John BuscemaReviews

Access a version of the below that includes illustrations on my blog.

I've been reading Black Panther comics in original publication order, but read this out of sequence because it's a collection of material from 1966-70 that wasn't released until after I'd read other material from this era. I didn't discover it until I'd got up to the early 2000s; I jumped back to read it after finishing Christopher Priest's run. Confusingly, it's called Mighty Marvel Masterworks Presents The Black Panther, Volume 1 but the stories collected are totally different to those collected in Marvel Masterworks Presents The Black Panther, Volume 1. Not sure why Marvel would have two so similarly titled reprint series, but I'm sure it must make sense to someone. (Note that the marketing calls this volume Claws of the Panther, but that title doesn't actually appear on the cover, title page, or copyright page of my digital copy from Hoopla.)

The story collects the Black Panther's original two appearances in Fantastic Four #52-53 (which I had already read, so I did not reread), plus the half of #54 where he appears (which I had not), and then goes on to reprint early guest appearances alongside the FF, Captain America, and Daredevil, as well as a few of his appearances with the Avengers. The first few stories are all Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, then Roy Thomas takes over as writer with John Buscema on pencils.

#54 and 56 are largely curios. It is neat to see the Black Panther play baseball against the Fantastic Four, but you have to suffer through a lot of blather about the Inhumans even though it's only ten pages long; the Panther doesn't really appear in #56, which is about Klaw returning to bedevil the Fanstastic Four. This has some amazing Kirby art but the writing is not Stan's finest, with a pathetic Sue and some pretty random resolutions. The Captain America comics didn't do much for me either, they are very much Captain America stories with Black Panther as a supporting character who could pretty much be any other hero, though I guess it shows that Marvel were interested in keeping the character going.

Then Roy Thomas takes over, and he clearly is very interested in the character because we suddenly get him and his world fleshed out a lot more. The Avengers stories weren't great, but were noteworthy. We get the story where Black Panther joins the team, the first appearance of Man-Ape, and a two-parter that introduces singer Monica Lynne, Panther's future fiancée who would play a big role in Don McGregor's and Christopher Priest's work. The story where T'Challa joins the team is weird; it has him in a mask where his lower face is visible, and he's not called "the Black Panther," his codename is just "the Panther." Clearly this minor attempt at a revamp did not stick—to the extent that in that in one of the later stories we're told he deliberately hides that he is Black so that he can avoid judgments on his skin color! The story has him being framed for murdering the Avengers, but the eventual explanation for what happened makes little sense. It is pretty easy to read this story with Priest's retcon that T'Challa only joined the Avengers to spy on them in mind, too.

The two-parter was pretty interesting at first; Black Panther and Monica get mixed up in the attempt of white nationalists to stir up racial animus. Initially, it seems like it's about them taking down the kind of people who might say things like "pointing out racism is the real racism!" Pretty woke, Roy Thomas! But then we learn that the white nationalist demagogue and the Black anti-racism crusader are part of the same evil organization, working together to undermine America. Not so woke after all. But you can see why Monica stuck around; she instantly pops off the page.

The best story here is the Daredevil one. It's a bit nonsensical in parts, but it's a neat story about the police trying to find Daredevil (he's been poisoned) but mistaking Black Panther for him, and so T'Challa helps them find Daredevil. Barry Windsor-Smith does some of the best non-Kirby art in this book, good atmosphere. We don't learn much about Black Panther here but it is well told.

So overall, a decent collection to read if you want a sense of where the Black Panther came from.

Great tales of Conan and one of the few writers to ever get Conan right other than REH.

Volume #10 begins with Belit and Conan going back to Belit's home city in order to get potion to save her mentor N'yaga. This will set them on the road to Stygia where they will get involved in the inner politics of this sorcerer-kingdom with epic battles and monster encounters as a result.

All in all good collection, although stories are more comic(y?) here than in previous issues. Again lots of over dramatic postures, teeth barring and bombast dialog - everything that marked the action comics of the time. In any case it did not prove to be too much disconcerting to me thanks to the page organisation and composition.

Art is again great, Buscema's art again being more to my liking than the rest. Even with all the drama and bombast Buscema manges to give Conan story that epic feeling that somehow eluded the other authors of the period. H. Chaykin is also good but again not as good as Buscema (at least for me).
Coloring is not so good in the first few chapters (it is somewhat grainy) but gets back to quality of previous volumes 1/3 into the book.

Excellent volume, highly recommended to Conan and sword-and-sorcery genre fans in general.

In volume 8 we follow Conan as he joins the mercenary troop on way to the city state to help it become a superpower. In this adventure Conan will come across ancient creatures and monsters, warlords, wizards and their creations, and, due to the unexpected peace treaty, will travel to the distant City of Argos folowing rumours of possible war between Argos and Stygia.

Here he will become member of the pirate crew led by mysterious Belit.

Art is beautiful, especially John Buscema's work. Again coloring is impeccable and truly brings to life entire panels.

As a story this volume marks the beginning of the long running ark where Conan will sail and raid side by side with Belit, Pirate Queen of the Black Coast.

I can only say I cannot wait for the new volume.

Highly recommended to all fans of Conan and generally sword-and-sorcery tales.

Good fun! Stirring, unsanitary adventure in the best pulpy style.

Any fans of Cerebus will see where Dave Sim got his art style for his first book.

At times it's sexist, racist, or both (Conan fireman-carries the floopy, helpless buxom blonde away, saving her from the ravening cannibalistic rapist black men!). These comics, made in the 70s, tone that down a bit from the stories on which they are based, written in the 30s. It is what it is.

1130

Pretty much the same as volume 1 except in Black & White (I guess it wasn't doing well enough to keep paying a colourist). So ridiculous and so 70's.

The first issue of this fantastic magazine. It may be under the Marvel title but this series is far more in line with Conan the Cimmerian than the other marvel installments. More adult and far more entertaining. The Savage Sword takes the foundations of Conan and inks them into a violent and dystopic hyborean world. The Series was brought back shortly before the Pandemic but did not last long. What a shame. It seems that our Sullen Northman can get no due. Oh well. Better than having the character saturated and oversold.

I was getting into Marvel's Conan the Barbarian run just as these stories were being published for the first time (1979-80), so this collection brought back a lot of pleasant memories. In fact, "The Devil Has Many Legs!"--the second story reprinted here--was my introduction to the comic, and it made an instant fan of me. In this tale, Conan is traveling through the Black Kingdoms and briefly becomes the war-chief of the Bamula tribe after vanquishing their fiercest warrior (and their giant spider god). Conan and the Bamulas go on to encounter a group of cave-dwelling vampires before the barbarian's wanderlust leads him to the kingdom of Kush, and to new adventures with an evil queen and a sorcerous nobleman.

Roy Thomas successfully recreates the atmosphere of Robert E. Howard's Hyborian Age in a comic book setting (though only one of the stories, "The Vale of Lost Women," is actually based on a finished Howard tale), and John Buscema's artwork is fantastic. (John's brother Sal is guest penciller on one story.) My only quibble is with the new coloring, which occasionally is so dusky that it becomes hard to follow the action. This is not a deal-breaker, but it is a little distracting for someone who remembers the original, brighter hues.

I enjoyed this even more than I thought I would. I figured it was just going to be Buscema's art, but there was a fun interview with him that gave both some history, as well as some shockingly candid thoughts on his work and the comic book industry as a whole.

I'm fascinated by the fact that he really didn't like the superhero books, because, when I think of Thor, or the Fantastic Four, or Galactus, or the Silver Surfer...it's always a John Buscema drawing I conjure up.

That being said, I now get why he loved Conan so much, and this book is exceptionally heavy on the Conan artwork.

Overall, though, as far as I'm concerned, he's comic book royalty, up there with Kirby, Neal Adams, John Romita Sr., John Byrne, and George Perez, off the top of my head.

I'm just going to say this up front and get it out of the way: for the most part, I enjoy Stan Lee very much like I enjoy H.P. Lovecraft. Neither is a very good author, but both are fantastic idea men. But for Stan Lee in particular, he tends to write in a very overblown, bombastic, beat you over the head style that I simply do not enjoy that much.

Having said that, after finishing Donny Cates' and Tradd Moore's insane [b:Silver Surfer: Black|44903951|Silver Surfer Black|Donny Cates|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1576860471l/44903951._SY75_.jpg|69561044], that both referenced and even included a panel from Stan Lee and Moebius' Parable series, I decided to look through my long boxes and see if I still had those two issues. Shockingly, I did.

Even more shocking is how much I got from these two slim issues (and I have to take them as a single whole, so I'll have this same review for both issues).

The first thing of note is that this seems to take place outside of the normal Marvel universe, because Galactus shows up and hangs around for a while, but there's no Fantastic Four, no Avengers, literally no other Marvel superheroes to be found here. Just the Silver Surfer. Which, to be honest, I quite enjoyed. It's mostly about the dynamic between the two of them, Galactus and the Surfer, creator and creation. The other two dynamics at play here are those that fall under the spell of the preacher who takes on the role of the one who Galactus speaks through, and delivers the holy word (real or not), and then there's the ones who choose to either follow him, or not.

And this is where the story becomes absolutely fascinating for me. Near as I can tell, these two issues were published in late 1988 and early 1989, so just about exactly three decades prior to Donald Trump becoming president.

Now, if you read this series with Galactus as Trump, the Surfer as the voice of reason, the false priest as Trump's presidential persona (or perhaps his Mitch McConnell/Lindsay Graham/assorted press secretary mouthpieces), and those that follow or dissent as the general American population (honestly, this sounds more complicated than it is), this "parable" truly becomes a parable for our times.

Honestly, read some of Stan's lines from this story, and tell me they don't resonate in some way...

Galactus as Trump: Too long have you wallowed in war, endured poverty, been beset by crime. In return for your homage, I bring you a new era. or...MAGA.

Galactus as Trump: I merely allow the unsuspecting humans to destroy themselves...in my name. or...No, I won't wear your stupid mask. I woke up in a free country!

Followers of Galactus/Trump: Go back where you came from!

Galactus as Trump: My former herald has challenged me for the final time. If you must die that I may live—then die you shall. or...You're fired!

Galactus as Trump: I am POWER. And power is all. Consequences are for lesser beings. I am Galactus. That is sanction enough. or...I'm above the law.

Galactus as Trump: Though there are countless deaths each day, [you] mindlessly treat each as if it matters... Surfer's response: If life is the most precious gift of all, then is not its loss a matter of monumental consequence? or...school shootings/135000 dead from COVID-19/#BlackLivesMatter.

Surfer: Why was such awesome power granted to one as merciless as you?

Honestly, I could go on, this story is full of these, but you get the point.

So, yeah, I think I have to look at this as Stan Lee's most prescient and powerful story.

And Moebius' art? There's literally nothing to say beyond the fact that I truly don't think anyone ever made Galactus look more menacing, or the Silver Surfer look more noble. Absolutely stellar work.

I'm just going to say this up front and get it out of the way: for the most part, I enjoy Stan Lee very much like I enjoy H.P. Lovecraft. Neither is a very good author, but both are fantastic idea men. But for Stan Lee in particular, he tends to write in a very overblown, bombastic, beat you over the head style that I simply do not enjoy that much.

Having said that, after finishing Donny Cates' and Tradd Moore's insane [b:Silver Surfer: Black|44903951|Silver Surfer Black|Donny Cates|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1576860471l/44903951._SY75_.jpg|69561044], that both referenced and even included a panel from Stan Lee and Moebius' Parable series, I decided to look through my long boxes and see if I still had those two issues. Shockingly, I did.

Even more shocking is how much I got from these two slim issues (and I have to take them as a single whole, so I'll have this same review for both issues).

The first thing of note is that this seems to take place outside of the normal Marvel universe, because Galactus shows up and hangs around for a while, but there's no Fantastic Four, no Avengers, literally no other Marvel superheroes to be found here. Just the Silver Surfer. Which, to be honest, I quite enjoyed. It's mostly about the dynamic between the two of them, Galactus and the Surfer, creator and creation. The other two dynamics at play here are those that fall under the spell of the preacher who takes on the role of the one who Galactus speaks through, and delivers the holy word (real or not), and then there's the ones who choose to either follow him, or not.

And this is where the story becomes absolutely fascinating for me. Near as I can tell, these two issues were published in late 1988 and early 1989, so just about exactly three decades prior to Donald Trump becoming president.

Now, if you read this series with Galactus as Trump, the Surfer as the voice of reason, the false priest as Trump's presidential persona (or perhaps his Mitch McConnell/Lindsay Graham/assorted press secretary mouthpieces), and those that follow or dissent as the general American population (honestly, this sounds more complicated than it is), this "parable" truly becomes a parable for our times.

Honestly, read some of Stan's lines from this story, and tell me they don't resonate in some way...

Galactus as Trump: Too long have you wallowed in war, endured poverty, been beset by crime. In return for your homage, I bring you a new era. or...MAGA.

Galactus as Trump: I merely allow the unsuspecting humans to destroy themselves...in my name. or...No, I won't wear your stupid mask. I woke up in a free country!

Followers of Galactus/Trump: Go back where you came from!

Galactus as Trump: My former herald has challenged me for the final time. If you must die that I may live—then die you shall. or...You're fired!

Galactus as Trump: I am POWER. And power is all. Consequences are for lesser beings. I am Galactus. That is sanction enough. or...I'm above the law.

Galactus as Trump: Though there are countless deaths each day, [you] mindlessly treat each as if it matters... Surfer's response: If life is the most precious gift of all, then is not its loss a matter of monumental consequence? or...school shootings/135000 dead from COVID-19/#BlackLivesMatter.

Surfer: Why was such awesome power granted to one as merciless as you?

Honestly, I could go on, this story is full of these, but you get the point.

So, yeah, I think I have to look at this as Stan Lee's most prescient and powerful story.

And Moebius' art? There's literally nothing to say beyond the fact that I truly don't think anyone ever made Galactus look more menacing, or the Silver Surfer look more noble. Absolutely stellar work.

I very good rendition of the Robert Howard stories of Conan, with quite a bit of interpretation to fill in the gaps. I especially liked the afterward where the writer discusses his processes, and how he went about writing each book.

I am adding this portion after a re-read (which also comes on reading many of the previous volumes in a fairly short period of time). I found these stories to be decent, but I slowed down reading them in the middle. The last few are the best, as they are preludes to, or part of the classic Queen of the Black Coast short story, by Robert E. Howard, which I have read a few times a well.

I find that the companions Conan acquires in the earlier stories don't quite sit well with me. They don't ruin the story, but I also feel they detracted a bit - Roy Thomas admits a bit a much, when he says that he was treading water with these stories.

The art in this book is good throughout, and the stories are interesting, but not particularly memorable. I again enjoyed the essay by Roy Thomas at the end. One of the last items sums up pulp stories: "And that, in the end, is what pulp fiction is all about: fun!"

A fine collection of tales, with the introduction of Red Sonja to the Conan book, a several issue long story (continued from volume 3), and an adaptation of Robert E. Howard's Red Nails to finish up the volume.

Two fine artists penciled this book, and I enjoyed both of their work. The essay at the end by Roy Thomas continues to be satisfying, and informative of the behind the scenes work of creating a comic, and the plans and ideas that made the book just read.

I liked it, but I did not love it. Usually, I tend to breeze through anthologies like this, but this one seemed to take forever. It just did not hold my attention overall. I think an issue is that many of the comics in this collection have not aged well. You have to give credit where it is due: Roy Thomas wrote comics in just about every genre. However, it does not follow they were great. It means the guy was flexible. The collection provides a nice sampling of Marvel's works in the 1960s and 1970s. Some comics are better than others, but overall, it is a good collection.

There is also much social commentary as this was a time when racism, sexism, and other issues were at the forefront of American society, and so the comics do reflect that as the superheroes have to confront some of those issues. Having said, there are also moments that may make today's readers cringe such as Roy's work on "Modeling with Millie." Let's just say today's feminists may have a thing or two to say about Millie's passivity and leave it at that. So, the collection also serves a bit as a time capsule for those who like to get a feel for times past. The collection also includes some silly spoofs and a bit of horror even; the guy really could do diverse work.

I think that casual readers may just want to browse and find their favorite comics: Avengers, Fantastic Four, so on. More hardcore Marvel fans may want to add this to their collections for the sake of completion. If nothing else, this is part of the Marvel Visionaries series, a series the company uses to highlight their best writers and/or specific titles. I have enjoyed other volumes in the series, and while this particular volume was a bit inconsistent for me, I still found it good entertainment overall; I am glad I was able to add it to my collection. Let us admit that at times the old comics could be pretty cheesy, and yet, at times, that is the sort of simple pleasure a comic book reader seeks. Overall, this is certainly a series I will continue to seek. And I may revisit this volume here and there.

Mark Gruenwald’s Squadron Supreme collects issues nos. 1-12 of the titular series that were published between September 1985 and August 1986 as well as Captain America no. 314 from February 1986. The team originally appeared as the Squadron Sinister in Avengers no. 70 as a pastiche of the Justice League of America, but here Gruenwald tells a story examining the logical result of a superpowered group dedicating itself to bettering the world. Hyperion, a Superman-like character, leads the team in creating a Utopia Program to assume control of the United States government and fundamentally reshape society. Nighthawk, a Batman-type character, votes against the plan and leaves the team, later creating his own superpowered group to resist the Squadron.

Over the course of a year, the Squadron Supreme institutes massive changes to American society, beginning with the public reveal of their secret identities in order to gain the public’s trust. They disarm the public and then the military, create behavior-modification technology to re-program the minds of convicted criminals, and, when genius Tom Thumb cannot find a cure for all disease, the Squadron creates a form of cryogenic preservation in order to preserve the dead until such time as a cure may be found. Gruenwald examines the temptation for his all-too-human heroes to exploit these technologies, with Golden Archer (Green Arrow) using the behavior modification device to make Lady Lark (Black Canary) love him. Nuke discovers that his parents’ deadly cancer was caused by his powers and dies fighting Doctor Spectrum (Green Lantern). When Nighthawk brings his group to confront the Squadron, the final conflict results in seven more deaths, representing the consequences of such ideological conflict.

Gruenwald’s miniseries appeared slightly before Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ Watchmen, though it remains overshadowed by that later work. Gruenwald engaged with many of the same issues and offered a similarly serious take on the superhero genre, portraying his characters with domestic lives, moral conflicts, sexuality, and capable of dying. His Squadron Supreme deserves the same level of recognition for how it subverted the familiar superhero tropes, in many ways dramatizing the transition of the Bronze Age of comics to the Modern Age. This edition of Squadron Supreme appeared shortly after Mark Gruenwald’s death and features tributes from Tom DeFalco, Mike Carlin, Alex Ross, Mark Waid, Kurt Busiek, Ralph Macchio, and Gruenwald’s widow, Catherine, who explains in her introduction that, per Mark’s last wishes, his ashes were “mixed in with the printer’s ink during the printing process” of this volume.

By Crom! Mitra! Ishtar! Set! Thor! Cthulhu! Flying Spaghetti Monster!

These Visionaries volumes are not so much best-of collections as they are an overview or sampling of the creator's work from its earliest days on. In this case, it was interesting to see "Big John"'s technique evolve from its relatively humble beginnings into the dynamic style that most comic readers are probably familiar with. In addition to stories featuring the Fantastic Four, Avengers, Thor, Hulk, Silver Surfer and other Marvel Universe luminaries, there are a couple early crime stories and a romance, as well as a slightly mature Dracula piece. Some of them are classics while others just aren't so good, and frankly the combined extreme melodrama of Stan Lee and Roy Thomas made my head hurt. Still, a decent study for comic art historians.

This collects various Avengers/Thanos comics from 1963-1972, presenting the story of Thanos' quest to become a god and destroy all life in the universe, and Avengers' efforts to stop him.

It ought to be exciting, right?

I remember liking these comics as a kid. Really I do. And Marvel has given us some good movies over the last several years, using the Avengers. I was really pleased to see this available in Kindle Unlimited.

Unfortunately, it's just silly and disjointed, and the art isn't that good.

Yes, these are separate comics published over a period of about a decade, from different specific lines, focused on different main characters. But it's presented as being the story of the Avengers battling Thanos to protect the universe, as if there's a coherent story, here.

There isn't. Repeatedly we see Thanos finally and completely defeated, and then back in the next part of the sequence, present as if the previous defeat hadn't been presented as decisive. New characters appear, presented as if we should already know them.

And really, in the end, I don't care. There's backstory that I don't remember, if I ever read those particular comics, that isn't here, that would probably make it all feel a bit more coherent. In what is included here, Marvell and his alter ego, Rick Jones, are the only characters whom I was able to feel much connection to at all, and even that was tenuous.

Mostly, I just didn't care what happened to these characters.

Clearly, I'm not the intended audience here. I suspect the intended audience for this collection is the audience of readers who loved these comics when they were younger, and never stopped loving the Marvel universe.

I read this for free from Kindle Unlimited, and that's a bit of a relief.

Not bad, not great. The Thing's banter was the best part.

Great tales of Conan and one of the few writers to ever get Conan right other than REH.

I loved and devoured this book when I was a kid (in the original edition). Alas, my drawing skills never quite developed and I put more energy into the stories than into the drawings. Still, it was a step on the path to making me an author, and I still think Buscema was one of the strongest draftsmen Marvel ever had.

Some great stories, from comics I had as a boy.

The best Justice League story without the Justice League ever being in it. This was Kingdom Come before Mark Waid wrote it. Its one of those must read comics that still stands up so many years later.