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So the new Kickstarter campaign for the second issue of The Chefs Of Death is now live on Kickstarter, and there's also another comic available too, Hawk Issue 1982, with all profits going to @MindCharity. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/alexfinch/the-chefs-of-death-issues-1-and-2

Once again they're photo comics inspired by the 1980's Eagle, with The Chefs Of Death featuring a guest starring role from a character we've called God but who you might recognise from elsewhere, as well as non-fictional industry cameos from 2000AD's Steve MacManus and John Higgins, the man who launched the Eagle comic and also edited Roy of the Rovers and Tiger, Barrie Tomlinson, and Will Preston, the co-host of the much loved podcast Marvel Versus Marvel, and I hope to add more to that list soon.



Hawk issue 1982 has been created to look like an issue of a long running anthology comic, and includes the following four page strips: The Chefs Of Death II, Arcade Gamer, Nicodemus In Space, The Autobiography Of A Ghost Child, The Peavaarkar Wars and Janey And The Devil, though all of these have been written so that new readers (eg. everyone!) will be able to completely understand the storylines. A completely free 13 page sampler comic of Hawk Issue 1982 can be downloaded here: https://www.mediafire.com/file/pf2dlnlg88erlow/Hawk_Photo_Comic_1982_Sampler.pdf/file

While I'm somewhat egotistically proud of both comics, and our very special guest star especially, I'm also particularly happy with how the Computer Warrior spoof came out, so thought I'd post it below:

I've read the following recently:

Surfer by John Wagner and Colin MacNeil - A hologram film company (or something like that) are making a film about Chopper and SuperSurf 7 and hire a young surfer to be a stunt double, except early on it becomes much more complicated than that. I was very fond of this, I've not read many stories set in Mega City One which don't feature Dredd but his absence here isn't an issue, and I was impressed by both Wagner's dialogue and MacNeil's often very moody and stylised art. I picked it up in the Forbidden Planet sale for £2.99 recently and would definitely recommend it to any one at a price like that. 4/5

New Avengers Volume One by Jonathan Hickman and Steve Epting - This is the hardback version with issues 1 - 12, where our heroes learn that Earths from other dimensions are going to start appearing in the sky, and the only way to survive is by destroying them within eight hours. This starts of as a very serious, moody piece as the new Avengers sit around discussing just how far they're prepared to go to continue living, while Atlantis and Wakanda get really ****ed off with each other as a subplot, but then the final few issues get caught up in that year's Marvel crossover "Infinity" storyline, which I've read before and liked, but it means that the main story is almost forgotten about and it's only part of the main action again with the very last issue. I was really enjoying this until Infinity gatecrashed the party, but those last few issues didn't do it for me, and due to that I can't say I feel any urge to buy the next volume to find out what happens next. 3.75/5

Sara by Garth Ennis and Steve Epting - A very sombre world war two set affair where a group of female soldiers are caught in a bleak situation, which of course only gets worse as the war continues. This really impressed me, it works as both a character study and a horrors of war morality tale, and it's instantly become one of my favourite things that Ennis has produced in the last two decades. 4.5/5

I only read the original this year and while I did like it, a lot of that was due to Sale's gorgeous art. I'm fond of when Batman uses his detective abilities rather than his fists though, so hopefully this might be still of interest.

I rarely found myself caring for the characters that much, at least not in the way I normally do with Moore's work.

Now, that's strange, because one of things I like most about Moore's run on ST is his obvious affection for the supporting cast, with several issues where the Big Guy barely even has a walk-on part and a couple of issues before the 'Lost in Space' arc kicks off where he's completely absent and Abby and Chester carry the book.

It's a weird one for me as I just found it quite a cold book. Or maybe something I felt detached from would be a better way to word it, there was just something about it that stopped me truly loving the characters. I mean I liked Abbie and empathised with her fate, but she wasn't a character who stayed with me in the way many of Moore's other creations have.

I read Swamp Thing for the first time a couple of years ago and it's something I admire rather than love. There's some fascinating ideas and some of the issues are incredibly gripping, but it often felt like it was message heavy and quite humourless, bar the one issue which is deliberately comedic. I'm probably being a bit harsh as there were issues that I thought were superb, but I rarely found myself caring for the characters that much, at least not in the way I normally do with Moore's work.

...And I've very conflicting feelings about Black Hammer, though partially that's because I loved how it began, but then it ended in a manner I didn't gel with, except that wasn't the ending, and what I've read of it since then has left me unsure of the direction it's going in. I've yet to finish it currently, and I don't even know if the most recent ending is the final ending, and given that I'm not sure I've the inclination to find out...

Oh man I have mixed feeling about Black Hammer - The End. I'd pretty much loved all of Black Hammer to that point, the odd exception aside and think I've got pretty much it all. Then 'The End' kinda read like the very thing it was paying tribute to as an inspiration. Just a great big event comic tyoe feel. Now that doesn't feel like it should have been a bad thing, but it strangely was on first reading.

Black Hammer has its place on my countdown and that set now BUT I had such mixed feeling about the end I've got that final (I believe) series out to re-read before I write it up as it may well change my entry (if not postion) as it might become about how sticking the landing can be so important!

We'll see I have a suspision I'll enjoy it more on re-read so I'm trying to reserve judgement!

Ah, that's disappointing to hear, and I think I'll probably relegate this to picking up the trades in charity shops or cheap ebay sales, at least for the time being as my comics backlog is so huge in general.

I was ten or eleven years old when I first stumbled across Warrior and V For Vendetta, every year my parents insisted on going to the same holiday camp in Hayling Island and it was a pretty dull place, but the camp shop did used to have a pretty great selection of comics that weren't stocked by my local newsagents. It's where I first discovered DC and Marvel along with less mainstream comics like Warrior, and I have to confess that the majority of the issue I bought there went right over my head, and some of it I found quite disturbing, but I do remember V For Vendetta having a huge effect on me. I'd dabbled with dystopian futures in the past (eg I watched and liked Blake's 7!) but this was something very different, and it came at just the right time as I was beginning to learn that maybe the UK wasn't the always wonderful place my parents painted it as.

It wasn't until the DC reprints that I read the rest of the series, but it's been a firm favourite ever since, and I'd say it's in my Moore Top 3. And I'd echo your comments about the lack of a black and white release, I did own a complete set of Warrior about ten years ago and it was a real delight to read all of the stories in that format, but alas a period out of work led me to selling them.

I read and admired the first instalment of Essex County during the pandemic, but mentally it wasn't what I was in the mood for as I wanted something unrealistic that would serve as a distraction from real life, and I've yet to return to it. I should do now that I'm in a very different situation though, as I do really like Lemire sometimes.

That last word seems quite harsh, but I think it's because there are some series that he's written that I loved, the main one being his take on Animal Man which I think serves as an amazing sequel to the Morrison run. I was also a very big fan of Sweet Tooth (though not the recent-ish follow up mini-series), and Frankenstein, Agent of S.H.A.D.E. was a delightful romp and my only complaint is that his run is so short

But some of his work just doesn't do it for me at all. I've read the first collection of his Hawkeye run and after Fraction's mad craziness it felt disappointing, Trillium was fine if nothing-y, and his Justice League United was a very uninspired and dull read. And I've very conflicting feelings about Black Hammer, though partially that's because I loved how it began, but then it ended in a manner I didn't gel with, except that wasn't the ending, and what I've read of it since then has left me unsure of the direction it's going in. I've yet to finish it currently, and I don't even know if the most recent ending is the final ending, and given that I'm not sure I've the inclination to find out...

[#84 - Part 3]

#84 - Part 3

Where to find it

Unfortunately due to licensing issues around the rights to the movies these comics grew from this series has never been reprinted, unlike almost all of his other work. I'm not sure if this is likely to be sorted anytime soon if it hasn't by this point.

For this reason they aren't available digitally either it would seem.

Fortunately even though they have never been reprinted they are still available in the aftermarket and not at silly prices. Be patient however as folks will list these for far more than they would normally sell for. I picked up a full set for about £20 a few years ago. They have gone up a bit since, particularly issue 8 the first appearance of Machine Man. Even so if you wait you'll get a full set south of £40.

The original Treasury adaptation will go for that and more. Hence I've never picked it up, much as I'd love to. It is out there but be prepared to shell out for it if you do decide to buy it.

Um, I feel like I should be really careful as to how I put this due to site rules, but it is available online for free and can be found quite easily via google. But I don't want to post links to any dodgy sites (dodgy as in copyright infringement, nothing more than that).

I've dipped back into Terry Moore's Strangers in Paradise, which I read a bit of a long time ago and remember enjoying, and either I've changed or this has aged really badly.
Katchoo is an awful, violent person but what did it for me is when David, who is presented as a good guy throughout, tells her he doesn't believe she is a lesbian for no other reason than because he fancies her and then doubles down on that when she rightly tells him to get lost.
Denying someones sexuality = not cool. That's the 90s for you I guess.

I had real issues with this too, I read the recently released first compendium and as a whole really enjoyed it, though struggled with David's presence in their life once it's revealed who he really is. Still, I knew it was a series which went on for a long time and so hoped they would address that in the second volume, but I absolutely hated it when I bought it on its release date. I've never been in a situation where my opinion changed so suddenly and so enormously, Katchoo's violence / crimes are horrifying, David becomes such an insanely unpleasant stalker-esque type I could not understand why either of them would tolerate him in their lives, and as you say, the denying someone's sexuality aspect is appallingly handled.

Phew, that was a longer rant than planned. But yeah, liked a lot of the first collection, the second means I'll never read a single page more, and I'm quite surprised I even finished it.

His most recent thing for 2000 AD was Pandora Perfect (although he only wrote it and didn't draw the strip). His personal work includes Abigail & The Snowman, which my kid got out of the library and we both adored. Long OOP, mind. He's also created hundreds of semi-autobiographical dailies, which you can read on his website. There are currently three properly chunky HC collections on his web store. (They are superb. His packaging... less so. Although mine arrived OK.)

My recollection – I bought the book a decade ago – is it's much like The Muppet Show, in the main. So it doesn't really matter in which order you read. FWIW, someone on eBay is selling five trades for 25 quid right now.

Thanks so much for all of the above but the ebay link especially, after reading some of the comics on his website I bought those five trades and can't wait to read them.

I think had that been the case for me, I'd have enjoyed it more. I remember I largely did the first time around – although it was perhaps also boosted by running alongside a Captain America arc I abhorred (the Hydra thing). I'm into the Unworthy arc now, and it's very readable. But it's not "buy it in HC and put it on the shelf worthy" for me. (I one day had the option of buying just the God Butcher deluxe or the entire Aaron Thor run, for equivalent per-page prices, both of which were reasonable. I'm glad now I went for just the one book. Not sure I would have wanted to keep the others long term.)

I remember hearing about the Captain America / Hydra thing and thinking yeesh, that is something I really don't like the sound of, and the only friend  who has read it did not enjoy it at all. I've been thinking a lot about why I enjoyed Thor so much, as there were parts I thought were repetitive, especially the aspects about Thor being unworthy, but my lack of knowledge of all of the supporting characters got me past that, and when I think back to it, it is the Jane story I love the most.

And I think I feel the way about DC as you do with Marvel, there's a lot of comics from the late eighties / early nineties that I still love (Animal Man, Sandman, about 30 issues of Giffen/DeMatteis JLI / JLE runs, a big chunk of Hellblazer, Shade The Changing Man, Doom Patrol) but post 2000s discounting Vertigo I haven't found too much to get excited about. There are some, I thought Jeff Lemire's Animal Man run was superb, as was Brubaker's Gotham Central, and Morrison's Batman had high (and a couple of low) points, but with a lot of the characters I had that "Eh, I kind of feel like I've seen it all before" feeling. Though I guess I should back that up with the caveat that there's a lot out there that I haven't read.

I have the first HC of that. I need to get back into it. Not sure I've ever been in quite the right mood. (Also, annoyingly, Marvel did its usual thing and cancelled the collections in that format. There was – maybe is – an omni, but it's about the size of garden shed, so no thanks on that.)

I think it's a very funny, incredibly sweet natured comic, but I do occasionally wonder if my love for it comes from reading it at a time in the pandemic where everything felt rather bleak and no one quite knew how it would all play out, and so it was exactly what I needed at that point in time.

Mm. The films feel like going through the motions. The best of the recent ones for me was The Marvels, but mostly because Iman Vellani is such a joy as Ms. Marvel. And that just made me sad that she only got one TV series. I think apart from the Spidey films, I've not really annoyed one in a big way since Ragnarok, back in 2017.

The TV shows, though, I've mostly really liked. There are exceptions (Falcon/Winter Solider did not click with me at all), but I enjoyed She-Hulk's subversion, WandaVision's strange set-up, Hawkeye borrowing from my favourite run of the comics (bro), etc. But even there, we're now several series behind, and I'm honestly not sure if I care enough to watch Secret Invasion, Loki 2, What If 2 and Echo, not least given that no-one at Disney now seems invested in the Eries, and certainly not to the degree they will be ongoing and built upon.

There was so much scope in Ms. Marvel, but the TV show was ultimately just a way to introduce the character and shove her into a movie. This feels a lot like what happened in the comics, where she started as a really interesting character in her own book, before becoming subsumed into teams and ending up being just another superhero.

I've still got mixed feelings about the tv shows, I loved Wandavision bar the ending, thought the first Loki series was enjoyable, and liked the majority of the Ms. Marvel series, but in sone ways wish they'd had the budget so that she had the same powers in the show as she does in the comic. It was an inspired piece of casting though and Iman Vellani knocked it out of the park, and I really wish The Marvels had been a success so that we'd have either got another Ms Marvel tv series or a solo film, but now it seems sadly unlikely to happen. But the rest I haven't seen, and I can't say I've really got the urge to rectify that, right now at least.

Wonderful book. I hope everyone here owns a copy.

Absolutely!

The Muppets omni is a wonderful thing. I love Roger Langridge's stuff.

I'd not heard of him before but really want to check his work out, I noticed on Ebay that "Muppet Mash" and "Four Seasons" are the cheapest trades, would it matter if I didn't read the series in order?

As for the other Thor, I did like her a lot (and her story). It's a lot of the other bits that kind of bored me – all of the war bits. But I might have just had too much of it after trudging through literally hundreds of Marvel comics since the autumn. Sometimes that stuff is a bit like a repeating background on a cartoon. "Oh look: Mysterio back! Again! Yawn."

I absolutely get what you mean, and Thor may well have benefitted from being one of the first Marvel comics I'd read in a very long time. When I got in to US comics in the late eighties / early nineties I was much more of a DC / Vertigo kid (and yeah, I wince when I type that, it seems so silly now), there was the odd Marvel title like She-Hulk or Groo that I bought but not very many at all.

For long, dull reasons there was a gap between 1996 - 2007 where I wasn't reading any comics, and when I did get back in to them I had so much to catch up on that again I rarely dipped in to Marvel. But since a relationship ended in 2019 and I started collecting trade paperbacks again it's the first time I've really got in their comics, starting with Unbeatable Squirrel Girl (which I love beyond words) but then Thor, and so a lot of it was new to me, I had no history with the characters, and how many times they'd confronted various villains.

I'm definitely suffering from Marvel burn-out when it comes to the films (though I have just started X-Men 97 and find it fun) but it's yet to happen on the comics side. But then I'm deliberately trying to avoid reading anything by any one company or writer in any particular time period, so this year I've gone from Doctor Strange by Jason Aaron to Monsters by Barry Windsor-Smith, Batman Inc by Grant Morrison to It's Lonely at the Centre of the Earth by Zoe Thorogood, Judge Dredd Case Files 15 to Cinema Purgatorio by Alan Moore, and the first House Of X / Powers Of X collection to Charley's War by Pat Mills, etc, etc. (And I know she credit the artists who make all of those books so stunning, and next time shall try and avoid being so lazy!)

[Doctor Strange]

I've only read the first volume of Kill Or Be Killed so haven't read the above post, but now even more than before I hope I stumble upon the rest of it as you rate it so highly.

Colin: I've been reading through hundreds of Panini Marvel reprints that cover the 2000s, and figuring out which I want to keep. Turns out, the answer is 'none of them', including the mostly strong Mighty World of Marvel. However, I have used them (and 'temporary' ownership of the first 60 volumes of the original Hachette Marvel collection) to govern some deluxe/omni purchases, most of which are relatively standalone own nature. I really enjoyed:

Doctor Strange (Aaron/Bachalo): quite grim and a divisive run, but one that for me really worked with the gorgeous art and mystical flavour.

Hawkeye (Fraction/Aja): just really smart comics, trying different things and mostly succeeding. I couldn't give two hoots about the character normally, but this just worked. The come down for the following volume was palpable.

Ms. Marvel (G. Willow Wilson): a smart take on the young superhero theme, despite part-way through getting caught in the end of the universe BS Marvel pulled around the time. I'm not keen on what they've done with the character more recently, but those early volumes were great.

Rocket Raccoon (Young): I mean, it's Skottie Young, even if he's just writing. I picked this up as two little HCs. Fun.

She-Hulk (Slott): A solid modern run that doesn't take itself too seriously, and that has interesting enough ideas and stories to keep the momentum going.

Silver Surfer (Slott/Allread): Basically an excuse to do Marvel Doctor Who. The omni recently got a reissue and so should still be in print. Personally, I'm no major fan of that format, but I had to have this one complete and in print. It's a lovely run.

Thor: The God Butcher (Aaron/Ribic): So I remember reading the Aaron run when I first subscribed to the Panini Marvel Legends series and liking it a lot. On re-reading it, I ended up buying just The God Butcher (deluxe, which also includes Godbomb) rather than the entire run, because that was the most impactful. What followed didn't quite do it for me, despite the uptick when the new Thor arrives.

Vision (King): A genuine surprise when I originally read this, and one I had to own. A great exploration that goes deep into what it means to belong, and the difficulties within a 'realistic' world of superpowers. Alas, I did not get on with DC equivalent Mister Miracle.

(On Marvel, I also of course have Langridge's Muppets, which is as close to The Muppet Show as it's possible to get in comic form. And I've also enjoyed but haven't yet fully read the Gwenpool omni.)

I only read the Strange run earlier this year but really enjoyed it, I've heard complaints that Aaron didn't really capture Strange's personality but as I only know him from the movies it didn't bother me, and I liked how weird and grotesque it got in places. I'd agree with pretty much everything else you say there except that the Jane Foster part of Thor was my favourite, but I really enjoyed all of those series. Well, except for Rocket Raccoon as I didn't know he'd had a solo series, but I'll be adding it to my wishlist now.

(On Marvel, I also of course have Langridge's Muppets, which is as close to The Muppet Show as it's possible to get in comic form. And I've also enjoyed but haven't yet fully read the Gwenpool omni.)

I finished the first Gwenpool omnibus this week and thought it was a great deal of fun, but I noticed the fourth trade paperback is out of print and stupidly expensive, which frustrates as I don't really like reading comics digitally. And I was unaware of the Muppets series, but as a big fan I'll definitely check that out now too.

I keep my toe in modern Marvel waters, largely due to Daredevil but I check out others. Its strange that while a lot are clearly top notch they often don't speak to what I want from superheroes. I have this terrible feeling that mainstream comics are defined by the 80s for me. Which seems to be quite a limiting way to view them. That said the odd thing does sing out and a number of the titles you mention are things I think I'll check out one day. Especially that Hawkeye run which I hear such good things about.

Out of all of them I'd recommend Unbeatable Squirrel Girl the most, I read it during the pandemic and credit it for helping me stay sane(ish) as it has such a wholesome, warm, funny and considerate central sentiment, where Squirrel Girl only ever resorts to violence if she has absolutely no other choice.

And Hawkeye is great, but it's also pretty short, and though I'm normally a fan when Jeff Lemire took over it wasn't as good.

Early 80's Marvel does seem to be its hey-day.  By the late 80's they seem to have crawled up their own backsides before completely losing the plot in the speculator boom of the 90's. (trillion's of covers, holograms, card covers, die cut covers, cover covers ...)

I've not read much seventies or eighties Marvel as I was an annoying DC kid as a teenager (though I did always have a soft spot for Byrne's She-Hulk run and Groo), and I definitely plan to check out some of the recommended comics from this era, and Power Pack will be on that list. But I have recently read a good few series from Marvel from the 2010s and I think some of it is superb, I absolutely loved Unbeatable Squirrel Girl and Jason Aaron's Thor run when Jane Foster is the central character, plus am very fond of Matt Fraction's Hawkeye and Fantastic Faux series, Charles Soule's She Hulk issues and am making my way through the and enjoying first Spider-Gwen omnibus currently, so I definitely wouldn't write the company off completely.

Batgirl Vol. 1: Beyond Burnside by Hope Larson, Rafael Albuquerque - This is from the 2017 Rebirth timeline, though I don't really keep up with DC anymore so don't know if this was any different before. It's also a little weak, Barbara's either a teenager or in her early twenties, comments that she used to be in a wheelchair but isn't any more, and then she's buggering about in Japan and there's way too much telling and not enough showing with a lot of the dialogue explaining things over and over again. It's a shame as I like the set up and the art's decent enough, but the poor script really lets it down. 2.5/5

The Authority: Revolution Book 1 and 2 by Ed Brubaker and Dustin Nguyen - I've read various Authority series in the past including the Ellis run, but this somehow passed me by. The first volume's not bad either as Brubaker explores what it'd be like if the team took control of The White House, but the second reads like Brubaker is Mark Millar's number one fan and jesus it's embarrassing. Obviously Brubaker's responsible for some classic series (Gotham Central being my favourite of his though I've only read the first Criminal trade) but the dialogue is full of sexual threats (including one involving skull ****ing that is deeply unpleasant) and I found myself wincing petty much constantly throughout the final three issues. 1.5/5