Comic Conversations: Wolverine: Patch #1

 

It's time for another round of Comic Conversations.  Today, we will go down memory lane when Logan was known as Patch and he was a silent partner with Tyger Tiger of the Princess Bar in Madripoor.  we were first introduced to this persona of Wolverine back in the late '80s. For those of you who may not been born at the time, let's look at the content page Marvel was nice enough to include in issue #1.

The first issue starts off with some suspicious activity going down in the jungle.  Which has some of the locals, human and animal, very nervous.  When you turn the page, we are in the Princess Bar,  while Patch and Archie enjoy a drink to was away their cares.  It is then they are offer a job that they cannot refuse.  What's the job?  Well, you will have to read the issue to get the full details but let's just say it might be related to what is spoking the locals.

As they are flying around and doing recon,  they discover a downed Russian plane in the jungle.  Before they could get too close, a couple of jets surround them and ask them to land on what you can see is a S.H.I.E.L.D. Hellicarrier.  It turns out the boys accidentally found themselves in a secret ops led by Nick Fury.

Well, Fury let's them go with a warning.  Like a warning is going to  stop Logan, lol.  As they fly away, Patch jumps out the plane to see what he can find.  Besides a couple of broken bones, he comes across some heavy hitters that give him a run for his money.  After an intense fight,  the two heavy hitters leave Logan for dead.  What they don't know is, Patch has a healing factor.  He had wounded one in the battle and once they are gone, he gets up and proceeds to  follow the blood trail.

What will happen next?  Well, we have to stay tuned until issue #2 to see what fate awaits Patch.  This issue has set up nicely what potentially could be the best Wolverine story in years.  Patch was always a fan favorite and bringing us a storyline that deals with an adventure in Madripoor is what we needed.

I give this issue a 4 out of 5 rating.  It would have gotten a full 5 if there was just a little more action.  There wasn't enough Slice 'N' Dice for me.

Until next time, get your READ on!

Saturday Showcase: Mockingbird (Sunday Edition)

 

It has been two weeks since the Hawkeye series ended over at Disney+ and I promised one more showcase inspired by the show.  As with most holidays, things tend to surprise and I could not get this out in time for Saturday, so I hope you enjoy my Sunday edition of my Saturday Showcase.  Today, we focus on S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent 19 aka Bobbi Morse aka Mockingbird.

Barbara Morse first appears in the Ka-Zar story in Astonishing Tales #6 (June 1971) written by Gerry Conway and penciled by Barry Smith. The earliest story to be written and drawn (by Len Wein and Neal Adams) featuring the character was intended to appear in Savage Tales #2 (July 1971), but the series was canceled and new homes were found for the stories in the ensuing months.

After appearing in the 1983 Hawkeye mini-series, Mockingbird became a founding member of the West Coast Avengers, appearing in the group's initial self-titled mini-series, followed by regular appearances in the group's ongoing monthly series, until its end in 1994.

She was written off as dead until the 2009-2010 Secret Invasion storyline that indicated that the real Bobbi Morse was abducted by Skrulls and the Mockingbird that died was a Skrull agent.

Mockingbird then appeared as a regular character throughout the 2010–2013 New Avengers series, from issue #1 (August 2010) through its final issue #34 (January 2013). She also co-starred in the 2010 series Hawkeye & Mockingbird, which ran for 6 issues. Mockingbird became a regular character in the 2013 Secret Avengers series by Nick Spencer and Luke Ross.

Publication Information

Publisher: Marvel Comics

First Appearance:

• As Dr. Barbara Morse: Astonishing Tales #6 (June 1971)

Full Appearance:

• Astonishing Tales #12 (June 1972)
• As Agent 19 of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Astonishing Tales #18 (June 1973)
• As Huntress: Marvel Super Action #1 (January 1976)
• As Mockingbird: Marvel Team-Up #95 (July 1980)

Created by Len Wein (writer) & Neal Adams (artist)

Biographical Information

Full Name:  Barbara "Bobbi" Morse

Team Affiliations:

• S.H.I.E.L.D.
• Avengers
• West Coast Avengers
• Great Lakes Avengers
• Night Shift
• Legion of the Unliving
• New Avengers
• World Counter-terrorism Agency
• Secret Avengers
• Parker Industries
• Force Works
• G.I.R.L
• Advanced Idea Mechanics (A.I.M)
• Underground
• Daughters of Liberty

Partnerships:

• Kevin Plunder / Ka-Zar
• Clint Barton / Hawkeye (ex-husband)

Notable Aliases:

• Barbara Morse-Barton
• Roberta Morse
• Agent 19
• the Huntress
• Mockingbird

Abilities:

• Proficient in armed hand to hand combatant, espionage, gymnastics, and martial arts
• Enhanced strength and agility
• Healing and halted aging
• Expert marksman and mastery of various other weapons, especially her trademark two battle staves

So, you see, when we saw the 19 on the back of the watch, true believers knew that Bobbi Morse was alive and well.  We also knew that Tony was right all along when he said she had to be an agent of some kind.

Until next time, get your READ on!

Saturday Showcase: the Mandroids

Mandroid Security (as seen in New Warriors)

    For today's Showcase, I thought I would one of my first memories in comics.  In was 1979, and I was infatuated with the X-men.  I go to my local comic store, back then it was a K&B and other local drugstores, and come across issue #118 of the Uncanny X-men.  On the cover, Sunfire is being blasted by what appears to be a robotic hand.  Is this some new version of a sentinel?  I had to have this issue!  What I read inside made me a fan of the Mandroids.  I didn't like that they were used to hunt the X-men, but I loved what the Mandroid armor represented.  It represented the ability to be a superhero without having to be a mutant or having powers of my own.  It meant, that even I, could be a superhero.

the Uncanny X-men Vol. 1, #118 (February 1979)

    My fascination with the Mandroids led me to doing my first non-school related research project.  I had go know more about these suits of armor.  In the hands of Moses Magnum, they were used for evil but I had the feeling they were created for good.  That is when I found out that originally they were designed by Tony Stark for governmental use, mainly for certain missions overseen by S.H.I.E.L.D.   

    The Mandroid armor first appeared in the Avengers #91.  They are the brainchild of Marvel Greats Roy Thomas and Neal Adams.  As I said earlier, they were made for S.H.I.E.L.D. but it didn't take long for such villains as Moses Magnum to get their hands on them and use them to strike fear.

First Appearance: Avengers Vol. 1, #94 (December 1971)

    There has been many versions of the Mandroid, but the mission has always been the same.  The suit gives the person inside the ability to handle all threats, especially those of the superhuman kind.  That's what made them so attractive to villains who were tired of being stopped by the Avengers or the X-men.  Hell, I remember a Hulk story line that had General Talbot put on the "Super Mandroid" suit to try to put an end to the Hulk.  As you may know, that didn't end the way the General had hoped.  

Super-Mandroid (Hulk Vol. 1, #245)

    So, as you can see, as a little child I was infatuated with becoming that hero that I idolized.  I wasn't a mutant, so I needed to find a way that I could become that hero.  I think the Mandroid was the reason I paid attention in Science classes years later, hell, the Mandroid probably also fueled my love for robots.  Most of the toys that I still own from childhood are robotic related.  I never really came to that conclusion until I was preparing this post.  Hmmm, I guess you really do learn something new everyday. 

Mandroid armor as seen in the Marvel Universe Handbook

Until next time, get your READ on and unleash your inner NERD.

Bill Paxton

We lost a great character actor on February 25, 2017.  Bill Paxton was one of the best in the biz.  If he was in a movie, I always knew it was movie worth watching.  Hell, when I heard he was going to be on some episodes of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., I knew that they would be must see episodes, and I was right. Bill could brag that he was the only actor killed by an Alien, Predator, and stood toe to toe with a Terminator.  Bill you may have left us, but you will never be forgotten.

R.I.P.

Bill Paxton

Guardians of the Galaxy Annual #1

It has been a while since I have done a post solely for my blog Derf's Domain.  I have mostly just used this site to help promote interviews that I have done for the wonderful site Somewhatnerdy.  Well, it is a new year and I made a promise to my friends and fans to do more writing on the blog that started it all.  So, for my first exclusive post, I chose to review a comic I just had the pleasure of reading.

The comic I have chosen to review is the Guardians of the Galaxy Annual #1. First of all, I know that this comic came out weeks ago, so most of you die hard fans are already familiar with what happened with this issue, but I wanted to share with you anyway.  The reason...I feel this was a well written one-shot that deserves praise.  I mean, you should already know that this is a classic since it was drawn by Frank Cho and written by the one and only Bendis.

The story starts off with Captain Marvel sending a message back to Earth about her new role as a member of the Guardians, when out of nowhere an emergency call comes through by Quill.  It turns out that a S.H.I.E.L.D. helicarrier has appeared in deep space and they think it may be a Skrull trap.  So, of course they approach with caution.  That is when something odd happens.  The helicarrier hatch opens and out comes Nick Fury.

Once they let him board, they realize it really does appear to be the real deal. The Guardians think that it could still be a trap, but they let Captain Marvel take lead on this one, since Nick seems to be familiar with Carol.  Nick is cautious as well, especially when he sees Groot and Rocket.  The interaction between Rocket and Fury when they first met was hilarious.  (Look below to see what I mean)

Getting back to the story, it turns out that Nick and S.H.I.E.L.D are after the Skrulls.  The odd thing is, Nick and his agents as well as the skrulls seem lost in time.  Before more could be said, the skrulls attack.  During this battle, we notice that there is something odd about Fury and his team. In fact, first guesses point to skrulls, but then it is discovered that the S.H.I.E.L.D. team is nothing but LMDs or Life Model Decoys.  Each time a team member dies, another one is made.

Well, let's fast forward to the end of the battle.  The skrulls are defeated and flee. The LMDs go after the Skrulls and the endless cycle begins all over again.  This was truly a comic masterpiece.  The writing and research to tie in the two areas of time was absolute brilliance.

I gladly give this issue a perfect rating of 10 out of 10.  Nothing could have been done to make this issue better.  Well played Bendis, well played.

Until next time, get your READ on!

Classic Cover of the Day

In honor of tonight's premiere of the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., today's classic cover is from Nick Fury.

 

Classic Cover of the Day

 

Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D

 

Vol. 1, #1