The 40 Years of Comics Project Friday Magazine 33: Psycho #7, July 1972

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There's this weird thing that a lot of the 70s horror magazines did where they told stories in the second person. That means that each caption box used the term "you" for the focal character, as if the reader were meant to be stepping into the shoes of the character in the story. I'm sure at the time it was a cool way of writing stories, and it hearkens back somewhat to the EC horror comics of the 50s, as I've noted before about some of these B&W horror magazines. But it gets a bit tired when virtually every story in this issue is doing it. Further, there's actually a story that not only uses the second person voice in its captions, but also presents all of the action from a first person point of view. It sort of works, but it sort of doesn't, though I kind of wonder if this has something to do with readers being slightly more critically savvy, and slightly more aware of ironic distance, in contemporary times. Or maybe it's just me.

There's some amazing Pablo Marcos art in this issue. He's an artist I'm coming to appreciate more and more, and I think I'll have to start going through the old horror mags I've got to see a bit more of his work. It reminds me of the old historical comics in style, just with lots more nudity and violence.

More to follow.

The 40 Years of Comics Project - Day 996: Fantastic Four Annual #21, 1988

This is a very strange era for the Fantastic Four. Unlike the Avengers and their rotating membership, the FF have always been the core four, the original Marvel heroes. There have, of course, been slight shifts in membership over the years, but, for the majority of their existence, the Four have been Reed, Sue, Ben, and Johnny. However, around the same time that the Avengers are falling apart in their own title, Reed and Sue decide to quit the hero biz, and leave Johnny and Ben to recruit a couple of new members. Ms. Marvel, the Sharon Ventura iteration, and Crystal the Inhuman join the team, and the team embarks on some remarkably cosmic adventures. Having read over this issue, I'm kind of looking forward to reading them. I collected this version of the team as it was coming out, though, as with all comics at the time, once I discovered sex, drugs, and rock'n'roll, the superheroes left my consciousness for a little while.

I like to think it was serendipitous, as it meant I completely missed the nonsense of the Image years, only returning to superhero comics with Grant Morrison's JLA.

An interesting story today, though, as with the previous installments, the High Evolutionary is doing something with seemingly no impetus. Honestly, the only thing I need to make these stories make any sense is for him to be giving some kind of reason for what he's doing in each issue. For some reason, he needs the terrigen mists of the Inhumans, and he fails to get them, and we don't ever find out why he wanted them. In some ways, this is kind of a cool mechanic, as it means that we're as lost as the heroes themselves - the Evolutionary isn't a Bond villain who monologues to the heroes. He's doing something he considers important, and those that oppose him are beneath his notice.

We'll just have to see how long that remains true.

To be continued.

The 40 Years of Comics Project - Day 994: Silver Surfer Annual #1, 1988

I have a soft spot for the Eternals. Of all of Jack Kirby's solo creations, they're the ones that I find the most interesting. I think I'd have found them more interesting if they'd stayed separate from the rest of the Marvel U, as they appeared to be in their initial forays, but in their current(ish) incarnations, they provide a nice link to the cosmic shenanigans of the Celestials, which I've always found to be a thoroughly intriguing aspect of Marvel history.

That aside, they act in a very un-Eternals manner in today's comic, at least from my perspective on the group. Without really any questioning of the High Evolutionary's plan or motivations, they agree to assist him in wanting to map the Silver Surfer's genetic data because...well, I'm not actually sure why. The Evolutionary says he wants to better understand humanoid genetics, but surely there's an easier candidate than the Silver Surfer. Especially considering that, as the story begins, he's not even on Earth.

I noted a couple of days ago that this is Marvel's first attempt at a cross-annual crossover, and it shows the signs of being the first of its kind. There's little continuity between the stories aside from each one being loosely connected to the High Evolutionary. So far the stories have been about mapping non-human humanoid genetics, sterilizing the Mole People, and taking out a drug kingpin. I'm not really certain how these things work into assisting in the evolution of humankind. Surely evolved humans would simply decide that using cocaine is a bad idea. And do the Moloids really present some kind of threat - if they're a dead end evolutionarily-speaking, why not leave them to their fates?

What I think is needed for this crossover is what many of the subsequent crossovers, from any of the major publishers, have had: a introductory issue. The Age of Apocalypse crossover had X-Men: Alpha, a preface to the main stories told through the crossover that set up for the reader the main concerns of the story. We don't get that here. We're simply dropped in partway through and left to figure out how each of the stories work with one another.

Though, another thought occurs: maybe they're not meant to. Maybe we're not meant to be reading this crossover the same way we read them now. Perhaps the conception was that each annual was simply going to be a story involving whatever team or character featured in the series, and they were only loosely meant to tell a whole story. This way we can enjoy the stories for their own merits, rather than having to rely on other comics to feel like we've had a satisfactory experience. I'll start trying to read them from this perspective, and see what happens.

To be continued.

The 40 Years of Comics Project - Day 964: West Coast Avengers Annual #1, 1986

When I was entering all the pertinent data on yesterday's comic, I realized that I only bought it a couple of years ago. I can't imagine what I must have thought was going on when I read today's comic back in 1986 when I got it. Or, for that matter, why I didn't pick up the Avengers Annual at the same time.

Ah well.

Today's comic is sooooo much better than yesterday's. Steve Englehart has a nice handle on the Avengers, and Mark Bright is a very gifted visual storyteller. Check out his run on Quantum and Woody if you don't believe me. As the Avengers run from the government, the question on all of their minds is who has betrayed them. Unfortunately, that cover leaves little to the imagination, so there's not really any surprise when Quicksilver reveals himself, and then tries to kill both teams. It's interesting. When I first read it, I wondered why Quicksilver had become such a dick. I mean, he's never been the most personable of the Marvel characters (a trait he shares with Alpha Flight's Northstar), but to completely reverse directions and threaten his comrades with death? And to hold such prejudices against the Vision when he himself is a victim of them due to his nature as a mutant? Not that members of minority groups are somehow exempt from prejudicial attitudes, but given his experiences, you'd think Quicksilver's definition of what constitutes life might be a bit more broad than the average.

Reading it now, I'm struck by how this is an example of the events of someone's life piling up until that person breaks. What we have here is a young man dealing with a remarkable amount of pressure, a remarkable amount of change, and, most likely, a pre-existing mental illness. It wasn't something that was talked about much back in the 80s, but there's definitely an undercurrent of psychological distress playing out here. I still think Quicksilver's a dick, but now I understand that perhaps some of that comes from an inability to properly process everything that goes on around him. I have similar troubles, and all I do is teach. This guy is involved in grand cosmic adventures on a regular basis. I probably would have fallen apart too.

To be continued.