D.P. 7 #1 (November 1986)

Once upon a time, there was an Earth. This Earth was just like ours. There were no superhuman beings, cosmic beings, super-science, alien lifeforms (that was known), magic, anything you'd see in your typical superhero universe. But on July 22, 1986, at 4:22 a.m. Eastern Standard Time...that world would change forever. 

It would be known as the White Event. For a few brief moments, this Earth would be bathed in bright white light. But the effects would be massive. People started exhibiting superhuman abilities, like those of the superheroes in comic books. It was the birth...of the New Universe.

In 1986, Marvel was celebrating the 25th Anniversary of the modern Marvel Universe (The Fantastic Four debuted in 1961). As part of that celebration, then-Editor-in-Chief Jim Shooter launched this little imprint, separate from the mainstream Marvel Universe. This "New Universe" was intended to be much more realistic than the mainline Marvel Universe. There would be none of the fantastic elements that the Marvel Universe had. There would be no hidden races, super-futuristic tech, gods, magic or the like.

However, the line suffered problems from the start. Budget cuts preventing hiring of top creators, delays, and even the comics' failure to keep to the "rules" of the New Universe (Justice was especially notorious for this) led to the line being cancelled in 1989. The remaining titles of the line did actually sell well, but Marvel felt that the line was not profitable enough to keep it going. The New Universe's final story was the four-issue miniseries The War in 1989.

Despite this, the New Universe would continue to be referenced in Marvel books. Mark Gruenwald revisited it in the Quasar series, and Peter David had Justice appear as the "Net Prophet" in Spider-Man 2099. The multiverse-hopping team the Exiles visited the NU in 2005. In 2006, as a celebration of the 20th anniversary of the NU, Marvel released a mini-series called Tales of the New Universe, a mini-series that told new tales in the NU set before the NU event known as "The Pitt". And in 2007, Warren Ellis and Salvador Larocca released Newuniversal, a miniseries that reimagined the NU. And more recently, in 2013, Jonathan Hickman used elements of the NU in his Avengers run, like the Star-Brand, Nightmask, and showing the MU having its own version of the White Event.

D.P. 7 (meaning "Displaced Paranormals 7") was one of the eight titles that launched with the NU. It was one of the longest-lasting NU titles, going 32 issues and one Annual. It was also the only NU title to keep a stable creative team, with Mark Gruenwald writing and Paul Ryan on art throughout the entire run. Gruenwald had come up with the basic concept while working on Squadron Supreme, and was able to recruit Ryan because of Ryan's own interest in the NU concept and his have no work lined up after he finished Squadron Supreme. The two had been fond of their time on the title. In fact, they discussed revisiting the title at some point in the future, but tragically, Mark Gruenwald's death in 1996 prevented that from happening.

So, how did these seven displaced paranormals end up on the run? Let's find out in D.P. 7 #1!

The cover is a Paul Ryan piece, and it's pretty neat. Certainly one of the more unique covers I've seen on this blog. It basically depicts the members of D.P. 7 standing in the style of a police line-up. In the case of some of the members, we see some of their powers in action, like Scuzz (the scowling guy in the front). 

"The Clinic"
Writer: Mark Gruenwald
Penciler: Paul Ryan
Inker: Romeo Tanghal
Colorist: Paul Becton
Letterer: Phil Felix
Editor: Ralph Macchio
Editor-In-Chief: Jim Shooter

The story begins with a large hairy man being wheeled into a hospital in Winnebago County, Wisconsin. 

The man was found on the floor of his trailer, overdosed on pain pills. His life signs are unstable, but the doctors manage to get them under control. One of the doctors, a Randy O'Brien, notes that this man has odd metabolism. They learn the man's name is David Landers. Landers then wakes up and goes on a rampage, showing that with his size comes incredible strength. O'Brien tries to calm him down, but Landers is too busy rampaging to hear him. Then something else strange happens.

"Oh God, what was in that weed I smoked last night?"

The arms help stop Landers, allowing O'Brien to give Landers a nice shot of Valium. Amazingly, only he sees the strange arms. Later, O'Brien comes to visit Landers, where we learn a bit more about our mysterious Mastodon of a man. Landers was once an ordinary man, a worker at the Waupaca Cheese company. Last week, Landers supposedly fell ill with the flu. He had a friend bring him lots of groceries every night.

The previous Friday, he went out drinking with his friends. The next morning, he felt the worst hangover ever, and he was starving. He noticed his hands were hairier, and then he started growing muscles. It was very painful. And it only got worse. He overdosed on painkillers in an attempt at suicide.

I used to be a normal guy--now I'm a freak!

Landers begs O'Brien to end his misery, but O'Brien tells him he can't. He's a doctor. His job is to save lives, not end them. He will do his best to help our mammoth of a man. The next day, Randy is talking to a Dr. Eastman, his boss. Eastman believes medical history is being made here, and he doesn't want another facility to treat Landers. O'Brien fears this hospital doesn't have the resources to help the Mastodon, but Eastman thinks O'Brien is playing maverick. Eastman storms out, leaving a fuming O'Brien. The doctor wishes that he could strangle Eastman, and this happens.

"Why you little-!"

O'Brien realizes that the strange "anti-body" is about to strangle his boss, and screams for it to stop. Eastman doesn't see the anti-body, and as a result, practically fires O'Brien. The "anti-body" returns to O'Brien, and he discovers that he's able to see things from the shadow's perspective. That night, O'Brien is in his home, the TV talking about the White Event. He wishes he had someone to talk to about the shadowy being he's manifesting as he's reading a newspaper. He's reading the Plot Convenience Times, and true to it's name, it has an ad that promises exactly that.

Plot Convenience Times: News You Need, When You Need It.

He calls the number, and decides to check out this clinic. He falls asleep thinking about the clinic and his new "anti-body". As he sleeps, the shadow being emerges from his body. The being visits Landers in the hospital, who is feeling down about himself. The "anti-body" visits Landers and telepathically makes him aware of the clinic Randy read about. He then breaks out of the hospital and pays Randy a visit.

It was here that Dave Landers realized he had no future in Strip-O-Gramming.

The next day, the two visit the clinic, and it seems on the up-and-up. A Dr. Semple shows the two superhumans around the place, and they decide "this place seems nice, let's stay a while". And that afternoon, they're in a support group for other paranormals.

"My name is Dave, and I'm an alcoholic."
"Wrong group, Dave."
"D'oh!"

Meet the Paranormals in the support group! Charly Beck, college student who can alter the effects of friction. Jeff Walters, Burger King manager-turned speedster. His powers have left his body constantly shaking. Dennis "Scuzz" Cuzinski, teenage dropout whose skin constantly secrets a substance that can disintegrate things. Lenore Fenzl, elderly retired Latin teacher who's skin emits a tranquilizing effect. Stephanie Harrington, housewife who can charge things up with a touch. Her charging touch can also relieve pain, which Dave Landers appreciates. 

O'Brien and Landers decide to stay at the clinic. Over the next few weeks, bonding with their fellow support group members. Landers finds himself growing closer to Harrington, even though she is already married (Her husband dumped her there because he saw her as a freak). 

One day, O'Brien and Landers hit the gym, and they talk a bit. Landers notes that he's feeling a bit bothered by the tight security of this place, and that this particular group is kept apart from the other groups. Lenore Fenzl is able to add on to this, having been there the longest. She notes that she never had to worry about paying for this place's services, and when she asked about funding, she got evasive answers.

That night, O'Brien is unable to sleep. So, he summons his "anti-body". The shadowy form flies off. Randy and Dave may be more right than they think about this place.

"Hackbarth, are we the baddies?"
"Naw."

Too good to be true, indeed. Three of the attendants are trying to manipulate the minds of O'Brien and Landers's group while they sleep. And those attendants are themselves paranormals. One suggests that O'Brien be put into intensive care and sedated heavily so he can be conditioned constantly. The "anti-body" returns to O'Brien and reports telepathically to him what it saw. He gets dressed and tells it to summon the others...as one of the attendants, a man named Hackbarth comes to his room. 

The "anti-body" alerts the other members of the group, and they fight their way to O'Brien, who is being tied down by Hackbarth. Hackbarth reveals that his paranormal ability is the power to control the bodily processes of people, which he demonstrates on our heroes.

"I also have the power to make you all hear nothing but drunken boy bands!"
"NOOOOOOOO! YOU ARE A MONSTER!"

The "anti-body" distracts Hackbarth, allowing Landers to fight off his pain and KO the superhuman orderly.

The story ends with our septet of displaced paranormals escaping the clinic, taking their chances out in the wild world of the New Universe. And thus began the saga of D.P. 7.

I kind of enjoyed this comic. It's clear that Landers and O'Brien are the main characters here. If you remember my looks at the Squadron Supreme miniseries that Gruenwald had written earlier, then you can see that same theme of subtle deconstruction shown here. The best examples of that here are Landers,  The team is itself also rather unique in the factor of the characters' ages. In most superteams, characters tend to be of similar ages, like teenagers (Teen Titans, Young Avengers), middle-aged (JLA, Avengers), or even elders (JSA). But here, this group is comprised of teenagers (Cuzinski), College-age young adults (Beck), middle-aged people (Harrington, O'Brien, Walters, Landers), and even an elderly person (Fenzl). I also like that these aren't people that necessarily want to be superheroes. They just want normal lives, and they're only in the mess they're in because they discovered that the clinic wants to exploit them. 

I do wish the team was a bit more diverse, but this is not surprising for the 80s. In my experience with much of the media of the era, their idea of diversity was "stick a woman and a black person in it, there. Diversity!"

I'm a fan of Paul Ryan as an artist, but I do have one issue with his art here. It's with his rendition of Scuzz. The character is supposed to be in his early teens, but I get the impression that he's much older, closer to Beck in age. I'm not sure if that's intentional. But then again, it is possible for people to look younger or older than they actually are. 

D.P.7 is a bit of a hidden gem, in my opinion. If you want to read this for yourself, I recommend tracking down the 2007 trade paperback D.P.7 Classic Vol. 1. Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, show it off! Take care of yourselves, and each other! Stay safe, stay healthy, stay home, wash your hands often, and wear a mask! See you next time, when we continue the epic battle between the Avengers and Immortus...

Narita Boy Announcement Trailer, My Thoughts

Don't you just hate it when you get sucked into a computer and end up having to wield a technologically advanced sword the world contained within? Well, that's what happens to the titular protagonist of the upcoming game Narita Boy. Actually, I think that might be awesome. Let's look at the trailer!

So what is this, like The Wizard or something?

80s style title IN YOUR FACE!

(ooh, faced)

Oh, it's like Tron!

Kevin Flynn and the kids from the various Digimon series would laugh at that statement.

Ride that robot horse with the computer monitor head, Narita Boy! RIDE IT TO FREEDOM!

Hey, we got a lightsaber! 

Gotta pay our respects to the computer gods.

Hee hee, light sails. This is definitely homaging Tron.

"I have achieved oneness with the motherboard!"

(My god, it's full of stars)

That temple's door is Clappon-powered. Clap open, clap closed!

A...pregnant robot. Ah, we stumbled on the frickin' weird part of the Internet.

(Huh)

Techno Sword is an awesome name for a weapon. The only way it can be better is if it also can become a gun.

Well, this game sounds like a fun little hack-and-slash. I think I'll give it a try! Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, show it off! Take care of yourselves and each other! Stay safe, stay healthy, stay hoe, wash your hands often, and wear a mask! See you next time!

Text Play: Pokémon Zeta #17

Hello, and welcome back to the Vesryn Region! Welcome to the seventeenth entry in my Text Play of Pokemon Zeta!

It's my first Text Play of 2021! It may be a new year, but the tradition remains. As usual, I want to warn you all that I will be spoiling this game. 

If you wish to play the game for yourself, then you can download it at the game's wiki here. And with all that out of the way, let's go! 

And in this entry, we will finally take on Avery and his little army of Bug Pokemon. 

I have to admit, I don't think I've never been this nervous before facing a gym leader. I think it's mainly because I don't think I ever had such a tough time preparing for one before. I have theorized in the past that based on the location and wild Pokémon in the area that Avery was originally intended to be a Rock/Ground-type specialist early on in the game's development but that got changed. Yeah, read the last entry to hear more of my rants about that.

I did get a good chuckle from one of the trainers at the gym when they did a bit of what TV Tropes called "Lampshade Hanging".

When you do think about it, the guy does have a bit of a point. In the real world, having Gyms that specialize in a particular type would seemingly make little sense. After all, for example, if someone specializes in Fire-type Pokémon, they'd be easy to beat. Just bring in a bunch of Water, Rock, or Ground-type ones. Well, in game, I think it does. It forces you to try and adapt your teams to face new challenges, and it teaches you about the various types of Pokémon out there. 

Also, keep in mind this. Since the release of Sword and Shield, there are now about species of Pokémon. There are many dual-type Pokémon out there, so defeating Gym leaders likely isn't as easy as you think. I can also imagine that realistically, Gym leaders are well aware of their types' weaknesses and keep it in mind.  

Anyway, I made my way through the Gym, and I fought a trainer named Pmok.

His name is Pmok, and he's a stallion evidently, ha ha. I wonder, though. Is Pmok an actual name? I'm thinking it was a typo, as I didn't find anything on it. Before you reach Avery, there are two puzzles in front of him.

These puzzles both form the same picture: Mew. Yeah, it's an odd choice for a Bug-themed gym. I suggest the one on the right. Unlike the previous puzzles in the Gym, the two puzzles here don't work by placing tiles on the board. The one on the left rotates the piece you choose and the neighboring pieces, while the right puzzles slides the pieces on the board. You only need to solve one to get to him, anyway. The one on the right is easier.

Before you face Avery, make sure you have plenty of potions and healing items like Antidotes. Trust me, you're better off having them and not needing them than needing them and not having them. Bug-types tend to learn moves that can cause status changes like Sleep, Poison, and Paralysis. And with that, the fight was on.

 1st Pokemon: Parasect (Lv. 38) - Defeated by Murkrow. Avery used a Full Restore.
2nd Pokemon: Escavalier (Lv. 39) - Defeated by Charizard. Escavalier used a Life Orb, which took the last of its HP, causing fainting after it took a Fire Blast.
3rd Pokemon: Scizor (Lv. 41) - Mega Evolved with Scizorite. Defeated by Charizard with one blast of Flame Burst.
4th Pokemon: Shedinja (Lv. 39) - Avery switched this Pokemon out after taking a blast of Flame Burst for Volcarona. Defeated by Charizard.
5th Pokemon: Volcarona (Lv. 38) - Defeated by Charizard.
6th Pokemon: Ninjask (Lv. 39) - Defeated by Charizard.

And with that, the Swarm Badge is mine. It lets me use the HM Waterfall outside of battle. Alongside that came TM81 (X-Scissor). Avery then warns me that the next two Gym leaders will test my bonds with my Pokémon and my skills in thinking fast. But then again, this is the same guy who said that he was having a "great battle" when he was down to his last Pokemon: Ninjask. So, take that for what you will. 

I am so glad that this was over. Six badges down, two to go. 

I have to give a special shout-out to Charizard. Charizard was the surprise MVP of this team. It basically wrecked most of Avery's team on its own. I do feel bad for my Crustle and Pidgeot, though. I put all that work and time into training them to face Avery, and they ended up not being used. It's kind of sad. But I am still glad I did. If things had gone differently, then they would have been handy backup. 

With Avery beaten, we can finally go into Mt. Press.

Well, not quite. You see, Team Olympus is hanging around the entrance.

I swear, these guys are like freakin' cockroaches. They're gathered around the entrance to Mt. Press, most likely up to no good as usual. Anyway, I would not talk to the commander until you are ready. You see, once you talk to them, you trigger an event in which you're taken to their base. You can't leave until you complete the events in the base. So go to the Mart and make sure you get lots of supplies. There is a place to heal your Pokémon at the base, but it would not hurt to be safe. 

I hit the Pokémon Mart and got some extra potions and Revives. Better to have them and not end up needing them than to need them and end up not having them. Once that was done, I entered the group of Team Olympus goons to trigger the cutscene. 

So, why are these guys at Mt. Press? Well, it's believed that the legendary Pokémon Victini is there, and Zeus has gone there to find and capture it. They want to use Victini and this new Pokemon called Divaevus (This Pokemon had been first mentioned in entry #6) to, you guess it, take over the world. 

The grunts there are feeling some pressure due to yours truly constantly handing them their behinds. He's also mad at Apollo and Artemis. 

The grunts are rather nervous about how powerful Zeus will get if he succeeds in catching Victini. They have understandable reasons to be worried. He's already managed to capture Shaymin (In entry #3), he likely has a guaranteed way of getting Divaevus (which is likely the unique legendary of this game). If he gets Victini, he'll likely be a darn near unstoppable Trainer.

As such, the grunts are doing a little plotting. They want an invincible Pokémon. One that can kick any Pokémon's butt. One that'll protect them from Zeus. It's an interesting idea, the grunts questioning things and worrying that things are getting out of control. It's part of the fun of fangames. They can play with tropes of the Pokémon series.

The leader warns them that this kind of talk is dangerous. It won't be far until they start talking about overthrowing Zeus. And that's not what she'll tolerate. Zeus is still the leader. She does agree that Zeus needs a check on his potential power, though. And with that, the meeting is over. The leader spots us, and gives us a dose of chloroform. Off to their secret base!

Mama always said there'd be days like this. Well, this is how the journey ends. Trapped inside a Team Olympus base. It was nice going on this journey with all of you...wait a second...

Huh. One of the Gym leaders has come to the rescue. Graham is here to get us out of here. Remember Graham? He was the Gym Leader of Kivu Town. Won the Necro Badge from him in entry #10. He informs us that Athena (we encountered her in entry #3) is working on some bizarre fusion experiment. She has to be stopped, and as is tradition in Pokémon games, we gotta go hand her another butt-whipping. He'll meet us there. Evidently, he's very confident in our ability to get us through this base. So, we might as well. 

Traveling through the base, you find the usual stuff: Grunts to fight, and items to collect, like right here.

It's a Max Ether. Get it. It can be handy. I also found another handy item.

This is TM75 (Swords Dance). If you want to teach a Pokemon that move, I suggest picking it up. The Base is basically a gigantic maze. I'm not a fan of mazes in video games (Bad experience playing Star Trek: The Next Generation as a kid on my Sega Genesis). There's plenty of Team Olympus grunts to fight if you want to train your Pokémon up some more. I recommend doing so. Getting your Pokémon more experience is never a bad thing.

Traveling through the base, I found this Grunt drinking his problems away.

I tell him things will be fine. Besides, if he's formerly of Team Olympus, he can turn in state's evidence against them. Get put in Witness Protection, that kind of thing. He starts talking about his life story. He was once just a normal kid from Vesryn...until he met Professor Oak. Okay, he was a trainer once. Likely started out on his journey, had some adventures, that kind of thing. But then, things take a turn for the strange.

His first Pokémon was an Electric-type that was a bit wild, but they eventually bonded. They had many adventures together. The Grunt even met a pretty girl. She was fond of Water-types. He mentions one of them was a Starmie. Wait a minute... They eventually got married and started a family. But then they fell on hard times, split up. He joined Team Olympus to make ends meet. He then invites us to guess the letters of his name. Wait, kid who met Professor Oak...had adventures with an Electric-type Pokemon...met a girl who was a Water-type specialist, including a Starmie...Yeah, it's Ash Ketchum.

I can't help but wonder if this is an attempt to deconstruct Ash Ketchum a bit, if not the Pokémon anime. I mean, the anime does tend to portray him as not very bright at times. Also, the show did seem to indicate that he didn't have any skills other than Pokémon training. Also, he never seemed to win any tournament...well, any one that was actually based on a canon region... So maybe, the game is showing that in real life, Ash's life would not go so well. Or maybe it's just doing a twist on anime characters appearing in fangames. 

One thing is for sure, though. This does firmly establish these games are not part of the main Pokémon canon, wither games or anime. Anyway, he gives you TM68 (Giga Impact) if you hear his story and guess his name. All he wants to do his drink himself to oblivion in peace. In the room he's at, there's some Leftovers hidden in a plate of food. Next to that plate is a blue cup. Interact with that to get a Soda Pop. In a nearby room, there's a TM44 (Rest) hidden on one of the clipobards. In addition to the usual items you can find in places like this, there's a special surprise here. This is the point in the game that you can get a Master Ball.

Yup, the ultimate "Easily-Catches-Any-Pokémon" containment device. You only get one, so use it wisely. So, how do we get said Master Ball? Well, first of all, remember that nurse that was nearby where we first appeared in the base? Well we have to go back to her. If you like collecting TMs, there's a grunt to the right of her. Near the grunt is a clipboard. The clipboard has TM08 (Bulk Up). Keep going this way, and you'll find two grunts and a Max Ether.

To get the Ball, we have to go southwards from the nurse. Follow the path until you get to the room that has the staircase to the second floor. In this room, there's a computer in the top left corner. Interact with it, and this will happen.

Answer "yes" when it asks to activate the program. Next, we take the staircase to the second floor. Just keep going along the path (fighting the grunts along the way). Eventually, you will reach a fork that leads to three stairways. The leftmost fork will take you to a staircase that leads to another room with a grunt in it. Keep going up until you reach another staircase. Go down...

...and there's your Master Ball. Use. It. Wisely. You only get one. Now I bet you may be asking, how do we get out of here? Well, we go back to the fork. Take the right staircase and follow the path to another staircase. Go up it, and you'll trigger a cutscene.

Zeus managed to make his way to Mt. Press, and he's playing the waiting game. Once Victini and Divaevus is under Olympus's control, their master plan can begin. What is the master plan? Well, that's not important. ...they don't have one, don't they?

This is basically a repeat of the convo before we ended up here in the first place, Athena wanting a Pokemon to check Zeus's power. We do get something more here, though. It turns out that Zeus is not a bad boss to the group. Well, not as bad as say, Giovanni or any of the canon team bosses. He still wants to take over the world, so we can't exactly say he's 100% a nice guy.

Athena is concerned because well...Team Olympus had gotten their butts handed to them a few times. They're worried that it may not have had the best effect on him mentally, and when you have Legendary Pokémon at your command, it's best to be mentally sound. But they do have two Pokémon that could help stop him if necessary: Sableye and Shedinja. 

Why these two? Well, Sableye supposedly has no weaknesses, being a Dark/Ghost-type...yeah, that was before Generation VI came along. Hello, Fairy-type... As for Shedinja, it has the ability Wonder Guard. Wonder Guard is an ability the Shedinja is famous for. A Pokémon that has this ability is immune to any attacks that are not super-effective against it. For example, the Electric-type Pikachu with this ability can't be harmed by a Water-type attack...but it's no protection against a Ground-type attack.

Wonder Guard does have another weakness. It's no good against any attack that is meant to affect a Pokémon's status, like Sleep Powder. Again, using the Pikachu as demonstration, it can be poisoned with Poison Powder, despite Wonder Guard. If it's confused, it can still damage itself. Wonder Guard is not as OP as Athena thinks.

 Anyway, Athena believes that if they can somehow combine the two Pokémon, they they'd truly have something that they can use to check Zeus. Or something straight from the Jeff Goldblum version of The Fly.

They have a machine to make this possible, but Corlett of the Elite Four is like "not so fast!" And he thinks I'm his partner here. Athena is a bit sore about me beating her in Onega Town, so she makes a wager. I win, she stops the experiment. I lose, I join as a grunt. I want to get out of here, so fine.

(Vs. Athena)

1st Pokemon: Noctowl (Lv. 46) - Defeated by Luxray.
2nd Pokemon: Mienshao (Lv. 47) - Athena used two Full Restores. Defeated by Butterfree.
3rd Pokemon: Medicham (Lv. 47) - Defeated by Butterfree.
4th Pokemon: Lucario (Lv. 46) - Defeated by Garchomp.

Looks like I'm not joining Team Olympus after all.

Athena decides "Screw this, I'm fusing anyway!" Not surprising since she is a villain. Corlett uses Ampharos to shut the whole thing down. Athena loses it, but Graham shows up and gets us out of there with Shadow Sneak. I did like having him show up here. It's like the game is giving us a nice tease who we're going to face in the future.

And with that, I think I will stop here. Next time, we'll hit Mt. Press! I'm a little nervous, to be honest. It's supposed to be a long trip, and I'm a bit nervous. God, I hate Mt. Snarlet...

Hopefully it will not be so bad. Wish me luck! Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, show it off! Take care of yourselves and each other! Stay safe, stay healthy, stay home, wash your hands often, and wear a mask! See you next time!

Pokemon Obtained
(Route 314)
- Charizard (evolved from Charmeleon)
- Pidgeot (evolved from Pidgeotto)

Incredible Hulk #271 (May 1982)

When the Guardians of the Galaxy films hit movie theatres, many people got introduced to the cosmic corner of the Marvel Universe. One of the breakout characters of the film was a certain little gunslinging uplifted raccoon named Rocket. And like the other members of the MCU Guardians of the Galaxy, he's an older character than many people realize. As such, I thought I'd take a look at his first appearance.

Well...technically, Rocket first appeared in Marvel Preview #7 (Summer 1976), written by Bill Mantlo with art by Keith Giffen. In his debut, he was called "Rocky", and used British phrasing. Which made sense as the character was inspired by the Beatles' 1968 song "Rocky Raccoon". However, it's in this comic that he would gain a higher profile...for a while, at least. Let's look at Incredible Hulk #271!

The cover is an amusing one. An Al Milgrom piece, it shows the Hulk being a bit frustrated with this little funny animal on the cover. Basically, Hulk is expressing my one big issue with this comic, but more on that later. It's a fun cover. I like it.

"Now Somewhere in the Black Holes of Sirius Major There Lived a Young Boy Name of Rocket Raccoon!" 
Writer: Bill Mantlo
Penciler: Sal Buscema
Inker: Sal Buscema
Colorist: Bob Sharen
Letterer: Jim Novak
Editor: Al Milgrom
Editor-in-Chief: Jim Shooter

The story begins with a pair of unusual figures finding our Green Goliath out like a light.

Meet Rocket Raccoon and Wal Russ, a pair of funny animal adventurers. The two notice that Hulk is very much alive...and they need to get him out of here before the Robomower arrives. The Robomower is a big monsterous blue machine with arms and tank treads. Rocket tries to attack the machine, but his laser gun is not very helpful. Luckily, Hulk wakes up, and ol' Jade Jaws is none too happy. Well, more none too happy than usual. 

Yeah, never wake Hulk up if you value your life. Hulk then notices Rocket and Wal. Hulk wonders what is going on, but Rocket and Wal plan to skedaddle. The fuzz is after them. As in the cops.

Yeah, why do Rocket and Wal fear these guys? Oh yeah, they could end up getting killed accidentally. Anyway, the three make their way to Rocket and Wal's ship: The Rakk 'n' Ruin. On board, they're able to treat Hulk to some dinner. Hulk still wants to know where he is, and how he got here. Wal and Russ have no idea how he got here, but they do know where he is. 

Welcome to the Keystone Quadrant! This little area of space is cut off from the rest of the universe by the Galacian Wall. The major world on it is called Halfworld. Halfworld is Rocket and Wal's home. Why is this place called Halfworld? Well, one half of this planet has been stripped bare of its resources by its mechanoid inhabitants in an attempt to build a giant humanoid ship known as...Ship. Yeah, the mechanoids are no good at names.

The other half is a Garden of Eden, which is the home of uplifted animals. They maintain their half with machines the mechanoids built for them. The only known humans in the Quadrant are the Keystone Cops. And lately there has been some serious trouble in the Quadrant recently.

Meet Judson Jakes, the cause of all the problems in the Quadrant recently. This malevolent mole runs Inter-Stel Mechanics, a monstrous mega-corp who uses the creations of the terrible tortoise Uncle Pyko as well as the mercenaries known as the Black Bunny Brigade to do his dirty work. Jakes is obsessed with obtaining an artifact known as Gideon's Bible. This Bible is supposed to have contained the knowledge of the origins of the Keystone Quadrant. Thing is, Gideon's Bible is written in a language that no one on Halfworld can read. 

Rocket and Wal get a call from Rocket's ladyfriend Lylla Otter. The Black Bunny Brigade has launched an attack on the Cuckoo's Nest, the stronghold where Gideon's Bible is kept at. The two anthromorphic animals ask Hulk to help them out. After all, his power would be invaluable. However, the Green Goliath is a bit confused. He ended up here because he helped someone else, and he does have allies/friends on Earth that he wants to come back to. 

Back on Earth, two of those allies (Betty Ross and Rick Jones) are in a bit of a pickle. Rick Jones, being a bit of a dolt, decided to expose himself to a massive dose of gamma radiation in order to become a second Hulk. Rick's own idiocy has left him nearly at death's door, and then this woman shows up.

Meet Bereet, Krylorian filmmaker extraordinare. You may remember her from my review of Incredible Hulk #276 (October 1982). She's here to film the death of Rick Jones as part of her latest documentary about the Hulk. She's made a film about the Hulk before (this was a way to retcon the events of the first nine issues of the Rampaging Hulk magazine out of canon). Betty asks the alien woman to help her. Bereet whips out a spider-like machine that keeps Rick stable. The Life Support Spider can't cure Rick, but it will keep him alive until he can get some proper medical help. This occurs as the Hulk, Wal, and Rocket arrive at Cuckoo's Nest. We next get to see Spacewheel, the home of Judson Jakes.

Jakes also has Lylla captive. The malevolent mole asks Uncle Pyko to translate the Bible. The terrible tortoise is unsure that he can. After all, the words in there are incomprehensible. But Jakes has faith in him. Pyko is a genius. He built the Spacewheel station, he can translate a book. Uh, Judson? Just because Pyko can build a space station doesn't mean that he's a linguistics expert.

Anyway, the Rakk 'n' Ruin makes its way to the Spacewheel. The Hulk as agreed to help, and none too soon. Jakes and Pyko have sent a welcoming party.

...I think some of these guys would find their way to Earth in 1988. Rocket and Hulk engage in a little EVA to fight the clowns. Between Rocket's sharpshooting skill and Hulk's raw power, the Killer Clowns get wrecked. Hulk provides an alternate entrance to the Spacewheel with his fist, where they find that Blackjack O'Hare, the leader of the Black Bunny Brigade, has Lylla at gunpoint.

Hulk and Rocket take down O'Hare, and rescue Lylla. The thrown-together party head out to retrieve Gideon's Bible, but the Hulk gets distracted by something in another room.

Uncle Pyko can get Hulk home. After all, it would be advantageous to them both... Meanwhile, Rocket, Wal, and Lylla manage to catch up to the evil Judson Jakes. Jakes sics a creature called a Drakillar on them. The Drakillar is another one of Uncle Pyko's creations. Once a bat, now a monster. Rocket painfully blasts the creature, putting it out of its misery. 

Meanwhile, while talking to Hulk, Uncle Pyko makes a little revelation: He did manage to translate Gideon's Bible. He discovered how by probing the mind of one of the Keystone Cops. The Cop didn't survive the experience, but Pyko discovered the Cops were direct descendants of the people who wrote Gideon's Bible. The scene implies that Halfworld may have started out as an ancient human interstellar colony. Anyway, there's a balance of power on Halfworld between Uncle Pyko's machines and the animals that Rocket protects. The Hulk would really mess that balance up, and as such, Pyko wants him gone.

Meanwhile, Rocket's got a gun to Jakes's head, and the trash panda's got an itchy trigger finger. Pyko just hands him Gideon's Bible, claiming that he couldn't translate it. He told Jakes that earlier. He also points out the Hulk has gone home, claiming that whatever brought him here just...wore off. Rocket takes the book back, but is very suspicious of Pyko, outright saying that he thinks the turtle knows something.

The story ends with Jakes fuming over Rocket getting the Bible back (although Pyko reminds him that he supposedly couldn't translate it, so it was useless to them), and Rocket hoping that maybe he and the Hulk will cross paths again one day. You'd be surprised who your path crosses with in the future, Rocky...

I enjoyed this issue, but I felt it would have been better for a standard issue, not an anniversary one. It is a fun little tale, don't get me wrong. But this was meant to be the Hulk's 20th anniversary. It would have been nice to have Hulk be the focus of the story. This is clearly a Rocket Raccoon-focused story. It still is a fun one. And it's interesting to see how different he was in his early appearances compared to more modern portrayals of the character. 

I like Sal Buscema's artwork. His style captures the rage of the Hulk very well. His rendition of Rocket makes me think he was trying to go halfway between more realistic and cartoony. As such, his Rocket feels a bit...off to me. His Wal and Lylla don't seem to have that issue. I have no idea why. 

If you want to read this story yourself, I recommend tracking down the 2013 trade paperback Rocket Raccoon and Groot: The Complete Collection. Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, show it off! Take care of yourselves, and each other! Stay safe, stay healthy, stay home, wash your hands often, and wear a mask! Join me next time when we look at the debut of some superhumans who made an escape...

Godzilla vs. Kong Trailer, My Thoughts

Godzilla. King Kong. Two of film's most famous and beloved giant monsters. In 1962, they faced off in the Toho film King Kong vs. Godzilla. It left fans of both monsters hungering to see a rematch between the two. In October 2015, Legendary Pictures announced that Godzilla and Kong would face off again as part of their MonsterVerse. And now, nearly sixty years since their last face-off, we're going to see round two in the form of Godzilla vs. Kong. This film is the 4th MonsterVerse film, the 12th King Kong film, and the 36th Godzilla movie. Let's look at the trailer!

Was that Mecha-Godzilla?

Aww, Kong's taking a nice nap. Sleepy gorilla, happy gorilla...

She's a human, he's a giant gorilla. How does the parenting situation work?

"So, we're going to drag this little kid away from her home because she has a connection to the big gorilla who we want to fight the big lizard-dragon-dinosaur."

Love that shot of Godzilla's dorsal spikes/fins popping out of the water. Also, you can tell something is off. In the previous Monsterverse movies, Godzilla tried to avoid ships when he swam or warn them off.

"YOU WOKE ME UP, YA SCALY JERK! COME UP HERE AND GET YER WHUPPIN'!"

BAH GAWD ALMIGHTY, KING! WHAT A RIGHT HAND FROM KONG! HE STAGGERED GODZILLA!

Ooh, Godzilla surrounded by neon. Looks cool.

Kong's got a hammer! Or an axe, I think. Either way, it's a great subtle link to Kong: Skull Island. It shows that whereas Godzilla tends to lean on brute force, Kong is a thinker.

Also, a war? Did Godzilla encounter others of Kong's species before? I mean, Skull Island did establish there were other "Kongs" before this one. 

Thought that was Rodan for a second there.

Neither does Godzilla, lady.

BAH GAWD! HE BLOCKED THE ATOMIC BREATH! HE BLOCKED THE ATOMIC BREATH! THAT BIG APE IS BRINGING THE HAMMER DOWN! 

That...was...AWESOME! Oh man, this was so cool! I loved the previous Monsterverse films, so I was already excited to see Kong and Godzilla meet. But now...I am MORE excited. I cannot wait to see this movie. I don't care if it's at a theater, or on my TV. I want to see this movie! I hope I do get to see it in a theater, though...

Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, show it off! Take care of yourselves and each other! Stay safe, stay healthy, stay home, wash your hands often, and wear a mask! See you next time!

Fire Emblem: Paving the Way Trailer, My Thoughts

 In 1990, a new series of games debuted for the Famicom, the Japanese counterpart to the Nintendo Entertainment System: Fire Emblem.

Fire Emblem was a series of tactical RPGs that had a notable feature: If a character died, they stayed dead. Over the years, there have been sixteen core games in the series and four spin-off games. The series never was released out of Japan officially until the characters of Marth from the first game (Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light) and Roy from the seventh game (The Binding Blade) appeared in the Nintendo fighting game Super Smash Bros. Melee. The characters became popular with fans. The popularity of another tactical RPG, Advance Wars, convinced Nintendo that Fire Emblem could have an audience in the West.

The games have maintained a popular following, and the series has become known as the defining tactical RPG series. In 2020, the series celebrated it's 30th anniversary. In celebration, Nintendo officially localized and released the first game for the first time on the Nintendo Switch. Let's look at the trailer!

Yeah, Fire Emblem is a long-running series. 

I wonder why so much of the series was Japan-exclusive. Maybe they thought the West wouldn't like these games?

I have played the Fire Emblem game that came out on the Game Boy Advance. It was alright, but you have to have a mind for strategy to play them. Huh. Maybe that's why the series never came to the West for a long time.

Yeah, this is less an army, and more like the Magnificent Seven.

Permadeath sucks.

What this is basically saying is that you can really screw things up if you do the wrong thing. Be lucky this world hasn't discovered nukes yet, I guess.

I admit, I am happy to see the first Fire Emblem game come to the West officially for the first time. Most people there have never played this game. This would be seen as a lost piece of NES history that is finally seeing the light of day. I think I'll give it a try. I did play the seventh game for the GBA, so I am curious to try the series' beginning.

Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, show it off! Take care of yourselves and each other! Stay safe, stay healthy, stay home, wash your hands often and wear a mask! See you next time!