Crushing Krisis

Comic Books, Drag Race, & Life in New Zealand

Daimon Hellstrom

New for Patrons: Guide to Hellcat, Patsy Walker

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Working on last week’s Guide to Black Cat and this week’s update to my Guide to She-Hulk drew my attention to Marvel’s other major feline heroine, who has been a diva along with Felicia Hardy and a BFF to Jennifer Walters. That’s right – today’s new guide for “Pledgeonaut” Patrons of CK is an issue-by-issue Guide to Hellcat, Patsy Walker!

Guide to Hellcat, Patsy Walker

Hellcat is actually one of Marvel’s longest-running characters! Her civilian alter-ego Patsy Walker debuted in the Golden Age as one of the stars of Marvel’s burgeoning line of teen and romance comics. While most people assume those books petered out by the time the Silver Age began with Fantastic Four in 1961, Patsy’s titles kept on running – one of them as late as 1967!

Yet, in that time she was never a hero – just a regular teenage girl who liked to hang out with her best friend Hedy.

(And, actually, if we’re being specific, those comics are not actually Patsy’s earlier continuity, but a fictionalized version of it that existed as in-universe comic books in the Marvel 616 as written by Patsy’s mother!) [Read more…] about New for Patrons: Guide to Hellcat, Patsy Walker

Marvel Horror of the 1970s – The #47 Most-Wanted Marvel Omnibus of 2017

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The Marvel Horror of the 1970s Anthology Omnibus is the #47 Most-Wanted Marvel Omnibus of 2017 on Tigereyes’s Secret Ballot.

What exactly is that? As it turns out, not even voters may entirely agree! Below I’ve examined all of the possible contents, including heroes, monsters, and imaginative anthologies. Visit the Marvel Masterworks Message Board  to view the original posting of results by Tigereyes.Legion_of_Monsters_1974_0001

What Is It? After Fredric Wertham’s Seduction of the Innocent partially took aim at the the legitimately ooky horror comics of the early 50s, The Comic Code altogether outlawed scary monsters in floppy books. While you could publish a comic without the Code, it might not be carried by distributors or stores.

In 1971, The Code loosened up a bit, allowing “vampires, ghouls, and werewolves… when handled in the classic tradition such as Frankenstein, Dracula, and other high calibre literary works written by Edgar Allan Poe, Saki, Conan Doyle and other respected authors whose works are read in schools around the world.”

At the time Marvel was experiencing a resurgence of interest in magazines and pulpy black & white comics, and this horror material made the perfect accompaniment to their blossoming line of Conan comics and Kung Fu books.

Past Ranking: Marvel Horror was #42 in 2016, both #29 (heroes) and #42 (monsters) in 2015, and #32 in 2014.

The Details: Heroes, Monsters, & Anthologies

There are three lines of thinking about what this omnibus would contain, and I don’t think voters have been clear enough that even Tigereyes is sure which of the two they’re seeking.

The first pair of possibilities are Marvel’s supernatural superheroes and signature monsters, as previously collected in black and white by Marvel Horror Essentials Volume 1 and Volume 2.

The final option is a broader collection of Marvel’s various horror anthology books, which would be multiple volumes but could probably also encompass the signature monsters. [Read more…] about Marvel Horror of the 1970s – The #47 Most-Wanted Marvel Omnibus of 2017

Marvel’s Most-Wanted Omnibuses of 2016 – #45 to 41

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rsz_2016-06-06_095604I’m back with the next five votes for most-wanted Omnibus volumes from major Marvel fans as collated via the Annual Secret Ballot by TigerEyes. I covered #50-46 in the last installment.

These next five low-ranked books are an interesting mix – flagging support for a pair of prior mid-list favorites, several debuts, and one book that’s held steadily in the 40s for three years.

If you have any extra intelligence to add about the probable runs or opinions about the comics therein, please leave a comment! I have read only a handful of issues from all five of these books combined, so most of my knowledge comes from reading about Marvel’s history and some good ol’ fashioned research.

Do want to learn more about the Marvel Omnibus editions that already exist and the issues they cover? My Marvel Omnibus & Oversized Hardcover Guide is the most comprehensive tool on the web for tracking Marvel’s hugest releases – it features every book, plus release dates, contents, and even breakdowns of $/page and what movies the books were released to support.

And now, onto entries 45 through 41! [Read more…] about Marvel’s Most-Wanted Omnibuses of 2016 – #45 to 41