Panel of the Day : 5/14/12

While I know that we're talking about a cover and not an actual panel, I really needed to post this today.

The cover of The Avengers #493 seemed like a winner at first glance. We get Captain America, Iron Man, and Scarlet Witch (pre House of M craziness) charging into battle.

Then I took a closer look at Scarlet Witch.

Was this supposed to be a tribute to Robert Crumb?

Why did this cover get approved? Scott Kolins, what the hell were you thinking? She looks like a man with a face that had a run-in with a steam roller. I don't like this.

Your thoughts? Was he having a bad day? Was it a rush job? Can he just not draw women?

Tales to Astonish #36 (October 1962)

Picking up after that last Ant-Man story, we come back to find that fighting evil doers is now commonplace in the life of Henry Pym - it's like a second job! In fact, the introduction to the story shows Ant-man saving some crooks who accidentally locked themselves in a bank vault. He turns them over to the police, of course, but everyone is left wondering how he he's able to find trouble so quickly. This entire story seems like a device just to show off how he is able to communicate with the ants, and it's as though each Ant-Man story up to this point continues to advance his story a little further each time.

Avengers #1 (September 1963) Part Two

In case I've left you in suspense about the whereabouts of the Hulk, let me now dive into the second half of the first issue of The Avengers!

The Hulk: be very afraid.

Avengers #1 (September 1963) Part One

To mark the release of Marvel's Avengers in theaters this past weekend, I've decided to delve into the monumental first issue in which the saga began. Page two calls it a "Book-Length Super Epic", which is entirely true. While it may be only 22 pages, the story is crammed with so many plot points, action, useless dialogue, and characters, that it feels like a 100-page Annual. I was a little hesitant to follow through with this, but after the 3 days it took me to read the entire thing, here we go!

Panel of the Day : 05/07/12

From Avengers v1 #2: In the good ol' days, Tony Stark just needed a wall outlet for a full charge.

Journey Into Mystery #85 (October 1962)

Right off the bat, it might just be the cover, but there's already a lot of reading.

I've begun to realize that the Thor stories are always a lot of fun, the Fantastic Four are hit-and-miss, Ant Man is just weird, the Hulk is never good but has promise, and I still hate the Human Torch. Here is yet another fun Thor story.

Strange Tales #101 (October 1962)

Starring the "Fabulous Human Torch", this was about as exciting as an issue of the Incredible Hulk. The issue begins by telling us (once again) why Johnny Storm is a cool kid. We get another glimpse of his origin story, followed by an explanation as to why his identity is still a secret, despite the fact that he made it a very public thing in other stories.

Tales to Astonish #35 (September 1962)

It took eight months after Henry Pym's first appearance in Tales to Astonish #27 for him to return, and from then on he remained an enduring character in the Marvel Universe (at least until the 80's when Bob Hall drew him striking his wife across the face in Avengers #213). People probably reacted the same way I did after reading that debut issue: "it's such a great story, but that's it?" As with many other Marvel creations in that era, there WAS a great concept hiding beneath the surface, but it was going to need some fine tuning before it could become anything special. OK, Henry Pym was going to need a LOT of fine tuning.