My Personal Comic Collection.

Amazing Spider-Man by JMS Collection Book 1 TPB Review

Amazing Spider-Man by JMS Ultimate Collection, Book 1 by J. Michael Straczynski

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This series is highly recommended for anyone wanting to get into the Spider-Man comics. You don't need a lot of background knowledge on the characters, or the story. The stories are interesting, and with art by John Romita Jr. you can't ever really go wrong. It's well scripted and the action is intense. Some of my favourite Spider-Man stories come from this series, which is still ongoing. J. Michael Straczynski is truly a brilliant writer. This volume, and the next in the series are easy to find and widely available.



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Ghost Rider: Trials & Tribulations TPB Review

Ghost Rider: Trials and Tribulations by Jason Aaron

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This TPB is highly recommended for fans of Ghost Rider. It continues the saga of Johnny Blaze in the usual fashion, and is backed by amazing visuals and a well-plotted story. The collection includes some of my favourite issues, including hard to find Ghost Rider Annual #2. The stories are amazing. Fast-paced, suspenseful and highly entertaining.



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Hulk: Gray TPB Review

Hulk: Gray by Jeph Loeb

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Hulk: Gray tells the early stories of Bruce Banner and the Hulk, looking at the origin of the Gray Hulk, and how the creature fist appeared. The art works really well with the scripting, which is fast paced and interesting, and I think the colours worked really effectively. The simple colour scheme complimented the plot, and the exploration of Banner's character was really effective. Recommended for anyone wanting to get into the Hulk, or get a background for the Hulk's early adventures.



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Top 10 Marvel Comic Characters

Number 1

Real Name: Robert Bruce Banner

Alias: Hulk, Joe Fixit

Team Affiliation: None

Current Status: Active

Abilities: Superhuman strength, accelerated healing factor, super-powered leaps, superhuman durability

First Appearance: The Incredible Hulk #1 (May 1962)

Robert Bruce Banner was a world expert on Gamma technology before the accident that turned him into the Hulk. During the testing of a new Gamma bomb, a teenager, Rick Jones, drove into the testing sight unaware of what was going to happen. Bruce drove out to get him, saving him from the blast, but being blasted by the bomb himself. The bomb caused him to transform into the Hulk in moments of stress, and from then on, he became a menace to society and occasionally, a hero.

Bruce Banner is my favourite superhero of all time because he is such a dynamic and multi-layered chracter. He doubles as both a villain, and a superhero, and he is also quite a fractured character, as both he and the Hulk are a part of his psyche, and are parts of his personality. He is a very crafty and intelligent character, and despite having to live his life on the run, he still has time to save the world on occasion.

Marvels: Eye of the Camera TPB Review

Marvels: Eye Of The Camera Premiere HC by Kurt Busiek

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The follow-up to Marvels, although unnecessary, continues the Phil Sheldon story satisfactorily, but it never really evolves into anything new, or revolutionary as the first did. It tells the story of the darkening of Marvel comics, and the newer anti-hero genre of heroes, and how Sheldon interacts with this new breed of hero. The artwork is spectacular, and the script is well executed, but the story is lacking. It seems to emulate the original story, but never seeks to break into it's own.



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Top 10 Marvel Comic Characters

Number 2

Real Name: Johnathan 'Johnny' Blaze

Alias: Ghost Rider

Team Affiliation: None

Current Status: Active

Abilities: Superhuman strength, agility, durability, stamina, invulnerability to heat and fire, ability to project regular fire and hellfire, ability to travel along any surface, penance stare, wields enchanted chain, hellfire bike, hellfire shotgun

First Appearance: Marvel Spotlight #5 (Aug 1972)

Johnny Blaze was a stunt motorcycle rider in a traveling circus. When he learned that his adoptive father, Crash Simpson, was dying of cancer, he made a deal with the Devil to save Crash from the disease. Instead, the Devil took Crash in a motorbike accident, and claimed Johnny's soul for his own. He become bonded with the spirit of Zarathos, an avenging demon, and began working as the Ghost Rider, the devil's bounty hunter, taking the guilty to Hell. 

 

Constantly stuck between the forces of Heaven and of Hell, Johnny Blaze and the Ghost Rider make an amazing team. The dynamic between the two is the main crux of the comics, as sharing a body is problematic at best. The Ghost Rider series is constantly undergoing retcons, but this dynamic always remains. The comics are multi-layered and there is always a balance between Johnny, and his struggles as the Ghost Rider.