Cyberspace Comics market report, reviews and more

Because publishers want you to buy their product every month, comics are typically serial in nature. However, occasionally (and more often nowadays than ever before) publishers launch a comic title that is only meant to last for one issue. While ongoing series often have multiple chances to hook in new readers, the comics highlighted in this ongoing investigations only had One-Shot At Greatness!

Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Date: February 1994
Cover Price: $1.75
Writer: Dwayne McDuffie
Artist: M.D. Bright

A Minority Business Seminar at New York’s Empire State University takes Monica Rambeau (aka Captain Marvel; Photon; Pulsar) away from running her New Orleans shipping line for a few days. While on campus, she comes across emerging racial tensions fostered by the Sons of the Serpente – a white supremacist group. The Sons have been stirring up problems in the Marvel Universe since the “silver age” of comics but this time around, they’re being led by Skinhead (a Nazi villain previously seen in Web of Spider-Man). With some inside information from Rocket Racer (an ESU student and fellow super-hero), Captain Marvel is able to engineer the defeat of the racist villain – and hopefully begin his reformation.

This one-shot served several functions. Story-wise, it closed a loose end from a Spider-Man story and also spotlighted Monica’s learning process as she continued to learn the limits of her abilities, after having been depowered. It also walks the fine line between being entertaining and being preachy. Not that this is a rare occurence – especially for comics of the 80s and 90s (other books warned about guns, HIV/AIDS, smoking, sexual predators, and even land mines). But, when all is said and done, it’s a nice little bit of history in the life of Monica Rambeau (I’ve got a sweet spot for her from her time in the Avengers), written by the late Dwayne McDuffie and illustrated by the always-great Mark Bright.

On Ebay: Captain Marvel | Dwayne McDuffie | M.D. Bright
On AtomicAvenue: Captain Marvel

Because publishers want you to buy their product every month, comics are typically serial in nature. However, occasionally (and more often nowadays than ever before) publishers launch a comic title that is only meant to last for one issue. While ongoing series often have multiple chances to hook in new readers, the comics highlighted in this ongoing investigations only had One-Shot At Greatness!

Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Date: July 2000
Cover Price: $2.25
Writer: Mark Millar
Artist: Sean Phillips & Duncan Fegredo

In 2000, Marvel published a series of one-shots that revealed what Marvel Comics would be like in the Marvel Universe.

A team of death row mutants is assembled by Colonel America of the Weapon X Program to take on covert anti-terrorist operations that the mainstream super-teams don’t want to handle. An Avengers Quinjet carrying Iron Man and the most advanced nuclear bomb has been hijacked by Doctor Strange – the self-proclaimed mutant messiah. Now, Wolverine, Cyclops, Iceman, Goblyn Queen, Mastermind and Deathbird have to take on Strange and his cannibalistic Church of the Splitting Atom. Will the team make it out alive?

Mark Millar puts together a suicide squad of X-Characters for this macho-fest. Lots of gritting teeth and tough-guy posturing. He took an interesting approach by putting villains and heroes on the X-Men team – because, really, to the average guy on the street witnessing these super-battles in the Marvel Universe – who’s going to know who’s on what side? Artwise – this book is quite bad. I don’t know whether to blame Phillips or Fegredo (because I’ve seen them both produce some nice work) so I’ll just say that perhaps the combination of their styles is just not meant to be. I think the coolest part of this story is the potential for others. Colonel America claims to have over 600 other mutants – this story concept could lead to all kinds of match-ups and high-stakes situations.

On Ebay: Marvels Comics | X-Men | Mark Millar | Sean Phillips
On AtomicAvenue: Marvels Comics

Because publishers want you to buy their product every month, comics are typically serial in nature. However, occasionally (and more often nowadays than ever before) publishers launch a comic title that is only meant to last for one issue. While ongoing series often have multiple chances to hook in new readers, the comics highlighted in this ongoing investigations only had One-Shot At Greatness!

Publisher: Amalgam Comics
Cover Date: April 1996
Cover Price: $1.95
Writer: Karl Kesel with Barbara Kesel
Artist: Roger Cruz

When the DC and Marvel Universes merged in Marvel vs DC, a new one was created: the Amalgam Universe. This one-shot combined Doom Patrol with X-Force.

A soldier from the future (Niles Cable) and a wealthy, size-changing heroine from the present (Janet Van Dyne, Elasti-Girl) gather a group of heroes together in the hope of creating a different, better future for mankind. The group includes Shatterstarfire (a combination of Shatterstar and Starfire), Beastling (the Beast & Beast Boy), Dial H.U.S.K. (Husk & Dial H For Hero), and Ferro Man (Colossus & Ferro). Their first mission is to stop Doctor Doomsday before he can create an army of super-powered humans from alternate dimensions.

Here’s another standard origin story. Not only does it show the creation of the team but, a page is dedicated to each member’s origin, as well. There’s a little bit of action at the end but the real star here is characterization. Beastling and Elasti-Girl are fleshed out enough in just a few pages to create a lot of fun (and even some depth). That, coupled with the great slick art would bring me back for a second issue.

On Ebay: Amalgam | Karl Kesel | Barbara Kesel | Roger Cruz
On AtomicAvenue: Amalgam Comics

Because publishers want you to buy their product every month, comics are typically serial in nature. However, occasionally (and more often nowadays than ever before) publishers launch a comic title that is only meant to last for one issue. While ongoing series often have multiple chances to hook in new readers, the comics highlighted in this ongoing investigations only had One-Shot At Greatness!

Publisher: Epic Comics
Cover Date: 1992
Cover Price: $2.25
Writer: Steve Purcell
Artist: Steve Purcell

Sam & Max are a dog & rabbit duo of madness. In this adventure, they’re called to a case on the moon! So, they happily drive there by filling their exhaust pipe with matches and setting them ablaze. Once they arrive at the city of mice on the lunar surface they’re filled in on the situation: lots of mice children are going missing! So, Sam & Max set out beyond the city’s walls to find out what’s going on. They discover a city of enormous cockroaches are EATING the mice children! Yikes! Their solution? Ship all of Earth’s garbage to the cockroach city for them to eat – solves everyone’s problems right?

…. until the cockroaches on Earth start complaining…

It’s madness. Utter madness! I get that this is a humor book. I really do – but, I think it’s a humor that I don’t really get much enjoyment out of – it’s nonsense for nonsense’s sake. TONS of nonsense. Artistically, it’s extremely well-detailed. There’s plenty of stuff going on in the background that you can analyze, at length. And, the tone of the book seems fun and appealing – I just don’t click with the humor. So, I can’t recommend it, personally – but that’s not to say that you won’t enjoy it.

On Ebay: Sam & Max

Because publishers want you to buy their product every month, comics are typically serial in nature. However, occasionally (and more often nowadays than ever before) publishers launch a comic title that is only meant to last for one issue. While ongoing series often have multiple chances to hook in new readers, the comics highlighted in this ongoing investigations only had One-Shot At Greatness!

Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Date: July 2010
Cover Price: $2.99
Writer: Anthony Johnston
Artist: Sean Chen

A team-up between Power Man (aka Luke Cage) and Daredevil against some local street thugs takes a turn for the worse when the last criminal standing pulls a gun on “the Man Without Fear”. Cage jumps to the rescue by crushing the barrel of the gun with his bare hand – rendering it useless. Later, when the two heroes are discussing how the tussle escalated, Luke Cage seems to imply that Daredevil should be more cautious since he isn’t invulnerable. The notion of Cage giving him a warning irritates DD, so he challenges Power Man to a duel – the loser donates $1,000 to the winner’s charity of choice.

But, as is often the case with these hero vs hero battles, something happens that alters the “fairness” of the fight. Realistically, Marvel can’t publish a story where one hero actually beats another in a fair fight without getting the loser’s fans upset – so, the writer is often challenged to come up with a way around the notion of a “fair fight”. Not, that I was expecting anything different – but it would have been nice if the story managed to break that mold. Besides the expected non-decisive ending, the characterization was spot on and the art was good, too. If you’re looking for some nostalgic-inducing, just-plain-fun comics then this is for you!

On Ebay: Daredevil | Luke Cage
On AtomicAvenue: Daredevil | Cage

Because publishers want you to buy their product every month, comics are typically serial in nature. However, occasionally (and more often nowadays than ever before) publishers launch a comic title that is only meant to last for one issue. While ongoing series often have multiple chances to hook in new readers, the comics highlighted in this ongoing investigations only had One-Shot At Greatness!

Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Date: July 2000
Cover Price: $2.25
Writer: Ty Templeton
Artist: Derec Aucoin

In 2000, Marvel published a series of one-shots that revealed what Marvel Comics would be like in the Marvel Universe.

Just like the Thor we’ve come to know, this Thor fights criminals with a lightning-summoning hammer and a speaks in a manner different than our every-day lanuage. But, when he gets back to his home base, we discover that his speech is actually quite normal – he puts on a show in public. And, the lightning coming from his hammer is actually an electronic charge.

His real name is Donald Jolson, and he’s actually the second person to become the crimefighter named Thor. Owen, the first Thor, bequeathed the name, costume and weaponry to his youngest son after a battle with the Destroyer (controlled by Owen’s brother, Vi) permanently damaged his leg. Now, the Destroyer is being controlled by Don’s older brother, Leonard. And, you can bet that Len’s not too happy that he was passed up for the Thor position. Can this new Thor defeat the one foe his father could not?

There’s a lot packed in here. First, they’ve got to cover the origin of the first Thor and how his powers work. Then, they’ve got to establish how the position of Thor was handed down to Don, upsetting his older brother, Len. All this set up goes towards the payoff – a showdown between the brothers!

Ultimately, it is fun to see how closely this mirrors the Thor mythos we’ve come to know, incorporating the relationships with his father Odin and his jaded brother, Loki. And, while this does give a “real-world” feel to how creators in the Marvel Universe might portray Thor, it does take away the root of what makes Thor stories enjoyable – the grand mythology behind it all. This version offers no feeling of storied mythology and turns the story of Thor into just another average super-hero tale.

On Ebay: Marvels Comics | Thor | Ty Templeton | Derec Aucoin
On AtomicAvenue: Marvels Comics

Because publishers want you to buy their product every month, comics are typically serial in nature. However, occasionally (and more often nowadays than ever before) publishers launch a comic title that is only meant to last for one issue. While ongoing series often have multiple chances to hook in new readers, the comics highlighted in this ongoing investigations only had One-Shot At Greatness!

Publisher: Amalgam Comics
Cover Date: April 1996
Cover Price: $1.95
Writer: Mark Waid
Artist: Dave Gibbons

When the DC and Marvel Universes merged in Marvel vs DC, a new one was created: the Amalgam Universe. This one-shot combined Superman with Captain America.

After a space rocket landed in 1938, the government scavenged the alien corpses within. They added their findings to the Super Soldier formula, and created America’s top-performing WWII hero: Super Soldier! Fifty years later, the Super Soldier has returned to defeat the one villain he could not defeat: Ultra-Metallo. This time, Lex Luthor has planted a bomb within Ultra-Metallo’s chest and set him on course for the Oval Office. Once he reaches the White House, the bomb will automatically trigger, devastating Washington, D.C. But, how can Super Soldier hope to defeat the mechanical powerhouse, when it’s also equipped with a large portion of Green K (aka Kryptonite)?

Mark Waid’s crafted a morbidly-interesting fuse between the origins of Supes & Cap with this book. Unfortunately, the rest of the story isn’t all that engaging. Sure, Super-Soldier has to stop a seemingly unstoppable villain from reaching the White House but, besides the action, not much room is given to the main hero’s characterization. I think it’d be more interesting to spend some story-time on what it’d be like to wake up in a world that’s 50 years more advanced than you last knew it. Besides that, there’s no real sub-plot that needs a conclusion – so, even if there was an issue #2, I wouldn’t be all that enticed to pick it up.

On Ebay: Amalgam | Mark Waid | Dave Gibbons
On AtomicAvenue: Amalgam Comics

Because publishers want you to buy their product every month, comics are typically serial in nature. However, occasionally (and more often nowadays than ever before) publishers launch a comic title that is only meant to last for one issue. While ongoing series often have multiple chances to hook in new readers, the comics highlighted in this ongoing investigations only had One-Shot At Greatness!

Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Date: February 2009
Cover Price: $3.99
Writer: Matt Fraction
Artist: Dan Brereton, Doug Braithwaite, Mike Allred, Miguel Sepulveda

The Mighty Thor, Balder the Brave and Loki the Deceiver all discover that their memories of an Asgardian named Skurge don’t add up. Each has a different perception of the man. Balder remembers him as a poet. Thor remembers him as a cobbler and Loki remembers Skurge as an old hag. Upon comparing their memories, the three decide to set out to discover who the true Skurge really was. To complete their quest, the three Asgardians travel through the dark realm of Hela, are beset by a legion of dark elves and storm giants – all before they come to their destination: Yggdrasil.

There they rediscover who Skurge is. Skurge the Executioner. The at-times-villainous lover of the Amora the Enchantress who gave up his life that Thor, Balder and many others might live (in a classic tale by Walter Simonson which is reprinted in this very book). With the memory of her lover’s death no longer bearable, the Enchantress has begun to recreate Skurge out of Yggdrasil itself, the World-Tree of the Nine Worlds. But, what she doesn’t quite understand in her grief-stricken state is that cleaving his form from the tree could endanger the very existence of everything! And, if she does understand it … it’s clear that she doesn’t care. Now, it’s up to our heroes (and our villain) to defeat Amora before she can undo existence as we know it.

This tale is separated into four parts, each individually rendered by vastly different artists. The first part recaps the classic Simonson tale with art by Dan Brereton. Doug Braithwaite handles the part of the story where the three protagonists discover their warped memories. Thirdly, Mike Allred draws their quest through dangers to reach their target leaving Miguel Angel Sepulveda to illustrate the conclusion. All of the artists are able to generate an incredible feeling of myth-making in this story … all, that is, except for Allred’s silver-agey hero look that seems strangely out of place amongst the other art styles. Matt Fraction‘s story is a great mix of action, adventure, mythical scope and a strong feeling of loss that many of us can relate to. But, most importantly, there is a strong sense of tribute here. Tribute to a man who died as a hero. Tribute to a character who’s death is still honored (as of this post, he’s stayed “dead” for 25 years – a rare feat in the comics world). And tribute to Walter Simonson, himself – a creator who’s run on Thor is still regarded as one of the most important takes on the character.

On Ebay: Thor | Matt Fraction | Mike Allred | Dan Brereton
On AtomicAvenue: Thor

Because publishers want you to buy their product every month, comics are typically serial in nature. However, occasionally (and more often nowadays than ever before) publishers launch a comic title that is only meant to last for one issue. While ongoing series often have multiple chances to hook in new readers, the comics highlighted in this ongoing investigations only had One-Shot At Greatness!

Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Date: June 2008
Cover Price: $3.99
Writer: Matt Fraction
Artist: Patrick Zircher

During the era of the Third Ragnarok, an attack on Asgard by Frost Giants left an enormous hole in the gleaming city’s exterior wall. And, though the giants were fended off, the Asgardians could not leave such a breach in their defenses open for very long. Fortunately, a humble mason from Earth found his way across Bifrost the Rainbow Bridge and offered to rebuild the wall within a year. In return, he asked for the hand of Amora the Enchantress. The Asgardians laughed at him and made him a counteroffer: if he could finish in six months (an impossible task – they thought), he’d have Amora along with the sun and the moon. When the six months were up, the mason had laid all but a few bricks. And, when the Asgardians refused him his winnings, he revealed his true guise: that of a Frost Giant. A survivor of the previous battle who intended to take his revenge. Unfortunately for him, he was quickly defeated by Thor who then went out and slaughtered even more Frost Giants; later, he paraded their heads through the streets of Asgard.

Eight eras later, Loki tricked the Enchantress and gave her away to the Frost Giants in return for 100 days of food. Back in Asgard, without the Enchantress to pick he golden apples that provided their immortality, the Asgardians began to worry about their continued health. Threatening Loki’s very life, Odin commanded that he retrieve Amora from the giants. But, neither Loki nor Amora could engineer such a challenge and Thor had to come to their rescue. And, while both of these victories might be cause for celebration, Odin notes that his son’s arrogance continues to grow. Perhaps a lesson in humility will be in order?

Both of these tales can stand alone but it’s clear that they’re building to something grander. Thor’s attitude is certainly in need of adjustment but he keeps coming to the Asgardians’ rescue. That’s a hard balance to maintain. The artwork and flowery narration wonderfully combine together to create a true feeling of myth-making. This isn’t Thor, the super-hero. No. This takes place eons before the Thor we know today. But, despite that, it’s great to see an early tale of Thor – long before he learned humility. It’s Norse myth at its finest in terms of art, story and character. And, even better, there’s more to come! (the larger story is continued in Thor: Reign of Blood)

On Ebay: Thor | Matt Fraction | Pat Zircher
On AtomicAvenue: Thor

Because publishers want you to buy their product every month, comics are typically serial in nature. However, occasionally (and more often nowadays than ever before) publishers launch a comic title that is only meant to last for one issue. While ongoing series often have multiple chances to hook in new readers, the comics highlighted in this ongoing investigations only had One-Shot At Greatness!

Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Date: July 2000
Cover Price: $2.25
Writer: Paul Grist
Artist: Kyle Hotz

In 2000, Marvel published a series of one-shots that revealed what Marvel Comics would be like in the Marvel Universe.

Loud-mouthed editor/publisher T.T. Thomas is out to destroy Spider-Man’s image. He blames him for the death of his son, Jay T. Thomas and uses his paper to lambast the wallcrawler with every opportunity that presents itself. So, when Thomas is attacked by Professor Squid (who’s upset at Thomas’ editorials that claimed his work was unscientific), it’s somewhat of a surprise to see Spider-Man come to Thomas’ rescue. It makes us wonder what the motivation is for this silent, monstrous looking hero. Perhaps he’s just following well-developed morals … or perhaps there’s a connection between the two that has yet to be discovered…

Kyle Hotz‘s character designs for Spider-Man are incredible. The creepy looking smile hiding behind his mask on the last page hints that our hero may be more sinister than we’d like to think. The main battle between spider and squid isn’t all that impressive or page-turning but it’s the back-story, the main character’s mysterious origin and the under-handed subplots that make me want to know more about this developing storyline. Not to mention that art … that spooky, great-looking art!

On Ebay: Marvels Comics | Spider-Man | Paul Grist | Kyle Hotz
On AtomicAvenue: Marvels Comics