Gruenwald, Mark Books

Stephen King's Dark Tower: The Long Road Home

Stephen King, Peter David, Robin Furth, Richard Isanove

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 12 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

It's Hard To Be The King 3 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

Shortly after graduating high school (too many years ago to admit to), I read my first Stephen King novel called Firestarter about young Ms. Charlie McGee. Shortly after, I decided to take on King's 800+ page epic called The Stand (updated in the 90s to 1100+ pages!)....After those two novels I was hooked on anything King...couldn't wait for his next release.

In 1982 King brought back the main antagonist (albeit under a different name) of The Stand for the beginning of what turned into an awesome seven-part series called The Dark Tower. In 2007 we were treated with a new beginning to The Dark Tower series, a prequel, a graphic novel called The Gunslinger Born. Hence, I could not wait for The Long Road Home...this second installment of the spinoff comic book Dark Tower series.

King again worked closely with Marvel, his personal assistant of several years (Robin Furth) and an experienced comic book writer (Peter David) in order to deliver this second adaptation of his work. The Long Road Home is a bit more Robin Furth and Peter David than was The Gunslinger Born. In other words, any King fan(atic) knows King's signature style and typical prose. And that style and prose was clear as day in The Gunslinger Born. But in The Long Road Home, it just seemed a bit less King and a bit more Furth and David. This is not really a bad thing. It's just that King has that magic that makes you a dedicated reader; that magic is kind of MIA in The Long Road Home.

Don't get me wrong. I thoroughly enjoyed The Long Road Home. But don't expect a Stephen King novel. Sure, King had oversight, and Furth and David are good...but they are not The King.

The story picks up with Roland Deschain and friends Alain and Bert as they make their way home from their first assignment by The Elders that was played out in The Gunslinger Born. It's a cool adventure, but I'd be more interested if from here Furth, David and King took the actual Dark Tower novels and converted them into graphic novels for an amazing, image-filled, refreshing re-read. After all...it's been 25 years since I read the first Dark Tower novel, and the way my memory has been working lately, a graphic novel adaptation would be like reading it for the first time. Do ya kennit?

Regardless, whether you've ever read a comic book, graphic novel, Dark Tower or Stephen King story for that matter, The Gunslinger Born and The Long Road Home are great escapes into a world that goes on forever. I highly recommend reading them in the order that they were released.

Editorial Review:

It's the return of the best-selling comic book series, inspired by Stephen King's epic The Dark Tower! Gunslinger Roland Deschain has seen the death of his lover Susan Delgado. And the Big Coffin Hunters who burned her at the stake are now in pursuit of Roland and his ka-tet Cuthbert and Alain. The friends are forced to flee into the desert with the deadly posse in hot pursuit... .and Roland is in a coma! Don't miss the next chapter in the saga of the Gunslinger whose quest for the Dark Tower will shake the foundation of reality itself! Collects Dark Tower: The Long Road Home #1-5.

Avengers: Galactic Storm, Vol. 2

Len Kaminski, Tom DeFalco, Mark Gruenwald, Roy Thomas, Dan Thomas, Gerard Jones, Bob Harras, Paul Ryan, Pat Olliffe, Rik Levins, Dave Ross, Rurik Tyler, Jeff Johnson, Stephen B. Jones, Steve Epting, Greg Capullo, Craig Brasfield, John Czop, Darren Auck, Dave Simons

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 2.0 of 5

Save your Money 1 out of 5 stars.
3 of 11 people found this review helpful.

This graphic novel contains the conclusion to the Galactic Storm series, which was originally published by Marvel in the Annual issues of their various on-going series (Capt America, Avengers, Thor, etc...). As a rule of thumb story lines that involve Annual issues from multiple comic series are wretched.

This one is no exception. The story telling is choppy, because each Annual covers one hero (or set of heroes). The art is middling to bad, again because its an Annual; Marvel and DC feel its ok to let quality slip. Marvel even managed to get two of the issues in this book out of order.

Go ahead, buy it. I dare you.

Editorial Review:

One galaxy's heroes are another's villains, and two galaxies' worth of them are in head-on collision - with the Avengers in the middle of a war whose repercussions will haunt them for years! The events that split and shook the Earth's Mightiest Heroes to their foundations end here, and intergalactic boundaries aren't the only lines being drawn! Plus: The tri-galaxy war devastates the Earth far more literally when we see "What If the Avengers Lost Operation: Galactic Storm?"! Collects Iron Man #279, Thor #446, Captain America #400-401, Avengers West Coast #82, Quasar #34-35, Wonder Man #9, Avengers #347, What If? #55-56.

Avengers: Galactic Storm, Vol. 1

Bob Harras, Tom DeFalco, Mark Gruenwald, Gerard Jones, Len Kaminski, Roy Thomas, Greg Capullo, Steve Epting, Jeff Johnson, Stephen B. Jones, Rik Levins, Dave Ross, Paul Ryan, Rurik Tyler

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

One last hurrah for the House of Ideas 5 out of 5 stars.
36 of 38 people found this review helpful.

Once upon a time there was a comic universe, large and diverse, filled with just about any type of character from any type of pulp genre, and they shared and interacted in the same universe. You had a Martial Arts character named Shang Chi living in the same world as the cosmic space fantasy Silver Surfer who fought against the supernatural thriller Dracula who appeared in the socially conscious Uncanny X-Men and the main nemesis of said group had a daughter (Scarlet Witch) who was married to an andriod Avenger and the Avengers leader fought alongside a gruff Atlantean who was an ally to the Defenders and enemy to the Fantastic Four...mythology, science fiction, magic fantasy, "monster" characters, "horror" characters, all were there in the same universe.

That was the House of Ideas. Marvel comics, from about 1961 to around 1991. Sure, there were dud stories and more than enough cheese to make McDonalds next billionth cheeseburger, but the whole was greater than the sum of its parts. The spirit of creativity and continuity drove Marvel to its market supremacy. Characters embodied ideas, paradoxes, philosophies, sure the comics were aimed at kids, but there was some thought beyond the horizon to captivate the reader willing to reflect on the stimuli presented by the likes of Galactus, the Eternals, the Supreme Intelligence, Ultron, ect.

Since then, its been all down hill. Late spring 1992, Liefeld's Youngblood and Valiant's "Unity" crossover opened the doors to the "spec boom", when comics became investments instead of enjoyments. A comic bought for a buck in December 1991 (*cough cough*, Solar Man of the Atom #1) could be sold for about a eighty bucks one year later. This ended up destroying the comic industry, as DC and Marvel sold their creative souls to try and capitalize on the "hype". Superman was killed off, the Green Lantern corps destroyed, variant covers became more important than the 22 pages in between, Iron Man was turned into a teenager, X-men uber alles and, unfortunately, the sole prism that the next generation of comic collectors would experience the Marvel Universe.

But, in early 1992, Marvel did something right. A 19 part crossover among the Avengers titles called "Operation: Galactic Storm". At the time, it didn't make much of a ripple, as evidenced by the fact this is the first time the series has been reprinted, 14 years after the title hit the stands. But its story-value has increased with age, mostly because of what I've outlined in the first couple of paragraphs--Marvel simply hasn't been as thoughtful and innovative since. Those of us bored by the current Marvel regime, which attempts to make every single comic a replica of Kevin's Smiths overrated (and short) run on Daredevil, find refuge in the hallowed and barren halls of the old House of Ideas.

The premise is simple--the Kree (an Avengers foe) and the Shi'ar (an X-Men supporting cast empire) are at war, two Marvel alien empires that had had little contact prior to the story. The problem is, they use the Earth's sun as a "stargate" to transport warcraft from one galaxy to the other, and the disturbances said stargate causes thus threaten to destroy the earth. Thus, to preserve human life, the Avengers split up so they may "reason" with the two empires, and get them to take their war to some other turf. The story alternates among earth, the Shi'ar homeworld, and the Kree homeworld, and just about every Avenger, ever (except Quicksilver and Dr. Druid) get some face time in this epic.

What makes this crossover so strong? 1.) It's about ideas. Although this TPB only covers the first 13 chapters, its obviously needed to get to the good stuff at the end. The Greater Good, the misuse of evolution (or the inevitable extrapolation of ethics from evolution?!?), what makes one human, pragmatism over idealism, all these play a role in the story, and could elicit a lightbulb or two in the minds of those willing to wonder again. 2.) Its surprisingly character driven. The Supreme Intelligence makes a pretty strong stamp as a unique villain, Wonder Man and Vision have some nice characterization, Iron Man's pragmatism vs. Captain America's "by the book"ism, Sersi and Hercules' old school divine ethos vs. the (let's by honest) navel gazing of the modern day Avengers...even Captain Atlas and the Starjammers get some room to define themselves. and 3.) some well placed humor throughout the crossover.

What are some weaknesses? Well, first off, its just the first volume, and the second volume will have one of the most memorable climaxes for a crossover. Secondly, the art is (very) uneven, and it seems even the reproduction of the coloring is uneven. The Quasar issues are hard to look at, but the Wonderman and Avengers chapters (illustrated by Jeff Johnson and Steve Epting) hold up not only well, but very well. The story starts off slowly and unremarkably. To the modern eye trained to over realism-ify the superhero genre, the notion of Captain America wearing a trenchcoat and walking into a diner in Arizona may induce a groan or two. But the story picks up once the Avengers split up and go after the empires. The story will require a heavy dose of Avengers-background--if you don't know the relationship between Vision and Wonder man, and if you don't know that the Kree have been culturally stagnant for millenia (from the classic Kree/Skrull war from the early 70s), then much of the nuance of the tale may be lost.

I'm probably reviewing this volume through rose-colored glasses, remembering the good ole House of Ideas, but I think the story nonetheless holds up on its own merits. Its not a Bronze Age story, its not a Dark Age story, it's certainly not a Silver Age story, Galactic Storm is its own entity, built from Marvel's history and the diverse characterization in the Avengers family, taken to a logical conclusion. That, is a good story.

Editorial Review:

The Kree are one of the Fantastic Four's oldest enemies; the Shi'ar, one of the X-Men's oldest allies. But it's the Avengers who are caught in the middle when the two alien races wage a war to re-write Marvel's map of the universe! As two-legged WMDs land on Earth, the Avengers end up as alien invaders on wartorn worlds of wonder, both as a unit and individually! Featuring the Imperial Guard! Starforce! Deathbird! Thor vs. Gladiator! Super heroes from three galaxies and more clash in the first half of the story that shook the team to its foundations! Collects Captain America #398-399, Avengers West Coast #80-81, Quasar #32-33, Wonder Man #7-8, Avengers #345-346, Iron Man #278 and Thor #445. Book 1 of 2.

Squadron Supreme

Mark Gruenwald, John Buscema, Bob Hall, Paul Ryan, Paul Neary

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 14 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Held up well over last 100 years 5 out of 5 stars.
5 of 16 people found this review helpful.

Given this book's publication date of 1903, I'd say it has held up remarkably well. It goes without saying that it is the great grandaddy of all coincidences that the names of the artists working back then are identical to some working today. It just goes to show you what a family business sequential art really is.

buy it for the script, not the art 2 out of 5 stars.
3 of 13 people found this review helpful.

i just bought this book (in october)and i must say i was very disappointed, the art is sub-par, i mean it stinks . to me the illustration part is more than half of a story, i helps to bring one in to a universe, into a story and this book (even through it is writen very well) couldn't because of the art, i couldn't finish reading this book, it just didn't draw me in. too many artists and inkers ( 9 all together), that to many . that's really to bad, i heard alot about this book being great and that mark gruenwald had put his heart and soul into writing it. marvel should go back and redo this book with 1 penciler (not 4) like alex ross or brent anderson, and 1 inker (not 5) to accomadate. another gripe is they don't have the covers to the comics that make up this trade back, no cover gallery, but i'm sure the art on them is just as bad

Editorial Review:

Collects Squadron Supreme #1-12, and Captain America #314.

Essential Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe - Deluxe Edition, Vol. 3 (Marvel Essentials)

Mark Gruenwald, Peter Sanderson, Bob Brown, & others, John Byrne, Dave Cockrum, Bob Layton, John Romita Jr.

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Final Chapter in a Unique Classic 5 out of 5 stars.
6 of 6 people found this review helpful.

Note: The description for this volume provided by Marvel (on Amazon and the sites of other online book-sellers) is really a description of Vol. 2, not this, the 3rd volume. Also, this series origionally came out nearly 20 years ago, so it is quite dated, but still provides more info. than any other book of its sort, and based on the recent Marvel Encyclopedias (which I loved but were NOTHING next to the level of info. put into the Hand Book series), nothing like them will ever be seen again.

Never before nor hence has there ever been such an indepth, painfully detailed source book of information for Marvel Comics (or any other company for thart matter). The majority of this, the Third and final volume in the initial Delux edition of the Marvel Handbook, tome collects the "books of the dead" in the series, meaning the info here relates mostly to those Marvel characters who were considered dead and buried for good at the time they were written. However many of them have, as Marvel is prone to do, come back to life by one means or another, since the Hand Book was written. Also included is the Appendix of Alien Races, a fair handling of the alien races in the Marvel Universe seperate from the major three (Kree, Skrull and Shiar). Around 100 alien races are discussed.

The high-lights of the books of the dead are mostly of the Marvel Sci-Fi realm, such as Capt. Marvel (Mar-Vel), Thanos and Adam Warlock and crew. Other fun entries include losts of the old western characters, the Rawhide Kid included, who has recently been "outed"; mini-profiles of the surprisingly high number of Savag Land-unique races; and an extensive entry covering the Vampires as they are/were in the Marvel Universe.

Also, it is here that the X-Men and X-Factor etc... are covered in the few ramaining pages of the last issue (non-books of the dead that is) before going into the extensive Alien Races Appendix.

This volume, and the previous two (meaning those of the DELUX editions), are simply a must-have for any fans of Marvel in general, but this volume is a necessity for specifically those following the sci-fi and X-Men families. Also, if you read and loved the Earth X series, you simply can not pass this up.

I only have two small criticism:
1. This volume is much shorter than the previous two but still costs the same.
2. Through out the whole run of the series the appendix is referenced, but nowhere in this or the previous two volumes does the appendix ever manage to reach the point of covering the teams and characters demoted to it, instead the whole of it heavily focused on "alternate realities", and lots of space was used for the rambling of the creative teams behind this stellar gem of nerdom.

Yet neither of these petty complaints take away from the volume or series as a whole.

Enjoy!

Editorial Review:

How many rooms in the X-Mansion? What makes web-shooters work? Find out as Spider-Man and the X-Men join forces to highlight the third volume of this Guide to the Greats! Featuring full profiles on Rogue, Shadowcat, Storm, the White Queen, Wolverine and more! The Scarlet Witch, the Silver Surfer and so many more in glorious color! The secrets of S.H.I.E.L.D.! The schematics of the Sentinels! The story of Subterranea and the wonders of Wakanda! Plus: details on more than a hundred alien races! Collects Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe - Deluxe Edition #15-20 (3 of 3).

Essential Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe - Deluxe Edition, Vol. 1 (Marvel Essentials)

Mark Gruenwald, Peter Sanderson, Eliot R. Brown, & more, John Byrne, Dave Cockrum, Bob Layton, John Romita Jr.

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

A complete paperback compilation of the deluxe edition... 4 out of 5 stars.
7 of 8 people found this review helpful.

...in three installments. I did not have the privilege of owning the original run of the Deluxe Edition of the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe, but I do have the trade paperback of ten volumes, which unfortunately when read by volume will fall apart on the spine (the 1st 4 volumes were carelessly bound). For the first time I read the entries for such obscure Marvel characters as Cloud, Arnim Zola, Blackout (which has another entry of the Deluxe Edition's Book(s) of the Dead), and for the first time I see the original feature illustrations for Angel, Cyclops, and Hawkeye which were replaced in the trade paperback edition. For a Marvel fan who has lived throughout the seventies and eighties this is the book for u, the era before the so-called "Dark Ages" of comicbook. Here are the Marvel characters who ante-dates the overexposure of the X-Men and the antihero and the big gun types. This is the expansion of the original run of the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe (1983-1984), which explains why most feature illustrations of characters are exactly the same as in the first run. The only handicap of this series was that it failed to materialize its own Appendix, unlike in the first series, which published them on the back of the backcover.

Editorial Review:

The original encyclopedia of adventures: expanded, augmented and updated! Marvel's continuity kings continued their quest for completeness in these issues of dedicated Deluxeness! Top talent teamed to headline heroes like Captain America, Daredevil, Doctor Strange, Nick Fury, the Hulk and dozens of others! Full lineups of the Avengers, the Defenders, the Fantastic Four and more! Collects OHOTMU Deluxe #1-7.

Essential Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe - Deluxe Edition, Vol. 2 (Marvel Essentials)

Mark Gruenwald, Peter Sanderson, Eliot R. Brown, & others, John Byrne, Dave Cockrum, Bob Layton, John Romita Jr.

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

A Must-Have for hard-core Marvel Fans 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

Okay, so granted the info here is nearly 20 yrs. out of date, but it still is the paragon to which any and all comic book guides should strive to emulate. When Marvel undertook the Delux Handbook series they went didn't hold anything back. The history of even the most obscure characters is delved into with great detail, and the specs on all armor, wepons, etc... is beyond fantastic. Also, the section of each entry relating to the various powers or applications of weapons and armor and such are given great consideration; the authors do their best to give a logical and scientific explaination to each and every one of these subjects, as well as to how said individual got their powers or skills.

I can't say it enough, NO bit of info was deemed too mundane or irrelevant to leave untouched... and the scope of the material covered goes above and beyond the major players of the Marvel Universe. Granted, not EVERY SINGLE last person, place or thing is covered, but they went as far as possible to do so, and no other source book for any single form of writing in the genre has ever been as grand in scope and detail; the more recent Marvel Encyclopedias, although fun and more up-to-date are nothing like the Delux Handbook series, and only the volumes focusing on the Fantastic Four and Spiderman even come close to this land-mark achievement. Also, the wealth of artwork presented here is stunning, though not all of it is the best, the people who put this together did a great job of covering the entries at their best representations over the years.

In this, the 2nd volume (of three, though there is one that came before, the non-delux, and one that is due out that served as a late-1980s update) the latter half of all things marvel from "M" (Magus) to "W" (Wolverine) are covered.

If you happen to have any of the "prestige format" reprints of the series, it might still be worth it to you to pick up these volumes, as those books, which were reprints of the orig. series but collecting 2 issues per volume and on better quality paper, left out several entries per issue that are found in these "Essential" reprints.

There is little to nothing to say that is bad about this series, but I will give a few "constructive warnings" to those interested in buying the series.

1. The reprints, like all those in the "Essential" reprint line of Marvel Comics, are not in color and are in black and white. Personally, I prefer the black and white over the color versions, as it gives it the nostalgic feel that to me makes it all the better.

2. The appendix to the series directs the reader, many, MANY times to appendix entries that will never show, namely any and all refering to any characters, objects or teams simply do not show up, ever, in the appendix of any of the issues. It is possible this was remedied in the late-'80s update, but I never got those when they first came out so I can't say for sure. However, the appendix of alien races, seen in the 3rd volume of the Essential reprints, does not dissappoint.

3. As I said before, this series came out nearly 20 years ago, so if you are looking just for up-to-date info, this series is not for you (and due to the short-commings of the more recent Marvel Encyclopedia hard-backs you pretty much will have to rely on the internet for USEFUL current info., and on-line, its all free!)


All in all, I highly reccomend this volume and the 1st and 2nd to any and all Marvel fans. I randomly picked up and issue of this series in the '90s, and its what truly sold me on Marvel Comics when I first started out. Even then the series was about 10 yrs out of date but it was a big help in getting into Marvel regardless.

Editorial Review:

Marvel's late-'80s Essential Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe (Deluxe Edition) was a wildly ambitious attempt to collect definitive biographical information on every single Marvel character. It's perfectly suited to Marvel's Essentials line: Since the series is intended more for reference than for reading cover to cover, the black-and-white lightweight-paper format isn't that much of a drawback, and the inexpensive price makes it affordable to collect all three 400+-page volumes. (The earlier non-Deluxe version is short enough to fit in one volume.) Volume 2 covers issues 8-14, and characters from Magus to Wolverine, with stops along the way for Man-Thing, Moon Knight, Shanna the She-Devil, Silver Surfer, Spider-Man, Ultron, and the Valkyrie among others. Yes, the information is dated, and these days you can probably find something similar on the Web somewhere, but this kind of nostalgia is exactly what the Essentials line is for. --David Horiuchi

Squadron Supreme: Death Of A Universe TPB (Squadron Supreme)

Mark Gruenwald, Kurt Busiek, Len Kaminski, Paul Ryan, George Perez, Carlos Pacheco, Anthony Williams

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Powerful 5 out of 5 stars.
5 of 7 people found this review helpful.

Squadron Supreme was Marvel's answer to the Justice League. After an incredible 12-issue mini-series (which is still available), this comic book was released as a follow-up to conclude the story line. This shorter graphic novel was incredibly powerful. The remaining members of the Squadron Supreme put their lives at stake to save their dying universe. It is an intense read. If you loved the Squadron Supreme, you must do everything you can to get your hands on this follow up story. I never cried so hard reading a comic book in my life! This is truly not to be missed.

Something you won't see on The Justice Leauge! 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 3 people found this review helpful.

Easily one of the greatest storylines next to Avengers Forever and the Storyline of Final Fantasy VIII in my opinion of course. Only one week after the failed Utopia Project, The Squadron Supreme is visited by a foe greater than Ultimecia and Immortus combined...The Nth Man. No not that pathetic Ninja named John Doe. Having consumed seven whole realities Thomas Lightner finds himself in The Squadron's Universe: Earth-S and continues his mad quest of hunger. The Squadron and their greatest foes head into space to attack Lightner. However things don't go as they planned when Lightner vanquishes Professor Imam, Inertia and even a version of Overmind from the future with but a thought and a little light show here and there. This epic showcases on how The Squadron must face this "Crisis from Infinite Earths" on a "Zero Hour" of Destruction and the pain they must deal with as all whom they know and love fall dead around them. This Graphic Novel set the course for the storyline presented in Avengers vol.3 #5-6 and The Squadron Supreme/Avengers Annual of 1998.

Editorial Review:

Different cover since this is a newer edition of the book than the one on the Amazon.com detail page.

Avengers/X-Men: Bloodties

Ralph MacChio

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 8 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

A gritty story, showing the realism of war. 5 out of 5 stars.
3 of 5 people found this review helpful.

An excellent story, showing a darker side to the marvel universe. The tragic story of war in the island nation of Genosha, the gritty realism of the story along with the excellent artwork, makes for a great read. I would strongly recommend this, for it is truly, one of the few classic storys produced by Marvel.

Avengers + X-Men=Average Story 3 out of 5 stars.
3 of 4 people found this review helpful.

This trade paperback takes place recently after the events in FATAL ATTRACTIONS. Magneto is braindead and The X-Men and the Avengers rush to Genoshia where other mutants take the "dream" of Magneto and twist and turn it into a terrorist type plan.

The story is average and not a lot of the popular Avengers or X-Men are in attendance (Missing in action is Iron Man, Thor, Wolverine, Nightcrawler, and Colossus ).

The art is somewhat good. The best art coming from Mr. Kubert. If your bored or if this is on a 50% discount rack, is the only time its worth to pick up.

Whoever loves Exodus should read this. 4 out of 5 stars.
2 of 4 people found this review helpful.

In here Exodus is the trouble maker while Magneto is recovering from the loss of his mind, and colossus feeling kind of guildty for leaving the X-men, THis book is great, it has a lot of heroes in it and you can keep track of all the heroes. If you love The avengers, avengers WEst Coast, The X-Men, Exodus, or even Fabian Cortez, this is the book to read.

Fantastic Four Visionaries - George Perez, Vol. 2

Len Wein, Roger Stern, George Perez, Marv Wolfman, Doug Moench, Mark Gruenwald, Ralph Macchio, Joe Sinnott, Chic Stone, John D'Agostino, Mike Esposito, Gene Day

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Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 1.0 of 5

Marvel is really reaching with this one 1 out of 5 stars.
7 of 11 people found this review helpful.

Marvel adds another misleading entry to their series of Visionaries trades with FANTASTIC FOUR VISIONARIES: GEORGE PEREZ VOLUME 2. Once again focusing solely on an artist, instead of a writer/artist, they trumpet the work of George Perez, apparently claiming that he, a fresh face at Marvel at the time, was a "visionary" who made these FF stories worthwhile... as if the writers had nothing to do with it. Don't get me wrong, I am a big George Perez fan, but what did he really accomplish artistically with these characters that had not already been done by Jack Kirby? Labeling Perez' work on the FF as visionary, especially when it was from so early in his career, is ludicrous.

Anyway, I gave Volume 1 a 2-star review, due to the above problems, along with the fact that stories were often incomplete due to Perez rotating with other artists. Volume 2 gets the dreaded 1-star review due to more of the same, plus some worse: the fact that it contains some non-Perez work - not to provide complete stories, but to bulk up the page count. It seems that Marvel didn't have enough FF work from him to make it as big as volume 1, so they included some additional random bits from the Annuals. This is just stupid... really, this trade paperback defies logic. I mean, Volume 1 at the least could claim to be exclusively the work of George Perez, but Volume 2 can't even claim that. So what we have here is a compilation with no point whatsoever.

But let's get to the stories. This volume includes FF #187 - 188, 191 - 192, and Annuals 14-15; Marvel Two-In-One #60; and Adventures Of The Thing #3. They feature the Molecule Man, Agatha Harkness and Salem's Seven, those nasty Skrulls, the Texas Twister, the Impossible Man, the return of the Terrible Trio, and living statues of Diablo, Blastarr, and Dr. Doom. So there are some fun stories here, and the gaps aren't as obvious as in Volume 1; however, I have too many problems with this book to give it a passing review. This is not a bashing of George Perez, but of Marvel for releasing such a weak trade collection.

Editorial Review:

One of the FF's top talent gives Mr. Fantastic a really new look... as the Molecule Man! Once the team deals with this ultimate infiltration, they still must face sorcery, Skrulls and super-powered statues! Plus: the power of Franklin Richards! Guest-starring the Texas Twister and the Impossible Man! Collects Fantastic Four #187-188, 191-192, Fantastic Four Annual #14-15, Marvel Two-In-One #60, Adventures of the Thing #3.