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Marvel Firsts
Marvel Firsts 3: The 1980s
Say goodbye to the '80s with one final volume of the decade's breakthroughs and breakouts! Mutant mania launches three new X-teams, plus star turns for Cyclops and Colossus! The first shots are fired in The 'Nam, cyborg Coldblood suits up, and Nth Man and Shadowmasters prove that ninjas are "in"! COLLECTING: THE 'NAM 1, COMET MAN 1, FALLEN ANGELS 1, MEPHISTO VS. 1, MARVEL GRAPHIC NOVEL 31, SPELLBOUND (1988) 1, EXCALIBUR SPECIAL EDITION, X-TERMINATORS 1, HAVOK & WOLVERINE: MELTDOWN 1, SHADOWMASTERS 1; MATERIAL FROM AMAZING SPIDER-MAN ANNUAL 22, MARVEL AGE ANNUAL 4, MARVEL COMICS PRESENTS (1988) 10, 17, 25, 26, 29, 38
479 pages, Paperback
First published December 30, 2014
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November 18, 2015
This volume closes off the decade of the 1980s with first various issues from the later half of that decade. An an anthology concept this format does not really do justice to some of this materila, but in other cases it might be the only way some of this stuff is going to get reprinted. Maybe enough interest could be generated and a future collection focusing on one particular character or mini-series could be in the works. Maybe.
Opening this volume is The 'Nam #1 by Doug Murray & Michael Golden offers up stories based on real events from the Vietnam War; Comet Man #1 by Lost in Space's Bill Mumy, Miguel Ferrer & Kelly Jones deputs a whole new superhero to the Marvel Universe; Fallen Angels #1 by Jo Duffy & Kerry Gammill focus on a disparate group of youngsters from across the Marvel Universe trying to figure out if they've got a place in the world; Mephisto vs. #1 by Al Milgrom &John Buscema gives center stage to the satanic Mephisto in conflict with the Fantastic Four; Marvel Graphic Novel #31: Wolfpack by Larry Hama & Ron Wilson showcases a group of inner city kids with martial arts training; Spellbound (1988) #1 by Louise Simonson, Carl Potts & Terry Shoemaker brings a new fantasy adventure to Marvel; Excalibur Special Edition: The Sword is Drawn by Chris Claremont, Alan Davis, Paul Neary & Mark Farmer take some of the X-Men and transplant them to England with Captain Britain joining the team; X-Terminators #1 by Simonson & Jon Bogdanove takes the younger members of X-Factor and spins them into their own mini-series; Havok & Wolverine: Meltdown #1 by Simonson, Walter Simonson, Jon J. Muth & Kent Williams offer up a fully painted mini-series staring two of the X-Men; Shadowmasters #1 by Potts, Dan Lawlis & Russ Heath livens up Post-War Japan with a tale of Ninjas; from the pages of Amazing Spider-Man Annual #22 by Roger Stern & Steve Ditko bring the reader the first solo adventure of Speedball, the Masked Marvel; while from the pages of Marvel Age Annual #4, Dwayne McDuffie & Ernie Colón present the first appearance of Damage Control in trying to get Joe Fixit (aka The Hulk) to be their spokeman; and filling out this volume are six stories from various issues of Marvel Comics Presents including: #10 featuring Colossus from the X-Men by Ann Nocenti, Rick Leonardi & P. Craig Russell, #17 featuring the former member of the X-Men but at the time member of X-Factor Cyclops by Bob Harris & Ron Lim, #25 featuring the debut of Nth Man, the Ultimate Ninja by Hama & Ron Wagner, #26 featuring the debut of the cyborg Coldblood by the incomparable team of Doug Moench & Paul Gulacy, #29 featuring the solo debut of Quasar by Mark Gruenwald & Paul Ryan and finishing off with #38 and a solo adventure featuring the Ionic Avenger, Wonder Man by Michael Higgins & Javier Saltares.
Like the other books in this format from Marvel there are often some annoying plots left dangling but there are still some enjoyable stories. It can get frustrating though to only get an initial chapter of what might have turned into a fascinating series. But then that's the fun of tracking down and collecting back issues of old comics. Though the hunt is often more exhilarating than the having.
Opening this volume is The 'Nam #1 by Doug Murray & Michael Golden offers up stories based on real events from the Vietnam War; Comet Man #1 by Lost in Space's Bill Mumy, Miguel Ferrer & Kelly Jones deputs a whole new superhero to the Marvel Universe; Fallen Angels #1 by Jo Duffy & Kerry Gammill focus on a disparate group of youngsters from across the Marvel Universe trying to figure out if they've got a place in the world; Mephisto vs. #1 by Al Milgrom &John Buscema gives center stage to the satanic Mephisto in conflict with the Fantastic Four; Marvel Graphic Novel #31: Wolfpack by Larry Hama & Ron Wilson showcases a group of inner city kids with martial arts training; Spellbound (1988) #1 by Louise Simonson, Carl Potts & Terry Shoemaker brings a new fantasy adventure to Marvel; Excalibur Special Edition: The Sword is Drawn by Chris Claremont, Alan Davis, Paul Neary & Mark Farmer take some of the X-Men and transplant them to England with Captain Britain joining the team; X-Terminators #1 by Simonson & Jon Bogdanove takes the younger members of X-Factor and spins them into their own mini-series; Havok & Wolverine: Meltdown #1 by Simonson, Walter Simonson, Jon J. Muth & Kent Williams offer up a fully painted mini-series staring two of the X-Men; Shadowmasters #1 by Potts, Dan Lawlis & Russ Heath livens up Post-War Japan with a tale of Ninjas; from the pages of Amazing Spider-Man Annual #22 by Roger Stern & Steve Ditko bring the reader the first solo adventure of Speedball, the Masked Marvel; while from the pages of Marvel Age Annual #4, Dwayne McDuffie & Ernie Colón present the first appearance of Damage Control in trying to get Joe Fixit (aka The Hulk) to be their spokeman; and filling out this volume are six stories from various issues of Marvel Comics Presents including: #10 featuring Colossus from the X-Men by Ann Nocenti, Rick Leonardi & P. Craig Russell, #17 featuring the former member of the X-Men but at the time member of X-Factor Cyclops by Bob Harris & Ron Lim, #25 featuring the debut of Nth Man, the Ultimate Ninja by Hama & Ron Wagner, #26 featuring the debut of the cyborg Coldblood by the incomparable team of Doug Moench & Paul Gulacy, #29 featuring the solo debut of Quasar by Mark Gruenwald & Paul Ryan and finishing off with #38 and a solo adventure featuring the Ionic Avenger, Wonder Man by Michael Higgins & Javier Saltares.
Like the other books in this format from Marvel there are often some annoying plots left dangling but there are still some enjoyable stories. It can get frustrating though to only get an initial chapter of what might have turned into a fascinating series. But then that's the fun of tracking down and collecting back issues of old comics. Though the hunt is often more exhilarating than the having.
Displaying 1 of 1 review