Comic Reader Résumé: July-October, 1983

ré·su·mé [rez-oo-mey, rez-oo-mey]
noun
1. a summing up; summary.
2. a brief written account of personal, educational, and professional qualifications and experience, as that prepared by an applicant for a job.

Much of 1983 was underwhelming on the new comic front, in quality if not quantity. In July, I tried The Further Adventures of Indiana Jones #10 after not quite taking home a number of previous issues. Maybe the inking of Danny Bulanadi put it over the top, since I seemed to pick up a number of books with his work in these years, and still think he's an unsung talent. The pencils by Dan Reed might have contributed, but I no longer own a copy, and don't actually know who the guy was. David Michelinie wrote the story, but he was never my bag. I don't blame him here though, because Harrison Ford's charisma and the kinetic energy of Spielberg action sequences never seemed to translate to comics. I recall Indy in formal dress hanging off the ledge of a skyscraper, fighting a savage to the death. That's a few pages into the book. The rest is a blank.



I came in too late to get the full What If experience, since the book would be canceled a few issues after #41. The story by Alan Zelenetz was appropriately violent and grim, abetted by Conan artist Mark Silvestri and Mel Candido. I liked the Sub-Mariner, but his underwater world of blue barbarians struck me as kind of dull and silly. Swell cover, though. This was another one from Gemco.



I know for a fact that I got Amazing Spider-Man #246 from a three-pack, rather than the August ship date, since I'd have never bought a J. Jonah Jameson spotlight on purpose. The story by Roger Stern was a collection of supporting character daydream sequences, which were nice enough, but the draw was the art of John Romita Jr. and Daniel Green.



Marvel Tails Starring Peter Porker the Spectacular Spider-Ham #1 was an oddball one-shot parodying two of my favorite heroes and the Hulk. It must have done okay, since an ongoing series arrived a few years later. The lead story by Thomas P. DeFalco, Mark Armstrong and Jose R. Albelo was cute with interesting art, and pointed out glaring flaws in the cannon Spider-Man and Captain America stories. The Goose Rider back-up by Steven Mellor struck me as weird and sorta gross, but the whole package was neat overall.



I bought Krull #1 by David Michelinie, Bret Blevins and Vince Colletta because I dug the photo cover and thought the movie might be interesting. They squeezed the entire adaptation into two issues, so it was a somewhat dense read, yet still managed to be dull as dishwater. I think I tried to watch the movie once or twice, but I either never finished or tuned it out while watching. All I really remember are trees and that claw boomerang thing.



Hawkeye #4, the best of this mediocre lot. The last issue of the fun archer's solo mini-series was by Mark Gruenwald with embellishing by THE Danny Bulanadi. In the story, Hawkeye beats a pretty girl nearly to death while going deaf. Shades of Black Cat in Peter Parker #76, I enjoyed it here, too. This was obviously a repurposed Green Arrow story, given that sonic emissions are what tore up Clint Barton's eardrums, and Mockingbird was always a Black Canary rip-off, but I didn't know that then. I just thought the villains were cool looking, the book was damned violent, and ended with the heroes newly married and nude in a bubble bath. I kept thinking it was some sort of dream/hoax/imaginary story, but Hawkeye continued to use a hearing aid while shacked up for years thereafter.



September only offered Daredevil #202, involving a dumber, more volatile, and shorter lived riff on Vandal Savage. It was by Denny O'Neil, William Johnson, and once again, Danny Bulanadi. There was also a goofy Assistant Editor's Month back-up. It wasn't a great issue, but I found the characters interesting, and would be back again.



October's Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #86 was an experiment involving comedy artist Fred Hembeck helping to draw a serious story alongside the regular creative team. I'd like to see how it reads as an adult, but as a kid, it left no impression. What did was my friend's copy of Uncanny X-Men #177, because I feared for my girlfriend, Kitty Pryde...