Nov. '86 - Fantastic Four # 296

All of the Marvel comics had an identical cover theme this month of November 1986. It was the celebration of their 25th anniversary (marked by the publication of Fantastic Four # 1). All the covers included the outside frame of various characters and a head shot of a character in the center. DC would do something similar in the 90's with just a head shot on all of their covers.

This issue was giant-sized to celebrate the anniversary. The Thing had been away from the team since the first Secret War. Reed was feeling increasing gult; both because Thing had been away from the team for so long, and because of his condition in the first place. He decides to find the Thing to finally settle things with him and tracks him to Monster Island. There, Thing has joined with the Mole Man to live out his life there with others that humanity has shunned.

It ends up Mole Man was plotting to expand the size of his underground kingdom at the expense of some real estate on the surface world. He's stopped by the Fantastic Four and Thing leaves Mole Man to rejoin the FF.

The issue reads like something out of the 60's, dialogue-wise, which I guess is to be expected since Stan Lee was involved with the issue. There were some good parts to the story: Mole Man's imaginary life he had created where he was loved and respected by beautiful people (hologram creations) and the plight of the Thing was demonstrated well. He was tired of always being the monster and the raw deal life had given him. Losing his girlfriend to the Human Torch could not have been easy.

I had started to collect this series when John Byrne was the writer/artist and was a big fan of what he did. I was not impressed with what followed after his departure and stopped buying it shortly after he left. This issue was one of the reasons why. I thought Byrne had done a lot to develop the characters and this issue seemed really a step back. It could be they were going for the old-fashioned feel since it was a celebration of the anniversary but I don't think it came off well.

Nov. '86 - All-Star Squadron # 63

This was another series that was on its last legs in November 1986. With the end of Crisis and the elimination of Earth-2 this series really got the short end of the stick. Many of the Earth-2 heroes that had an Earth-1 counterpart were completely eliminated from history. What Roy Thomas had been building for the past 5 years was unravelled because of Crisis and all the changes it made. This series was soon to be replaced by Young All-Stars as Thomas attempted to restart with heroes that weren't touched by Crisis.

While gearing up for the reboot the last few issues of All-Star Squadron presented origins of various characters that had appeared in the series. Up for this issue was Robotman. He was a doctor who was shot by mobsters and his brain placed in a robotic body he had been developing. During the series Thomas had done a good job presenting Robotman as a tormented character. He still had human emotions but was unable to express them because of the body he was stuck in.

This was a great series and I'm happy to have the complete collection. Thomas was covering about a month in "real time" for each year's worth of stories. It took place during World War II and the history he presented was great. It was one of those comics that was educational and entertaining. It's too bad that Thomas wasn't allowed to continue this comic in its own little world outside of what DC proper was doing. To be able to go through the entire war and see what Thomas would have done would have been an incredible experience.

Flashback Nov '86 - Justice League of America # 256

This is from the 'Justice League Detroit' era of Justice League of America. Of course, by the time of this issue, they had been kicked out of their Detroit headquarters and were meeting in the mountain that they used back in the 60's.

The plot involved someone named Adam who had kidnapped Zatanna and somehow stolen her magical powers. The homo magi power was too much for him though, and he was being driven insane. It was up to J'onn J'onnz, Zatanna and Gypsy to save him.

JLA was the first comic I ever collected. Of the original series, I have every issue except 9 of the really early ones (which I've read in reprints but will never buy now). The only reason I was still buying this comic in 1986 was a sense of completion. It had strayed a long way from the original reasons I bought it as a kid. To have one comic where you could see all the big heroes was a pretty cool thing for a 10 year old who only had $1.00 to spend on comics. This version of the JLA certainly didn't have 'all the big heroes'. I wasn't enjoying this comic at all. It's the only time I've continued to buy something I didn't like just to have a complete series.

I wasn't enjoying the artwork from Luke McDonnell. It just didn't seem "big" enough to be on JLA. On the other hand, when he started drawing Suicide Squad I thought his art was great for that series. It had a gritty look which matched the tone of that series.

The mini-series Legends started this month (Nov '86) and the end of that series introduced the new Justice League so this version of the League didn't have long left to live. The new League by Giffen and DeMatteis was hugely popular. I don't think there was anyone missing the Justice League Detroit version.

Flashback - November 1986

In my re-reading the comic collection I am up to the month cover-dated November 1986. I'm always amazed at the size of the monthly stacks from this time period. They're pretty large. I was working two paper routes and I think almost all that money went to comics. I remember as a teenager thinking how great it would be to be done school and working full-time and be able to have more spending money for comics. Of course now they're four times the price so the increased spending hasn't really resulted in more comics. In actual fact, the number of comics has gone down. When I was 16, I couldn't imagine paying $4.00 for a regular monthly comic. (I mean I paid that for Dark Knight when it came out but that was special). Now $4.00 is the norm. Back then they were selling for a $1.00.

I try not to think about that too much because it's really depressing. I can buy a paperback book for $10.00 and it will entertain me for a month or two. Or I can spend that same money on two comics and be done them both in less than an hour. Honestly, if I wasn't already a comic reader I don't think I'd get started in the hobby. My wife and I spend money on video games, books and DVD's and they are a lot better value for the money than comics are. I've said before that I like the production quality on today's comics but if going back to newsprint would knock the price down, I'd be all for the lower quality.

I have trouble believing that the comic readership is actually growing. I know numbers are up but I tend to think that's the current readers buying more (because there is a lot of quality stuff being done) rather than brand new readers coming into the market.

Of course, I could never stop buying them now. I love them too much. Wednesday's are something I always look forward to.

So here I was, all set to talk about November '86 and instead I bitch about the price of comics. Just another instance of me getting old (both because I drift off topic and I say how much things go up in price).

Survivor

Watched the first episode of the new season last night. Was alright, typical Survivor. Can't decide if the Exile Island will be a good twist or not. It will be interesting to see how tribes decide who is going to the island. The immunity idol, if found, will certainly come in handy for somebody.

I can't figure how these contestants get picked. I swear that some of them must get picked for comic relief. Cerise has never stayed outdoors, doesn't like the outdoors, but is on Survivor. They have to pick her knowing we'll get a chuckle out of her situation.

And do these contestants shut off their brains when they get on this show? At tribal council, Tina is asked if her tribemates are doing enough and she says 'no'! Why would she say that?!? Even if it's the truth, saying it is not going to make her any friends. And this early in the game you need friends. Better to say we're all pulling our weight and shut your mouth. I did think Cerise was going to get the boot until Tina opened her mouth and said that. People don't like hearing their lazy.

Heard from a friend that Cerise makes it to final four. She's kept because she's not seen as a threat. Based on the first episode I can agree with that.

This is like the 20th running of Survivor. Everyone knows by now that you need a fire, you need water, and you need a shelter. The sooner you start, the sooner the fire is going. Playing baseball really isn't a priority. But its what the young guy group decides to do. Where are their heads at?

So I'll be watching every episode, and like every other season, wondering how the people most capable of survival get voted off while others continue on.