mention Christmas by name on the cover of the big holiday celebration issues (and perhaps a surprise or two waited inside the books as well.) Your Major Spoilers Super Holiday Spectacular Retro Review awaits!
Or – “What To Do When The Apocalypse Has Come And Gone…”
Well, apparently, Friday was the end of the world as we know it, and now we have to pick up the pieces in a post-apocalyptic world that somehow still has Starbucks drive-throughs and basic cable (although there are no more Twinkies.) Of course, we’ve got it easy compared to the lad called Kamandi, dragged from a bunker into a world of anthropomorphic animals, misshapen mutants and shattered masonry. But it would seem that even in the future world that’s coming, there are still legends of heroes long past. Your Major Spoilers Post-Apocalypse Retro Review awaits!
Or – “They Doesn’t Calls Him ‘The King’ Fer Nuttin!”
Throughout his decades-long career, Jack “King” Kirby worked in nearly every genre of story-telling, and his stories and characters serve as major building blocks for the comics industry (especially the Big Two) even yet today. But have you ever wondered Kirby himself considered to be his best work? Your Major Spoilers (retro) review awaits!
Or – “WOO WOOOOOO! MASS DESTRUCTION!
By the time of this issue, The New Defenders have barely made a name for themselves, but they’ve NEVER seen anything like.. THE WALRUS!
And neither have we… Your Major Spoilers (retro) review awaits!
Or – “Part Of Me Wants To Call Him Tom Welling, For Old Times’ Sake…”
The DC Universe is full of characters who serve as the ‘Dark Mirror’ of their hero, from Bizarro to Professor Zoom to Sinestro himself. Even Man-Bat serves as a kind of revers-o version of his primary character, which begs the question: Does EVERYONE have a backward-self? For at least one Justice Society stalwart, the answer is in these pages. Your Major Spoilers (retro) review awaits!
Or – “Early Work By The Architects Of Comics History…”
It’s always interesting to look at comic creator collaborations, and none has had more impact than Simon and Kirby, creators or co-creators of most of what you love in comics. Joe and Jack worked in all comics genres, from science fiction to romance, but during the 1950s they created a scathing parody of patriotic super-types, still remembered today. Your Major Spoilers (retro) review awaits!