(Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 1 # 20, January 1993)

RATING: 5 💀 Punisher Cults out of 10

The foil on this cover is the dullest I’ve ever seen, but it is a foil cover nonetheless. Speaking of dull, this is the first issue of GotG vol 1 that I really started to dig. The worldbuilding here made me genuinely interested in what happened in the 1000 year window for there to be these peculiar remnants/fanatics of Cap, Punisher, and Wolverine.

I'm a big fan of the costume design for Major Victory and Krugarr though, those are both rad.

There are 3 different D&D and 2 different X-Men video game ads in this one issue.

FAVORITE: The very faint pastel colors really make this dream sequence feel ethereal ; Serious questions when chartering a superteam

LEAST FAVORITE: wasting a perfectly good adamantium suit

(Punisher 2099 # 1; February 1993)

RATING: 4 🏏Punishment Bats out of 10

It does exactly what it says on the tin. All the fun and subtle nuance of the Punisher in the bright and exciting cyberpunk dystopia of Marvel 2099. Maybe I haven't read enough Frank Castle books, but Jake Gallows feels even colder somehow. Then again, the setting is a bit more brutal and gruesome than 616.

Seeing the Street Surgeons gets all the catchiest songs from "Repo: The Genetic Opera" stuck in my head.

🎶 Zydrate comes in a little glass vial ...🎶

FAVORITE: so Vance Astro worships Captain America in the 31st century, and Thor has a church established by the end of this century. What other Avengers get religions dedicated to them in-universe?

LEAST FAVORITE: Is this better or worse than the current system of US law enforcement?

(Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 1 # 8; November 1990)

RATING: 3 ⚰️ Last Survivors out of 10

Absolutely forgot that the original Guardians were more akin to DC’s Legionnaires than just being the space Avengers. This ends up addressing like three plot threads within the bounds of such an average length book, it really muddies the water of the text. This is one of the most episodic books I’ve read from this time period in Marvel. I’m also not the biggest fan of anyone’s costume or overall design.

But at least I’m done for the semester and back to reading comics

FAVORITE: Aleta would have made an excellent critic of people in the first two phases of the MCU

LEAST FAVORITE: This issue is a case study about why small friend groups should NOT date internally

The Ray And Black Condor

JSA #49: Princes of Darkness, Part 4: Army of Darkness

by David Goyer/Geoff Johns; Leonard Kirk; Keith Champagne John Kalisz and Ken Lopez

Justice League of America #47: Into the Woods

ny Mark Waid (W.): Bryan Hitch (P.); Paul Neary (I.); Laura DePuy(C.) and Ken Lopez (L.)