“Yesterday’s” Comic> Prime #8

I’m not sure I want to know what’s happening here.

Prime #8

Malibu Comics/Ultraverse (January, 1994)

“The Return Of Doctor Gross”

WRITERS: Gerald Jones & Len Strazewski

ARTIST: Norm Breyfogle

COLORING: Keith Conroy & Violent Hues

LETTERER: Tim Eldred

EDITOR: Hank Kanalz

“PRIME” CREATORS: Tom Mason & Len Strazewski

“MANTRA” CREATOR: Mike W. Barr

Prime is burning up in the atmosphere. Unable to see and worried he’ll endanger Prototype more as a heat shield, he tries to wave the armored hero off, but he mistakenly thinks Prime is abandoning him. Using a piece of her cloak she gave him, Mantra and Prime make contact and she guides him to her home, neither of them knowing they live in the same town until Kelly spots him in Eden’s house. She observes the government come for Kevin, who still thinks Samuels is the good guy but here’s nothing either girl can do. The van is attacked by Doctor Gross, the one who gave Kevin his protoplasm body, in one of his own and tries to take Kevin. Mantra steps in to help but is knocked out trying to give Kevin the energy to become Prime, while Kelly is knocked out by a piece of flying debris. Prime is determined to save Mantra when she’s kidnapped by Gross, but when Samuels threatens his family, Prim threatens him. Speaking of his family, dad hears about Prime’s crash and goes to find him, Kevin’s mom still in the dark and the secret may come at the price of their marriage.

What they got right: Kevin is starting to realize who the bad guys are, and it seems to be everyone. The story moves along, Prime gets an ally who knows his secret (in the Ultraforce cartoon it was Hardcase because Mantra never appeared in the show, but Mantra has advantages) and the action is quite good.

What they got wrong: Do they really have to keep the Prototype/Prime feud going?

What else is there: There’s also a back-up story with the Freex, but it’s just them going over their backstory as they see it when they close their eyes. The reading order I’m using marks this as 8b, after issue #10 of Prime, but it has no real bearing on anything.

What I think overall: The story continues in Mantra #7, which I guess I’m going to have to read to find out what happens. It’s a good issue and I’m glad I get to read this series again.