My path to geekdom (aka trip down memory lane)

Although many of my friends know that I am a comic geek but not many of them know the details as to how I got started. Not even my fellow comic geeks (I'm not gonna mention names but you know who you are.)

It all started back when as a 6-year-old kid, my next-door neighbour - Nicholas Choe Chee Meng (whom I remember fondly & miss dearly), who was a couple of years older than me, showed me and shared his collection with me whenever I and a couple of other kids from the same street popped by his place for some play time.

I was fascinated by the colorful characters and their gaudy costumes. Bear in mind that this was back in the days when TVs were in B&W. So to a kid, anything with so much color was already interesting! I remember 2 of the characters that stood out so much and got stuck in my mind up until today were the Beast (a hero or villain who looked like...a beast!) & Vision (a hero or villain who had red skin and go thru' walls!).

One day, a few years later, his family was moving away and he was clearing out his comic collection. I was sad to see him go but happy at the same time because I was lucky enough to receive a whole bunch from him (although not all of them as he gave them to the other kids as well.). I don't think I remember how many comic books he gave me but I was 9 then, and to a 9-year old, that was A LOT of books! Of course it didn't matter if the books had massing issues or if they were reprints. It's the stories and the art that mattered.

Here, I'll try to include every single comic I ever received from him. Thanks to him, I'm now the comic geek that I am today (much to the chagrin of my parents for many of my formative years as they did not quite think that comic books were appropriate reading material).

 

Comic Review - Jimmy Olsen 133-135

Title/Storyline
Jimmy Olsen #133-135
Publish Date/Year
1970
Creative Team
Jack Kirby
Vince Colletta
Publisher
DC

Story
Jack Kirby's 4th World saga begins with Jimmy Olsen #133 where the Newsboy Legion was introduced (or re-introduced).

Jimmy was sent by the Daily Planet (that had just been bought over by a tycoon Morgan Edge) to investigate something called the Wild Area, together with the Newsboy Legion in their Morgan Edge sponsored Whiz Wagon - a state-of-the-art vehicle that's very much like a cross between James Bond's & Men In Black's super cars.

Clark Kent (aka Superman), always looking out for Jimmy's well-being, is suspicious of Edge's motives and digs deeper into the case Jimmy's investigating.

Jimmy & the Newsboy Legion arrive and are confronted by the secret group who dwell there - the Outsiders (not to be confused with Batman's own strike team with the same name.)

There's a scuffle between the Wild Area Outsiders and Jimmy manages to defeat their leader. suddenly, Jimmy finds himself becoming the Outsiders' leader. Superman arrives just in time for the Outsiders to share why there are there - the Zoomway and the Mountain of Judgment.

It's later revealed to readers that the Mountain of Judgment is actually a souped-up giant missile carrier which is the mobile home of another youth tribe called the Hairies (Yeah, I know, but this was written in the early 70s).

Readers also learn that Morgan Edge is secretly working under Darkseid's instruction, hence why he sponsored the creation of Newsboy Legion's Whiz Wagon, because is was planted with a bomb
designed to destroy the Mountain of Judgment. The question is...WHY?

Superman, Jimmy Olsen, and the Newsboy Legion leave the Mountain of Judgment and head to a secret government cloning base called the DNA Project. Apparently, the Hairies were the product of DNA Project's genetic engineering.

Meanwhile, 2 of Darkseid's minions, Simyan and Mokkari, are also doing their own cloning and they have cloned a giant Kryptonite-laced Jimmy! 

While the giant Jimmy clone threatens the DNA Project, one of the clones within the DNA Project, urges the Newsboy Legion to let him out to do the duty he was designed for - to protect the DNA Project. He's the Golden Guardian!

Art

Honestly, as far as old school* goes, I was never a fan of Kirby's art. I actually liked Steve Ditko's Spiderman and Dr Strange a lot more. However, as I grew older, I begin to see the brilliance of Kirby's work in books like Fantastic Four and the start of my appreciation of his creative talent.

* 60s - 70s.

His art is not for everyone. I do know of a few people who detest his work. Then again, artistic taste is very subjective. But, regardless of your taste, it is essential reading for all comic geeks.

There's a modern version of Kirby's art style. I have since grown very fond of his work - Ron Frenz. I wonder what he's doing these days as I don't see a lot of his work in recent years.

Overall

Jack Kirby's 4th World!

These 4 words alone conjure up images of epic stories & they contain so much meaning behind them that papers have been & were written to expound them. It's one of those EPIC Sagas that span dozens of issues across multiple titles and several years- a concept that was totally unheard of at the time and rare even by today's standards.

The 4th world is where Kirby introduces such key concepts and characters into the DC Universe such as the New Gods, which include Darkseid, Metron and Orion, among others.

Kirby, as any comic fan would know, is a giant in the comic book industry, He had, along with Stan Lee, created most of the Marvel Universe as we know it. Among their creations include the Avengers, X-Men, Hulk, Thor, etc.

This was a period in which Kirby had left Marvel to their Distinguished Competitor and was given full creative reign to tell his stories unfettered.

Wow - I didn't know the Guardian goes so far back. I always thought he was created in the late 80s after John Byrne rebooted the Superman franchise.

Anyway, there are many 1sts in these 3 issues. I'm amped to read the issues following these as they introduce the Forever People, Mr Miracle & Big Barda & the New Gods.

Comic Review - Avengers 167-177

Title/Storyline

Avengers 167-177 (aka the Korvac Saga)

Publish Date/Year

1976/1977

Creative Team

Jim Shooter, George Perez, Sal Buscema, Dave Wenzel

Issue(s)

167-177

Publisher

Marvel

Story

In an earlier battle with Thor (in Thor's own title), Korvac careens to the 20th century from the future and but using the vast knowledge he had gained, recreates himself in perfect humanoid form calling himself "Michael". He travels to Earth with the noble intent of reshaping it into a utopia. Korvac, however, is pursued by his enemies from the future

- the Guardians of the Galaxy, who join forces with the Avengers in a bid to stop the villain's assumed evil plans. Having hdden himself in an American suburb called Forest Hills, none of the Avengers or the Guardians could locate him.

Starhawk (a member of the Guardians who has heightened cosmic awareness just like Mer-Vell) somehow senses and finds Korvac to battle him alone in secret. Korvac, however, defeats and disintegrates Starhawk and then recreates him atom by atom, but without the ability to perceive Korvac/Michael in any way so as to avoid future detection/confrontation.

The Collector (an Elder of the Universe) had foreseen the coming of two beings that were more powerful than the Elders (Korvac and Eternal), and remade his own daughter Carina into a being of incredible power to be used as a weapon against Michael after earning his trust. Things do not go as The Collector planned as Carina falls in love with Michael after their meeting and she begins to sympathize with him and his plans for utopia. The Collector is soon

defeated by the Avengers after a failed bid to "collect" and protect the heroes as Korvac would eventually destroy them all. Korvac, discovers the Collector's plot and disintegrates the Elder as the Avengers watched in disbelief!

The Avengers finally managed to narrow down where Korvac may be hiding from the energy dispensed in destroying the Collector. However, they still could not locate him if not for Starhawk reacting to the Avengers speaking to thin-air (as he is now unable to perceive him at all!).

And that's when things go south resulting in almost ALL (except for Thor and Moondragon) of the Avengers & Guardians of the Galaxy biting the Big One!

It was Carina's final act to join Michael in death that she used every iota of her strength to revive all of the dead heroes.

Art

George, Sal and Dave provided some awesome visuals. Although the work in those issues can't be compared with the work they produce today (Well, I haven't seen Dave Wenzel's work for some years now. The last that I saw his work was the comic version of the Hobbit - which by the was was brilliant.)

Overall

This story was one of the earliest ever epic level storylines that (the others that I can recall off the top of my head would be the Kree-Skrull War, which ran from #91-97) ran for over 6 issues. Back then, stories of this nature were very rare, unlike today. As such, they were really treasured, not only because they were rare but also because they were great stories and these stories weren't run-of-the-mill stories but were significant.

A classic cosmic epic from the past!

Order your copy of the trade paperback here 31% off:

Avengers: The Korvac Saga (Marvel Premiere Classic)

Comic Review - Weapon X

Title/StorylineWeapon X
Publish Date/Year
1991
Creative TeamBarry Windsor Smith
Issue (s)Marvel Comics Presents 72-84
Publisher
Marvel

Story
Fans waited 20 years for this story to be told. We finally learn how he got the Adamantium in his body and how he escaped the Weapon X Program.

Logan was kidnapped by the Weapon X Program where Professor Thorton (who led the experiments), Dr. Abraham Cornelius and Carol Hines began examining Logan.

They soon learnt that Logan was a mutant with super fast healing and would thus make the perfect weapon they were trying to build. Logan's bones and claws were bonded with the indestructible metal Adamantium. Logan proved too difficult for the Weapon X Program to control and shortly thereafter, escapes the Weapon X facility. The Adamantium bonding process made Logan into the feral being we know him to be when Department H (Later known as Canada’s Alpha Flight) first found him in the wild Canadian Rockies.

ArtIt’s Barry Windsor-Smith! ‘Nuff Said.

For those unfamiliar with the name, this guy’s art is so highly revered that he is considered the person who did the Mona Lisa of the comic world. He is one of the people (along with Neal Adams) who revolutionized comic art in the 70’s. His work is still relevant and looks really good even by today’s standards. His art is unmistakable with his trademark signature on his covers “BWS”.

Additional CommentsThis is great reference/reading material for Wolverine fans and fans of the X-Men movies. It is a great jump on point/primer for those who can’t wait for the movie X-Men Origins: Wolverine to hit the cinemas in May as it provides in-depth insight into the mystery of Wolverine comic fans had to wait over 20 years to finally learn.

Chris Claremont has been synonymous with writing anything and everything X-Men and Wolverine related since the revival of the new X-Men in the 70’s. Surprisingly, this was done by Windsor-Smith alone.

The great art and writing makes this story timeless and worth every dollar spent on it. Go buy it already!

Comic Review - Elektra Saga 1-4

Title/StorylineElektra Saga
Publish Date/Year
1984
Creative TeamFrank Miller & Klaus Janson
Issue (s)
1-4
Publisher
Marvel

StoryMost of you (including non-comic readers) have heard of the upstart called Frank Miller for his ground-breaking work that include Sin City, 300 and more recently the Spirit Movie.

He is one of the very few living legends in the literary/comics world. Altho’ I don’t care much for his art work, I must admit his story telling skills (writing, pacing and art direction/layouts) are indeed awe-inspiring.

The Elektra Saga is a reprint of excerpts from over 20 issues of his Daredevil issues from the 80s. This 4-issue series lets you see how he made Elektra one of the greatest and most 3-dimensional supporting characters in comics. Here you will also see how Miller had elevated DD to an A-List character.

We learn of how Matt Murdock meets the 1st love of his life in college and the events that led Elektra to become the ruthless assassin that she is today – courtesy of Stick’s secret band of Ninja Warriors and the Evil Ninja Clan – the Hand. Elektra’s personal journey separates her from Matt but her assignments eventually lead her back to New York where her path crosses with Matt’s (whom by now had become Daredevil – Protector of New York’s Hell’s Kitchen).

Her return to New York and conflict involving DD and the Hand eventually gets the attention of the Kingpin, NY’s under-world big boss, who eventually becomes Elektra’s boss. We also learn of her death at the hands of Bullseye (who didn’t like the idea that Elektra had replaced him as Kingpin’s #1 assassin) and resurrection by the Hand.

ArtI am not much of a Miller fan in terms of his art work but as I had said, his layouts and storytelling skills are among the best in the industry.

Additional CommentsThis is a GREAT read by any standard. I had read this over 15 years ago and it is still such a great read today. The highest possible recommendation from me. If only Hollywood had made this story into a movie instead of that horrid one that bombed, we would see more of Elektra on the big screens today.