A Hero is more than just a Sandwich

OK, so as I stated I recently joined MoCCA, and over the weekend not only did I get my membership card (autographed by John Romita, Jr., but I also received a “trading card” sketch card and a special variant edition of Marvel Apes #1. Needless to say, while all of this swag is totally wicked-cool, I didn’t so much join to get this stuff as I joined to support the cause.

The Hero Initiative creates a financial safety net for comic creators who may need emergency medical aid, financial support for essentials of life, and an avenue back into paying work. Since inception, the Hero Initiative has been fortunate enough to benefit over 40 creators and their families with over $400,000 worth of much-needed aid, fueled by your contributions! It's a chance for all of us to give back something to the people who have given us so much enjoyment.

The Initiative has already produces a number of very cool items, including a series of “100 Covers” spotlighting 100 illustrated covers (Spider-Man, Hulk, Wolverine), that were drawn by various fan favorite artists (I have the Spider-Man cover book) — which is marred only by the fact that Rob Liefeld drew a cover then refused to allow it to appear in the book — which I feel was very ego-centric and self-serving of Liefeld, denying his fans a chance to see the cover he drew, and possibly denying funds to this worthy cause by someone who might have purchaes the book if only Liefeld’s illustration had appeared in the tome).

Anyways, the Hero Initiative is a worthwhile cause, and I want to urge anyone who works in this industry, or has derived enjoyment from the professionals in this industry to support it, as it is truly a worthy cause.

Comics I’m no longer enjoying

I remember back in high school when I finally got serious about comicbooks, I was a freshman in high school and met a classmate who was reading comics in one of my study halls. We hit it off immediately, and became friends. True,I had been reading comics since 1961 or there-abouts, but I didn't really start buying them regularly until that point.

I had always been more attracted to Marvel over DC, and of course to Spider-Man. One of the other titles I also greatly enjoyed was The X-Men, so I was very excited five years later when they returned to new adventures with GS X-Men #1. Then, over the next 18 years I thrilled to their adventures under the capable writing of Chris Claremont. Around 1993 Clarmont and the X-Men parted ways (rather abruptly).

About a year ago, Chris was reunited with the team with the release of X-Men Forever, which picked up on his interrupted storyline. The premise of the story for this title is that the intervening 16 years never happened,and Chris is picking up from the moment he left telling the story he intended to tell at that time.

I’m not entirely sure I’m buying that. Still, I’ve been reading the story, and well, to be honest, I’m really not having as good a time as I thought I was going to have. The story seems flat and forced, and the whole time I’m reading it, I can’t help but to think that, if this really is the 616 Marvel Universe, how does it intersect with everything else that has gone on with the MU over the past 16 years.

Yeah, this may sound nerdy and geek-like to you all, but remember, I’m currently working on The Official Index of the Marvel Universe, so that makes me an archivist and historian, so these sorts of questions play a real role in the way I view things. Still, that’s only part of my issue. Like I said, the story isn’t ringing true to me, and I don’t know if it is because I’ve been away from these characters for 16 years, or something else, but I’m really not caring about what happens to them.

This is no disrespect to Chris, but I really don’t care much what happens to the X-Men in their regular books either. So there’s that. As it stands, I’m no longer purchasing the title after issue #12.

Another Marvel title (or rather series of titles) I’m not enjoying is the entire Marvel Zombies concept. Sure the first couple were kind of fun, but no, not really. This mostly because I simply don’t enjoy seeing my childhood heroes turned into amoral flesh-eating dead things (and yes, this does make me nerdy and geek-like, only — in this instance at least — I simply don’t care).

What really put that into place for me was the release of Marvel Zombies Evil Evolution, which pits the Marvel Zombies against the Marvel Apes (another concept that I really don’t enjoy, but that’s another story). Reading this particular title is disturbing on many levels. The story has the Marvel Zombies crossing through and inter-dimensional portal in order to eat the Marvel Apes. Part of my problem is that not only am I really having a hard time distinguishing the the two sets of “heroes” but I’m having a hard time lining up the continuity of both groups of characters into what I already know of their continuity (yep, there’s that archivist part of my brain working overtime again, can’t help it).

Anyway, I really only pick up either series when Spidey (or a reasonable facsimile thereof) appears.

I’m thinking I need a better hobby. (Un)fortunately, I seem to be stuck with this one. Ah well.

It’s the end of the world as we know it

I’m not entirely sure of this, but I do believe that the appearance of the recently-released Marvel Apes is one of the signs predicted by Nostradamus of the on-coming Apocalypse. No seriously, I’ve seen the Marvel Universe put through some pretty impressive hoops this past few years, but when I heard about this newest limited series, all I could think was WTF?

Then I read the first issue.

Now, I have to say that I really enjoyed it. Yeah, seriously, I really kind of enjoyed it because it was fun, irreverent, and evoked the feeling of silly fun that is so missing from Marvel Comics these days. The story follows Martin Blank, the Gibbon, as he and a (nearly competent) research scientist are transported to an alternate Marvel-Verse where Apes Rule (and no, Neither Charlton Heston nor Mark Wahlberg appear). Written by Karl Kesel and written by Ramon Bachs, the story is a light-hearted romp that is fun, and should not be dismissed out of hand by readers.

The story starts out in the “real” Marvel U, and then moves the two characters over into a world ruled by apes, where Martin — who is a self-confessed loser — comes to feel at home. Only this new world just might not be the place that he initially believes it to be. A back-up story has the The Watcher telling us all about the origin of the Marvel Ape-verse.

If you haven’t picked up this comic as of yet— and are in the mood for some fun with a twist — you just might want to check it out. (there was also a preview of Marvel Apes in Amazing Spider-Man Family #1, that you might want to check out as well.)