Arctic Ink Comics Review

The fourth issue of the Avengers is one of the more historically significant comic books of the 60s, it being where Captain America , one of Marvel 's Golden Age champions, makes his return to the active roster. This alone is worth some inspection, without even getting into the contents of the book, not least because it really was treated as a momentous event. There's significant risks and pitfalls involved with a story structured around a returning character, such as a lackluster plot or poorly justified character motivations that might result from a creative process relying too much on the splash the character is expected to make. Fortunately, this issue navigates those hazards admirably, and delivers a pretty solid story that doesn't get overshadowed by Captain America's presence, but rather supports it and is in turn supported by it. Captain who? The Avengers #4: "Captain America Joins... The Avengers!" Writers: Stan Lee Artists: Jack Kirby ...

Easily one of the thematically heavier issues, the Amazing Spider-Man #9 is structured much like earlier similarly character-oriented issues such as #4 and #5 in that the villain isn’t really what the story is about. The introduction on the splash page even makes a point about how the human element is at the center of Spider-Man , and that is definitely how this story is positioned. The issue explores the hard, messy question of moral integrity, and the breaking point at which we compromise our principles for what we consider to be more important. A charged premise! The Amazing Spider-Man #9: "The Man Called Electro!" Writers: Stan Lee Artists: Steve Ditko Editor: Stan Lee Publication Date: November 12, 1963 Cover Date: February 1964 Art by Steve Ditko. © Marvel Comics. The story opens with a sequence of Spider-Man urgently swinging through town, only to reveal he was racing to Aunt May with a prescription of medicine. We learn that May is very ill ...

After a promising but a bit inconsistent first issue , the Incredible Hulk was in a position success-wise that could go either way: many popular and strong series started out scrambling, but found their footing a few issues down the line. On the other hand, finding that kind of success would require winning over the reader with intentional and consistently good issues, and since we already know the series only lasted for six issues, we can draw the conclusion that the Hulk failed to do so. In this retrospective series, I'm looking for the particular failings behind that lack of lasting success, and the signs are already sprouting up in the next two issues. Unnecessary aliens! The Incredible Hulk #2: "The Terror of the Toad Men!" Writers: Stan Lee Artists: Jack Kirby & Steve Ditko Editor: Stan Lee Publication Date: May 1, 1962 Cover Date: July 1962 Art by Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko. © Marvel Comics. The second issue of the Incredible Hulk is to...

So far the X-Men has been a case of a lot of good ideas not living up to their potential mostly due to weak plotting and shaky character motivations. Issue #4 feels like a conscious effort to fix that, while simultaneously significantly widening the scope of the story: we're not talking about bank robberies or recruitment here, this is a tale about a sovereign nation being taken over by a villain, and a cast of antagonists that genuinely justifies the presence of the whole squad of X-Men. It's also the first story in the series that comes across as an intentional take on the complicated concept of moral questions that can't be answered cleanly. A slow start... X-Men #4: "The Brotherhood of Evil Mutants!" Writers: Stan Lee Artists: Jack Kirby & Paul Reinman Editor: Stan Lee Publication Date: January 3, 1964 Cover Date: March 1964 Art by Jack Kirby, Paul Reinman and Art Simek. © Marvel Comics. I don't really know why Stan Lee and Ja...