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Subj: Re: Marvel's Flashback Minus Ones Part 3 Posted: Sat Sep 19, 2020 at 12:46:19 am EDT (Viewed 123 times) | Reply Subj: Marvel's Flashback Minus Ones Posted: Sat Sep 05, 2020 at 11:08:46 pm EDT (Viewed 192 times) | ||||||
Venom: Seed Of Darkness -1, by Len Kaminski, was surprisingly good. It's an homage to Marvel's monster comics as well as to Kolchak, The Night Stalker, which fits perfectly for pre-Venom Eddie Brock. And the monster, Krobaa, is symbiote-ic enough to appease the Venom fans. The artwork by James Fry and Chris Ivy is very Ditko-esque and Stan has a cameo like a Golden Age horror host. As I was reading the narration, I couldn't help but hear it in Darren McGavin's voice, and then, lo and behold, Eddie seeks advice from veteran but disgraced reporter Cal Karlchok. Barney Bushkin (from ASM) even makes a very Ditko inspired cameo. This one might not be for everyone but it hit all the right notes for me. I enjoyed Cable -1, also. James Robinson (writer) didn't go to Cable's adventures in the future but rather to his earliest appearances in the then current Marvel timeline, which I appreciated. I think artist Ladronn was going for a Kirby look. He doesn't fully accomplish it, but there is a Golden/early Silver age pastiche style. It seems early Human Torch Strange Tales. Stan's cameo dressed as Cable seems goofier than when he dresses as Spider-Man, but, still, somehow, it works. It captures his ability to make the story seem important while also poking fun at it. Spectacular Spider-Man -1 tells an early story of Peter Parker and Flash Thompson. JM DeMatteis and Luke Ross work well together and in this ish they do what they do best: mirror the lives of the two main characters and show how alike they really are. This issue worked particularly well because you didn't see what DeMatteis was doing until near the end and his characterizations of Peter and Flash made sense when you look at how their relationship developed from the early 60s into the 70s. I'm not a big Elektra or Stick fan, but Elektra -1 was pretty good. Written by Peter Milligan with art by Mike Deodato, the issue does a good job of showing Elektra's personality before she becomes an assassin. She's very likable but you can see that she's going to be a badass. I liked her battles with the gangsters in the church, though it was somewhat repetitive except that Stick has to save her the second time. Stan looks classy introducing the story almost like a romance comic, though that aspect is limited to the cover and the first part of the book. Overall, very good comics, especially when you consider that this was a company-wide event that most likely felt forced upon the creators. | |||||||