Review of Marvel Knights #9 (Spoilers)

I've been too harsh on this book. I can't fault it for being the simple, straightforward action book that it is. I don't find the plots engaging (and there are no subplots whatsoever) nor the characterizations interesting (the line-up rocks, but the interaction and dialogue have no meat). As an action book, it satisfies. But being an adult, I need more than a simple, straightforward action book- so I'm just going to move on now that Doc's story arc is done.

Speaking of Doc's story arc- what a dud for his fans! Doctor Strange does absolutely nothing in this last chapter. Nightmare has a little fun with his sword, but he doesn't even say a word. (Some mini-rants: I'm all for superheroes having abilities, but can a person who is totally blind and without Daredevil's senses really swing around a city just following somebody's voice? And what happened to all the thugs at the end?) Anyway, this Doc appearance degenerated into so many others- like in this month's Sentry Vs. The Void- he explains the obvious, and then does bupkis- the Watcher of the mystical part of the Marvel Universe. His line early on says it all: "There is little for us to do but bear witness." (He has no mustache in that panel, btw.)

Posted 31 January 02001 - Permalink

Marvel EIC Quesada on overprinting [Fandom]

Posted 31 January 02001 - Permalink

Infectious enthusiasm for Marvel from Mark Millar (The Authority) [today's Wire]

Posted 30 January 02001 - Permalink

Critical Announcement to All Comic Book Fans

Up for a limited time only, for our reading pleasure and fascination: Alan Moore's pitch to DC in 1987 for Twilight of The Superheroes. A must-read! [The Tomb of Horrors via Ghost in the Machine]

Posted 30 January 02001 - Permalink

First look at Marvel Knights #9- a bright, freaky Nightmare is the cover; nothing about Doc or how his three-part story arc ends [today's Continuum]

Posted 26 January 02001 - Permalink

Marvel unveils a Black Panther website. They should have done this with all of their books years ago.

Marvel comics will have a new look- and, extremely interesting- a new non-rebooted issue numbering system [today's Fandom]

Posted 23 January 02001 - Permalink

Fascinating review of Bob Gale's 01986 screenplay for a Dr. Strange movie [Flixburg archive, by Stax, via Mega at TC]

Posted 20 January 02001 - Permalink

Looks like I've never blogged this: Doctor Strange fan art [Comics2Film]

Posted 19 January 02001 - Permalink

Quick Defenders history [IGN]

Posted 19 January 02001 - Permalink

Marvel's trade paperback list for 02001 (no Doc, except for more copies of Infinity Gauntlet) [Fandom]
Cuts at DC re: AOL-Time Warner merger? [Inside.com via Splash]
Marvel stock bid up 40% [Splash]
Fandom.com lays off 20% (I link to there often, they've started going after fan websites) [press release on Yahoo via Splash]
Stan Lee Media co-founder defends himself re: SEC investigation [article posted on Yahoo Message Boards via Splash once again]

Posted 18 January 02001 - Permalink

Marvel Comics for April, and a Defenders #4 image [Comics Continuum]

Posted 17 January 02001 - Permalink

Weak Day of the Defenders review [Fandom]
Maybe others can dismiss these reprints as "hardly essential reading"- maybe for the Defenders fans, but not Dr. Strange fans! These are critical events in Doc's history at a time when he didn't have his own book. Also, the reviewer displays an arrogant bias against the old-school way of creating comic books that really turns me off.

Posted 16 January 02001 - Permalink

This Defenders #1 review gives B- [X-Axis]
Cover shot of this week's Day of the Defenders reprint book [Mile High Comics]
Both of these links via The Defenders Message Board. They're doing my work for me today!

Posted 15 January 02001 - Permalink

If you're looking for a good read, I recommend Thor #32. It's a 100-Page Monster that came out last month, with some great reprints. (Doctor Strange Connection: In Sorcerer Supreme #38, the Lurking Unknown boldly states, "It took two Asgardians- Thor and Sif- to hand me my sole defeat!" One of the reprinted stories ends up being this defeat.)

Posted 14 January 02001 - Permalink

Another Defenders #1 review: lukewarm buy recommendation [IGN]

Posted 12 January 02001 - Permalink

Review of Defenders Vol. 2 #1 (Spoilers)

I liked it! Kurt and Erik did a great job. Now, to prove that one only nitpicks what one loves:

• The Art. Erik Larsen is not for everyone, I suppose- I chose to suspend judgment, and I'm happy. The art was mostly clean, and filled with energy, good story-telling, and color. Chris Eliopolous was the perfect choice for letterer- he compliments Erik's art.
• Doc's Look. I knew they were going with old-school looks, but I didn't expect Ditko's Asian-esque Doctor Strange (even though Doc's a Westerner). Interesting. Here Erik calls Doc being a dashing white boy a retcon from his monster-book one-shot first appearance, which is a legitimate statement.
• Doc's Portrayal. Fine overall, but I thought he was too unconcerned about the monsters invading the city. At least it was explained: he was fatigued and away from human contact lately. And I expect an ornery or aloof side will probably be played up for the sake of inter-Defenders conflict, which is fine. Still, Doc's more interested in saving lives than that.
• The Enemies. Several appearances of some old-school villains. Fun to see that they're still out there causing trouble.
• Doc's Powers. He didn't do much- the basic blast-and-shield. He figured out the divide-and-conquer solution. We need more creative powers from Doc! Basically, Hulk and Namor are punchers, and Surfer's an energy blaster. Doc just being an energy-blaster too gets boring quick, especially given his potential.
• Defenders In-Group Conflict. I think The Curse is perfect! Keep 'em cursed for a long multi-year run! But the childish in-fighting for little reason could get tiring quick for me (I must really be reading from Doc's perspective!). I'm hoping the in-fighting eventually gets toned down, or given a good reason.

The initial novelty-glow is here, I'm not disappointed. Now the writing/story will take center stage- I'm happy to see where it takes us.

Tweaked 12 January 02001
Posted 10 January 02001 - Permalink

CGC Grading: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly [Third Millennium Entertainment via their newsgroup spam (Dead- no more Deja.com)]

Posted 10 January 02001 - Permalink

The first Defenders #1 review [Fandom]
Note: it's filled with spoilers, and it's not positive (the writer admits a negative bias).

Posted 9 January 02001 - Permalink

Interesting article about CrossGen [Inc.com via Hero Realm News via CrossGen press release]
A good-news story in the comics industry. It's a moronic shame that "dress code" and "getting a book out on time" are equated, though.

Posted 9 January 02001 - Permalink

Here we go!

First look at Defenders #1 [Continuum]

Posted 5 January 02001 - Permalink

The Sermon on the Mount [Warren Ellis on Comic Book Resources]
"...the superhero's cultural and economic dominance of the medium is the same as walking into a bookstore to see nothing but novels about nurses as far as the eye can see."

Posted 4 January 02001 - Permalink

Uh, oh!

Stan Lee Media under SEC inquiry [Quicken/Excite via Splash]

Posted 3 January 02001 - Permalink