Talking About Comics

  The Mighty Thor #126-130 Originally released in 1966 Written by Stan Lee Art by Jack Kirby I was in the mood to read some of the works of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, so I thought I'd skip ahead to when Thor got his own comic rather than being part of an anthology series. (I'm assuming that the numbering continues on from Journey Into Mystery's numbering) The story picks up where Journey Into Mystery left off, keeping the premise simple - Hercules has arrived on Earth, he's flirting with Jane Foster, and Thor doesn't approve, so Thor and Hercules fight. Odin, not approving of Thor's growing bond with mortals, has sent Thor to his room to think about what he's done. (That is to say, he tried trapping Thor in Asgard, though Thor broke out and made it back to Earth) On Earth, Thor and Hercules continue to fight, with Hercules relishing the challenge.  As I read through this, I'm reminded of the fight scenes from the Arnold Schwarzenegger movie "Commando...

 Day of Vengeance #4-6 + Day of Vengeance and Rann-Thanagar War Infinite Crisis Specials Originally released in 2005 Written by Bill Willingham (Day of Vengeance), Dave Gibbons (Rann-Thanagar War) Art by Justiniano (Day of Vengeance), Ivan Reis (Rann-Thanagar War) The Spectre is on a crusade to destroy all magic, thanks to the manipulations of Eclipso, and it seems like he just might accomplish that goal.  In an attempt at stopping him, the Enchantress channeled the power of the world's magic users into Billy Batson, a.k.a. Captain Marvel, but with that only being the halfway point of the series, it's clear that something will go wrong. Naturally, it does, as the Enchantress's dark side takes over, putting all of that magic into herself, and in the confusion, Eclipso and the Spectre slip away.  As this is going on, Detective Chimp and Nightshade track down a teenage girl who might be the key to stopping Eclipso and the Spectre.  Known as Black Alice, she has the abil...

 Ultimate X-Men #1-5 Originally released in 2024 Written by Peach Momoko Art by Peach Momoko While I'm still getting caught up on X-Men, and I haven't read the Ultimate X-Men comics from the early 2000s, the new Ultimate X-Men is a very different take on the property, inspired by anime and manga, so it seems like the sort of thing that could be experienced without any prior context.  It doesn't even focus on a traditional X-Men team, or a mainstream X-Men member for that matter, with the point-of-view character being Hisako Ichiki, otherwise known as Armor in the main continuity, who is making the shift from middle school to high school while dealing with some serious trauma. She hasn't been to school for some time after the tragic loss of her friend, who was bullied to the point where he took his own life.  She's been left feeling guilty that she could have done more, and she's haunted both by visions of her friend and some kind of shadow man. While there's...