Like many of you, I began reading comics at a young age. In my case, it was the early 1980s at the time when Chris Claremont and John Romita Jr. were reinventing Uncanny X-Men, Walt Simonson was storming The Mighty Thor and Boisterous Bill Mantlo was penning a variety of titles simultaneously, including Micronauts, Peter Parker the Spectacular Spider-Man, Captain America, Rom and The Incredible Hulk. At such a young age, I was quite impressionable, and all the Marvel comics I enjoyed would make me into a fan for life. During these formative years, it would be Marvel comic books which played a major influence in developing my sense of honor and duty, expanding my vocabulary, defining what interpersonal relationships could be, and weaving my own fabric of morality. After 30+ years of reading comics by hundreds of storytellers, I can say without any hesitation that there could’ve been no better writer to help build my moral center than the Boisterous One. It would be during his run on The Incredible Hulk that I would learn key lessons about kindness, humility, forgiveness, love, heroism and sacrifice. They are lessons I carry with me to this day and which affect both […]
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Q: What could be worse than a wet costume? A: Wet costume covered by two kinds of wet fur! After 45 of these columns, dear reader, I fear that I risk creating the impression that Comics ‘n Coffee is nothing more than a cultural wasteland. And so, it is with that concern that I attempt to elevate the discussion to one of refined taste and the utmost seriousness. And thus, the Spectacular Spider-Man (Peter Parker) and X-Man/Avenger Beast (Henry McCoy) elegantly adorn our sophisticated cover, where a powerful winged enemy boasts “Even Spider-Man cannot stand ALONE against my powers for long!”. As the fearsome foe battles Spidey in the skies above Manhattan, a blue-furred acrobat swings from a high-rise flagpole to join the fray, interjecting “Got NEWS for you, buster–Webhead ISN’T alone!”. With the excitement building before we’ve even seen page one, so begins “The Claws of the Griffin”, the first meeting of two of Marvel’s most popular heroes!
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We try and make it right but it’s nowhere in sight It’s somewhere in the brain and you know who’s to blame You know he keeps smashin’, still we keep on playin’ Head games! At the risk of seeming like an old fogey who isn’t up with the times, I’ve seen many Marvel titles over the last several years re-launch themselves and start over with issue #1. It’s very rare nowadays for a comic book to reach into the triple digits.
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Beatin’ rats and racists and proving their worth, Saving the day while they’re saving the Earth, Defenders of The Earth, Defenders! These days, our heroes aren’t treated seriously unless they can turn back a time-traveling tyrant, defeat a diabolical doomsday device, upset a universe-threatening upstart, or arrest an army of alien abominations. Is it the power one wields which puts the “hero” in the super hero? How many innocents must a hero save to demonstrate the courage in their heart? A thousand? A million? A billion? What about the selfless individual who worries less about the galaxy-spanning threats and takes an evening to comfort a lost child?
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I’LL TAKE YOU TO LIMBO, BUT WE HAVE TO GO WAY BACK (or How Am I Supposed to Make Toast When Batteries Aren’t Included?) Since the dawn of comics, licensed merchandise has been a part of this world of fantasy. It was inevitable that comics would adapt other media and create new stories on the printed page, ranging from Bob Hope to Captain Action to Welcome Back, Kotter. “ROM has come…Evil is on the run!” is how Parker Brothers introduced Rom the Spaceknight, a new toy which boasted to be among the first with L.E.D. lights and electronic sounds. ROM, or “Read-Only Memory”, referred to the chip inside the toy which allowed it to perform simple electronic tasks. The 13-inch plastic figure had very limited movement of its limbs, but came with three accessories which Rom could wield and would glow bright red. These were his Energy Analyzer, a Translator device and the mightiest of high-tech weaponry, Rom’s Neutralizer! Each of these contraptions made strange noises while Rom’s eyes and rocket pods flashed red and his respirator made realistic breathing sounds, all courtesy of a 9-volt battery. “You can pretend he has come from a galaxy far away to share […]
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CAN YOU HUG YOUR DAD IF YOU CALL IT A FULL NELSON? (or There’s No Better Father’s Day Gift Than Asgardian Love) When a combination writer/artist decides to take a break from one or both duties on a title, the fill-in work sometimes is a disaster, but in certain cases is a pleasant surprise. Following the Casket of Ancient Winters story arc (Thor #350-354), Walt Simonson relinquished his artistic duties for a spell and let the God of Thunder recover from his recent adventures before rushing off to the next crisis.
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Joe Montana & Hulk’s Bogus Journey (or The Quarterback of Notre Dame) There isn’t much that throws your humble author for a loop these days, dear reader. I’ve savored the subtle scribblings of politicized parody comics and absorbed the mind-bending absurdities of Alan Moore’s most diabolical designs. What put a burr in my britches in this particular case, true believer, is that a comic book forcibly transported my mind through time, altered reality without explanation and failed to live up to my expectations for one of the best writers to ever occupy the Marvel Bullpen.
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The Hyborian Horror’s Homecoming This edition of Comics & Coffee puts a chill up my spine as I write it, dear reader, for it shines a light on things best left hidden in darkness. Marvel Premiere started out with stories about Adam Warlock, but issues #3-14 take us through the hauntingly harrowing quest of Doctor Stephen Strange as he endeavors to save the life of The Ancient One and the soul of the entire universe! For only 20 cents in 1972, some of Marvel Comics Group’s key talent brings us the titanic tale of Doctor Strange as he travels wide across the globe and to the far reaches of space to halt the coming of “He Who Sleeps, But Shall Awake”, the primordial god of all evil (first mentioned in the Robert E. Howard short story “The Curse of the Golden Skull”), Shuma-Gorath!
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