Browsing: Retro Review

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!

The Holiday Tradition Continues… It’s time once again to dive into the wonderful world of Asterix – a holiday tradition at Major Spoilers! The druid conference is just around the corner, and all good druids will be there with their golden sickles.

Or – “From The First Crossover, To The Last…  At Least For Now.” Last week, I put on my Retro Goggles to look at a giant-sized blast from the past in Superman Vs. The Amazing Spider-Man.  That first in-universe co-production led to more crossovers, including a proposed Justice League/Avengers crossover which went into production in 1981.  Before the book could see print, though, relations between the Big Two went sour for more than two decades, but fans (and co-creator George Pérez) never lost faith, and eventually the tides of fortune shifted into favor for a new crossover.  But was it…

Or – “Treasury-Sized Comics Were Both A Great And A Terrible Idea…” As with many things, my cousin Elwood was way ahead of my personal curve on comics.  In addition to introducing me to G.I. Joe, Star Wars and the Legion of Super-Heroes (my own copy of That Damned Tabloid was originally his), his comic book collection included this over-sized gem, my first real interaction with (non-television) versions of the mightiest super-heroes of two publishing companies.  what happened the first time the Man of Steel crosses paths with our friendly neighborhood Web-Head?  Your Major Spoilers (Retro) Review awaits!

Or – “The Golden Age Was Full Of Plagiarism!” A couple of months ago, I took a look at Wonder Comics #1, Fox Features’ attempt to cut in on the Superman money train, the first of many heroes to try to replicate the success of the Man Of Steel.  He was, however, certainly NOT the last…  Your Major Spoilers (Retro) Review awaits!

Or – “A Holiday Fright For Ghouls And Boils Alike!” There’s something really fun about a good comic book horror story (or, for that matter, even a BAD one.)  One of my horrifying memories of childhood was in reading a tale of the uncanny in which an unscrupulous pool hustler was somehow transported to a world of giants and crushed by the very 8-ball he used in life.  What was most horrifying was in seeing the giant player rubbing the bit of schmutz that used to be our protagonist on a rag before re-racking his table, seeing a life reduced…

Or – “File This Under A For ‘Ain’t Gettin’ Away With This Kinda Thing Today’…” I completely forgot that a couple of weeks ago was my six-year anniversary of writing for Major Spoilers.  This isn’t really surprising (I forgot October 4th last year as well), given my tendency to live twelve to fourteen seconds at a time, but it always makes me feel bad for not coming up with a spectacular blast of fireworks or something for y’all, the Faithful Spoilerites.  To that end, I racked my brains for something that would make this week’s Retro Review extra-special.  Silver Age…

Or – “The Realities Of A Shared Universe Are That It Is Seldom Really Shared.” Back in 1973 or so, the legendary Joe Simon (creator of Captain America and the other half of the much-admired Simon/Kirby team) returned to DC Comics after a long absence, and proceeded to just go nuts.  One of his most memorable creations was ‘Prez,’ the story of an alternate world where the age for the presidency was lowered to 18, and the first teenager to successfully be elected to the post, a riff on the then-somewhat recent movie ‘Wild In The Streets.’  It was pretty…

Or – “Sure, He’s Shazam Now, But Back In Nineteen-Forty?” There has been some consternation amongst DC fans that the new 52 revival of the character formerly known as Captain Marvel has been redubbed ‘Shazam’ by the publisher, ostensibly because the character is better known by that name to the general public.  Given the Golden Age origins of the character, though, it may be that it’s not just the NAME that needed the update.  Your Major Spoilers (Retro) Review awaits!

Or – “When You Boil It Down, Much Of The Marvel Universe Is About High School…” There is a theory I’ve heard that ‘Buffy The Vampire Slayer’ was popular not because of its supernatural overtones, but that because the series itself was a metaphor for growing up.  I’d have to say that there’s a grain of truth in that (though there are episodes where they try far too hard to hammer that point home, notably much of Season 6) but I don’t think that they’re alone in that department.  The X-Men, significantly, have gotten a lot of mileage out of…

Or – “A Key Bronze Age First Appearance Of A Big-Time Fan Favorite…” Geoff Johns is a talented writer, and he has a knack for bringing characters to life in new and different ways, making them feel fresh and iconic at the same time.  Sometimes, though, it’s interesting to go back to the beginnings and see how some of our favorites started out, like when the episodes of ‘Good Morning, Mrs. Bliss’ end up in ‘Saved By The Bell’ rotation.  Luckily, for everyone involved, there’s a lot less Mr. Belding here…