#627 Walt Simonson’s “Thor”

Thor and Beta Ray Bill

 

One of the most acclaimed Marvel runs of the 1980s was by Walt Simonson on The Mighty Thor. He began writing and drawing it with #337, continued through to #367 (with a quick break in the middle), then gave up art duties but continued writing through #382. This run set aside Dr. Don Blake, focused on mythical threats rather than earthly ones, and injected some humor into what had sometimes been a fairly dry, dour book. Tim and Kumar look back to assess this important run.

Critiquing Comics #158: “Bronze Age Boogie” and “Longdog”

Bronze Age Boogie + Longdog

In this episode, Tim and Mulele discuss:

  • Bronze Age Boogie, by Stuart Moore and Alberto Ponticelli. An ambitious comic that tries to cram in too many ideas. The Bronze Age! ’70s pop culture! Time-traveling apes! Prose interludes! Meanwhile, the book’s backup feature is the bomb! Has Ahoy Comics gotten things backwards?
  • Longdog, by Josh Hechinger and Jorge Munoz. The authors of one of our very early critiques are back together with a story of Sasquatch hunting. It looks good, but is the tone a bit inconsistent?

Also, Mulele tells a story of recent tragic headlines here in Japan and how they intersect with comics and his life.

#626 Wolverine ’82: a second look

Wolverine

The 1982 Wolverine mini-series, by Chris Claremont and Frank Miller, was seminal in a number of ways: One of the first Marvel minis, a major fleshing-out of Wolverine’s character, a milepost on the road to the expunging of omniscient narration from American comics.

Six years back, Kumar and Dana had a lot of reservations about the story; in this issue, Koom, Rob, and Sam have a different take.

Critiquing Comics #157: “Moderate Mania” and “The Starfall Saga”

Moderate Mania - Starfall Saga
This time, Tim and Mulele critique:

  • Moderate Mania, issue 1 of a comic about bipolar disorder by Charles Brandon Hayes and Randy Walker; and
  • The Starfall Saga issues 1 and 2, a post-apocalyptic slugfest by Akis Papakonstantinou and Chris Evagelidakis