Alex Ross Loves The MC2

Even without the knowledge that Tom Defalco, Ron Frenz and Sal Buscema are returning for a new tale featuring the characters of the MC2 Universe (The MC2U? MCU2? Nah, forget it!) I think I would have been at least a little bit placated by the sight of the first Secret Wars image from Alex Ross.

This image was also used as the cover for the Free Comic Book Day Secret Wars #0 issue. Can you see all the MC2 characters? Here, this might help:

That's enough to be getting on with, surely? But there's more! Mr Ross also did a variant cover to issue #1 which features another of our merry MC2 mates:

 

Wild Thing! Don't she make your heart sing?

Yup, Wild Thing takes Wolverine's place in this homage to the original Marvel Heroes Secret Wars #1 cover. This next one I'm not entirely sure about, though some sites seem to identifiy the character below as an MC2 character:

Apparently the 'Thor' in the foreground (bottom left) is the MC2's own Kevin Masterson aka Thunderstrike. While I agree the hairstyle is reminiscent, I don't remember Kevin getting around shirtless nor having wrist bands. And before anyone points it out, I noticed he's holding a hammer, despite Kevin being bonded with his father's Thunderstrike mace in A-Next #1. I guess it could be a stylistic thing, right?The thing that really gets me though, is Mr Ross clearly knows what Kevin's costume looks like, because he's in the first promotional image above in his MC2 costume. Which leads me to believe this is not Kevin Masterson of the MC2. Let's move on.

  Here we have the cover to Secret Wars #7 and if you look above Doom's pinky finger....it's J2! I'm not sure if it's worth pointing out, but ol' Juggie Junior has his father's shirt tied around his waist, something he did during his original series, though when his father returned he took to wearing a pair of shorts. Then again, it's the end of the world, so we can forgive J2 for being sentimental.

All up, that's a lot of MC2 love coming our way from Mr Alex Ross. I'm starting to think he's a fan! What do you think? Have I missed anything? Do you think we are likely to get another MC2 cover cameo appearance before Secret Wars concludes?


Until Alex Ross exclusively illustrates MC2 characters, I remain

frogoat

Comic Cover Homages

Being a comic fan for a long time has it's ups and it's downs; watching continuity being reset, reboot, re-tooled or retconned can be annoying and down right frustrating, for example. On the other hand, if you've stuck with the medium long enough, chances are you've seen a few iconic first appearances, a few classic moments, maybe even witnessed a great piece of comic history being made. By a certain point, you've seen enough to notice the homages.

 

 I haven't got a great deal to say about this topic right now, but I guess the visuals speak for themselves, anyway.

 

As you can see from the last couple alone, the MC2 is teeming with love and respect for the classics. Fitting, I think, considering the creators are clearly channeling the feel of the Silver Age, the Bronze Age and even the so-called Modern Age. Why, I hear you ask? It's simple: When something is good, it's good!

Until I quit loving comics in general and the MC2 in particular, I remain

frogoat

The MC2 Collection Part 1: Singles and Variants

Often times when a series I thoroughly enjoyed comes to an end via cancellation, I find my self a little lost, maybe angry, or sad. But then I move on to another series with a fresh take on things with a great team and a nice hook. This wasn't the case with Spider-Girl, oh no! I made it my goal to collect everything I could lay my grubby little protuberances on that featured May and her MC2 brethren. It wasn't enough to simply own Spider-girl #1-100. I had to have #0, which reprinted What if #105. Oh, but then I had to have What if #105. And the Wizard magazine #½ which featured Wild Thing and Sabreclaw (now his appearance in #25's Savage Six--sorry, Seven makes more sense!). There was the  '99 annual to obtain, also. That introduced Misery.Very important.

Hang on, what's this? A-next #1-12. That has a variant cover? #2a?! J2 #1-12. Okay, fine. J2 #2a as well? Thanks, but now I better stop. Wild Thing #1-5 and an alternate cover for #2. It's only a few issues, right? Wizard #0 issue?! Come on now, really! Fantastic Five is the same? Oh, that variant cover is gorgeous, who drew that? Okay, fine. So I've got all these, I've got Darkdevil #1-3, The Buzz #1-3, I've got Last Hero Standing #1-5, Last Planet Standing #1-5, Avengers Next #1-5, Fantastic Five (mini) #1-5 and American Dream #1-5 as well as Amazing Spider-Girl #0-30. Let me just add that Amazing has--by far--the most alternate covers. Ed McGuinness variant #1, Ron Frenz black-and-white #1, #13 Zombie cover, #25 Pat Olliffe Zombie cover, #25 Stephanie Buscema cover, #27 Peter-Goblin cover and also a Skrull Araña cover to #19 which I can't find anywhere....someday.

Turns out the regular cover is incorrectly numbered #17.

Things get really complicated now. See, May's adventures continue through Amazing Spider-man Family #5-8 (not to mention #1-4 feature the adventures of Mr and Mrs Spider-man set before the rest of the MC2). Then Spider-Girl appears in Web of Spider-man (2009?) #1-7 as well as being released online through Marvels site. Finally, I've gotta get Spectacular Spider-Girl #1-4 and Spider-Girl: The End.

Finished now, right? I mean, there aren't anymore adventures left, right. Wrong. Spider-girl appeared in a cameo in Amazing Spider-man #439 (Tom's last regular issue on the series, right before it was relaunched). Avengers Forever #10-12 has American Dream, Freebooter and Coal Tiger appear as part of a huge spread of 'Future Avengers' pulled through time to combat Kang. Sure it's a only a panel or two, but it counts, right? Brian Micheal Bendis even cameos the MC2 Avengers in the 2010 relaunch of Avengers in #2. Now this one is super cool, if only for the fact that I've now witnessed John Romita Jr pencil Spider-Girl. Hey, what can I say, it was on my bucket list.

Still not done yet, not by a long shot! Roger Stern was tapped to pen a mini series in 2011 called Captain America Corps in which various incarnations of Cap come together to save the multiverse. Amidst all the testosterone we have American Dream herself, hand picked by Stern to balance out the team a little. It's a great read, by the way, so check it out.

 Last couple now, I promise. Back in 2005 a Spider-man Family one-shot was put out to test the waters for a anthology book centered around Spidey's cast. Tom D and Ron Lim delivered a fun little story featuring May, Araña, Spidey and the ever-lovable Spider-Ham, not to mention the Spider-Mobile. Hoo-Ha! Obscure though this may be, the last is a doozy. Amazing Spider-Man Magazine (2007, strangely the cover only reads 'Spider-Man) has a prose story starring everyone's favorite web-stunner  going to the school dance.

*phew* Now, on to the trade collections and digests!

Part 2: Trades and Digests

Until I come to terms with the end of the series, I remain

frogoat