Comics Review of 2021

 

A couple of weeks ago when I first thought of writing this review all sorts of positive developments were happening within the world of British comics which I have concentrated on for some time now. Rebellion had cut back it's "specials" because of the pandemic but there were more than a few including Black Beth (which deserves to be a monthly in my opinion and they announced that Monster Fun would return as a bi-monthly comic in April 2022!

The Treasury of British comics continued to publish a range of old British classics ranging from The Steel Claw to a third volume of the Trigan Empire and of course 2000AD & the Judge Dredd Megazine have not only weathered the crisis but developed a larger subscriber base. All good news for the reader as well as the publisher.

DC Thomson continued it's regular output of The Beano which also has seen a rise in circulation along with Commando the last of the pocket picture libraries still churning out eight comics a month, four new and four reprints with more than just World War Two stories branching into science fiction and even a little horror though that was indeed set in the war but hey, the Nazi's always get their comeuppance!

I just wish the Scottish publisher would consider publishing collected editions of it's huge back catalogue. There is plenty of worthy material to be had from the likes of Victor, Hotspur, Hornet, Wizard, Rover and the Crunch.

The year also saw the return of Marvel UK with new comics from Panini. They revived Spider-Man, the X-Men and more general Marvel material in their "bookazines" and one more "generic title. This year marked a return to reading Marvel entirely due to their efforts. 

Whilst Spider-Man has seemingly found a format suitable for the mixed pockets of the various fans, the X-Men along with Marvel Essentials which featured Empyre (which was a worthy read) but mainly focused on the symbiotes which are of no interest to me were expensive "prestige" format comics. Now these werer actually good value in the amount of reprinted US material but at basically eight quid a pop plus distribution problems they have not been a success.

Sadly Panini ends the X-Men this month with Essentials ceasing in March. At least they seem to be finishing off story-lines before cancellation which shows both consideration and loyalty to their readers. Spider-Man is unaffected as is their sole DC venture Batman. The good value "bookazines" which have tied into movies and TV launches will continue. 

It is not known what replacements (if any) Panini are planning. Like others I hope for an X-Men comic and at least the return of The Avengers or the Hulk. 

The Independent market has also improved it's output and one of the highlights of the year was The 77 Annual a professionally produced tome that was worthy of being in one's Christmas stocking! In addition smaller titles like Sentinel, Shaman Kane and Plainer Jane have continued to entertain. The impressive "fanzine" Comics Unlimited has also delivered for fans of the genre. If you haven't tried any of these titles please go to the sidebar and click on the links!

Finally there is this blog. Despite a drastic change in my personal circumstances I have continued to collect more comics and trades than I expected resulting in the most posts in one year that this blog has published since being launched in 2014.  Readership varies but averages higher than last year with spikes when I did some special themed events. 

The Look-In Seventies, Look-In Eighties and my Top Ten British Comics series did see increased interest which given I write for pleasure just wanting to share my thoughts on the hobby with others is nice, Of course being me I haven't shied from away controversy and remain open-minded, a little old fashioned and not impressed with "cancel culture" or the extreme "woke". It seems to me that the ghost of Mary Whitehouse has appeared on what used to be the "left" in politics but I digress. I do have a political blog and Facebook page where I discuss these issues.

Photo: By Published in an article from The Telegraph

Regardless I'm pleased with the way Howie's World of Comics has developed and hope to engage your interest in the coming year. Probably more about back issues than new stuff though I will try to continue to support British comics, especially the Independent sector where I can. There will always be posts on DC, Marvel, Archie, Dynamite and other US publishers as I love so many of their characters. 

I also hope to expand beyond the comics world  which at the moment is mostly around Doctor Who or Gerry Anderson audios.  I've plenty of ideas and hope to see you coming back in the New Year. 

Happy New Year to all my readers!

Shalom Aleichem,

Howie

Infinity Countdown & Infinity War (Marvel/2018)

 

Continuing with my wish to "catch up" with the goings on in the Marvel Universe I picked up Infinity Wars but immediately noticed I needed to read what had come before as is the way with these crossovers. Infinity Countdown was then added to the pile and I finally got around to reading over Christmas.

Once again the Infinity Stones are being fought over though something about them has changed and although Warlock kicks off the adventure as would be expected given his relationship with the Soul Gem, it was interesting seeing Loki at the centre of this story along with a Librarian from Omnipotence City. The latter was interesting as I hadn't come across this before. Obviously more for me to "discover" as I continue my journey.

I have read the original three stories about the Infinity Stones and the first few issues of Warlock and the Infinity Watch and at least a couple more  over the years but Infinity Wars takes place across the multiverse and we meet many Loki's and see the return of Moondragon and her lover Phyla.

The Guardians of the Galaxy also take a central role and Groot has a surprising character development. Still Thanos is back for a while and Gamora exacts a revenge as the war begins. One of the problems with these multi-title crossover epics is that some of the action takes place off the page and although these are available in trades as the in-house advertising in the Trade shows it would make reading even more complicated reading.

There's enough especially in Infinity Countdown the prequel to keep the reader informed and I'm not convinced that buying volumes of Sleepwalker or Darkhawk (neither of whom I have ever read) would particularly add anything to the main feature.

All that said I quite enjoyed the journey and would happily re-read this again in the not too distant future. Well worth grabbing both trades.

 

X-Men Legends Vol 1 (Marvel)

 

Having returned to reading the X-Men mainly via their British publisher, Panini I had asked a question on a Facebook group as to how I could catch up with so much of the characters history and someone suggested the limited-series X-Men Legends that was then being published. Since my local comic shop stopped doing new comics even by mail order I tend to only buy trades and so ordered the first volume via Amazon which arrived yesterday.

This is a nice little volume collecting six issues of the series and contained three stories which were originally published in two monthly instalment. At first I was puzzled as to how this would help me gain a wider picture of the X-Men's past history but as I read on a picture did begin to emerge.

The first rather frantic story featured the appearance of another Summers "brother". I already knew about Vulcan from a more recent trade that I read and was interested to see the appearance of many cosmic characters in The Burning Blood. Renegades from the Shi'ar Empire, Corsair and his Starjammers plus a surprise ending. 

The second adventure saw Apocalypse team up with some mad anti-Mutant bigot Hodge who loses his head literally in this story set on a spaceship that is sentient and has a mission of its own. There's a mutant baby and at least a lot of familiar faces in this story Transformations which also features Angel with mechanical wings. 

Last but by from the least is my favourite of the three as a mutant group of freedom fighters or terrorists from Latveria take over their country's Embassy in DC. Messing with Doc Doom ain't the best of ideas even on Christmas Eve which we learn is not celebrated in Latveria and with both the Avengers and FF unavailable who do you call? Seems X-Force drew the short straw as a Congressional hearing is told at the beginning.

I had no idea who Guido was or what happened to him. All a bit "nineties" I suppose but with Multiple Man in tow they provide a distraction for the main event or rather the entry of the main man. This feature does have it's moments and I'm not sure I'd like to even be a fly on the wall in that hospital room but no spoilers from me.

This new release is well worth picking up and hopefully volume two will be swinging my way in due course!

Rating: 5 Stars (Recommended)

A British Christmas Comics Gallery

A Happy Christmas to all my readers!

Please play the above video and scroll down for some memories!

The Hotspur Christmas issue 1966 (DC Thomson)

 

Given the huge variety of comics, both British and America we had as kids in the sixties and the lack of pocket money choices had to be made. There were three "boys picture papers" that I recall from DC Thomson. The Hotspu,r The Hornet and The Victor. Of the three I tended to pick up The Victor on occasion and don't recall being that enamoured with the content of Hotspur.

The Victor had a "true" war story on it's front cover each week whilst The Hotspur went for westerns and possibly given my lack of interest in the genre as I grew older that was probably a reason behind my choic. This edition is fairly typical of the period. I only ever had the one annual which probably had the least appropriate cover for a Christmas edition I remember!

There were a number of sports stories which were part of the British anthology line up but never appealed to me and even today I still skip over them. Never been a sports enthusiast of any type. Much more interesting was Tooth and Claw Guard the Flag set in the Napoleonic wars. There was the inevitable western in this case Rudd of the Rodeo and more interestingly a Mountie story you could help work out yourself by finding the clues in the form of Redcoat Rogers.

I have to say having gone through this issue i can see why The Hotspur at least during this period was smething I was that interested in but later issues especially with the introduction of The Cobra did change the dynamic but this comic like most of DC Thomson's adventure output remained a wee bit old fashioned compared to IPC/Fleetway.

Knockout Christmas Issue 1971 (IPC)

 

On a whim I decided to order a handful of old British comics to have a read and possibly review over Christmas. Knockout is one of the comics that came in my package and I chose to start with this Christmas issue for obvious reasons and because the contents were new to me. At least I think most of them they were...

Knockout had a fairly short run from June 1971 until June 1973 when it was "merged" with the better selling Whizzer & Chips a comic I am more familiar with having started reading it from the beginning. There's some quite nice and old fashioned style strips including Pete's Pockets, Beat Your Neighbour, The Toffs and The Tuffs, Copy Kate and Joker. 

There's even an odd comedy-adventure strip about an alien. Barry & Boing. Don't ask, just run with the flow. One strip Fuss Pott seemed familiar but then the basic concept is probably not unique to this character.

Overall quite a nice little publication and though I might pick up an annual one of these days is not one that I personally would collect due to other priorities but it does have it's fans as I've discovered in various blogs and Facebook groups over the years. Good harmless childish fun!

Dandy Annual 2022 (DC Thomson)

 

As Christmas approaches many of us will have memories being given annuals as presents from various relatives. Back in the day there were a huge number to choose from up to a couple of hundred some years as these included all sorts of publications from Lion, Valiant and Victor to Blue Peter books and of course The Dandy.

Most people I know (myself included) were primarily fans of The Beano rather than The Dandy though in my childhood it was Wham!, Smash! and Pow! that were at the top of my "wants" list. Sadly most of these comics except for The Beano are long gone. However all is not lost for fans of The Dandy as Scottish publisher DC Thomson still bring us The Dandy Annual every year!

Of course it's not the same as the one I remember from my misspent childhood. Some of the arts a "bit different" (to say the least) but there enough recognisable characters including Desperate Dan and Korky the Cat though joined by Beryl the Peril and Corporal Clott from The Beezer. 

New characters include the amusing Dreadlock Holmes and the quite dreadful Space Raoul which takes the prize for the worst art. Oddly the artist for the Corporal Clott strips looked disappointingly nothing like the traditional character though he did get drawn correctly elsewhere. Ye Editor needs a word with him (or her) self. 

Over-all this is a Dandy for the modern times but at this time of year I cannot but reminisce about the heydays of the British humour comic.

Rating: 3 Stars

Marvel Select: The Amazing Spider-Man - Happy Birthday (Panini)

 

Having gone from not reading Spider-Man for years to being a regualr monthly reader it was a "no brainer" to pick up the latest edition of Marvel Select from Panini. This "bookazine" is a great value package reprinting the Doctor Strange team up that took place in the run up to and including Spidey's 500th issue.

I have to say the one comic I did collect after Ditko's departure from Spider-Man was Marvel Team up as Spidey does work well in conjunction with other characters and in the case of Doc Strange can relieve Stephen's over -serious or sometimes pompous personality. Oh don't get me wrong. I love the Sorcerer Supreme (if he still holds that title) and must catch up with his solo adventures when I have some spare dosh.

In fact the combination of the arrival of the Mindless One's in New York, the attempt by the Fantastic Four and a couple of Avengers to turn the tide results in a time travelling adventure that allows a review of Spidey's history. The good Doctor is heard to crack a joke so it is serious though Peter Parker has a hard time seeing his battles and heartaches across time.

Let's forget ageing and remember time works "differently" in the Marvel Universe. That's how Peter Parker manages to be older and stay younger than most of his fans over the 50 odd years he's been fighting the good fight.

There's even a back-up feature in which Spidey seems to meet Doctor Strange for the very first time and we see a toaster sized mystical artefact cause all the trouble. What and Baron Mordo as well. Panini does spoil us. A bit of fun after a universe saving epic!

Rating: 5 Stars (Recommended)

Also still available:

Comics Unlimited #8 (GBF Publishing)

 

The publication of the latest issue of Comics Unlimited caught me by surprise but more than a welcome one.  As usual this printed to order publication from Glen Fleming & friends via Amazon contains material that will be of interest to fans of both British and American comics.

Rather than go through the contents article by article I thought I would concentrate on the highlights, well at least mine.  First up of course is a terrific article on Strontium Dogs early years in the short-lived but fondly remembered Starlord comic. I only have a couple of original issues of this but did get hold of Rebellions Strontium Dog-Search and Destroy: The Starlord Years which should still be available on the 2000AD website. 

Frankly if you read the article by Tony Ingram I'm sure you'll want to to read the original source material. O course the other material covered in this eighty page journal isn't readily available in such an easy to collect format but for those of you interested in the history of Marvel UK there are two important articles.

Spider-Man's comics are given quite a comprehensive history by Tony Ingram up until the late eighties. Some of the later comics are unfamiliar to me as this was a period I was not taking much notice of British comic and by late 89 was taking a nearly decade long break from the hobby due to the rise of the speculators. 

Steve Hooker adds to Marvel's UK history with an overview of just that until the departure of Dez Skinn. I recall the later period as I was picking up the Hulk and Marvel Comic for most of their fairly short runs.

DC fans haven't been left out either as there's a very interesting piece on "Earth B" mainly around The Brave & The Bold one of my favourites and how Bob Harney managed to ignore even rudimentary continuity and we are told how he managed to create Donna Troy through just using Wonder Girl (Wonder Woman in her youth) in his work on The Teen Titans.

The influence of British talent on DC is also examined by Tony and how this led to some of the most iconic works such as The Watchmen, V for Vendetta and of course Batman: The Killing Joke which shocked readers by leaving Barbara Gordon (Batgirl) permanently disabled. Comics were really growing up with their readers!

There's plenty of other stuff for the casual reader including a look at the short-lived Eagle/Quality line of 2000AD comics launched in the USA that sadly failed. Other articles include a look at Ron Noble, The Unknown Soldier and a couple of pieces on comics I've never come across Retrieve and Rammur. 

As always well worth grabbing a copy.

Rating 5 Stars (Recommended)

Order via Amazon