Grant Morrison // J.G. Jones
March 2001
****
Closure for an origin arc (#1 + 4-6): Noh-Varr the super-Kree helps his GF defeat her megalomaniac dad, then he’s incarcerated by SHIELD. He’s an outsider in the grand Marvel manner, pitted even against that tradition. Such raw potential in this character & also in GM’s style, not picked up till Nextwave.
last issue: Marvel Boy #5 of 6
also indexed for Mar. ’01
Avengers #38
Daredevil #14
Grant Morrison // J.G. Jones
December 2000
*****
All that #4 lacked & more. The ultra-cool superboy & the hyper-violent vamp show genuine chemistry, but even better are their dense backstories. He’s the sole survivor of a collapsed universe; she’s the lab creation of an evil scientist. They’re mad heroes full of gonzo potential for future writers.
last issue: Marvel Boy #4 of 6
next issue: Marvel Boy #6 of 6
also indexed for Dec. ’00
Avengers #35
Maximum Security #2 of 3
Grant Morrison // J.G. Jones
November 2000
****
A bad-ass dominatrix bests our hero, then saves his bacon from her 1% daddy. She’s rebelling against dad’s incestuous tone & buy-it-all arrogance, but those are the only notes of characterization to this ish. Fortunately, Jones’ urbam action spectacle is A+: widescreen comics, not storyboards.
last issue: Marvel Boy #3 of 6
next issue: Marvel Boy #5 of 6
also indexed for Nov. ’00
Avengers #34
Maximum Security #1 of 3
Thunderbolts #44
Grant Morrison // J.G. Jones
October 2000
*****
With #3, Morrison writes the Marvel comic his fans were hoping for. His surly superhero fights an alien viral idea that reconstitutes civilizations as corporations, & devastates planets’ resources. In this context, M. Boy shows individual growth & civic responsibility by wrecking the system!
last issue: Marvel Boy #2 of 6
next issue: Marvel Boy #4 of 6
also indexed for Oct. ’00
Avengers #33
Daredevil #13
Maximum Security: Dangerous Planet #1 of 1
Thunderbolts #43
Grant Morrison // J.G. Jones
September 2000
****
Kid Kree lays waste to blocks of NYC as a punkish, antiauthoritarian declaration. Morrison, impressed by The Matrix, Fight Club, & other blockbusters of the era, revels in violence that emulates the WTO protests of ’99 but also discomfits the reader who lived through the terrorists attacks of ’01.
last issue: Marvel Boy #1 of 6
next issue: Marvel Boy #3 of 6
also indexed for Sept. ’00
Avengers #32
Thunderbolts #42
Grant Morrison // J.G. Jones
August 2000
*****
An angry teen alien crashlands on Earth—a mod revision of the Superboy archetype in the trendy widescreen fashion. A rare Marvel mag by Morrison, MB is swollen w/ his stylistic hyper-density (the hero’s a super-Kree ensign from an alt dimension). Likewise, Jones stuffs his panels w/ great designs.
next issue: Marvel Boy #2 of 6
also indexed for Aug. ’00
Avengers #31
A-story: Jonathan Hickman // Steve Epting
B-story: Jonathan Hickman // Carmine Di Giandomenico
C-story: Jonathan Hickman // Ming Doyle
D-story: Jonathan Hickman // Leinil Yu
E-story: Jonathan Hickman // Farel Dalrymple
January 2012
A-story: **** // B-story: ***** // C-story: *****
D-story: **** // E-story: *****
A king-size #600. The A-story picks up the threads of FF, pitting every NYC superhero against a pair of alien invasions; a surprise twist has the late Johnny Storm break the Annihilation Wave! Then Hickman shows that Torch did die in #587, only to be resurrected in a gladiator scenario. That piece has a Euro look that meshes w/ the bug-‘verse setting; like all the back-up pencilers, it puts Epting to shame. Much of the art is “ugly” yet lovely, accentuating how creative JH’s whole run is.
continued from FF #11
continued in FF #12
next issue: The Fantastic Four #601
also indexed for Jan’ 12
FF #12
Jonathan Hickman // Barry Kitson
late December 2011
****
Two alt-Reeds serve as biomass for a rebooted Kree Intelligence, who mounts an invasion of Earth—concurrent w/ an incursion from the Negative Zone! Luckily, the real Mr F calls his pals, incl. the Avengers, to prep for battle. Kitson only pencils breakdowns; the loose art keeps #11 from *****.
continued in The Fantastic Four #600
last issue: FF #10
next issue: FF #12
also indexed for Dec. ’11
FF #10
Index Indigo 