Category Archives: Retro Review

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RETRO REVIEW: Deadpool #11 (December 1997)

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Or – “What Is The Deal With Blind Al, Anyway?”

This week’s Deadpool cameo in X-Men got me thinking about his status as a 90′s refugee, generally believed to be the only thing of worth to come out of X-Force.  (That one guy with purple skin who proved that Cannonball was immortal comes in a distant second, followed by “all the other stuff that happened in X-Force.”)  His first appearances are among the few remaining gems of the speculator age, and even those who aren’t fans of the character generally enjoy his wackiness.  I went looking in my back issue bins for interesting Deadpool stories, and I was a little bit stunned at what I found…

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RETRO REVIEW: The Monkees #8 (January 1968)

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Or – “It Must Be Said That I’ve Never Personally Heard Anyone Say They Monkey Around…”

This has been a pretty disheartening week for Monkees fans, due to the untimely loss of Davy Jones.  But at least we have the minor upside of the sudden change of heart amongst the general internet community regarding their work.  The so-called Prefab Four prefigured popular culture by nearly half a century, be it in television, music or the fabulous stream of consciousness tour de force that is their movie, ‘Head’, and I take a tiny bit of hipster pride in watching the tides of opinion turning in The Monkees favor.  Of course, back in the boys’ heyday, their fame and fortune extended into the realm of comics as well…

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RETRO REVIEW: Ghost Rider #1 (September 1973)

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Or – “What All The Hubbub Has Been About…”

Back in 1971, Gary Friedrich was one of Marvel’s celebrated Bullpen, working on such comic-book stalwarts as The Incredible Hulk, Captain America and a the pre-Wolverine (and just barely pre-cancellation) Uncanny X-Men. His co-creation of Ghost Rider in Marvel Spotlight #5 was one of the bellwethers of a phenomenon of monster anti-heroes in comics, and cemented the flaming-skulled cyclist as one of Marvel’s most recognizable second-tier heroes. (As an aside, he created an earlier hero with a similar gimmick, the short-lived Hell-Rider.)

With the recent ruling in Gary’s lawsuit against Marvel, I thought it might be a good time to take a look in the Longbox Of Doom at the stories over which this legal battle has been waged…

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RETRO REVIEW: The Question #17 (June 1988)

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Or – “Six Degrees Of Walter Kovacs…”

With all the recent talk about a Watchmen prequel, I started thinking about the days before Watchmen was an untouchable institution, before it was a movie, even before it was a million-selling trade paperback.  I started thinking about the days when Watchmen had an official DC Role-Playing Game supplement, when talk of action figures had us all in a rage, when DC actually DID an in-continuity sequel to Watchmen and–

Oh, wait.  You hadn’t heard about that last one?  Well, looks like we have something to talk about, don’t we?

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RETRO REVIEW: Prize Comics #24 (October 1942)

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Or – “What They Were Like Before Alex Ross…”

Remember when the Avengers came together to deal with the menace of the Hulk?

Did you know that somebody else did the same thing almost 20 years earlier?

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RETRO REVIEW: NFL SuperPro #1 (October 1991)

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Or – “In Honor Of That Whose Name Must Not Be Spoken.  (No, Not Voldemort.)”



TIME FOR THE HALFTIME SHOOOOW! For those who didn’t know, there’s a copyrighted sports event happening in the states this evening, involving teams of guys with helmets engaging in ritual combat to control 300 yards of territory a little bit at a time.  Whatever else happens during the game, at least we know it will be more entertaining than today’s Retro Review.  The numbers prove it.

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RETRO REVIEW: Detective Comics #241 (March 1957)

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Or – “The Lacuna Between Golden And Silver Ages…”

In my mind, the beginning of the Silver Age of Comics is marked by Showcase #4, the first appearance of Barry Allen, in late 1956.  (Some people mark it with the first appearance of J’onn J’onzz in 1955 or Captain Comet in 1951.)  But as with any of the nebulous ages of comics, true Silver Age story-telling didn’t kick in all at once, allowing certain characters to keep up their late-Golden Age antics for many years.  This is one of the most fondly-remembered issues of that weird negative zone of comics (by fans AND by Bat-Mite) but the real reason that we’re covering it is that my seven-year-old keeps asking, “When are you going to write about that story where Batman has the cool rainbow suit?”

Guess there’s no time like the present, unless you’re one of the future people…

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RETRO REVIEW: Kill Your Boyfriend (June 1995)

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Or – “Sex & Violence And All That Other Fun Stuff…”

My recent review of Bomb Queen got me thinking about adult themes in comics.  When handled well, they can mean the difference between Captain Atom and Doctor Manhattan.  When utilized poorly, we can be faced with ‘Sultry Teenage Super-Foxes.’  (I wouldn’t necessarily google that one.)  In the early days of Vertigo, Grant Morrison took advantage of the Mature Readers tag, channeled the spirit of the (then-recent) ‘Natural Born Killers,’ and went for broke with a story that I remember fondly to this day…

**This Retro Review is Grant Morrison writing for the adult-oriented Vertigo Line, which is short-hand for Adult Themes, Content and Strong Language.  If you are offended by such things, please DO NOT click the link.**

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RETRO REVIEW: Master Of Kung-Fu #50 (March 1977)

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Or – “Lost Classics Of Days Gone By…”

One of my duties at the comic shop (Gatekeeper Hobbies, Huntoon & Gage, Topeka!  Ask us about our Warhammer Tournament!) is to keep the back issue bins fully stocked with, as bossman Deon puts it, “comics that somebody will actually ever BUY.”  This often proves difficult for me, as I remember the awesomeness about most all the books in our bins (with the possible exception of Team Youngblood) and my natural instinct is to keep awesome cult titles like Howard The Duck readily available to the reading public.  Today, Deon and I culled some deadweight out of the “L” and “M” sections of the back issue bins, and while I allowed him to make drastic cuts in the number of Legion of Super-Heroes titles (only for space reasons), I refused to remove the tab for “Master of Kung-Fu.”  When he asked me why, I told him that my answer would be available this evening at Major Spoilers…

Hi, Deon!  Here’s why:

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RETRO REVIEW: Superman’s Girlfriend Lois Lane #106 (November 1970)

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Or – “I Suppose Their Hearts Were In The Right Place…”

In one of  our Major Spoilers Podcasts, Stephen, Rodrigo and I talked about when the various ages of comics began.  I believed (still do, actually) that the Bronze Age began when Neal Adams & Denny O’Neil crafted Green Lantern #76 back in 1970, with it’s echoing query for the Emerald Gladiator about working for blue skins and saving orange skins, but having no concern for the plight of skin-colors right here on Earth.  That book came out in the early months of 1970, and ushered in a period of issue-awareness in comic books, and many of the best tales of the Bronze Age took those themes and ran with them.

Also because of Green Lantern #76, this book happened…

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RETRO REVIEW: Saga Of The Swamp Thing #34 (March 1985)

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Or – “…And A New Beginning.”

And Welcome to the New Year!  (Sorry, I’m not going to kiss you.  I’m a happily married man, after all.  But, that doesn’t mean there isn’t some kissing to be had, Faithful Spoilerite.)

Often, when I consider what comics I want to Retro Review, I find myself gravitating towards the years wherein I really discovered comics as an art form, circa my early teens in the mid-Reagan-era.  When I started thinking about what book would make the perfect start for a new year full of promise and high hopes, one thing was certain:  Alan Moore would almost certainly be involved.

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RETRO REVIEW: X-Statix #26 (October 2003)

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Or – “To All Things, An Ending…”

As with any year, 2011 has it’s detractors and it’s proponents, but for me, it was kind of a wash.  Not as venomous as 2006, nor as wonderful as 2004, the year before the Mayan end-times but after we make contact is like a 70′s George Carlin guest-host episode of the ‘Tonight Show.’  Sure, it’s two things you like, but neither is quite at its best.  Still, the end of ’11 has gotten me thinking how most comics don’t actually GET one, and how a really well-crafted ending is an ever rarer beast indeed.  Thus, I give you X-Statix swan song.

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