More Star Wars news, courtesy of Spinoff Online. We get the name of the first spinoff movie (and with a name like Rogue One I’m guessing it’s either Wedge Antilles specifically or some other X-Wing pilot) and a release date for the next chapter of the main story, which may or may not be a bit early.
Somebody attacking a Stark business? Must be a day ending in “y”.
Iron Man #217
Marvel (April, 1987)
“Metamorphosis Oddity” WRITER: David Michelinie PENCILER: Mark Bright INKER/CO-PLOTTER: Bob Layton COLORIST: Julianna Ferriter LETTERER: Janice Chiang EDITOR: Mark Gruenwald
Full disclosure: I am not a horror fan. While I won’t deny anybody any genre (within a certain amount of reason…snuff films can disappear forever, for example), I am not one of those people who enjoy being scared. I don’t go on roller coaster or other high-speed rides that have the goal of scaring someone. I have no problem with the horror genre except that I’m a “hero always wins” kind of guy. I want to see Jason or Freddy punted into a wall by Superman. That’s just who I am. And in some of those movies the hero quite win the way I would like. It’s tough to explain in this short segment so I’m going to move on.
Horror in comics used to be a big thing. Tiles like Tales From The Crypt and Creepshow had a strong enough fanbase that they were made into television shows and movies in the 80s. Even kids like to be scared to a point, which is how R.L. Stein has a career. The trick is to do it without emotionally scarring them for life. But in the ye old days of the Comics Code we had to protect kids from all of the things we didn’t like. Actually, I withdraw my membership from the we. “General Standards part B” of the Comics Code addressed what was acceptable or unacceptable in horror comics. It boiled down to “no horror comics”. IF Charles Murphy really was out to get EC Comics publisher William Gaines as we discussed in the first installment, this is exhibit A.
I thought I was going to have to write something to catch up anyone who hasn’t seen Macross II, but Hulu has all six episodes available (there is also a link to a movie version of the story if you want something shorter), at least as of this writing. I’ll try to give you the basics where needed, though.
Paintball isn’t my idea of a first date, but we all have our own ways.
Macross II: The Micron Conspiracy
Viz Comics (1994)
WRITER: James D. Hudnall ARTIST: Schulhoff Tam COVER DESIGN: Viz Graphics LETTERER: Wayne Truman ASSISTANT EDITORS: Toshifumi Yoshida & Annette Roman EDITORS: Satoru Fujii & Trish LedouxThis one is a bit rare from Viz in that it isn’t a translated Japanese comic, but an original story set after the events of Macross II. Reporter Hibiki Kanzaki is now dating U.N. Spacy agent Silvie Gena after the Marduk invasion. However, a new threat appears in the form of the UNR, a resistance movement that has the police and military working together to stop them. Hibiki is turning up few leads but after Hibiki and Silvie make up from a fight he gets a call that someone wants to meet with him to discuss the UNR. Silvie tags along but what they find are two UNR mecha waiting for them!
What they got right: If you didn’t follow the original anime you may be confused about the Marduk or Ishtar, but after that you know all you need to know to follow the story (and as I recall they aren’t factor in this tale anyway). Instead it introduces the characters briefly for newcomers without bogging things down for fans. (For the record, when I first read this I hadn’t seen the movie or miniseries. I have since seen the movie edit.) The art is very good, in keeping with the art style of the anime.
What they got wrong: This is a nitpick but a one-page history text about the events of Macross II wouldn’t have hurt. Even then, I only mention it because there’s nothing else to complain about this issue.
Recommendation: Thus far this is a decent story, as this issue sets up the important stuff. This is a five-issue miniseries so we will be using the entire week (or at least until Friday) to go over it. This is a decent introduction to things, though.
Marvel has announced a comic that will bridge the gap between Return Of The Jedi and the upcoming The Force Awakens. But Comic Book Resources also announced that C-3PO is getting a story of his own. I need income, darn it!
We’ve replaced the Joker’s computer monitor with a giant hologram sticker. Let’s see if he notices.
Robin II #1
DC Comics (1991)
“The Funniest Thing Happened…” WRITER: Chuck Dixon PENCILER: Tom Lyle INKER: Bob Smith COLORIST: Adrienne Roy LETTERER: Tim Harkins ASSISTANT EDITOR: Kelley Puckett EDITOR: Dennis O’Neil
If you haven’t read his Supergirl/Batgirl comics, you really should.
Have you seen the Supergirl outfit for CBS’s new show?
It’s trying to emulate Man Of Steel on a TV budget. And while it manages to look better than Steelman’s outfit, I prefer my Supergirl with a brighter outfit.
Much better. I went to a mass dedicated to my mom yesterday, so I didn’t have time to do anything clutter-related this for The Clutter Reports. As for this week, if you read the Macross comic review you know that the afternoon comic review will be going over the five issue miniseries Macross II: The Micron Conspiracy, a Viz comics original set after the events of the Macross II sequel series. Macross is a franchise in Japan. We will also be starting the second set of Amalgam comics in the Saturday review slot. Meanwhile, I’m still trying to get my schedule adjusted so I can put stuff out better and try to get some kind of income. Stay tuned, folks.
The Clutter Reports (my other site) Atop The Fourth Wall Crisis On Earth Prime Lean Into Artcast Bully Says “Comics Oughta Be Fun” Siskoid’s Blog of Geekery
Cartoon Hero’s Lair SF Debris Four Million Years Later
