What do you think?
Rate this book
Marvel Presents (1975) #1-2
Bloodstone & the Legion of Monsters
The MU's most marvelous monster-hunter, unleashed! And she's brought along a few friends... When young Elsa Bloodstone learns that her father was the legendary creature-killer, Ulysses Bloodstone, she soon discovers that blood runs thicker than water! With her father's powerful gem around her neck, Elsa takes up the family business - so look out Dracula and the rest! Watch Elsa Bloodstone kick beastly behind with her NextWave pal Boom Boom, and her own friendly set of groovy ghoulies, the Legion of Monsters! Plus, discover the full Bloodstone legacy with astonishing tales from the files of Ulysses himself! COLLECTING: BLOODSTONE 1-4, ASTONISHING TALES: BOOM BOOM AND ELSA, LEGION OF MONSTERS (2011) 1-4, MARVEL PRESENTS 1-2, MARVEL MONSTERS: FROM THE FILES OF ULYSSES BLOODSTONE & THE MONSTER HUNTERS; MATERIAL FROM MARVEL ASSISTANT-SIZED SPECTACULAR 2, GIRL COMICS (2010) 2
291 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 2017
14 people are currently reading
48 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
October 22, 2024
2 different stories one of the daughter one of the father. The daughter one is better IMHO just because it doesn't have the over the top bombast that the older books did so often. I get it, modern sensibilities but I just enjoy the flow of the newer comics more.
Okay graphic novel I read just because it's the spooky season.
Okay graphic novel I read just because it's the spooky season.
April 14, 2018
I have to admit I was a little disappointed with this volume. I had been wanting to read the original Bloodstone stories for years but didn't want to track them down throughout all of the 70s books and magazines they appeared in, so when I saw them all gathered in one collection I was excited.
The Elsa Bloodstone stories starring the Legion of Monsters were good, but a little too comical. I'd rather see Morbius, Werewolf by Night, etc. in serious horror stories rather than cracking jokes. Although they weren't total slapstick, it still didn't read like a Marvel Horror title. Still, not bad overall.
Then we get to the original Bloodstone stories. These are more serious, but just way more far out than I expected. I thought we'd have Bloodstone hunting down monsters and while there was some of that, most if it was some cosmic epic about a stone attempting to rule the Earth and all of the creatures and people who attempt to control the stone. Marvel had a knack for these type of tales in the 70s (think something out of Heavy Metal) but I didn't realize this was one of those stories. Not terrible but a little hokey. My expectations may have just been a little high I guess. Still worth a read, but not a classic.
The Elsa Bloodstone stories starring the Legion of Monsters were good, but a little too comical. I'd rather see Morbius, Werewolf by Night, etc. in serious horror stories rather than cracking jokes. Although they weren't total slapstick, it still didn't read like a Marvel Horror title. Still, not bad overall.
Then we get to the original Bloodstone stories. These are more serious, but just way more far out than I expected. I thought we'd have Bloodstone hunting down monsters and while there was some of that, most if it was some cosmic epic about a stone attempting to rule the Earth and all of the creatures and people who attempt to control the stone. Marvel had a knack for these type of tales in the 70s (think something out of Heavy Metal) but I didn't realize this was one of those stories. Not terrible but a little hokey. My expectations may have just been a little high I guess. Still worth a read, but not a classic.
March 27, 2024
I found the older black & white Rampaging Hulk magazine back-up reprints in the back 9 of this trade more fulfilling than the newer colored modern stories.
Ulysses Bloodstone was originally a primitive human during the early age of mankind who gets a red gem imbedded in his chest granting him longevity and strength and other abilities. He becomes a monster Hunter and is given quite a story arc with interesting side characters and villains. The final issue felt a bit campy, forced and perhaps the worst of the lot. It did not help that a new artist was on each issue, but Pablo Marcos’ heavy inks tie it up nicely. John Warner does a good job on the hero and story.1
Ulysses Bloodstone was originally a primitive human during the early age of mankind who gets a red gem imbedded in his chest granting him longevity and strength and other abilities. He becomes a monster Hunter and is given quite a story arc with interesting side characters and villains. The final issue felt a bit campy, forced and perhaps the worst of the lot. It did not help that a new artist was on each issue, but Pablo Marcos’ heavy inks tie it up nicely. John Warner does a good job on the hero and story.1
August 12, 2020
This has two different Bloodstones in it. The Father and Daughter. The original stories of the father while great art has an odd storyline. He hangs out with a movie star and it’s far more Sci-fi than horror. The daughter’s stories are better.
October 21, 2024
Marvel Presents #1-2 - I believe these two issues might be the only parts of this collection that I’ve actually previously read. While these issues are printed in this volume after the Legion of Monsters stuff, it was originally the first published material and occurs before everything else. I originally bought these issues when they had been first published. The character of Bloodstone was interesting, but he did not really capture my interest. Now, reading these issues again, I can see why. The concept is a little too cliché and more than a bit difficult to relate with. Let’s call it an interesting character concept, but ultimately not compelling.
Material from the black & white Rampaging Hulk magazine #1-6 & 8 - As I only had a handful of issues from this magazine when it was originally published, I haven’t read these stories of Bloodstone before now. The author of the earlier 2-issues (see above), John Warner, returns with some talented artists, but overall these stories suffer from the same lack of compelling interest to make the character concept engaging. It’s too metaphysical and disconnected from a relatable reality to be anything more than a curiosity. The finale in #8 is also probably the worst of the bunch. Steve Gerber is brought in to try make some sense out of all of it and it is just too little and far too late. The conclusion is an incomprehensible mess that retcons most of the previous stuff into a miasma of senselessness.
Legion of Monsters #1-4 - Ugh. This is stupid. Take some great, fun monster characters and just make fun of them? Seriously? Did the writer take a crap on these characters by taking inspiration from William Shatner’s script for Star Trek V The Final Frontier? If you can’t HAVE fun with the characters, you shouldn’t MAKE FUN of the characters.
Material from Marvel Assistant-Sized Spectacular #2 - I guess you would call this Elsa Bloodstone’s origin. About as interesting as her father’s was.
Material from Astonishing Tales: Boom-Boom & Elsa - Well, this doesn’t pass the Bechdel test. Marvel should just be ashamed. Complete failure.
Material from Girl Comics #2 - Better, but still unsatisfying.
Not a very rewarding anthology. This is really only something for Marvel Completists.
Material from the black & white Rampaging Hulk magazine #1-6 & 8 - As I only had a handful of issues from this magazine when it was originally published, I haven’t read these stories of Bloodstone before now. The author of the earlier 2-issues (see above), John Warner, returns with some talented artists, but overall these stories suffer from the same lack of compelling interest to make the character concept engaging. It’s too metaphysical and disconnected from a relatable reality to be anything more than a curiosity. The finale in #8 is also probably the worst of the bunch. Steve Gerber is brought in to try make some sense out of all of it and it is just too little and far too late. The conclusion is an incomprehensible mess that retcons most of the previous stuff into a miasma of senselessness.
Legion of Monsters #1-4 - Ugh. This is stupid. Take some great, fun monster characters and just make fun of them? Seriously? Did the writer take a crap on these characters by taking inspiration from William Shatner’s script for Star Trek V The Final Frontier? If you can’t HAVE fun with the characters, you shouldn’t MAKE FUN of the characters.
Material from Marvel Assistant-Sized Spectacular #2 - I guess you would call this Elsa Bloodstone’s origin. About as interesting as her father’s was.
Material from Astonishing Tales: Boom-Boom & Elsa - Well, this doesn’t pass the Bechdel test. Marvel should just be ashamed. Complete failure.
Material from Girl Comics #2 - Better, but still unsatisfying.
Not a very rewarding anthology. This is really only something for Marvel Completists.
March 27, 2023
With the exception of one specific issue where Elsa Bloodstone and Boom Boom discuss “boys,” an issue that woefully exemplifies when adult men write women characters like teenage girls, the front matter of Bloodstone and the Legion of Monsters feels like an indie comic that could be completely removed from the rest of Marvel insofar as the artistic expression and unconventional storybeats helps demonstrate how much diversity actually exists within the mainline Marvel 616 continuity. The back matter dedicated to Elsa’s father Ulysses, however, grows a bit tedious after awhile, falling prey to the same kind of tonal distanced narration more easily found in Marvel’s exclusively black and white comics from the 70s. I appreciate their presence here, but despite the shared Bloodstone name, I feel these characters and their comics appeal to contrasting readerships, making it easy for this graphic novel to disappoint anyone with a clear preference for one kind of graphic narrative over the other.
April 22, 2019
The winners here are the reprints of the classic John Warner scripted Bloodstone tales of the 1970s. Unfortunately it's hidden behind a lackluster modern miniseries featuring his daughter. The classics are stupendous though and well worth the price.
March 8, 2020
3.5 because while there's a lot of good material, there are some weaker splotches too.
Created by John Warner, Ulysses Bloodstone was a Bronze Age Marvel hero, an immortal hunting down the creature that created him and killed his tribe in the process. He got a backup slot in Rampaging Hulk but when that ran out, Steve Gerber wrote a last story that killed Bloodstone, retconned his history and finished up the whole thing too abruptly. All of that's reprinted here.
Some years later, Marvel introduced Bloodstone's daughter, Elsa, who stepped into his shoes when she became immortal too. We have a miniseries involving her with various monsters, then several humorous shorts from various anthologies. I like Elsa more than her dad, but the quality here is kind of mixed and I didn't like the art.
So this is very much a YMMV review, but I'm glad I got this.
Created by John Warner, Ulysses Bloodstone was a Bronze Age Marvel hero, an immortal hunting down the creature that created him and killed his tribe in the process. He got a backup slot in Rampaging Hulk but when that ran out, Steve Gerber wrote a last story that killed Bloodstone, retconned his history and finished up the whole thing too abruptly. All of that's reprinted here.
Some years later, Marvel introduced Bloodstone's daughter, Elsa, who stepped into his shoes when she became immortal too. We have a miniseries involving her with various monsters, then several humorous shorts from various anthologies. I like Elsa more than her dad, but the quality here is kind of mixed and I didn't like the art.
So this is very much a YMMV review, but I'm glad I got this.
May 12, 2020
Disappointing overall. I read this because I wanted to read up more of Elsa Bloodstone's stories after her appearance in Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3. I read that this collected a few of her appearances as well as Legion of Monsters 1-4 where she appeared. Sadly the extra side stories with Elsa were the only things I really liked from this. Legion of Monsters is a story mostly starring Morbius as he attempts to cure a dangerous virus that drives monsters into a killing frenzy (when, surprisingly, they just want to live peacefully on their own). The side stories from the Marvel Assistant-Sized Spectacular, Marvel Heartbreakers, and Girl Comics were all great fun though.
And I didn't even touch the Ulysses Bloodstone portion. No interest, sorry!
And I didn't even touch the Ulysses Bloodstone portion. No interest, sorry!
May 19, 2023
I might have some stars in my eyes a little when reading this and it may have biased me reading this, recollecting discovering this in some older kid's collection. The Marvel black and whites had weirder stories far too complex for a little kid, but the imagery stuck. And although I didn't understand any of the story beats, it was not understanding that made me want to figure this out as a kid. Now as an adult I can see some of the old stories as dated but there was a nostalgia for all the old monster comics Marvel put out back then. I really enjoyed the stroll down memory lane, getting to know Elsa but the reason for the lack of that extra lies in not getting enough.
October 31, 2022
Cool to see the origination of the Bloodstones character, as well as the way the story has been brought into modern times with Elsa Bloodstone.
August 10, 2023
This was an entertaining read! I knew of Elsa Bloodstone from a few one-shots that I've read over the years and it was lovely to see her in her own story and learn more about who she is as a character. The one-shots included in this collection apart from the initial story were fun and were able to showcase even more of who Elsa is, and I also didn't mind getting the chance to learn about her father Ulysses Bloodstone because it gave insight into how the blood gem works. Great for monster lovers!
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews