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Reviews and commentary by Tony Isabella
"America's Most Beloved Comic-Book Writer & Columnist"
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TONY'S ONLINE TIPS
for Sunday, February 27, 2005
Congratulations are once again in order for the GRAND COMICS DATABASE [www.comics.org], which continues its noble and wondrous work of indexing tens of thousands of comic books, often being the only venue giving credit where credit is due to forgotten creators of said books. The cover shown above is the 80,000th cover posted, added to the site by Tim Correia on February 24.
The GCD never rests. Here are its stats as of a mere two days after BEETLE BAILEY #18 [Dell; December, 1958] was added:
2042 Publishers/imprints
11557 Series
173546 books
(77332 indexed)
(390439 Story objects)
(well over 1 million credits)
80154+ covers (77473+ hi-res)
I enter a state of awe whenever I contemplate how much effort has gone into the GCD and how much data continues to be added each day. My gratitude for the labors of these tireless comics experts is almost beyond my ability to express.
Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Let's see what else I have for you today.
******
WHAT IF...
Marvel Comics published several WHAT IF one-shots a few months back and I finally got around to reading a couple of them. Here's what I thought...
WHAT IF...GENERAL ROSS HAD BECOME THE HULK? [$2.99] channels the first appearance of the then grey-skinned giant and then steers it into new territory. It's written by Peter David with art by Pat Olliffe (pencils) and Sal Buscema (inks).
David writing the Hulk is a sure sale to me, even when it's a special issue of WHAT IF. It's not that there haven't been a lot of great issues of WHAT IF - Marvel has published many - it's that there have been far more lousy issues of WHAT IF. But David? He's a writer I'll bet on.
Sadly, I must confess to disappointment with this issue. The writing is fine, but the need to put so much into its 20-odd pages hurts the overall story. Characters are disposed of quickly, even abruptly, with events altered not so much as a natural consequence of the "big" difference (Ross becoming the Hulk instead of Bruce Banner) but to move things more swiftly toward this or that shock. The event leading to the tale's resolution is too coincidental for my taste, but, given its nature, the conclusion rings alarmingly and satisfyingly true.
Olliffe's layouts and pencils are in sync with the grim nature of this tale, but the Bronze Age boy in me would have liked to seen inker Buscema handling both ends of the art. On our usual scale of zero to five, WHAT IF GENERAL ROSS HAD BECOME THE HULK picks up a respectable three Tonys.
******
WHAT IF MAGNETO AND PROFESSOR X HAD FORMED THE X-MEN TOGETHER [$2.99] is by Chris Claremont with art by Tom Raney (pencils) and Scott Hanna (inks). The best WHAT IF stories start by changing one key event and then proceeding from that change. Here, Magneto and Professor X became allies and formed the X-Men together, though the team doesn't call itself by that name until the issue's final page. This is a decent premise, but little that follows the key event is logical.
Magneto and Xavier broker Middle East peace. Storm is elected president of Kenya. The mutants work closely with and are clearly respected by governments of most nations, including the USA. Yet, somehow, the professor never gets around to inventing his mutant-detecting Cerebro and thus fails to locate and recruit his original X-Men. Iceman and the Angel are nowhere to be seen. A non-bestial Hank McCoy arrives at the Xavier Mansion with a comatose Jean Grey. Scott Summers is working for Sinister. In their places: Wolverine, Colossus, Sage, Mystique, and Kitty Pryde. Plus, despite all the good will the mutants have earned, Larry Trask is still building Sentinels to slaughter them with extreme prejudice. Ultimately, I couldn't suspend my disbelief in how events were unfolding enough to enjoy the story. As a result, the best score I can give to this special is a measly one Tony. Given the talents involved, that's just plain sad.
Would you like me to review the other WHAT IF specials? Drop me an e-mail and let me know.
******
ARCHIE NEWS
Here are a few items that caught my eye as I looked over the Archie Comics titles shipping in June.
Jughead and cartoonist pal Chuck go to a comics convention in JUGHEAD #166 [$2.19], which ships on June 15. In Craig Boldman's "Convention Crisis," Jughead has come to the show to support Chuck, but ends up creating a popular character and stealing the spotlight from Chuck. The comics con isn't identified in the press release, but the art is by Rex Lindsey.
Josie and the Pussycats are getting a manga makeover in TALES FROM RIVERDALE DIGEST #2 [$2.39, shipping May 4] and SABRINA THE TEENAGE WITCH #68 [$2.19, shipping June 29] with both stories being written and drawn by Sabrina's Tania del Rio. Though I'll withhold my actual judgment until I've read the comics, I have some concerns with this concept.
1. It's disrespectful - unintentionally, I'm certain - to the memory of Josie creator Dan DeCarlo. I have always regretted that DeCarlo and Archie Comics could not resolve their differences over the characters before the artist's death. In light of that, I must question if there was any pressing need to rework the Pussycats at the present time.
2. Why Tania del Rio? I think this young artist has potential and I have enjoyed some of her Sabrina issues, but her style is far from the only "manga" style out there. If Josie and the Pussycats did need such a makeover, and I were the guy calling the shots, I'd go for an entirely different manga look, maybe something along the lines of Hiroyuki Nishimori's CHEEKY ANGEL.
Veteran readers of this column know that I've never been able to get into Archie's SONIC THE HEDGEHOG comics. However, I'm happy to congratulate their creators and publisher on the publication of SONIC THE HEDGEHOG #150 [$2.19, shipping June 1]. That's a strong run for our times and it shows no sign of ending any time soon. I may not "get" SONIC, but, obviously, there are a lot of readers who do. My hat's off to them and to the Archie crew.
Watch for more Archie Comics news in future columns.
******
TONY POLLS
Several recent TONY POLLS questions have asked you to choose which comic books and other items you would most like me to review. Here are more of those results.
Which of these items would you most like reviewed in TONY'S ONLINE TIPS?
LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES #2.....33.96%
Planetary #22.....9.43%
Seaguy.....9.43%
Manhunter #6.....7.55%
Nightwing #102 and #103.....7.55%
Maxx Volume 4.....5.66%
Question #4.....5.66%
Plastic Man #14.....3.77%
Looney Tunes #123.....1.89%
Losers #20.....1.89%
Mighty Love.....1.89%
Monolith #12.....1.89%
Powerpuff Girls #52.....1.89%
Richard Dragon #9.....1.89%
Robin #134.....1.89%
Scooby Doo #93.....1.89%
Sleeper Season Two #8.....1.89%
Lucifer #58.....0%
Lucifer: Exodus.....0%
Razor's Edge #4.....0%
Obviously, you can expect a review of the new LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES series in the very neat future. I also have a hankering to read and review SEAGUY.
Here are some more results.
Which of these items would you most like reviewed in TONY'S ONLINE TIPS?
VIMANARAMA #1.....16.07%
Superman/Batman #17.....12.50%
Space Ghost #3.....10.71%
Tom Strong Book Three.....8.93%
Superman #213.....7.14%
Superman: Strength #2.....7.14%
Teen Titans #20.....7.14%
We3 #3.....5.36%
Y: The Last Man #30.....5.36%
Teen Titans Go! #15.....3.57%
Terra Obscura Vol. 2 #5.....3.57%
Toe Tags Featuring George A. Romero #5....3.57%
Wonder Woman #212.....3.57%
Swamp Thing #12.....1.79%
Trigger #2.....1.79%
Twilight Experiment #1.....1.79%
Witching #8.....0%
DC sure does publish a lot of comic books every month, don't they? You can expect a review of VIMANARAMA soon.
The current TONY POLLS ask you to pick your favorites in seven television-centric SATURN AWARDS categories. The awards are given out annually by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films. Those questions close sometime after midnight Monday with a new batch of poll questions going up sometime the following day. You can vote on all active questions at:
www.worldfamouscomics.com/tony/poll
Thanks for spending a part of your day with me. I'll be back soon with more stuff.
Tony Isabella
<< 02/26/2005 | 02/27/2005 | 02/28/2005 >>
Discuss this column with me at my Message Board. Also, read Heroes and Villains: Real and Imagined.
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THE "TONY" SCALE
ZERO: Burn your money before buying any comic receiving this rating. It doesn't *necessarily* mean there's absolutely nothing of value here - though it *could* - but whatever value it might possess shrinks into insignificance before its overall awfulness.
ONE: Buy something else. Maybe I found something which wasn't completely dreadful in the item, but not enough for me to recommend it when there are better comics available. I only want what's best for you, my children.
TWO: Basic judgment call. I found some value, but not enough to recommend it. My review should give you enough info to decide if you want to take a chance on it. Are you feeling lucky today, punk? Well, are you?
THREE: This denotes something I find perfectly respectable. There are better books out there, but I wouldn't regret buying this item. Based on my review, you should be able to determine if it's of interest to you. Let the Force guide you.
FOUR: I recommend anything earning this rating. Unless you don't like the genre, subject matter, or past work of the creators, I believe you'll enjoy this item. Isn't it uncanny how I can look right into your soul that way?
FIVE: Anything getting this rating is among the best comicdom has to offer. You should buy/read this, even if the genre/subject matter doesn't appeal to you. It's for your own good. Me, I live for comics and books this good...but not in a pathetic "Comic-Book Guy" sort of way.
Please send material you would like me to review to:
Tony's Online Tips
840 Damon Drive
Medina, OH 44256
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