Sachi Yama in the 616

A quick little entry today and a slightly different slant of a series I've been doing for sometime now. Today, I'll be looking at a native MC2 character who was integrated (albeit briefly) into Earth-616, better known as the Main Marvel Universe: Sachi Yama, the mother of Zane Yama aka the heroic J2.

A little bit of history first: During the late 90's and early 2000's through several appearances it looked as though the Juggernaut aka Cain Marko was being transitioned into a less villainous character. While it wasn't always consistent (and continues to be inconsistent) the push to make him more likeable was evident.


A salient example of this, the mini-series X-Men Forever from writer Fabian Nicieza and artist Kevin Maguire. A primary character through the time-jumping events of the series, Juggernaut comes to realize he had wasted his life. By the conclusion of X-Men Forever #6 Cain is returned to jail but is soon released, having made an agreement with the Commission on Superhuman Activity to work as a bounty hunter in exchange for a reduction of his sentence. One of the conditions of his work furlough release states he must report to a Ms. Yama.

This is a nice nod to the established history of Sachi Yama in the MC2. Sachi first appears in J2 #1 where we learn that she fell in love with and eventually married Cain Marko. This is further elaborated on in J2 #7:

Sadly, this new direction for the Juggernaut was dropped almost immediately and to my knowledge we haven't seen Sachi Yama appear in the Main Marvel Universe since. It'd be interesting to hear what Mr Nicieza had planned for Sachi and ol' Juggy.

Until I decide to reform and join the X-Men, I remain

frogoat

MC2: The Lost Issues

While I've briefly touched on the topic before, I think I need to give a bit more attention to those complete (and incomplete) issues of various MC2 titles that never saw the light of day. For today, I'd like to cover the earliest known unpublished issues of titles in the MC2 imprint. Here's what we know:

• Both the Fantastic Five and Wild Thing titles were cancelled prematurely with their fifth issue. 
• Two issues of each title were in various stages of completion at the time of their cancellation.
• There are two pencilled issues of Wild Thing, one of which is already scripted.
• One issue of the Fantastic Five is pencilled, and the other exists as a plot.
• All four issues already had covers produced.
• Editor Mike Marts wished to collect these unpublished issues into a 'monster-size' comic in 2000 but this did not come to fruition due to the sales department vetoing the idea.
• When it was announced that these MC2 titles would be collected in digest form in 2005, there was some hope that the unpublished stories would be included.
• In the event, only one of the aforementioned covers saw print, that of Wild Thing #6 which was presented in the Spider-Girl Presents Wild Thing: Crash Course digest in 2007:

While I was unable to find the original fan interview where most of this was originally confirmed by Tom Defalco, this information was gleaned from a Comic Book Resources article which itself referenced these facts. It can be found here and further information was sourced from here.

 I'm frankly curious why the Fantastic Five digest didn't also feature the cover for it's sixth issue. Perhaps one day these lost stories will see the light of day.


Until I stumble upon these missing stories in the Marvel Vaults, I remain


frogoat

Deadpool in the MC2

With the release of Deadpool 2 in theatres, I figured it was the perfect time for a shameless tie-in! Today I'll be looking at the Merc with a Mouth's solitary appearance in the MC2 in a story written by Tom Defalco and pencilled by Ron Lim from J2 #11.

When American Dream of the Avengers turns down an invitation to participate in a martial arts contest, J2 aka Zane Yama takes it upon himself to attend in her place. Travelling via mystical amulet to a small island, J2 meets the (apparently) blind Howard the Duck, the self-proclaimed Master of Quack-Fu.

From Howard we learn that a few dozen of the world's greatest martial artists were invited to the contest, but only a few of the previous generation's 'old fogies' showed up. Suspecting a trap, Howard had hoped to stack the deck in his favour with American Dream, Stuck with J2 instead, Howard attempts to train the big lug to defend himself but has no success. When J2 reverts back to Zane Yama after his powers temporarily wear off, he encounters Blind Al. Concerned for Zane's well-being in the upcoming contest, Al attempts to get past Weasel to talk to the mystery person who organised the contest: Wade Wilson aka Deadpool.

Having followed Blind Al, Zane learns the contest will have a deadly ending. Encountering Deadpool, Zane turns back into J2 to duke it out with the mercenary. Deadpool reveals he set up the contest to alleviate his boredom. Having overheard his plans, the other contestants proceed to kick Wade's butt off-panel.

And that's it. We never encounter Deadpool again in the MC2. It's nice to see both Blind Al and Weasel make appearances in this story if old briefly and the cameos by the various iconic Marvel martial artists is a fond nod to the characters, including Iron Fist in his first MC2 appearance (more on him another time). The real show-stealer, however is Howard the Duck playing the role of the old martial arts mentor. I'd love to see these characters make a return someday. In the meantime, I'm off to book tickets to see Deadpool 2...

Until I stop shamelessly releasing tangentially related content around the release of popular movies, I remain

frogoat

Got Milk?

Recently I've been thinking about well-established artists in the comics industry who's take on the MC2 characters we've yet to see. Then I remembered there are a bunch of artists outside of MC2 mainstays such as the wonderfully talented Ron Frenz, Pat Olliffe, Paul Ryan, Ron Lim or Todd Nauck who've in some way worked on my favourite fictional universe. Every so often I'll try and dedicate a short post to each artist's brief foray into the MC2 Universe.

Adam Kubert

This first example comes from a somewhat odd place. A series of nine trading cards were released as part of the 'Got Milk?' marketing campaign by America's National Fluid Milk Processor Promotion Board in 1999. They feature milk-moustachioed depictions of Captain America, The Incredible Hulk, She-Hulk, Spider-Man, Venom and Daredevil in addition to the set we are covering here. (Sources are linked here.)

Yes, that's right! We get the obvious set of three MC2 cards featuring next generation characters such as the cast of A-Next, Spider-Girl and....er....Doctor Doom?! What the heck is he doing in there? I can't post this without pointing out the obvious error of Thunderstrike aka Kevin Masterson wielding a hammer. Considering the MC2 imprint was new at the time this was released, I can forgive Adam Kubert's slip-up, especially since it's honestly such a nice piece and I really like his take on the characters, particularly Spider-Girl. Unless I'm mistaken, the colours are by Paul Mounts, who does a great job making those colours pop out at you. I wonder if there exists a version of this artwork without the slogan and milk-moustaches? 

For completeness' sake let's look at the back of the cards, shall we?

I guess that's it for now. Remember to drink your milk, kids, so you grow up big and strong! 

Until I stop trying to find these on eBay, I remain

frogoat

Wild Thing: Missed Opportunity

Wild Thing, aka Rina Logan is one of those MC2 characters I always wanted to like a lot more than I did. Rina started out with so much potential, appearing first in J2, then in her own series, which lasted only five issues. So, what is it about Wild Thing that never clicked with me?

I'll start by saying I enjoyed Rina's appearances in J2, written and penciled by Tom Defalco and Ron Lim. J2 was itself a lighthearted book and Wild Thing threw in another angle to play up. In her initial appearance, Wild Thing ends up in a battle with J2, not through any fault of her own. Rina then went on to appear in back-up tales where she was presented as not only a competent hero, but also a kind of 'daddy's girl' to her father, Logan (aka Wolverine); albeit one with psychic claws that resembled both her mother Elektra's sais and her godmother Psylocke's psychic blades. I like many things about her character-as originally presented-that didn't carry over to her own, short-lived series.

Here, I think is where the problem starts. The only MC2 title not authored by Tom Defalco, Wild Thing was written by another talented writer, Larry Hama. Mr Hama is probably best know for his work in G.I. Joe and Wolverine comics. I've read some of his Wolverine run, and I can do nothing but recommend it, it's good fun. However, when he was handed Wild Thing, I can only assume he got the wrong impression.

 Understandably, you're handed a young teenage girl superhero title (not something all that common, in and of itself, anyway) and asked to write it in keeping with the rest of the fledgling universe, what are you going to model it on? The MC2 title all others owe their collective existence to, the one that also happens to have a female teen superhero which is doing well both in terms of sales and creatively speaking: Spider-Girl.So now, Rina attended school, she had a cast of (mostly forgettable) supporting characters, had crushes and generally seemed to become a different, more bland character.

Wild Thing's last major appearance was during Last Hero Standing where she was given equal billing with the likes of American Dream, J2, Spider-Girl and even Captain America. One last hurrah for Rina before she slipped into the background again, cameos not withstanding. It's telling, in my opinion, that instead of Wild Thing joining the Avengers (in the Avengers Next mini) as the wild card/dark horse, Sabreclaw, Rina's half-brother (they don't get along, to put it politely) takes this role on the team.

I honestly believe with a little more page-time and effort Rina could have stepped forward and taken the spotlight back. Maybe someday?

When I think MC2 I think...

What comes to mind when I think MC2? The obvious answer would be "Spider-Girl," but that's not what I mean. At the core of MC2's foundations I have a select group of creative types in mind. The pillars of this alternative world, if you will. So, who are they? Hold on, wait a minute and I'll tell you!

Tom Defalco

The most obvious choice. With every MC2 issue (barring a half dozen) under his writer's belt (I imagine all writers have special belts with pen attachments) it's impossible for me to picture a world without him. Tom's the best kind of professional; he believes in storytelling rather than 'event' books, he is more than willing to take input from the art team and he loves pizza. I tell ya, they don't make them any better.

Ron Frenz

Ron's the go-to guy. You need a story done well, delivered on time and with a great energy to it? Ron's your guy. He and Tom have (by my estimation) written/pencilled/plotted at least a third of the contents of my comic collection. It's not by chance. I started picking up back issues of Tom and Ron's Thor run without even knowing they were the creative team (I was young). Something about their general vibe has always made me crave the next issue. The sheer love and joy they pour into ever panel of every page is infectious in the best possible way.

Pat Olliffe

What do I say about Pat? He's the first artist I ever saw draw May 'Mayday' Parker. He's the guy who showed that there was a dignified and respectful way to draw women in skin-tight outfits swinging on weblines as thin as cotton thread. Pat defined Spider-Girl. Ron created her, but Pat defined her look and, to me, made her his own. Also, and this may be crazy, but I can't help but think MC2 Peter Parker bares a striking resemblance to Pat....

Sal Buscema and Al Williamson

I wouldn't be much of a fan if I didn't mention these two legends. With Ron and Pat, these two gentlemen are responsible for the lion's share of inking duties throughout the MC2. By contrast, I further appreciate these two; Al's thin rounded lines versus Sal's bold lines and thick shades, I love them both. I learned so much from their work.

Ron Lim and Todd Nauck

Ron Lim worked on J2, Wild Thing, Avengers Next and the Fantastic Five mini series. Todd Nauck pencilled the American Dream mini series. Why are they on this list? Because both their styles feel right for MC2. And because they rock, of course. Cartoon-y, superhero action and adventure in the mighty MC2 way? Yes, please.

Again, this list is just my personal favorites, so if I missed your favorite, feel free to give them a shout out in the comments. Hey, maybe I've missed someone. I may don another one of these, covering the other side of the books: The Editors!

J2: Geek Tank

I've been reading J2's first and to-date, only collection and as I've been neglecting my blog of late, I figure this is as good place to start as any. Besides, I love Juggy!

So, J2 is Zane Yama, a geeky kid in the same mold as Peter Parker with the major difference being he is the son of former X-villain Cain Marko, aka The Unstoppable Juggernaut. Of the three original MC2 titles, J2's would have to be the most distinct in tone. It's fast paced and funny, quickly establishing the protagonist followed by the school jock, our antagonist. Admittedly the characters are sketchy, broadly created to get the point across.

That said, a personal favorite moment for Zane's character (and a great piece of comedy writing) is the initial transformation into a juggernaut. In a good example of the unreliable narrator, Zane tells us, the reader, how he handled the transformation with enthusiasm and maturity...only to run through the school naked screaming for his mother.

Over the course of his too-short series Zane becomes a fun, offbeat hero who means well but often screws up or lets his impulses get the better of him, but always come through in the end. Over in the Avengers Next series, J2 became a mainstay of the team, one of the few members to stick with the Avengers throughout every incarnation.

Amongst the legacy heroes of the MC2, J2 sits near the top of my list for not being your typical hero.