Timely Reviews

Well, they're actually not timely at all, considering all these comics have been out for awhile. However, if you'll recall this post, today we'll be doing a follow-up. Referring back to the earlier entry to refresh your memory might be an excellent idea.

Looking back, I didn't review individual issues in the first entry on these books. Perhaps this is a good thing. Instead of trying to think of something to say about each comic, I'll just tell you that Young Allies Comics #1 and All Winners Comics #1 run neck and neck as my favorites of all 11 comics in this series. I'm a sucker for the Invaders, so the All-Winners Squad naturally comes along for that ride. It didn't hurt that the story made me smile in all the right places. But then, I think Karl Kesel is highly underrated. As for the Young Allies, such a smart revamp of the kid gang can't be ignored, especially when it made me cry. Yes, seriously. It also had one of my favorite art jobs on these titles, outdistancing All-Winners by a mile and giving the Sub-Mariner book a run for its money.

In a change from the schedule as outlined in June, Mystic Comics #1 was delayed until September 2. That meant that its release coincided with the last of these specials, which was indeed Daring Mystery Comics #1. That comic, which ties into the long-delayed mini-series The Twelve deserves special kudos for making me care a LOT about a character like the Phantom Detective. What a pleasant surprise, and a nice capper to this run of titles.

With one exception, none of these books did anything at my local shop. I have a feeling this might have been commonplace, but I'll be quite happy to be proven wrong. The only anomaly was USA Comics #1, which sold out the same day despite being ordered at identical levels as the rest of the later books. Was this because of the MAX Destroyer series that was running at the same time?

Anyway, two sort of related books bear mentioning here, too : Marvel Comics #1 (the very first Marvel comic from 1939 rendered with modern computer coloring - surprisingly effective!) and Marvel Mystery Handbook : 70th Anniversary Special #1 (profiles of characters from Marvel's first year - haven't seen this yet). Neither is part of the "official" series of one-shots, but they are spiritual cousins so I thought they deserved a nod.

If you missed these books, or don't like having individual books lying around, Marvel has an oversized hardcover collection of all of them due in January. It's to be called "Timely 70th Anniversary Collection", though I'll be darned if I can find its page on Marvel's website. It is scheduled to have a SRP of $39.99, so if that sounds too rich for your blood, I'd recommend waiting on the inevitable standard-sized trade edition.