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Terry Hooper-Scharf

Monday 21 August 2023

Current Marvel Comic Titles -Bring Back Shooter!

 I have a full run of volume 1 of Alpha Flight -I continued even after John Byrne left. I tried the "comical" AF years later which is truly abysmal. So I see a new series of AF and being bored thought I'd buy issue 1 to read and complain about.


Incredibly this is good story and art and although Orcis and its anti mutant activities has not been mentioned in Fantastic Four or The Avengers so I had no idea what was going on -but it is explained. My major complaint? Puck is a small person -what people used to call a dwarf- so why is it that no one can draw him as such since Byrne? I know, but it is the only thing I could find to complain about.  

Then there was Uncanny Avengers -never followed the previous version. Orcis again but...art and story were interesting. Even Deadpool (a character I dislike) was better than usual I got confused but then... 


Ah, rechurning the old X-Men Days of Future Past. heh? Well, I got issues 1 and 2 and sat back ready to tear into it.


Oh bloody hell.  I read issue 1 and jumped straight into issue 2 and when I got to the end of that I looked to see when issue 3 was out!  


Good art and good stories and characterisation in all three titles. Would I recommend them? Yes but I am left with a puzzle.  Why are Marvel's supposed flagship titles The Avengers and Fantastic Four not written half as well as these? 

An issue of Avengers takes 2-3 minutes to read and you are left feeling you have just read the text on a postage stamp. Ditto Fantastic Four which so far has been totally uninspiring. The characterisations in both titles is poor at best and the stories stretched from what might have been an interesting one issue to 3 (possibly 5 or 6) issues and you come away asking why you are bothering any more. 

The titles above are well paced, plenty of action and good characterisation and you close the comic wanting more. THAT should be what Avengers and Fantastic Four do. What happened in the last FF? Honestly...I cannot remember. That is how bad it is (oh -I think that was the "FF cameo appearance" issue). The last issue of Avengers? Panther is a self centred, big headed egotist and....the story is not much at all. That the Panther sticks out as the main character in a group book because he is so badly (awfully) written is not good.

Marvel can get good creative teams but not for what used to be its two main titles. 

Bring back Jim Shooter!

2 comments:

  1. Maybe they've turned a corner of some sort... I hope so. Still, I haven't read any 'real' comics in a good few years now. I don't know about bring back Jim Shooter, but certainly bring back good ideas - not just rehashed or completely hashed ones. Let's wait and see... Fingers crossed.

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    Replies
    1. Probably a fluke. Besides they'll kill every character off again and reboot and this will all mean nothing -they do not understand reader investment in characters

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