Strange Tales II 2
Reviewed by Martin Skidmore 06-Nov-10
Marvel lets a bunch of indie/underground types (most notably Los Bros Hernandez) at their characters, with variable but mostly enjoyable results.
The cover is instantly irresistible: a cheery Jaime Hernandez pic of the Scarlet Witch, Invisible Woman and Wasp in swimsuits on the beach, with various supervillains in trunks leering at them, including Loki flexing and pointing at a bicep, and best of all, the sand they are walking on is the Sandman. And it’s not just a random cover – there’s a 6-page Jaime strip inside, featuring the lust-crazed Space Phantom trying to get in on that beach party by stealing poorly-selected likenesses. We get a Gilbert strip too, which is sadly considerably less entertaining.
There’s an excellent Tony Millionaire Thor strip, the special pleasure of which is the mangled Shakespearean gibberish Thor talks: “Where couldst I have belain thain belastered hammer? Myself knowst ere I leftet it on the underneathenmoorst part of mine porch…” There are other good strips by Paul Maybury (Spidey coming up with excuses for injuries suffered at the hands of Vermin, Electro and so on) and Farel Dalrymple (Spidey again, with the Silver Surfer, not so far from the usual Marvel style, admitting to John Buscema swipes) and Jon Vermilyer (Ant-Man vs Modok). Paul Hornschemeier’s Colossus story seems out of place: it’s kind of moving, and could function perfectly easily as a back-up in some X-title, perhaps excepting its lack of any conclusion, virtually a denial of the possibility of a conclusion.
The only one I didn’t care for was Sheldon Vella’s ‘Ghost Badge’ – sort of a Ghost Rider riff, I guess, but the only strip not to feature actual Marvel characters (as far as I know), and its aggressively ugly style (um, vaguely Kevin O’Neil crossed with S. Clay Wilson, though that sounds vastly more exciting than it actually is) was offputting. Perhaps my favourite bit is the Ivan Brunetti next-issue ad at the end, lots of Peanutsish Marvel characters in the gym and the like – the Hulk straining to do a chin-up, Doc Strange punching a bag, Spidey playing squash with the Green Goblin, and so on. If there are several pages of that in the next issue, I’m in.
Tags: Gilbert Hernandez, Jaime Hernandez, Marvel
hi martin – gotta say i think you gave beto’s iron man strip short shrift
jaime’s strip of course looks beautiful & is great fun but i found gilbert’s “old school rules!” a much better story & very moving – it’s like a love note to 1960s marvel – i especially like the way it foreshadows fantastic four annual no.4 ( where the mad thinker revives the original human torch ) & how it acts as a prequel to roy thomas’s handling of toro in the late 60s submariner gomic – & the ditko/ayers look of the leader & his androids was an unexpected treat
the drawings were great too – altho except for the splash page, the colouring was a bit full on for my tastes – my only other criticisms were i thought GH drew the original iron man suit a little too thin ( but then, so did don heck when he briefly brought it back ) & tony stark looked a teeny bit south american…
i haven’t been keeping up with love & rockets recently & have heard from some pals that gilbert h’s work isn’t up to his previous high standards – well i have to say i thought this was the beto i know & love – tho i guess yr mileage may vary if you’re not obsessed with 1960s marvel gomics characters in general & iron man in particular…
( it would’ve been nice to see a hulk cameo as well, of course )
broadly agree w/the rest of yr review – i think jenni thought that tony millionaire’s thor strip was the funniest thing she’d ever read in her life ( at least since the last episode of pre skool prime minister in the new dandy ) & what a thrill to see modok drawn by ivan brunetti…!
x Martin H
09/11
I was disappointed, I think, because the Gilbert was like a somewhat lighthearted ’60s Marvel – I wanted something more or very different from him, I guess. Having said that, all your points are fair enough.
– funnily enuff, i would’ve said jaime’s piece was “an entertainment” ( & none the worse for that ) whereas beto’s strip was a more serious work, w/more depth, feeling for the characters, w/echoes of their past & future etc
I think I’d have been keener on Gilbert’s had it been in a regular Marvel title, whereas I was expecting comedy and radically different versions in this. No reason I am right to have expected that, I admit.