Category: Graphic Novels

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Swamp Thing


By Len Wein & Berni Wrightson (Tor/DC Comics)
ISBN: 0-523-49012-7

In my perpetual quest to highlight the rare and odd (or “show off” as my mum used to call it) I’ve unearthed a few more nostalgically tangential and “comicbook-adjacent” little gems that will gradually make their way into these reviews whenever I’m feeling a little bit halcyon or backwards-looking.

Take this little treat from 1982, released to coincide with the then still-Big-News of a movie based on a comic book character…

The first fan-sensation of the modern age of comics (or perhaps the last of the true Silver Age?), Swamp Thing had powerful popular fiction antecedents and in 1972 when the character first appeared, was seemingly a concept whose time had come again. Prime evidence was the fact that Marvel were also working on a man-into-mucky, muddy mess character at the very same time.

Both Swampy and Man-Thing were thematic revisions of Theodore Sturgeon’s classic novella It and bore strong resemblances to the immensely popular Hillman character The Heap, who slushed his way through the back of Airboy Comics (née Air Fighters) from1943; bridging the first death of superheroes and rise of horror and crime comics.

My fan-boy radar suspects that Roy Thomas’ marsh-monster the Glob (from Incredible Hulk #121 and #129 (November 1969 and June 1970) either inspired both DC and Marvel’s creative teams, or was part of that same zeitgeist. Skywald, a minor player patterned on Warren Comics monochrome magazine hits Eerie and Creepy, released a new black-&-white title The Heap in the Autumn of 1971.

For whatever reason, by the end of the 1960s superhero comics had started another steep sales decline, once again making way for a horror/mystery boom: a sea-change facilitated by a swift rewriting of the Comics Code Authority. At DC, House of Mystery and its sister title House of Secrets returned to short story anthology formats and gothic mystery scenarios, taking a lead from such TV successes as Twilight Zone and Rod Serling’s Night Gallery with EC veteran Joe Orlando as editor.

The twelfth anthology issue of House of Secrets cemented the genre into place as the industry leader. In it writer Len Wein and Berni Wrightson produced a throwaway gothic thriller set at the turn of the 19th century, wherein gentleman scientist Alex Olsen was murdered by his best friend and his body dumped in a swamp. Years later his beloved bride, now the unsuspecting wife of the murderer, was stalked by a shambling, disgusting beast that seemed to be composed of mud and muck…

‘Swamp Thing’ (cover-featured in HoS #92, June/July 1971) struck an immediate chord with the buying public. The issue was the top-selling DC title of that month and reader response was fervent and persistent. By all accounts the only reason there wasn’t an immediate sequel or spin-off was that the creative team didn’t want to produce one.

Eventually however, bowing to interminable pressure and with the sensible suggestion of transplanting the concept to contemporary America, the first issue of Swamp Thing appeared on newsstands in the Spring of 1972.

It was a magnificent hit and an instant classic.

Wein and Wrightson together produced ten issues, crafting an extended, multi-chaptered tale of justice/vengeance that was at once philosophically typical of the time and a prototype for the story-arc and mini-series formats which dominate modern comicbook production. They also used each issue/chapter to pay tribute to a specific sub-genre of timeless horror story whilst advancing the major plot.

This nifty little monochrome digest reprints their first three collaborations from the solo title and begins with the revamped origin of a contemporary mire-monster in ‘Dark Genesis’ as husband and wife biologists Alec and Linda Holland move deep into the Bayou Country, working on a “bio-restorative formula” that would revolutionise World Farming. Working in isolation, they were guarded by Secret Service agent Matt Cable.

When representatives of an organisation called The Conclave demanded that they sell their research to them – or else – the patriotic pair refused and the die was cast. When the lab was bombed. Alec, showered with his own formula and blazing like a torch, hurtled to a watery grave in the swamp.

He did not die.

Hideously altered by the formula (and remember, please, that this is prior to Alan Moore’s landmark re-imagining of the character) he was transformed into a gigantic man-shaped horror; immensely strong, unable to speak and seemingly made from living plant matter. Cable and Linda, misinterpreting the evidence, believed that the big mossy ogre killed Alec…

Whilst the G-Man hunted the mossy beast through the swamp Conclave agents returned and attempted to force the secret from Linda. When the monster doubled back he found her body and exacted a terrible vengeance on her killers…

Cable, having failed twice over, determines to hunt the Swamp Thing to the ends of the Earth…

The second tale ‘The Man Who Wanted Forever’ introduced diabolical sorcerer Anton Arcane and his artificial homunculi, The Un-Men (subject of their own Vertigo series in recent years); an aged, seemingly benevolent savant who shanghaied Swamp Thing to the doom-laden Balkans and offered to cure Holland’s vegetable state. However the mage had his own ghastly plans for the vacated green body and Alec had to make a tragic choice to save the world…

As Cable tracked down the plant pariah and began an obsessive vendetta, this stunning collection concludes with the powerfully moving ‘Patchwork Man’ which introduced romantic interest Abigail Arcane and her tragic Frankensteinian father Gregori: the thwarted sorcerer’s dead brother and his earliest experiment in extending life beyond medical and moral limits…

The mini-revolution in the “Camp-superhero” crazed 1960s saw four-colour comicbook material migrate briefly from flimsy pamphlet to the stiffened covers and relative respectability of the paperback bookshelves and the nostalgic wonderment these mostly forgotten fancies still afford long ago showed that there was a proven market for such items beyond the brief attention spans of bored kids.

This terrific little black and white tome, part of National Periodical Publications’ decades-long efforts to reach wider reading audiences, is particularly appealing as Swamp Thing is one of the most sensitively reformatted books of its type and Wrightson’s art – like the work of Steve Ditko – is actually enhanced by the removal of the standard comicbook colouring.

Hard to find but definitely worth it…
© 1982 DC Comics Inc. All Rights Reserved. Swamp Thing is a Trademark of DC Comics Inc

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Uncanny X-Men: From the Ashes


By Chris Claremont, Paul Smith, Walt Simonson, John Romita Jr. & Bob Wiacek (Marvel)
ISBN: 0-87135-6155

In 1963 X-Men #1 introduced Cyclops, Iceman, Angel, Marvel Girl and the Beast: very special students of Professor Charles Xavier, a wheelchair-bound telepath dedicated to brokering peace and integration between the masses of humanity and the emergent off-shoot race of mutants dubbed Homo Superior. After years of eccentric and spectacular adventures the mutant misfits disappeared at the beginning of 1970 during a sustained downturn in costumed hero comics as supernatural mystery once more gripped the world’s entertainment fields.

Although their title was revived at the end of the year as a cheap reprint vehicle, the missing mutants were reduced to guest-stars and bit-players throughout the Marvel universe and the Beast was made over into a monster until Len Wein, Chris Claremont & Dave Cockrum revived and reordered the Mutant mystique with a brand new team in Giant Size X-Men #1 in 1975.

To old foes-turned-friends Banshee and Sunfire was added a one-shot Hulk villain dubbed Wolverine, and all-original creations Kurt Wagner, a demonic German teleporter codenamed Nightcrawler, African weather “goddess” Ororo Monroe AKA Storm, Russian farmboy Peter Rasputin, who transformed at will into a living steel Colossus and bitter, disillusioned Apache superman John Proudstar who was cajoled into joining the makeshift squad as Thunderbird.

The revision was an unstoppable hit and soon grew to become the company’s most popular and high quality title. In time Cockrum was succeeded by John Byrne and, as the team roster shifted and changed, the series rose to even greater heights, culminating in the landmark “Dark Phoenix” storyline which saw the death of (arguably) the series’ most beloved and groundbreaking character.

In the aftermath, team leader Cyclops left and a naive teenaged girl named Kitty Pryde signed up just as Cockrum returned for another spectacular sequence of outrageous adventures.

The franchise inexorably expanded and in 1982 a fresh generation of students enrolled in Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters…

Released in 1990, as Marvel was tentatively coming to grips with the growing trend for “trade paperback” collections, this sturdy 228 page full-colour compendium collects a supremely impressive run of issues of the Uncanny X-Men (#168-172, from April-December 1983) which perfectly encapsulated everything that made the outrageous outcasts such an unalloyed triumph and touchstone of youthful alienation.

The action opens as Kitty Pryde reacts badly to the news that she is being transferred to the student team of New Mutants… or as she calls them, “X-Babies”…

‘Professor Xavier is a Jerk!’, by Chris Claremont, new star art-find Paul Smith and inker Bob Wiacek, related the battled-hardened Pryde’s reaction to the arbitrary declaration as the team enjoyed a little downtime following a stupendous battle in space against the ghastly alien body-stealers The Brood. The sulking quickly escalated into a cataclysmic life-or-death struggle as Pryde and her little space-dragon Lockheed accidentally uncovered an infestation of alien predators which had remained undiscovered in the depths of the X-Mansion for months…

Meanwhile, original X-Man Cyclops had left the team again to catch up with rebound girlfriend Lee Forrester but discovered a new woman who was the exact duplicate of his dead one-and-only Jean Grey…

‘Catacombs’ plunged head-on into a new crisis as the team are called in when the Angel is abducted by a hitherto undiscovered enclave of outcast mutants dwelling beneath the streets of New York. With Kitty as part of the rescue team the X-Men descended into the tunnels and battled the horrific Morlocks and their charismatic leader Callisto.

Easily outmatched and overpowered the heroes were helpless until Storm took a radical, irreversible step: defeating Callisto in a death-duel and becoming the new ruler and protector of the subterranean deviants in ‘Dancin’ in the Dark’. Above their heads in the halls of the wealthy and powerful, the Hellfire Club was under sustained attack by a telepath of incredible power and spiteful intensity whilst in Alaska Scott Summers had fallen deeply in love with disturbing doppelganger Madelyne Pryor despite fearing she might be some new aspect of the immortal cosmic Phoenix…

Pencilled by Walt Simonson, issue 171 saw a major new player join the misunderstood mutants when ‘Rogue’ – a powers and memory leeching teen who had nearly murdered Carol Danvers – knocked on the mansion door begging for sanctuary and medical help.

It seemed her uncontrollable ability was afflicting her with stolen personalities and slowly driving her crazy. When the former Ms. Marvel, now a cosmic powered entity dubbed Binary, saw the girl who had stolen her life become a guest of the X-Men, sparks and fists inevitably flew…

Wolverine had been absent for weeks on a personal quest to Japan (see Marvel Platinum – the Definitive Wolverine or any number of collected editions of the first Wolvie miniseries by Claremont & Frank Miller), which culminated with the announcement of his impending marriage to Japanese aristocrat Mariko Yashida.

‘Scarlet in Glory’ found the rest of the team in Japan for the impending nuptials and poisoned by vengeful villains leaving Logan and Rogue – whom he deeply distrusted – to seek out an antidote. At the same time the transformation of Storm from nature goddess to grim-and-gritty bad-ass was completed by the mercenary maniac Yukio as the last X-Men raced their fast-approaching toxic deadline…

The result was sheer carnage as the feral Wolverine went wild. With desperate-to-please Rogue in tow Wolverine carved a bloody trail to Yakuza mercenary (and Mariko’s rival for the rule of Clan Yashida) Silver Samurai and psychopathic mastermind Viper in ‘To Have and Have Not’…

Although the bold champions were eventually triumphant, the victory came at great cost. Wolverine returned to America alone and unwed… and all the while, the long-hidden presence manipulating events had jockeyed for position, pushing the globally scattered heroes to one inescapable conclusion…

‘Romances’ opened with Binary choosing to leave Earth with the swashbuckling Starjammers and ended with Scott returning to the X-Men to announce his own imminent marriage to Madelyne. This calm before the storm led into the spectacular issue #175 with the revelation that one of the X-Men’s oldest enemies had returned to unleash the ultimate destructive force, culminating in the end of the world and the seeming ultimate revenge of ‘Phoenix!’ (with additional art from John Romita Jr.).

The issue also saw Scott and Madelyne tie the knot before slipping away for a honeymoon from hell in the concluding episode ‘Decisions’.

Setting the scene for upcoming epics, there was a final meeting between Logan and Mariko, the US Government sought new and permanent ways to curb mutant power and Callisto returned to the Morlocks but the main focus was the newlyweds’ crash-landing in monster-plagued seas…

These character driven tales proved conclusively that the X-Men phenomenon was bigger than any single creator and that the series was capable of infinitely renewing itself. The stories here opened up a whole sub-universe of action and adventure that fuelled more than a decade of expansion and are still some of the best comics of that distant decade.

Compelling, effective, moving and oh, so pretty, From the Ashes is a book no Fights ‘n’ Tights fan can do without.
© 1983, 1990 Marvel Entertainment Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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Batman Archives volume 3


By Bob Kane, Bill Finger, Don Cameron, Joe Samachson, Joseph Greene, Jerry Robinson, George Roussos, Jack Burnley & various (DC Comics)
ISBN: 1-56389-099-2

With the Dynamic Duo fully developed and storming ahead of all competition in these stories (originally published in Detective Comics #71-86 between January 1943 and April 1944), the creative chores finally grew too large for the original team. As the characters’ popularity grew exponentially, new talent was hired to supplement Bob Kane, Bill Finger and their assistants Jerry Robinson & inker, colourist and letterer George Roussos. Batman and Robin had become a small industry, just like Superman.

During this period more scripters joined the team and another soon to be legendary artist began adding to the inimitable legend of the Dark Knight…

After a lengthy and thought-provoking Foreword from veteran creator and celebrated cartoonist Jerry Robinson, this third deluxe hardback celebration of the Gotham Guardians’ incredible early exploits begins with ‘A Crime a Day!’ (by Finger, Kane & Robinson) from premiere crime anthology Detective Comics #71, possibly the most memorable and thrilling Joker escapade of the period, after which issue #72 found our heroes crushing murderous con-men in ‘License for Larceny’ by Joe Samachson, Kane & Robinson.

In Detective Comics #73 (March 1943) Don Cameron, Kane & Robinson went back to spooky basics with brutal efficiency when ‘The Scarecrow Returns’, after which moody chiller #74 introduced a pair of fantastically grotesque criminal psychopaths in the far from comical corpulent forms of the Deever cousins, alias ‘Tweedledum and Tweedledee!’ in a stirring yarn by Cameron & Robinson with inks by Kane, Roussos and Charles Paris.

Detective #75 presented a new aristocrat of crime in the pompous popinjay ‘The Robber Baron!’ (Cameron, Jack Burnley & Roussos) and the Joker resurfaced in #76 to ‘Slay ’em With Flowers’ in a graphic chiller by Horace L. Gold, Robinson & Roussos whilst Bill Finger, Kane & Roussos introduced a fascinating new wrinkle to villainy with the conflicted doctor who ran ‘The Crime Clinic’ in #77. Crime Surgeon Matthew Thorne would return many times over the coming decades…

Issue #78 (August 1943) pushed the patriotic agenda when ‘The Bond Wagon’ (Joseph Greene, Burnley & Roussos) to raise war funds was targeted by Nazi spies and sympathisers whilst ‘Destiny’s Auction’ by & Robinson, offered another sterling human interest drama as a fortune teller’s prognostications lead to fame, fortune and deadly danger for a failed actress, has-been actor and superstitious gangster…

Detective #80 saw the fateful fate of Harvey Kent finally resolved in epic manner with ‘The End of Two-Face!’ by Finger, Kane, Robinson & Roussos after which Cameron, Kane & Roussos introduced another bizarre and baroque costumed crazy with ‘The Cavalier of Crime!’ in #81 and explored the dark side of American Football with the explosive downfall of the ‘Quarterback of Crime!’ in #82.

Portly butler Alfred’s diet regime led the Gotham Guardians to a murderous mesmerising medic and criminal insurance scam in ‘Accidentally on Purpose!’ (Cameron, Kane & Roussos again) before ‘Artists in Villainy’ (#84 by Mort Weisinger & Dick Sprang, with layouts by Ed Kressy) pitted the Partners in Peril against an incredible Underworld University.

Detective #85, by Finger, Kressy & Sprang, was the artist’s first brush with the Clown Prince of Crime and one of the most madcap moments in the canon as Batman and his arch-foe both hunted ‘The Joker’s Double’ and this compelling chronicle concludes in high style with #86 as Cameron & Sprang recount how a sleuthing contest between Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson and Alfred leads to a spectacular battle against sinister smugglers in ‘Danger Strikes Three!’

With glorious covers from Kane, Robinson, Burnley and Sprang this terrific tome is another irresistible box of classic delights that no fan of the medium can afford to miss.
© 1942-1944 DC Comics. Renewed 1971-73. Compilation © 1994 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

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Showcase Presents Legion of Super-Heroes volume 2


By Otto Binder, Jerry Siegel, Edmond Hamilton, Jim Shooter, Curt Swan, John Forte & various (DC Comics)
ISBN: 978-1- 4012-1724-2

Once upon a time, in the far future, a band of super-powered kids from a multitude of worlds took inspiration from the greatest legend of all time and formed a club of heroes. One day those Children of Tomorrow came back in time and invited their inspiration to join them…

And thus began the vast and epic saga of the Legion of Super-Heroes, as first envisioned by writer Otto Binder and artist Al Plastino in early 1958, just as the revived comicbook genre of superheroes was gathering an inexorable head of steam. Since that time the fortunes and popularity of the Legion have perpetually waxed and waned, with their future history tweaked and rebooted, retconned and overwritten over and again to comply with editorial diktat and popular whim.

This splendid, charm-soaked, action packed second monochrome collection continues to re-present those early tales from the disparate Superman Family titles in chronological order: the sagas from their own feature spanning Adventure Comics #322-348, plus guest-shots from Superboy #117, 124-125 98 and pertinent portions of Superman Annual #4, covering July 1964 to September 1966.

From Adventure #322 the fun-filled futurism opens with ‘The Super-Tests of the Super-Pets’ by Edmond Hamilton, John Forte & Sheldon Moldoff, wherein the Legion’s mighty animal companions – Krypto, Streaky the Super Cat, Beppo, the monkey from Krypton and Comet the magical Super-horse – were left to guard Earth as the major players continued to pursue the elusive Time Trapper.

When Chameleon Boy’s pet Proty II applied to join the bestial bunch they gave him a series of extremely difficult qualification tasks…

‘The Eight Impossible Missions!‘ (#323 by Jerry Siegel, Forte & George Klein) found the incomprehensibly smart Proty setting the human Legionnaires a set of challenges to determine their next leader, after which the tone switched to deadly danger in ‘The Legion of Super-Outlaws!’ by Hamilton & Forte, as a mad scientist bearing a grudge manipulated a super-team from far distant Lallor into attacking the United Planets heroes…

Issue #325 revealed how ‘Lex Luthor Meets the Legion of Super-Heroes!’ (Siegel & Forte) in a cunning tale of deadly deception whilst a ‘Revolt of the Girl Legionnaires!’ (Siegel, Forte & Klein) found the female members attempting to eradicate their male comrades. Of course they didn’t mean it and a sinister mastermind was behind it all…

Superboy #117 (December 1964) featured a classy thriller wherein Chameleon Boy, Invisible Kid, Ultra Boy, Element Lad and Brainiac 5 seemingly travelled back 1000 years to attack the Boy of Steel in ‘Superboy and the Five Legion Traitors!’ (Siegel, Curt Swan & Klein) whilst over in Adventure #327 ‘The Lone Wolf Legionnaire!’ introduced Brin Londo; a troubled teen framed for appalling crimes who would one day become a valued member of the team in a clever thriller from Hamilton, Forte, Klein & Moldoff.

Jerry Siegel & Jim Mooney began an engaging run of tales in #328 beginning with ‘The Lad who Wrecked the Legion!’ as the insidious Command Kid joined the superhero squad in order to dismantle it from within.

Narrowly escaping that fate, the heroes had to confront the topsy-turvy threat of their own imperfect doppelgangers in #329’s ‘The Bizarro Legion!’ after which another nefarious juvenile infiltrated the LSH intending to destroy them all in ‘Secret of the Mystery Legionnaire!’. The dastardly plan proceeded without a hitch until the victorious Dynamo-Boy recruited the malevolent Lightning Lord, Cosmic King and Saturn Queen and fell victim to ‘The Triumph of the Legion of Super-Villains!’ in #331.

Rescued and restored, the good kids were back in Adventure #332 to face ‘The Super-Moby Dick of Space!’ (by Hamilton & Forte) wherein the recently resurrected Lightning Lad suffered crippling injuries and an imminent nervous breakdown…

‘The War Between Krypton and Earth!’ in #333, by Hamilton, Forte & Klein, had the time travelling heroes flung back into the World’s antediluvian past and split into internecine factions on opposite sides of a conflict forgotten by history, after which ‘The Unknown Legionnaire!’ (Hamilton, Forte & Moldoff) posed a perilous puzzle with an oppressed race’s future at stake…

The same creative team introduced deadly super-villain ‘Starfinger!’ in #335 who framed a luckless Legionnaire for his incredible crimes before ‘The True Identity of Starfinger!’ (inked by Klein) was revealed and the entire team focused on the real menace.

Superboy #124 (October 1965, by Otto Binder & George Papp) featured Lana Lang as ‘The Insect Queen of Smallville!’ who was rewarded with a shape-changing ring after rescuing a trapped alien. Naturally she used her new abilities to ferret out Clark Kent’s secrets…

Adventure #337 highlighted ‘The Weddings that Wrecked the Legion!’ by Hamilton, Forte & Moldoff as two couples resigned to marry. However, there was serious method in the seeming marital madness…

Long absent Bête Noir the Time Trapper at last returned in #338 when Siegel & Forte revealed ‘The Menace of the Sinister Super-Babies!’ with sultry Glorith of Baaldur using the Chronal Conqueror’s devices to turn everybody but Superboy and Brainiac 5 into mewling infants. When they turned the tables on the villains a new era dawned for the valiant Tomorrow Teens…

Superboy #125 (November 1965) signalled darker days ahead by introducing a legion reservist with a tragic secret in ‘The Sacrifice of Kid Psycho!’ by Binder & Papp, after which Hamilton, Forte & Moldoff told the bittersweet tale of disaffected and tormented Lallorian hero Beast Boy who turned against humanity in Adventure Comics #339’s ‘Hunters of the Super-Beasts!’

The slow death of whimsy and light-hearted escapades culminated in #340 when Brainiac 5’s latest invention went berserk, becoming ‘Computo the Conqueror!’ (Siegel, Swan & Klein): attacking humanity and even killing one of the superheroes before ‘The Weirdo Legionnaire!’ (inked by Moldoff) began the team’s fight-back and eventual glorious triumph.

‘The Legionnaire who Killed!’ (#342 by Hamilton, Swan, Moldoff & Klein) saw Star Boy forced to take a life and confronted with the harshest of consequences, whilst ‘The Evil Hand of the Luck Lords!’ by Hamilton, Swan & Klein saw the bold band of heroes invade the stronghold of a sinister cult which claimed to control chance and destiny.

The same creative team ramped up the tension in Adventure #344 with ‘The Super-Stalag of Space!’ wherein the Legion – as well as many other planetary champions – were incarcerated by malicious alien overlord Nardo; an epic thriller completed in #345 with ‘The Execution of Matter-Eater Lad!’

With Adventure #346 (July 1966) the dramatic revolution culminated in ‘One of us is a Traitor!’ as Jim Shooter, barely a teenager, sold script and layouts (finished and inked by veteran Sheldon Moldoff) for a spectacular Earth invasion yarn as the sinister Khunds attacked and the depleted Legion inducted four new members to bolster their strength. However, although Princess Projectra, Nemesis Kid, Ferro Lad and Karate Kid were all capable fighters it was soon apparent that one was an enemy agent…

With Earth all but conquered ‘The Traitor’s Triumph!’ (Shooter, Swan & Klein) seemed assured, but there was one last surprise to come in this spectacular debut yarn from one of the industry’s most innovative creators…

This splendid second compendium concludes with a tense thriller by Shooter & Papp from Adventure #348 as the secret origin of Sun Boy was revealed when radioactive rogue Dr. Regulus attempted to gain misplaced vengeance in ‘Target-21 Legionnaires!’

But wait! There’s more!

Before the end there’s an expanded illustrated pictorial check-list and informational guide to the entire team by Swan, Klein & Al Plastino, culled from Superman Annual #4, 1961, Adventure Comics #316 and #365 (January 1964 & February 1968, respectively).

The Legion is undoubtedly one of the most beloved and bewildering creations in comicbook history and largely responsible for the growth of the groundswell movement that became American Comics Fandom. Moreover, these sparkling, simplistic and devastatingly addictive stories as much as the legendary Julie Schwartz Justice League fired up the interest and imaginations of a generation of young readers and built the industry we all know today.

These naive, silly, joyous, stirring and utterly compelling yarns are precious and fun beyond any ability to explain – even if we old lags gently mock them to ourselves and one another. If you love comics and haven’t read this stuff, you are the poorer for it and need to enrich your future life as soon as possible.
© 1961, 1964, 1965, 1966, 2008 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

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Official Batman Annual 1985


By Gerry Conway, Don Kraar, Roy Thomas, Alan Moore, Jamie Delano, José Luis García-López, Alan Davis, Garry Leach & various (London Editions)
ISBN: 7235-6733-6

Generally I save the Christmas annuals for the nostalgia-drenched Festive Season but this is a little gem I recently re-examined and found to be an item which I had no illogical or purely emotional attachment to. It’s simply an extremely good-looking, thoroughly entertaining package which might be unknown to and of some interest to fans and collectors.

By the end of the 1970s the Superman and Batman Christmas books were a slim and slight shadow of their former bumper selves, but during the mid 1980s a new crop of editors and designers found a way to invigorate and add value to the tired tomes.

Now full-colour throughout but reduced to 64 pages this example stems from the days when I was just starting out in the business and a few of my more talented and famous colleagues and acquaintances on groundbreaking independent comic Warrior, star-studded 2000AD and at gradually expanding Marvel UK were offered a little side-work from Manchester-based London Editions Comics…

Behind the Bryan Talbot cover, ‘The Falcons Lair!’ written by Don Kraar and illustrated by Adrian Gonzales & Mike DeCarlo (originally seen in US comicbook Brave and the Bold #185, April 1982) opened proceedings with a boisterous action-romp teaming the Caped Crusader and Emerald Archer Green Arrow against the wiliest of criminal birds The Penguin, after which a brief prose piece by Jamie Delano lavishly illustrated by Alan & Damian Davis tantalisingly whetted the Fights ‘n’ Tights taste-buds with the wry and salutary tale of a foredoomed pickpocket ”Birdsong’ Mickey’s Day Out’…

The editors were equally canny in selecting the US reprints. ‘Last Laugh!’ first appeared in Batman #353 (November 1982): a dynamite stand alone tale pitting the Gotham Guardian against the archest of villains The Joker; a spectacular and audacious thriller by Gerry Conway magnificently illustrated by the incredibly talented and inexplicably underrated José Luis García-López.

Possibly one of the neatest and most impressive text tales in UK Annuals history ‘The Gun’ reunited Marvelman co-conspirators Alan Moore & Garry Leach (who painted the beguiling pictures which accompany the twisted trail of the weapon which killed Thomas and Martha Wayne) and the seasonal sensationalism concluded with ‘Where Walks a Snowman!’ (Batman #337, July 1981) wherein Gerry Conway& Roy Thomas recounted the horrific history of a chilling killer stalking Gotham in another lost art-masterpiece by García-López & Steve Mitchell.

Being a British Christmas book there’s even a traditional send-off with a brace of

‘Batman’s Puzzles’ pages comprising word games and “spot the difference” panels.

This impressive tome might well be of more interest to comics completists than chronic nostalgists like me, but such items often turn up in jumble sales and charity shops and are frequently well worth the price of admission

© 1984 DC Comics Inc. and London Editions Limited. All characters © 1984 DC Comics Inc.

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Superman in Action Archive Edition volume 3


By Jerry Siegel, Joe Shuster & the Superman Studio (DC Comics)
ISBN: 1-56389-710-5

In this third tumultuous deluxe hardback collection of the Man of Tomorrow’s earliest groundbreaking monthly adventures, (reprinted from issues #37-52 of epochal anthology Action Comics and spanning June 1941 – September 1942), the never-ending battle for Truth, Justice and the American Way expanded to cover the struggle against Global Tyranny with the war that had been ripping apart the outer world finally spreading to isolationist America.

When these tales first saw print Superman was a bona fide but still fresh phenomenon who had utterly changed the shape of the fledgling comicbook industry. There was a popular newspaper strip, foreign and overseas syndication and the prestigious Fleischer studio was producing some of the most expensive – and best – animated cartoons ever produced.

Thankfully the quality of the source material was increasing with every four-colour release and the energy and enthusiasm of Shuster and Siegel (who was particularly on fire as scripter) had infected the burgeoning group of studio juniors who had been hired to cope with the relentless demand.

After a fulgent and informed Foreword by Producer, author, historian and fan Michael Uslan, the Never-ending Adventure resumed in Action Comics #37 and ‘Commissioner Kent’ (with art by Paul Cassidy): a return to tales of graft, crime and social injustice wherein the timid alter-ego of the Man of Steel was forced to run for the job of top cop in Metropolis, whilst #38 – illustrated by Leo Nowak & Ed Dobrotka – saw a mastermind exert ‘Radio Control’ on citizens and cops in a spectacular battle against a sinister hypnotist.

Horrific mad science was behind the spectacular thriller ‘The Radioactive Man’ (by Nowak and the shop) whilst Action #40 featured ‘The Billionaire’s Daughter’ (John Sikela) wherein the mighty Man of Tomorrow needed all his wits to set straight a spoiled debutante.

Stories of crime, corruption and social iniquity gradually gave way to more earth-shattering fare and with war in the news and clearly on the horizon, the tone and content of Superman’s adventures changed too: the scale and scope of the stunts became more important than the motive. The raw passion and sly wit still shone through in Siegel’s stories but as the world grew more dangerous the Metropolis Marvel simply grew mightier to cope with it all and Shuster and Co stretched and expanded the iconography in ways that all others would follow.

‘The Saboteur’ (Action Comics #41, October 1941) told a terse tale of a traitor motivated by greed rather than ideology, whilst ‘City in the Stratosphere’ in #42 (both illustrated by Sikela) revealed how a troubles-free secret paradise floating above Metropolis had been subverted by an old enemy, whilst ‘The Crashing Planes’ (illustrated by Nowak, from the December Action Comics) actually had Superman attacking Nazi paratroopers on the cover and found the Man of Steel smashing a plot to destroy a commercial airline.

Even though war was as yet undeclared, DC and many other publishers had struck their colours well before December 7th 1941. When the Japanese attack finally filtered through to the gaudy pages the patriotic indignation and desire for retribution would generate some of the very best art and stories the budding art-form would ever see.

Action #44 (drawn by Nowak) featured a frozen ‘Dawn Man’ who thawed out and went wild in the crime-ridden Metropolis, whilst the next issue saw ‘Superman’s Ark’ girdle the globe to repopulate a decrepit and nigh-derelict Zoo and Action #46 featured ‘The Devil’s Playground’ (Ed Dobrotka) wherein masked murderer The Domino stalked an amusement park wreaking havoc and instilling terror.

A blockbusting, no-holds-barred battle ensued in Action #47 (Sikela) when Lex Luthor gained incredible abilities after acquiring the incredible ‘Powerstone’, whilst #48 found the Man of Tomorrow toppling an insidious gang of killers in ‘The Adventure of the Merchant of Murder!’ before outwitting a despicable and deadly maniac dubbed ‘The Puzzler!’ in #49 (Dobrotka & Sikela).

Action Comics #50 saw Clark Kent and Lois Lane despatched to Florida to scope out Baseball skulduggery in a light-hearted tale illustrated by Nowak before ‘The Case of the Crimeless Crimes’ introduced the canny faux-madness of practical-joking bandit The Prankster (#51, by Dobrotka & Sikela, who also illustrated the last tale in this tome).

The glorious indulgence concludes with the ‘The Emperor of America!’ wherein an invading army were welcomed with open arms by all but the indignant and suspicious Action Ace who single-handedly liberated America in a blistering, rousing call-to-arms classic.

The raw passion and sly wit of Siegel’s stories and the rip-roaring energy of Shuster and his team were now galvanised by the parlous state of the world and Superman simply became better and more flamboyant to deal with it all. These Golden Age tales are timeless, priceless enjoyment. How can anyone possibly resist them?
© 1941, 1942, 2001 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

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The Aladdin Effect – Marvel Graphic Novel #16


By James Shooter, David Michelinie, Greg LaRoque & Vince Colletta (Marvel)
ISBN: 978-0-87135-081-7

Marvel don’t generally publish original material graphic novel anymore but once they were market leader in the field with a range of “big stories” told on larger pages emulating the long-established European Album (285 x 220mm rather than the standard 258 x 168mm of today’s books) featuring not only proprietary characters in out-of-the-ordinary adventures but also licensed assets like Conan, creator-owned properties like Alien Legion and new character debuts.

This extended experiment with big-ticket storytelling in the 1980s and 1990s produced many exciting results that the company has never come close to repeating since. Most of the stories still stand out today – or would if they were still in print.

Released in 1985, The Aladdin Effect was an attempt to capitalise on the company’s growing stable of female characters and – I’m guessing – target the notoriously scarce and fickle maturing female readership with something more exclusively to their tastes and aspirations. This conventional but highly enjoyable Fights ‘n’ Tights thriller was conceived and concocted by Editor Jim Shooter, scripted by David Michelinie and illustrated by Greg LaRoque & Vince Colletta.

Joe Ember is a good man, loving husband and father: sheriff of the isolated community of Venture Ridge, Wyoming but someone looking the end of the world in the face…

Two months ago the little town lost all hope and has been sliding into decadence, anarchy and ruin. Sixty days ago, without explanation the rural community was surrounded by an invisible, impenetrable forcefield and trapped like bugs under glass.

Cut off from the world, with food and power dwindling, the people have begun to go mad…

Little Holly-Ann isn’t worried: the little girl knows her daddy will keep everyone safe even if so many old friends and neighbours are acting strange and scary. The little girl is a dreamer and fan of New York’s superheroes. She especially adores the women like Storm, She-Hulk, Tigra and the Wasp and wishes that she could be like them…

When Joe, crumbling under pressure, destroys her scrapbook Holly-Ann goes to sleep extremely upset and really, really wishes…

Next morning an amnesiac stranger is seen on the streets: a striking black woman with white hair and blue eyes. When the mob attacks her the stranger easily cows them all and Holly-Ann knows it is the mutant X-Man Storm.

At last an answer begins to form when a mysterious being called Timekeeper reveals himself and demands that the incomprehensible power-source hiding in the city reveals itself – or the city will be destroyed within 24 hours…

When Storm tries and fails to shatter the forcefield, the She-Hulk appears, also with muddled memories but just as determined to help little Holly-Ann. Soon after both the Wasp and Tigra are discovered and the sinister secret technologists of AIM (Advanced Idea Mechanics) are discovered as the true cause of all the town’s problems.

When She-Hulk tackles them she is almost beaten to death by the army of super scientific soldiers…

With only hours remaining before the deadline, the battered community and diminished super-women prepare for the overwhelming onslaught to come…

Terrified and outmatched Joe Ember is ready to surrender all hope but his valiant daughter shows him another way and, regaining his sense of purpose, he galvanises the ordinary folk and leads them in a last ditch battle for their town, their lives and their souls…

A stirring mix of childhood fantasy and mature B-movie thriller, all wrapped up in Marvel madness and with loving overtones of the Magnificent Seven, this extremely uncompromising and occasionally explicit tale delivers action, tension and soul-searching drama for both the faithful readership and even the newest kid on the block looking for a different kind of story….
© 1985 Marvel Comics Group/Marvel Characters, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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Batman: the Dark Knight Archives volume 3


By Bob Kane, Bill Finger, Jerry Robinson & George Roussos & various (DC Comics)
ISBN: 1-56389-615-X

With this third magnificent compilation of the epochal early Batman, the Dark Knight entered his fourth year of publication and the expanded creative team truly hit their stride, providing spectacular escapist thrills and chills for readers on the home front and even in the far-and-widely deployed armed services as 1942 brought America fully into the war and deadly danger never seemed closer…

This full-colour deluxe hardback tome (collecting the classic contents of Batman #9-12 from February/March to August/September 1942) opens with an expansive introduction from modern Bat-scribe Mike W. Barr, and also saw the introduction of an extensive contents section and detailed biographies for those talented folk who crafted these Golden Age greats.

The Dynamic Duo were popular sensations whose heroic exploits not only thrilled millions of eager readers but also provided artistic inspiration for a generation of comics creators and with America wholeheartedly embracing World War II by this period and the stories – especially the patriotic covers – went all-out to capture the imagination, comfort the down-hearted and bolster the nation’s morale.

Batman #9 is regarded as one of the greatest single issues of the Golden Age and is still a cracking parcel of joy today. Due to the unique “off-sale” dating system of the USA the issue hit the newsstands in time for Christmas 1941, with all the stories written by Bill Finger and illustrated by Bob Kane, Jerry Robinson & George Roussos. Moreover the issue sports possibly the most reproduced Batman cover ever; crafted by the brilliant Jack Burnley.

Within those pages the action began with ‘The Four Fates!’: a dark and moving human interest drama featuring a quartet of fore-doomed mobsters, after which our heroes ship out in ‘The White Whale!’, a mind-bending maritime crime saga loosely based on the classic Moby Dick, followed by another unforgettable Joker yarn ‘The Case of the Lucky Law-Breakers’ and the birth of a venerable tradition in an untitled story called here for expediency’s sake ‘Christmas’.

Over the decades many of the Dynamic Duo’s best and finest adventures have had a Christmas theme (and why there’s never been a Greatest Batman Christmas Stories volume is a mystery I’ve pondered for years) and this touching – even heart-warming – story of absent fathers, petty skulduggery and little miracles is where it all really began. There’s not a comic fan alive who won’t dab away a tear…

Following a stunning, whimsical and fourth-wall busting cover by Fred Ray & Robinson Batman #10 commences with another four classics. ‘The Isle that Time Forgot’ written by Joseph Greene, finds the Dynamic Duo impossibly trapped in a land of dinosaurs and cavemen, whilst ‘Report Card Blues’ also with Greene scripting, has the heroes inspire a wayward kid to return to his studies by crushing the mobsters he’s ditched school for. Jack Schiff typed the words for the classy jewel-heist caper (oh, for those heady days when Bats wasn’t too grim and important to stop the odd robbery or two!) ‘The Princess of Plunder’ starring everyone’s favourite Feline Femme Fatale Catwoman, and the boys finished up by heading way out West where the Gotham Guardian became ‘The Sheriff of Ghost Town!’ in a bullet-fast blockbuster scripted by Bill Finger.

Batman’s unsung co-creator also wrote three of the four epic adventures in Batman #11, beginning with the cover-featured shocker ‘The Joker’s Advertising Campaign’ wherein the Clown prince took ideas for big crimes from the small ads section of the papers whilst ‘Payment in Full’ related a touching melodrama about the District Attorney and the vicious criminal to whom he owed his life. Pulp sci fi author Edmond Hamilton wrote the mystery ‘Bandits in Toyland’ wherein a gang of high-powered burglars and bandits only stole dolls and train-sets from kids before Finger returned to concoct ‘Four Birds of a Feather!’ with Batman in Miami to scotch the Penguin’s dreams of a crooked gambling empire.

Batman #12 (Aug/Sept 1942) promptly follows with another four instant classics. ‘Brothers in Crime’ by Don Cameron & Jerry Robinson, captivatingly revealed the tragic – positively Shakespearean – fates of a criminal family who had every chance to change their ways whilst the Joker returned in ‘The Wizard of Words’ by Finger, Kane, Robinson & Roussos with the Green Haired Horror applying his homicidal mind to murderously making homilies and folk phrases chillingly literal…

Finger also scripted the final two tales in this issue and the volume, with Jack Burnley illustrating the major portion of the spectacular crime thriller about daredevil stuntmen ‘They Thrill to Conquer’ whilst Kane, Robinson & Roussos wrapped it all up with ‘Around the Clock with Batman’ – a “typical” day in the life of the Dynamic Duo complete with blazing guns, giant statues and skyscraper near-death experiences.

These are stories which forged the character and success of Batman. The works of co-creators Finger and Kane and such multi-talented assistants as Robinson, Roussos, Ray, Burnley and the rest are spectacular and timeless examples of perfect superhero fiction. Put them in a lavish deluxe package like this and include the pop art masterpieces that were the covers of those classics and you have pretty much the perfect comicbook book.
© 1942, 2000 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

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Batman Archives volume 2


By Bob Kane, Bill Finger, Jerry Robinson, George Roussos & various (DC Comics)
ISBN: 0-930289-60-9

The history of the American comicbook industry in most ways stems from the raw, vital and still completely compelling tales of two iconic creations published by DC/National Comics: Superman and Batman. It’s only fair and fitting that both those characters are still going strong and that their earliest adventures can be relived in chronological order in both relatively cheap softcover chronicles and magnificently lavish hardback compilations.

This second sturdy deluxe edition of Batman’s classic crime-busting Detective Comics cases spans the period from May 1941-December 1942 and features all his exploits from issues #51-70. The majority of the stories were written by Bill Finger and the art chores shared out between Bob Kane, Jerry Robinson & George Roussos. Those necessary details dealt with, what you really need to know is that this is a collection of Batman yarns which see the character grow into an icon who would inspire so many: all whilst developing the resilience and fan-dedication to survive the many cultural vicissitudes the coming decades would inflict upon him and his partner, Robin.

As with many of these first print Archive collections, there are no contents pages or creator credits, so for the sake of expediency I’ve again used information and story-titles from later collections to facilitate the review.

After an overview and Foreword from crime novelist and sometime Batman scripter Max Allan Collins, the excitement is unleashed with ‘The Case of the Mystery Carnival’ as the Dynamic Duo liberated a circus from crooks who had taken it over, after which they tackled the insidious terror of Chinese Tongs in ‘The Secret of the Jade Box’ (Detective Comics #52) and solved the tragic problems of suicidal actress ‘Viola Vane’: all mood-soaked set-pieces featuring commonplace human-scaled heroes and villains.

‘Hook Morgan and his Harbor Pirates’ saw the Dynamic Duo spectacularly clean up the evil-infested city docks whilst Detective #55 took them back to fantasy basics with the spectacular mad scientist thriller ‘The Brain Burglar’ after which a quick vacation visit to a ghost-town resulted in a stunning confrontation with a rampaging monster in the eerie action-romp ‘The Stone Idol’.

Detective #57 featured ‘Twenty-Four Hours to Live’, a tale of poisonings and Crimes of Passion, whilst the perfidious Penguin debuted in the next issue to make our heroes the victims of ‘One of the Most Perfect Frame-Ups’ before cropping up again in #59, making a play to control Mississippi; turning his formidable talents to bounty-hunting his fellow criminals in ‘The King of the Jungle!’

That tale was written by Joseph Greene and Jack Schiff, who had a long and auspicious career as an editor at DC, scripted ‘The Case of the Costume-Clad Killers’ from Detective Comics #60, another excursion into larcenous mania with the Joker again stealing the show – and everything else.

‘The Three Racketeers’ is a magnificent story gem and much-reprinted classic (aren’t they all?) from an era packed with both explosive thrillers and tense human dramas. This perfect example of the latter saw a trio of criminal big-shots swap stories of the Gotham Guardians over a quiet game of cards and has a sting-in-the-tail that still hits home more than fifty years later.

It’s followed Finger, Kane & Robinson’s epic clash ‘Laugh, Town Laugh!’ (Detective #62) wherein the diabolical Joker went on a terrifying murder-spree to prove to the nation’s comedians and entertainers who truly was “King of Jesters”.

Those creative giants also produced ‘A Gentleman in Gotham’ for Detective Comics #63, as the Caped Crusader had to confront tuxedoed International Man of Mystery Mr. Baffle, after which the Crime Clown again reared his tousled viridian head in ‘The Joker Walks the Last Mile’ (#64, June 1942).

Each tale here is preceded by the stunning cover of the issue and Detective Comics #65 was a particularly superb patriotic example by Jack Kirby & Joe Simon with Batman and Robin welcoming the Boy Commandos to the title – even though they had actually begun thrashing the Hun a month earlier. The mesmerising Dark Knight tale for the issue featured art by Jack Burnley & George Roussos illustrating Greene’s poignant and powerful North Woods thriller ‘The Cop who Hated Batman!’

The tales produced during the darkest days of World War II were among the very best of the Golden Age and it’s no coincidence that many of these vintage treasures are also some of most reprinted tales in the Batman canon. With chief writer Bill Finger at a peak of creativity and production, everybody on the Home Front was keen to do their bit – even it that was simply making kids of all ages forget their troubles for a brief while…

‘The Crimes of Two-Face’, (Detective #66, August 1942, by Finger, Kane & Robinson) was a classical tragedy in crime-caper guise as Gotham District Attorney Harvey Kent (the name was later changed to Dent) was brutally disfigured whilst in court and went mad – becoming the conflicted villain who remains one of the Caped Crusader’s greatest and most compelling foes to this day.

Detective #67 featured the Penguin who gained his avian Modus Operandi and obsession as ‘Crime’s Early Bird!’ after which Two-Face’s personal horror-story continued in ‘The Man Who Led a Double Life’ as the conflicted fallen idol attempted – and failed – to win back his ideal lost life, following which Joseph Greene scripted the Joker’s final escapade of this volume with perilous pranks and menace aplenty in the calamitous case of ‘The Harlequin’s Hoax!’

The fantastic fantasy and gritty melodrama concludes with the decidedly different threat of ‘The Man Who Could Read Minds!’ an off-beat psycho-thriller from Don Cameron which saw Batman risk his secret identity to stop a merciless, bloodthirsty telepath in a dynamic masterpiece which premiered in Detective Comics #70.

The stories here show the creators and characters at their absolute peak and they’re even more readable now that I don’t have to worry if I’m wrecking an historical treasure simply by turning a page.

These stories cemented the popularity of Batman and Robin and brought a modicum of joy and relief to millions during a time of tremendous hardship and crisis. Even if these days aren’t quite as perilous or desperate, the power of such work to arouse and charm is still potent and just as necessary.
© 1941, 1942, 1991 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

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Amazing Spider-Man: Spider Island


By Dan Slott, Fred Van Lente, Rick Remender, Humberto Ramos, Stefano Caselli  & various (Marvel/Panini UK)
ISBN: 978-1-84653-501-7

When the Spider-Man continuity was drastically and controversially altered for the ‘Brand New Day’ publishing event a refreshed, now single-and-never-been-married Peter Parker was parachuted into a new life, so if this is your first Web-spinning yarn in a while – or if you’re drawing your cues from the movies – prepare yourself for a little confusion. That being said, this classy collection of Web-spun wonderment is more accessible than most: a spectacular summer blockbuster yarn with New York overwhelmed by monsters, a hideous all-consuming threat and packed to the spiracles (look it up: I’m being clever again) with returning villains from Spidey’s less complicated glory-days…

Gathering Spider-Island: Deadly Foes, Amazing Spider-Man #666-672, Venom #6-8, and background material, original art, text-features and interviews from Marvel Spotlight Spider-Island, the manic Marvel mayhem commences when clone-builder Miles Warren AKA The Jackal resurrects the warped Peter Parker doppelganger Kaine and upgrades him for malicious purposes and a hidden new boss; turning the recent cadaver into a monstrous multi-limbed humanoid Tarantula…

Meanwhile in ‘Prologue: the One and Only’ the webslinger is riding a wave of popularity in New York City despite every effort of new Mayor J. Jonah Jameson and even in his civilian identity is having a pretty good life. The original hard-luck kid has a great, well-paid job designing high-tech gadgets, is fast friends with the city’s greatest scientists Tony Stark and Reed Richards and even has a devoted, hot, new girlfriend; forensic cop Carlie Cooper.

But now, something very strange is happening: all over Manhattan people are starting to manifest spider-powers and government asset Flash Thompson is put on alert in his role as new black-ops agent Venom, keeping the supposedly retired and disabled war-hero from the bedside of his estranged and terminal father…

When Peter recently lost his Spider-sense, clairvoyant arachnid hero Madame Web convinced him to study martial arts with Shang-Chi, fabled Master of Kung Fu, to prepare for a dire future crisis, but his hectic schedule – constantly moving from Horizon Labs to Fantastic Four HQ and Avengers Mansion – means he is one of the last to know that a manufactured plague is turning New York into a city of Spider People, just as Jackal, Tarantula and their sultry secret leader are unleashing yet another arachnoid atrocity…

‘The Amazing Spider-Manhattan’ sees the infestation grow as Carlie reveals she has Spider-powers and the Jackal assembles an army of arachnid-enhanced thugs to plunder and run riot, further spreading the contagion. A city-wide epidemic forces Jameson to close all exits from the New York and quarantine the populace as the superheroes begin a desperate holding action against a wave of wall-crawling criminals.

When the original-and-genuine tries to join them in ‘Peter Parker, the Unspectacular Spider-Man’ he is sent away since he’s indistinguishable from many of the thugs, but the indomitable lad soon finds a way to strike back and even recruit reinforcements for the hard-pressed defenders.

Across town Venom is stalking the cause of the plague and Eddie Brock, originally possessed by the selfsame alien Symbiote, discovers that he has become a natural cure for the Spider-infection: a living ‘Anti-Venom’…

The covert paramilitary predator had overcome and captured the Jackal’s new Spider-King, but the whole operation was a trick; allowing the beast to sneak thousands of spider-babies out of the quarantined city, ready to infect the entire country. Moreover when Flash discovers that the original identity of the horrific Spider-King was in fact America’s greatest hero he is caught between honour and duty…

In ‘Arachnotopia’ Peter Parker is leading the fightback but helpless to combat the next stage of the disease as victims begin to mutate from spider-powered humans into carnivorous, monstrous eight-legged freaks. His life is made even more difficult when he sees Carlie so clearly using his powers better than he ever did…

Meanwhile Reed Richards, frantically seeking a cure, sees that complete infestation of Manhattan is only a matter of hours away…

With the mystery mastermind revealed there are ‘Spiders, Spiders Everywhere’ but a glimmer of hope remains as Flash/Venom infiltrates the Queen’s arachnoid inner circle, just as Peter’s old flame Mary Jane Watson discovers her own inner arthropod and joins the struggle armed with an advantage no other infectee can – or would want to – boast…

The next Venom instalment sees Flash clash with Anti-Venom before dragging the all-too-willing Brock back to Reed Richards…

Meanwhile the Queen has established mental contact with every victim and uses them as a battery: a web of life feeding her transformative energy and, when the cure is synthesised, she compels all her thralls to resist it and the people administering it…

In the final Venom episode Flash valiantly tackles the Queen head-on but is easily defeated. Luckily one of the first infectees to be cured was that legendary hero trapped inside the Spider-King…

Unfortunately the disease has already reached peak infection and the triumphant Queen transforms into a skyscraper-sized arachnoid colossus ready and able to turn the world into a planet of spiders. With everything to fight for and no hope, Mary Jane and a most unexpected ally lead one final assault by the remaining assembled heroes on the monumental monstrosity, giving the one true Amazing Spider-Man a valiant last chance to spectacularly save everyone…

In ‘Epilogue: the Naked City’ a city wide “Morning After” focuses on the staggering aftermath of the climactic clash and cannily resets the scene for a fresh start in the Spidey universe with departures, arrivals and a whole new outlook for Marvel’s most iconic hero…

Although not necessary, readers might also benefit from a quick re-reading of Spectacular Spider-Man: Disassembled, but this gloriously bombastic rollercoaster action-romp from writers Dan Slott, Fred Van Lente and Rick Remender, illustrated by Humberto Ramos, Stefano Caselli, Tom Fowler, Minck Oosterveer, Carlos Cuevas, Victor Olazaba & Karl Kesel forms not only a terrific Fights ‘n’ Tights tale but also serves as a stand-alone saga and perfect jumping-on point for readers new or returning. With the aforementioned added features pages and a stunning gallery of variant covers by

Ramos, Greg Land, Gabriele Dell’Otto, Stephanie Hans & Stuart Immonen Spider-Island is possibly one of the best Spider-Man books in years.

This British edition of Amazing Spider-Man: Spider Island is set for release on January 19th 2012.
™ & © 2012 Marvel & Subs. Licensed by Marvel Characters B.V. through Panini S.p.A. Italy. A British Edition by Panini UK Ltd.