Comics for the last couple weeks.....

I have other, more serious books I've finished, but I want to give them serious, lengthy reviews. Graduate school gets in the way, of course.

Oh, well.

Marvel comics:

Essential Ghost Rider vol. 1 & Essential Werewolf by Night vol. 1: Marvel loves me! (well, maybe not me specifically). The Essential volumes are great - low priced phonebook sized Black and White reprints of Bronze and Silver age comics. Since this is October, they're reprinting their more "horrific" super heroes. Ghost Rider is my favorite character, and Werewolf by Night I like because of the affinity with my last name (and the fact it's well written stuff).

Marvel Milestones: Blade, Man-Thing and Satana: In keeping with this month’s horror theme, this reprints classic tales of the titular characters. Fun stuff.

Marvel Monsters: Devil Dinosaur #1: Independent comics creators take on Marvel's Monsters from the brief period before the Fantastic Four and Spider-Man debuted. Here, the Hulk battles Devil Dinosaur, and much hilarity ensues. Plus it reprints the first appearance of the Hulk! (and it's not the green skinned dude! This Hulk was a space alien that tried to take over the world).

Marvel Monsters: Where Monsters Dwell #1: Tremble in fear at the Walla Walla Bing Bang! I haven't laughed this much in a long time. More silver age monstery goodness by more independent comics creators who normally wouldn’t go near a Marvel comic.

Marvel Knights 4 #23: The Impossible Man (a green guy who can shape shift at will, but makes a popping sound while doing it) shows up, and the writer toys with breaking the fourth wall. A light-hearted read that doesn't quite live up to its premise, though perhaps the second part of the story next month will be better.

Exiles #71: A good read that gives the Exiles another reason to go hopping around the multiverse. The ending seems a bit anti-climatic, but that's because it's dependent on the ending of another comic this month (House of M #7). My budget doesn't allow for mega-crossovers, so I felt a little lost when it all wrapped up.

Mega Morphs #4: Fun little comic based on a toy line. I bought it because Ghost Rider appears in it, even though there is no good reason for him to appear here (other than he has a toy in the toy line).

Ghost Rider #2: Garth Ennis on cruise control. It's basically a tale from his Hellblazer run, but with Ghost Rider as the protagonist. Ennis has also obviously not read any Ghost Rider comics since the early 70s, and is relying on his vague memories of 30 year old comics. The art shimmers and amazes, but the tale is only typical Ennis.

The Incredible Hulk #87: Peter David's second (or is it third?) swan song on this title. No one else writes the Hulk better - mainly because Peter David realizes the Hulk is NOT a super-hero, but rather an egotistical time bomb.

DC/Wildstorm:

JSA #78: A bit more comprehensible, but I'm getting annoyed at all the Infinite Crisis tie-ins. Not having enough money to buy the approximately 45 comics this month that are a part of that mega-event, I feel lost (though not as lost as I was last issue).

Robotech: Prelude to the Shadow Chronicles #1: I am a bit of a Robotech geek, but this has me lost. I recognize some of the characters, but I have no idea what's going on. I guess this will appeal to only hard-core Robotechers.

Dark Horse:

The Curse of Dracula: A bit more "mature" in content than I would've liked, but a nice little take on the Dracula mythos that, while not totally original, at least has enough energy to carry it through this thin little trade paperback collection.