Moriarty's long-awaited reviews
Jerry Boyajian
> trademarked, and feel free to copy it and use it as you wish. If you decide
> to copy it and alter it, fine, but then it's not the "Moriarty" scale, is
> it? :-) Thanks very much to Jerry Boyajian for the acknowledgements in his
> recent postings; don't feel obligated to put them in, Jerry, but believe me,
> your politeness is always appreciated (it is found so frequently in your
> articles that I hope I never take it for granted!).
You're entirely welcome. After all, you *did* come up with the idea, and I
didn't want people to think that I was just ripping you off.
> My only note is that
> Jerry seems to "inflate" his grades some, but it is equally likely that I
> deflate mine.
Well, excuuuuuuuuuse me! :-) But foolishly, folks, I can see where I might be
overrating some comics ("a "B"??!! My God! How could I possibly give AMERICAN
FLAGG! anything less than an "A"???!!!"). Actually, I don't think I've given
out many "A"'s. "A-" I reserve for those comics of top quality that aren't the
*best* issues of that title.
> FLAMING CARROT #2: [C]
>
> I WOULD rate this higher, but I can understand that few people share
> my absolute passion for the absurd that this comics has.
It's not that I don't have a passion for the absurd. I enjoy the *really*
strange gags in FC (the "MORE BULLETS!" line for one), but I tend to find the
art crude and the scripting ponderous. FC is a really nice idea that just isn't
done well. I must admit that this issue was better than the first, even if the
story here didn't seem to go much of anywhere.
> SUPERMAN ANNUAL #10: [B-]
>
> Well, I've made no secret that I like Elliot S! Maggin's work on
> Superman... he does fine work for characters who have become ledgends, and
> when you come right down to it, there are few characters in literature
> (that's not just comics, folks) who are as legendary as Superman. Good to
> see Murphy Anderson on Curt Swan's pencils... Anderson is the Primo Swan
> Inker, PERIOD....
> A very magic quality I can't describe, ...
Well, I don't normally read SUPERMAN, but I thought I'd give this a try since
you thought so much of it. Unfortunately, I didn't. This was better than a lot
of the Superman stories I've read in the last 10 years, but it just didn't grab
me. Part of it was that I just couldn't deal with a piece of primal matter
floating around for sagans of years, eroding away until it became a nice, shiny,
sharp-as-William-F.-Buckley's-tongue sword, with the old familiar "S" symbol
coincidentally engraved on its hilt. The coincidences in this story are more
far-fetched then they got even in the Mort Weisinger days.
I also don't care much for Curt Swan's artwork (it just seems to *sit*
there!), but I'll admit that this here wasn't bad -- probably due to the inking
talents of Murphy Anderson.
> POWER PACK #5: [B+]:
>
> If not for Jerry and others, I would have forgotten about this
> comic... phew! I think maybe Louise Simonsin should be writing the X-Men.
> Maybe not, though... this comics has potential being mined which I never saw
> in it's conception, and that is a true rarity among comics... something
> really original....Anyone read the Spidey/Power Pack special comic
> on child abuse, and want to review it?
I'm glad you didn't give up after the first issue. Hey, I owed you one for
getting me to give BLUE DEVIL a second chance. I haven't even seen the "Child
Abuse" special comic; I don't know if it's been published yet. You can be sure
I'll pick it up if I see it. I wonder if this book is a fluke for Louise or
not, though. She wrote that awful MARVEL TEAM-UP ANNUAL with Alpha Flight, as
well as THE STARRIORS.
> X-MEN ANNUAL #8: [D]
>
> I like Leiahola's (spelled right! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA...) art, but this... I
No you didn't! It's Leialoha, not Leiahola. (HA HA! Smart ass!)
^ ^ ^ ^
> think the hints Illiyana (sp?) dropped in the story would have been
> offensive to the others. Her rather pleasant sense of humor does stand out,
> though. One should note that Storm decides to leave at the end of this.
> Does that make Kurt the leader? Logan? Scott comes back (most probable)?
I agree that some of Illyana's remarks were not exactly "kind", but I was more
perplexed at where she got some of her information. It seems like she mentioned
things that she shouldn't have known (I can't think of any examples right now).
Good question about who takes over the Fearless Leader spot. Maybe Charley will
get even more involved now. More on Storm's leaving when I review the latest
X-MEN.
> BATMAN & THE OUTSIDERS: [C+]
>
> 3) Barr's Batman never is less than accurate (though, of course, it
> lacks Englehart's three-dimensional quality). But he does produce the
> standard Bman with no shirking.
Funny. It was his (in my opinion) *inept* handling of Batman that turned me
off of this book in the first place.
> the line at the end -- "A child *belongs* with his {note: HIS} parents,
Generic "his", eh? Gee, there may be hope for Barr yet!
> LOVE & ROCKETS #8: [Mechanics: B]
>
> Arghhh! Cliffhanger city!
You ain't just a shittin' Dixie, boy! I mean, I *know* Maggie and Ren~a aren't
dead, but... but... but...
> JOURNEY #14: [B-]
>
> No B 'cause 1) I'm not crazy about Normy or the crossover, ...
But I thought that *you* of all people would've appreciated Normy's singing
the theme song to FIREBALL XL-5 while bathing in the stream.
> SPANNERS GALAXY #1: [C+]
>
> Nicola Cuti has lost none of his (her?) talent.
Very much a him.
--- jayembee (Jerry Boyajian, DEC, Maynard, MA)
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Jeff Meyer
>floating around for sagans of years, eroding away until it became a nice, shiny,
>sharp-as-William-F.-Buckley's-tongue sword, with the old familiar "S" symbol
>coincidentally engraved on its hilt. The coincidences in this story are more
>far-fetched then they got even in the Mort Weisinger days.
Wellll... Mort's stuff was REALLY silly (he's been fodder for Hembeck for
the last 5 years), but with Maggin, he gives you the impression that there
is some "higher force" (hey, I didn't say WHICH one... maybe the gods from
Son O' God comics #1 :-) ) out there, controlling men's (and Supermen's)
destinies... rather like Arthur, Merlin & Camelot. Oh well, just call me an
old romantic ("Ok, you're an old rom.." BANG! BANG!).
>But I thought that *you* of all people would've appreciated Normy's singing
>the theme song to FIREBALL XL-5 while bathing in the stream.
ARGGH! You're right! I have no honor! Seppecu City! Quick boys, the
sacrificial electric knife.... whirrr...
Stay tuned next week...
Moriarty, aka Jeff Meyer
John Fluke Mfg. Co., Inc.
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