Your 84th Co(s)mic ComicBook B'Cast: Kraven's Last Hunt.

The year was 1987 when Marvel Comics released a storyline that ran across the Spider-Man titles from Amazing Spider-Man to Peter Parker The Spectacular Spider-Man to Web of Spider-Man.
The storyline was called Kraven's Last Hunt sometimes called Fearful Symmetry. It was originally supposed to be featured in Peter Parker The Spectacular Spider-Man but it was later decided that it would run for six issues in total across the the three Spidey titles.
In 1987, comicbook fans got their news about the favorite titles and characters through magazines and newsletters. I don't believe we had the internet at the time. I had heard about this storyline and without checking,  I assumed that this six issue storyline will be in the Amazing Spider-Man. Boy was I wrong. I sure could have used the internet back then.
Well I asked a store to set aside the issue of the Amazing Spider-Man for me, thinking that I would be able to to read the whole 6 issues of the storyline.
Boy was I ever wrong.
I found that I had two out of the six issues and only found out later and the other four parts were published in the other Spidey titles.
It would be a long while before I read the whole story and I did so when I got the trade paperback. I never did buy all the six issues of this storyline.
But I was thankful that at least I got to read the whole story.
Kraven's Last Hunt was written by J. M. DeMatteis and featuring some stunning artwork by Mike Zeck and Bob McLeod.
Apart from from Spidey, Mary Jane, Kraven of course, this storyline also featured a character that DeMatteis and Mike Zeck had created called Vermin.
Now I'm not reviewing Kraven's Last Hunt and I am not going to critique it either.
As usual I am going to share the beautiful artwork by the artists involved, Mike Zeck and Bob McLeod. So here we go, the covers from all the Spider-Man titles.

Part One: The Coffin.Web of Spider-Man #31

Part Two: Crawling. The Amazing Spider-Man # 293

Part 3: Descent.  Peter Parker The Spectacular Spider-Man # 131

Part 4: Resurrection.  Web of Spider-Man #32.

Part 5: Thunder The Amazing Spider-Man # 294

Part 6: Ascending. Peter Parker The Spectacular Spider-Man # 132. The Conclusion.
There you have it, the six issues that made up the story called Kraven's Last Hunt.  Beautifully drawn by Mike Zeck and Bob McLeod.
Hope you enjoyed this little trip down Memory Lane and if you have not read this storyline, do yourself a favour and go find it. Trust me, you'll enjoy it.
Comics like these are few and far in between these days. The perfect combination of a great story arc, artwork and colors all working together to tell you a memorable story called Kraven's Last Hunt.
Thanks for stopping by. See you next time comic fan.
Take care.

Your 83rd Co(s)mic ComicBook B'Cast: Barry Windsor-Smith and Weapon X.

Okay, it's probably no surprise to anyone that for this edition of the B'CAST, I'll be talking about Weapon X (as the title says it all), the 13 part story which appeared in Marvel Comics Presents # 72 to # 84 from March to September of 1991. It was written and beautifully illustrated by Barry Windsor-Smith.

Yep, Weapon X  by Barry Windsor-Smith. This was the story of Wolverine or Logan before he became....well Wolverine I guess.  Remember the days when Marvel kept Logan's origins a mystery and they kept adding on more stories about his past? Who was he really?  A soldier?  A mercenary?  Where did he get his claws? The stories were endless. Of course many years later Marvel would reveal Logan's origins but back in the old days, there were so many stories, theories and memory wipes and implants.
It seemed that each write would add on or take away what they like or didn't like when it came to Logan's life story.  Often times, it would be confusing but for me, there was one origin story that I always liked and for me, this was canon. Weapon X by Barry Windsor-Smith.
Now I'm not going to review the story as some of you maybe have not read Weapon X.  So I won't spoil it for you.  What I have in mind is to share the beautiful artwork of Windsor-Smith and let me tell you, I love what he did on Weapon X.

I remember how excited I was when it was announced that Barry Windsor-Smith would be writing and drawing Weapon X.  I was however a little worried because it would be featured in Marvel Comics Presents.  It was an anthology series, released biweekly and where I live, comics were sold at the newspaper vendors. There were no shops specially for comics. Yeah it was a tough life. Anyway I was worried that I would miss out on the issues of Weapon X and true enough I was right. Delivery of comics were sporadic to say the least.  I missed out on some issues of my favorite titles and it happened to me with Weapon X.
I had to wait for a few years to finally get the collected version of Weapon X.  Once I got the trade paperback, I saw the brilliance in Windsor-Smith's work.
His writing and artless top notch. The story of Weapon X felt like I was watching a movie. The art catches you attention and the story captivates you.
Now for this edition of the B'CAST, I'm going to to share the artwork of Barry Windsor-Smith on Weapon X.  Now I don't own any of this original artwork, I wish I did.  So here we go,  in no particular order, Barry Windsor-Smith's Weapon X.

This has got to be one of the most intricately detailed piece of artwork I have ever seen. Barry Windsor-Smith is a master of his craft.

While Weapon X is essentially to me Logan's story, you find the story here is told from the Logan's perspective at the beginning and at the end. Which is unique to say the least.
I hope you enjoyed having a look at Barry Windsor-Smith's artwork on Weapon X.
Hope I didn't have any spoilers in the B'CAST. If you have not had a chance to read Weapon X, try it and I hope you'll like it.  I intend to find some time and read the trade paperback one day.  Soon.
Thanks for dropping by for the 83rd Co(s)mic ComicBook B'Cast. Drop by again next time for another edition. Until next time, SNIKT! Take Care.

Your 82nd Co(s)mic ComicBook B'Cast

Hi there Comic fans....it only took me a year to start posting again.  Only one year.  I took some time off to do other things but I never gave up on this humble blog of mine.  In that one year, I took some time to settle my work issues.  As optimistic as that sounds, I've managed to get settled in to my new work environment and it only took me a year to do.  So as you might imagine, the past year has had it's ups and downs.  I revived this blog a year ago only to get sidelined (again) but I am back (again) and I'm going to give it another shot.

What do I have this time around?  Well, It's pictures, lotsa pictures, well a few.  hope you like them.

One of my favorite covers by Joe Quesada and Jimmy Palmiotti.  I love this cover, not only because of the artwork but because of the gimmick cover.  A wraparound cover which is stunningly beautiful. X-O Manowar # 0.

Another beautiful gimmick cover by Joe Quesada.  I'm not sure who inked this but I don't believe it's Palmiotti.  Another wraparound gimmick cover, chromium cover I think it was.  Bloodshot # 0.

Recognize this cover?  Yep, this is the wraparound cover to X-Men: Prime by Bryan Hitch.  I believe this came after the conclusion of the Age Of Apocalypse Saga.  Another beautiful gimmick cover, loved this comic so much, I bought two copies.  Yeah, I was greedy back then. 

This is the wraparound cover to The Uncanny X-Men # 350 by Joe Madureira and (I think) Tim Townsend.  If I am wrong, please correct me.  Another one of those nice shiny covers.  I wish i bought another copy of this issue but I guess I didn't have enough cash with me at the time, if memory serves, this issue had a gatefold cover.  Really beautiful cover.

Remember I mentioned X-Men: age of Apocalypse?  Yep, this here is X-Men: Omega.  The conclusion to the AOA Saga.  X-Men: Omega featured a chromium wraparound cover by John Romita Jr and Klaus Janson.  Magneto and the X-Men take on Apocalypse to set things right again, to restore everything to it's proper order!
And that's it for this edition of Your Co(s)mic ComicBook B'Cast.
Thanks for dropping by and having a look at my blog.  I really appreciate it, you could have been somewhere else but you dropped by for a look and for that I thank you.  Till next time (hopefully not another year) take care, bye for now.