Phantom at the Window: Frew #1623

What's going on with that kid's hand?

Well it's been a while since we've seen the Phantom stalking people, so let's talk about Frew #1623, and maybe add a few more images to our already legendary collage.

Maybe? Son we found *seven* new images!

Frew #1673 is Frew's 2012 Annual Special. The Annual Specials are a tradition that's been going since 1991, and this is the 21st Annual Special ever. These books are enormous -- 250-300 page comic books. The equivalent of a trade paperback, and a large one, released to news agents as a regular comic book for $11. It's frickin' awesome.

And this is my first one since getting back into Phantom last year, so I'm totally chuffed to get Frew #1623. So why don't we take a little look at it together?

Who Watches the Nightwatch Part 3: Crossoverkill

Hey, remember those new-character 1993 annuals I was talking about in our last installment?  Well, Web of Spider-Man had one, too, introducing not one, not two, but three new characters!  Vortex, Dementia, and Shard are...the Cadre!  Who?  Yeah, pretty much.  Forget about them, they suck.  Marvel annuals of the late '80s and early '90s were jam-packed with backup stories, and this one is no different.  One of those just happens to be another Nightwatch story, written by Terry Kavanagh with art by Mark Powers and Hector Collazo.

And then...OBSCURITY!

Avengers #90 And the Stream of Consciousness.

Spoiler: This cover references
the LAST PAGE of the comic!

Avengers #90 is a Silver Age Super Hero comic. In fact it's probably one of the most Silver Age Super Hero comics I've ever read. A lot of people try and describe what makes a Silver Age comic. They usually use words like "Goofy" or "Silly" or even "Unrealistic", and I think that's missing the point, really.

Silver Age Super Hero comics had a certain style of writing to them which for various reasons is very stream-of-consciousness. Reading a lot of old DC and Marvel comics is like reading an Axe Cop story. Things flow from one idea to the next without even a sign of how the ideas connected in the writer's mind. Things travel from point to point at breakneck speed, and if you don't keep up you'll be completely freaking lost.

This can be the most glorious thing ever, or it can be horrible.

So, before we talk more about the origins of this writing style, and the differences between Marvel and DC let's take a little looksee at Avengers #90.

Project: Every Fantastic Four Appearance Ever.

Best Superhero team ever?
Yes.

So I have a little project going and I need your help. My goal is simple. I want to collect every single appearance of the Fantastic Four (616 version) ever printed, and read them all in order, and hopefully review every single one of them.

Big task, right? Well I love the Fantastic Four! So... I've started this project by assembling a list. You can look at the list document here:

It's a Docx file.

Here's the problem though... The list is probably incomplete! You might notice it only goes up to 2009, that's because that's when I actually started this project.

So I guess I need to tell you the rules for how I'm doing this.

Advertainment: Big Jim's P.A.C.K.

Look out, G.I. Joe! Mattel's BIG JIM is here with his Political Action Committee to legislate you into oblivion!

Big Jim is an incredible killjoy.

Oh. That's P.A.C.K., not P.A.C. Well, shoot, there go our riveting tales of campaign finance reform. I'm sure Dr. Steel would have raised some compelling points. (On the other hand... man, that is totally Jack Kirby artwork, isn't it?)

I have no idea what I scanned this out of anymore, unfortunately. I guess I should have kept better track of that, but I only own so many vintage 1975 comics...

Unstable Molecules: Japanese edition!

Osamu Tezuka was the greatest comic book storyteller of all time. He's also an amazing designer. He was also endlessly creative, creating comic series after comic series. He was a master of his craft, almost without peer. But... uhhh...

Sometimes he does stuff like this...

The Phantom Goes To War

That "By Popular Demand" caption isn't just bull crap
like on American comics, this is the most requested
Phantom reprint of all time.

The Phantom Goes To War (also known as The Inexorables) is the sixteenth Phantom story ever published. It began on the 2nd of Febuary, 1942, only a little less than 2 months after the attack on Pearl Harbor. It's a somber, violent story, and a lot of it is very out of character for Lee Falk's Phantom. It's rife with racism, hatred and even the story's hero killing. Things Falk avoided all through his career, otherwise.

The story was written entirely by Falk, and drawn by Ray Moore and (after Moore enlisted) Wilson McCoy. Falk himself enlisted while still writing the story, but never missed a single deadline, despite active service.

I guess I should start by saying that this story does not feature a Phantom at the window moment! It's mostly set outdoors, in the jungle. And it's mostly about the Phantom killing Japanese people, not peering at them through windows.

80 Page Christmas: The Sandman.

I recently bought a horrible, horrible condition copy of Marvel Team-Up #1. This issue featured the Human Torch and Spider-Man and of course the villain was THE SANDMAN!

This issue (which was drawn by Ross Andru and written by Roy Thomas) is important because it was the first comic to show the Sandman's potential as a nice guy -- or at least not a completely evil guy. The issue is mostly a chase, with Human Torch and Spidey chasing through the city after the Sandman. But when they found him? Well, it turned out he was visiting his sickly mother for Christmas! Awww!!

Sal's Sunday Punch #13

Long time no see, pugilism devotees!  At long last, it's time for another Sal's Sunday Punch!  And since I'm busy reading Maximum Carnage to complete the long-awaited (long-awaited by me, and possibly my mother) third instalment of Who Watches the Nightwatch, here's a little chin-music from Spectacular Spider-Man #202, part nine (of fourteen) of that terrible, terrible crossover.  For a little context, Carnage broke out of prison and is terrorizing New York City with some c-list supervillains, and Spider-Man's teamed up with Venom and various other guys to fight him...and that's pretty much it. It's disappointing, because it features a ton of creators I normally like (J.M. DeMatteis, Mark Bagley, David Michelinie, and of course Sal), but just doesn't earn its hefty pagecount, although the Spectacular issues, by Sal and DeMatteis, come closest to being good.  But anyway, that's a topic for another day.

For a series that's 90% fight scenes, there is a disappointing paucity of Sal Buscema Punches, even though Sal drew three issues of it.  Maybe his heart wasn't quite in it - and who could blame him?

You and me both, Spidey.
(Spectacular Spider-Man #202, written by J.M. DeMatteis, art by Sal Buscema)

There won't be enough left of you to fill a pillbox hat.

So Hasbro's been putting out some nifty action figure two-packs as part of its Marvel Universe line - and in each two-pack, they include a comic reprint.  One of the latest is Quicksilver and Wonder Man, which comes with a reprint of Avengers West Coast #60, written by Roy and Dann Thomas, with art by Paul Ryan and Danny Bulanadi.  While it does feature both Pietro and Simon pretty prominently, it occurs in the middle of a story where Magneto has turned the Scarlet Witch evil, and also Immortus is doing something confusing because that is all Immortus ever does.  It's a little hard to pick up, even for a seasoned Marvel Zombie like myself - and for an extra dose of kid-unfriendliness, JFK gets shot three pages in!

But the most notable thing is that the first page features...